a bit of this and that

hello everyone :)

my mom told me that i haven't blogged in awhile- sorry... this week there hasn't been much to talk about.  i stayed home on monday, but felt pretty good (at least not as sick as i had expected).  i went to the "look good, feel better" class in the afternoon.  it was nice- i met a few more nice women that are too young to have cancer.  4 of the 5 of us there were under 40.  one of the women was under 30!  ugh.  it's a really nice program- i got a whole lotta free make-up. all name brand- chanel, aveda, prescriptives, etc... and the woman giving the class was very kind.  can't say i really learned anything new about putting on make-up (been to too many mary kay classes for that!) but it was really nice to sit with a bunch of other bald ladies and chat :)

i worked on tuesday and wednesday- not much exciting about that.  i was pretty sick on wednesday, though, so i stayed home on thursday.  then went back on friday.

on wednesday night i found a lump on izzy's wrist.  when i woke up thursday morning all i could think about was the lump, and since i was home sick i decided to take her to the doctor.  they were very nice- got me in before the "sick kid" time slots and put me right into a room so i wouldn't get exposed to very much (i've been avoiding the pediatrician because of all the crazy germs that are there.  poor kj has been doing that duty and there is nothing he hates more than taking the girls to the doctor.  luckily, they've been pretty healthy lately.)  in any event, the good news is that the lump is actually a very common cyst.  our ped could tell by looking/feeling it that it wasn't anything to worry about.  she said that it should resolve itself. and it doesn't bother izzy at all, so that's good :) 

my newest development is a sore on my esophagus.  this is a fairly common side effect (at least no one at the doctor's office is surprised by it) of the chemo.  they've been asking me all along about mouth sores, which i've been lucky enough to avoid, but this is pretty much an extension of that, i guess.  your esophagus and intestines are lined with fast growing cells (the type the chemo kills) so they are often bothered by the chemo (hence the nausea).  i've got a couple of different prescriptions to deal with this sore, so hopefully in the next day or so it won't feel like i'm swallowing over a shard of glass stuck in my throat anymore.  

someone i love found a lump in her breast last week and i'm happy to say that she took it very seriously.  she went right to the doctor, who sent her to get a mammo.  after a couple of tense days of waiting, it has turned out exactly like it should for someone our age, and she's a-ok :)  it is an irritated milk duct.  so, ladies, get them checked- they don't always turn out bad, and the better you know your boobs the better chance you have of finding something that shouldn't be there!  my sister also has finished all of her base line testing and has been given a clean bill of health.  yay!!  

now for thank-you's:

-this week kate brought us dinner on tuesday- yummy cous cous salad and bread :)

-i got a card from glen with an article about ginger and chemo/nausea- very sweet :)  lots of you  have mentioned that to me now, and i have tried it a couple of times this week- not sure if it's    helping or not, but i'm trying it...

-julie brought us dinner on wednesday- amazingly delicious minestrone stew.  sooo good!

-julie also brought us dinner from her friend kate- i've never met kate, but she's heard about  me from julie and wanted to help.  how amazing is that?  we haven't eaten it yet, but i'm sure it  will be yummy- i think perhaps tomorrow :)

-lisa brought us dinner on friday- cheese ravioli and brownies and salad.  yum!  loving it :) 

dinners are so thoughtful and much appreciated.  as i've said before, i really think that poor kj is getting the rawest deal in all of this.  having a prepared dinner handed to him so that all he has to do is heat it up is wonderful.  and everyone has been so nice researching vegetarian recipes for us.  i don't think that anyone that has cooked for us (except erika) is a vegetarian, but everyone has been so thoughtful.  so, thank you to all of you :)

so, all in all, i'm doing well.  i have report cards due this week, and the start of my june appts.  i sure hope i can keep them all straight :)  i will do a better job this week of blogging... maybe some pics of my kids for entertainment's sake!  thanks for all your good thoughts and warm fuzzies- i appreciate them!