Florida 2016 is Good

I had planned to visit my parents in Naples Florida in April of 2014.   I cancelled that trip because, even though my treatment was over, my body was not ready for travel.  It has taken a long, long time for me to recover, and I am not fully there yet.  But friends, I just spent 8 days down South...it was not perfect, but it was very very good.

 My parents have lived the last 25 winters golfing in the sun.  I love that C loves to be with them.  It's so good to see them so happy and healthy.

 C's best bud and her mom joined us for a few days.  What a delight! It is always good to meet new friends.

Sister 1 and 5 flew down to join us.  These two are all good all the time...and not bad at taking selfies either.

The next generation...C has some awesome cousins with way good sunglasses. 

This was my night to choose the restaurant. Bleu Provence is beyond good.  My absolute favorite in Old Naples.

After I dropped C off at the airport, these two where waiting for me in Siesta Key.  We have been friends for 25 years.  We had our babies together..need I say more?  So many good memories!

This is the view from my friend B's condo. B is a critical care nurse and fellow survivor.  When I was diagnosed, she made me promise to stay off the internet.  She told me every day during my treatment  that I would beat cancer.  Now she tells me every day that it won't come back.  As we watched the sun set over the Gulf, she reminded me again that life is good.

And, of course, the Sarasota restaurant report.  Columbia wins this trip.

  It is tough to beat superb Sangria, made table-side. The food is pretty darn good too.

These were waiting for me when I returned home. Sometimes it is good for Big T to miss me:)

Family History

 It is finally completely finished!  When I took this photo, I noticed....

these growing in the wall.  They always remind me, and all my sisters, of our grandmother.  

This genealogy  chart (i-chart-you.com) hangs in our kitchen.   I think it is important for our kids to know where they came from....and for B to know that her namesake loved violets.

C and I are headed to Florida tomorrow to meet up with Sisters 1 and 5 at our parents' home.  We can always count on our dad to share fond family memories of days gone by.  I am thrilled that C will be with me to hear...and remember.

Read it

I just finished...it is absolutely incredible.

My favorite quote:

"The woman in the photo is a girl, really.  A thin, solemnly smiling girl....This smile, this careful, cautious smile, is the one that reflected my truest self; especially back when I was so young as to be unformed; afraid of everything because nothing truly terrible had happened to me yet."

In the middle of listening to "The Aviator's Wife", I had to reread her book.  My favorite quote:

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach.  One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few."

This book spoke to me when I was a young mother, and it resonates even more to my more "experienced" self.
Actually, friends, this classic would be a great Mother's Day gift!

Survive

Over the last few years I have had a lot of cancer patients ask me for advice about how to survive treatment and how to survive cancer.  I don't know much...but here is what I do know for sure:

Stay as active as you can.  My trainer, who also happens to be a cancer survivor, has helped me get stronger and stronger.  I started working with her when I started chemo and have never stopped.  When I feel physically strong, I feel mentally strong too.

This guy was my secret to never missing a chemo treatment.  My oncologist recommended him for accupuncture twice a week throughout treatment to manage side effects.  I still go once a month for a tune up, because living without a rectum has its own challenges.  Enough said.

This great therapist taught me all about rational thought, and how thinking my cancer will return is not. rational. thought.  
Big T calls the above three the trifecta of cancer weapons.  

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York checks my Vitamin D level every three months.  It must be important, right? 

I spend some time every day with my creator.  This chapel is my usual spot...but it could be anywhere.  Friends, I should actually list this first instead of last, because it is the most important.  Especially during survivorship... Amen. Hallelujah!

Holy Half White Out

Big T and I traveled to Notre Dame this weekend to watch B run the Holy Half.

We were so excited to watch her finish....until they cancelled the race due to a "few" flakes. Something about slippery spots and visibility... They gave everyone their medals anyway???  I guess they did do all the training....

Of course we still had to go to the Pancake House "after the race".  Something about carbo-loading...

I treasured the time I had with B this weekend...especially having tea with her at The Huddle and meeting so many of her friends as they stopped by.  

Before heading to dinner, we went to Sacred Heart Basilica for mass.  The Bishop had a great homily about the importance of living our faith and what that really means.....

As we entered the tollroad on our way out of town, the woman that handed us this ticket had a huge grin on her face and cheerfully told us to have a great day.  She made me smile, and think of the Bishop's message, on a cold snowy April morning.

The Triple C

My very favorite flower is blooming right now in KC, along with redbuds, dogwoods, viburnum, forsythia, tulips, daffodils...which makes April the best month to be in KC.  The sunny, low 70's don't hurt either.  This week Big T is at Augusta National watching the masters, so it is safe for me to bake my favorite chocolate chip cookies without blowing his diet.  I need to make sure these are out of the house before he gets home...they are irresistible.  

4 sticks of butter

2 sticks of "I can't believe its not butter"

3 cups brown sugar

3 egg yolks

1 T vanilla

6 cups flour

1 T salt

24 oz chocolate chips

bake at 350F for 15 minutes on a stone or parchment paper

*****

Good thing I had the plumber, the bug man, the landscapers and the cleaning crew here today.  They all loved the cookies....

Laugh!

Friends, please tilt your head to the left and check out this book.  My son, M,  gave it to me because he thought I needed to get up to date on the dating scene....  It is actually really, really good.

I love everything she wrote.  She was an amazing woman who fought valiantly.  I wish I could have met her to thank her.

My college roommate, E, sent me this when I started treatment.  It is so darn funny...and clean.

Later in my treatment E sent me this.  When you are going through chemo, tired and nauseated, laughing on the couch is sometimes just what the doctor ordered!  

There are many totally hilarious classics out there...Sixteen Candles, Spinal Tap, Raising Arizona...but this is my family's very favorite.

Happy April Fools Day!