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I FEEL LIKE AN OLD SLUG

1/27/2015

IF THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO PROGRESS.
                                                                                          Frederick Douglas

I feel better today, but yesterday I was nothing but an ole slug. I didn't do anything but lay around. I am positive it had nothing to do with my starting sis Sandy's Zumba program that she sent me. No . . . no . . . that couldn't be the reason. Sunday night I tried it out. What fun! I managed to get halfway through the first disc before calling it off for the night. I did what I was supposed to. I drank lots of water during the routine. The music was great and the moves were not that difficult. It's just that I have absolutely NO rhythm. Nadda, zilch, zip, uh uh, no way, can't move to the beat at all. I had no aches or pains, so it must have just been I got real tired. I am going to keep trying it, though. Wouldn't it be fun to learn a few fancy schmancy dance steps, so when hubby and I go out for the evening, (yeah, like that's really going to happen), I could leap and kick and prance and twirl with the best of them.   Or not. Sorrry, I got caught up in fantasy land there for a second.

Since I was laying around extensively yesterday watching TV, I got a few more commercial to critique. What's your take on the advertisement for Depends? There is a large group of people walking down the street, all wearing Depends underpants. The message is to be aware of your underwear, or Depends Underwearness. Huh? Yeah, that's their big slogan for that commercial. Underwearness. Then I got to thinking about what those actors must have thought when their agents called them and told them they were going to be in a TV commercial, but they had to wear Depends - along with a whole bunch of other people - and they were going to be filmed walking down a street. That's one way to get another credit put on your resume. But what exactly were all these actors talking about in between takes? How embarrassing to be hanging (sorry) with strangers in underwear. There was even a guy riding a horse, for goodness sake!!!!!   Yup, it's an odd campaign slogan, but maybe it is geared toward people of my age. You know, reminding us to be aware of wearing our underwear. Us old folks just might forget to put any on. It could happen.

I do happen to like the new TV ad for Progressive Insurance. The lady standing at her kitchen counter, working on her computer with her hand made up to look like Flo. Silly commercial, but I like it when she says, "NAILED IT!" in a squeaky voice. I imagine that that will be a catch-phrase for a while.

Today's quote is a message to myself, to get cracking and get something done today. So here I go. Oh, wait, let me first check and see if I have put on my underwear. Check. I'll change out of my Zumba pants and get to work. At the end of the day, I want to be able to say "NAILED IT!" when I look at all the chores I got done.

Betty C. commented that she liked the girls and my pics from the last post. It was kind of a lame, small version of what we had planned, but we laughed until we cried as we were putting the photos together. There are several different shots of us with some different wigs, but we were seriously too embarrassed to post those. And from what you guys have seen that we are gutsy enough to put on this blog, you know they must have been really awful!!!!

                                                                   GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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THE CONTEST IS HERE!

1/24/2015

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OBSTACLES ARE THOSE FRIGHTFUL THINGS YOU SEE WHEN YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF YOUR GOAL.
Henry Ford

The girls were here today, so we did what we could to create a "mini" contest, since I can't download all the rest of the pics I took previously. So take your time . . . look them over carefully, and see if you can pick out the real "Janene". The others are Cate and Abby.

Can you guess the real Janene?

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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I RANG MY "LAST" CHEMO BELL!

1/23/2015

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WHEN I STAND BEFORE GOD AT THE END OF MY LIFE, I WOULD HOPE THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE A SINGLE BIT OF TALENT LEFT AND SOULD SAY, "I USED EVERYTHING YOU GAVE ME."

Erma Bombeck

Hey, everybody, I DID get to ring my last chemo bell on Wednesday. I had my final Herceptin infusion and all went well. After it was done, the whole team at the clinic gathered around and let me ring the bejeebers out of that thing. Some of the other people getting treatment really perked up and were so excited for me. Can you imagine? There was a lady that I know personally, and she is nearing her end of life, but she was so happy that it was my final day there. I looked at these people, and realized that at least half of them were actually dying and won't have the second chance that I have.

