Fun With The G's

Here Come the Boobie Troopers

2011-05-06T09:26:00.001-07:00

Well it's that time of year again. Tomorrow I will be participating in the Sacramento Komen Race For The Cure along with 23 of my friends and family members as the Boobie Troopers. This will be our 5th year participating. Last year we took a break but we are back at it again this year and I couldn't be more excited. My team has helped to raise nearly $3,500 this year which currently puts us #15 on the list of top fundraising teams. Way to go Boobie Troopers!! I will be sure to post pictures after the walk. There is also time to still donate if you would like just go to www.komensacramento.org and click on Race For The Cure, Donate to an Individual, and look me up. Nichol Garcia.

In other news we are gearing up for the end of Shelby's 7th grade year, um yea, that flew by!! Oh and to top it off we are also preparing for my niece to graduate from high school. Again, I have no idea where all those years went however I do know I am so proud of both of them. We went to see my niece off for her prom last weekend and she looked absolutely gorgeous! I still can't believe it is time for her to go off to college. She is an amazing child, she has always had so much drive and motivation, she pushed herself in school and achieved wonderful grades and she has the power and strength to be whatever she wants to be so as her auntie you can tell I am quite proud. She is also a great role model to her cousins and brother.

That's about it for now. I know these posts are few and far between but I promise to keep it up cause I know there are a couple people out there that come here to keep up on what's going on with the G's. So happy reading and I will post again soon.

News, News, and More News

2011-02-08T17:47:00.000-08:00

Oh it has been so long, I just realized I have not posted since before Christmas. So let's get caught up here. First of all, our Christmas was wonderful. We spent time with friends and family and I couldn't ask for more. Now moving on to the new year. So far 2011 is shaping up quite nicely. I started my new chemo and have been on it for a little over 2 months now. I had a scan a couple of weeks ago and I am very happy to report that the spots in my liver are once again responding positively to this treatment, so I am really very excited about that. Now as if that wasn't exciting enough, the same week we got that news, we also found out that after 4 years of working in the Bay Area and being away from the family all week, and only home on weekends, drumroll please....it looks like Vince is coming home!!! The company he works for has had some changes which freed up some driver positions here in Sacramento. If all goes as planned he will start his job here in Sac. on March 1st. We are ecstatic about this news. This is what we have been praying for for the past 4 years, it is almost surreal and hard to believe. Also, on another note, we now officially have a teenager in the house. Shelby turned 13 a few weeks ago (also the same week that we received all the other good news). Maybe God knew we needed a break since we are embarking on the teen years, haha, whatever it is, our prayers are getting answered and we are feeling very blessed. I hope everyone else is also having a great start to the new year. Hugs!!

Thankful

2010-11-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

During this time of year a lot of people reflect on what they are thankful for. I have been thinking about that quite a bit for the past few weeks. I have come to realize I have quite a bit to be thankful for. Of course I am thankful for all the usual things like family, friends, etc...but there is one thing that I am thankful for that may seem unusual to some. I am thankful for cancer. I am not thankful that it has caused fear and tears for myself and the people that love me but I am thankful that it has given me strength. I never thought of myself as a weak person but I have come to realize that having cancer has given me quite a bit of strength, strength to face another round with chemo, strength to take another round of hair loss, strength to undergo another round of tests that leave me hoping every 2 months that things look better. In the beginning, 5 years ago I would look at all of these things with great fear but today, I look at these things with strength, I am ready, I can do this, and I am not afraid. So thanks to having cancer I have become much stronger than I once was. I am also thankful for everyday. None of us are promised tomorrow but I feel so strong and I believe that I will have many more tomorrows to celebrate milestones with my friends and family. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, spend time with those you love and tell them you love them often, that is what I will be doing this season. Cheers!!

Long Overdue

2010-09-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

So I just realized it has almost been 2 months since my last post. I am slacking here! So first off, I had another scan 6 weeks after starting my new treatment and things are stable so we will continue with this treatment for another 8 weeks and then scan again. It's pretty bad that not only do the people at the cancer center know me but the people who do the scans at the hospital now know me, i don't even have to give them my name. When I come in it's, "Oh, hi Mrs. Garcia" Never thought my face would be known in these places but on the other hand I suppose it's a good thing that I am still here frequenting those "facilities".

The girls have started back to school and are adjusting well. Shelby is in middle school and in the beginning it was a little rough because "all of her friends" had a different lunch period than her but she has since made new friends and I think she is enjoying it now. She was pretty bummed that her best friend from elementary school and her did not get one single class together.

We just got back from a weekend camping trip which was very nice and relaxing. I am really starting to believe that our little trailer purchase last year was well worth the money as it gives us time as a family to get away from a few days here and there but also gives us the luxury of not feeling like we are "really" camping. Sydney celebrated her 7th birthday and one of the gifts we got her was a butterfly garden. So if you have never heard of this it is so cool. You order it online, they ship you a butterfly habitat and live caterpillars. The caterpillars are in a cup with all the food they will need, well after so many days they form into their cocoons and then you have to transfer them into the habitat, thank goodness Vince was home the day the transfer needed to happen because it freaked me out a bit. Turns out when they are in their cocoons they will shake which is a defense mechanism, so when we were trying to transfer them the cocoons were shaking everywhere and I was just praying one did not detach from it's tiny little silk string that it was hanging from the top of the cup by and fall on my hand....Eweeeee...anyways, the transfer went smooth but they did not hatch into butterflies before we left so there we were, bags all packed, trailer hooked up, and butterfly habitat secure in the car on our way to Pine Grove. On our last day there the butterflies hatched out of their cocoons which I find so fascinating. It's crazy how they are completely transformed. So we have toted them back home and now Sydney is deciding when she wants to let them free. I am hoping it is sooner vs. later as it says the life span of a butterfly is only 2-4 weeks. We need to let them free before their short lives end cause I don't want to have an upset 7 year old on my hands.

That's it for now. Thanks for checking in!

This and That

2010-08-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

First off I just realized I never updated after my wonderful Mother's Day Daughtry Concert gift. As you can see from the picture of the girls and I with the band, we had a BLAST!! Yes, after 5 years, I am still a very dedicated fan (some may say stalker but I like calling myself a dedicated fan better...Haaa).

It's been hard for me to keep up with our blog lately as we have been busy and I always forget to update but here I am today, finally posting. We recently went on another family camping trip which was lots of fun, Sydney has been taking swim lessons this summer and she is doing great, Shelby took tennis lessons with one of her friends and enjoyed that very much. So we have been making the most of our summer days.

I can't believe my 5 year "anniversary" since my cancer diagnosis is next week. I feel blessed to be here and feeling well after 5 years of battling this disease. Last week I received the results of my most recent scan and I guess the cancer decided to surprise me with a not so desirable anniversary gift. We found out that the areas in my liver that had gone "dormant" or were in remission are back again. The areas in my bones that have never completely disappeared are also looking worse so I will be celebrating my 5 years with another change in treatment. I feel lucky that I was able to get a year and a half out of the last treatment and it was pretty easy to tolerate. My Dr. gave me the option of trying one more anti hormonal or going back to chemo, I decided to try one more anti-hormonal. I wasn't feeling ready to go back to chemo quite yet. I will have another scan in 6 weeks and if things are stable or better then we will continue on the anti hormonal, if things are not stable or better then I guess it will be back to chemo for me. I am happy that there are still many options of various chemos that we have not tried yet. I was naturally feeling down after my appointment last week but I have sense grabbed the reigns again, picked myself up (with the help of encouragement from friends and family) and I am again feeling strong and ready to fight and beat this. So that's what has been going on around here. Thanks for checking in. I hope everyone is enjoying their families this summer as much as I am enjoying mine.

I will keep you posted on the results of my next scan but I am praying and believing for nothing but good news.

Summertime Fun

2010-06-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile and we have had so much going on. Shelby has promoted from 6th grade and now she is on to middle school. The promotion ceremony that was put on by her class was so good, I mean I hate to admit it but come on, graduations are usually pretty boring but this one was actually very entertaining, so we were very happy for her and very impressed. The best part was that Vince was able to get the day off and surprise Shelby, he usually has to miss the girls school functions as they are never on Mondays when he is home so this was very special to Shelby and she was quite surprised. The girls had their final school activity for the 09/10 school year last week. They both performed in the school choir performance/play of The Jungle Book and it was soooo cute!! I am going to really miss having them both together at the same school, it's fun to watch both of my girls together in a play.

We are gearing up now for a fun filled summer. Sydney will be starting her swim lessons next week, Shelby will be starting tennis lessons, we still have dance lessons, and I will be doing sanity checks on a daily basis....Haaaa..We are hoping to also squeeze in some camping time but so far we have not been able to schedule anything as our weekends are pretty much booked through June already.

Speaking of busy weekends. This weekend my mom, sister, and I will be going to see Wicked. I have seen it once before and it was sooo good, I can't wait to see it again. I am anxious to see what my mom thinks as she has not see nit yet, I think she will love it too.

Well sorry it has been awhile, just been busy with life but I am doing well and feeling good and happy to be busy and having fun with my family.

Tough Decisions and Good News

2010-04-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

Well its been awhile....Lots going on in the Garcia household. First of all, I made a very tough decision and that decision was to skip the Komen Race For The Cure this year. There were so many factors that played into my decision and it was a very tough decision to make but the Boobie Troopers will be sitting this year out. We will resume next year and look forward to everyone participating again. On another note, I received very good news from my most recent scan. My Dr. was so pleased to see that I am still responding to my current treatment. I was very excited to see him so excited. I have been on this treatment a little over a year now and aside from the hot flashes, some pain in my foot, weight gain, and maybe a case of the grumpies every now and then (those that live with me probably think it's more often than that...Haaa) I am doing good.

Sydney had her hair cut again and I just think she looks so cute with her little bob. They cut about 8-10 inches off and it looks adorable (see photos).

Shelby is growing up right before our eyes and it scares me. She has 1 month left of elementary school and then it's on to middle school. Ohhhh the fun is already beginning.

For Mother's Day the girls and I will be going to a Daughtry concert which we, yes WE are very excited about. Amazing how that worked out that Daughtry is here on Mother's Day weekend, he must have known I would have thought that was the perfect gift. Haha!!

I will report back in after the concert with pics and a review. Hope everyone is doing well!!

This and That

2010-03-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Well Shelby made it home safe from camp, a few weeks ago. My how time flies, seems like I just updated the blog and now I see it has almost been a month. Things are great around here. We are finally having some beautiful weather and I am loving it. The girls are back to school and this is their last trimester so in May Sydney will be done with 1st grade and Shelby will be done with elementary school. Yes, she is already moving on to middle school and I don't even like to talk about it. I guess this is when all the "real" fun begins, right....Haaaa...She is a good kid so I am not too worried, let's hope I don't have to eat those words someday. We have really not been up to much. I don't even have any new pictures to post. All in all, things are kinda just boring right now. Haaa...I am looking forward to spring and summer and hopefully a couple trips out in the trailer. We did go check on it in storage and found that there is a leak because one of the walls is a little damaged but it's still useable so for now, we won't worry about that. Well just wanted to check in and say all is good. I will write again soon hopefully when I have something a little more exciting to say. Ohhhh, we do have a new cousin in the family, he was born on Monday weighing in at 9lbs 12oz I believe, he's a BIG boy!! His brother was over 10lbs so we are not too surprised by his size. I am hoping to get to go see him soon but for now we welcome Brandon to the family with big hugs and kisses.

Time Off

2010-02-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

We just got back from our trip to Disneyland. We had a lot of fun, well aside from the complete meltdown on the rapids ride in California Adventure. That was one of the only rides Vince wanted to really go on so we convinced the girls to go, they had been on it once before so we were thinking no big deal, WRONG!! Poor Shelby was in tears and that resulted in Sydney being in tears because she was sad for her sister. So note to self, we won't be riding the rapids next time. On our way home we stopped by Hollywood and did the Walk of Fame and then we had dinner at Dan Tana's in Beverly Hills. Apparently this is a place to possibly have a "star sighting". There was a group of guys that came in and acted like they were "someone" but I have no idea if they were. The food was good but after we left we ended up getting stuck stopped for an hour and a half in the Grapevine. There was a 6 car accident and the freeway was CLOSED!! Had we decided to continue on home we would not have gotten there until approx. 4am so we pulled off in Bakersfield and got a room for the night.

Now I am preparing for a long week ahead. Shelby leaves tomorrow for camp for 5 days. I am going to miss her so much, this is the first time she has been away for this long and I won't even be able to talk to her on the phone. I did however read that they can send mail so I have already packed her a notecard with a self addressed stamped envelope to ME so she can write and tell me everything. Ohhh, I am so protective but I just can't help myself.

Well that's about all for now.

Party, Party, Party

2010-01-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

Just had to share a few pictures from Shelby's birthday party today. It turned out great and we ended up having 7 guests, 3 boys and 4 girls. They all had a great time making pizzas and dessert sushi and then we played Twilight Scene It, Apples to Apples, several rounds of Twister, and we even sung on American Idol for the Wii. All in all I think everyone really had fun. Enjoy the pics.

Mixed Bag

2010-01-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well I got the results from my latest scan and the news was good, things are "pretty stable" aside from a few spots in my bones worsening, but on the other hand there were a few spots that look better, so a mixed bag but all in all the doctor and I were pleased. So we continue on with the same treatment for 3 more months and then scan again.

I am gearing up for Shelby's birthday party. She is having a Twilight themed birthday and wouldn't you know it, the first person to RSVP was a boy. Actually we have only gotten 3 RSVP's and so far it's 1 girl and 2 boys, what's wrong with this picture. I am hoping the girls are going to just show up. Either way it will be fun and she is looking forward to it.

