I had a busy day. I went to breakfast with Mom, Dad, and Dave. I had two eggs over easy, corn beef hash, hash browns, and a blueberry muffin, along with coffee and orange juice. I enjoyed their company, it was a nice way to start my day. I came home, removed the air conditioner, did some cleaning, and relaxed for awhile. Brian and Margie came and picked me up about 1:00pm. We went over to the archery field in Sheridan Park to try out my new bow and arrows. I couldn't pull the bow completely back, not strong enough yet. Brian was able to shoot a couple of arrows though. I like it. I'm going to work on strengthening up. I think I'm going to enjoy archery. Then we picked up Ellen and went to Barnes and Noble Bookstore. Of course I found some books to read. I did pick up Peter Pan in Scarlet. Then we went back to their house for a good dinner.

Today has been a good day. I'm feeling fine, not too many aches and pains. The sun was shining and it was nice out. I spent much of the day resting, on the couch watching TV and reading. I did some cleaning earlier, took out recyclables and the garbage. Pat and Toni stopped by for a visit. We went for a long walk down by the lake then out to dinner to Samano's for mexican food. Dinner was delicious. I really enjoyed spending time with them. Before they left, They gave me a Livestrong t-shirt. How thoughtful and touching. They are so good to me. I am tired now, will sleep good tonight.

I had a CT Scan of my neck, chest, and abdomen this morning. The test itself was rather interesting, lying on my back, arms over my head while I moved through the scanner. I had to drink this sugary, lemony liquid prior to the test. Then I was given a contrast material via IV while on the scanner. The test took about 20 minutes. I'll find out the results on Thursday, my next scheduled appointment. I have a number of days to rest and relax. I'm feeling pretty good, still tire rather easily and took about a two hour nap when I got home. I shared a pizza with Mom and Dad for lunch, it was very good. I had to fast prior to the test so I was hungry. Dad had to put up with me again this morning, I was rather jumpy and on edge, the morning traffic an obstacle course. It got the better of me.. I settled down a bit once we got to the appointment. He has the patience of a saint, I swear.

I'm agitated today. I was in no mood to be jabbed with needles. The clinic was packed with people, I waited and waited and waited, adding to my demeanor. Finally I was called. The plebotomist was rough, it hurt when she jammed the needle in, adding to my irritation. I was sent right back for my check up. I waited and waited until Anna, the nurse, came. She informed me all my numbers were up, including my platelets. I relaxed a little. I maintained my weight, 103/68 blood pressue, 89 bpm, 98.3 temperature. She told me to enjoy my weekend and return next week for my next round of chemo. I got out of the clinic one hour after I arrived. I had lunch by Mom and Dad, then I came home, I want to rest, take a nap. Hopefully I will be in a better mood afterwards. Christine, I finally read your email. I miss you too.

Another day, another round of thunderstorms. I woke up about 4:30am to storm watches, warnings, and thunder. The weather has taken on aspects of Fall. I noticed the colors instead of the green on the way back from the doctor's office. The check up went well, I am doing good, have a series of blood work to complete. The aches and pains are receding, not as bad as yesterday, still tired though. After lunch I took about a two hour nap. I have my weekly check up tomorrow and the CT Scan on Friday. Tonight I plan on resting and watching Lost and Project Runway. Mom and Dad, Thank You!!!!

One word perfectly describes how I'm feeling right now. Cruddy. I am reaching the worst point of the cycle, where my body aches completely, head to toe and I want to sleep as much as possible. This should last through the day tomorrow and I start to feel better. I'm going to soak in the tub, take some Tylenol, and get some sleep on the couch. A thunderstorm rolled through earlier and it reflected how I felt, I watched it go out over the lake from my front window. Before I lay down again, I'm going to have a chocolate malt. That'll make me feel better.

Not too much going on today. I'm finally up and moving around. The body aches, fingers tingle, and I'm tired. I need to get milk and juice so I'm going to get outside, seems rather nice out. Don't know how many days like this are going to be around, so I should be part of it. Then quickly back to the couch to lounge and rest. I saw an ad today for the sequel to Peter Pan, Peter Pan in Scarlet. Another book I will have to read. It's released on Thursday, I'll add it to my list. Thanks Char for making my morning, you always know how to get me laughing.

