Hello!
It’s been a while since I last posted and want to give you an update on what’s been going on for the majority of this year. Before I jump into that, I had the opportunity to participate in cancer research! If you’re like me – when you hear cancer research you think of doctors and labs, etc. However, this wasn’t that type of research. The team at Navio is trying to change the narrative around cancer. They are designing an app that would allow cancer patients a resource to support treatment. I was connected to one of their designers and during a series of Zoom meetings asked me questions about my own cancer journey and treatment. They asked me questions about what I could remember about being diagnosed, what resources I had available to me during my treatment, and if I participated in any community or groups. After the conversations, they presented my cancer treatment diagram. While I haven’t seen the app they are designing, it sounds like they are combining several of the tools I currently use into a single app. The app will have a treatment calendar, information about the type of cancer you have, and also typical treatment plans. The app will send alerts and reminders about when to take your medicines, etc. Here’s a peek at my cancer treatment diagram.
Beyond that, we’ve had a very busy year!
Warren started 3rd grade and had his 8th birthday at home. We also went through the drive-thru Jurrasic Quest a few weekends before the big day. Three days later, I turned 39. We hosted the Johnson family for a combined birthday party. We ate BBQ and the kids played outside. Everyone had a great day.
I’ve started challenging myself since my diagnosis to just try new things. The worst thing that can happen is I find I don’t have a talent for something and I either try again or quit. In May 2017, I tried making sugar cookies and decorating them with red royal icing. The result was an epic Pinterest Fail – without using Pinterest. Photographic evidence below:
I decided that for Connor’s birthday party (continue reading for more on that) I would try again. But decided to do a trial run first. I bought a roll of sugar cookie dough and used some ninja cookie cutters I had. I made the royal icing and ultimately had success.
Then Warren and I went to church. The icing on the cookies wasn’t 100% firm. I returned home to a smudged cookie.
I didn’t particularly mind, because these were only test cookies. I asked Jeff if he smudged my icing and he said he thought I did it. (affronted I said it wasn’t me). That left Connor who was sitting innocently observing the entire conversation at the kitchen table. I asked him, “Connor, did you touch a cookie? I’m not mad if you did.” He shook his innocent head and denied he touched a cookie.
About 5 minutes later, “Okay, well, I was walking by the cookies and my finger got caught in the icing so I went and washed my hands.” Mom radar this story is ringing untrue. Mainly because the cookies were in the center of the island. The molested cookie was in the center-most point on the island surrounded by other unmarred cookies.
Connor started 1st grade and he’s loving it!
The first day of school was his 6th birthday. The Saturday before, we hosted an Among Us birthday party. We replicated the digital game into a real-life version of the game (which is basically like Tag where one person is an “imposter” aka “IT” and the others get tagged while completing tasks). The goal of the game is to complete the tasks before the imposter tags all the players. This party was all made possible by Blogger Moms I found on Pinterest (Original Mom and the Aloha Hut) who made little PDF kits of the games and character headbands.
I made Among Us cookies. I found character cookie cutters from Etsy and watched several hours of YouTube videos on how to make royal icing and flood cookies. While I think the cookies were delicious and came out great – they were a labor of love. I started on them around 4:30 PM and the last cookie was complete at 11:59 PM.
We had a great party filled with family and friends. To this day, I’m not sure who gave him what present because he ripped through them so quickly.
We also started in on a long-standing dream of mine. I’ve always wanted a combination potting shed/greenhouse. When we lived in Cedar Creek, Jeff rebuilt a small storage building and turned it into a gorgeous potting shed. I had raised beds around the shed with drip irrigation. Dixie loved to dig into the planted beds to pull out the irrigation. This was the start of my combination shed/greenhouse wish. Jeff and I started sketching ideas when we first bought our Elgin home. This year, we finally started to build it. We started with the potting shed. Jeff was able to obtain 2x4s and plywood – aka salvaged wood. On weekends, his dad would drive to our house and help with that weekend’s project on the shed. It should be noted that he also helped finish my old potting shed in Cedar Creek. The man is a wonderful father-in-law. It took a while but I now have a potting shed that is water-tight. I need to find time to finish painting the interior. We decided to pause on the greenhouse until we could find time to devote to it. So…maybe another 6 months or so.
While we were working on building the potting shed the Snowpocolyse came to Austin. At first, it was fun – there was white fluffy snow in the yard about 6-inches deep. We made snowmen, had a snowball fight, and I made a snow angel. However, when freezing conditions entered day 3 and everyone lost power, the appeal wore off. The family huddled in the living room in front of the constantly roaring fire – thanks, Honey! – and bundled up with our warmest clothes and blankets. During brief flickers of electricity, we would scurry to the coffee pot to try to brew some nectar from the Gods aka a hot cup of coffee.
Our neighbors were a source of sanity and we all rallied together to help out however we could. Jeff helped deliver wood to a neighbor we didn’t know. We cooked meals for everyone using our gas range, and we took care of our neighbor who returned home from the ICU after a broken hip + surgery on the second day of the storm until his family found a home-health worker to take over. We were and remain very thankful for our neighbors and God that we made it through with as little inconvenience as we did.
I also had a 1,000 piece puzzle borrowed from my mother-in-law, Margie. During the freeze, Jeff and I would sporadically work on it. We finally finished putting all the pieces together to find we had 4 missing pieces. Oops.
Warren also received his first communion! My oldest looked so handsome in his black slacks, black polished oxfords, white button-down, and a tie (and black gaiter). We were lucky that all of the grandparents were able to attend. Jeff found a full rack of lamb and while we were at mass, his dad manned the smoker. It was delicious! We held a small party at the house to celebrate.
The night before I made a keto strawberry cake from scratch. While icing it the cake spun right off the turn-table and went SPLAT on the ground. I may have cried a little. I woke up at 6 am the next day and ran to HEB to grab a cake mix. Long story short – we had a cake. I also learned that I should put the cake turn-table in the middle of the island when icing in the future.
I did go back to MDACC in April and October. For the first time since Covid hit in March 2020, I got to bring my Dad to my October appointment.
As per usual, my scans for both visits were pristine. I continue going every 6-months for the next 5 years. August 14, 2022, will mark my 5-years post-diagnosis which is a HUGE milestone. It also coincides with my 15th wedding anniversary on July 28, 2022. I’m sure there will be a big celebration – more to come.
So much more has happened – too much for this single blog post. I’ll write Part 2 soon about all the fun and exciting things we’ve been doing over 2021.
One thing I’ve learned since being diagnosed is that there are opportunities in everything life presents. Yes, it sucks to have cancer, yes it is difficult, but it’s also about finding the bravery to do things you haven’t done before.