Sydney lost a tooth but forgot to put it under her pillow which in turn lead to the tooth fairy forgetting to leave money. She was upset when she woke up but remembered the following night and the tooth fairy came through for her quite nicely. I don't know where that lady gets all her money but she must have gotten a large raise since I was a kid cause she leaves a lot more for a tooth these days!

I am excited, I booked a trip to Disneyland so it looks like we will be going in February. This will be the 3rd year we have gone at this time and it is so nice to go in the "off season". Unfortunately, this will be the last year of "off season" visits to Mickey because both girls will be on a traditional school calendar starting next school year. Shelby will be because she is moving on to middle school and Sydney's school is going to traditional due to budget cuts. So just when I was really starting to like year round, it will be going away.

Well that's about it.

Neglect

2010-01-04T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well I have been neglecting the blog...Honestly, although it is fun to write and keep people updated, I wasn't sure that anyone even read it anymore. So I have been slacking, and come to find out, people have still been checking it because I have heard about it and heard about my lack of posts. So New Years resolution, stay on top of the blog updates! Haaa....

Seriously though, we had a very nice Christmas and New Years. Shelby is quite excited because she got a laptop for Christmas however, I am finding that that may have not been the best idea/gift for our relationship as mother and daughter. I have so many fears about the internet and predators out there, and then she talked me into letting her have a Facebook just so she can go on 2 applications (Farmville and Yoville) but now I am regulating that, ohhhhh, what a bigger nag I have become. We did have a good talk yesterday and I assured her that I don't want to always be "on her" about the computer and that I am just trying to keep her safe so hopefully she knows that I am not the meanest mom in the world. Geezzzz, I sorta feel like it though....

Sydney asked Santa for an Ipod and he delivered so she is quite happy about that, 6 years old and already loves to listen to music, must be in her blood.

Vince and I rang in the new year home alone, no kids, he fell asleep around 10:30 and I managed to keep my eyes open until midnight with the help of Dick Clark's Rockin Eve that my favorite performer Chris Daughtry was on. If it were not for that I probably would have been sawing down the forest too. Thinking back on 2009 I have so much to be thankful for, I managed to stay "stable" with my cancer ALL YEAR and did not have to switch treatments, I am so thankful and happy about that. I will be having a scan next Tuesday but I am expecting nothing but good news. As a family we started to take more adventures and get out more. By purchasing our trailer we were able to camp 4 times I believe between June and October so that was a lot of fun. We are looking forward to spring and the weather warming up so we can get back to it and visit some of the campsites on our list of, "places we would like to go". We made it through another year of Vince working in the Bay Area and us living in Sacramento but I am thankful he has a good job with steady work and I am grateful for the 3 day weekends he gets every week. So although it isn't the most ideal situation, after almost 3 years of this we are pretty well adjusted and with the state of the economy and lack of jobs, I am very happy things appear to be stable for us.

So that's about all for now, here's to a great 2010 with lots of adventures, laughs, fun stories, and more Fun With The G's.

Coming Soon

2009-12-04T10:17:00.001-08:00

I real update.....I know it's been forever but things have been crazy busy. I am happy to report my christmas shopping is coming along nicely, almost done, wooo hooo!!! Shelby earned the rest of her money for 6th grade camp by fundraising and selling Sees candy so we are very proud and grateful for that and we thank all of our friends and family who supported her in those efforts. We have a busy weekend planned but I hope to get some pictures so I will write more later, just wanted everyone to know that the G's are still havin fun. Be back soon!

Back On Track

2009-11-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

Well today is the girls first day back to school after being off track for a month. We were so busy I can't even believe how fast the month went by. We camped, I celebrated my birthday and the best part about that was a very special friend of mine took me to see Wicked, we went to my 20 year reunion, had a girls day in San Francisco with my mom and sister, and the list goes on and on. I swear every weekend we had something going on. So anyways, October was a crazy month but hopefully things will settle down now that the girls are back in school. Sydney has been informing me for a couple weeks that she is not looking forward to going back to school cause she doesn't want to see the mean yard duty....Haaaa...Ohhhh, I think I have my hands full with that one. Sydney dressed up as a 50's girl for a Halloween party and a witch for trick or treating, Shelby was Rosalie from the movie Twilight. I think Shelby looked just like her but she was a little bummed that no one knew who she was. Well not too much to write but I do hope you enjoy the misc. pics of our time "off track"....

Special Gifts

2009-10-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

I have so many special people in my life, I truly believe I am blessed. My cousin who is VERY talented in the arts field had shown me a BEAUTIFUL picture she was working on a few months ago. I told her she NEEDED to finish that picture and frame it because it was just the most beautiful thing to me, well being the sweetie that she is, she surprised me a few weeks ago. She came for a visit and brought the completed picture for me, framed, along with a beautiful poem on the back that was written by her boyfriend. I am posting a picture of it but it's hard to capture the beauty on camera.

Next wonderful surprise, today the doorbel rang and it was UPS, I went outside to see what was left and it was a package from Sherries Berries. Now for anyone who has not seen or tasted these berries, they are AMAZING!! So I open the box and there are 6, perfect chocolate covered berries in support of breast cancer. My wonderful friend Rebecca sent these to me. This is the same friend that took me to see Wicked last Saturday which was AWESOME!! We had a great day together and the play was so good, I highly recommend it.

These are just a couple recent examples of the wonderful things people do for me. There are so many more stories to share and I would be writing forever so I will just wrap this up with a big thank you to all of my friends and family for all of your continued love and support, I have said it before and I will say it again, you are all the BEST!!

Cause For Celebration

2009-09-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Well we have been celebrating around here. Sydney turned 6 last week and she celebrated with a little Tea Party with friends. I had little bells for the girls to ring if they needed a refill on their tea and let me tell ya, they gave Shelby a run for her money with those bells. I think they were slamming their "tea" just so they could ring the bell and have Shelby running all over the place. It was very cute. Shelby was a great help cause I don't know that I would have been able to keep up with those bells like she did, very doubtful.

Last week I also received the results from my most recent scan. There were some areas in the bones that looked slightly worse and others that looked slightly better and most importantly, liver still looks good so we are staying the course and not changing anything AND as long as I do not have any problems I get to go 4 months this time rather then 3 before my next scan. I am so excited about that because that means I won't have another scan until January and we will ring in the new year with more good news, that's what I am believing.

Things have been busy as usual around here, the girls are taking choir at school, Sydney is still taking swim lessons, Sydney starts dance again this week, and I still need to find something extra for Shelby to do, so basically almost every week night is filled with some sort of activity but it keeps me running and it's good for the girls to be involved so I am happy to accomodate the hectic schedule.

We have one more camping trip planned for October and then we will probably winterize the trailer and store it until after winter, but we'll see, who knows maybe we will use it in winter too, we do need to test out the heater.

Well that's about all. Thanks for reading.

Where Have We Been You Ask?

2009-08-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well I just realized it has been quite some time since I posted. Things are great. I will start by saying I am 5 days post the BEST Daughtry concert I have been to as of yet. My sister and I went to see him, oh I mean them at The Fillmore in SF last Thursday and it was a GREAT show!! We had VIP tickets so we were able to attend soundcheck, meet and greet the band which included hugs from all the guys (Yummm), and a picture with the band. Once they let us back in for the actual show we were front and center and I had the PERFECT view. What a night, I am still smiling about it. This was my 8th time seeing them and I am already looking forward to the next....Haaaa...nothing on the books at this point though. I will post a short video on here so you can see and experience a bit of the soundcheck. This was my first experience with that and it was very cool, it was like a mini concert for about 100of us, very nice!!

Speaking of concerts, I surprised the girls very last minute and took them to see the Jonas Brothers. I love surprising them and Sydney is a huge fan but I found it funny that half way through the show I looked over and there she was ASLEEP!! In her defense, it was during a slow song but I still have no idea how she fell asleep listening to thousands of screaming girls, my eardrums were shot at the end of the night.

Oh, our maiden voyage in our trailer was tons of fun too. We were having so much fun that we ended up extending our stay by one more day. It was funny though because having the trailer with air conditioning inside kept us inside most of the trip. We swam at the pool, played on the playground (I swang with the girls and Vince did the monkey bars which we are still laughing about that visual), we rented movies, and apparently we invited ants in to watch with us. Yes, that was the only down side, our last evening there we discovered ants were coming in so Vince and Shelby headed out to get some Raid while I stripped our bed (they were coming in through the back on the wall next to our bed...EWE!!!! The Raid worked like a charm and we had them dead and gone in less then an hours time. We now know we will always travel with the Raid, just in case. Other then that it was a great time and the trailer worked perfect. The shower is pretty small so it makes it a tad difficult to keep the water inside the tub but we are working on figuring out a solution to that problem. Can't wait to go camping again, so far we are very pleased with our purchase.

Let's see what else has been going on the past month, Sydney is taking private swim lessons and she is doing so much better, I should have started this 2 summers ago, Shelby was selected to be part of the Leadership and Conflict Resolution Management Team at school so we are very proud to see her getting involved in school activities. She is really enjoying 6th grade. Sydney is also enjoying 1st. Well those are the main highlights of the past few weeks. I will try to be better at updating, time just got away from me. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

Gettin Hot In Here

2009-07-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

Sydney's Girl Scout, well Daisy Troop had a field trip to the local fire station today. The girls got to watch a safety video while relaxing in the firemen's nice recliners and they got a complete tour of the station. They also let the girls sit in the back of the truck and put on their headphones and talk to one another, I think that was the girls favorite part. I told Sydney to ask where their pole was but she said she already knew, hmmmm, that's funny cause it was a one story station so there was no pole. Guess she just didn't want to ask but she did ask me on the way home where their black and white dog was. Haaa, I thought that was cute, no dalmation at that station. We had fun and were so thankful the firemen were so nice and willing to tell us and show us everything.

Week One

2009-07-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

Sydney ready for swim lessons

My happy dancing cake

Well this is the first week of school and for the most part it has been great. Both girls are loving their teachers which is wonderful. Sydney has had a rough week in general, she started her swim lessons and long story short, she has been crying every day because she does not want to go in the deep end. I decided to cancel her last session and sign her up for private lessons through someone who does lessons right out of her home. It's one on one and I think this setting will work much better for my little Sydney. To top that off she lost her lunch box on the 3rd day of school and told me she was sad because she had named the monkeys on the lunch box. The good news, it was found today so she has her monkeys back. She left the classroom in tears today because she fell at her last recess and scraped up her knees, so I consoled her on that and she got over it. WOW, it has been a week of many tears for her. Shelby on the other hand has been so excited everyday to get toschool and see what funny things her teacher will say, she is already having so much fun in 6th grade. She was "nominated" by a previous teacher to apply for the Student Leadership and Conflict Management team which was exciting for her. She filled out her application so hopefully she will get chosen. She also says she is going to run for student council. I am so proud of her, she is really trying to break out of her shell and do new things. In fact after Sydney's recital Shelby decided she wants to take up Irish dancing. She is giving up the hip-hop for the Irish dancing. I think she will do great because it is a very precise type of dance and that is so Shelby.

That's about all the news for now. I am doing great and feeling good. We are hoping to go on our "maiden voyage" in the trailer in the next couple of weeks so I will be sure to post about that.

New Adventures

2009-07-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well after our wonderful Father's Day camping trip we started to look for a small travel trailer and I am happy to say we found one. We pick it up next week and we can't wait to start filling our weekends making memories as a family and with friends and seeing more of California (and maybe other states too eventually). The trailer is used so we have already started a wish list of items we want to change such as the upholstery, carpet, lino....but in time we will do those things, we are just happy to have found one that fit in our budget and was in good shape.

On another exciting note...it's that time, as I am sure everyone knows, I am a huge Daughtry fan. Well, they are releasing their second album on July 14th, I have already pre-ordered my copy and lucky me, that copy came with a FREE ticket to his first local show which will be on August 20th. I am so excited to have a Daughtry concert "on the books". The last concert was on August 17th of 2008 so it will be just over a year and I will be back in my groupie state of mind. I have heard the new album in its entirety and I have to say, it's just as good as the first so no chance at me loosing my love for Daughtry, in my eyes, they are still amazing!!

Beauty and Relaxation

2009-06-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, Sydney was WAYYYY out there with Vince on the rocks, not my idea of fun so I hung back with Shelby and took pics

Much better, some gold panning near the rivers edge

Pooped out after a fun weekend

We went camping last weekend on the American River and I have to say, this was our first time at these ccampgrounds and we will definately be going back. It was so beautiful being right there by the river. The girls had a blast and we can't wait to go again. The only major down side....I dropped my camera in the river, I retrieved it but I am very very sad to report the flash is no longer working. Very upset about that!!

Very Brief

2009-06-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

I got the results of last weeks PET scan and they were GREAT!! Most of the lesions in the bones have improved some since the last scan and there is nothing new!!! I am so happy tonight, God is great!!!

What A Kick Off

2009-06-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten Promotion

Well summer is here, the girls are out of school, and we have been pretty darn busy. Shelby is helping out in one of the kindergarten classes twice a week, being on year round school, even though we are out, there are students still in school. Shelby loves helping in the class and she calls it her "job". We headed to the mountains for a weekend away last weekend, my niece was here this past weekend, this coming weekend we are going camping with some friends and the weekend after that we will be in Clovis, so as you can read, June has been quite a whirlwind.