Thunder and lightning again. In between this morning's storms and tonight's, it was sunny, warm. I actually wore shorts today. My body is aching and I am beat. Today is Mike's birthday, so Mom made a Banana cake with chocolate frosting. It's a new Monday night tradition, Dinner with Mike, Mom and Dad. A good tradition that I look forward to. Brian picked up the bow and arrows. He tried them out, says I will have to work out a bit. I think archery will be a good challenge and a great strength conditioner for me. When I'm feeling up to it, I will try the bow out, but I imagine the real work will begin once I have gone through treatment completely. If someone had told me I would be taking up archery, I would have laughed at them. Interesting how things develop. I have no plans for tomorrow, the rest of the week is filled with doctor appointments and tests, so Tuesday is going to be a restfilled day. (and maybe a trip to get The Little Mermaid on DVD.)

What a stormy night. Wow, the lightning was incredible. Storms started coming through about 9:30pm last night and kept coming well into the day. I was up for most of the time. The aches are starting to appear and I am quite tired today. I went yesterday to the apple orchard with Brian, Ellen, Tom, Tim, Julia, Scott and Barb. It was hectic, overcrowded, warm, and I didn't find the apple I wanted. I had a good time there, but tired easily, so Tim rode back with me on the hay wagon to the barn. We just sat and watched the madness. Afterwards, we all went and had Pizza for dinner. When I got home, I proceeded to fall asleep and miss the Amazing Race and Desperate Housewives. The first storm woke me shortly after that. I did sleep at times. Today, I am going to do laundry, have dinner with Mom and Dad and Mike, and pick up my new bow, arrows, quiver, and carrying case with Brian. So starts an illustrious new hobby.

it's mostly about napping and hiccuping today. I awoke about 3:00am, wide awake, hiccups. Stayed up about two hours before laying back down. Slept on and off until about 10:30am. Finally got moving a half hour later. Went over by Mom and Dad's for lunch. The first thing I did when I sat down at the table was spill my milk all over the table, me, the chair, the rug, and the floor. It took a good ten minutes to clean up. I felt so bad, but Mom and Dad took it all in stride. After eating, I attempted to do a sudoku puzzle. I couldn't get focused, couldn't think about what I was doing. I gave up. So much for that or playing a game of scrabble. Sat around, talked for a while, read the newspaper, then went to the bank and stopped for a Powerball ticket. I got home about 2:00pm. I laid on the couch and fell asleep. I'm sitting at the computer, typing and hiccuping. That's pretty much my day, feeling okay, starting to notice a few aches and a little weary. I plan on reading and resting for the evening, nothing to exciting.

My friend the hiccups has returned for a brief visit. I noticed I am a little weak today. Out side of that, I'm doing pretty good. Dad is going to pick me up in about an hour to go to the clinic for my Neulasta shot then we're going to get some food for dinner, my choice. I'm not sure of what I want to eat yet though. I talked to a couple of friends today and got a couple of emails from others. It's nice to hear from everyone. I find that writing this blog is very therapeutic for me, I enjoy writing it and sharing part of my life with those who read it. Well, I got to get into the shower and get ready for the day. I know, it's about time!

It was an adventurous day. I drove to UWM to pick Tim up from work so he could go with me to the clinic. We got to the hospital early so we decided to grab a bite to eat. We never got to eat it. We went to the clinic and they called me immediately. After the lab work, the nurse called us into a check up room. I gained weight, 146 lbs. Good. Blood pressure 104/73, 93 bpm, 98.6 temperature, good. Then we waited for the doctor. and waited, waited, waited. Finally the doctor showed up after 45 minutes. Cell counts normal, good. Platelets down again. Not so good. I received a 50% dose again this week. The doctor explained that the lesser treatments will prolong treatments. He ordered scans and blood work for next week to see how I am progressing. He stated I would have the full 12 treatments because the standard is remission plus two cycles. That means I will be busy through January. Not so good, but if that is the case, so be it. I will endure and prevail. I have a trip to Disney to think about, to keep me preoccupied. After the chemo, Tim and I went to dinner. He is such good company, I really appreciated him coming with me. Tomorrow I have to get another Neulasta shot. I'm a little tired out, been a long adventurous day.

