Christmas Crafts

Here are a couple of things that I've done in the last few days. One, is my Christmas wreath. It is very easy to do. Here are the materials needed:
1 yard (appx) of printed cloth of your choice cut into appx 4in x 2in pieces
1 metal wreath appx. 5-6" in diameter
your choice of embellishments

1. It works better if you iron your material which I forgot to do.
2. Fold each 4in x 2in strip in half lengthwise so you see the print on both sides.
3. Tie each strip onto wreath trying to leave a small amount of material on the inside of the wreath.
4. Push knotted strips close together
5. Trim the excess material from the knotted strips on the INSIDE of the wreath.
6. If you have stray strings, trim them off.
7. If desired, spray wreath with hairspray or put a bit of clear fingernail polish on the strips to keep material from fraying further.
8. Embellish as desired.

For the next project: I made several "matchbook" notepads.
Here are your materials:

scrapbook paper of choice cut to the size of 6 3/4" x 2 1/2"
copy paper cut to the size of 3" x 2" (I used 10 pages per matchbook)
stickers of choice to embellish
Either brads with a Cropodile tool or a stapler if you have a good one to attach

1. Fold 3/4" of the scrapbook paper up. This is where your copy paper will tuck into.
2. Place copy paper into tucked scrapbook paper and either brad it shut or staple the papers through the back of the scrapbook paper.
3. Fold top of scrapbook paper over the copy paper and tuck it into the tuck you made like a match book.
4. Fold tightly.
5. Embellish if desired.

The two green ones in the picture are made the same but are slightly bigger.  Their measurements are as follows:
Scrapbook paper is cut to 12" x 4 1/2"
copy paper is cut to 4 1/2" x 5"
you tuck fold is done at 1 1/2"

Enjoy!

Happy Holidays everyone! <3

Spammers

First of all, I have been on the Do Not Call list for years on all of our phones. However, I keep getting calls on both my land-line and my cell all saying the same crap.

"We are with your credit company and would like to talk to you about lowering your interest rate. Please press 1 to talk to a real live person regarding your interest rate or press 2 to be placed on our do not call list. Thank you"

Do you think I've heard this crap a few times?!? I have requested their do not call list many, many times, they just start calling from a different number. I have pushed one and talked to "a real live person" to tell them that I want to be on the do not call list and they hang up on me. Yesterday, one person actually let me talk long enough to tell them to put me on their do not call list and that I had filed a complaint against them through both the Better Business Bureau and the Do Not Call Registry. The more numbers they give me on my caller i.d. the more numbers to add to my report. He just said "Thank you for your time" and politely hung up the phone.

So if MY supposed credit card is calling me to lower my interest rate then why is it that when I call my credit card company that my card is not eligible for review to lower my rate for three-four months?!?

Are you as confused as I am?

This is what my phones are for...friends and family. That's it. Feel free to call me, if you miss me, I'll call you back. If you are company trying to sell me crap that I don't need or can take care of myself....no offense but, take a long walk off of a short pier. Thank you.

Contest

http://thesuburbanjungle.blogspot.com/2011/11/200-amazon-giftcard-giveaway-save-money.html


This contest is for a $200 Amazon gift card

Great news

I received a letter in the mail yesterday from my doctors office. It verified that from my pap smear, that there were no signs of malignancy!!! Hopefully they got the other two areas as well. Oh the waiting is terrible but I know you can't rush these things.

On another note, it looks to be an uneventful Halloween. We usually have a party or at least have people over but this year we aren't doing anything. Maybe if we go to Spirit Grille we'll dress up but that would mean either digging our boxes out of the store room (ugh lot's of work there) or wearing my Alcatraz scrubs (again). I could wear my Mexican dress and color my hair black but I'm pretty sure I'm too pale to pull that off. Besides, I would look exactly like my mom then and that's just a bit too creepy.

The World Series is going into game 7 tonight. The game was a great one last night even though the Rangers lost. Hopefully they can pull off the win! LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!!

October update

I finally went to my checkup today with my Oncologist. He said that everything looks great and that he saw no signs of cancer. YEAH!!! I go back in February for another CT scan to verify and another check-up. Thanks to all of you for your well wishes, thoughts, prayers, etc. Now, if you could, please direct those wonderful thoughts toward my dad. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks again for all of your support Tiffiney

Birthday update

We went to Vegas for my birthday Saturday. We stayed downtown at the 4 Queens hotel. I really liked staying downtown, it was cooler because of the Fremont Street Experience canopy and it was much easier to get around and find food that wasn't expensive. On Saturday night, we went to the Wynn casino for the Garth Brooks concert. It was great. It was a small venue with only him and his guitar on stage. He talked about growing up with with music and how different artists influenced him. He not only played his music but theirs as well. It was different than what I was expecting but I liked it very much. If you can make it to one of his few concerts, I would highly recommend it.
All and all I had a great birthday with lots of well wishes which I appreciate greatly. Thank you all for making my birthday special.
I hope everyone is doing well.