I took the girls to see Up in 3D last week which we all LOVED, Sydney especially loved her 3D glasses, so much that she decided to wear them to Shelby's school choir performance, she said they were her, "1st grade glasses"...Ohhh, dear, guess I better make those disappear quick like. Shelby going into 6th grade will not be happy with her 1st grade sister wearing 3D glasses to school each day....Haaaa, the joys of having a younger sister, right? I was a younger sister and I know I embarrassed my sis a few times with my choice of clothing, think Hawaiian print moo moo and sweater, yes, I did wear that to school in the first grade, once. and the sweater, well it was under the moo moo, lovely!!

Shelby got her hair cut today and I am not happy about how grown up she looks, geez, how can it be that a hair cut can change their look so much????

Sydney has been loosing teeth like crazy, she has lost a total of 6 already and the permanent ones are all in the process of growing in but at various stages so, her mouth is looking a bit "messy" right now, but cute of course.

That's about it for now, just wanted to let those that read this know we are still around, just very busy.

On a health note, I had a PET scan last week and I get the results this Thursday so I will keep you all posted.

Winding Down

2009-05-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

The girls enjoying the great outdoors

Stormy enjoying a nice nap indoors on our bed. What a big kitty!

Well the school year is winding down, can't believe I will have a first grader and a sixth grader next year. The girls are excited for their summer break. We hope to be able to visit lots of family while they are off. Not sure if I mentioned in a previous post but Shelby is taking a hip-hop dance class and she is really enjoying it. Sydney is still taking tap and ballet and will be having a recital in July and she has also just started Girl Scouts. We have only had 1 meeting so far but I think this is going to be lots of fun for Sydney.

The weather is warming up and the girls played all last weekend in their little blow up pool. Sydney kept her sister out there all day and Shelby was such a good sport about it.

Other then that, not too much to report. Hopefully I will have lots of fun things to talk about while we are on summer break.

Another Success

2009-05-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Sacramento Komen Race For The Cure and the Boobie Troopers participated again. This was our 4th year participating and it was a great success. There were 20,000 runners/walkers this year and they rasied 1.8 million dollars. The Boobie Troopers did excellent with our fundraising efforts, we raised as a team almost $5,000 which is so great!!! Every year I try to think of something unique for us to wear so this year I ordered buttons for us that said "I'm a Boobie Trooper" but we also has cute flowers for our hair and ribbon for our sleeves made courtesy of Aimee (one of the Boobie Troopers and a great friend) and my cousin made these adorable ribbons for us to wear on our shirts too. My cousin had the idea of us wearing sashes like Girl Scouts do and each year adding another pin/button to them, I LOVE that idea!!! I want to say thank you to everyone again for supporting us and for my loyal Boobie Troopers (both new and old) Thank you so much for everything, you guys are the best.

Today is Mother's Day and after a long day yesterday I think I will just sit around and do nothing today. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Gearing Up

2009-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Easter 2009

Cousins
Well, we are gearing up for our 4th year of the Boobie Troopers participating in the Sacramento Komen Race For The Cure. Despite the bad economic times we are currently in, the Boobie Troopers have already managed to raise nearly $3,000 so that is wonderful and I thank everyone for all their generosity. I know this year it may be harder then ever to donate so thank you everyone who has made a contribution and for those who are unable, well thank you for your continued moral support, it means so much to me!!!!

Well we are in the middle of a mini heat wave and the girls have been having fun outside with their water guns. Sydney was enjoying soaking her big sister but the funnier part was that Shelby had the hose in her hand and rather then soak her sis back she just said, "Sydney, stop" I guess being the reservist that Shelby is, she did not realize she could have REALLY gotten her little sister back, quick!! Haaa..

The girls have just about 1 month left of school and then we call it another year. I can't believe how fast this school year went by. Sydney is more then ready to move on to 1st grade and Shelby might be ready for 6th however, I am not ready for the thought that this next year will be her last year in elementary school.

From a health standpoint, things are still going well. Yahhhhh for that!!

It's All Good

2009-03-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

I had a Pet scan last week and received the results today and I am more then pleased to say that my liver is still free and clear and there are no new areas of concern. The areas in my bones are pretty stable, there may be a slight worsening but not enough to alarm my doctor or to warrant a change in treatment so for now it's proceed as usual. I am very pleased about this. So while we are on the subject...the 4th Annual Boobie Troopers Komen Race For The Cure is approaching and I am looking forward to it again this year. We have some new team members that will be joining us as well as some original team members that won't be able to make it this year, but, although those that will not make it will be missed, I just feel so fortunate they have been able to walk by my side for the past 3 years and I look forward to them rejoining next year.

Sydney had open house at her dance lessons this week and she did so good, it was the cutest thing ever. Shelby has decided to take Hip-Hop dance lessons with I think she will be great at. She has decided she is not the sports type and I have been trying to encourage her to get involved in something so I was so happy when she came to me and said she wanted to take dance lessons again.

Well that's all for now. Thanks for checking in.

A Tad Late With The Disney Review

2009-03-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well we had a blast in Disneyland. We were able to do everything we wanted to and some things more then once. Shelby had been wanting to ride Space Mountain since we were there last year but last year we ran out of time so this year we made sure to go on it and she officially HATED it. Vince talked her into riding the Matterhorn with him and she got off that and said she will never ride it again so then while she is still suffering from the trauma of that ride her and I head over to Space Mountain and I am sure she is going to like it. I mean who doesn't like Space Mountain, it's been my personal fav since I was a kid. So as we are waiting in line we get to the point where they start showing videos warning about the sudden motion and speed of the ride and I then notice the excitement in her face completely GONE. As we get closer to the front of the line I start pointing out all the little kids getting off with smiles on their faces thinking that is sure to make my daughter not feel so frightened. So she sticks it out, we are directed to go to the line that puts us in the very front of the roller coaster, I am thinking bonus for me but probably not the best spot for my nervous co-pilot. So we take off and she just screams the whole way. After the ride we met back up with Vince and Sydney and she immediately releases all that emotion and breaks down in tears. Pour thing, I guess it's safe to say my kiddos are not into the adrenaline rush. Maybe someday....

Our friends David and Chrissy flew in for the day and spent one day with us in the park which was very nice. Oh, and we had breakfast with the characters and Sydney, my daughter who never turns down food was ready to get out of that restaurant once she saw Captain Hook, she wanted nothing more to do with her breakfast and she just kept an eye on him. Of course 10 minutes after we left she asked for an ice cream sandwich.

Pink With a "Capitol" P

2009-02-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

Last night was the kick off event for the 2009 Sacramento Komen Race For The Cure. My mom, the girls, and I went to the state capitol to attend the event. I was honored to be presented with a certificate of achievement for being one of the top 100 fundraisers for the 2008 Sac Komen Race For The Cure. If it were not for all my generous family and friends and all their/your continued support I would not have received this "award" so thak you all for everything you have done and continue to do for me!!! There were a few speakers last night and then they lit the state capitol up pink, it was so pretty! The crowd was smaller then I expected but it was still a great night. Here is a little video highlighting some of our evening. Hope you enjoy and again, THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me so generously through this journey, you all give me strength and words can not express my true gratitude.

Next up, Disneyland, we leave on Sunday and we are really looking forward to a nice family vacation.

Gearing Up For Some Fun

2009-02-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

The girls are out of school right now so we decided to plan another last minute trip, next week we are headed to see Mickey. This time it is not a surprise as my daughters just don't do well with surprises. We are excited and we are hoping all the rain we are having now will pass by the time we get there. Syndey has already informed us that she gets to pick the first ride we go on and that is going to be Alica in Wonderland. I guess starting her off last year with Pirates of the Carribean wasn't the best way to break her into the "happiest place on earth". We are really looking forward to our family vacation and to Vince having a week off work. I have already fully booked his "vacation schedule" between Disneyland and repainting Shelby's room, by the end of his vacation he's going to need a vacation. Haaaa...

No More Surprises

2009-02-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

Well Shelby was definately surprised with her birthday gift but at first I was a little concerned because it went over like the time we told Sydney we were going to the beach and ended up at Disneyland. That began in tears and so did the cooking surprise. The dinner assembly place was behind our dentist office so as we pulled in the parking lot I JOKINGLY said, "were going to the dentist" well then I parked the car and Shelby asked me, "what are you up to?" I was laughing because I was excited for her surprise and I figured she had figured it out when we drove by the sign that said Dinner My Way. Well apparently she didn't read that sign and next thing I know she is breaking out in tears so I ask what's wrong and she replies, "I didn't want to go to the dentist!" I can't believe she thought I was serious. How mean of a mom would that have made me....Geezzzzz...in the end it all worked out. I made a little video of her big day. She had lots of fun and she is looking forward to going back. We have eaten 2 of the meals she prepared and I must say, they have both been quite tasty!!

11 Years Already!!!

2009-01-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

Shelby opening a "pre-birthday" giftSis and Jenna at Hana Japan for Jenna's b-day dinner
Stormy is shy about turning 2

Well Shelby will be 11 years old tomorrow and I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. She started a whole new era for Vince and I and life has been wonderful ever since the day she was born. Yes we have had lots of trials and tribulations but Shelby (and Sydney) have helped us through those times. I look at her and remember when Vince was diagnosed with cancer 9 years ago, it was Shelby that gave me the strength to know it would be ok. When I was diagnosed with cancer 3years ago it was Shelby (and Sydney) that gave me the strength then to know, I will be ok. For the past 11 years I have looked at Christmas Eve with a whole new excitement. I have played with toys again and loved unconditionally. I have smiled and laughed more then ever. I feel so blessed to have my 2 beautiful daughters but tomorrow is all about Shelby. I will be surprising her with a cooking session at a place called Dinner My Way. This is one of those places where you prepare dinners and take them with you, pop them in your freezer and then take them out and cook them when you are ready to have them. Shelby wants to be a chef when she grows up so I decided this would be the perfect gift for her. I am so excited about it, I can't wait to see what she thinks about getting to do ALL the food prep without her controlling mother standing over her shoulder. Haaaa...I am promising to just observe and let her do it all. I will let you know how it goes.

We have lots of birthdays this month...Shelby celebrating 11 years, my mom celebrating 50 years (or maybe more, let's just say it's a "big birthday year"), our kitty Stormy celebrated 2 years, my cousin Jenna celebrated 19 years, and our good friends son Coley is celebrating 6 years. January is a big year for birthdays for us.....

One more thing I have not posted about yet, I got scan results last week and my liver is still CANCER FREE!!!! I still have some trouble spots in my bones but right now that's the worst of it so I am happy dancing for the next 8 weeks until my next scan. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, they continue to work!!!

White New Years

2009-01-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

Shelby and Amanda in action

We headed up to the snow this weekend and the girls had a blast playing with their cousins. They are all so funny together and I love seeing how close they are. Here are a few pictures from our trip to the snow as well as a video of my hilarious niece doing her Anjelah Johnson impression. Hope everyone had a very happy and safe new years. We are back to the routine tomorrow, the girls go back to school but they are already looking forward to the 4 weeks they will have off in February.
4

Tis The Season

2008-12-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

Isn't he a handsome kitty. I love this picture of Stormy.
Well it's been very busy around here getting ready for the big man in the red suit to make his annual appearance. For the first time ever I have actually finished shopping and wrapping before Christmas Eve, that is a huge accomplishment for me. Sydney's dance class had a little Christmas performance which was so cute and Shelby had her school choir "December Around the World" performance which was also great. It's so fun to see them doing so many fun things this time of year. We are spending Christmas Eve at my sister's which is guaranteed to be a good time and then Christmas Day we are staying home and enjoying our pj's and a nice warm fire in the fireplace (well as long as the air quality permits us to burn a fire). I have been slacking on keeping the blog up to date but for the most part there is not much to report. Just the same holiday busies like everyone else. I am feeling good on my new treatment and I love that I don't have to spend every Monday at the cancer center getting treatment. This has been such a nice break for me. I will have a PET scan on January 6th and I am thinking we will still have great news like we did last time and I will be able to continue on my current treatment. I guess I didn't realize before how much energy I didn't have because although I knew I would tire easily, I have a lot more energy now that I have stopped the chemo. This "extra" energy has really come in handy with all the hustle and bustle of the season. We are wishing everyone a very safe and happy holiday filled with laughter and love and may 2009 bring health and lots of good times to everyone. Merry Christmas!!

This and That

2008-12-04T22:44:00.000-08:00

Sydney and her buddyVince lovin the gravy
The kids on Thanksgiving
Our tree is up
Shelby's been into the curlers lately

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We enjoyed ourselves and my mom and I hit an early morning sale on black Friday. That was my first time ever going out at 5am and I have to say, I couldn't believe the number of people that were out at that hour just to get a deal and I happened to be one of them. The girls have been busy with school and Shelby is joining the "knitting club" so I am excited for her to learn so she can make us some scarves. I am about half way done with my Christmas shopping so I am feeling pretty good about that. I have been officially off chemo for a month now, my hair is sorta growing back but not as much as I had expected yet. I guess after almost a year of toxic chemicals destroying those cells it may take awhile to awaken them again.

Disqualified

2008-11-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well if I was running for any sort of "Mother of the Year" award I certainly would have been disqualified. Friday I sent my Sydney to Kindergarten with NO SNACK!!! She was sure to tell me all about it when she got home. I felt so bad I can just see her opening her lunchbox because it WAS in her backpack to find it completely empty. Luckily her teacher had some "emergency crackers" but I still felt really bad. So no mother of the year here. Haaaa...

The girls have been playing dress up lately and coming down modeling some of their best outfits for us. They have the moves down and the walk, so cute.

