Some pics from my family visit!

So last week my daughters and Son in law came for a visit.  It was a very laid back visit, not our usual running around to Disney and here and there!  I have to say, it was very relaxed and I hope they had as good a time with me as I had with them.

I spent some Mommy & Me time with both girls.  I taught Jordan how to make a few of her favorite dishes so that she could make them for her boyfriend when she got home.  I did some baking before they got here for Mallory who requested Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Oh, Sweet.Baby.Jesus. were they good!  Thank you Jacques Torres!  What a recipe but the chocolate "chips" which were disks cost $20!  Next time I will use good old nestle but Im sure I will regret that!  They were huge, thin and crispy.

The kids went to the beach and hung out by the pool.  We ate out and ate in.  Here are a few pics from the visit:

Mallory & Jordan (just woke up - usually they brush their hair!)

Kevin & Mallory

My human baby & my furbaby

Brutus reclaims his couch!

Jax from Sons of Anarchy
 - totally not related but isn't he adorable?

A rainbow going around the sun -
I've never seen that in my life!

Donuts we made from canned biscuits

Veggie/Pineapple dip

The best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!

Sad to say that this week was back to business as usual.  Real Estate is picking up around here so thats a good thing!  I went back to the gym today for the first time in 6 weeks and took it slow.  I feel good and don't think I overdid it.  I suppose I'll know tomorrow morning.

Steve has only 10 more treatments left and we are counting them down!  I am so thankful that he has come through this with very minor side effects, namely just a tiredness that hits him in the early evening.  He definitely had an Angel or two watching over him.  Once he is done, we will get ready to go to Vegas for a few days to celebrate and than he will be tested in 3 months.  We do not expect anything short of a full reversal!  Please keep him in your prayers!

Last but not least, I will be keeping all the people on the Gulf Coast who are in the path of Isaac who has now been classified as a Cat 1 Hurricane, in my thoughts and prayers.  Of all the days to have a Hurricane hit, the 7th anniversary of Katrina has got to be making these fine people have horrible flashbacks to that storm.  Much love and hugs to all of you!

I got a hot date today with my man!

Oh yea, we are going to an afternoon matinee to see a movie about 2 old people rekindling the flame in their marriage....Hope Springs, with Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones (love him!) and Steve Carroll.  OMG but it gets better!  Than, after the movie we are going for Steve's radiation treatment!  We sound like we are two old buggers don't we?  LOL!

Actually, all kidding aside, Steve's radiation treatments are going quite well and the only side effect he is having is that the dreaded 'tiredness' they talk about seems to be hitting him in the evening right after dinner.  He usually needs to take a short power-nap while watching TV at night and he is fine.  He is very lucky as a lot of patients get this tiredness right in the middle of the afternoon.  Hell, I'd never get to a movie if I had to go at night as I cant stay up past 9 pm and I have no excuses!

We are getting ready for a visit from the kidlets!  Our girls and son-in-law are coming down for 5 days next Sunday!  I am very excited about that!  We really have nothing exciting planned as the kids really just want to go to the beach and hang by the pool.  I'm sure we will be going out to dinner most nights but I've already started to get the food requests from from my youngest daughter Jordan...stuffed artichokes?  Really?  Its funny because that was always my Dad's request when he visited me.  Made me smile when she asked me actually.

Steve is actually just about halfway done with his 9 weeks of radiation and he is really looking forward to our trip to Vegas he planned to celebrate the end of his treatment.  I can't believe that is next month already!  We planned this back in June and it really felt very far off.  Where did this summer go?  School is already starting here in Florida next week, I think Thursday?  Crazy....I am used to having scholl start after Labor Day so this is so strange to me!

As far as my weight, I am down a few pounds but I'm sure it will pop back up to my normal weight of 140ish.  I haven't been exercising as much as usual either due to some surgery but I will be getting back into that come September.  That probably has something to do with my weight loss as I am sure I've lost some muscle tone.  I'm just so thankful that I have my Sleeve to help keep my eating in check!

