Watching Jamelle's Cincinnati team

do a good job against the Huskies. UConn is winning, but Cincinnati can exit the court with their heads held high.
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My rough patch continues to today...but tonight I think I've had a break-through. I've had bad cramps on and off and waves of nausea...the thing I hate most. I even had to break into my Zofran, the anti nausea med they give me when I'm having chemo. I think I get nausea as a reaction to the stomach cramps...the pain would get so intense.

I haven't been taking the pain med for the past few days. Well, now I'm going to stop taking the stool softener and the Miralax as I don't think I need it and they are the reason I'm cramping up.

I do believe that I have hit on the winning formula for success.

The nurse called me today while I was out getting my hair cut to find out if I had scheduled my CT scan that the doctor wants me to get prior to my first chemo. WHAT???!!! I had no idea that she wanted me to have a CT scan. So I had her arrange one for Tuesday and Backus Hospital agreed to give me two bottles of my favorite drink so I don't have to drive all the way to Providence to get them. UGH.....I hate CT scans. I have had so many of those damned things this year it's a wonder I don't have a certain glow about me.

Tomorrow I go get my teeth cleaned, then Charmine picks me up at 11 and we head to Boston to get Maria. Lunch somewhere and then we head to Ogunquit. It will be a long day tomorrow. Hope I make it! I think I'll nap in the car as we drive to Beantown and then take another nap after we get to the hotel. I'll also have my 5 hour energy drink, which works GREAT for me. I have four of them to get me through the weekend.

The game just ended and it brought tears to my eyes to see Jamelle hug Geno, the coaches and the players. She's going to be interviewed in a few minutes. I won't miss it.

Sandy took down all the interior Christmas decorations today. I felt bad for her, she had to shlep everything up two flights of stairs to the attic. I think we should store them in the cellar...but that's just me. The outside lights are still up, but they will have to wait.

I'm excited but nervous about the weekend. Wish me luck, that I'll make it through with no problems. I'll have Maria and Charmine mothering me I'm sure....and Anne Marie is a nurse, so I'm all set.

GO HUSKIES....BEAT NORTH CAROLINA!!!

I'm listening to the Charlie Sheen 911 call on Howard Stern and I have to agree with Howard, how can Hollywood give him awards? How come his workplace isn't considered a hostile work environment? The guy is a monster. Howard says, "he's got enough money to get into therapy, come on, get some help."

Anyway, things have been crappy here. I just don't feel well, very tired, draggy and low grade achy. Almost like I have a flu, but I don't. I stopped taking the pain meds a couple of days ago and seem to be doing fine with that. I'm hoping that the fatigue goes away soon, I'm getting so tired of it! ha ha!

I do have my energy drinks to take to Maine, so I should be able to do just fine this weekend, if I'm still tired. The drinks and taking some naps should work.

We really enjoyed watching the Huskies win their bowl game on Saturday. I was so happy for Coach Edsall and the team, they have been through so much this year, with Jazz Howard being murdered, losing three games by single digits and then winning four in a row at the end of the year. So much fun to watch! Of course the fact that both the men's and the women's basketball teams won the same day made it all the sweeter.

Janet, Jess and Jere came over Saturday night and we had fun playing Beatles Rock Band...first time we've played it. The songs are great and it's so much fun to be singing the "oldies" again. I surprised myself at how much of "I Am the Walrus" I remembered!

Carol and Mark came over for dinner last night for "Little Christmas," we had fish and chips from Occum (the best!) and then pumpkin pie. I tried a little cole slaw last night, with no problems. I'm adding fiber to my diet. Something new I'm trying....

Tomorrow Mary Anne comes over for dinner and another "Little Christmas." It just goes on and on here.....nice!

I got ambitious and made myself walk up to the mailbox. Maybe some physical activity will get me energized. That's what Sandy says anyway, and I tend to believe her.

Now I'm going to go take a nap. I should point out that I got up at noon and here it is 2pm and I'm ready to go to sleep....see what I mean?

UPDATE: Anne Marie called, I start chemo next Friday at 9:30! YAY!!!

Nighty night!

No UTI...test came back clear...so I guess these symptoms I've been having are something else. My sleep difficulties continue, so I guess I'll be up for watching Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper welcome the New Year tonight on CNN. I love Kathy, so it won't be a sacrifice for me or anything like that.

I sat up and watched "The Wrestler" last night in the bedroom. I watched about half of it. It is a GREAT movie. I can't wait to see the other half. Micky Rourke is really great in this movie....he looks so different! I can't remember ever seeing a movie he did that I liked....I'm really enjoying this one.

Sandy rented "El Camino" from Netflix. I wasn't in the mood to see it today. I did want to see this movie when it first came out. Now I find I have to work myself up to see it.

We got about four inches of snow today. It's pretty out there, with the lights and all. Sandy was able to snowblow the driveway and paths for the dogs in less than an hour. Love that snowblower!