Halloween Fun

2008-11-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

The girls had fun on Halloween. Sydney was Snow White and Shelby was a Gangster Girl. We took them to our church for the church carnival which was fun even though we got rained on a bit. Vince and I found it funny though, about 5 people commented on Sydney's costume and how cute it was but they called her Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, or just a pretty princess only 1 person actually got it right and said, "Oh look at the pretty Snow White" I didn't know Snow White was that hard to recognize. I thought Sydney looked exactly like her, I guess she is not as popular as she once was as people completely forgot about her. I mean seriously, Cinderella, she's blonde with a powder blue dress, geez people get to know your princesses....Haaaa...

Lots of Dancing Going On

2008-10-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

Sydney started ballet and tap this week and she loved it. She was so focused and into what the teacher was telling them to do, it was so cute. They have already started learning a ballet and tap routine to perform for us in December. As of today I am dancing right along side her. I got the results of the PET scan I had done last week and there is no evidence of disease in my liver. Yes, the liver looks absolutely FINE!!! My bones still show "activity" but the words out of my doctors moouth were, "At this time you do not have life threatening disease in your body"! That was music to my ears, I have been waiting 3 years to hear words like that. It is all a bit surreal as I am feeling cautiously optimistic as the way breast cancer "normally" goes areas can be free of cancer but someday it usually does come back but for now we are just focusing on the positive and that is that 1. I get to stop chemo, 2. I get to grow some hair back, 3. My life is not on the line from cancer currently, 4. I will be doing a lot of celebrating this holiday season, 5. My liver is functioning completely normal and appears to be very healthy, and the list goes on and on. So put on your dancing shoes and do a little jig with me tonight as this is the news we have all been hoping to hear.

Music To My Ears

2008-10-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

We have been a little busy lately with the girls being out of school right now but I did want to pass on some possible good news. I had a CT scan 2 weeks ago and last week when I met with my Dr. to discuss the results he mentioned the possibility of going off chemotherapy for awhile. I have to admit this was very exciting but scary to hear. The CT scan showed no change since the one I had 2 months ago so everythng is still stable which is good news. My Dr. thinks it might be a good idea to take a little break to give my body a rest since I have been on this chemotherapy for 10 months now. Of course the thought of doing nothing to fight my disease is very scary so I told him IF we do decide to "take a break" I want to try another anti-hormonal drug that I have not tried yet, he was in agreement with that. So long story short, I am going to have a PET scan on Friday and that will hopefully show us if the spots on my liver and in my bones are "active cancer" or not. So fingers crossed that the cancer is no longer "active" and I will be able to take a break from chemo and maybe even grow some hair. I will keep every one posted. I get the results from the PET scan on October 30th.

Sydney and Shelby Stuff

2008-10-02T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sydney showing off her award

At the Pumpkin patch, the cutest Bermese Mountain Dog pup ever! I want one!

Sydney with her pumpkin

Hay rides are fun!

Well the girls are wrapping up their first trimester at school and so far things have been going great. Shelby is on a roll again with 5th grade receiving straight A's on her first report card. This achievement placed her on the Principal's Honor Roll as well as the District Honor Roll. In addittion to that both girls received perfect attendance awards for not missing a day of school yet. While we are on the awards topic, this trimester Shelby was awarded a character award for organization and Sydney was awarded a character award for honesty. So as you can tell, we are very proud of both of them. They will be going "off track" for a month and that will give them time to refresh their minds and relax a bit.

Today we went on a field trip with Sydney's class to our favorite pumpkin patch. All the kids had so much fun seeing all the animals and picking out their very special pumpkins.

That what we have been up to but I will leave you with one of Sydney's "funny stories"....Last week in the car completely out of the blue Sydney says, "Mommy, when I get big can I say bad words?" Shelby and I laughed and then I asked her, "Why would you want to do that?" and her reply, "Well if I do something bad"...So I guess my 5 year old is looking forward to getting big so she can swear, what a goal to have....Haaaa...

Ringling Brothers

2008-09-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

I seem to be running behind in posting lately but 2 weeks ago we went to the circus. I have to say, I was not all that impressed. I guess it is more impressive when you are a child however my 2 girls are not normal because they both got a little bored of the whole circus too. It was pretty funny though, they people attending the circus were more entertaining than the circus itself. We had this lovely mother of 2 sitting behind us that was getting angry every time she had to stand up to let someone walk by her in the row now you would think that this annoyance came from maybe several people constantly going back and forth but no, she was just a jerk. This poor mom had to squeeze by her to take her child to the bathroom and the lady got mad, she got mad because a child had to get by to use the restroom, obviously the circus was not the place for this controlling, complaining, no patience having mother. During intermission Sydney decided she wanted to sit next to Vince so Sydney and I traded spots, during intermission I remind you and the lady had the nerve to say, "there went my kids view" well I may be a little overweight but last time I checked I was not 6 feet tall so I think your kid will still be able to see the show just fine and if you are that worried about it lady you should have splurged for the front row seats and then no one would be blocking your view. So anyways, she was a real treat I'll tell ya. The elephants were really cute and the tigers were HUGE!!! I think aside from the elephants our favorite part was watching the 7 guys on motorcycles drive inside a sphere without crashing, I have no idea how they do that but it's pretty cool, well as long as they don't crash. So that's about it when it comes to the circus.

I did finally have my appointment with my Stanford doctor this week to discuss the results of the CT scan I had 6 weeks ago and he agrees with my UC Davis Dr. in that he is not totally convinced the current treatment has stopped working either so I was happy to hear he agreed and I will have my next scan in a week and a half and then we will know for sure. So keeping those fingers crossed that things are still looking good and I don't have to switch treatments quite yet.

Birthday Girl

2008-09-14T10:48:00.001-07:00

Sydney making a wish

She lovves her new mermaid Barbie

Shelby reading her card to Sydney

The girls with my Great and their Great Great Uncle

I am a little late in posting this but Sydney celebrated her 5th birthday on Monday. I am still in denial that my baby is 5 years old already. We had a little cake for her and I am still trying to get a tea party planned with her classmates but at the rate I am going it will probably be her 6th birthday when that happens. As you can see from the photos, she was very happy with her gifts, she loves everything!!

Yesterday the girls and I drove to visit my Great Aunt and Uncle and my cousin. We had such a nice visit with them as always. I have so many great memories growing up, they have always been so good to me and my uncle even use to babysit me every once in awhile when I was little. He still remembers that and we talk about it when I visit. The girls really enjoy visiting with them too and are always sad when we have to leave. I sure wish we lived closer!! My uncle will be celebrating is 86th birthday on the 18th of this month so happy birthday Uncle Tony, we love you!!!

Amazing Strength and Determination

2008-09-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

The girls and I with our signs for Chrissy

Chrissy immediately after she crossed the finish line

The girls and I with the Iron Woman!!

Chrissy and her family

Yesterday one of my best friends Chrissy ran a half ironman triathalon in Santa Cruz. She has been training for the past 8 months for this and I am so proud of her!!! Vince, the girls and I showed up in Santa Cruz at 7:30am to cheer her on. The race began about 5 minutes after we arrived. I am not sure who has ever watched a triathalon but let me just tell you, these people are AMAZING!!! She swam in the ocean for 1.2 miles then she ran 2 blocks up the road barefoot with a wet suit on where she changed into her bike gear and headed straight up hill for a 56 mile bike ride right after that it was back to the "transition area" to drop off her bike and head straight up hill again out for her 13.1 mile run which ended with about 2 miles worth of running on the beach and I'm not talking wet easier to run in sand I am talking the dry stuff that you just sink into. We were able to catch her entering the water and exiting the water before and after the swim portion and then we caught her heading out and returning form her bike ride and we also caught her heading out for the run and at the end as she crossed the finish line. Every time we saw her she had a big smile on her face however, at the time we didn't know she was suffering from motion sickness after swimming in the ocean and suffering from lightheadedness and dizziness after not being able to eat enough while she was biking (yes, this is an all day thing so they have to squeeze in eating while they are doing all this, see why I say they are amazing). Anyways, she completed the race, again, with a big smile on her face. The girls ran with her for the last few feet across the finish line as we watched and cheered her on. This was Chrissy's second tri the first was a "sprint" which was much shorter then what she did yesterday (but still amazing to me). I am just so proud of her because she did this with Team In Training to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She dedicated 8 months to preparing for this, and she gave it her all yesterday. I was so happy we could be there to show our support but I don't know if words can ever describe how proud and amazed I am by her determination, strength, courage, drive, etc....she really is something and I am blessed to call her my friend. Way to go Chrissy!!!!

Big Smooches

2008-08-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well we had a busy weekend!! We took the girls to the State Fair which was a day of many firsts. Sydney rode her very first pony which we were all shocked that she actually went through with it. Shelby has yet to do this and at 10 years old, it is doubtful she ever will. The girls both got their first kisses from a Sea Lion which was sooooo cute!!! Vince and Sydney saw their first live birth of a calf (I know, sounds gross but it is really cool). Shelby, Grammy, and I watched too but this was our second time seeing this as last year when we were at the State Fair (for the Daughtry concert) we were able to catch a live birth of twin calves. It was a very hot day but still lots of fun, well fun for a fair.

7 Times, But Who's Counting?

2008-08-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

He came up to the fence just to say "hi" to the small group that had gathered, such a nice guy!! The girls and I in our matching Daughtry shirts that I made Us with the band, what a moment!!! Lead Singer for Lifehouse Well I took Shelby and my niece to a concert to see none other then DAUGHTRY...haaa.We actually saw Lifehouse and a couple other bands of which I had never heard of. We had VIP tickets for Daughtry so we got to meet the guys and get our picture taken with them. I can't even remember what I said to them because I was so star struck and soaking in all the hugs we got from each of them. So not much to write but I do have tons of pictures. We were in the second or third row off to the side a little so we had a great view and I might add, my ears are still ringing. I tried to pick out my favoirte pictures of the 100 that I took. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Oh, and one more thing, I think I have officially converted my niece and daughter to Daughtry stalkers oops, I mean Daughtry fans. More Chris, love that smile Shelby watching the concert

Camp Out

2008-08-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

We went camping last weekend and had a blast!! The girls had so much fun and Sydney was a mess when we got home, she was even afraid of her bath water, that's how dirty she was. The place we camped at was really very nice and I would definately go back. We had a little trouble "setting up camp" as we borrowed my in laws tent trailer and for some reason we could not get the pop out side to "pop out" so after much struggle, help from other campers, and a crow bar, we managed to get it out and all was well, well at least until it was time to go home and then we couldn't get it pushed back in. That was just a minor problem though, everything else went smooth and we had a wonderful time.

on another note, I had my 3 month CT scan last week and got the results on Tuesday. There appears to be a chance that the current treatment that I have been on since January may be failing me already. Everything (except for the pesky liver lesions) is stable, in the liver there may have been some progression. My doctor is not totally convinced of this so we have decided to give it 8 more weeks and then take another look and see if things truly are progressing, I hope that they are not because I really do not want to have to change treatments again but I will do what I have to do. So wish me luck that this chemotherapy is still working and we can stay the course.

Dot to Dot

2008-08-01T08:37:00.001-07:00

Last of the summertime swim

Well the girls have just about completed their second week of school. So far everything is going well. We did have a little "disciplinary" action on Monday with Sydney. So after school Vince had picked her up and I was at treatment. On the ride home she says, "Daddy, I got a dot next to my name today but we are not going to tell mommy"....Ummmmm WHAT?!!!! So turns out she did not freeze when the teacher blew her whistle at the end of recess which I guess resulted in Sydney having an orange dot placed by her name for the rest of the day. I am still a little confused by it but her teacher didn't mention it to me so I guess it is no big deal however, the fact that she didn't think they had to tell mommy WAS a big deal!!!! So I guess my kids already fear the wrath of mommy, not good. Although I am thinking Sydney is the one that is going to push the limits because her sister who is in 5th grade has never gotten a dot or had to "pull a card" (that's another form of disciplinary warning they use at school) in all her years so far in school, or wait, maybe she just didn't tell me....Haaaa...

All in all, things are going great as long as we can keep the little one on the straight and narrow.

Back To School

2008-07-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well school started yesterday and it went off without a hitch. Shelby thinks she is really going to like her teacher this year and Sydney marched into Kindergarten like she owned the place. I was so proud of her, no tears, no clinging to mom and dad, just in the door she went. She said she had fun but was upset that they didn't get to paint. I guess she has gotten the idea in her head that kindergarten involves painting daily. Haaaa. So here are a few pictures from their first day. My babies are growing up!!

Running Behind

2008-07-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sydney's 1st missing tooth

Sydney being a Rivercat and the fireworks at the game

Things have been pretty busy around here so I have been behind in posting whats been going on with us but we have had some big news, SYDNEY LOST HER FIRST TOOTH. She was so excited about it and the tooth fairy left her $2.75 (in bills and change because the tooth fairy has learned that if there are lots of pieces of money as Sydney calls it then it is a lot of money even if some of it is pennies. Sydney was so excited by her "lots of money".

We attended a Rivercats game a couple weeks ago which was lots of fun. The Rivercats are a local minor league baseball team here is Sac and it was "Swing For The Cure" night so the players all wore pink jerseys. This was a fun night and we were very focused on the game since we seemed to be seated in foul ball zone. The first hit of the night resulted in a ball flying up into the stands about 3 rows in front of us and hitting a lady in the head. So we were keeping our eyes on the foul balls the rest of the night.

The girls start school in 1 week, the summer has flown by and I still can't believe my baby is starting Kindergarten in just 1 week.

