Merry Christmas

Having an excellent Christmas so far. Hijacked this picture of my 23 month old from my Mom's phone:

Goblin King... Goblin King...

No, I won't say it. But OMG what a day. My childcare is closed for two weeks so I brilliantly decided to start potty training. I spent days beforehand researching how to start, when toddlers are usually ready, what to expect... I was so confident and prepared.... but NOWHERE did I see that they would most likely refuse to poo on the potty, and then absolutely hate you for even suggesting it. But I'm already in elbow deep so to speak, so no turning back now. Looks like I'll be having a "crappy," Christmas.

I didn't know if she was asking to go peepee, asking for beebees (blueberries) or wanting to hold her baby. They all sound the same right now, so I gave her everything...

Inked by Kaiser

Free tattoos today. I was graphed for my upcoming radiation treatment in January. They placed beauty mark sized tattoos on my chest to make sure I am lined up the same way each day. I am so sick of getting poked, but I can start see the light at the end of the laser. I'll be done with all of this by February.

Apparently the radiation treatment includes my entire right breast. For some reason I thought it was just the spot where the tumor was. That spot will get particularly more radiation, but the entire breast is treated as a whole. I'm pretty light skinned, so it will probably burn, but the Dr. says this should be a walk in the park compared to chemo. No expected nausea, stomach issues, bone pain or headaches. Just unexplained tiredness. I'm extremely skeptical given what I went through after my first chemo treatment, so she agreed to release me back to work only part time in January.

I had the brilliant idea to start potty training yesterday. It's about as fun and successful as watching water boil, but since I happen to have the time, I figured it can't hurt to try!

Inspiring

I had "one of those days," today. Still feeling kind of icky and trying to wrap up (pun intended) my holiday shopping. Well, when life gives you lemons....

Take a Bow

So, I'm now following a very cool blog: www.thelizarmy.com She is also 32 and living with the life-sentence of a brain tumor. She's had two brain surgeries and is incredibly courageous. Check it out, she has an inspiring tattoo in progress too :)

Today she posted a neat link on FB: Talking to Someone with Cancer

I am so proud to say that all of my friends and family members earn gold stars according to this newsletter. I seriously have the best support system anyone could ask for. From cleaning my house to making me food or just listening to me complain. I could not have gotten through this without you. Thank you.

Insanemia

Lightning bolt back pain today and still having stomach and mouth issues from round 6, but I'm all done, YaY! Another chemo side effect is being dog tired during the day, but wide awake at night. Its midnight, I've taken lots of drugs for pain, and I feel like wrapping Christmas gifts. I guess its time to call on my friend Ambien.

Christmas cards are done, filled out like a 2nd grader, but they're done. My baby's big bouncy birthday party is planned and Xmas shopping is 90% done.

I came across some interesting and relevant links while web crawling today...

Virus kills Breast Cancer Cells in Laboratory

I'm too young for this (i2y cancer foundation)

Is my Cancer Different?

I also did this to my cat:

Almost There!

Final round of chemo is in 4 days. I'm excited to be done, but not excited at all for treatment. I feel really sore today, like I've been running or something. The hot flashes are still pretty lame, but I'm saving money on heating costs for sure. Everyone else just has to bundle up.

Here is how I feel the weekend after Chemo.

The Machine