Nice Weekend

What a lovely weekend! Brennan, my nephew, was here for a sleep over and cake baking fun. I dropped one of the cake pans on the counter, which does not make for a very beautiful finished piece. Bren and I decided cake still tastes the same whether it is in good condition or a pile of crumbs....frosting fixes everything. The cake was so delicious we had a piece after breakfast!

Brennan and I also went on an hour and a half walk in the park. It was so cute, he kept asking me if he was walking too fast. I had to laugh....he doesn't realize I practically have to run to keep up with Eddy!!!! Brennan and I talked the whole walk about everything under the sun....being bald was one of the topics. Brennan thinks it was "better to be bald than dead" and he is absolutely correct.

While I was making scrambled eggs for us this morning, Brennan vacuumed the living room and kitchen for me (there was a monetary reward). It was certainly nice to get a bit of help. Too bad he wasn't interested in cleaning toilets!

I went to water aerobics four times this week (Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sun)! Getting a ton of new freckles even with sunscreen on and a we bit of a tan, well, actually more beige than white. Today I wore my rash guard since I did get a little sunburned yesterday (not supposed to get sunburned on the lymphedema side....could cause an infection).

Learned about using Kinesio take at my lymphedema support group on Wednesday. Amazing stuff....you probably saw it on the during the Olympics on the female volleyball player. We did some practice runs with the tape during the meeting, then I did a full taping from my right underarm to the left to help drain the lymph from my right arm. I swear I could actually feel the fluid moving! Underarm swelling is virtually gone but my hand is still a bit puffy. Now that I see how well the tape works, I need to order a few rolls.

Off to do a little house cleaning and laundry before Monday rolls around.
Cheryl

The weekend

Eddy worked on our back deck this week....we now have finish on the surface! I can't wait to put the chairs, table and loungers back out. Wish I could put potted plants out but that is a no, no.

I did water aerobics on Saturday and Sunday....I just love it. Completely addicted to the pool and I even dream about swimming. An added benefit to swimming, I am getting my vitamin D and exercise all at the same time.

On Friday we had dinner with Lionel, Jen and Amara. We hadn't seen much of the Hall family since Lionel was busy studying for his contractors exam over the last several weeks. Amara is fun, fun, fun! While Jen was putting together dinner, Amara and I scooped dog poop (her idea, not mine), checked out the snails (we didn't touch them) and ran around on the stone path in the yard ("lets run").

My mom and Ron are due to stop overnight before heading home to Oregon tomorrow. It is a short stay since they have been away for almost two months and Ron's back is bothering him. It is too bad they aren't staying longer since I wanted to show them the new shop.

I feel stronger and more powerful every day! Watch out world, 'cause here I am come!
Cheryl

Best I've Ever Felt

I can say without a doubt that this is the best physically I have felt in years! With cancer growing in my body for around nine years it is no wonder I used to wake up feeling under the weather a great deal of the time but now I feel great everyday.....that is how I know the cancer is gone!

Thought it was time to post a recent photo or two so everyone can see how much hair I am sporting now. My hair is not growing as fast as I would like but at least it is coming back in....just a little more bang would be nice. As you can see I seem to be getting more freckles due to swimming and yes, I am wearing sunscreen in the pool.

On top of swimming twice a week, I am working on getting my vitamin D each day (15 minutes with no sunscreen...ok per the dermatologist), going for acupuncture once a week (for the hot flashes) and taking vitamins on top of eating a healthy diet. I feel sooooooo good!!!!

That is all for today.

Cheryl

Belly Dancing

Well, I tried belly dancing last night and spent a lot of time laughing at myself! We did a move were you are supposed to sweep your hair around....funny. My chemo-fro doesn't even move when I have my head upside down.....I had to laugh. I think I might find a CD and try belly dancing at home in privacy.

Going to dinner with my sister and her friend then to the movies to see Sunshine Cleaning. Should be a fun evening for the three of us.

Time to do payroll reports.
Cheryl

More swimming!

Did my second swim aerobics class on Thursday evening. I struggled a bit because my belt was too loose and kept slipping up around my chest. Now I know the belt has to be pretty tight from the beginning. I am heading to another class today, then on to the home show at the Cocoanut Grove here in Santa Cruz.

I feel great today! I don't know if it is the fact I went to sleep last night at 9:30 and woke up at 8:00 am or the exercise or both....but whatever is causing the increase in energy I love it.

Off to swimming I go!
Cheryl

Swimming is fun!

I loved the swim aerobics class on Saturday! Great work out and fun as well. I plan on going back at least once a week to swim, possibly even more.

Missed the belly dancing class on Tuesday because we worked very late (7 pm). If there is another beginners class this coming Tuesday, I will go to that one. Sonja who does my manual lymph drainage (MLD) said belly dancing would be great exercise and good for my lymphedema too!

My hair seems to have stopped growing or really slowed down. Eyelashes and brows are on the thin side too. I have a sneaky suspicion the Tamoxifen might be slowing the hair growth. Oh, well...it is what it is.

Eddy and I went to Stonyford for some dirt bike and quad riding recently. What a fun time we had and I actually rode for about five hours. There was snow on the ground, which I really enjoyed riding in on the quad. Eddy seemed to slip around a bit more than I did but that is because he was riding his dirt bike. I'll post a picture or two soon.

That is all the news I have for today!!!
Cheryl

Swimming

Going to my first water aerobics class today! Should be fun and good for my lymphedema plus I don't have to wear my compression glove/sleeve while swimming. Doing new things always makes me a little apprehensive but I know that exercise is good for me.

Suzanne, my sister, is having a CAbi party this evening. I am heading over to help her with food and set up around 4 pm. It will be nice to see everyone since I missed the last two parties.

Tuesday I am trying another new form of exercise....belly dancing! Doesn't that sound like so much fun? It is an hour class for beginners over on 41st Ave. Very excited since belly dancing is always something I wanted to try.

I love working in our new shop office instead of at home....it is nice to get out of the house and into the real world again. Yesterday I took a few minutes to walk over to the Los Gatos Creek Trail for a bit of the outdoors. Love the park but don't like having to walk passed the geese.

Time to make some french toast!
Cheryl