Well that's about it for today.

This was so cool, it was a pink ribbon "firework" on the field

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

2008-07-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Sydney doing her back float

The girls have been taking swim lessons again this year and all is going great. Shelby is doing so good I told her this will be her last year unless she wants to learn some "advanced" maneuvers. Sydney is also doing great. She got right in the water there was no crying or clinging to mommy this year. It's pretty funny though. They have a little barbell floating device that the kids will use to hold onto while they float on their back and do arm strokes. Well Sydney's little thighs are so big that the barbell is not even floating in the water when she is on her back it is simply resting on her thighs, it's pretty funny. Hopefully she will loose some of that "bulk" once she starts school in just 3 more weeks. I can't believe it is almost time for her to start Kindergarten. It just doesn't seem possible. She went to the dentist a couple weeks ago for her required check up and she refused to let them even look in her mouth so we have to try again in 6 months. She is definitely not like Shelby. When Shelby is afraid or apprehensive she will look scared but with coaxing she will go along with the plan Sydney on the other hand digs her heels in and will not budge. So hopefully they will be able to check her teeth next time.

That's about all that's been going on around here. I am still doing well. I have been on my current treatment going on 7 months now and I am still feeling good. I will have another CT scan in about 6 weeks and I expect good news from that one as well.

The Graduates

2008-06-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating all the graduations. My cousin graduated from high school as well as our good friends twins, this I can't believe. How can these girls be 18 already, I just don't know. Kids are just growing up too fast.

Sydney also had a graduation of sorts, she likes to call it "promotioning". Her school had a little "ceremony" yesterday which was so cute and it was perfect that it was on a Monday because Vince was able to attend as well. He hates that he misses a lot of the girls school stuff because he is off working in the Bay Area. I think he really enjoyed seeing his baby get promoted to Kindergarten. Hope you enjoy the pictures of our very busy but good weekend.

Betsy Ross and Luzena Wilson

2008-06-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

Well Shelby has completed 4th grade. This was another great year for her. She was on the honor roll all year and the Principal's List (4.0 GPA) twice. We were so proud of her. To end the school year her class performed a play called Gold Dust or Bust. It was so cute to see them perform and I was very impressed with their acting skills. Shelby played the part of a character Luzena Wilson who was one of the main characters in the play and her best friend played the other leading female roll. It was pretty funny because the dress her teacher provided for Shelby's friend to wear had several holes in it so Shelby graciously volunteered her grammy to fix/sew it. Well we all believe our grandma's are expert seamstresses however, sewing has never really been my mom's "forte". Don't get me wrong, she has made an outfit or 2 in her time but it's just not her favorite thing to do. Being the wonderful grammy that she is, she agreed to mend the dress. We have an antique Singer sewing machine that has not been used in probably 10+ years. So grammy opened the sewing table, refreshed her memory on how the thread the machine, I grabbed the fire extinguisher because the antique cord was "crunchy" and off she went. The sewing machine took off a few times (it's a little hard to get use to the knee control) but in the end, the dress was just like new. I sat on the sidelines snapping pictures and laughing (surprise, surprise). These are the memories I love even if it resulted in a headache for my mom, must have been her intense concentration.

Another "big" thing that happened for Shelby recently was that we found out she needed glasses. She never mentioned that she was having trouble seeing so luckily when we took her for her physical they told us she needed to see an Optometrist. She looks very cute with her new glasses on and a little too grown up for my taste.

Caterpillars and Butterflies

2008-05-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

I had to share this story. Yesterday Sydney and I were at the park and there was another little girl, looked to be about the same age as Sydney there. They eventually started playing together and wound up on a grassy area behind the bench I was sitting on. Sydney suddenly bends down with hands on knees and says to her new friend, "Look, it's a caterpillar" the little girl says, "Where?" Sydney says, "Right there" as they both get their faces a little closer to the ground to see. The other girl sees the caterpillar, draws her leg up with her "Ugg style" boot on and says, "Want me to kill it?" Sydney yells out and puts her hand out as if to stop the girl, "NOOOOO!!" the little girl puts her foot back down and says with confusion, "Why not?" being a girl they should want to kill all bugs, right? Sydney says back to her, "Because it's going to turn into a butterfly" the little girl then asks Sydney, "It is, when?" and Sydney replies, very sure of her answer, "On Monday!" Haaaaaaa...I was cracking up inside, this was the cutest moment and that caterpillar was probably saying to Sydney, "Thanks for buying me 5 more minutes" Ohhhh, kids are so much fun.

On another note, I got the results from my CT scan that I had last week and although they did not have my Stanford reports to do a comparison before my doctor appointment, based on what they reported and what was reported by Stanford last time my Davis Dr. sees nothing new mentioned so he is thinking things are stable if not slightly improved. They are doing the comparison now and I will have that to take with me to my appt. at Stanford next week. I was happy about the news and I will continue on on the current treatment plan.

The Troopers

2008-05-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Boobie Troopers participated on our 3rd annual Komen Race For The Cure on Saturday and it was amazing! There were an estimated 25,000 walkers/runners and over 2.5 million dollars were raised. Every year I am inspired, amazed, humbled, and touched by the number of people supporting this cause. After the walk they have a survivor ceremony which is very cool. As I was leaving the ceremony to meet up with my team my brother in law saw a reported interviewing survivors. He encouraged me to go talk to the reporter so Kevin, Sydney and I walked over there and I was interviewed. Well what do you know, I made it on the evening news. There is a video clip of parts of my interview. You can view the video at http://cbs13.com/local and then just scoll through the videos until you see the one with a bunch of women in pink and click on it. There are 3 small comments by me in the video and a cameo of Sydney too. Haaaa...It was pretty cool to see myself on the news.

Thank you again to all my family and friends who walked with me and thank you to everyone who supported us with donations and/or good wishes, it's all your support that keeps me strong and encouraged and positive.

Happiness and Hope

2008-05-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well our family visiting from Oklahoma went home yesterday. Our visit was so nice and I miss them both already. It was wonderful to see how happy they are together. It should give everyone hope that if you loose your spouse, no matter how much you loved them, and how much you were right for each other, happiness can be found again if that is what you are looking for. My grandparents were married 60 years and after so much time you would wonder if someone would ever be able to move on, well grandpa has and I have to say, I am thrilled for him. Grandma will always have a very special place in his heart (as she will in all of ours) but now his new wife has her own special place in that very big heart. My grandpa is a man of strength and great integrity and I look up to him very much and I can't be happier for his new found love.

Oh, my sis, my mom, and I went to the Michael Buble concert Sunday and can I just say it was fabulous!!! He is a wonderful performer and quite charming and cute too. We had a blast, it was our early Mother's Day gift to our mom and I think she enjoyed it as well.

One our way to the concert
Look how close we were

The Boobie Troopers are pushing right along, we have raised $4,850 (not including some "offline donations that have not yet been counted). It is turning out to be another very successful fundraising year for us. Thank you to all the team members for your hard work and dedication to raising money for this wonderful cause and thank you to all of our supporters.

Field Trips and Family

2008-05-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

This has been a fun week, my grandpa and his wife arrived on Wednesday for a visit from Oklahoma. It has been so nice having them here. I am not going to want to see them go next week.

Sydney had a field trip today and she had so much fun with her friends. As you can see, the girls are already bonding in her class, as she says, "Girls Rule" Just as long as she keeps up that school of thought!!! Haaaa...

Well off to enjoy my family, just wanted to post real quick.

Oh, also, the Boobie Troopers will be doing our 3rd annual Komen walk on May 10th and our team has already raised $3,915.00. I am so appreciative for everyone's support. Year after year friends and family help us by donating so generously for suce a wonderful cause. Together we will help find a cure.

VROOoooooommmmmm

2008-04-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

I found this car which is a Limited Edition Warriors In Pink 2008 Ford Mustang and I felt like I had to have it. I needed to be able to drive this car and make a statement that I am a fighter and I will win this battle so....yesterday the girls and I headed for the dealership and came home with this beauty. I still can't believe it. Those that know me know I am a new car fanatic but this car is more then just a new car for me, it has meaning behind it plus isn't it the cutest with the pink striping, breast cancer ribbon behind the pony on the emblem, pink stitching on the black leather seats and the pink ribbon on the floor mats, it's just so me!! Also, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Susan G Komen Foundation!!! I'm trying to support the cause any and every way I can, we need to find a cure!!

Mickey Was Not Such A Good Surprise

2008-04-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Sydney sleeping on the way there

watching the fireworks

Vince and his girls

The girls after their face painting

Shelby and I on Casey's train
So we decided to surprise the girls with a trip to Disneyland. We were able to keep the "secret" quite well by telling a little fib that we were going to Newport Beach. Well Sydney was so looking forward to the beach that when we told her we were actually going to Disneyland she burst out in tears...I bet that's a first. Anyways, she got over it quick once she saw Disneyland but that wasn't enough trauma, we then decided to take her on Pirates of the Carribean as her first ride, another bad move on our part as that scared the daylights out of her. So the remainder of the trip we had to convince her that Alice In Wonderland did not have pirates in it and the snails in the Electrical Light Parade were not coming to get her. Note to self for next time, DO NOT TAKE THE LITTLE ONE ON A SCARY RIDE TO START THE DISNEY EXPERIENCE.

She liked the bumper cars

It was a long day

The girls with their Mickey ears on

The girls and I

The girls on Minnie's chair

We did have a blast and it was hot but in the end I am so happy we planned this last minute trip, it was a lot of fun to get away.

Sydney and me well a little too much of me

The girls and I

The girls on Dumbo and yes, Vince and I were on Dumbo together in front of them, what a sight

Blaze Of Glory

2008-04-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

So last night was AWESOME!!!!! Vince and I went to the DAUGHTRY/Bon Jovi concert and we had amazing seats. WE were only 7 rows from the front and pretty close to the center. This by far was the best show so far that I have seen because I was so close and as always they sounded AMAZING!!!! I am not going to write alot just that I am obssessed with these guys (well Chris to be exact) and Bon Jovi isn't half bad either. They were both incredible and I would see this show a 100 times more if I could, it was that good!!! These are just a few of the great pictures I took from my great seats. I hope you all enjoy as much as I did. Oh, and Chris and Bon Jovi singing Blaze of Glory together, well let me just say....it doesn't get any better then that!!! In all my glory today........

Did I Mention

2008-04-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am going to see Daughtry next week, floor section, 7 yes just 7 rows from the front. Ahhhh, I am soooooo excited for this. It has been 6 months since I have seen these guys in concert and I am having serious Chris withdrawls. Haaaa... Vince is going with me to this concert so I will have to "control myself" or not. Haaaa..I will let you all know how great it is and hopefully I will have some yummy I mean good pictures to share.
Also, Vince has the same exact shirt that Chris is wearing in this picture, what a coincidence....

I Am

2008-03-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Shelby had Open House at school last week and one of the things she had worked on this year was a poem called "I Am". I had the opportunity to read Shelby's poem and my response is I AM PROUD. I decided to post her poem here for all to read because I think it is pretty amazing for a 9 year old (it was written in December before she turned 10). Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Oh, warning, the ending is a little tear jerker and there is one part about her parents argung, Hmmmm, I have no idea where she got that from...Ha..What a wake up call for us though, just a reminder to try even harder to not argue in front of the little ones as it truly does have an impact.

I Am

I am responsible and caring
I wonder why you mostly get sick in winter than in summer
I hear my brain talking to me
I see myself being wonderful in life
I want to be the world's greatest chef
I am responsible and caring

I pretend to be a mother
I feel that everyone should treat each other nicely
I touch my needs and goals
I worry when my parents argue
I cry when I'm lonely
I am responsible and caring

I understand how to be a nice person
I say that you can always do what you want to do
I dream about owning my own mall
I try something new everyday
I hope my Mom can get through cancer
I am responsible and caring

Written by: Shelby Garcia
December 2007

She's Incredible

2008-03-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

I figured out who Sydney reminds me of with her cute little haircut, Edna from The Incredibles, What do you think???? Haaaaa...

Mini Vacation To The Coast

2008-03-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

He looks grumpy

Ahhhh, how cute

The view from our balcony

Brrrrrr it's chilly out here

Vince and I took a mini vacation (as in one night stay) to San Simeon this past weekend. The weather was clear but windy and chilly. It was very nice to get away though. One of the coolest parts of our little vacation was seeing the elephant seals. The babies that were born a month or so ago were still on the beach so we got to see them up close. There was a guide there and she gave us so much information on these fascinating mammals. I just love this kind of thing so it was right up my alley. We want to go back during mating and birthing season next time as it sounds pretty cool to see. I was also surprised at how blue the ocean was down there. We have not been to that area of the coast since our honeymoon almost 9 years ago but I don't remember the water being so blue back then, maybe it's just that the water here is so brown....Haaaa...

Locks Of Love

2008-03-04T17:22:00.000-08:00

The girls went and got their haircut today and they both donated the cut hair to Locks of Love. We have been talking about doing this and Vince was against cutting Sydney's hair but she decided it was something she wanted to do. I guess seeing mommy with a wig and knowing she would be helping other people get wigs made her decide she wanted a haircut, TODAY! So both girls now have cute, stylish bobs and they are both feeling so good about it as am I. It's always nice to help out and after all, it's just hair, right.....So way to go my little angels, I am sure someone will be very happy to have your beautiful hair. xoxo!!

