SUMMER IS PASSING BY SO FAST!

Well, it's been over a month since I updated my blog and let you know what is going on.  Healthwise....nothing!  And THAT is a good thing!  My biggest complaint, I guess,would be insomnia...ugh!  I hate just laying there for hours trying to get to sleep.  I may have to end up getting something for it.  For now I take Tylenol PM and it does help....but not sure I want to continue taking Tylenol so much.  I have a doctor appointment next week, so will be discussing it with him.  Thankfully I can sleep as late as I want to the next morning!

Other than that, I really don't think I have any complaints, except a few headaches.  I am so NOT a headache person (thankfully), so having several for days in a row are unnerving.  Not sure what has been causing them, but right now they seem to be under control.  So, I'm not too worried.  May be my sinuses.  I will admit that any pain or anything unsual following cancer will have you questioning it's return.  That will get easier as the years go on, I'm sure.

That's pretty much my health updates!  I have my regular doctor appointment next week...then my surgeon next month.  I have some soreness to discuss with my surgeon. But, I feel like I'm doing REALLY WELL!

Today is July 27.  Yesterday marked a year since my bilateral masectomy!  One year ago on July 26!  Wow, what a difference a year can make!

Here I am last year with my husband and kids and grandchild...waiting to be wheeled into the surgery room.

And here I am today with my husband!

What a difference in just one year!  I feel healthy just a year later!

I've really been enjoying the summer, which seems to be ending way too fast here!  Our schools start early...August 9th....and when school begins, it just seems like summer is over.  We've had an extremely HOT summer, which much of the nation has experienced....HOT AND DRY!   Here is a summary of my summer!

With the HOT and DRY summer. we've really been enjoying our pool!  My sisters, pictured here, enjoyed it too!

As well as some other family members!  :=)

And oh yes, I enjoyed it too....with my daughter, Jen....

My granddaughter, Jenna.....

My grandson, Luke, and granddaugther, Abby....

I love having family over to swim!

I've enjoyed some Red Hat travels with my Red Hat sisters....

I enjoyed Fellowship with Queens and Vice-Queens from all over Indiana......

And I found some new BFFs to hang with!  I even joined their chapter....yes, I will still have my own chapter, too, but will be joining these gals, Reita and Cheryl, for some more Red Hat fun!

We enjoyed the local farmers' produce....

And the BEST watermelon and cantelope you will find...

JACKSON COUNTY MELONS!!!!

And I learned how to make cobblers for the first time in my life!

This one is blackberry....yum!

Larry and I enjoyed the week of his vacation by travelling close to home.  Here we are enjoying lunch in Nashville, Indiana.

Went to my nephew's wedding!

Went to a Family Reunion where I met a "new" member of the family....my neice, Valerie's baby, Kenny.

 

Met my girlfriend, Angie (who has also survived breast cancer) for lunch....we are both able to drive half way to meet up from time to time and it's always so good to see her!  She lives in Ohio.

Celebrated our youngests' (Erin) 34th birthday.

Tried new recipes, which I LOVE doing.....

Enjoyed the flowers in our yard.....

Watched our grandson, Luke, play Pee Wee Baseball....

Watched Mom's Peonies bloom!  I got this start from my mom's peony bush after she passed away Feb. of 2010.  I was thrilled to see it bloom so heartily this year and it made me smile and think of mom every time I walked past it.

Was able to show Lynn, my Thirty One Executive Director, a little bit of "my world" when she came to Columbus, Indiana for a meeting.  I was delighted to take her to Zaharakos for lunch and show her around Nashville!  She is from South Carolina and it was her first trip to Indiana (I think).

We had a VERY DRY summer, but did get an occasional storm.  I actually like storms as long as no one is hurt and there is not a lot of damage.  I like the thunder and rain....can do without the lightning and wind.

I fed the chickens...LOL....ok, just a little bit of my weird humor.  But, how else could I explain this picture?  Looks like I fed hi well!  LOL!

Larry and I visited Huber's Orchard on his week vacation....and went out to pick our own peaches!

Riding out to the peach trees.....

Larry picking peaches....no ladder needed....

Yum.....look at those peaches!

Me picking peaches....I didn't need a ladder either...LOL!

The peaches we picked....I can't wait!

Larry picking blackberries after we were done with our peaches.

He's really enjoying this!

Yes, I picked some too....he just didn't take any pics of ME picking!  Yum, I can already taste those blackberry cobblers! 

Ready for the freezer...aren't those BEAUTIFUL! 

And I tried a peach cobbler with our fresh peaches....oh my, yummy!  I had never in my life made a cobbler....didn't know they were so EASY and was intimidated by them! Goodness gracious, if you have never tried making a cobbler, you should give it a try!

Larry found him a 3-wheeled tricycle at a garage sale...it's like new....so I took it for a spin!  LOL!  Now I want one!  He now rides his new bike to work and most evenings he is going for a ride.  I gotta get me one to go riding with him!  :=)

Hung with one of my "besties", Martha, at Nashville and yard saling!  We figured out that we both love garage sales and "boutiques"!  

And look at these awesome hardbacked cookbooks I found at a garage sale!!!!

I collect cookbooks!  My kids laugh at me because they think I don't cook and don't understand why I love cookbooks so much!  But, I read through them like they are a novel...LOL...marking this recipe and that recipe to try!  Does anyone else do that?  And, actually, in the past year, I have been back to trying new recipes like I used to!  I especially love these kind of cookbooks, so was so happy to find them at a garage sale for a few bucks!

