Little Bits of this and that

Thank you to each of you who left me well-wishes! I’m feeling a lot better. My adorable husband whisked me away on a long weekend to our favorite haunt, Laughlin Nevada. Just what the doctor ordered, for both of us. We headed out Thursday afternoon for our four hour road-trip, playing our cheesy 80 CD’s all the way, and then just relaxed and played at our favorite playground until Monday morning.

Today I’m just a little disoriented after stepping out of reality for four days. So on that note, here is a quiz I stole from Oh Girl. If you feel like it, take it and leave me your results. Hope everyone’s week has started off well!

Love,

3T

You Are a Daisy

You see the world with an artist’s eye. Finding beauty is easy for you - even in the dullest of moments. You notice all of the colors of the world, from fresh grass to sunsets. You are a total optimist and hedonist. You love to drink life in.

OK, I like the sounds of this answer. (Isn’t that what these quizzes are all about) Even though my favorite flower is the rose, of all varieties. So what flower are you? If you put the flower in the comments, leave the desription as well. I didn’t read all of the descriptions of the different flowers.

Kevin headed back to the office Wednesday after being off since June 9th.  He was dragging by the end of the day, as was expected. But overall I’m thinking he is on the upswing. I’m keeping the vitamins pumping into his system, and then working on a way for him to start getting MORE exercise. He ended this ordeal 12 pounds lighter, a side effect (one of the few) that he was relatively delighted about.

The rest of our smilin’ faces are on flickr. Or, they will be by the end of today.

This last week has been a busy and fun-filled one! Having lunch with my blogger girlfriends Rachel and Jade was a kick! And nothing refreshes the soul like some girlfriend laughter and shopping. OK, some eating and drinking too.

I knew Kevin and I were getting back into our brand of routine, when we had our first “date night” since before his surgery. Friday night it was City Lights BBQ and to the brand new theatre, which no one has really discovered yet. This translates into no irritating overcrowded lines and theatres. I hate crowds and rude people, and they seem to flock in abundance at the movie theatre, and on Arizona highways. But with the new theatre the only aggravation on date night is dodging the bad drivers. It is now dubbed my theatre of choice, or the only one I intend on going to until we have to be there a half hour before the show starts to get a seat that isn’t right UNDER the screen.

I WANT this dress!

We went and checked out The Devil Wears Prada with Meryl Streep. The clothes in the movie were drool-worthy to say the least! The script was mediocre at best. I had the urge to go have a cigarette half way through, which is my gauge for whether or not a movie is engaging. BUT, Meryl Streep’s performance saved this rather ordinary movie with her role as Miranda Priestly. I LOVED watching her play the hyper-critical-boss-lady of the fictional magazine Runway! Kevin and I discussed the movie afterwards, and we’d give it a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. 5 of those points would be for Meryl Streep’s performance, 1 would be for Stanley Tucci who played Nigel, and the other one is for that to-die-for dress that Anne Hathaway, who played Andy, wore to work one day. (In the above picture) Overall it was a bit of a cheesy storyline, but the clothes were gorgeous, and Meryl was without a doubt the star of this one.

Photo taken by The Hotness Bug’s SO. My photos of this event will be on flickr sometime today.

Saturday was Jade’s housewarming pool party. Which in my estimation was THE event of the Arizona Summer Season! I finally was able to meet Bug of An Indian Summer, as well as Jade’s husband Ryan and Rachel’s husband Gary. All are fun, down-to-earth people. Tayler and Riley had a wonderful time visiting with Jade’s kids, BT Princess, Jade’s Riley and Bean! Her kids are a complete joy and so well behaved and sweet. As Tayler stated over at LOL Tomboy, I jumped into the pool with my clothes on. Actually I was in shorts and a tank top, and it was approximately 110 degrees out, so a dip just made it more comfortable for visiting. (Yes, this is my story and I’m sticking to it) Jade’s melon ball watermelon was so Martha Stewart, I want to hire her to make it for my next party! I took a picture of it, and will put it on my Flickr next week. (It was impressive! Trust me) All in all it was a wonderful time at Jade’s house visiting and enjoying her beautiful new home and pool. A big thank-you to Jade for inviting my family over for her party. Each of us had a blast!

