Oh What a Night!

I'm back again from outer space. Life has been one wild ride! Woke up at 1:30am to the sound of an explosion...except that we didn't know it was an explosion at first. Stephen and I both jumped out of a sound sleep and when he came running in to ask me what that sound and shake was I told him it must be a sonic boom. A few minutes later we heard what sounded like gun shots. I was afraid to go outside and Greg wasn't home yet. I called Greg and he was on his way home and said "it's probably a transformer". Minutes later another boom and sirens. I called Greg again and said "Get home cause I'm scared". I looked out my window to see smoke. Honestly up to this point I thought someone had gone off the deep end and was murdering their family. Reality though was that a car had been left on the other side of our wall and caught fire. The explosions must have been the gas tank igniting. Was it stolen? Who knows. What is scary to me is that someone left it there on our quiet little road and we didn't even know it. Fortunately no one was in it and the fire department was here quickly and did their job well. I went out the front door in time to see my neighbor heading out the door and joked with him that I thought he'd had enough of his wife. It took about 30 minutes for the fire company to wrap it up and by that time Greg was home. Fire was so hot that plastic bumper had melted into the pavement and they had to pry it up. Boy was it hard to go back to sleep after all that commotion. The kids looked over the wall and then we all went back to bed.

I am doing well. Nausea has been a constant problem for me since Chemo last week. I joked with Greg that I feel like I'm pregnant because I'm naseaous 24/7 and it's worse at night. My naturopath said part of the problem is that I'm not eating enough so that is making the cycle worse. Well I spent $70 at the grocery store last night on comfort foods. At this point I'm trying to eat whatever it takes and not worry about what it is. It's a whole new world for me. Right now all fresh curdles my stomach. 2 current faves are mashed potatoes and texas toast. I'm trying Coca Cola for the stomach and that is helping but no quashing the naseau. I have drugs that I can take but I hate to take them forever. I had to take them for 3 days last week to help after chemo but I don't want to live on them. Perhaps I should start smoking pot! Now that's a picture......

Day 3 and 4 after chemo were the hardest as expected. On top of the upset stomach I had incredible bone aching like I was getting the flu. It was mostly in my hips and my back. The only challenge with this is that it never progressed and hurt 24/7. A few times I broke down crying saying that it sucked and I didn't want to do it anymore but then I picked myself back up and continued on. Taking Claritin for the bone pain helped but didn't cut it totally. Brenda, my sister, has a friend on chemo who said first couple were the worst. I pray that is my case and that it gets easier as time goes on.

If you are reading this blog you saw my new haircut! Bald is beautiful these days. I feel so much better without my hair and it wasn't nearly as traumatic as I thought it was. Stay tuned for link to youtube video. Jan Brooks came and did a lovely ceremony. I was most emotional when we read the call and response poem that she has written on my behalf. I'll post the lyrics another time - it was beautiful and very meaningful. I have a stack of money sitting on my counter from donations for St. Baldricks. If you haven't donated already please do so right away. Don't worry if you can't find my name just share your abundance with a good cause and help me make lemonade.

I don't like the razor stubble on my head but feel certain that this is going to fall off in the next few weeks based on how my head felt after chemo. I'm also getting wierd rashes. Woke up this morning with a rash on my neck from a necklace so had to take it off. My skin feels very different too and I have to moisturize like never before. Where did all of those oils that kept me so young looking go? At least I was oily to start with. I could see that if a woman had dry skin to start and then went through this chemo/menopause thing she would dry up from the inside out. Ugh!

Yesterday I did a class for women going thru chemo. We played with makeup, wigs, scarves, etc. I got tips on how to do my eyebrows if they fall out, importance of eye liner if you loose your eyelashes. I think I'll hit the swap meet on Friday and buy a few cheap wigs just for the heck of it. A friend called and said I could have her pink wig after Halloween. That could be fun. Might be fun to wear at a party or something. I'll play around with my look. Now though I'm sure to wear makeup all the time because there is no hair to look at. Perhaps I'll take some pics and post them with me in all my different looks.

Rode my bike to the gym this morning. Felt good to work out although my arm is still very sore from the port and I can't straighten it out all the way. Stitches were removed yesterday and it felt so good to shower without saran wrap on. The little things that we so take for granted!

It's a great day to be alive and I'm so lucky for all these opportunities to grow. I'll sure have some great stories when I'm an old lady. Make it a good one! Peace.