Mwahaaahaaaa! My evil plan has worked!!! I guess that darn psych degree does come in handy sometimes, eh? ;o)

I love it that mom is blogging!! I haven't had much to say with not much going on, but I love it that mom has a place for getting her thoughts and what not out.

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of my mom, has shared their story, given words of encouragement, shared aha! moments, and just wisdom gained along the way. I was worried that this whole situation might be kind of isolating for mom, but I think it's been empowering. Scary at times, especially in the beginning when everything felt like it was coming at her at mach 10 speed (that's pronounced "mock" in case I didn't spell it right). But empowering somehow. 

I happened to be cleaning my office the other day, and pulled out my 2014 planner that I had bought in September.

Yep, I'm kind of scary sometimes with coinkidinks like this!

Anywho, like I said, I don't have much to report except that mom has been relying on the immodium a little more this week than usual. Other than that, she looks great, sounds great (maybe a little tired sometimes when I talk to her) and is keepin on keepin on and seems to be in good spirits! We did discuss having to get some pictures on here. Things have been crazy with the holidays and this friggin Arctic weather. So, I will try to get my butt in gear and get some pictures going for y'all. And I need to figure out how to index this site. Now that I have gotten some things done at home (got the bedroom painted and some stuff up on the walls and LOVE. IT.) and can relax about that stuff, I will try to get things a little more organized here.

Wrapping up the year is always kind of bittersweet. Usually, I'm ready for the new year. I commonly say "well, it can only get better next year - bring it on!" because something or other has gone to shit during the year that makes me yearn for a clean slate, of sorts. And for some reason, the new year seems like that clean slate to me. Oh, and tax time. I must be the only person who likes filing their taxes...? Maybe now that I'm a home owner, it won't be as joyous of an occasion, but there's still hoping!

(hahaha and I said I didn't have much to report. But I didn't say I didn't have much to ramble about!)

So, this year (2013) wasn't a shit year. In fact, it's been a really good year.  Alec is doing really well in our "penthouse" as he calls it and in his new school. His health is good, despite being overweight. He's talking a lot and happy more than he's unhappy or the typical snotty tween. All good.

We have Mike and Delaney in our lives, and that's just been...amazeballs. Not sure I've ever been able to say that about a man being in my life before :) And the family all seem to approve. All good!

We have our penthouse - that's going really good. And I have a job that I really enjoy and that is such an improvement over where I was. I mean that more spiritually than financially. It's only taken 37 years and umpteen going-to-shits...but I'm in a good place. Just like mom said would happen. At least it happened before I hit the nursing home and am able to enjoy it :) All good.

So, I guess - the going to shit was mom's cancer. And really - it's going to be assassinated - obliterated - ass kicked to the curb. In fact, it's already begun. So....it only went to shit briefly and things are on track and going in a good direction. All good!!

I have nothing but positivity for 2014 and gratitude for 2013. There are alot of great things coming. 

Before this year ends...I just want to make a brief mention that I debated about before, but feel should be acknowledged. December 19th was the  5 year anniversary since we lost Jamie. Think of you every single day girl.

Wishing you all a clean slate, LOVE, and many blessings in 2014!!!

I imagine everyone has heard a quote that has meant something to them. Maybe it pertains to some event happening to them or it just touches their heart in a special way. The Ernest Hemingway lines that Jenna used for this blog have special meaning to us both now. Here's a few that happened to catch my eye and I had written them in my journal.

"Acceptance doesn't mean resignation. It means understanding that something is what it is and there's got to be a way through it."              Michael J. Fox

"Be patient and persistent. Life is not so much what you accomplish as what you overcome." Robin Roberts

"Be strong, but not rude. Be kind, but not weak. Be bold, but don't bully. Be humble, but not shy. Be confident, but not arrogant."     Dawn French

This one is odd. I saw it as graffiti on the side of a train car in Juneau, Alaska. What is means, I don't know, but I liked it enough to quickly write it down to keep.

"Once again, I hold my breath and hope for the best. True for true."    Unknown

And then there is the one in the title of this post. Lon and I were driving past Seibke Hoyt Jewelers and their big sign by the street had this baby up. "KEEP CALM - STAY SPARKLY". What does it mean? I dunno. But I thought it was kinda funny.