Sunday was veg-out day for the most part. We had a gift certificate for Sunday Brunch in Scottsdale, at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch Resort’s Squash Blossom restaurant. The gift certificate was a remnant from the Governor’s Ball Silent Auction in March; we were glad we saved this one for a post-surgery outing. They had the tastiest selection of breakfast items and desserts, as well as a huge iced seafood table, with jumbo shrimp, crab legs, and oysters in the half shell. I highly recommend this Sunday Brunch if you’re close to Scottsdale. We went away a little on the stuffed side, a lot on the satsified and pampered side.

The rest of the day was spent watching DVD’s we have wanted to see for a while. We loved Freedomland with Julieanne Moore and Samuel L Jackson. Their acting was another case of saving a script that this time jumped around far too much. Both their roles were mesmerizing. Julieanne Moore evoked conflicting emotions in me, playing the part of a recovered addict who loses her son in a car jacking in a “bad neighborhood.” I don’t want to say much more than that, as this is definitely worth renting. We also enjoyed watching A Good Woman with Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson. Not exactly action packed, but mildly intriguing. The costumes were elegant, and Helen Hunt was appropriately mysterious as the talk-of-the-town seductress Mrs. Erlynne, who tempts the husband of a younger woman, played by Scarlett Johannson.

Tayler and I hit the craft store on Monday, to pick up my starter scrapbooking kit. Tayler has been scrapbooking for about a year now, and is very creative in all her pages. As I am only just starting, with her help, of course, it may take me a while to get really creative. I can see why this is a million dollar industry with the many and varied supplies available. I picked up a “how-to” book and got some ideas for different pages.

We also started hunting down old birthday cards, and all other greeting cards that have been sent to us. Our thoughts being that we can somehow incorporate these sentimental cards into our sentimental scrapbook pages. We’ll see. From what I can tell there is no wrong or right in this type of art. Which is a good thing, since I was never one of those students in school who took art to bring their grade point up. (Knowing it had far more of a chance of bringing it down.) Tayler, on the other hand, seems to have inherited her uncle’s (on her dad’s side) artistic talent. At any rate, this is an opportunity for Tayler and I to do something together that we both can enjoy. She loves art, I love sappy sentimental reminiscing, in all its forms.

With Kevin back to work Wednesday, Tayler and I decided it was time to try and put some organization to the thousands of photos that lay helter-skelter scattered in every spare space of the house! Which will make our first day of scrapbooking today easier, as far as accessing photos. This ended up being an all day project that included one trip to Target for “stuff to put stuff into.” If anyone has any clever scrapbooking ideas, leave them in my comments. I think this is something I’m going to enjoy!

And that was our busy out-of-the ordinary fun-stuff week. Wake up now! It’s time to click over to the next blog.

In some ways we have been busy, in others I’d say it was “down time.” This past week was a “kids week” for us, as well as Kevin working on recuperating. It has been special to have my handsome husband here at home with me fulltime. We’ve had some wonderful chats and quiet moments just holding hands and enjoying each others’ presence.

In between has been seeing to the kids’ entertainment, so-to-speak. Tayler had a girlfriend over night last night, so we took the kids to see Over the Hedge. Actually we dropped the three of them off and then picked them up. This marks a first, that normally I wouldn’t do or allow for. But the girls are responsible and aware of the possible dangers, and kept a good eye on Riley. They also made sure they didn’t leave the building and we were there before the movie actually let out.

I wanted to thank a few more people who I love dearly for being there for me before Kevin’s surgery and while he was in surgery. Gin, your emails of encouragement and the visit with you and Conor the night before Kevin’s surgery meant the world to me! I love you and want you to know how much I appreciate how you have always been there for me during hard times. Even when we haven’t seen each other or talked in months, if the shit hits the proverbial fan, there you are for me.

Rishelle and Bill, thank you so much for coming to hold my hand and feeding me the day of Kevin’s surgery. Rishelle, having you there with me the whole 11 hours of Kevin’s surgery, means more to me than you will ever know. Thank you for literally taking a day off work, just to come and hold my hand. I consider the three of you to be part of my family, and I pray that if ever a need arises, you will allow for me to be there for you guys!

Dad, thank you for not only letting me cry on your shoulder, but helping me to laugh and “lighten up” when I was allowing circumstances to drag me down.

Jane, those flowers you sent to us will go down in history as the flowers that lasted longer than any other bouquet that has graced our table! Seriously, they still looked beautiful as late as yesterday when I added more water to the vase. I am completely amazed! Thank you girlfriend, for bringing smiles to our faces.