(I got to ring the bell in celebration of my completion of the tough chemo, several months ago. Herceptin is still chemo, but is not the losing-your-hair, having your toenails fall off, severe diarrhea kind that I had to take at first. This is the easy-peasey stuff that isn't too bad. But still they let you ring the old bell to indicate that it is alllll over.)

The next steps I have to go through are having another EKG, and having my Power Port removed. That does involve going to the hospital and having a quickie surgery procedure, but no big deal. I don't know what I will do without my alien lump up by my collarbone. Right!

I love Erma Bombeck and her quote for today is for all of us. When I see how fast the days are going by, it makes me worry that I won't do all that I am supposed to do in my life. All of us need to figure out what our talent is and get crack a'lackin. Jenna would dearly love to start some type of school for autistic kids, 'cause there isn't a whole lot of specific help out there. Alec's teachers are FANTASTIC and bend over backwards to help him. But many of them are not professionally trained to deal with that kind of student, and are learning as they go, when working with kids like Alec. That's her dream. I told to go ahead and dream big. Why not? Who knows what will happen and maybe that will be the talent both she AND Alec develop and end of helping others. She has read up on this subject and found out that there are a few states that have great special schools for autistic people and all the these schools have been started by small groups of parents who are in the same boat as her. We'll have to wait and see what develops.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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IT'LL GET BETTER

1/20/2015

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LIGHT TOMORROW WITH TODAY.

                                                             Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Okay . . . so 2015 is starting off kinda like 2014. I had my first "social event" Sunday that resembles 2014. Yup, I went to another viewing of a friend that has passed. I imagine all of you are groaning, "Here she goes AGAIN!. Another friend or family member has died." Well, yeah.  I am a'thinking that it just might have something to do with the fact that everyone I know is getting older. Ya think? Anyhoo, I got to see the usual crowd that we all know and we all always show up for these things. It was my Betty C.'s sis-in-law, so she and Doug came up from Missouri. We had a great visit in between her greeting well wishers. She told me her friend, Dorothy, is doing great with the tying up of loose ends of her breast cancer ordeal and seems to be making a remarkable recovery. With friends like Betty, it sure makes crappy stuff go so much easier!

I got to talk to some of my girl friends about the upcoming class reunion we are planning for this coming August. For some reason, a few of the more risqué chicks have decided that we must all take pictures of us hanging off or swirling around poles, and put them in a collection for the event.. Yes, I said poles. Jodi from California has already e-mailed a selection of herself hanging off some that are at some of the most well known spots in Washington D.C. (Shame on you, Jodi, and way to go! at the same time. You go, girl!) Actually, it is not what you think. Women in their 60's wearing Mom jeans with one leg casually draped around a metal rod does not exactly make an X-rated picture. Come to think of it, we had "pole dancing" practice since we were little kids! The general store in town (Rockwood's) had a long awning covering the front of the store and running all along the sidewalk. It was held up by sturdy metal poles, and all of us kids would hang onto them and twirl around for fun. Nuff said. Let's move on.

Went sledding down our sledable hill with Alec. It was perfect! the air was warm yet the snow was wet and firm and slick! I can't emphasize "slick" enough! We have those round thick saucer sleds with handles and they really twirl around as you are sliding downhill. Unfortunately, as I was rocketing down, my upper body weight made me go off center and I flipped off, landed on my head, proceeded to continue a full 360 roll and ended up on my back. My first thought was 'CONCUSSION!". My next thought was "Wow . . . I could have broke my neck!" And then it was "What a rush! I'm going again!"

Alec was with me yesterday, because of ML King Day and no school. He had popcorn for an afternoon snack, and then decided he wanted to get on my computer. I told him he had to wash his hands first, 'cause I didn't want greasy fingerprints all over the keyboard. Later when I checked on him, he just looked at me and said, "I ALREADY washed my hands! I washed them VERY well!". For you out there that aren't aware, our guy has autism, and full sentences don't come very often. He is making a lot of progress and I love every bit of it.