I took a big leap this morning and washed my hair. It has been a week (aw, come on, everybody, don't go "ewwwwing" on me), but frankly I have been afraid to. In church Sunday, a friend, Donna T., told me that a chemo patient she knew, went to wash her hair one day and the whole shebang came sliding off! Well, the good news is that 90%+ is still there. I noticed several individual strands falling but nothing too major yet. As Jenna puts it, I don't have to go "G-I Janene" quite yet. I did realize that I couldn't put on the black sweatshirt that I wanted, because with my light hair falling, by the end of the day, it would look like a small chinchilla was riding on my back between my shoulder blades.

Another FYI fact that I wanted to share:    Jenna had told me that putting Vaseline on your eyelashes could make them healthier and stronger. Well, every night, I have put some on both my eyelashes and eyebrows, and they seem to be holding their own. So try it, if you want thicker lashes and brows.

I want to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR, and leave you with this important message:

                                                        

                                                                     KEEP CALM - STAY SPARKLY!!!

                           

                                                               (WAIT FOR IT  . . .  WAIT FOR IT)

Telling someone bad news is no picnic for anyone.

The day of my biopsy (Thursday Nov 7th), the tech called my family doctor and they agreed that when the results came back on the following Monday (11th), that St. Luke's would be the one calling me with the news. On Friday (Nov.8th), I got a confusing call from St. Luke's telling me to got to Dr. Beck's office at 10:00 the following Monday for the results. Uh Oh! That didn't sound good. I figured that maybe it wasn't going to be good and that they wanted me to hear it from somebody face-to-face.

I told Lon on Sunday night that Jenny Beck always came into the exam room with a big, sunny smile on her face, so that when we met with her either;   (A).  she was smiling and we were cool  or (B).  she was serious, then we knew we were screwed. Lon said when he went to bed, he just kept repeating in his mind, "Smile, Jenny. Smile, Jenny. Smile, Jenny."

At 8:30 Monday, Luke's calls and says, "Your results are back. You have cancer." What tha. . .! Thanks for dropping a bombshell over the phone, honey.  I told the lady that we were supposed to hear from Beck at 10:00. You could almost hear her cringe when she realized that things had gotten mixed up and that she not only got stuck telling me but it was a case where she WASN'T supposed to. See, telling someone bad news is no picnic.

At 10:00, we met with Dr. Beck. When she came into, the room, she was not smiling. We reassured her that we had already gotten the news, but she was still quite upset, from planning how to tell us the news. After I fussed a bit, I tried to lighten the mood, by teasing her that her original plan was to stick Luke's with telling me, and, God help me, I think I  remember calling her a "Chickenshit".  Sorry, Jenny, didn't mean it. I was just kidding you.     Telling someone bad news is no picnic.

OKAY, HERE IS THE BIG SECRET I HAVE BEEN KEEPING.

Wait for it ... Wait for it ...  I haven't told my dad about any of this yet.

I know, I know, I must be a crummy daughter, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I have tried talking my sisters into doing  it for me, but it was "NO WAY!" and "UH UH!" and "NOT ME!" I didn't want to upset him before Christmas. I even took his gift out to the farm early, because I wasn't sure I would have hair at Christmas, and then the jig would be up if he saw me bald. He's 87 years old and he doesn't take bad news well. I'm afraid he will be driving everyone nuts talking about it, and, honestly, I am going to beat this, so it's not as though I am going to drop dead next week.

I think I am at the point where it won't bother me to talk to him about it, but at first it was so painful and raw, that I could only talk to Lon and Jenna about it without bawling. Now I'm cool with it. It's just something I'll get through and get on with life.

TELLING SOMEONE BAD NEWS IS NO PICNIC. That's for darn sure.

                                                                                  GOD BLESS YOU ALL

First off, I want to say THANKS! for the prayers I am receiving, because I'm here to tell you all, that they are working!  It appears that the tumor is shrinking already, just after two treatments.