Mikki and Jim, the fruit basket you sent us has been almost completely devoured! The plant had the most beautiful color of red blossoms on it. Thank you so much for the thoughtful gift! It was a nice compliment to the basket of goodies Barb and Jim sent. And, Margie and Mike, we’re just salavating to get into the treasure trove of books you sent.

Cooking to battle Kevin’s anemia has proven to be somewhat of a challenge. I found myself not wanting to take chances as far as him getting enough iron, and so the poor man has eaten a LOT of spinach!(every meal) A LOT of fruits and dark green veggies! A LOT of steak! Let me tell you, eating healthy is damned expensive! I never realized just how poorly Kevin and I eat on the week we don’t have the kids with us. But I have spent a small fortune ensuring that he, as well as the rest of us, have eaten a vitamin laden diet.

Kevin looks great! Although I haven’t actually weighed him in, I can see where he has lost a good deal of weight through his face and his mid-section. His coloring is slowly coming back, and his energy level has increased.

The one perk that came from him having surgery and being stuck in the hospital for a week, is he has completely gotten off cigarettes! He has been smoke-free since June 9th. I am thrilled with this outcome, and now must face my own addiction to the cancer sticks and work on getting off of them. I’m not there yet, although I have cut way back. I just haven’t summoned the determination to throw them away completely. I’ll get there. In the meantime I am making sure to validate his success and assure him I will throw them away. Having had morphine for a week made his physically hard first week of quitting not quite as painful. Do you think my doc. would give me morphine to get off cigarettes? Yeah, I didn’t really think so either.

Tuesday, I have scheduled a girls lunch, with both my good friend and blog designer Rachel, and the vivacious Jade of Jaded Sunburns. I am very much looking forward to getting out for a few hours and visiting with these two lovely and fun ladies. It is a celebration in a sense, since I haven’t had lunch with Jade even though her birthday was a week ago, or Rachel, who recently moved into her new home. So I’m calling it a Birthday/Housewarming lunch with two of my favorite blogging girlfriends. Watch out Red Lobster! Rachel, I know they have other menu items besides fish, we WILL find something for you to enjoy! Jade, I know you have been going through a rough time right now, so we are going to let go of life for a little while and just have some fun.

I have started trying to fit some time in to read blogs and catch up with all of my blogging favorite people. I miss all of you. It’s going to take me a while to work through my favorites list while my husband is at home, but I’ll get around to you soon.I hope everyone’s weekend has been a good and relaxing one! In Tayler’s words, “Thanks for reading my blog.”

Love,

3T

But then we blink, and the day is gone.

Kevin came home late Wednesday evening. Between the pharmacy and getting him situated at home, we didn’t get to bed until midnight. It was on the edge whether they were going to let him go home, and I had my own doubts if this was best for him. His numbers had dropped further on his hemoglobin, down to 7.3. It was decided that they would work on building up his own red blood cells, using epogen injections, taking iron pills three times a day and a diet high in iron. He is to rest most of the day with light walks around the house.

My concern was that he would get into his familiar enviornment and then end up doing too much. I am happy to announce he has behaved himself, although I did have to threaten taking him back to the hospital a couple of times if he didn’t rest more.

The last couple of days have been a learning and adjustment period that had them speeding by and us dropping into bed dead tired by the end of each. The hospital arranged for a home health nurse to visit every other day to check his vitals and watch for any changes. We are both happy she is part of his recovery. You don’t realize how many questions you may have and not think of until you get home. She has been a wonderful support in this area.

Yesterday I took him back to the hospital for another epogen shot, and a nurse came by to draw more blood as well. He has seen his numbers go up considerably in the last 48 hours. His hemogloben is up to 8.2. Although this is still below the approximate 14 where he needs to be, it is a huge jump, which is very encourgaging. (I credit my cooking for part of this!) He is enjoying juicy steaks and loads of spinach. Making sure to have orange juice or other high c content foods to help aid in the iron absorption. A fact I wasn’t aware of prior to this crisis. Vitamin C helps your body to absorb iron. (You learn something every day)

I want to again thank all of you who have been praying for Kevin and keeping him in your thoughts. And a special thank you for the encouraging and supportive comments my friends. They really did comfort me more than I can express here. I can’t wait to be able to catch up with each of you, and if he continues to improve, I should be able to start reading more this week. I have tried to stop in hit and miss with a few of you, although I haven’t had much time to comment. But it seems, knock on wood, that my wonderful husband is on the mend! I just need to protect his immune system as best is possible until he builds it back up.Which means lots of rest, staying out of public for a while, top notch diet and supplements, and possibly a few more epogen shots.

