Blissfully Unaware of the Chaos the Surrounds Me

Coastal Morning . . .

Hard to beat waking up on the ocean. I snuck away and walked a few miles this morning. Love the waves crashing, harbor seals swimming along the break and the solitude. Really, really love the solitude!

Pissy . . .

I am. 

It's been one of those days (weeks).

All I want is for it to be 24 hours from now. If all goes as planned, I (should be) on the Central Coast, slightly buzzed, sleeping soundly, next to my hubby.

But so help me, the next 12 hours cannot get done quickly enough. But I also need them to pause or move very-very slowly in order to get all that I need done . . . done.

Pissy, no good, rotten, pissy (did I mention that?), rotten, poopy, crappy, sucky, lame, sh*tty day.

There, I feel better. (Kinda.)

(Loving this artwork. Pretty much sums it up!)

I am now going to bed. For the approximate four hours before my alarm goes off. 

Redwoods, Take II - Instagram Style . . .

Let's just say that driving 5.5 hours each way to camp for less than 48 hours was crazy. Crazy! It was beautiful and fun and suffice it to say? Way too frigggin' far away!

Here are some pics to mark my place:

 





I'll keep on catching up with work/home/other stuff/life and about that time? We'll be rolling out to camp again . . . this time at Santa Cruz! (Bonus? We'll be in the trailer. No bumps=gigantic tree roots under our sleeping bags=hopefully sleeping somewhat soundly!)

Redwoods Bound . . .

Sound familiar? Oh yes, that's right . . . I made the 5+ hour trek back in May with Dylan's class! The good news? This time it's not pouring down rain! And I get to take my Halle-girl on this one. Alas, still no John. He's flying to Alaska and then to Hawaii and then back on a training mission. (That only makes sense if you are the Air Force!)

So the kiddos and I (and the dog) are packed up and ready to hit the road after Halle's last swim lesson today. My Mom and Les are already there and have even promised to have our tent up and ready! They have the food, the equipment . . . all of it . . . so this should be the easiest camping trip ever! (I invited myself, by the way. They had asked to take Dylan and I responded by inviting the whole lot of us!)

So while you're reading this rather boring blog entry? I'll be here:

But not to worry, I have a housesitter. (Two actually.) And they both are well-versed in my 38 Special! Just sayin . . . 

Have a great weekend!

Happy , Happy Birthday . . .

to my sister, Lisa! I am glad that your day was great and I hope that the birthday love carries over for a few days at least! I wish we were closer (not 5,500 miles apart) and could celebrate together. I hope that my Brother-in-Law and sweet nephews stood in the gap for me and celebrated you like you deserve to be celebrated!

(This picture is only five years old . . . could it possibly be time for another visit/family picture? I think so!!)

Random and Senseless . . .

That is how I feel today! I actually have felt like this for the past few days!

We spent the weekend at home, which was a very good thing! We did a lot of various stuff, so didn't get too far on anything! The weather has been beautiful, so John was able to work in the backyard a bit. I did a photoshoot on Saturday morning. 

Um . . . there's nothing else on the calendar, so does that mean we did nothing else? Because I can't seem to remember anything else! We went in the pool (brrrrrr!). We took a couple of bike rides. I did some laundry. Ran some errands.

And oh, I worked on Lauren's invitations some more! Someday, I will get them done. By Thursday, I think. If I could actually get them to print on my printer? I'd be all done. But alas, it's not working out so good. I will say, however, that they are turning out amazing! We started with some orginal artwork from Lauren's grandmother and then jumped into a vintage/lace/antique floral theme wholeheartedly. They are going to be amazing!

I'll post some pictures after they are sent and everyone receives them. So far, I have exterior envelopes printed. Envelope liners cut. Lauren and her Mom are working on the belly bands as we speak. (They are sparkly with pearl accents. And yes, I should have simplified the design at some point or another!) The invites are Lauren's to share, but I do have to say, I am waaaay in love with the envelopes. Like I want to marry the envelopes, basically. (As long as I can keep John, obviously!)

I did get to enjoy and unexpected Girl's Night last night and it was beyond delightful. My two besties, pineapple and watermelon margaritas by the pitcher full. Amazingly fun night out! We all discussed some items that should (or should not) be added to our bucket lists. And even added some items to each other's. Especially KJ's!