It's going to be 2 1/2 weeks before next round of chemo, so I don't have much to report, except my family is really keeping a close watch on me. I watched Alec for a few hours yesterday and Lon ended up calling me three times. Then Alec and I slipped into Goodwill for a few minutes and I left my cellphone in the truck. Unfortunately, I missed a call from Kelly, who was going to meet me to pick up Al. When she couldn't get ahold of me, Lon was leaving messages, Jenna was dashing home on her lunch hour to see why I couldn't be reached, and Kelly was wondering where in the heck I was. LOL. I suppose they all thought I was floundering on the floor of the basement, unable to get up. Anyhoo, it worked out and we all got on the same page.

Jenna sent home some of her delicious homemade chili for our supper. She is constantly trying to think of things to make life easier for me. I don't know what I would do without her.

Since there's not much going on at this time, I was looking through some of my notes from the very beginning of this situation. It's amazing how down I was at first, and how things are turning around so fast. I am really feeling good and upbeat and ready to get on with this.

BUT, this is the way I felt at first, and I'm sure there are a lot of people who have experienced the same feelings. Just be assured, if you are going through something like this, it will get better. 

                                                                       DAMP GRAY                                                                                                                       

                                               (and my list of Fifty Shades of Gray - well, maybe not 50!)




When this all started, I woke up each day with such an odd feeling. I can only describe it as "DAMP GRAY". Damp gray feels like sadness, worry, and despair. It makes me think of a dark gray mist covering up the sun, blanketing the warm earth in a thick, gloomy layer,and hiding the green trees. Damp gray is a heavy, dreary experience like no other and I dreaded facing it each day. Every morning, I would go about the task of shaking off those thoughts because I knew that the sun and warm earth and trees were waiting for me somewhere, just behind the mist. They always have and they always will. I just have to believe that.

Then I decided to list my favorite shades of gray, which is a much happier experience.

1.   Pewter gray - strong and distinguished

2.   Soft gray - how the fur on a fat cat looks, complete with pure white patches on its paws

3.   Silver gray - my husband's hair now (it used to be rich, glossy brown - curly, too!)

4.   Floaty gray - that marvelous color on the underside of clouds, telling me rain is coming

5.   Stiff gray - the color of my late Grandpa Paul's bushy coarse eyebrows

6.   Pearl gray - the iridescent color of the claim shells along the Mississippi River bank at Guttenberg

7.   Plaid gray - a gray and yellow plaid wool straight skirt that I had in high school and absolutely loved. I wore

      it with soft yellow sweater and thought I was really something!

8.   Putty gray - a reminder that there may be repairs needed somewhere (to have something to work on is a

      good feeling)

9.   Warm gray - that special eye color that some lucky people have - they look so thoughtful and intelligent

10.  Package gray - the classy look of shiny gray ribbon wrapped around a gift and then tied into a bow

11.  Lacquer gray - whoo whoo! Our 1971 Ford Torino - one of the first shiny gray cars that came out around

       the early 70's. It had beautiful red/orange/yellow racing stripes down both sides. A Mack truck ran a red

       light and demolished it (I was okay, but the car was only a year old - so young to die) sob

12.  Lavender gray - the color of the satin dress Jenna wore in her cousin Summer's wedding. P.S. They both

       looked beautiful

13.  Dove gray - reminds me of the dressy gloves that women of an earlier era wore to their ladies' club

       meetings (Mother belonged to Missionary Club and the You-Go-I-Go Club. In later years, she received

       her much beloved and sought-after membership to the Alburnett Book Club. There was a strict limit of 12

       members, therefore an opening only came up when someone moved away or died, and no one was

       readily willing to do either so it was amazing when you got to be a member - unless it was the "lady

       passing" part.

14.  Grayish blue - the color of some of husband's marbles from his childhood

15.  Dapple gray - love the look of a horse with splotches of gray and white

Okay, I only have fifteen shades of gray that I really enjoy. But I've got a lot of years ahead of me and I'm sure I can find more to add to the list. Stay tuned.




Hope anyone reading this does not think I have gone completely Looney Tunes, but rambling here at the keyboard is a real stress buster. Some of this stuff I'm writing may sound kinda kookie, but ... it is what it is.