Birthday

Most of  you know this by now but for those that don't...

Ron has told me my birthday present a bit early. He knew that if he just told me we were going to Vegas I would say no. SO, for my present, he's taking me to a Garth Brooks concert!!!!! I've always been a huge fan and have always wanted to see him in concert. I can't wait. And the best part is that I get to see him on my birthday. How great is that?!? We will probably be staying downtown for something a bit different. The strip is nice but it's over-rated after being there so many times. I'll post many pictures when we get back.

I hope everyone is doing well ;-)

6/29 appts

My oncologist said that from what he could see, everything looked good and saw no signs of cancer. That doesn't mean that I'm in full remission, however, because there's areas that they were treating that he couldn't see from a regular exam. I go back to him at the end of August. Then, he will do another examination and possibly schedule another PET scan.

My radiation oncologist said that from talking to my other doctor that he has not further plans of radiation for me so I am "done with him".

Thank you all for your thought, prayers, well wishes, finger-crossing etc. It has meant a great deal to me that I have had the support group that I have had.

Love to all!

6/29

Keep your fingers crossed. I go back Wednesday for my followup with both doctors. Hopefully, they will tell me something a little more extensive than "It looks good". I'll keep you posted. I hope everyone has a great week.

Disney

Orlando was fun. We ended up staying 10 days instead of 7. It was great to finally get home. By the way....at Universal Studios, the Harry Potter ride is NOT a leisurely ride through Hogwarts....it's fast and furious and rough and tumbled. If you don't like roller coasters, don't ride this one. It was fun but considering I wasn't expecting it, it scared the hell out of me. It wasn't as bad as my Mom was when we took her on the Mummy ride in '04 but it was close.

I found a new drink too...a FRESH (of course) pineapple mojito. YUM. Of course I only get mojitos in Florida because no place I know of here carries fresh mint. But still, it was yummy. You should have seen the mojito Ron got...it had every kind of fruit that they had, which was a lot. It wasn't the prettiest drink but he still liked it.

I go back on the 29th to both doctors for my checkup. Keep your fingers (and everything else) crossed that I'm done with everything. ;)

I hope everyone is doing well <3

Done

Last Friday (5/13), I had my last booster treatment of radiation. They even gave me a "diploma" which was signed by everyone but my doctor. It was really nice. I go back mid-June or so to have a CT scan to see how good the treatment really did. So far all I've gotten from them is "it looks good". That doesn't tell me much.
To celebrate Ron & I are going to Disney World and Universal Studios (I know, I know AGAIN). But we couldn't pass up the deal we got on the hotel. I wish that I could take everyone that's been so supportive through all of this. Now THAT would be fun!
I already ordered two new pairs of shoes (because the stupid dog(s) keep destroying them) and next up is clothes shopping (yuck) since none of my clothes fit right anymore. I don't want to be walking around all day pulling my pants up LOL!
I hope everyone is doing well, I'm enjoying what hopefully is more than a break from treatment...hopefully I've done it all. Keep me in your thoughts, prayers, wishes etc. please.
Love to all <3

Another

I made it through another surgery and two more treatments. Everything went great if not a bit more comfortable than last week.

Now, I just have one more week to go of (regular) radiation treatments and then I'm done. After that, I will have to see both doctors every 2-3 months for follow up. Small price to pay so I don't have to put my body through this again...

Thanks to you all for you love, support and good wishes.

Surgery results

On Wednesday, I went for surgery them to do a status report and insert a sleeve so that I can do internal radiation. First of all, the results look really good. YAY!!!

Second, the sleeve didn't work out. SO, they inserted this strange apparatus. It was very uncomfortable but at least there are muscle relaxers and pain killers. I had one treatment on Wednesday, spend Wednesday and Thursday in the hospital and a second treatment on Friday. Other than the uncomfortableness, the major pain is that I have to lay flat on my back from the time I am in surgery until they finish the second treatment on Friday. That means almost about 48 hours flat on back, no moving, at all....YUCK! Eating and drinking while flat SUCKS! But wait, there's more! I have to do ALL of this again this next Wednesday through Friday. Happy Dance!! The procedure itself isn't bad it's just everything around it that is uncomfortable and painful. So the good news is, I have three days to go, and then just a few regular radiation treatments to "boost" what I'm doing now.