And with that, we rented Rango, so I am going to go and watch it with my family!

Creeks, Harry Potter and Grand Juries . . .

all in 24 hours! Isn't that an odd combination?

First, we headed out for a quick creek adventure (on our bikes as my car was in the shop). Plus it's probably only a mile away.

Once we got to "our" spot, we were glad to see that no one else had snagged the rock or shore yet. Dibs! The kids had a great time catching minnows (54+), jumping off the rocks and floating in the creek. We only had a couple of hours, so we are planning a return trip very soon!

We headed out and rode straight to a pool-date at a friend's house. Six 7th Grade boys. Holy earplugs! Loud. Loud. And more loud! But fun. 

Then, we finally made it home, did an easy dinner and whatnot around the house and . . .  drumroll, please . . . headed out to the Midnight Premiere of Harry Potter! (Dylan and I were in our custom iron-on tee shirts. John declined to wear one. Poor sport that he is!)

The boys headed out around 7:30 while I got Halle settled and ready for bed. They got in line while I waited for the sitter. I swung by Ben & Jerry's and got Dylan some ice cream and then joined them in line at the theatre around 10:00. We were then about 2/3 of the way around the building. Good times . . . 

The line started moving around 10:45 and we were seated in the theatre by 11:15 or so. Although we were split up . . . poor John had to sit by himself! It was that or sitting in the second row. John chose to sit by himself versus the second row!

All I can say about the movie without spoiling it? It was well done! Amazingly well-done! It was by and far my favorite movie of all of them, with the first one coming in second. The effects were fabulous, the acting was superb and they kept it close enough to the book that I was pleased. As a total book-over-movie snob :) It was a great experience for Dylan to be at the midnight premiere. It was actually great for us too - it was my first midnight showing as well! It was great fun to be in the theatre with people who cheered and clapped and boo'd and cried along with us.

But, I was exhausted. Absolutely fried when it was done. And being that I am a total sleep-wacko, I couldn't just come home at 2:30 am and go to sleep. Nope. I had to fiddle-fart around, have a drink, sit on the couch and unwind my mind before I could get to sleep. I am now officially old and fussy.

Then, I had to get up on Friday morning and drive to Redding. To make a presentation to members of numerous Norther California Grand Juries. And I hadn't reviewed my presentation since last year. Whoops. Needless to say, it may not have been my best 75 minutes ever. But it probably wasn't my worst. I had lots of participants tell me that it was excellent, so I'm going with that. Even if it could have been much, much better!

There's always next year!

Catching Up . . .

on some moments and tidbits of the last week. (I often think that I should blog various thoughts and then, well, forget to do it!)

Last Friday night, Halle and I had a girl's night. (Dylan was at my Mom's and John was at the Air Force base all weekend.) I realized at 8:30 that she hadn't eaten dinner so we did what any Mama would do . . . we went to Gelaaaaaayo! Summertime=frozen yogurt=dinner. While we were there, she laid her head on my shoulder and said, "Mama, I want to have Girls' Nights with you until I'm really old. As old as you!" Bring it, baby girl!

And with no appropriate segue, Dylan is the king of well-timed farts. Seriously. (Although John can usually punctuate a conversation if he wants to as well.) But we've been all over Dylan about being appropriate and well, not farting in people's faces. (And when I say "people", I mean the three of us in his immediate family. This isn't something he does in public!) But last night, John asked Dylan to move over so he could sit next to the light in our family room and as Dylan looked up at him, ripped a serious man-fart and then sweetly smiled and said "sure, Dad!" I fell over laughing. John didn't find it nearly as funny, but for some reason, I was greatly amused.

Halle had the biggest meltdown of her (short) life on Monday. It was a culmination of swimming lessons, being hungry, being tired and Mom pushing her to run a quick errand. And being three. All of those things culminated together and exploded when I buckled Halle into her carseat. In order to do that? She had to remove her reusable Trader Joe's shopping bag from her shoulder. Which was apparently the worst thing in the world! She spent the next 20 minutes losing her mind. While safely buckled into her carseat. The very best moment, however, was when she screamed/snarled at me, "if you don't unbuckle me right now, I am going to take away all of your purses!" I pretty much died laughing - which didn't ease the tantrum, mind you. But it amused me beyond measure to think that in her 3-year-old mind? That was the worst thing she could do to me!