Mom came to watch Alec this morning for a few hours until Kelly (his soon-to-be-stepmom) can pick him up around noon. While I was getting ready we were talking and she said she had some effects from the chemo yesterday. A little bit of sickness - she said for about an hour or two, but mostly water was what was coming up. She said she had a pretty bad headache too, which has been happening the last, oh, five years maybe? She seems to get a pretty bad headache, then nausea - typically from going too long without eating or from loud noises - so not sure if it was just a headache or if it was chemo. Either way, I'm glad it only lasted an hour or two. And, if this is what Round 2 of chemo has brought (and that's the extent of it), then I think that's still really good for mom. Easy to say when I'm not the one chukkin, huh?

I deleted part of yesterday's post, as I was just on a rant for whatever reason and then decided it didn't need to be on here, poo-pooing on everyone's holiday spirit :)

I'm ready for the weekend. Just to have some down time after Christmas. I'm going to try my darndest to get my bedroom painted this weekend. Taupe throughout the house is great for selling it, but not so great for living in all the time. This  need some COLOR!!!

Here is mom's portrait - see how beautiful my madre is? And she thinks its all just lighting. I wish you could see yourself how others see you, ma. If this isn't a great example of how you are seen, I don't know what is or how to make you see it.

(I tried resizing this to make it bigger, but it gets pixelated if I do that. )

Christmas went well. As mom mentioned, we had a couple of emotional moments. And Alec's singing at just the exact timing again was hilarious. He was singing the Culture Club song Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? ("do you really want to hurt me? do you really want to make me cry?"). I don't know that I've ever heard him sing it before. Maybe - but it's been a long time, if so. I think he heard it on Chicken Little or something - he picks up alot of older music from movies. But still, so so hilarious. Thanks for re-routing that moment, bubba :)

[PART OF BLOG DELETED] 

Now, if mom needs to gripe about whatever she's feeling about her treatment or the effects, totally different story. That's the point of this blog. To inform everyone of what happens when diagnosed with breast cancer, at least in this situation. Everyone's is different, I'm sure. But it's a more realistic view of what actually happens. Television and movie makers should be required to stick to facts instead of making us all terrified of something that can be treated, and without all the theatrics. I think we had envisioned mom very sick as soon as that chemo was put in her body. I'm SO happy that's not proving to be the case so far and I am right here rooting her on to keep doing what she's doing to keep this run going.

Have a great day, y'all :)

Merry Christmas to all! I woke up at 3:40 this morning thinking that maybe the chemo flushing was starting up again (read between the lines, folks - when I mention "flushing" and you'll know what I mean). But, no, not yet. It's now about 4:45 and I can't sleep, so I'll write a bit.

When I was five years old, Mother bought a copy of the school annual. That's when there were two separate elementary classes at two different scholls, but joined together at one school, in sixth grade. In my kindergarten class photo, I am a blurry little character sitting in the shadows in the back of the room. The other kindergarten class picture showed a cocky, little smartass sitting right in front. I must have showed that picture to my mom at least a thousand times, saying "THAT IS THE CUTEST LITTLE BOY. I WISH I COULD MEET HIM!"  Back then, five year-olds didn't know how to read like they do now, so I couldn't figure out what his name was that was listed on the page. Flash forward six years to Sixth Grade. I'm now eleven and there is a cocky little twelve-year old smartass that has come from the other elementary school. I wrote in my diary I WISH I COULD MARRY LONNIE OLIPHANT. I don't know why I even thought that, 'cause he was a real brat to me and picked on me a lot. During that same year, I met the nicest girl from the class joining ours, whom I still consider a great friend - Jodi. During the summer between sixth and seventh grades, we would write letters to each other. Yes, people, putting words on paper, shoving said paper into an envelope and slapping a five cent stamp on it. We had moved that year to a farm around the country block and AT&T had no telephone poles down our road (even though Dad offered to pay for the stupid pole!), so we didn't have a telephone.  So writing was the only way I had to communicate with Jodi. Mom hated driving and if we got to go to the Troy Mills drive-in restaurant or to Rockwood's store once a week, we were happy campers! Needless to say, we didn't get out much and there wasn't too much to get excited about, so when there was, I wrote to Jodi in CAPITAL LETTERS for extra emphasis.  ie: "I AM SO TIRED OF PAINTING FENCES AROUND THE HOG LOT! "I AM SO BORED!" "Mom took us into Rockwood's store this evening - I THINK I SAW LONNIE OLIPHANT AND HIS MOM DRIVE DOWN MAINSTREET! You are SO LUCKY to live down the street from him. I WISH I COULD LIVE NEAR HIM!"