Late post. This morning I got up, ate breakfast, showered, watched some TV, then headed over to Mom and Dad's to do laundry and have lunch. At some point, Mom mentioned that I looked tired. I did seem to be worn out and my ankles seemed to be aching. After I was done, I went to the grocery store. When I got home, I unpacked. I decided to lay down for a nap. I spent the rest of the day sleeping on and off. Now I'm ready for bed. I can't believe how tired I am. Tomorrow I have another round of chemo. Hopefully I'll get enough rest tonight.

The highlight of my day has been shaving! Since the beginning of treatment, my facial hair has been easily removed by just washing my face. This last week, I havent been able to do that. So I got out the shaving cream and razor and shaved for the first time in about eight weeks. Since the platelets are low, I took my time and was very careful. As much as I hate shaving, this time it was a thrill.

Today turned out to be another beautiful day. I got up early because I went to breakfast with Mom and Dad, Uncle Boots and Aunt Sharla, Aunt Sandy and Uncle Fred, Aunt Gail and Uncle Wayne, Judy and Dennis, and Aunt Christine and Uncle Doug. Aunt Christine and Uncle Doug are heading back to Florida, so everyone wanted to get together. I had a nice time. I can't believe how noisy the aunts and uncles can be, it reminded me of when the cousins used to get together when we were kids and we were loud and obnoxious! Afterwards, I ran to Target and got a bath mat and a new floor lamp for the living room. I called Tim when I got home to make arrangements to go for chemo on Thursday. Mom and Dad are going to go on a short trip with Aunt Christine and Uncle Doug. Mom and Dad do so much for me, they deserve some time to themselves. I'm feeling good today, no complaints. Come Thursday, I start the cycle all over again. I want to thank Aunt Christine, Uncle Doug, Michael, Linda, Mike, Jennifer and Tom for the latest bunch of cards. It always puts a smile on my face.

It's a nice bright sunny day, I think I'm going to get out and enjoy it. Yesterday was a nice day too. I went out to breakfast with my Dad and Dave, got some prescription refills, napped, talked with Mom, Toni and Christopher on the phone, went for a walk with Tim and Julia, who brought me some delicious apple cinnamon donuts and an apple from an orchard they went to. I'm feeling pretty good, not much happening in the way of side effects. I still tire easily and my strength runs out, so taking it easy and rest are the best thing for me. Today I am going to run to the bank and have dinner by Mom and Dad. I'm off to enjoy the day, enjoy yours.

It's Saturday afternoon, rainy. I got up early this morning, showered and went to visit Kim at the Salon she works at. My mom was there getting her hair done. Surprisingly, she was getting her hair colored pearl blond. She looks good! I like it. I stayed for a few hours visiting with Kim then came home. I'm going to read my book and watch some TV, a nice restful day. I'm feeling pretty good, on the upside of the cycle.

What a difference a day makes. I woke up around 5:00am this morning. It was dark, stormy. I noticed immediately I didn't ache. I stayed up for about an hour, then laid back down and slept until a little after 8:00. Had breakfast, showered, dressed. I decided to call in to work to give an update and Christine answered the switchboard. I chatted with her and we talked about meeting for lunch. Even though it wasn't Monday, we went to McDonalds since I had a Big Mac craving. For those of you who don't know, Mondays are all about the Big Mac. It was good to see Christine, good to get out and about for a while. Now I'm home, going to lie down, rest a few hours and watch Project Runway, Bravo has a marathon of episodes showing this afternoon and evening. I feel human today.

Well, the check up went well, my cell counts are up, but the platelets are down, again. Casey explained that this can be expected, along with the total weariness. I am scheduled for my next round of chemo next Thursday. I did laundry and had a good meal over by Mom and Dad's. While pork is not one of my favorite dishes, the roast was good, and the potatoes had sauerkraut mixed in them. They were tasty. So were the creamed cucumbers, one of my favorite side dishes. I got some prescriptions filled and did some grocery shopping before I came home. It has been a full day. Mom and Dad really take exceptional care of me, I don't have the correct words to convey all they have done and do for me.

Mom's strawberry coffeecake is delicious!!!