Thankfulness

Let's list out today those things that we are thankful for!! You may use your name in your comment or remain anonymous. List at least one thing you're thankful for today, but feel free to list a few things if you'd like! It's always good to remember what we're thankful for!! :)

• Today I'm thankful for the freedom that we have in this country. I fear that we will lose it all too soon, but I hope I never see that day!
• Today I'm thankful for my vision. We have a student in our program at UW that is blind. Every day I watch him move around, attend classes and live his life. I can't even begin to imagine what he faces. I hope that I never have to know.
• Today I'm thankful for the quiet times in life where I can meditate, read my Bible and pray. It always helps me to refocus and to "straighten things out" in this journey that I'm on.

What about YOU? What are you thankful for today? Let us all know!! :)

The Doctor's Final Say

Well, my doctor's appointment was this afternoon and she confirmed that I, indeed, am cancer free. Yay! :) As we were visiting, though, she was taking her sweet 'ol time telling me what the future plans were, so I finally blurted out, "What does this mean for the future?!" She said, "What do you mean?" I said, "How long before I have to do this testing again?" Do you know her response? Two years. Ugh. I said, "I thought I'd get to wait for FIVE years!" She said, "Oh, no...not yet! Someday, though!" Ugh. So, the new plan is that I'm cleared for two years. The year 2010 is when I will do this testing business again. If I get good reports then, then I'll be cleared for THREE years. And, so on.

It took me about two hours to fully accept the news of having to test again in two years, but I finally was okay with it and I'm glad that I don't have to worry about it for a long time! I'm moving on!!! :o)

In other news, here's my star of the month for the month of May at Curves! Wahoo! :) If you remember last month's star, you'll see that the loss is just a bit more. :o) Now...I just was weighed and measured today for what will be the month of June on the stars board and I think I'm going to get up on that one, too!!!!! My total loss this past month...10.5!!! I lost 7.25 pounds and 3.25 inches. Wahoo, wahoo, WAHOO!!!!! :o) I'm going to catch up to my good friend yet when it comes to weight loss! She knows who she is, too, so I don't need to mention her name! ;) I'm very proud of her and she inspires me SO much to be healthy! It's been a great encouragement for me! :)

And that, my friends, concludes this season of "Cancer Testing 2008"!! :o) Thank you for ALL of your support, prayers and encouragement!!! There are plenty of others out there that we know who are battling this ugly beast called cancer, so let's not forget to pray for them, too, and to send encouragement their way!! It helps more than you realize! :)

It's GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My blood tests came back GOOD!!!!!! I will find out for sure tomorrow, but if I remember correctly, my doctor said that if I had two good test years in a row, I'd be cleared for five years!!!!! So, unless the body scan had any glaring items on it (which I doubt will happen, but nothing has ever been glaring on the body scans), I think that I'm in the clear for five years!!! "Cancer Free". What a wonderful phrase!!!! :o)

WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Fun! :)

Some Monday morning FUN!!! :) This morning, on my blog friend's site, I found this fun little exercise! :) I wanted to do it on my blog and you should feel free to do it on your own blog, too, if you'd like! :) Have fun!! :o)

1. Your rock star name (first pet, current car): Boomer Camry

2. Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Mint Chocolate Dansko

3. Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Mini Daschund

4. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): Anne Spooner

5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Mar Je

6. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Navy Blue Frappuccino

7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers): Walter Ermin

8. TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Anderson Austin

9. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Spring Pansies

10. Cartoon name: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Apple Skirt

11. Hippie name (What you ate for breakfast, your favourite tree): Toast Aspen

Another ordinary day. I think. :)

Well, today was hideous...weather wise, anyway! :o) I was supposed to go home today, but there was a winter storm that bee-bopped it's way through. The wind was horrid! Gusts up to 70+ miles per hour!!!!!! (or so I heard...I wouldn't be surprised if it was true!) Every time we went out, we held on to our hats, purses, and anything else that would keep us on the ground! Cheyenne didn't get much snow, but the web cams showed that the interstate was a mess. They closed it all day and I understand why!

So, I stayed in Cheyenne for now and will likely travel home tomorrow. Other than the weather, it really was a good day! I went to the gym, did a bit of shopping and then I finished up my testing by having a body scan today. That was over in a half hour and so after that, my friends and I went to a late lunch at Olive Garden!! YUM!!! I had Manicotti. And I about fainted because it was so good! ;o)

The rest of the day was spent inside, out of the wind and snow flurries, and I just read a book and wrote some letters! Pretty simple! :)

Well, that's all for now! Just thought I'd give a little update on things! I didn't get any results of the scan today and I'm really not expecting to hear anything until my doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon. I'll check on Monday to see if the results of the bloodwork are in yet, but I promise that I will post any news once I get it! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I know that I will!!! :o)

Another Star! :)

Well, my good friend from Curves that I workout with just called me to tell me that I got another star on the Curves "Stars of the Month" board!!! Wahoo!!! I don't remember what the total loss was, and I won't get to Curves until next Tuesday (maybe my friend can clue us in by leaving a comment should she read this post). When I get there, though, I'll take a picture and let you know my total loss for the month of April! Oh, I'm super excited about this! Wahoo! :o)

Oh, Bah...We have a slight delay.

Well, today was the big day!!! The day for the bloodwork to be drawn and for my thyroglobulin levels to be checked! This is the one of the tests that tell them if there is any cancer growing in me and in past years, it seems to have given us a better, more accurate idea than the body scans that I've had done. So, it's been an important factor in all of this and now, honestly, I just go to this test to see what's really going to happen at my doctor's appointment once ALL of my testing is done!

So, today I went in early in the hopes that I could get these results back sooner than later. I asked the phlebotomist, "How long will it take for these results to be in?" I was thinking sometime this afternoon or early morning...to which she replies, "Well, we don't have the appropriate equipment here, so we send the lab work to Salt Lake City. It will be three to five days before you know the results." WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!? Oh, I felt SO discouraged!!! I said, "Okay." ... and then, I willed myself not to cry about it!

And, that's that! I have an appointment with the doctor next Tuesday, so if I haven't been able to get the results before then, hopefully I will get them at the appointment! The phlebotomist told me to call on Monday and see if they're there. We'll see!!

What a bummer, huh?! I went to the gym after being at the lab and I was SO glad that I did that! It just helped me relieve some of the anxiety that had built up since I had left the lab some 15 minutes prior!! As I was working out, that famous Serenity Prayer popped into my head. It says, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." I just started repeating that over and over while I was working out and I think that the workout and really just being able to focus on the words of that prayer helped me to calm down.

I feel much better about having to wait and, really, it will be what it will be!! It's a bit frustrating, but since there's not much I can do about it, there's no sense in fretting over it! And last night at Bible study, we were hearing about "growing seasons" and how it can produce and teach us about patience! I think that this may just be one of those experiences!! :o)

Life will still return to "normal" tomorrow afternoon after the scan. I'll stop the special diet and just continue with everything as I did before the testing process began. IF something is negative about the testing this year, it will be discussed at my appointment on Tuesday and at that time, we'll discuss treatment ideas and I'll start the process over at that point. Until then, I'm going to just enjoy my time and days! :)

So, I will keep you posted and I will let you all know as SOON as I get those test results and what they tell us!! Thanks for ALL of your care, concern and thoughts & prayers!!! They have helped more than you'll probably ever know!! :)