I would also like to take a moment and tell Kevin’s siblings just how much I have come to love you all! Margie, Jimmy, Mikki, Mike, Barb and Jim, I pray we get the opportunity to get together someday soon, so I can thank you in person and give you all big hugs. Your support has meant the world to both of us! Jim and Barb, we loved the gift basket of goodies, that was so sweeet of you guys. As was your several emails Jim. Thank you so much for your exhortations and prayers. Margie and Mike, the boxes of chocolate? What can we say, it’s nature’s natural anti-depressant. Both of us will thoroughly enjoy each peice!

Well I wanted to make sure and update today, as I haven’t had time or the energy up until today. Thank you again to everyone who kept him in their thoughts and prayers.

Love, 3T

We leave Hawaii for home tonight at 9:30 PM Hawaii time, on a red eye flight. In a few short hours I lose the internet connection that has enabled me to continue to read your comments on my survey post. Which by the way were alll fantastic! It’s going to make it difficult to pick one over another.

We have been so busy frantically trying to jam as much fun and sightseeing as we could for the week we have been in this paradise state! So much so, that time to write any type of post has been non-existent. Our meetings with the Hawaii Bloggers Coalition were nothing short of fantastic! Much more to come when we arrive home Friday! Wonderful, warm-hearted people, that I feel honored to have gotten the opportunity to spend some time with! With lots of potos to share when I’m back on my pc in my home office.

If I am due to send you an email it should go out tomorrow after we catch up on a little sleep. Sleep being the main thing missing from this week.

We are really going to have a hard time leaving for home this vacation. It has been the best vacation we have ever taken by far! As we love being in our home, it is amazing to the both of us that we don’t want to leave yet. If you get the opportunity to visit this paradise, take it!

I need to quickly thank Rachel again for my beautiful new summer skin on Stumbling/Grace! She surprised me late last night, and I haven’t had the opportunity to really let her know how much I appreciate her talents and her giving spirit! Thank you Rachel, you are a wonderful friend, and I love you! I love this summer skin too!

More to come late Friday! I hope everyone had a great week! I look forward to catching up with all of you, and sharing our vacation adventures! As well as picking a couple survey winners! I did start sending out BE credits before we left for Hawaii, and am discovering I don’t have all of your user names for BE. Please send me an email, or leave a comment with your exact username on BE, so I can credit you with my little gift of appreciation, as well as the bigger ones for the comments that stood out for Kevin and me!

Aloha All!

Love,

3T

PS. No editing, so forgive my mistakes on this post. 

This morning Kevin and I got our hedonistic asses out of bed, gulped down a cup of coffee, and hit the pavement, at a brisk (brisk for us, that is) walk. We have been talking about and hem-hawing around the topic of exercise for well over three years. During a lazy hedonistic day of nothingness on Sunday, we decided it was time to quit talking and planning for it, and just do it.

I am coming off another bout with a bulged disc, and I decided it will continue to flare up as long as I continue in my slothful, hedonistic state of being. Thanks Dad, you’re never one to mince words!

Saturday night we had another charity event to attend for the Child Crisis Center, held at The Gainey Ranch Hyatt resort. This was our fourth year attending this particular event, having skipped one year to attend the Desert Botanical Gardens fundraiser one year.

Of all the events we attend, this one is hard for me to muster up the courage and confidence to attend. It just seemed every year around the time of this event, I have either been out of sorts, or as in last year, in much pain from the bulged disc. One year I sat in something (yes that was fun in my new dress). Another year I spilled a whole drink down the front of my dress. Last year, besides being in pain, we were seated at the channel 12 table with two of the news anchors who are well known, thus intimidating me even further.

This year, add a major case of PMS blues and stress and not having “a thing to wear” and having to ice my neck every few hours due to the disc flare-up.  I did manage to go out at the last minute and procure a kick-ass dress, which aided in a little motivation. With trepidation, I prepared for this completely worthwhile charity event.

By the time we left, I felt I looked my best, so if something “went awry” this year, well at least I looked great! We stopped at the bar in Gainey Ranch Resort for our prep drink. They make a smooth Cosmo, with Grey Goose vodka. Two Cosmo’s and some people watching later, we were ready to “check in.”

By the way, has any one from Arizona noticed just how many beautiful knock-out women there are in Scottsdale? I saw more silicone and real double-D’s on display in that hour than I have in a year in Mesa! A point I know my husband enjoyed. (Although he won’t admit it. Smart man.)