Guess what? All of these wishes came true.

Well, at 3:40 this morning, I woke up with the words WHAT A REMARKABLE JOB YOU ARE DOING, LORD!  shouting in my mind. There were the words, almost visible to me in the darkness. It was so cool! (I made a point of coming out to the dining room and writing the words down so that I would remember how exactly they went). I guess I can even praise him in my sleep, and that makes me so very happy. I don't know what it is with me and "shouting" while I'm thinking or writing, but even though I took the really long way to tell you this, it must be the way my brain is wired to handle important thoughts. Sorry it took so long to get it explained.

Last night we had a very good time celebrating Christmas with the kids and their kids and Little Ma (Hazel). Jenna's boyfriend and his sweet daughter joined us, which made me very happy. I guess the food turned out well, since everyone ate it, but it's kinda hard cooking when you can't really taste anything. After preparing almost everything, I took a shower and washed my hair to get ready for "company". Uh, Houston, we may have a problem. It looks like the old hair may be starting to depart. Yup, the follicles are starting to loosen up. I just told everybody, that if they found a loose hair in their food (gross!) it was just a special Christmas kiss from me. Nobody said anything about being "kissed".

I had bought myself a pretty necklace with pink and white crystals shaped like the breast cancer ribbon. Then I got  one for Jenna, Little Ma, Cate, and Abby to wear. Later, my best friend/ partner-in-crime/sister-in-law Nina (you remember her) and her husband, Larry stopped by for a little bit. When I gave her one, since she  is one of my staunchest supporters, we both started to cry. Jenna and I had a hard time earlier, controlling our emotions when I had given the family the pictures I had taken. At that time, everyone got quiet, letting us get a hold of ourselves. Then little Alec pipes up with, "You're gonna make me cryyyy! You're gonna make me cryyy!" When he got to the word "cryyy," he kinda sang it in his little vibrato that he does.  That was huge for us, that he picked up on the emotions going on in the room. Well, that got Jenna and me laughing. But when Nina and I got teary-eyed, I told her if we started bawling, I was going to have someone take a picture of her, Jen and me to show the world what ugly criers we are. That's been something Jenna and I have said for years  "We've got to stop it, We are NOT PRETTY CRIERS!" and that just makes us laugh.

Even with our little "moments", we had such a good time. Cate loved her new cowboy boots, and Abby was thrilled with all the Monster High books and Legos. Alec was working on running his new video camera. He is always filming little movies with Jenna's camera - setting up scenes and moving toys around to look like different parts of movies. With his new camera, he can see on the screen what he's filming and can set it solidly down to perform in front of it, without having to prop the phone against something.  

Well, it is now 5:40 and I think I will try to lie down again. Wish me luck!




                                                                                   GOD BLESS YOU ALL

First I will deal with my daughter and her latest post. A WADDLE LIFT? SERIOUSLY? Actually, you know that I DID just got my info from Life Style Lift right before this health problem cropped up. But I sure as heck am not gonna do that, now that we found out they shove some kind of wire or band under you skin in your neck and yank it up tight to give you that youthful (but killer painful) appearance.

Yup, Session Number 2 went so good today. My newest blood test still shows that I have blood that is as good as a non-cancerous, super-healthy woman!.  Whoo whoo! Lon could not take me to the appointment because he got a touch of food poisoning from eating a tenderloin we got in town last night - (it didn't bother me so maybe the chemo is sterilizing everything, even bad food!). He actually got up and got dressed, but couldn't move too far from the bed. He was so determined to go, but I just couldn't let him go into the clinic and be around patients and possibly pass off some kind of virus or whatever. So, for once, he listened to me. He must have really been hurting! We almost considered postponing our usual Christmas Eve get together with the kids and grandkids tomorrow night because of him feeling so horrible, but he feels much better now that he has puked and pooped. (Sorry, did I say that out loud?)

