On Your Mark, Get Set, Rain!

Well, our entire weekend was a rainy mess - including Sunday's duathalon! As a result, I decided that since I already knew I could finish the event, I would avoid possible injury to myself and my bike by not participating. I was also able to convince my friend Kayla of this. However, we did drive out to Dousman (and I had my Cancer Sucks socks on!) and decided that the people there were crazy and we were not going to stay. It was a disappointment, but in the scheme of things, no big deal.


I saw one of my doctors on Monday. Everything seems just fine and I will see my Oncologist in March. My only orders are to call if there are any problems - otherwise, everything seems to be going just fine.




Today Carina and I went out to the County Grounds to try and see some of the migrating Monarch Butterflies - we only saw about 5, but we did see this Praying Mantis - an interesting looking critter. Carina said that even though we didn't see a lot of butterflies it was fun because we were exploring. I'm sure it really seems like exploring when the weeds on either side of the trail are as tall as you are.



Take care everyone. Hopefully Kayla and I don't bring our rainy luck to the Race for The Cure on the 28th! We certainly don't have a very good track record so far this summer!

Where Are We Going?

Before I start my story, I'm delinquent in posting pictures from Carina's big first day of pre-school last Tuesday. The did great and is very proud of the fact that she is going to school. She goes Tuesday and Thursday for 2 1/2 hours in the morning. Thursday night she was singing us some songs from her week. Very, very cute.


Olivia with her sister on her first day of school....


I've got my backpack and I'm ready to go!

Olivia took this picture for us...

All ready to head into my school....(this picture is ALL Carina!)

The second day went well too. So far, everyone is off to a great year!

So here is my story....

Today I walked into Sendik's (or neighborhood food market) and one of the cashiers was on the phone at the customer service desk and motioned to me to come over. I'm very much a regular at the store - I'm there twice a week since the store opened a few years or so ago. So, they've seen me through hair, no hair, and back to hair again. There are a couple people that I regularly chat with, including the checker that wanted to talk to me. So she comes from behind the customer service counter and asks me my name (this is how informal my conversations are - I only know Luke the butcher by name to this point!) and tells me to come with her to the back of the store. I had to ask if I should be worried - I've never been whisked away at the grocery store before. She takes me back behind the doors to the deli area (this is very, very strange I'm thinking) and has one of the chefs come over. Her name is Beth (I see from her name tag, because she's usually to far away for me to see it) and I've, of course, chatted with her before. Apparently, they've been on the look-out for me.

Beth goes onto tell me that Kevin, the other chef, who I've also chatted with and complimented me when my hair was very, very, very new, has been diagnosed with cancer. Kevin is now a leukemia and lymphoma survivor. He is a tall, happy, strong-looking guy, who is so tall, that he has to duck his chef hat so it doesn't bump the range hood. He is receiving in-patient chemo and has mentioned my name and called me an inspiration. I give Beth a hug and tell her that I am very flattered. My journey has been a cake walk compared to his, I am certain. She tells me that he would like to hear from me and gives me his phone number and an address.

Tomorrow I will go find the best card that I possibly can and send it to him, because there was nothing like getting a good card. I'll give him my number so he can call on his time. I'm not sure how I would introduce myself on the phone - "This is Sandy, the customer from Sendik's that was wearing bandannas about a year ago. I was just abducted at the store..." What will I say to him? I will tell him to enjoy the days where you can eat raw fruits and vegetables and set some goals for this time next year - something you've wanted to do, but never had the time. Before you know it, you will be the one that is some one's inspiration and was wearing bandannas last year.

Chef Kevin, I will wear my Cancer Sucks bike socks for my duathlon tomorrow in your honor.

Home Sick Already???

We're 4 days into the new school year and Olivia was home sick today. She got the cold that Carina "doesn't love" and had a fever yesterday afternoon. She was exceptionally disappointed about staying home because she was missing a fire drill this morning at school. She's clearly feeling much better now and I certainly won't bring up the fire drill issue.

