And Then I Don't Feel So Baaaaaaad

Snapping out of my funk. Going to think of a few of my favorite things (cue Julie Andrews):

Preschoolers.

Unexpected messages from friends.

Okay, ANY messages from friends.

Finding money in a pocket.


Baby toes.

Good hair days.

Warm, snuggy pajamas on a cold night.




Paying for something in a store, only to find out it costs even less than marked.

Reading a really good book (that obviously excludes the "50 Shades" trilogy).

Hearing a song on the radio from high school and enjoying the memory attached.

Pretty underwear.

Spending time with my person.

Grilled cheese sandwiches.

Having my hair washed at the hair dresser's.

The smell of a hardware store.



Bubble baths. 

Working with bread dough (very Zen of me, I know).

Double stuffed Oreos.

A brand new box of Crayons.





The Peter Pan ride at Disneyland.

Cousins

Do I even have to say "Diet Coke" or is that a given?

Okay, Diet Coke.

Yep, feeling better....

No Words

Children shouldn't die.

That's all.

Still Stuck And It Still Sucks

Continuing my pessimistic and whiny streak with more things that suck....

Itches that can't be scratched because the nerves don't connect.

Having to pee when the cat is all comfy and cozy on your lap.

Spilling sugar on the floor.

Cute sweaters that turn out to be 100% acrylic.

Crying in front of people.

Cheap tissues.

Clif bars.

Bridges that go over any kind of water, from ditch to bay.

Static electricity.

Coconut flavoring.

That a knife has been missing from the knife block in the kitchen for MONTHS and NO ONE in the house has any explanation for it.

Hiccups.

Infomercials.

Easily accomplished in JoMo....

Sitting at a railroad crossing, waiting endlessly for a coal train to go by.

Not being able to drive across town without crossing at least one railroad track, increasing your odds of having a coal train cross your path and having to wait endlessly....





Cancer.

Little rubber bands from braces lying ALL OVER THE HOUSE.

Matching socks.


The price per pound of bacon.

Friends who live too far away to see regularly.

Maybe I've gotten it all out of my system now. Then again, maybe not....

Not Feeling It

Frame of mind still decidedly pessimistic; therefore, a list of things that suck:

Hot flashes.

Stupid people who are given driver's licenses and who then proceed to GET IN MY WAY when I'm trying to drive somewhere.

Sweet salads that turn out to have cottage cheese in them.

Wet newspapers.

YUUUUUUUUCKY

Eggs.

Hot flashes.

Scooping the litter box.

Sinus infections.

Anything involving car repairs.

Doing laundry.

Hot flashes.

Feeling left out or forgotten.

Cheeseburgers.

Charlie horses.

Realizing you really need reading glasses.

Tornadoes.

Hot flashes.

Hitting your head hard on something and having no one to blame but yourself.

Celery.

Insomnia.

Constantly misplacing stuff. Constantly. 

Achy bones. 

Achy anything.

I'm done for now. There WILL be a sequel....

Stuck In Reverse....

When you try your best but you don't succeedWhen you get what you want but not what you needWhen you feel so tired but you can't sleepStuck in reverse....


Sometimes, hormones take over, and even the BEST HAIR DAY EVER can't fix it. 

BRA Day (And It's Not What You Think)

There's a Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day and I MISSED IT?! HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?

A recent article in the Kansas City Star about breast reconstruction stated the American Society of Plastic Surgeons launched the first BRA Day (cute, I know) on October 17 of this year. The purpose of the campaign was to promote awareness and patient access to breast reconstruction. May I say, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, LOUSY JOB WITH THE PUBLICITY! If the Joplin Globe hadn't picked up a truncated version of this article (probably as filler) I wouldn't have known about it still.

The article went on to talk about a woman who visits cancer patients at KU Med Center who are facing mastectomy and breast reconstruction and talks to them about her reconstruction procedure, allowing them to take a look at her own reconstructed breasts. And the article also talked about a "show and tell" in New Orleans, with reconstruction patients revealing their new breasts to other cancer patients.

Apparently, it is NOT usual for women who have had breast reconstruction to show their new breasts to others.

WHAAAAA???

My breast reconstruction is a miracle of modern medicine (thank you, Dr. Geter!), and I will gladly, GLADLY, show anyone who wants to see them. Hell, I'll even let you feel them if you want. (Hey, they're mostly numb. I can close my eyes and usually never even know that you've touched them.) 

While it's an individual choice for each breast cancer patient, all it takes is one look at a photo depicting mastectomy without benefit of reconstruction to make you understand just how important of a step this can be for a woman's recovery. Thanks to my awesome reconstruction, I can almost forget that I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Almost.

I won't let it get past me NEXT year... 

But That's All History

Nothing is simple anymore.

I have had a raging sinus infection for several days. RAGING. I felt so incredibly bad that I decided to start planning my funeral, because I was (and still am, actually) convinced that I wasn't going to pull through. So far, I have lined up pall bearers, several soloists, including one on bagpipes, a eulogist, what I presume will be an entirely inappropriate poem, and an offer to write my obituary, which the writer promises will include my failed attempt at using a nettie pot. And the nettie pot incident can be blamed on my daughter, who made me watch a tutorial on YouTube about how to use it but failed to read the part of the directions that said not to attempt if BOTH NOSTRILS ARE COMPLETELY CLOGGED.

Yeah, told you so.

I finally broke down and made an appointment with the nurse practitioner in my primary care physician's office (that's fancy talk for going to my friend Cindy's office and seeing the nurse practitioner because Cindy doesn't go in on Mondays). 

Because it had been several years since I had visited the office, and quite possibly also because since then, the old office blew away in the tornado, I had to fill out all new paperwork.

I was asked if I were on any medications.

Until six months ago, the answer to that would have been, "No." And that was always met with a bit of surprise by the asker. But  I was really very healthy. 

For this, I had to get my phone out and check my medication list that I save there. 

Then I was asked to list all surgeries and hospitalizations I had had.

(A word to those of you who have never had their medical records blown to kingdom come by a tornado: sit down some time with a clear mind and MAKE A LIST of all that information and keep it somewhere safe. You THINK you can remember all that stuff, but it's harder than it looks.)

Starting with getting my tonsils out at 7 (a sad story that I will have to share with you some time), I started ticking off c-sections and other lady part stuff. And that's where the list used to end.

Now I have to add "bilateral mastectomy with tram flap reconstruction" to the list. Words like that will garner you a double take, incidentally. When you add "hemorrhoidectomy" to the list, you get, "Wow, you've had quite a year."

I don't want to be one of those people with lists of medications and ailments a mile long. 

Yet, here I am. No. Freaking. Backsies.