My talk with Dr. Ghosh went well. He checked the lump and asked me if I felt that it was a little smaller, which I did. Lon could not tell the difference, but Dr. G said it is slightly smaller and softer, which means really good stuff. Chemo ran from 10:00 to 1:45, which was faster than last time. I got in a two-hour nap, read the paper, did some writing, and nibbled on crackers.

NOW FOR THE HAIR REPORT: As Jenna mentioned in her post, I still have my hair. The nurse I talked to today said it should be going any minute now. That's really something to look forward to. It's like waiting for the ax to fall, if you know what I mean. Yes, I have ordered some wigs and ICK, they sure weren't like in the catalogues. The first one was too flat, the second one was too slutty - (however, Lon kinda liked that one if it hadn't been so dark colored), and the third one was out of stock. Anyway, they were both too dark blonde. I guess I will just have to order them in WHITE and get it over with. I've got a Jaclyne Smith number coming and hopefully it will work. If not, I'm going to hit a couple of wig shops in town.   

I read online where there was  a survey amongst women chemo patients, asking them what they feared most - 1. Chemotherapy   2. Surgery   3. Losing their hair.  (Number 3 won).

Just a little FYI. I got a nice satin pillow case from the American Cancer Society. There is a group of volunteers that make these to give to chemo people. I would recommend them to anyone. Cotton pillowcases are rougher and can break hair off easier. The satin one seems to almost polish your hair, and possibly that  is the reason that I am keeping mine a little longer. I bought a "satin" pillow cover from Wal-Mart, and it is much rougher than the one from the ACM. Even if you get some material from a fabric store and sew up one yourself, I think it could really help anybody.

And, yes, Jenna, you can print my "hair" picture. I went to Ann Kinney from Illusions Fine Portraiture studio to get a "before" headshot done to remember what I had looked like. Ann did something really wonderful,. I explained to her over the phone why I needed this done, but was having trouble fitting it in with all the doctors appointments. I had not even met her yet, but she told me to pick when I could come, and she would do it then, even if she had to bump someone else from that time slot. What a gal!  Ann did such a nice job, that I am afraid anyone who sees it will think "Wow, Janene must really think she's all that .. . and more!" Honestly, it's amazing what a professional can do with expert equipment and the right lighting. Remember, ladies, the RIGHT LIGHTING is our best friend. Anyway, instead of just getting a photo shot, Ann really made me look . . . well, better than I actually do (and I'm sure that little friend Trisha E. will agree with me, since she has seen me recently and knows what I really look like!) Right, TAE? Jeez, the last truly professional photo that I had taken was my senior pic when I was seventeen. I guess it was about time for a new one.

Hope everyone is all ready for Christmas. I hope I am. I told Lon the other day that I was finally, totally finished with everything, even the food for Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, I have been to the store twice since then. I guess there is no finally, totally finished.  Sigh.

Anyhoo, Merry Christmas.

                                                                            GOD BLESS YOU ALL

Chemo #2 today! I tried calling mom before her appointment at 8:00 to tell her I hoped today went well, but she already had her phone turned off. So, mom - hope your second chemo goes well today! :)

One thing that I haven't had the chance to put on here yet, is that on Tuesday, December 17th (so, two weeks post-chemo), mom told me that her taste buds are going on strike. As of that date, she said she can't really taste much. She's craving salt, and her beloved chocolate no longer holds the "fix" it used to. She said it tastes like really bad, generic chocolate. Which is too bad, since we Oliphant women are known for our addiction to chocolate. I remember when mom quit smoking (two years ago in October, I'm pretty sure) she said she was also going to try and give up/lessen her intake of soda....but there was no way she was giving up chocolate :) Remember, it's just temporary, ma!

I'm grateful that mom still has all of her hair, and hasn't had any signs that it's going to be coming out soon. I think she'll enjoy Christmas more without having to worry about if her wig is on crooked or not. Which is good, since she sent all of her wigs back - the color swatches online aren't very accurate, so she will try again!

