2013/57 Filled to the Rim

Doctor visit followed by chemo today. Received very good news, praising God kind of news, I'm so happy I'm crying like a baby kind of news. My CA27-29 numbers dropped by 300 points. I was at 697, my test results from January showed 387. Praying February test results will continue in this trend.

Of course, I knew prayers were being answered. I told Brie earlier this week, I knew I was getting better. How did I know? I drank my whole cup of coffee. Since October of last year, I've been drinking less than half a cup. Monday I drank a whole cup without even thinking about it.

My (coffee) cup was empty because my blessings have been full.

2013/56 Twelve Hours Later

Left for work at 5:50am. Twelve hours later I was finally pulling back into the garage. A stop at The Hat cost me an extra thirty minutes, but I was hungry and so was Brie. She was also under the weather and cranky to boot because I left work forty minutes later than promised.

After dinner, a bunch of moaning and groaning, tylenol and some ice cream, she finally seems to be feeling a little better.

But her nose is still running.

2013/55 Back to Business

After a wonderful weekend, work duties called. I was not looking forward to the start. Hanging over my head all weekend long were two rather unpleasant tasks. The day has come and gone and I persevered.

Now I can enjoy the rest of the week.

2013/54 A Blustery Day

It was a beautiful blustery day, the kind they must have at Hundred Acre Wood. Perfect for a walk around Old Town Orange, breathing in deep, enjoying the sunshine, cool breeze, thanking God for his faithfulness.

I did not want the day to end. I still don't.

2013/53

Family fun time at the Riverside County Fair today. This little one got wiped out.

I did too.

2013/52 After a Long Week

I thought I would be working tonight. Instead I closed up my laptop at promptly 4pm and took a little nap. I would probably be sleeping still, but I got a call from my boss around 4:30pm. After we hung up, I gathered up my things and went out for a little pick me up.

It's the perfect start to what promises to be a wonderful weekend.

2013/51 A Day of Work

I don't typically go into the office on Thursday's. But my boss asked if I would attend a meeting from 4-9pm this evening. Our team loves our boss so our whole agreed to give up our night, not just tonight, but tomorrow (Friday) night too. Sad but true.

Since I was going to be working late, I decided I could go into the office at my convenience which today meant 10:14am. I expected traffic to be light. And while it could be considered light for California, the freeway was filled with drivers who had no real place to be or had no desire to get there.

Thankfully we accomplished more tonight than anticipated. Tomorrow's late night meeting has been officially cancelled. I love my boss!

2013/50 My Day in Black and White

2013/46-49 Catching Up

Time got away from me. Time to catch up.

She was home for a little while on Friday. She's taken to stealing my grandma chair.

Getting ready for my weekend at the beach.

Sunday, journaling by the water.

Monday, all about the black and white.

2013/44-45 Love

What can I say, my Wednesday routine wore me out and I fell asleep before I could post anything. I decided to be daring at lunch and try the Corner Bakery near our office. Last time I went to a Corner Bakery, I was very disappointed and haven't tried it again.

The start was promising as all the baked items looked beyond yummy. I remained strong and ordered lunch only. It was a good thing because once again my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I just might go back again. But only if I can order dessert.

I fell short in the Valentine decorating plan again this year. I had hoped to have hearts strung up all over the place. I needed an app for that. Since they don't have one, there aren't heart anywhere. Still I managed to get a little something, something for mom and Brie....and a little something for me.

And the greatest of these is LOVE

2013/43 Getting in My Greens

Love Panera and their classic green salad. It tastes so good and is filled with good greens, not just a bunch of iceberg. I could just do without the onion.

I can also do without the part where I have to bus my own dishes. It's an icky way to end a delicious meal.

2013/40-41 My Kind of Weekend

It was my kind of weekend. I love, love, love waking up to crisp, cold sunny mornings, especially on a Saturday when I don't have much to do.

I made major, major headway in cleaning my room. Not the kind of clean where no sooner than you say you're finished then the room somehow looks exactly like it did before you started, but the kind of clean where tough decisions are made about what to keep and what to get rid of. Moving methodically from one corner of the room, helped a lot, too.

Brie was home for most of the day and I was in such a good mood that I brought her up both breakfast and lunch in bed. Man, was I feeling NICE!

It was such a good day that I went to bed, looking forward to another day of the same.

While Sunday was good enough, it didn't quite measure up to Saturday. That's probably because I didn't make it to church (bad, bad girl!). I finally made an appointment to get my hair cut. $74.00 later and as Brie put it, it doesn't look any different. I felt cheated.

I was secretly hoping to talk Brie into going to Union Station with me, but it was cold and drearier than Saturday so she just wanted to go back home. The rest of the day was low key. Brie and I ended up watching The Words which I enjoyed tremendously. It really spoke to me, especially the part where the old man said something that it was wrong that he loved his words more than the woman he professed to be writing about.