Participated in my very first 5-k!!!!  I didn't run...I walked...but that was quite a distance for ME!  Maybe someday I'll run it...that would be a dream!  Our daughter, Jen, is an All American runner but my husband said she got it from him!

And, hey look!  I even got a medal....my FIRST medal!!  I got 3rd place in my age group!  I bet I would have gotten 1st place after Aug 18 when I turn 60 and will be in a different age group!  This will NOT be my last 5-K!  It was such a good feeling of accomplishment!

That sums up my summer.  I'm sure I have left out some things, but as you can see, I have done a lot of LIVING in just the past two months!!!!  Cancer tried to steal this from me but didn't succeed!  Instead, it taught me to not take life for granted and to live it to the fullest!  Oh what a difference a year can make!!!!

And I've got a whole lot more living to do!  Next week I will be heading to Atlanta, GA for the Thirty-One Convention.  Then when I return, I will have several Red Hat events coming up, including a trip to Shipshewana, Indiana (Amish country) with my new BFFs!  I can hardly wait!  Life is good!!!  I am so blessed by the people in my life!  Staying busy keeps me healthier and happier! 

Until next time.....always remember things in life may set you back for a bit....may even slow you down.  But, don't let it get you down.  Learn to live to the fullest, as none of us are guaranteed tomorrow!  I have learned to do that and am so enjoying life!  Be open to new adventures, new relationships, and enjoy the simple things in life!

Cindy

A FUN DAY WITH MY BESTIES!

Oh my, yes, we're a crazy bunch!!!

I had the BEST day with my Divas today!  I was in such a need for "girlfriend time" and Linda and I and Martha set out on an adventure today.  We started out with lunch at Chili's (compliments of PNC points).  We were going to have dessert, but the waitress never came back and asked us, so we gave up and decided we'd do a progressive dinner and go some place else for our dessert. 

 We started to head to Cracker Barrel for their yummy Coca Cola cake and Linda came up with a great idea....Kensington Tea Room!  Now, if you live in Seymour, or in the area, you need to check this place out!  It's located at 403 South Chestnut!  It's an awesome old home that was built in 1896 as a wedding present from Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Anderson to their daughter.  Wowsers, I can't imagine getting a wedding present like that...and my mother's maiden name was even Anderson!!!  Must have been a different line of Anderson's...lol....I think I got a toaster!  :=)

Anyway, this place is just absolutely beautiful with the original woodwork....each room finished in a different type of wood!

 Isn't that staircase just gorgeous!

This house has no closets, a half cellar, a coach house in back, FIVE fireplaces (gorgeous, I might add) and a round room upstairs.  The purpose of the round room was to be able to watch the happenings on two streets at the same time.  Hmmmm....must have been busy bodies keeping a good eye on their neighbors...lol!

I love old houses and their history and their character.  Just being able to take in the beauty of a home built so long ago is worth your time to go visit.  And, you know me....my camera travels in my purse wherever I go, so I had to get some pictures to try to share this beauty with you.   

 

 

The man running the Tea Room chatted with us and was very friendly and told us of his future plans to have a "Bed and Breakfast" there.  At this time they are living in the upstairs, so we weren't able to tour it.  I just can't imagine living in such a beautiful place!

 We enjoyed our cup of Hot Tea and Desserts as we chatted with each other.  We actually had a ball doing such a simple thing....doesn't take much to amuse us...lol!!

 Our tea was served in this beautiful tea pot and we poured it through a little strainer into our cups.  Hey, I'm not a real "cultured" gal, so just small things like this thrill me...lol!

 We felt very sophisticated....lol!

 

Bottoms Up!

 

Friend helping friend.....

 

 And it was over tea that an idea was born....

 We decided we need to form our own RED HAT chapter!!!!!

After our tea room visit, Linda had this great idea to visit Bon Worth out at the Outlet Mall (if you want to call it that...lol).  She said she had seen some Red Hat scarves out there!  So, we headed out there to see what they had and look what we found!!!!

 Not only did they have scarves...but they had the hats, oh my!  

We had so much fun!!!!  They had jewelry too!  Oh my!  We only got the scarves today and vowed to go back and get us a hat before our first "RED HAT" outing!  We are going to have sooooo much fun!!!!!!!

And, I get to be the QUEEN...lol!!!!

 Our sales clerk, Cathy, was fantastic and gave us lots of information about Red Hatters.  She was so helpful and even told us we could have a Fashion Show modeling their clothing!  Hmmmmm.....sounds like a fantastic way to raise funds for Breast Cancer!  So, if we can get it "together" we are hoping to do this in the Spring!

Now we are going to have to come up with a snazzy name for our Red Hat group that fits us....any ideas?  We are looking forward to monthly outings, so if you have any ideas of places we need to check out (nearby or around Indiana or Kentucky or Ohio), let us know!  We had a ball just hanging around town today.  We had no particular plans except lunch and it turned into a very special, fun day with "besties" and new experiences!  This is LIVING life to it's fullest....getting out and having fun with your friends and/or family!!!!  It doesn't have to be expensive to be fun!!!!

Until next time.....go do some LIVING.....call up a friend or two and explore things in your town or close by that you don't normally do!  I think we get in a "rut" of doing the same things or going to the same places....it's time to experience new things and new places!  Make time for yourself!  A happier YOU makes for a happier, healthier LIFE and that will affect your relationship with your family and others!

Hugs~Cindy