So, everything's going well (just uncomfortable in two bursts) and I'm almost done. Thanks for your support, prayers and thoughts!! Love to all!

Break

I've been on a break since last Monday. I've had good days and bad days, but mostly good. Tomorrow, (Friday) I go to the hospital for pre-op procedures. They couldn't tell me all that they are going to do except for maybe lab work. Its early in the morning so at least I'll be done early. Then, Wednesday is my sleeve placement and first treatment. I have four more internal treatments after that and will be done (hopefully) with the internal treatments on May 11.

Other than that, nothing much is going on. Just trying to stay comfortable which some days is difficult. I wasn't able to go to my family reunion last week because I knew I wouldn't be able to take the car ride. I really wish I could have made it. It would have been great to see everyone. Here's hoping for next year.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

update

Everything is going well. As of today, I have 5 more radiation treatments and 1 more chemo. Then, I get a two week break. YAY!!!! On March 27, they will go in and fit me for my sleeve to do the internal radiation. I'm not sure of how many of those treatments I will get or how often. After that is complete, I will have between three and five more radiation treatments to "boost". Then, (hopefully) I'm done. Here's hoping that all of these treatments have done some good and I won't have to endure any more. I hope everyone is doing well.

ugh

Last night was terrible. I couldn't sleep because I was nauseous or I was up getting sick. Now I know that I definitely need to take the medication. I would have this week if the insurance company wouldn't have needed an extra authorization that I didn't know about. I haven't been sick in such a long time, now I remember exactly how much it sucks. Nothings worse than that loss of control over your own body. I don't understand how someone can be bulimic and make themselves do that on purpose.

Other than that, the only thing to report is some minor radiation burns in an uncomfortable area. Here's hoping that the creams and gels continue to work.

Tuesdays

So I asked the Doc for help with not sleeping well and he gave me a prescription for Ambien. I'm such a dumb-ass, I dropped if off at the pharmacy and didn't go back to pick it up. So, last night, I slept HORRIBLY. I can barely keep my eyes open but I can't fall back to sleep. It sucks.

On the flip side, after waiting an hour in a packed waiting room, I finally got into my doc's office. Treatment went by quickly and I actually got done before I thought I would. No side effects yet except for the lack of sleep which of course causes crankiness.

Love to all  <3

Sorry for the delay

I know a lot of you have been wondering how Monday went. I'm sorry for the delay, I've been spending time with my niece while she is on spring break.

Instead of it lasting three hours, it lasted a total of 4 1/2 hours between lab work, doctor visit and treatment. I just sat there reading my book and doing puzzles. I got really hungry (people bringing in lunch didn't help) but now that I know that I can take food with me, next week should be better. At least Ron had a half of a sandwich left from his lunch.

I haven't really had any side effects yet. I've only had a couple of mild twinges of nausea but when I have taken the prescription that they gave me they have gone away quickly.

Everything else is going good. I'm feeling fine, not many side effects over all. I may not get many from the chemotherapy. My doctor said it is a low dose. Most people do not lose their hair with the particular drug I'm on, and with the different medications I'm on, I shouldn't have much nausea even though it is still possible. The radiation is going fine. Still going everyday and nothing new to report.

I've been told by many that you haven't been able to comment on here. If that is the case, please feel free to email me at trp99@msn.com with any comments or questions you may have. I apologize if my settings are not done correctly.

Thank you again for all of the well wishes. I really appreciate it. I hope everyone is doing well.

Tried to put on FB but it wouldn't work...

If you are 36, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of stuff like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!


      But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.  You've got it so easy!  I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia!  And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet.  If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!! 
2) There was no email!!  We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen!  Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there!  Stamps were 10 cents!
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our butts! Nowhere was safe!
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes!  If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!  There were no CD players!  We had tape decks in our car.  We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless.  Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby!  Dig?
6) We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting!  If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
7) There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!!  Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!!  And then there's TEXTING.  Yeah, right.  Please!  You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was!  It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie,... you just didn't know!!!  You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics!  We had the Atari 2600!  With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'.  Your screen guy was a little square!  You actually had to use your imagination!!!  And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever!  And you could never win.  The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died!  Just like LIFE!
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing!  You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!!  NO REMOTES!!!  Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning.  Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rug rats!
12) And we didn't have microwaves.  If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove!  Imagine that!  



      13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long.  Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort.  And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!