Drum Roll Please

2008-02-27T09:45:00.001-08:00

The scan results were GOOD!!!!!! I got my results yesterday and all areas are either stable or slightly improved, so we were very pleased to hear that. My doctor said he is not surprised that things were not drastically improved because he said the class of drugs that I am on tend to work slower and "chip away at the tumors". I will continue on the current treatment plan for 3 more cycles (3 months) and then we will scan again. So all in all it was a very good day. I was very nervous and my heart rate was up when I got there but after they told me the good news I took a big cleansing breath and felt very relieved. Thank you everyone for you continued good thoughts, prayers, encouragement, support, etc, etc, etc....I know all of my wonderful friends and family are helping me beat this monster. So, that's the update. Big smiles!!

These Eyes

2008-02-24T13:23:00.000-08:00

I felt so bad last week. The girls had to both go for their physicals and initially we were thinking Sydney would be getting 3 shots. Shelby kept saying she felt sorry for Sydney having to get shots. Well little did we know Shelby would be getting 2 shots herself (and Sydney actually got 4). The look on Shelby's face when they said she would be getting 2 vaccinations, her eyes welled up and she was so scared. It has been years since she had a shot so I think she forgot that they really are not that big of a deal. We made it through tears and all and then I took them both for a nice big frozen yogurt after. They are both doing great, very healthy, Sydney is still on the "heavy" side weighing in at 50 lbs at 4.5 years old and Shelby is actually on the smaller side weighing in at 65 lbs at 10 years old. I guess I just need to continue to watch Sydney's "snacking habits" she's perfect to me though and the Dr. said once she starts to get taller then she will thin out.

Vince and I went to a crab feed last night which was a lot of fun. I have not been to a crab feed in YEARS!!! It was really good and we had a nice time. I will be heading to my sister's tonight because I am having my first CT scan after starting the treatment I am currently on. It's been 7 weeks so here's hoping this treatment is knocking it all out. I am feeling good, no new symptoms of anything. I am pretty much just tired from the treatment and I have also become a wig addict, I have 4 new wigs, one for every mood. I figure since I am saving a ton of money not having to color my hair or get it cut, better spend those savings on multiple hairdos. I think I am all done now. The owner of the wig shop wanted to give me a job there. I told her I could volunteer and wear wigs and cheer people up her reply was, "You never know what life has in store for you" so we'll see, maybe someday I can do something good like that. I think it would feel good. I will post my scan results on Tuesday night or Wednesday, fingers are crossed.

Love Is In The Air

2008-02-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

The girls showin each other some LOVE

Well it's been awhile since I posted. Things have been pretty busy around here. Shelby is out of school for 5 weeks so we are going to try and stay busy so the girls don't get bored. This week we are going to visit some family in the Bay Area on Valentine's Day which we are really looking forward to and then after we will get to go see Vince for awhile so that will be fun.

Last week Sydney was sick with the flu so we had the pleasure of buying a new couch as she threw up on our old couch and well, that's pretty much the end of that. So all in all I am happy to be getting new furniture even if it is sooner then I had wanted to.

My brother in law had major surgery last week and I am very pleased to report that he is doing wonderful. It will be a long recovery but he is doing great and I am so happy about that. I went to the hospital to be with my sister after his surgery last week and once he is recovered and laughing no longer hurts, we have some funny stories for him, put it this way, those heavy pain meds combined with anesthesia make you do some pretty funny stuff. All kidding aside though, I am so happy he has this behind him and he is doing so great.

My treatment is going well. I had a few weeks of some pretty low white blood cell counts but as of this week they are higher so that is great. I will get scanned in 2 weeks and that will be our first look at whether or not this treatment is kickin some butt, my vote is that it is working!!

Well that's about it, hope everyone has a very nice Valentine's Day.

Double Digits Already

2008-01-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

Well Shelby is 10 years old today. I am sitting here in awe thinking that it was 10 years ago that I had her. That was one of the longest and best days of my life. Shelby was such a good baby and 10 years later, she is still a very good girl. In her ripe old age of 10 she has already figured out what she wants to be when she grows up and that is a chef. She always talks about her restaurant and what she will name it. she has a Tv in her room and more times then not you will find her not watching a kis program but watching The Food Network or some fashion program on TLC. She is already so focused. We had a last minute "celebration" for her last weekend so I am posting a couple pics from that and then of course some pics I took of her this morning before school. She is wearing a very cute and stylish outfit her auntie bought her for her birthday. Can you see how grown up she is looking? I can't take it!

New Protocol

2008-01-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well I made it through my first week on the new treatment. I have to say I was pretty tired but then by Saturday I had cabin fever and needed to get out of the house. So far the treatment is not bad aside from having to take 2 naps a day, at least I didn't feel sick with it. So tomorrow I am off for my second dose of this lovely potion, hoping it is the "magic potion" for me. The nurses at UC Davis were very nice and although the facilities are no where near as nice as Stanford the care I received was very comparable and after all that's really what matters. So just wanted to let everyone know things are going well so far.

My niece is the one in the front.

My niece went to her first "formal" this weekend. She looked so pretty all dressed up. Shelby just looks at the pictures and I can see she is looking forward to the day when she can dress up in a fancy dress. I told her maybe Amanda will save her dress and Shelby can wear it to her first dance when she gets in college..Haaaa She was like, "COLLEGE???!!!!" I guess I didn't pull that one past her.

Reflections of 2007

2008-01-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well all in all 2007 was a pretty good year packed with many memorable moments and experiences. Here is a little recap of what we were up to last year.

The Good =
1. My very first DAUGHTRY concert in February.
2. Meeting the man himself and getting pictures with him also in February. Probably ranks as the best moment of the year!!!!
3. Flying to Tucson with my sis to see another DAUGHTRY concert, another February event. February was a very good month for me.
4. My treatment worked for most of the year and kept things from progressing for 10 months.
5. Shelby did and continues to do a wonderful job in school.
6. Sydney continues to love her preschool.
7. I made my debut in a local Sacramento magazine and Shelby and I were on the cover. More importantly, I was able to share my story with others in hopes that it will help someone facing what I have been faced with the past 2 years.
8. We added another pet to the family who has turned out to be quite a love.
9. The Boobie Troopers walked again and raised over $4,000 in support of finding a cure for breast cancer.
10. My grandpa from Oklahoma came to visit for a few weeks, it was so nice having him here.
11. I saw DAUGHTRY for the 3rd time in concert at the State Fair with Shelby, Sydney and my mother.
12. Vince was united with his family that he never knew and they have been so accepting of us!
13. Shelby and I got to go see Justin Timberlake in concert which was pretty amazing.
14. Another DAUGHTRY concert (4th to be exact), with my niece this time in celebration of our birthdays.

The Bad
1. Vince lost his job and has been working for a company in the Bay Area. (bad that he lost his job but good that he found another fairly quick)
2. We tried to sell our house but the market is so bad that so far, we have not been able to sell.
3. Sydney went on a 2 week eating strike and refused to eat solid foods, that was no fun at all!
4. I lost my beloved grandmother, she is missed everyday!
5. I found out the treatment I have been on for 10 months is no longer working.

The Ugly or should I say Scary
1. Shelby entered 4th grade. Gulp where is the time going?
2. My niece graduated from 8th grade and entered highschool, I feel old!!
3. My feet and hands have been pretty ugly all year with the hand and foot syndrome I experienced with the treatment I was on most of the year.

As you can see, the good far out weighed the bad so I guess despite all I will have to say 2007 was all in all a good year. I got to see lots of live DAUGHTRY, spend lots of time with my family and friends and best of all I am still feeling good and ready for 2008. Here's hoping it's also filled with lots of DAUGHTRY concerts and goods news and maybe even a cure!

Spelling Lesson

2007-12-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

Isn't he sweet
The girls and their kitty

Sydney has been into sounding words out and asking how to spell them or telling me what letter they start with. Well, lasy night Sydney was sounding out the word SIT, so she says, "Mom, SIT starts with S" and I say, "yes" and then she says how do you spell it and I say, "SIT" and then she asks "Is there an H in it?" Haaaaaaa...well Nooooo but I suppose if we were spelling S*it there would be. I of course didn't say that but I sure laughed when she asked if there was an H in it....I swear she makes me laugh when shes not even trying to.

Well I am off to UC Davis tomorrow to meet with the Oncologist there that will hopefully be administering my chemo so I don't have to drive to Stanford every week. Other then that not much else going on besides the usual Christmas shopping and baking cookies.

I Got Scrooged

2007-12-05T13:28:00.000-08:00

Well I went for a CT scan on Monday and got the results yesterday and they were not as good as we had hoped for. It appears one of the lesions in my liver (the largest one to be specific) actually grew a little these past 6 weeks and there is another area within my body that it looks like this beast has spread to (it's called the Omentum). So what that means is, off this chemo and on to another. I was feeling pretty upset about it yesterday because whenever these drugs stop working I feel like I have just checked another one off my list of things to try. They tell me there are still several more drugs that we have not tried, but still, I am always hoping to get lots of time or use out of one before having to switch. I was on this treatment plan for almost 1 year so I suppose that is pretty good results but just not as good as I had hoped for. Ultimately I want to get that miracle and end up cancer free someday (preferably sooner then later) but for now I will have to just plug along and continue to hope for the best and believe that someday this will all be behind me. So for now, this Christmas, I have been Scrooged, no luck in my stocking but there is always next year, right. Maybe I will get that miracle in 2008. So the new treatment plan is a weekly dose of a drug called Taxol. Since this will be given every week and I am not up to driving to Stanford on a weekly basis, we are going to see if we can work with a local Oncologist here in Sac that can administer most of my treatments and then I will just go to Stanford for my scans and to check in with my Oncologist there who I really, really like!!!! So hopefully things will be underway within the next few weeks, I will keep you all posted. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, I am planning to make the best of mine!!

A Little Christmas Cheer

2007-11-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

Outside lights
All decorated
The stairway looks pretty too

Stormy enjoying some time under the tree

We have already started making it look like Christmas around here. Vince got the lights put up on the house and we put up our 12 foot tree this weekend too. It looks so pretty. I am posting a few pics but the photos just don't do it justice. I am so excited that we finally have a tree that doesn't look like Charlie Brown's tree in our living room. So we have a jump start on the decorations but I am feeling behind on the shopping front, so I am gonna hurry and post this and see if I can get any last minute "cyber Monday" deals before bed. Hope you enjoy our decorations!!

Joy and Excitement

2007-11-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let anyone that doesn't know, know....DAUGHTRY WON 3 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS LAST NIGHT....Wooooooooo Whooooooooo. I am so happy for these guys. They were so cute accepting their awards and of course my main man, Chris Daughtry himself was looking as spiffy and hot as ever!!!!! So excited for them!!!! Yeahhhhh for DAUGHTRY!!!!

Happy Birthday To Her

2007-11-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we went on a little road trip to celebrate my niece's b-day with her. I still can't believe she is 14 years old....I know I say this about all the kids but seriously, I now know what all the adults were talking about when I was growing up, the time just goes by too fast. Unfortunately I don't get to spend as much time with my niece and nephew as I would like because we live so far from one another however, when we do get together there is always a great time to be had. I was able to meet a few of my niece's friends and I have to say, they seem like a great group of girls. They are all very motivated to get great grades and have fun and I love to see that. We also attended one of my niece's softball games which I have not gone to in about 2 years and these girls were soooo good!!!! She cracks me up because she has always been very competitive but she also very driven and good. I think the drive she has will make her achieve whatever she sets her mind to and currently it is being a doctor someday. So here's a big Happy Birthday to my niece whom I am so very proud of. Isn't she beautiful!!

BOOOooooooooooo

2007-11-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post some pictures of us carving pumpkins as well as the final results (thank goodness for Pumpkin Masters carving kits). Also, some pics of the girls on Halloween. We ended up going to the carnival at our church Halloween night and what a great experience. The girls got to play lots of games, they had tons of jumpy houses, and they got of course way too much candy. We have been busy lately so I am a little behind in posting but next up will be pictures from this past weekend. My niece turned 14 so we went to Clovis for her b-day party. More on that later but let's just say, she is growing up and she is a beautiful girl both inside and out. I hate to brag but she really is an amazing child!!!! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!

The Patch

2007-10-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch a couple weeks ago and had a great time, took a hayride, pet a few sheep, looked at a few cows and picked out a few pumpkins. Shelby loves this pumpkin patch because they have 2 Bermese Mountain dogs that are the "resident" dogs and unbelieveably, she loves these dogs, she hates our 2 resident dogs but loves these two. So she was happy to see they were at the patch again this year. Shelby has decided to be a pirate for halloween and Sydney wanted to be a cat like Dora which was just a plain black cat, nothing fancy, well wouldn't you know it, I could not find any cats costumes other then the "Diva Cat" or the "Fancy Cat" which of course look nothing like an actual cat. So we ended up with the "Phat Cat" yes Phat as in Baby Phat. It is very cute but not the traditional black cat that she was hoping for, she was disappointed for a minute but now she is all excited about her costume. I will be sure to take pics tomorrow of them dressed up. Oh, one last note about halloween, Shelby's school does not allow them to drress up for school, no parade, no nothing, very sad what modern day times have come to, I always loved the school halloween parade and looking at all the kids dressed up and all the different costumes. Oh well....

Last thing, I had my most recent CT scan and Bone scan last Monday and the results were "everything is still stable" my doctor said he was very pleased with my results and pleased that everything remains stable so good news to live off of for the next 6 weeks until the next scan.

Happy Halloween!!!