And finally, I am so sad that I will be missing BOOBs 3.0!  I have gone for the first two and they just keep getting better! I really wanted to go and then Steve's diagnosis came in June and he wanted to have a Vegas trip to look forward to and that trip coincides with Chicago.  All I can say to any newbies this year is hang on to your hats!  It will be such a fun, whirlwind weekend and you will have memories to last a lifetime.  The planning committee keeps outdoing themselves...trust me on this!  A more dedicated group of women would be hard to find. For me, I am telling myself, there will always be next year...

Happy Friday!

I woke up today and said "yep, I am going back to the gym today....today is the day!"  So I went, got my little step set up, no risers for me as its my first time back in a month and I had a cortisone shot in my ankle last week.  Talking to a few ladies about this and that and then the owner comes in and says class has to be cancelled as instructor got a flat!  Really? Does anyone but me realize this girl has gotten a flat at least 3 times in the last year getting to an 8 a.m. class or am I the only cynic?

Anyway, I was there so even though I didn't have my earbuds with me, I jumped on the treadmill and actually did a little jogging but mostly fast walking and burned 280 calories in 35 minutes.  I was happy and in hindsight, glad I didn't do an hour step class.  I will try another class tomorrow and see how that goes.

I was reading Amy W.'s post today and decided that my freak-out weight is 145.  My initial goal was 150 (which I hit last August!) and my lowest weight was 137.  My body fluctuates between 137-142, mostily 140-142.  Well, last week I saw 145 on the scale at night!  I am a little crazy with the scale...I am a morning weigher but I will jump on the scale at night before bed to get a peak at what the morning will bring.  I have a sickness, I know.  Anyway, I saw 145.4 and had a major freak out!  Holy my God!  I instantly realized that I was being redic and looked back at the day to see what I had possibly eaten that could cause this.  I honestly couldn't put a finger on it other than I didn't pee a lot that day.  Next morning it was 143 which was again higher than my normal morning weigh in so I just drank a lot of water and had a "yogurt day".  That is when I will have plain greek yogurt for breakfast (with good stuff mixed in like fruit and Stevia flavoring French Vanilla), lunch and a snack and a have a regular dinner.  I easily get all my protein in doing that!  By the next day, I was back in the 141 range again.

That my friends is why "they" say we shouldn't weigh every day!  Well, tough, I have to!

So, I am over my conjunctivitis and my ankle is stabilized for the moment.  However, doctor said to try to pick a time next year where I can be down for about 6 weeks.  He said the cortizone isn't really the long term answer and it was the 4th time I've had one.  We will see about that one!  Steve has started his radiation therapy this week and so far, so good.  One week down and 8 to go!  Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

I am getting ready for a little trip to New York next Thursday to visit my girls.  I cannot wait to see them.  I originally wasn't going to go but Steve insisted.  He is such a great guy and he really loves my girls.  What more could I ask for?  The girls and my son in law Kevin will be coming down to visit us for a week in August so Steve will visit with them then.

What does everyone got going on this Weekend?  I'm working Sunday morning but the rest of the weekend we will probably get on the motorcycle and do our A1A ride along the ocean.  Nothing better!  As long as there is food in it for me, I'm happy to keep him company doing what he loves best!

Here are some pics from our trip last weekend to Ponce Inlet...We had lunch at The North Turn.....NICE!

What are your favorite Apps?

The following are my must have, can't live without apps on my iphone.    With the exception of the usual, facebook, twitter, etc., what are your favorite Apps?

My Fitness Pal - #1 on my list!  Calorie tracker like no other!!!
Keeper - password keeper
Grocery List - name says it all
Words With Friends
Kindle - my Kindle stays home but this allows me to read my books anywhere
Alarmed - reminders and timer
MobileRSS - allows me to read and comment on blogs
Hotel Tonight - great app for when you need a hotel tonight...very discounted rooms
BlogPress - for writing blogs
Fandango - purchase movie tix
Disney World - lets you know wait times for attractions and dining reservations
Mapquest - voice guidance
HomeSnap - take a picture with your phone and it tells you what house is worth.  Very cool!

What are everyones plans this weekend?  Its weird when 4th of July falls on a Wednesday.  The holiday weekend actually becomes two weekends of festivities plus stuff happening at the beach on the 4th!  We have dinner plans tomorrow night with 3 couples that we are looking forward to.  I think Sunday I will be roped into having the same couples at our house for a BBQ.  That's fine....I will be at their homes on Tuesday night, Wednesday and than again next Saturday!  Very busy week indeed!