I have to report that when I was at the viewing Sunday, I was amused to find a few people who didn't recognize me at all. One lady whom I have know for several decades, said she knew the face but couldn't place me. When I told her who I was, she said "But you've got gray hair!" to which I replied, "Yes, Ma'am, I certainly do." LOL I also had some people just stare at me and even do double-takes. I guess they don't know what has gone on, and I didn't say anything, so they are all probably thinking, "Dang, she sure got old fast."

Had a nice long telephone visit with son Daniel last night. I need to phone his girls and see if they want to visit Grandma this next weekend. WHOO WHOO!

                                                                         GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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WHAT'S UP WITH YOU?

1/15/2015

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THE WORLD IS MORE MALLEABLE THAN YOU THINK AND IT'S WAITING FOR YOU TO HAMMER IT INTO SHAPE.
                                                                                 Bono

Well, it's been a while since I've sat down and had time to fiddle with this blog. Nothing earth-shaking going on . . . just regular life. I did get my fluffies (hair) trimmed last week. It was getting long enough that I was starting to look like Buckwheat from the Little Rascals movies, except my hair color is silvery white, not black. The gal that trimmed it was surprised at how thick it is. She took off approximately one inch, and kinda straightened up the raggedy ends. Lon is not thrilled at the fact that my curls have disappeared, but whadda do?

I am very disappointed at not being able to post the pictures that I took at Christmas time, showing all my family wearing dark turtleneck tops and posing wearing Roschelle. My plan was to put up a gallery of all the pictures and then you had to pick out which one was the real Janene. Believe me, those pictures were hysterical. Jenna's friend, Mike, has a black beard, and wearing that wig was too funny. Dan looked like Brad Pitt from the 70's. Lon looked like the actor who played the principal on Ferris Bueller's Day Off movie. Alec looked like a very unhappy, slightly chubby little girl, Abby was wearing a really goofy smile, Cate and Jenna actually looked pretty darn good, and Dan's Tammy . . . well, I told her to keep her pretty, long, shiny brown hair, 'cause she just can't pull it off as a blonde. For some reason, I can download all the pictures on my camera chip except for those few of my "models".

I am really looking forward to Spring coming, this year. It's about this time that I get kinda depressed and feel gloomy. I can't wait until I can open windows and maybe paint some walls this year. And I look forward to using my new steam carpet cleaner. I have white (yes . . . I said white) carpet in my family room and it looks really good, but I want to keep it that way. Sis-in-law Jill has the most amazing looking carpets in her house. She has two dogs, but her rugs always look brand new. She did admit, however, that she has gone through about six carpet cleaners over the years, so that shows maintenance is the key.

I stopped at sister Judy's new house last week, and got the tour. Very, very nice. While I was there, she gave me a beautiful Morganite, Safira and diamond ring which is a white/clear stone with pink stones and diamonds. Then sister Sandy sent me a box of goodies, including the full set of the Zumba program, since I have been crabbing about putting some weight back on. (My most current medication that needs to be taken for the next five years has some crummy side effects such as weight gain, which I think I already snarled about to you all). So,once again, I am telling you about more lovely gifts that I have received.

Well, I had better get crackin' with more of my year-end book-work . . . whoopee . . .

                                                             GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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A FEW ODD OCCURANCES

1/6/2015

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HAPPINESS IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY. THE MORE YOU CHASE IT, THE MORE IT ELUDES YOU. BUT IF YOU TURN YOUR ATTENTION TO OTHER THINGS, IT COMES AND SITS SOFTLY ON YOUR SHOULDER.
                                                                                               Henry David Thoreau

This morning, just as I was waking up but still in a dream-like state, I saw a woman. She was sitting with her back to me, wearing a dark robe. She had dark brown hair, and she was holding up five dark feathers which had beautiful gold designs running down the middle of them. Someone near and dear to me had mentioned that when Little Ma was getting near her end, that they had whispered to her to, show them "feathers" when she got where she was going. That way, every time they saw feathers in this world, they would know that Hazel was thinking of them. When I saw that picture in my sleep, I was hoping that maybe Hazel was also sending me the same message. But I could have sworn that it was MY mother (looking like she did when she was young with dark brown hair) that was the woman holding the feathers. A sweet thought that the message was coming from both of them?