Weekend In The Woods

2007-10-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hendrix - 13 months old
Big Jagger - 11 months old

Sweet Miles - 9 months old

We went away last weekend on a trip to the forest (as Sydney says). It was so nice to just get away and relax! Immediately after our relaxing getaway we all went to my sister's for a few days. Shelby is out of school for 3 weeks so we were able to spend most of the week with Vince (as most of you know, he is staying with my sister until we either sell the house or he finds a decent job here). Anyways, my sis and bro in law went away for a few days so I agreed to take care of her 3 (yes 3) cats.....I have to say, I have never considered getting more then 1 cat but after "cleaning up" after 3, I know FOR SURE, I would never have more then ONE. Man I felt like I was scooping litter and swivel sweeping (this is what we use to vacuum the litter crumbs that they track out of the box off the tile floor, works like a charm) every 30 minutes. In fact one night at about 2am I woke up and smelt something, well I wasn't quite sure but I was pretty sure I knew what I thought I smelt. So I start thinking, did I step in something on my way back to bed in the dark? No, I would have known that. Well then I look over at Vince who had been sound asleep and I see him pull the neck of his t-shirt up over his nose...This was my que to head to the cat box and see what was a brewin, well there I was in my jammies, hair askew, scoopin poop and swivel sweeping that floor, AT 2AM!!!! I know crazy but had I not done that then we would not have gotten much more sleep because for being such small animals their waste sure packs a punch!!! All in all they are a lot of work but very sweet too. I was assigned to be the photographer of the 3 kitties while my sis was gone because they are going to be in a calendar and I needed to get some pics of them with my new awesome camera. I am posting some pics from both of our getaways. We did have a great time and it was nice to spend the week as a family again.

Until Next Time

2007-10-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

So I attended my 4th Daughtry concert last night and as usual HE WAS AMAZING!!! He sounds great live and he is so cute when he interacts with the audience (well he's pretty much cute all the time but you know what I mean). I took my niece to the concert for our birthdays and I think she had fun too. This was her first concert and I may have made a die hard Daughtry fan out of her. After the concert I was again determined to try and get another autograph and picture with the man himself but after waiting around for an hour in the very windy, cold night I decided that I needed to accept the fact that he probably wasn't coming out and that I needed to get my niece home because she had school the following day. I tried to attach a couple videos of a few of my favorite moments from the concert but for some reason they wouldn't upload so I will have to work on that so for now I will add a few pictures of our fun evening. So these pictures and memories will have to hold me over until next time he is in Northern California, which I am hoping will be soon. I am officially addicted to DAUGHTRY and I'm not afraid to say it.

Crazed Teenager and Then Some

2007-09-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

My Stormy, isn't he handsome!
My Sydney making her "silly face"

Let's see where do I start, I have been having the time of my life lately. Last week, as a very last minute treat Shelby and I went to the Justin Timberlake concert, it was AMAZING!!! I was not ahuge fan prior to the concert, I mean I thought he was good and he was a cute "kid" but man oh man can he put on a show. He really is a true performer. It was a wonderful concert and so fun to have some time alone with just Shelby and I. She had such a blast. She was woo whooooing for him and singing along, and doin a little dancing in her seat. We had a great time together.

I am also very excited to imform everyone that I got a new camera for my birthday from my mom and sister. Well my birthday is not here yet but I convinced them to let me have it early because I need it in order to get some nice pictures of Mr. Daughtry this Thursday. Yes, less then a week away before my niece and I go to see Daughtry. I can't wait. It will be her first concert and I am treating us for our birthdays. This new camera was recommended to me by one of my good friends and I am so happy with it. I am posting some pics with this post that were taken with the new camera, what a difference quality makes!

Oh, one more thing. I went with Shelby on a field trip last week to the gold mines in Placerville. I really learned so much. I guess it goes to show I didn't pay much attention to history in school because there was so much I didn't know. I was so happy to be able to go with her and it really was a great field trip.

So all in all, I have just been doing lots of fun stuff these past few weeks. When people look at me and think, Wow, how unlucky to have cancer (stage 4 at that) at such a young age, I have to say to them, I am actually not so unlucky afterall...I have so much to be thankful for because if it were not for my cancer diagnosis and my on going treatment I would not be able to be home with my girls and family so much and I probably would not be able to do all the things I have been able to do these past 2 years. Even though the treatment side effects can be tiring and painful at times, these fun times make that all manageable. September 26th marked 2 years since my surgery and as bad as it may sound, thank you cancer for giving me so much precious time with my daughters and family. I do have so much to be thankful for!!

She'll Always Be My Baby

2007-09-18T21:48:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to Sydney

Blow Out The Candles

The Cake I made for Sydney

I can hardly believe it, my baby turned 4 years old. I just can not believe it has been 4 years, wow....I know that is such a parent thing to say but it's true, these last 4 years flew by. We had a party for her with lots of family and friends and I think everyone had a great time. Sydney is just as funny as ever. Today we had to go to the store but before we left she decided she wanted to put some of her play "makeup" on that she got, well after she was done applying it herself she looked like a character from a Cirque De Soleil show. I told her we would need to wash it off before leaving the house and she said, "Nooooo mommy, I need to be beautiful" so I told her, "You are already beautiful without makeup" and she said, "nooo mommy, I am plain" Uhhhhhh.....Can't wait for the day when I have to have the real makeup conversation with her.

As far as things with me, well I had my CT scan last week and I am happy to report once again that things are still shrinking and lookng better. The lesions on my liver are not completely gone however they do continue to get smaller so I am very happy about that. I am finding that I am more tired but I think that is just a result of being on chemo for the past 7-8 months. So here's hoping and praying for continued good results.

That's about it for now.

My Sidekick

2007-09-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post a couple pictures of Shelby before the Daughtry concert. She looks so cute in front of the stage and all the "Daughtry equipment". She's still talking about how much fun she had....I think I have converted her to a crazed fan as well. I am also posting a picture of the man himself, by the time I go to his next concert I WILL have a better camera. You can at least get an idea of how close we were though.

A little Bit of Everything

2007-08-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

So 1 week ago today the girls, my mom, and I headed to the California State Fair. Our mission = See DAUGHTRY LIVE!! Well before the "grand finale" of the day aka the Daughtry concert we walked around and visited my favorite part of the fair, the livestock area. Every year I torment my fellow fair goers by making them wait around with me to see a baby calf or piglet be born and every year we wait and wait and NOTHING!!! Well this year the fair was much different. First off, we walk over to the livestock nursery and I notice a large crowd near the Farmers Market area (which was just across the way from the livestock) So I say to my mom, "geez, what's the big crowd about, is everyone here buying fresh fruit and veggies" We had no idea why so many people were gathered there. So we proceed to look at a 2 day old calf and as I am looking at this cute animal I suddenly see a TV camera come around in front of me and then a large group of people (that same group that was over by the Farmer's Market), I turn around and say, "What's going on?" and I look and who is walking right up behind me but our very own Govenor, Arnold Schwarzenegger...I was so caught off guard I literally said, "Ohhhh, it's Arnold" (yes, apparently we are on a first name basis). He replies, "Hello, how are you?" and then proceeds to stand right next to me and admires the calf. That was crazy and unexpected. Next, we go over to the piglets and I get to hold a 6 day old piggy, so cute!!! I only held it for a few seconds, I didn't want to smell like livestock just in case I bumped into Mr. Daughtry himself. Haaaa...We move along and about 45 minutes later Shelby is bugging me to go back and look at the pregnant cows, now she has the "itch" to see a calf being born. So now I have a partner in this, yeahhh....We head back to the cows and what do you know, there on the stage is a cow giving birth. We watch this process (I will spare you of the very gross details) and then we find out that this cow is having twins....Crazy!!! We didn't have time to stick around for the second one to be born as we had to get to the concert.

Now on to the best part of the day, the Daughtry concert. When Chris came out singing and the crowd went wild, Shelby was hootin and hollerin for Daughtry. The nice people behind us said it would be ok if she wanted to stand on her chair so she could see Chris sing so she did and she LOVED it. My mom and Sydney were able to get these special wristbands that guaranteed them a seat in one of the rows further back from Shelby and I. I guess Sydney was up on her seat hootin and hollerin too. My mom said the people around them were getting a big kick out of her. As usual, Daughtry put on an amazing show and I left that night thinking, where and when can I see them again sooooo.....I decided to buy tickets for the Fresno show. That show is going to be my birthday gift (to self) and I will be taking my niece with me for her birthday as well. I CAN'T WAIT!!!! Another Daughtry concert to look forward to. I don't think I will ever get tired of this band. So my goal between now and October 4th is to get a new digital camera so I can get some decent pics of Chris and the rest of Daughtry. I think I am officially a Daughtry groupie now......

Givin' Props Where Their Due

2007-08-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Sydney's 1st day of Preschool

We have been having lots of fun lately. Sydney started back to Preschool and she is enjoying it. Last weekend Vince and I along with two of our great friends went to see Jersey Boys (the Broadway play) in SF....Can I just say that if you have not seen this show you MUST go!!!!! Oh what a night....I loved this show and to top it all off, my brother in law is cast in the show. As usual his music/guitar playing skills are flawless and it was sooooo cool to go see the show and actually know someone personally in it. The music is amazing and really this show is worth every penny. It is running through Sept. 30th so if you get a chance, please do yourself a favor and GO SEE IT before it's too late!!!!
So speaking of shows, it's the big countdown....Tomorrow is the long awaited Daughtry concert and yes, I am going!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! As you all know I am a HUGE fan and Shelby and I are really looking forward to seeing him live, again!!! My mom is going to take Sydney too so it will be a fun time for all....I will post any good pics I might get. Well off to get some beauty rest, I will need to so I can look my best for one of the HOTTEST men alive!!!! Haaaaaa...

Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

2007-08-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

All of us with our "new" family

I couldn't resist throwing this one in of Stormy

The beautiful flowers Vince got me for our anniversary

As some of you may know, Vince has recently been in contact with some of his family on his father's side that he had never met. Turns out he has a couple aunt's right here in the Bay Area. This weekend we all went to meet them and it was so wonderful. Going into something like this you never know what people will be like, will they be nice, warm, friendly, open to a relationship? Well let me tell you the warmth and caring that was given to us was beyond our wildest dreams. This was the best experience and these people, Vince's family, our family, were so kind and friendly. I could not be happier for him. We are really looking forward to spending more time with them and getting to know everyone better. This was a great start to something wonderful, more family!!!

In other news, Sydney will be starting back up at preschool this week and she is very excited about that. Also, Vince and I will be having a fun night out with our great friends this Saturday. We are finally going to see Jersey Boys in the city and I can't wait. My brother in law is in the show and from all that I have heard, it is wonderful!!! So, we are really looking forward to spending time with great friends and seeing the show as well. Oh one more important event, Vince and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary last week. I still can't believe it has been 8 years already. Since Vince is not home during the week before he left for his 3 nights away he surprised me with some beautiful roses. It took me awhile to figure out why he bought 8 flowers. I finally realized, duhhhh, one for each year of marriage. So sweet of him. We also both got new rings, he got a new wedding band and I got a new ring, not wedding ring, I guess you could call it a "right hand ring" haaaa...it has diamonds and a beautiful pink sapphire. I love it, it's simple, nothing fancy, but very pretty.

Not much else going on. I am doing well. I have been a little tired and my hands and feet are still peeling and on fire but other then that all is great. I will try to post more often, I have been a little bad about updating our blog these past few months. I hope everyone is still enjoying reading it though.

School and Sweetness

2007-08-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Shelby's First Day of School
Sydney Being Silly

Sydney and Stormy Bird Watching

Well Shelby is back in school, I can't believe she is a 4th grader already. She is such a good student. Her first week of school she went to visit her 2nd grade teacher and the teacher asked her if she could tutor one of her students in reading. I was so proud that she was asked to do this. I think she was proud too because she is so sweet and loves to help others.

On another sweet note, Sydney and Stormy (our kitty) are becoming great friends. It is so cute, they sit at the front door in the morning looking outside and watching the birds.

I on the other hand have gotten more good news. I just had my scans last week and found out yesterday that the lesions on my liver have shrunk slightly again. I am hoping they just continue to shrink even if it is a little bit at a time until they are all gone. I have been on this trial for 5 months already and I hope to be on it for many many more months.

In closing I have a question....we got a new carseat for Sydney so the girls have been playing with the box. The game they are playing is "Starbucks drive thru". Is it a sign that I go to Starbucks too much since Sydney keeps pretending to order a mocha frappacino???? Hmmmmm, I wonder.

Way Over Due

2007-07-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since I posted, things have been busy around here. My grandpa is visiting from Oklahoma and we are having lots of fun having him here! He is good for my health because he never stops making me laugh!!!

Our house has not sold yet and we are starting to get impatient. We will be lowering the price again in hopes that that will bring us a buyer.

The girls are doing great. Shelby will be starting back to school in a week and a half. I can not believe her summer break is already almost over. I was really hoping we would be moved by now but not so.

We had a wonderful 4th of July. Apparently lots of people in our neighborhood just got back from Mexico because the amount if illegal fireworks this year was crazy...We had fun watching them (as long as they didn't land on our house) they were more exciting then the "Safe and Sane" ones that we purchased. By the way, when did the price of fireworks skyrocket???? Man they are expensive and really not even as impressive as I remember. Oh well, I guess that's why they are considered "Safe and Sane".

I did get some good news last week. Apparently because of the study I am involved in at Stanford my doctor does a "tumor assessment" on my liver. I guess this assessment involves measuring the tumors and reporting on their change. Well my last CT scan revealed no change however, when my doctor did the actual measurements there was a very slight decrease in the size of the tumors so, although the report said no change there was actually a small change for the better. I was very pleased to hear that!!! I will be going on the 27th for more scans and to review the results of the genetic testing I had done. We'll see if I am a carrier of a mutated gene. I will let you all know how that turns out.

