I won’t be missing you.
See you on the other side.
Austin Girl Trip 2009 July 1, 2009
Austin TX is beautiful and weird. And fricken hot. Sort of like us girls who went there. Grins.
Disclaimer: the good pictures were taken by my friend, the bad ones were taken by my cell phone because I was too lazy to carry the camera.
We are so well behaved now.
So much good food. It’s a miracle I didn’t gain 10 pounds.
Why yes. Those ARE marble floors. And leather sofas...
The rental house was amazing. We were just as happy to sit around there as we were to go out. Must be getting old.
Franklin was here.
Because my girls love me, they drove me to the Knitter’s Nest. Which is NOT as near Austin as one might think.
Handspun, compartment boxes and canvas bags, oh my!
Saw some music.
- We thought it was pretty cool when he started playing behind his back. Then he did it for the rest of the set. Which sort of looked like he was scratching his butt.
(I can’t figure out why this picture is so small.)
I may or may not have used beer to take some of my pills during the day. (Ok. I'll come clean. They were vitamins.)
Did I mention it was hot? Walking back to the house, I mentioned to my friend that I thought I might be burning. She said, No you’re not red. And I said, No. Not sunburning. I think I might be actually on fire.
I already miss it.
Yahoo 360 June 30, 2009
My very first blogging attempts were made at Yahoo 360 which is now closing. Thankfully, WordPress has let me upload them and now they are a part of this blog. The kids look SO tiny! Until recently, I had completely forgotten about J and his mortal fear of cats.
Weasley sweater redux, EZ saves us again. June 9, 2009
So, if you remember, the boy was in such a hurry to wear the sweater in 90 degree weather, that I completely bungled the bind off to fit over his gigantic head.
Wacky Bind Off
Well, now the weather is unseasonably chilly, so, of course, he’s outside in his sandals and tee shirt. And shorts. Hopefully.
I figured now was a good a time as any to take possession of the aforementioned sweater and fix it. Frogged it back quite a bit and used the Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn bind off(which is absolutely my new favorite bind off. SO easy! or EZ! heh. I’m so funny.) It looks so much better.
EZ bind off. MUCH better.
And it fits over his head.
What I did this summer, or How I got a new rack. June 8, 2009
So the surgeon called today and my mastectomy and reconstructive process will begin Monday, July 6th. I still have two pre-op appointments, one with the surgeon who will be doing the mastectomy (the one who knits 
) and one with the plastic surgeon. I’m not looking forward to the pain, the drains (all 6 of them!); spending another summer somewhat out of commission. But I am looking forward to no mammograms and no prosthesis.
Inside out Twinkies June 1, 2009
Why yes! Those ARE Easter cupcake wrappers.
It all started because there are a million (OK. 3. And they’re really 7, but close enough.) 6 year olds in our neighborhood and no 3 year olds. Sometimes I try to give the girl a break from her brother, but as you can imagine, the boy is not too keen on this plan. So I coax with a little off the top of my head ideas like, “Want to help Mommy make cupcakes?” Which works because he loves to cook and loves cupcakes. Who doesn’t really?
So we make the cupcakes, using a standard dollar box of yellow cake mix. Except Mommy is a health freak so she omits the oil, adds a 1/2 cup of applesauce, adds a 1/4 cup of flour (though some days it’s wheat germ…) and uses 1/2 cup of egg substitute instead of eggs (I also use egg whites sometimes.) We bake our cupcakes and after they’re cooled, I go for the frosting that I’m sure is in the cabinet. Which isn’t. Luckily, there is a can of light whipped cream in the refrigerator. Voila! Inside out Twinkies. Without all the chemicals. Pretty sure these don’t have the same shelf life, but I think they taste much better.
Fruit cubes May 24, 2009
Look! M-ice cubes! I'm so funny.
Every good diet girl knows that one of the keys to Weight Watchers is water. Water. Water. I am not a good water drinker. I was an excellent Diet Coke drinker. But water? Not so good. So since I have given up soda in the home (I’m still allowed when we’re eating out. Heh.) I have been attempting to reacquaint myself with the faucet. To help with this endeavor, I’ve starting freezing fruit juice in silicone ice trays (MUCH easier to get the cubes out) and dropping a couple of those in my water bottle. Lots of water, fruity taste, minimal calories. Even a lazy cook can do it.
Mmmm. Juicy water.
Harry Potter Fweater May 21, 2009
I finished the boy’s sweater (or fweater if you speak J) and found that, once again, my children have giant heads. I even tried to allow for that when I was doing the neck, adding stitches and binding off with a needle two sizes up. It STILL wouldn’t go over his head. So I tried adding MORE stitches and ended up adding too many. So it needs tweaking. After I get him to take it off. (Did I mention it’s been 90 degrees F this week?)
My fweater! Wif a J!
It was also my first time with intarsia. Which I did incorrectly. So I already have some ideas for adaptations for the next one. I would also definitely make a size larger than what you think you need. The arms are quite long and came up sort of narrow. This might be a gauge thing since I neglected to swatch. I know. Next time I will. I promise. (Heh.)
Oh yeah. I made it out of Berroco Comfort that I had in my stash.
Perspective May 16, 2009
It’s a funny thing how things can change over time.
When I was first diagnosed, I blogged about my visit to the plastic surgeon. Weirdly, I was scheduled to see him 2 days after finding out I had cancer. Looking back now, I realize I was in shock. I still HAD Lefty and couldn’t even wrap my mind around the idea that it would be gone in a matter of weeks. Reconstruction was the least of my worries. I wanted to live, and part of my body was trying to kill me. I just wanted it gone. I wrote about how I didn’t care if I was ever reconstructed.
Now here I am, a year later, not dead. With lymphedema. And a cute haircut. And much disdain for my prosthesis. Flefty likes to wander up into my armpit. Which is very attractive. Most people ask if they have anything in their teeth before going on stage. I have to ask if the girls are straight. (Sorry about all the euphemisms, but I’m trying to avoid pRon spam.) Flefty is hot in a non-sexy way. And no longer matches Righty.
I’ve also had a lot of time to ponder whether to get Righty removed. It would help lower my cancer recurrance rate (which is about 60 to 70 percent right now.) It would probably help my stress level since the need for extensive mammograms would be eliminated. One less scan, right? It’s also my best chance for both sides to match, recon or not.
So…I decided to go back to see the plastic surgeon and see what my options were. I had LOTS of radiation which can make reconstruction difficult. I flat out asked him which sort of recon would be the most successful. He said, that in his opinion, making a sort of skin/muscle bra from part of my left back and inserting implants on both sides was my best option. It’s a 3 to 4 hour surgery with a 4 – 6 week recovery. I’d have expanders for a while and then exchange them for implants when they’re ready. I will lose some power on my left side, but I’m not a champion skier or a tennis player, and he assured me it wouldn’t affect my piano skills so I’m think I’m OK with this.
The other perspective change I have is about my plastic surgeon. He was really nice this visit. Funny and supportive. Not like I remember him at all, which makes me wonder if my being in shock had something to do with my impression. I would like to think that I’m a person who fesses up when they were wrong. So here I am. Fessing.
So….sometime in July I will be having surgery. Again. But this time it will be because I want it.
Mother’s Day May 10, 2009
I am blessed to be the mother of two wonderfully sweet, quirky children.
J made a picture for me. It’s his first. Grass, with a flower and a sun.
L made a little book at school. Very sweet and very true. The girl knows her Mama.
I especially get a kick out of all the mention of the Wii. And that she thinks I’m 25. Heh.
My babies rule.