Mom, Alec and I went shopping on Saturday and had a good time despite the frenzy. Alec freaked a little bit at the first store (he's not much of a big crowds shopper) but then calmed down when he realized he could use this outing to his advantage. Yes, I bribe him. If it gets the darn job done, yes, it's worth a book or a small-ish toy here and there. I've learned to pick my battles. And he got some pretty cool Pac Man drinking glasses out of the deal, so it's functional and not all a waste.

His day was made even better by getting to pick where we had lunch - he's been nagging me about going to Pizza Hut for the majority of the last three months or so. So, we went to Pizza Hut. He was thrilled to the point of flapping his hands and a HUGE smile on his face. Our friend, Steve, met us there to pick up some hats for his son that I had gotten from Mike's employer. It's a pretty fun story. And interesting to see how we are all kind of intertwined somewhere along the line by the people we know. I hope Eric enjoys the hats, Steve!

I also noticed that Alec and mom are the same height...and he's 12. Aye yay yay! Going to be interesting to see when exactly he starts towering over all of us!

Other than that, we were covered in snow on Saturday night. I don't know what the official numbers were, but my driveway was about 8 inches deep. Thank goodness for older neighbor guys taking pity on me. I finished shoveling the driveway, and about the time I was going to start the sidewalk, the Harley riding neighbor (who I WILL get to know to be able to talk motorcycles!) came over with his snowblower and did the sidewalk in about three minutes. Saved me about an hour's worth of cardiovascular stress - thank you neighbor!! I had texted my friend Kristie that I was "going to shovel - be back or dead within about 45 minutes." Yep, I'm a sick ticket!

I think we are all ready for Christmas - I only have to get stocking stuffers and I'm hopeful that maybe I can do that at lunch today or after I get off work tomorrow. And if not, is he really going to notice that there aren't any M&Ms or Mike & Ikes? Yes. He will. Darn it. The things I do for you, kid! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and are surrounded by/get to spend time with the people you love.

Merry Christmas!

Note to mom: that is NOT a jenkie picture of us, despite the fact it looks like Alec may have eaten a gonja-laden brownie (he didn't, he just has a stoner look in pictures) and he has his self-inflicted imitation of Woody's magnifying glass burn on his forehead (seriously, he wanted one), your face does NOT look like it's sliding off. Jeesh! It's the only picture that I have of us that is semi-recent...which is a sign we need to get some family pictures taken at some point (how long have we been saying that!?!?!). Or maybe you should see if Gram got any good pictures at Thanksgiving that I can use instead? When you give me the okay, I will put up the FABULOUS picture that you shared with me before the rest of the family. :) It really is fabulous!

Annnnd....once you get the cancer taken care of, we'll check into a waddle lift - you can have that, and I'll get my tah-tahs at the same time. Okay?? (hahaha she's gonna love that last line) Maybe we can get a two-fer deal?

I'm not trying to frighten anyone about having an MRI. Most people are quite comfortable and unfazed by the whole experience. Betty M., a friend of mine, has had two in the last year, both related to her breast cancer treatment. Her report to me was, "I took a pill (a simple sedative) and was totally relaxed throughout the entire experience." Well, that just goes to show that she is not a topsy-turvy, can't-hold-still, fidgety-twitcher like me. (CHECK OUT THE UPDATE ON OUR BETTY AT THE END OF THIS MESSAGE)

I'm the type of person who goes to bed lying on my right side - for a few minutes. Then it is on to the stomach for a short period of time. Okay, next step is on my left side, Ahhh . . .  for approximately five or ten minutes. then (you guessed it!) on my back. Very good, I can see you are paying attention. This pattern repeats, well, repeatedly, until I fall asleep. The point I'm trying to make is that when doing the MRI experience, you are required to lie perfectly still. I cannot stress the "perfectly still" part enough. Oy vey! If you move, you might have to start all over again.

I entered into the MRI (which I had back on November 15th but it still makes me shudder to think of it), imagining that this was going to be a piece of cake. After all, it didn't involve any scalpel, sutures, ivs - the usual stuff that kinda means something is going to hurt,. No problemo, right? WRONG!!! My first indication of a problem was when I found out that I had to lie (let's say it all together) "perfectly still", for approximately one hour! In Oliphant time, we would reference this to about 8 1/2 hours. Okay, I prepared to gut this out. My mantra was "I can do this I can do this I can do this."