Another odd occurrence happened this past Saturday to a friend, I will call "Jane". Jane got a call on her personal cell phone from a man who wanted to know what she was doing. She replied "nothing". He continued to talk weirdly to her, calling her by the name of "Laurie" until she asked who was calling. He then retorted, "Bob. Bob Shove-It-Up-Your-Butt Bob. (How rude! and disgusting!) When Jane told him that he had the wrong number, he went off like a stick of dynamite and insisted that he was talking to "Laurie". After putting up with some crude, nutty talk, Jane hung up. Bob called back, and asked if her husband, "Joe", was there and was that the reason she couldn't talk now. Huh??? Jane told him that he had the wrong number and not to call back. He kept calling back. That's when the threats started. He swore he would call her place of work at some law firm and tell them what a b---- she was and on and on. The next time he called, Jane had her husband, Ron answer and tell this high on drugs/drunk nutcase that he was dialing the wrong number. Bob said some pretty scary things, including slitting "Joe's" throat. Again they hung up and didn't answering following calls (Caller ID showed RESTRICTED for the calling number). Later checking voice mail, there were several messages with this guy saying some scary things. Later he called back, and Ron answered again. The nutcase told him his address!!! and invited him to come to his place to fight him. They called their phone company and but they said that they couldn't block RESTRICTED calls, and after checking, the local police couldn't do anything, so that was that. The next day, Jane got one more call from Bob, but let it go to voice mail. Again with the threats. Her message to anyone who gets a whacko phone call, do not encourage or continue to answer the phone if the number on Caller ID keeps showing the same thing. It was very unnerving for Jane and Ron, and could have turned into something more dangerous.

BRRRR! It is cold and SNOWY. I am hoping the snow will last until the temperature warms up a bit so that the grandkids can sled down our really neat "sledable" hill. Last year, every time we got a bunch of snow, the air temp was so horribly cold, that it wasn't safe for them to be out sledding.

I have kept busy doing year-end book work for the company and staying in where it is warm. I need to get to the eye doctor for a check-up, and back to the dentist. I have discovered that chemo has affected my eyesight to quite a degree, my hearing (huh? what did ya say?), my teeth, and my balance. Along with the white hair, I don't even resemble the person I was last year at this time. I can't see, hear, walked straight, or bite on anything really crunchy without fear of breaking a tooth. YIPES! I ran into an old friend the other night. When I called out her name, she looked at me oddly. I told her who I was and she laughed, saying that she thought I was my older sister, Judy. It also doesn't help that I have started taking a daily pill (which has to be taken for the next FIVE years), and one of it's side effects is . . . weight gain.   Sigh. Just another day in paradise.

                                                            GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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WELCOME, 2015!

1/1/2015

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THE OLD GIRLS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN

THIS IS A GORGEOUS LIGHTED BOTTLE THAT NIECE TINA AND HER DAUGHTER KALINA, HAD MADE ESCPECIALLY FOR ME!

DEAR FRIEND SANDY AND BEAUTIFUL GRANDDAUGHTER, GRACE

JUST WHEN I THINK I HAVE LEARNED THE WAY TO LIVE, LIFE CHANGES.
Hugh Prather

Yup, 2015 is here. Thank goodness.