This weather is amazing. Simply amazing. I cannot remember ever having a stretch of weather like this during July. I cannot get enough of it!

Tonight we are headed to the Midnight Premiere of the final Harry Potter movie. Midnight. I am already tired thinking about it! But, Dylan is really excited. And that's what counts. Even if I am dragging for the next few days. 

Now, we are headed out to do some pollywoggin'. That's a verb, didn't you know? Off to the creek we go!

The Harrington Family . . .

I cannot begin to tell you how much this family amazes me. They get hit hard and come up kicking. With a smile on their faces.

On June 20th, 2008, Scott went to Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento for a short 45 minute surgery to remove an oil cyst from his chest. After a 3 hour surgery, they were informed that the cyst was actually cancer.

Scott has synovial cell sarcoma. The synovial cells are the cells that grow in the cartilage between the bones. It is a malignant type spindle cell tumor that is very rare. There are less than 100 cases per year in the US and Canada, and synovial cell sarcoma accounts for less than 3% of all childhood cancers. Of all the past cases, only 4 have had tumors in the chest, and none in the sternum. 

The size of the tumor was larger than 5cm, which means he was considered an intermediate risk. The type of cancer (high grade) and it’s size combine to place him at stage 3. 

Scott handled daily radiation extremely well and only needed 6 cycles of chemo due to some changes in scheduling. He went back to school in January 2009. In February 2009, Scott had a whole team of plastic surgeons along with Dr. Gates rebuild his sternum using a combination of methyl methycrylate and marlex.  It was an impressive procedure, a miracle of modern medicine.  

After being cancer free and living with NED (no evidence of disease) for almost 2 years, their lives changed again.  On December 14, 2010, Scotty woke up with strong pains in his chest and pretty bad nausea. He had been having some mild, irregular pain for a few weeks but this was different. He went to school and finished his finals that week but we were on the phone asking to have his regularly scheduled follow up scans moved sooner. He went for a CT and Bone Scan on Dec 20th and they heard from the doctors on the 21st of December that there appears to be new disease in his chest. 

As of June 2011, Scott has had six rounds of chemo since he relapsed -- the same combination that he had two years ago.  There has been some response to treatment, but not a total response.  He is approaching the lifetime limits for one of the drugs, so they also have to watch how it affects his heart. We are looking for a surgical or intra-operative radiation procedure to increase his response.  The fact that he has already had his sternum removed and replaced is only complicating matters. 

Today, July 13th Scott will have a “right thoracotomy with resection of persistent lung nodules” in Houston, Texas. Dr Hayes-Jordan is a sarcoma surgery specialist, and the Harringtons feel very confident in having her as Scott’s surgeon. There is still some question as to whether or not we will continue chemotherapy after surgery. We don’t have a definitive answer from MD A but we know that Dr Yim in Sacramento would like to do two more rounds after surgery.

Scotty is in surgery as we speak. I have been up and thinking and praying for the family since 6:30 this morning when he went into surgery. As a Mom, I cannot fathom this overwhelming situation. But this family has been such a testament of faith.

So please, if you are a praying folk, say one for our friend Scotty. And the surgeon, Dr. Hayes-Jordan. For their family . . . Bill and Christi, two of the most amazing people I know . . . Christian, the little brother who is home with his grandparents during this time. 

** Quick Update . . . Scotty is out of surgery safely (!!) and in recovery. Bill and Christi should be able to see him soon. The surgeon was able to remove several lesions and left Scotty's ribs intact. Praying now for a smooth recovery and pain management!

Summer Colds . . .

really are the worst. There is just something wrong with running fevers and rubbing Vick's on your neck when it's 90 + degrees outside! 

Halle started sniffling on Friday night and was running a full-blown fever by 9:00 pm. She was all better by yesterday. Dylan woke up feeling congested yesterday and felt fine by today.

So I'm hoping (crossing my fingers and praying) that I feel better by tomorrow. Because I woke up with a heck of a sore throat and some serious congestion. And ear pain, which should come as no surprise, given my ear saga that has been ongoing for years. Although it has been better since my tonsils were removed!

Off to make some tea, take some Advil and put my feet up. (Wanna bet that as soon as I sit down, she'll wake up?)

As a bonus? I am sitting outside! It's only 87 degrees! It's amazing, summer cold or not!