My eyes are almost all cleared up.  The redness and wateryness is all gone but they still look a little swollen.  My weight was up almost 3 lbs during the week (thankfully it is gone) and doctor said I can attribute that to the steroids I was/am taking.  She said they have a propensity to make you retain water.  I am slowly weaning off them and I've noticed a reduction of the 3 lbs as I slowly withdrew from them.  I was using them 4 x a day.  I than had to go to 3 x day for 3 days, and now I am doing 2 x a day for 2 and than 1 x day for 2 days and than I will be done!  What an ordeal.

Last but not least, we had such a great time at Disney's Hollywood Studio's with Stephanie and Jason last Saturday.  I seriously considered not going because of my eye problem and I am so happy that we went.  The rain held off and we had a very nice time with them!  Steve was able to go on Tower of Terror 3 times so he was one happy man!

I hope everyone has a very safe and fun weekend and upcoming week!

Its alway something!

This week brought something new to my life!  Allergic Conjunctivitis!  WooHoo!!!  Otherwise known as "pink eye".  FML  I felt something funky going on with my eye last Saturday.  Saturday night we went to a Roger Waters (founding member of Pink Floyd) concert and there was a whole lot of pot smoking going on.  I can assure you all that I was the only one who left that concert with pink eyes who was not stoned!

Sunday morning rolls around and I woke up with my right eye swollen shut!  Great.  I actually went to a walk-in clinic because I didn't want to wait until Monday to see the Dr.  He gave me drops and off I went.  By Tuesday there wasn't any improvement so I went to my Opthomologist.  She gave me prednisone in addition to the antibiotic.  Good news is, she said because I am an adult I can be trusted to not going around  infecting people!  Yay for being an adult.  I've worn the two top layers off my hands washing them!  I am so tired of looking like I was in the ring with Muhammad Ali!  The fact of the matter is, Conjunctivitis can be one of three varieties:  Allergy, Viral or Bacterial.  There really isn't a way to tell which one you have so they treat for Allergy and Bacterial...no treatment for Viral...it just has to work its way out.

Anyway, I've been taking it easy this week, working at home for the most part and only going in to my office if it was absolutely necessary.  I just hate having to explain why my face looks like this!  Tomorrow we are heading over to Orlando to meet up with Stephanie and her hubby Jason to spend the day at Hollywood Studio's.  The plan was to then go to Roy's for dinner but I think we will beg out of that and let Steph and Jason enjoy a nice romantic dinner by themselves not having to look at the Elephant Woman!

On a better note, my shoulder is feeling much better with the physical therapy.  So much better that they sprung me loose!  Said no reason to complete the 12 sessions when I knew what to do at home if it acted up again!  Really?  I was shocked.  Maybe they just didn't want to look at my face anymore, I know i don't.

I haven't been to the gym in 10 days!  I miss it the most when I want something to eat when I've already hit my calorie limit for the day and I can't say, "well I exercised today so I can have this".  Now, while I say I can't say that, that doesn't mean that I still don't indulge on occasion.  I have to admit though, I really do miss being active and I'm anxious to start exercising again.  I am waiting for my eyes to clear up though.

My one year anniversary with my sleeve was on Wed., 6/20.  I am so happy that I switched out my band for that when I was having all those band problems.  I hit my weight goal of 150 last August and I am still bouncing between 137 - 142.

Lots of things coming up this summer with my travelling to NY to visit my girls and my girls coming to visit us in August.  Steve is starting his radiation treatments on July 9th and continues to have a great attitude!  It is amazing the number of people in our everyday lives who have first-hand knowledge of prostate cancer; husbands, brothers, fathers who have had it and beat it!  We really consider ourselves lucky that this is the cancer he has!


Have a great weekend!

Break from the gym!

I am a procrastinator when it comes to aches and pains.  Maybe not a procrastinator but more like the attitude, "its nothing and will go away by itself".  That being said, about a year ago (yea, I said year!) I started having a slight pain in my left shoulder.  Some days it was barely there and other days it was a constant nagging pain.  There was no rhyme or reason to it either.  Whether I was exercising or not, it was always there in the background.