That's about all that has been going on these past few weeks. Thanks to everyone that continues to keep me in their thoughts I really appreciate it!!!!

More Results

2007-06-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am always getting scanned these days...anyways, the most recent results from my CT scan last week are in. Everything is stable. There was no shrinkage this time but nothing grew either. My doctor said this is still good. I did ask if he ever sees things go stable and then shrink again and he said sometimes but not often. He did say there is a possibility that the spots that are still on the liver are not actual tumor but scar tissue that the tumors have left. So I am hoping that is the case. I am still feeling well. Still dealing with the hand and foot burning and blistering but I can live with it if this treatment is doing it's job. The girls and I are headed up to the mountains for a few days of some R and R so I will post more when we return. Until then, hope everyone is enjoying their summer and the beautiful warm weather.

Oh one more thing, I will be going to another Daughtry concert on August 22nd...I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! Yes, I am an obsessed fan and I am happy to admit it. Shelby is excited because I will be taking her with me and this will be her very first concert. Wooooo Whooooo!!!

Summertime Fun

2007-06-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

The girls before their first lesson
Sydney hangin on for dear life

The girls started swim lessons last week. Shelby has taken lessons for the past few years but this is the first year for Sydney. The first day she was all for it but then she knew what to expect so day two involved some tears and a death grip on her teachers neck. We did have a big laugh though. I was putting her swimsuit on her and had pulled it up to her waist when she said, "Mommy, wedgie" well I reached around to help out with that but did not think the suit was in a "wedgie" position. It wasn't until a few seconds later, when I went looking for one of the straps for her suit that I realized where the wedgie was coming from. One of the straps for her suit was in the "thong" position hence the "Mommy wedgie" remark...Shelby and I had a big laugh about that one, Sydney did not find it as funny.....

I Am Not Ready For This

2007-06-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

My niece was promoted from 8th grade to highschool over the weekend. I can not believe she will be entering the 9th grade....I am really feeling old. We went to my previous brother in laws house on Thursday to see her actual promotion ceremony and then we went back on Saturday for a BBQ to celebrate this "big event". For those of you that don't know, my niece does not wear skirts or dresses, she was probably 5 the last time she wore a dress. She had to get a dress for her ceremony and I am here to tell you she looked so darn cute all dressed up. She is such a great kid and I really am so very proud of her!! While I was at her house on Saturday we were looking at her yearbook together which mind you is the size of my highschool year book and this is just 7th and 8th graders. I decided to "pry" a little and see if I could get any info out of her on "who the cute boys were" so I tried pointing out a few and saying, "Is he cool/cute" but every single one she replied, "EWE, NOOOO" so I am hoping that means she is not "in to" boys yet!!!! Yes, I may be in denial but I am choosing to believe she still thinks boys are gross not that she was just too shy to tell her auntie if someone I pointed out was actually "cute" or maybe the boys I thought were cute were just not her taste. Uhhh, I can't even discuss it anymore, I am so not ready for all this.

Anyways, we had a great time with her and my nephew. Every time I see them it makes me happy inside to know that these 2 wonderful kids are my niece and nephew! They really are great!!! So way to go Amanda, now on to highschool...gulp....

My New Pet

2007-05-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here's Stormy, isn't he a cutie

I love mom's sink, makes a perfect bed
Shelby and Stormy looking into each other's baby blues

As some of you may know, my sister is the proud owner of 3 cats now. These are not just your everyday cat, they are Ragdolls. Well, she got me looking at the website for the breeder that she got her 2 youngest cats from. I instantly fell in love with one of the kittens but at the time the breeder was not sure if she was going to keep him for breeding or not. Well, last week I received the best news, she decided to let him go and decided that if I was still interested in him, I could have him. I immediately thought this was a "sign" and the girls and I drove out to pick him up. He has been home with us for a week now and he is a total LOVE!!! I never knew a cat could make me so happy. Vince is not as thrilled as I am but I find it funny that my cat senses his lack of enthusiasm. Our kitten's name is Stormy and he loves to cuddle up with Vince and follow him around. It's the cutest thing. I also caught Vince playing with him a few times even though he will never admit that he actually likes our kitty, that's just not a "manly thing to do. Haaaa...

On another note, Shelby had her last day of school yesterday, she is now officially going to be a 4th grader and I am officially in denial!!!

The 2nd Annual Boobie Troopers Walk

2007-05-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

What can I say about the walk (which was a week ago Saturday) other then AMAZING. This year we stayed after the actual walk for the Survivor Celebration and it was wonderful. I can't tell you the feel of walking in to the sound of all the surviviors shaking maracas and the band playing, it was incredible. All of the "ladies in pink" sat lower then the spectators and I have to say I kept looking around for all of my friends/supporters because they are the ones who have kept me going, they are the ones who make me smile everyday and although it was a celebration of the survivors it was also a celebration to me for all my wonderful friends and family that continue to support me more then I could have ever imagined. I am not going to say too much about the walk now I am just going to post lots of my favorite pics. I think you will see by looking at the pics that it was just a wonderful day and I am so lucky to have been surrounded my so many wonderful people.

Dancing With Joy

2007-05-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty crazy around here with getting everything ready for the Komen Race/Walk and trying to sell the house etc...but I had to update everyone on my news. I had a CT scan on Monday and according to the results I received on Tuesday, this treatment is still working. I am so very happy!!! The lesions on my liver are still shrinking and the largest one is less than half the size it was just 12 weeks ago when I started this treatment so VERY GOOD NEWS INDEED!! I know all the wonderful thoughts and prayers are working and I thank everyone for all your support. What a wonderful feeling it will be to walk tomorrow knowing that because of all the supporters of the various breast cancer foundations (including the Komen foundation) I am receiving a study drug and my treatment is working. If it were not for all of these foundations I truly believe we would not have the funds to conduct the research on all these new drugs.

Also, an update on the Boobie Troopers, we are currently at $3,805.00 raised so far this year for the cure!!! Way to go team, friends, and family, again thank you all for the tremendous support!!!

Our Big Debut

2007-05-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

The magazine I mentioned in a previous post has gone to print and Shelby and I made the cover. The is a local Sacramento "mom's magazine" called KidAround Town. The magazine contacted me about doing a story on me and "How I Do It". They sent a wonderful photographer out to take pictures of the girls and I and they interviewed me for the article. You can read most of the article and see the cover picture as well as one of the pictures that is inside the magazine, just click HERE. This was a wonderful experience and I can only hope that what I had to say inspires someone else going through what I have been through. Also, as mentioned in the article, I attribute so much of my positive attitude and hope to the wonderful friends and family that have supported me throughout this journey with cancer. I have to say I believe everyone reading this post is a friend and has touched my life in someway so thank you, those friends and family members I am talking about are YOU!

Next up, the Sacramento Komen Race For The Cure, here's to another successful year of raising lots of money and having a good time. The walk is on May 12th and I am really looking forward to all the "Boobie Troopers" team members (old and new) having a wonderful time for such a wonderful cause.

On Strike

2007-04-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

Sydney's been on strike for almost 2 weeks now. She is refusing to eat any solid foods that she has to chew. We had a very minor choking incident 2 weeks ago, not even the type of choke that you have to pat the back or even jump out of your chair. Well ever since she has wanted nothing to eat but yogurt, applesauce, milk, and baby food, yes, baby food....Uhhhh...So we are trying to get through this. According to the Dr. I am suppose to just try to ignore it and not make a big deal. That's a little hard to do when you go from a child that will eat anything and everything to one that hardly wants to eat at all. So now she has at least started to lick solid foods just no bites yet. We are hoping this turns around real quick.

On another note, the Boobie Troopers will be participating in the Komen walk again this year. I am really looking forward to it as it was a very inspirational event last year and I know it will be no less then that this year. We have started our fundraising efforts and we are hoping to exceed last years donations of over $8,000. I will let you all know how we do.

Silly Faces and Family

2007-04-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

Thought I would just post a few cute recent pictures. As you can see Sydney is still as silly as ever. Oh, and speaking of pictures, I was contacted by a local "Mom's magazine" here in Sacramento. They asked me if I would be willing to share my story of being a mother and dealing with breast cancer. They interviewed me regarding my experience with breast cancer and I will be featured in their May issue. I am pretty excited because if what I had to say can help someone else going through this then, I am more then happy to share my experience. So tonight a photographer will be coming over to do a "photo shoot" for the magazine. Let's hope she can get some good pics of the girls and I.

Stuff

2007-04-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy around here trying to get our house ready to sell and move back to the Bay Area. Yes, we have done our time in Sac and now it's time to come home. I am really looking forward to being closer to family and Stanford. This will make my doctors appointments much easier.
Shelby was telling us about a commercial she saw on TV that mentioned a "bi donkey donk butt and thunder thighs" I have yet to see this commercial and I have no idea what they are advertising but I think it is hilarious that Vince bought the girls Shrek waffles and Sydney happened to have one with Donkey on it. When I asked her about what she had for brfeakfast she said, "I had a bi donkey donk waffle" Uhhhhh, she always cracks me up.
Shelby only has 2 months left of school, I can't believe she will be a 4th grader soon, this is just insane!!!!
My sister has offically become a cat addict....She has gone from zero to three in just 4 months, she is averaging almost a cat a month...Haaaaa...Her kitties are very precious though so precious that they are actually making me want a kitty too. They are very sweet and have wonderful personalities and they really are very beautiful cats.
Oh one more thing, a great friend of mine has started a jewelry business. Her jewelry is all handcrafted made with the finest materials and it is all so pretty. If you get a chance go check out her website at www.cheekyjewelry.com. Place an order or just save it as a favorite because she is always adding new items.

I Can Deal With The Side Effects

2007-03-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I had a CT scan on Monday to see if the new treatment regimen I have been on for the past 6 weeks is working. Drum roll please!!!! The results of the CT scan show shrinkage in tumors in all areas!!! YIPPEEEEEE!!! So this treatment has some bad side effects that I have experienced such as burning hands and feet and now blisters bigger then silver dollar size on the bottoms of my feet (not attractive but whose looking at the bottom of my feet anyways). The way I see it, if this treatment is working then I can deal with the side effects. So, this is very good news for me. As most of you know, the only time anything has shrunk was several months ago and it was just one spot on my liver that reduced in size very slightly, but this time they have said all the spots on the liver have shrunk and specifically the largest one shrunk by 1.5cm as well as the spots on my spine. I am so very pleased. The next big news I am looking for is to hear my "butt" has shrunk since Sydney said to me last week, "Mommy, your butt is getting pudgy"....I cracked up. I can't believe she is just noticing that now, I mean it has always been pudgy, I suppose maybe now it is just at eye level for her...Haaaaa...Gotta love the honesty. So I am going to celebrate this good news and thank everyone for all the support, prayers, well wishes, etc....you are all helping me pull though this and lets keep up the positive thinking and hope for these great results again in 6 weeks.

She Has Her Wings

2007-03-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well this has been a tough week. My grandmother that lives in Oklahoma passed away on Tuesday morning. Thankfully my sister and I were able to fly to Oklahoma on Monday and although she was still alive she was unresponsive. I am happy I was able to tell her one last time that I love her and although she didn't respond I have to believe she heard me and felt our presence. She was such a courageous, humble, caring, beautiful, strong woman (the list goes on and on). I am thankful that I was able to see her 3 times in the past year but, it still is not enough. I will miss her so much and I will miss her sense of humor. I will miss her gentle touch and her words of encouragement and faith. She has always been so positive with my situation and she gave me great strength with her words. I love her so much and I have to just keep the faith and know that I will see her again someday. This is the grandma that I posted about in November. She and my grandpa had celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. What a story of love, they were true soul mates. Now I will wrap my grandpa in love and support. He lives in Oklahoma so I can not be by his side everyday to cheer him up but I hope he will feel my arms wrapped around him from California and know that I love him so much. So although this post is not a real happy one I had to honor my grandma who deserves so much praise and may she dance in heaven with my father because now she has her wings. Until I see you again, I love you grandma!

Odds N Ends

2007-03-02T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well its been a crazy few weeks. I have started my new treatment and after round one my feet were on fire. I was thinking about those people that walk across coals with their bare feet and that is one thing I will NEVER try, who would want to do that??? My fet felt like I had tried this but it was just a side effect of my new treatment. In other news, it looks like Vince has landed a job, well maybe 2 or 3. He is suppose to find out Monday if he got the job that seems most appealing (aka the best paying one) so we are keeping our fingers crossed. Either way he has a job that he will be starting on Tuesday if he doesn't get the one we are waiting to hear about. I am so proud of him. He has really done well with all of his interviews and has received nothing but great feedback so that is great.
Shelby goes back to school on Monday so no more sleeping in for me, it's back to up at 7 just in time to brush her hair, throw a hat and sweats on me, make her lunch, and rush out the door. I can't believe she only has 3 months left of school. Man this is going by way too fast.
Sydney has been sick. I decided she needed to go to the Dr. but she was not having it. She doesn't get sick often so all her trips to the Dr. usually are for well checks and therefore consist of getting a shot of two. Well she is wise to this so I had to say we were not going to the Dr. we were going to the nurse, bad thing, as we pulled in the parking lot she must have recognized the building and immediately said, "Is this the doctor". at that point I had to do some fancy talking, "well it's the nurse doctor" in the end she had a double ear infection so it was a much needed trip and she is loving her strawberry medicine so that's good.
That's about all for now, I will post once we know where Vince will be landing and where we may be calling home in the near future.