      And car seats - oh, please!  Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.  If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!  
Editors note...our dishwasher was used to store stuff, I was the dishwasher. I had to do more than just load/reload...


      See!  That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten!  You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970   or any time before!
Regards,
People who think you are spoiled!

Chemo

I saw my oncologist yesterday. I will be starting a low dose of chemo on Monday. I will have a total of five treatments for the next five weeks. He said it will last three hours each time (UGH). Thank goodness I have my Nook and like crossword puzzles. Maybe I can talk Ron into letting me borrow his Ipad while I'm in there as well....a girl can try LOL

My dad has been here all week and I can't express to him how much it has meant to me. Ron's also been helping me out throughout this difficult week. He gave me some of the most beautiful flowers that I've ever received. (picture below)

I want to apologize to those closest to me in advance. If you know me well, you know I do NOT make a very good sick person...if I am bitchy in the coming weeks I'm sorry. All I ask is that you put up with me for a bit while I try to get through this.

Love to all <3
 I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

It's official :(

I talked to the doctor today and received my MRI results. The cancer has spread to my sacrum which is part of the tail bone. He said that I am being treated for it already but we won't know how well my treatments will get rid of the cancer until I have surgery in 5-6 weeks. This also puts me at a higher risk for the cancer recurring elsewhere in my body.
Also, I go in this Thursday, I go into the oncologists office to start the lab work to begin chemotherapy. I will find out more regarding chemo (i.e. duration, etc) then.
Ok, it's time for me to go lay down. I hope everyone else is having a better day than I am.

Choose Hope

A lot of people have seen my wrap around bracelet and liked it and asked me where to get it.

The website is www.choosehope.com They have many different items for support of all types of cancer. The colors for cervical cancer are teal/white. Have a great day!

Thank you

I put this on Facebook but I know several of you are not on there. I wanted to be sure to share this with you all.

I feel like the most fortunate woman to have met the people that have come into my life since I have moved to Irving. I could not ask for more sincere people that show me every day, no matter the circumstances, how much I am loved and cared about. Thank you all for your love and support, I can't express in words how much it means to me and how much I love you all ♥

My radiation therapy starts today and will continue everyday M-F at noon for the next 28 weekdays. 

Thanks again to everyone who has offered their help. Ron and I really appreciate it. My Dad is here all week to help take me to my appointments and then we will figure out how to get to and from when he leaves. We haven't discussed it yet.

When I know more details, I will let you know. 

 Love to all <3 

Tattoo :(

I had my CT scan today so they can set up my radiation treatments. After the scan she put three tattooed dots on me to line up the machine during treatments :( It's not that it hurt but if I wanted a tattoo, I would have had one by now. At least they are small.

I go in Friday to do my "dry-run" and then begin everything on Monday. I don't know the schedule of my chemo yet. I hope to find out when I start and for how long I take it on Friday. All I know right now is that I will have chemo every Monday and radiation M-F for 23 sessions (5 1/2 weeks).

If you have any questions, leave a comment and I will try to answer them.

Love you all!

The Beginning

First of all, before there are any comments of me not taking care of myself and not doing my yearly tests...if you know my history then you know that I HAVE done my yearly PAP tests and at least 10 sonograms in the past 15 years. All of them came back normal.

From October 2010 (normal sonogram) until February 2011, a 4 cm mass has appeared on my cervix. I have been diagnosed with cervical cancer. An lymph node on my left side is also affected. I have had a PET scan to verify this. Other than dealing with the obvious, the thing that really pisses me off is cervical cancer is supposed to be VERY slow growing; so how in the hell was this not caught sooner? Nobody can answer me. It's really irritating.

I will begin undergoing radiation therapy on March 7, 2011. It will last for approximately five weeks (M-Fri). After that, I will have surgery to determine the state of my anatomy. Once that is known, I will undergo two weeks of internal radiation to kill the cells at a closer range.

As you know, I have a rough road ahead of me. I am very fortunate to have the friends and family close to me that I do. I have found that I am more loved than I ever could have imagined. I will be doing my best to keep this blog updated so that those of you who are close to me can come here and find out what's going on with me so I don't have to repeat myself so many times. It's not that I mind, it's just difficult to answer the same questions and say the same thing over and over again. I know you love me and that is GREATLY appreciated and I know because of that love and support that I WILL beat this.

Thanks to all of you that have offered your help. Even though you know I hate it, don't be surprised if I take you up on it. I don't want Ron to miss out on too much work because of dragging me everywhere even though he works for a VERY understanding and supporting company.