Sandy is working tonight. We hope to be able to get-together with Janet, Jess and Jere Saturday night. Maybe Barry will join them. We have gotten together around New Years for several years now...usually fighting over board games, particularly Cranium. I get so competitive and they get silly and I get pissed because I think they aren't taking the game seriously, which of course, they aren't. They laugh at me and I get more irrational. It's loads of fun...that dynamic never quits and is always loads of fun!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010, seems so weird to write that...it looks sci-fi almost.

Another Doctor's Visit =Another Outing

Just back from my check-up with Dr. McCourt down at L&M. She is pleased with how I'm healing, reassured me that being exhausted is a GOOD thing, it means I'm healing and she says I can start chemo in two weeks.

She also cleared me to go to Maine next week...YAY! But, I'm not cleared to drive until six weeks after surgery...so I have a few more weeks to go. I was hoping she'd say I was okay to drive now. Not that I want to drive all over the place, but it would be nice to be able to make a hair appt and not have to worry about if it fits Sandy's schedule.

I had such trouble sleeping last night...my usual "night before the appt insomnia"...I didn't dare look at the clock. Finally I sent Sandy a text message, we texted back and forth for a bit and then I was able to go to sleep. Oh, maybe the fact that I had two huge bouts of diarrhea also had something to do with me being able to go to sleep. I was so uncomfortable prior to this "release." I think it helped to "relieve" myself of this burden. I was then free to travel to dreamland.

I have two doggies sleeping with me as I doze in the recliner: Rocky on my lap and Bubbles beside me. They are my two snuggle bunnies who comfort me when I'm having problems sleeping and who are always willing to nap with me. It is so nice.

Oh, of course, as soon as I type this last paragraph, Rocky has to jump up to go bark at some unknown entity in the front yard....something that has come to kill us I'm sure!

Think I'll get myself a snack and take a nap.

Just because I can and the doctor says I should.

Going to see Dr. McCourt tomorrow to find out when chemo will start. I'm hoping mid-January.

I got my tooth fixed yesterday, didn't even need novacaine (I'm such a tough gal!)....and they got me an appointment to get my teeth cleaned on Jan 8th. I would go at 9am...so I have time before we are scheduled to leave for Maine. I'll go to Ogunquit with clean teeth!

Went over to Lynne's after the dentist and got to see her lovely decorations. She always has the house so nicely decorated with both Christmas and Hannukah items.

So that was my big outing for the day...oh, and going to Jean's where I made myself a half of a liverwurst sandwich!

I came home, exhausted and feeling a bit sick from being exhausted. Took a little nap in the recliner while Sandy made supper (reheated the meatloaf and macaroni and cheese that Jean made)...we had supper while we watched the Huskies...who had a little trouble dispatching Florida State.

Talked to Richard last night, he brought me up to speed on his doings. I am so proud of him...he is still not smoking and he is working lots of hours for the catering company...keeping busy, so he hasn't gained weight as people generally do when they quit smoking. So proud of him. He is really happy and I am very happy for him.

I have really been enjoying listening to the History of Howard Stern on Sirius radio this week and last. Some really funny stuff there. Howard is on vacation and they are filling the time with stuff from the old days. It has given me some good laughs.

I can't wait for Howard to get back on the air...want to hear his take on some of the latest news, but I kind of figured out how he will feel about: 1) Paula Abdul regretting her decision to leave Idol. DUH! Howard said she was stupid to leave in the first place...she was getting boatloads of $$$ just to sit there and act stupid....the job was so easy--she did it drugged, or drunk or whatever. Who else was going to pay her that kind of money to come to work under the influence? No one...and that's what she has found out now. 2) Kate Gosselin was dropped from the talk show they were going to have her co-host with Paula Deen and someone else, in a "View" type format. They dropped her because she is "too controversial"....STUPID!!! That's what Howard would say.....stupid to drop her for being controversial....sure, let's find someone who is so bland and inoffensive that NO ONE will watch the show! How dumb!

It's scary that I seem to have more of a sense of what people will watch than network execs. I knew that Jay Leno would stink it up at 10pm and lo and behold, he's bringing down, not just his show, but the whole network!

I'm not a Kate Gosselin fan, but come on...if she's controversial, people are going to tune in to watch! Even the people who hate her will tune in to see if she screws up! How stupid are they? Too controversial....give me a break!

Sandy and I finally got around to watching the ending of Top Chef and I was so pissed that they got rid of Jen. They really had to reach to come up with a reason for dumping her. It made me so mad I may not watch next season...I'm beginning to think that these shows are rigged...Chef and Project Runway....when Kortu lost that Runway stars show I saw the hypocrisy and how it's rigged.

Okay, I have ranted long enough. That felt good. To rant about things that aren't important in the whole scheme of life...feels good.

Now I will turn to watching some episodes of "Friday Night Lights" that I downloaded from On Demand. Now, that is a great show!

It's 10 degrees here and we have the fireplace going. Nice and toasty in here....I feel sorry for all those people and animals that don't have a nice cozy home like we do. I think of that every time it gets cold like this. We are so fortunate.