Off in the event, I managed to put away a dozen cold jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce. Their food usually isn’t to my taste, but the shrimp cocktail works for me! We perused the silent auction, where my husband did pick up a lovely opal ring and necklace set for half the retail value, we had another cosmo, and then had dinner. By this point I was well over buzzed, and, in my husband’s words, became chatty Cathy at our table. And I had one more drink. Now being well over my two drink limit, when the band started playing, we were there! We danced for well over an hour, and had a wonderful time.

This did not, however, make for a wonderful time come Sunday morning. Both of our hips and legs were sore, as if we’d ran a marathon, and although not a full blown hangover, neither of us had the ambition of a bum. Which led to the decision that we need to start walking. So Monday morning marks turning over a new leaf together, hopefully to a more healthy lifestyle for the both of us. (Yes it’s a baby step, but then Rome wasn’t built in a day.)

Speaking of exercise, my 60 year old father did a 10K walk/run for the American Heart Association this weekend. He came in first place! I couldn’t be prouder of him if I tried. I only wish I could have been there to see Dad, in his lace up cowboy boots, levis and cowboy hat cross the finish line ahead of all the perfectly outfitted joggers!  This man discovered he had diabetes a few years back, and through diet and exercise has managed to maintain his sugar level in range, warding off the need for the pills or insulin shots. My goal is to gain even half that discipline. And quit feeding him foods that aren’t good for him when I go to Washington to visit. Congratulations Dad, on all counts!

It’s Monday and the beginning of another rugrat week with all it’s needed routines. I hope everyone has an enjoyable day. I’ll be around to catch up on your weekend today and tomorrow.

This week has been busy with the many tests that Kevin went through to make sure there was no metastasis. Although the chances were slim, just the nature of the tests brought on their own brand of anxiety for the both of us. They gave rises as well to many feelings and emotions for the both of us. We each had our own perspectives on the cancer and the changes we were experiencing and this added stress to day-to-day life. As far as the tests went, all came back negative for any metastasis (the spreading of the cancer to other areas of the body).  So we celebrated by going to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Houston’s. The next step will be a round of blood tests, an EKG and a chest X-ray as a prep before he will undergo surgery to remove his prostate at the beginning of June. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support.

Caught up in Kevin’s diagnosis, and all that this entailed, I let slip by a momentous occasion for my first-born. Something I hope Robby will take into consideration and understand that the circumstance and my (imaginary) ADD kept me from acknowledging in a timely manner. And I apologize to my son, and hope he will forgive me. Robby and his high school sweetheart Cheryl took a fun-filled and romantic vacation to Las Vegas and San Diego over their spring break, and he asked Cheryl to be his bride! I offer up to my son and my new daughter-in-law-to-be my heartfelt congratulations, as they plan their wedding and the start of their lives together as husband and wife.

I could not be happier with my son’s choice for his bride! Cheryl is a smart, beautiful young lady with a warm and caring heart. As they have been together now for well over four years, I feel confident that they know each other well and have made an informed and love-filled decision about their future. I welcome Cheryl into our family with open arms, and thank her for making Robby happy by choosing to be his bride. May God Bless their union and their lives together. Cheryl and Robby, Kevin and I love you dearly, and could not be happier for the two of you!

Now, on a blogging note, I would like to thank one of my readers,(whoever it was) who nominated me for a Compassionate Heart award, on the site that goes by the same name, Compassionate Hearts. From the looks of the blog it is a brand new one, with a concept that I find completely endearing. Recognizing bloggers within our blogging community for a caring and compassionate heart. So if there are bloggers out there that you would like to nominate for their kindness and their caring, click over and check out Compassionate Hearts. With all the ugliness and nastiness in the world it’s an idea that I believe deserves our support, encouragement and recognition. So, thank you to Compassionate Hearts and whichever reader who saw past some of my bitchiness to see some good in me! I appreciate you, and would love to know who it was. (BLATANT hint hint!)

This weekend is going to be another busy one for Kevin and me. We are off to see the musical Funny Girl at the Broadway Palms Dinner Theatre tonight with Kevin’s boss and his girlfriend. Tomorrow night is the Tempe Diablo’s Casino Capers event. Although I am not sure which charities this event sponsors, I know the Tempe Diablos are a civic-minded group devoting their energies to promoting, organizing and supporting community-based programs. Their focus is on youth, the city of Tempe and education.

I hope everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable weekend!

Love,

3T