Fast forward to April of this year, I happened to be having a regular checkup with my doctor and I told him about this pain.  He referred me to an Orthopedic Doc.  I went in April and had an MRI done.  The diagnosis was Bursitis.  He gave me a shot of Cortisone and a prescription for physical therapy for 3 x week for 4 weeks.  So, I decided, note the absence of an MD after my name, that I didn't need physical therapy because the pain went away immediately with the Cortisone.  Bad decision Jax!  The Cortizone wore off and now I had to go to physical therapy because I can't go back to the doctor unless I do!  Oh, woe is me!

Yesterday I had my first appt. with PT and I'm glad I went.  He explained what exactly Bursitis is and why I need PT to clear it up.  Basically, he said to forget I have a left shoulder for about a week to give the joint a chance to heal as it is very inflamed.  He reminded me of this while I was leaving and asked if I understood.  Of course, I replied, I am not an idiot!  Well, he than pointed out that I had my at least 5 lb. purse hanging off of my left shoulder blade! Oopsie!  Old habits die hard!

I am going back again tomorrow for my 2nd session.  He gave me a few treatments yesterday and a few stretches that I am doing at home.  My shoulder feels better already!  The one down side was he said I need to stay away from all exercise that add strain to the shoulder.  I asked if I could still do spinning and he said no because of the fact that I am holding on the handle bars of the bike and this causes strain on the shoulder.  Not a lot but he wants me to really let it rest for a week.  I took yesterday, today and tomorrow off but I will go to a step class on Saturday and try not to use my arms.  I told my trainer that I would see her in a week.

Getting old just plain sucks!

Do you associate days of the week with events in life?

Well I do and I'm here to tell you that Tuesdays suck!  Yea, really suck!

My dad and brother-in-law were killed on a Tuesday and now my dear, sweet husband, my best friend and my rock, was diagnosed with cancer this past Tuesday.  I've been sorting things out since then and trying to process it but let me tell you, I just can't!  The bright side is, prostate cancer is very curable.   But still.  You hear the 'C' word and all sense of reasoning goes right out the window.

From the moment Steve and I met, he has been taking care of me.  Even when he doesn't know it, he takes care of me.  Seriously. I've never opened myself up to any other human as I have with him and I guess I just take it for granted that he will always be here to take care of me.  Selfish, I know, but this is how I feel.  Anyway, this week has been a real tough one for me.  Him too...but not as much!  Seriously, this man has the best outlook on life.  On Tuesday afternoon, while I am crying into a cup of tea, he is on the computer booking a trip for us to take to Las Vegas for the end of September.  He said it will give him something to look forward to while going through his treatment this summer!

We have been to 3 doctors appointments since Tuesday and that is only the beginning.  Todays appointment was with the Radiation Therapy Oncologist.  He pulled no punches though, as curable as this type of cancer is, he sees men die from it.  The problem with prostate cancer is, depending on a whole host of factors and treatments, there are some very unpleasant side effects that some men are just not willing to deal with.  Because it is a very slow growing cancer, some men opt to take their chances that they will die from something else before that cancer kills them.

Luckily or maybe not so luckily, Steve is young.  This means that 1) he really doesn't have the luxury of waiting the cancer out and 2) because he is young and the cancer was caught very early, he could choose which treatment route to take.  He has chosen radiation therapy that will be 5 days a week for 9 weeks.  The doctor feels that based on the stage of the cancer and this treatment protocol, Steve has a 95% chance of a cure.  As a gambler, he is liking those odds.

Me, I would rather not have to deal with odds on my husbands life expectancy but I know all too well how short life can be.  We are in this together, him and I.  I told him today, notebook in hand in doctors office, I am his self-appointed medical advocate!  He laughed at me but lo and behold, when the doctor was speaking to us, he was encouraging me to write in my notebook!

I posted a John Lennon quote today on Facebook:  "Life is what happens while you are busy making plans."  Is this not the truth or what?  We are in for a rough ride but I know with the help of God, medical science and family and friends, we will beat this thing.  Once again I ask everyone to keep my family, Steve specifically, in your thoughts prayers.