8.26.09

When I was diagnosed last year with my tumor I tried my best to keep the information from my former co-workers, vendors, and customers. When Senator Kennedy's cancer was announced a few weeks later I knew the cat was out of the bag. He had no idea who I was and yet the national coverage directly impacted me. At first I was mad because of the news coverage and then he became an inspiration. He seemed to handle his ordeal so well. He went to work, attended President Obama's inauguration, and pushed for health care reform. I have no idea where he got his energy. Of course we had different types of tumors and likely different stages. It's the luck of the draw (or genetics). Today I chose to honor his memory by reaching out to people I haven't heard from in awhile.
I'm bummed that he's gone. I keep thinking that if I managed to survive this long he should have been able to make it as well. It's crap. I'm not happy about this at all.

8/18/09

It took me 1 hour 45 minutes to complete my Sanitas hike this morning. A personal best. I attribute this to cooler weather and my ipod. My guess is when the weather gets warmer my time will increase as well.

8/17/09

It's interesting to me that something out of the blue will trigger my childhood memories. Today I wrote a reply to a friend in Spain and used the word "Awesome". Now, I think this is a funny story, you may not.
When I was in third grade (age 8) I didn't know what the words "totally" or "awesome" meant. And apparently no one else in my class did either. We knew that people were conversing with them and we felt compelled to use the words too. So I decided at recess one day that we would use "totally" and "awesome" as code. We must have been playing some form of tag because "totally" meant to run away from the tree and "awesome" meant regroup at the tree. The game only lasted 10 minutes, but the use of the words (per my new definitions) caught on. Oh to be young again.

08/11/09

I hiked up Sanitas again this morning. During my quiet time I thought of a million funny things to share in my blog and then POOF! They were gone after I finished. Now I'm going to spend the rest of the day trying to figure out what in the heck I was thinking about. The hike was fabulous. I made a new friend who I think will go hiking with me again on Tuesdays. And I think she takes the mountain at the same pace as me. (Big Smiles) Afterwards I completed a few errands came home and ate lunch. Then I proceeded to polish off the remaining mint chocolate ice-cream. MmHm Yes. I did. No clue what came over me. And I won't do that again. It was a poor choice and I'm not feeling well.

I have been struggling with my resume lately. I'm open for suggestions about how to get over the hump. It's been frustrating looking at the information knowing it's all there and then realizing that it doesn't read very well. The positive is that I see room to improve and I know I can make it better. Besides that is what drafts are for, right?

Life is good.

08/10/09

While at the dentist this morning I realized I've been "Fred Free" for a year and a half. It is amazing. And I continue to feel good. I know my time at home is coming to an end. I need to get myself organized to join the workforce again. My new mantra is I CAN and I WILL. Now to get the "FRED FREE" BBQ scheduled to celebrate.

Topic Change
Peanut (my cat) has started grooming my hair while I try to nap. I don't understand it. In the words of Forrest Gump "that's all I have to say about that".

8/2/09

Oh My Gosh! It's August already. The older I get the faster it goes. July allowed me to celebrate another birthday. I didn't think birthdays would be a relief but Wow they are. Getting older has benefits, like more time to enjoy the weather and playing outside. I could come up with more examples but won't since I'm sure most people know exactly what I would say. As Derek already knows I tend to repeat myself.

In an effort to keep busy I've been hiking, cleaning, and volunteering. Cora tagged along on the hike this morning. Other than Derek carrying her up 2 tough spots she did an amazing job. It was something I had thought would never happen again. Positive things continue to happen. My health seems to continue to improve. I'm sleeping fewer hours at night, napping less, and spending more time out of the house. Woo Whoo!

Derek has finished more of our bathroom. I'm sorry if my gushing over Derek's skills comes off as bragging. I don't mean for it to sound that way. He's just so darn amazing. The big news is that I can now wash my face and brush my teeth in this new room. Yay! And Derek is now blogging about his bathroom renovation. If you read it don't be confused. The bathroom is almost finished and the blog is starting over from the beginning. You too will know every detail of our process.