I laid face down on the table of the machine. Betty had cheerfully informed me that there was an opening in the table fitted with a faceplate with a small television screen positioned below, so I could watch a TV show to help pass the time. Great. It was almost 10 o'clock and my morning rerun of Gilmore Girls was about to start. The show ran for one hour, so I could be entertained and know about when my time was up. When I put my face on the plate opening, it felt a little hard. The tech padded my forehead with a washcloth. Ahh. My arms were positioned on either side of my torso, and soon it was a go.

I had been told that the noise that the machine makes sounds like a jackhammer,. Well, I've heard my husband running a jackhammer, and by golly, they were right! It also periodically sounded like someone pounding on an oil drum with a hammer. Either way, it was loud. Unfortunately, as I get older, loud noises tend to make me nauseous. Very nauseous. Now we're in for some fun, right?

I am so proud for staying (again, everybody) PERFECTLY STILL. But that was definitely one of the hardest challenges I have ever had to endure, bar none. It didn't help that in the first few minutes, I had three itches develop on my face. Moving was forbidden, so there was to be no scratching and I had to put up with a bit of "itch" torture. Sigh. After awhile, I began to notice that my face was pressing into the metal faceplate so hard that my brow bones and cheekbones were beginning to ache horribly. Next, the machine was making the air quite warm, hot in fact. Did I mention that being overheated makes me nauseous, too? Puke time.

At this point, I wasn't even watching Lorelei and Rory Gilmore. I had to keep my eyes shut because the sight of any kind of movement made me sick to my stomach. I began to pray that the end was near (of the MRI, silly).

Then, just as I thought I couldn't take another minute of this, the tech announced into my earphones that I only had 6 1/2 minutes left. The race was on! Was Janene going to make it to the home stretch without vomiting in the MRI chamber? Could she hold it together for a measly 6 1/2 minutes or was she going to upchuck on the last lap, and have to repeat this all over again? Was a do-over inevitable? I think not!

I began to count off the minutes, second by second. I started to pray to my sweet Jesus that I could endure the last little bit without being sick. After all I had been through, I certainly didn't want to ruin the test. I was seriously praying up until the very last second.

Then . . . the techs opened the chamber.

I was sweaty, shaking, and pale. I didn't get sick, once I felt the cool air of the room, but it was a close toss-up (ewww - no pun intended).

After I told the techs that I had come very close to being sick and ruining the test, they happily informed me that maybe the next time it wouldn't be so bad.

NEXT TIME?????  What tha . . ?  Just call me M.I.A from now on.

UPDATE ON BETTY M.:  I talked to Betty the other night. She had had an MRI  (I believe on the 9th of Dec,?) to see what the outcome was for her since she had been fighting her breast cancer battle for the last year. She told me she had to have it repeated on the 12th, because the first time didn't go so well and it turned out to be a flop. Evidently when the iv was put in her arm to pump the dye through her system, it missed the vein, and she laid there for an hour in pain as the stuff just pumped under her skin. Her arm was huge with all that fluid. Fortunately after her second try, the news came back great!!! It sounds like she has a clean bill of health, and is planning a fabulous sun-filled vacation with her entire family. You go, girl! (I guess Betty just joined my M.I.A. Club,  when it comes to MRIs).

If any of you are wondering why I am blatting away on Jenna's blog, it's because my girl is currently swamped with work, Alec, Christmas, and worrying about me. Also, there has been a lull in any news about my cancer, since I haven't had to see the doctor for awhile, and I am feeling super, so she is doing her thing, and I am keeping my mind busy tapping away on the computer. I still have all my hair, but it's a waiting game to see just when I start looking like a plucked chicken. My second round of chemo is tomorrow and I'm really not worried about it at all. If it goes as good as the first time, I will be one happy camper. I just hope I'm not too tired to cook the turkey and everything on Tuesday (Christmas Eve) for the family. We'll see how it goes.

                                                                             GOD BLESS YOU ALL