I wonder how many of you really whooped it up last night. That was the good old days for us. Now, we stay home where it is warm and safe. I went to bed early and must have developed a terrific headache in my sleep, because I kept dreaming that I was feeling bad, and then I would wake up, and I really did feel bad. I was too sleepy to get up and take something for it. I had my second-to-last Herceptin treatment yesterday so that might have had something to do with it. When I got up this morning, I noticed that Lon must have had a small glass of Bailey's Irish Crème last night to celebrate. Aren't we the party animals? I know Jenna and Alec stayed home, and I haven't heard from Dan and Tammy, but I suspect the same.

Well, since I last posted, I got to see my friend Sandy R. and her granddaughter, Grace. Remember I got to see Grace last year when her mom and Sandy's daughter, Danielle, came to visit, and she is just as adorable as always. It was good to visit with Sandy, again, as always. I have pictures which I will attempt to put on this message. Also have to mention that she came bearing gifts . . . LOTS of gifts. I am so spoiled. We enjoyed this wonderful strawberry cream cheese bread she brought and then I opened the most beautiful box. Have you ever gotten a gift and didn't want to open it because it looked so pretty? This was a fantastic box with an amazing ribbon. Inside were a matching set of two big mugs and an embroidered tea towel, the best smelling candle ever with a really cool lid, and two bags of Barney's coffee. What a treat! But the final touch was . . . wait for it . . . the protective wrapping around all the items in the box was this fantastic laser-cut paper. I had never seen anything like it. Loved it!

I never make New Year's resolutions. What's the point? I have very little self control when it comes to stuff that I WOULD like to change, so I guess my new outlook is to let whatever happens, happen. I do want to work more on sorting stuff out of this house and get organized. I noticed this morning that I had a huge number of empty hangers hanging in my closet, so that is a good indication that I have gleaned out a good amount of clothes that don't fit or that I haven't worn in quite a while. One of my first jobs that needs to get done, is cleaning out my small storage room. As soon as I can places for stuff I store in there (vacuum cleaner, recycling tub, my household tool box, etc.) we are going to put in a new washer and dryer. I can't remember whether I have mentioned it before, but my current good old Maytag set is 38 years old!! It has worked so well for all these decades, but I noticed the other day that the little Downey Softener ball didn't open in the rinse cycle. I assume that it wasn't spinning fast enough to cause centrifugal force to open the little ball. That can't be good. I kinda dread getting a new fangled model, simply because it comes with an instruction booklet about an inch thick, and you pretty much have to have an electrical engineer's degree to figure out how to work the darn thing. Sigh.

I am personally enjoying the weather. Yes, I know that it is really cold, but I don't mind getting out and about if there is no snow or ice to muck through. When the sun is shining, it's really not too unpleasant. Anyway, it will be spring before we know it, and I will be out planting my SUNFLOWERS! Uh huh, that will be starting soon again. I don't think I will every give up my love of sunflowers, after this past year. But I want you all to know that my cancer predicament is almost l00 % behind me and I will be happy when I don't even think to mention anything about it.

I have tried to keep a bit of a humorous spin on this whole situation, but I have noticed from other ladies' cancer blogs (and there are a lot of them out there), that they rather reject my kind of writing. I totally understand. I was one of the lucky ones. I was diagnosed at Stage I and was able to jump on the treatment wagon immediately. Many of the blogs that I have read are about people who are now in Stage IV and the cancer has traveled to other organs, and they are definitely terminal. That would not be something to joke about or to write flip remarks. I understand. But humor was my way of spitting in the wind, my way of flipping off any bad juju that might have come near me, my way of keeping sane when something terrifying was happening. You would be surprised how much I think about all of you out there and hope and pray that it does not happen to you. The shocking news that something is going on with your body, makes you realize that it can definitely happen to any of us. Really. Crap.

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I FEEL LIKE AN OLD SLUG

THE CONTEST IS HERE!

I RANG MY "LAST" CHEMO BELL!

IT'LL GET BETTER

WHAT'S UP WITH YOU?

A FEW ODD OCCURANCES

WELCOME, 2015!

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