2013/39 Love Me a Good Rain

I love a little rain. The kind that doesn't go on for days. The kind that leaves that clean and fresh feeling, big puffy clouds with blue skies hovering in the background. Today we had that kind of rain.

I love me a good rain.

2013/38 Worth the Wait

After days of careful eating, I found myself driving to In-N-Out for lunch. It may not have been the best idea and it wasn't like I was craving it. But it was good. Darn good. How do they get the patty crisp on the outside and still so juicy on the inside?

Traffic was heavier than normal, the line at the drive thru was long and the driver two cars ahead of me took a long time ordering, paying and accepting his order.

It was all worth the wait.

2013/37 Routine

Wednesday routine. Wake up, 5am, ughhhh. Shower, dress, leave the house by 5:55am, 5:45am preferred. Drive to office, start off with radio station on news radio station. At Lambert on the 57, change station to the Fish. Arrive at parking lot by 6:40am, 6:30am preferred. Stop at Starbucks, order tall dark roast, no room, and a morning bun, warmed. Walk to office, hope and pray no one joins me on elevator up to 11th floor (I am NOT a morning person). Shut door to office, turn on laptop, chow down morning bun, sip coffee, look at emails while reading favorite blogs on iPad.

7am - 4pm, work, lunch, work, meetings, work, emails, work, check instagram, work, text various loved ones, work.

4pm leave office. Hope and pray elevator does not stop between 11th floor and plaza level (every second counts on the commute home). Get home between 5:30pm and 6pm, depending on whether I stop to pick up something for us to eat.

Eat and rest until 7pm. Head out to Lab for blood work. Hope and pray that the doctor didn't forget to release my orders...again. 7:25 arrive at lab, pull my ticket (not a golden one). Wait for number to be called. Walk up to counter area, give them my insurance card and show picture id. Hold my breath as this is the moment that either I'm told there aren't orders or a label prints out with blood work orders. Hope and pray label prints out. Hope and pray that there is only one label.

Sit back down and wait for number to be called. Hope and pray that the lab technician isn't there at night because of competency issues. Walk up to window number instructed. Give my name and birthdate to verify it's really me. Contemplate giving them wrong info so blood won't be drawn. Lay arm on padded arm rest. Look away as rubber stripped is tied onto arm. Wince as needle goes in, even if it doesn't hurt. And although it doesn't hurt, hope and pray it ends soon.

Thank the lab technician. Hold cotton swab that was placed on vein, walking out of lab. Tear off bandage as I reach the trash can right before the parking lot. Drive away listening to the Fish. Arrive home by 8:20pm, 8:00pm preferred. Call it a night.

2013/35-36 Coming Out of the Fog

Yesterday passed just like the weekend, too quickly. Before I knew it, it was evening and I had nothing to really show for it, but a dozen reports for work that are due at the end of the week.

It was Brie's first day of school. Spring semester has finally officially begun which hopefully means no more late nights and more evenings like this. What is it about the college years that makes all kids turn into vampires. I admit, I was no different.

It was only by the grace of God that I arose in time to head out to the office this morning. I awoke at 2:14am after a tossing and turning most of the night. Then again around 4ish. A short time later, I took another look at the clock to see how much time I had left. I was taken by surprise when the time showed 5am.

The work day wasn't much different than any other so far this year. So much so that I didn't leave for lunch until right before noon. I know it's silly but I hate going to lunch at noon. I'd rather go early and avoid the crowds. I wasn't able to get my writing in as I had hoped either.

The day was grey, but not gloomy if that makes any sense, and most of all cold. Really cold. Okay, cold for Southern California cold. On the way home, I was looking for a break in the sky, some blue and gold coming through the clouds, but they were too dense this evening.

2013/32 - 34 First Days of February

Where did the last three days go? They literally flew by, wiping me out in the process.

February 1st started with a roar. It began with a 6am meeting and the day never let up as I moved from one conference call and one deadline to another. Before I knew it, it was 7pm and the light was gone. There were some magazines that I wanted to get so I went to Barnes and Noble before I called it a night.

I awoke to the 2nd of February, anticipating the day. My plan was to make some progress in straightening out my room (which didn't really happen) and then meet Barbara and her kids at Color Me Mine. I was so looking forward to spending some time with them. It was fun times. We got in a little painting, followed by Chipotle and topped off by lattes and mochas at Dripp. Next thing I knew it was 8pm and I was TIRED!

This morning I had hoped to make a dent in my room, but instead most of the day was spent dealing with some side effects of one of the meds I was taking. I'll spare the details, but it was not pleasant. Thankfully, by the time the Super Bowl started, I was feeling better, but instead of heading out to Union Station as I had hoped for some street photography, the day was spent inside recuperating. Having not eaten anything since breakfast, I was famished around 4pm and my sweet momma made me some pancakes.