Nighty night and stay warm!

Christmas was great, quiet, but very nice. Jean and Frank came up Christmas Day, with a prime rib dinner that was delish! We are so lucky to have them in our lives. Jean brought up tins and tins of cookies for us to have when people drop by. Fortunately, people have not been dropping by, so we've been eating all the cookies.

Sandy got her iPhone activated and then went nuts yesterday, downloading apps and ringtones and in general, having a blast playing with it. She loves it now. Last night we lay in bed, each of us with our respective phones, watching the penquins in the aquarium in Japan (on the LiveCam app) and playing Bejeweled Blitz...and losing, of course.

I love that LiveCam app. Every night I check the front desk at that Russian hotel, to see who's working. There are two young women there who seem to like their jobs. They are always smiling and laughing, even when the customers aren't around. I love "spying" on them.

Today I go to the dentist to get that tooth fixed, hopefully. Then we'll swing by Jean's to pick up meat loaf that she's made for us and then over to Lynne's to drop off a tin of cookies from Jean and a little something-something from us. Lynne has been so faithful to us this past year. She's gone through some hard times herself, but has never wavered in her support of us. We really appreciate all she's done to help me and help Sandy. It's been tough at times, but it's always been fun too!

Maria and Phil and Renee and Austin came down on Saturday, bringing gifts from the family. We had a nice visit and had some laughs. After they left I crawled upstairs and slept for two hours. Did the same thing yesterday and I think I should be napping every day. I'm just so tired, all the time. If I go too long, I get feeling really sick. Sleeping makes it so much better.

When I go up to bed, my little boy, Rocky, is right with me. He climbs up on the bed, kisses me and then goes under the covers, snuggling right up to me. It makes me feel so good. Bubbles comes to bed with me too, but she always goes down by my feet. Rocky stays up near the pillow and lets me put my arm around him. It's so comforting and I slip right into a deep sleep.

The weather doesn't know what to do with itself. Since I've been sitting here it has rained, snowed and now the sun is out nice and bright. Make up my mind!

Oh, I slept until 11:30, it's now 1:30 and I could go back to sleep already. And I still have to go to the dentist, etc. PLEASE!

Huskies play tonight...I have to nap when I get home so I can watch them. Or maybe I'll record it and watch it later.

Go Huskies!!!

Christmas Eve

Well, it's Christmas Eve and for the first time in.....ever, I'm not going to Phil's for the annual family get-together. It's just too much for me right now. It would take too much out of me and I need to work on getting strong for the chemo that is on the horizon.

It kills me to not be there....mostly because I always wonder if this Christmas will be the last Christmas that we will have with Bob Miller. I am almost positive that this is the last year that he will know who we are. His memory is going faster and faster. He is 89 years old after all...it is to be expected. He loves his life and he loves Wini and that's all that matters. He's happy.

I'm doing much better now. My bowels are about 60% back to normal. I was able to eat some filet mignon and baked stuffed potato for dinner last night. I can go for longer periods of time between pain meds now. I am sleeping better....not so many trips to the bathroom to interrupt my sleep.

It feels good.

Last night, after dinner, we were sitting talking and I felt something in my mouth, sticking to my tooth. I poked at it and out fell a good sized chunk of filling. This sent a chill through me. When you are getting the chemo I get, you can't have dental work done. I got scared that I wouldn't be able to get into the dentist before the chemo started and what if this turned out to be something bigger? Today I got the answer: the dentist will see me Monday. Hopefully he can fix this and maybe even get my teeth cleaned before chemo starts up again.

I find out Wednesday when I see Dr. McCourt when she plans to have me start getting the chemo. I hope that it doesn't interfere with the plans for Maine, I really am looking forward to that trip. I told Maria that even if I just laid around up there and slept, it would still be worth it to me to go. I do want to go to Remy's though, and that store near it where they have the great buys on clothes and shoes. I hope it's still open. Please be open!

So, we are having a quiet night tonight and tomorrow we'll "wrap off" and spend the day quietly with the pups. Of course there will be the usual chaos in the AM when the dogs open their gifts. I love watching that scene....I never get tired of watching them rip the wrapping paper off and pull the toys out. Then they run off to their respective "safe places" to tear the toy apart to get at the "squeaky" that is inside. Some toys last longer than others...some don't get torn apart at all, and some don't last more than two minutes. It's good that Sandy finds toys at cheap prices!

These dogs have so many toys. We have a toy basket in the living room and another one in the bedroom. These get washed every few months and there is a big box in the basement filled with toys that replace the ones being cleaned. The cleaned ones go into the basement box and so everything gets rotated.

That's how we roll here at 60 BMW.

I'm hoping that the President gets some kind of healthcare bill on his desk soon. If it isn't perfect, we'll figure that out and fix it. Nothing is written in stone. At least get something going and we'll take it from there! PLEASE! Get 'er done!

Nighty Night and MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!