Carina went to meet her teachers and see her classroom today. She didn't say more than two words while we were there, but has been talking about the visit. The first day is next Tuesday. We'll see how that goes....she wouldn't let go of my hand today.

Have a great weekend!

What Did You Learn Today?

Olivia had a great day at school today, from what we can tell anyway. There was nothing but smiles and waves this morning and she said she is excited to go back tomorrow. The news is that she loved music, doing the ice cube experiment, the cheese pizza she had for lunch, and had fun at recess.

Carina did miss her sister. She did fun things with Grandma all day, but around 2:00 she said, "I want to go get Olivia now."

A couple of Olivia's friends were a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. One of her friends told her dad she was a little nervous, kind of like Nastia (Liukin) before her balance beam routine in the Olympics.....5K seems to be quite the world stage in their minds.

We were getting ready for bed tonight and Olivia said something that made me wonder about just what the topics were today in 5-K. We were on the subject of lives not lasting forever, through talking about the neighbor's dog. Olivia finished our conversation by saying, "Mom, I hope I die before an asteroid hits the Earth." Then she told me that I couldn't tell anyone else she said that - so, shhhhhh....it's our secret.

Here are some pictures from the first day....

One more funny story from Carina today. Quinn had an accident in the living room. Carina walked over to some books and told Grandma she was going to "get the pee book out and see why Quinn was such a bad dog." She flipped though the book and said, "it says that we need to get a girl dog that doesn't have a butt." So, the next time you are choosing a pet, keep that in mind.

Good Bye Summer, We'll Miss You!

It's hard to believe how fast this summer has gone. Olivia starts "Senior" Kindergarten tomorrow and will be in school full days - lunch and all. It will be interesting to see how Carina does with her big sister gone. I have a feeling she will be a little sad tomorrow.

We had a great long weekend filled with fun (and over served) neighbors and friends, as well as a family get together. The girls had a great time and so did we.

The 30th was the 1 year anniversary of my final chemo treatment. It sure seems longer ago than a year. I think that is also part of what has made this summer so wonderful.

I'll put some pictures up tomorrow from the big first day. Hope everyone is doing well and had a summer half as good as mine, because even that would be great!

Lemonade Stands and Shiny Eyes

I heard from Nate this afternoon and he finished the Susan Komen 3-day walk for Breast Cancer in Boston. I guess it rained like crazy on them on Friday morning and created some blister problems for Saturday's start. I haven't had a chance to talk to Nate in person today, although I did talk to him briefly last night. If there are any good stories, I will definitely pass them on.

I was downloading some pictures from my camera and found this beauty. Earlier in August we went down to Chicago for Matt to go to a Cubs game and the for a cousin visit for the rest of us. The girls had a lemonade stand in the afternoon and were pretty successful. They were very aggressive in rounding up their customers. However, I'm not sure that I would buy anything from this crazy looking group! Watch out for Audrey with those tongs!

The second story is from this past Friday. Carina was in the bathroom on the "big potty" and it seems she leaned forward a little too far. Well, when you are Carina size in this situation, you fall forward off the toilet and end up with a black eye - probably from grazing the toilet paper holder on the way down. Yes, a shiner from falling face first off the toilet. She now refers to it as her "shiny" eye.

Now it's Sunday and not so swollen but has gotten darker. She now says that she is wearing eyeshadow on one eye. The picture is from Friday.

I guess you just never know what dangers the world has in store for you when you are three!

Good Luck Nate!

Nate starts the Susan Komen 3-day walk in Boston at 5:30am on Friday. I talked to him today and he said that sometimes he is looking forward to the walk and sometimes he is wondering what he has gotten himself into. Nate, I can relate. I felt the same way before the Scenic Shore and it was fine. I did a bit more training than you, but we won't dwell on that.

Good luck Nate!!