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

LIFE BEYOND CANCER......

My life seems to be returning to normal.....a new normal.  I don't think about cancer as often any more like I did at first.  Oh, I never forget it....but I can feel I'm moving beyond cancer at last!  It has changed me, however, and that is why I refer to my life now as my "new normal".  In my "new normal" I take the time to take better care of myself and I also live life to the fullest with lots of "firsts"!  Cancer has taught me to "live out loud"!  :=)

TASTE OF HOME

Well, look at this!  My sister and I got in the newspaper again....this time it was the local newspaper and our Red Hat sisters were with us!  We are such celebrities...lol!

We all had a great time at the Taste of Home cooking school here in town.  I told Larry to go pick himself something up to eat while I went and leaned how to cook for him.  lol!

Here we all are in a group picture we asked the reporter to take of us.  A few couldn't make it.  One of our sisters opted to go on a cruise with her husband instead of this event....imagine that!   LOL!

Here's a few others the Tribune took that night.

And look what I won!  This was one of the dishes the cook made that night......Taco Casserole....and I won it...yay!  Yes, it was yummy!

I had my supper already made for the next night.  Larry said it was a little spicy for him, but he ate it!  Makes you hungry just looking at it, doesn't it?  :=)

Isn't this a great picture of mother and daughter, Ruth and Linda Morrow.  Ruth joined us, but she's way too young for a Red Hat.  She had a pink cap with her, but didn't have it on when I snapped this picture.

After the cooking show, we went to Applebees for dessert!

Oh, and did I tell you that I, THE QUEEN, visited the PRESIDENT?  LOL

SUMMER WEATHER GOT HERE EARLY!

I had to go shopping for some summer clothes sooner than I expected!  Who would have guessed it was going to be 80 degrees in March!!!  All of my summer clothing from last year are size 18/20 and my old capris fall off of me and are so baggy!  So, I went and got me a couple of new pair of capris....size 14...yay!!!  I'm so happy to still be at a size 14.

And here's a side view so you can see how natural my foobs look!  They don't FEEL natural YET!

And look how fast my hair is growing now!  I'm actually thinking I'm going to cut it like it was back in January!

Like this...what do you think?  I'm seriously thinking of getting it cut this short!  I just wanted to grow it out a bit first to see what the curls/waves would look like.  But, I really, really liked it SUPER SHORT!!!!!  It sure did grow fast since January, didn't it?

MY FIRST PEDICURE!

With the warmer weather I also dug out my sandals and realized I needed to go get a pedicure....my VERY FIRST one! 

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!  Yes, I take my camera EVERYWHERE.....lol!

LOL...yes, I have hairy toes and BIG veins!  Ick!  But look how beautiful my toenails are....lol!

And while I was at it....how about a manicure too!

Yep, I have juicy veins in my hands too.  Must be why they like to put IVs in my hand...lol!

And look at the pretty flower she painted on my thumbnails!  One of these days I'm going to get a funky color like lime green or bright orange!  I had been trying to paint them myself at home, but to honest, I'm not good at it and they chip off immediately!  So, if this lasts me 3-4 weeks, it will be worth it to just let them do the job for me!

LUNCH MEETING WITH MY THIRTY-ONE ROOMIES!

I was so happy to meet up with my Thirty One Conference roomies.....Amy and Vicki!  I've talked with both of them on facebook and the phone since then.....but we hadn't seen each other since the conference last July!

Here we were last July! 

And here we are just yesterday!  Wow, what a difference 8 months has made, right?  Of course they look great in both pictures, but I was pretty sickly in the first one.  I had just finished my chemo a couple of weeks before the conference and was two weeks away from my masectomy.  I look at these pictures and realize how sick I really was.  I'm glad I took pictures all through my journey....I can now look back and them and see how far I have come!  Amy and Vicki both met me when I was sick and bald....so they had never really been with me when I wasn't sick!  It was soooo good to meet up with them again and we are making plans to have a play day in my stamp cave!  Can't wait!!!

Speaking of Thirty One....my business is going great after jumping in and turning it around in February.  At the end of this month, I hope (and plan) to be promoted to DIRECTOR...yay!!!  This has been a goal of mine since I signed up to be a consultant!  I am so excited!  And what's really neat is.....Us roomies, Vicki, Amy, and I will all be Directors at the next convention in August!  Vicki has already promoted and Amy and I should promote by the end of the week!  How cool is that?  None of would have realized last year that we'd be going back to the convention as Directors this year!!!  That's a big accomplishment!  With taking almost a year off from my business, I am shocked at how fast it has turned around for me and that I'm actually on track to be a DIRECTOR!  I always said...."in God's timing"!

SPINAL INJECTION

Well, today I went back to Dr. Chambers....the Orthopedic Surgeon....as a follow-up to the spinal injection I had.  The pain in my buttocks and leg let up for two weeks after the injection, but it returned (mostly in my buttocks...a little in my leg).  It was so awesome to be pain free or that two weeks....and a dissappointment that the pain came back.  But I have heard people have to get these injections repeatedly....even just weeks apart.  So when he asked if I would want to choose to get the injection again, I said yes!  It helped and may help longer the next time, so I told him if it doesn't hurt for me to get it again and might possibly help....then I'm ready to do it again!!  So, he's making the appointment for me and I should be doing that again in a couple of weeks.

Well, that's pretty much my update for this time.  Until next time....enjoy that sunshine out there!!!!

Cindy