wordless Wednesday...1yr & 5mos after chemo, the ponytail is back!

kicking cancer's ass together...

i have quite a few bumper stickers on the back of my vehicle...one of my favs is my this one...

apparently, someone else liked it too...last week, i found this note tucked under my windshield wiper...

i gave her a call, & directed her to my fav bumper sticker site...gotta love the connection that us cancer survivors have! ;0)

speaking of...

i met with my oncologist yesterday...it was a follow-up from my latest CT (i've had one every 3 months for a year now...the latest being last week)...she said they spotted a lymph node under my right arm that they want to keep an eye on (which is weird, since my cancer was all on my left side - neck/chest)...she says they're not too concerned about it - but just want to watch it

so instead of moving to scans every 6 months, like we originally planned to do this time - i'm to come back & see her again in 3...i'm ok with that news - i told her that if she's not worried about the node yet, i'm not either...plus i enjoy seeing her...she's one of the coolest docs i know! ;0)

Relay for Life 2010

wow, what a night!

this was my very first year ever participating in any way with Relay for Life...i didn't quite know what to expect...i'd heard it would be fun - & boy was it ever?! just a big party!

surprisingly, i have very few photos from the Relay...Misty took a lot of the pics below...i was just too busy having fun & taking it all in, to remember to snap a lot of pics ;0)

we got there around 3pm on Friday & started setting up our site...

my BFF, Misty, worked her magic (she works for the chamber of commerce for Yadkin Valley, NC) & got our t-shirts donated...they were designed from my tattoo

there was sooooo much to do at Relay! the girls & i got colored hair extensions put in...

the kiddos also enjoyed moon bounces, face painting, karate demos, a petting zoo, games, tons of food...the list went on & on! & believe me, they wanted to do EVERYTHING! it was hard to say no too - cause everything was so cheap & the money was all going to the teams' fundraising goals for Relay! there were live bands throughout the night...even karaoke at 3am! it was so much fun!!!

my fav munchies of the night came from this site...here there had things like fried pickles & asparagus...& my personal fav - grilled mushrooms...mmmmm! not to mention, a kick-ass grill! ;0)

here's a family shot...including my mom - she & i are wearing our survivor sashes (my mom had a cancerous tumor removed from her thyroid in 1984)...

the first 2 laps of the Relay were for the survivors & caregivers...

the kiddos helped us decorate the luminaria that were donated by our generous friends & family...

they walked a few laps with us too...but mostly, Curtis kept them busy checking out the different activities & food...here they are showing off their face painting (& ice cream & funnel cakes)...

the luminaria ceremony was at 9pm...it was such a moving experience...

about 10pm or so, the kiddos started getting tired...they chilled inside our tent with a movie for a little while, but then headed home with daddy before midnight...

they were disappointed they couldn't stay all night, but as Curtis reminded me - if Misty & i wanted to get any sleep the next day, he needed to sleep some that night (so he could leave the house with the kiddos while we slept)

at midnight, there was a womanless beauty pageant...no matter how hard i tried, Curtis would not do this for me...he said there are just some things he will not do ~lol~ maybe next year ;0)

at 12:30am, we had a team captains meeting...i snapped this pic of my beads while i waited for the meeting to start...at that point (half way), i'd walked 7 miles...

(the beads were a cool fundraiser that one of the teams had...u bought the string & ur first bead for $3...then each time u passed their site, u picked up another bead...u'd get a colored one on every 4th lap - that helped u track ur miles)

we picked up our pace during the last half tho (i guess the distraction of all the games/vendors/food slowed us down in the beginning)...at the end, my mom & i both finished up at 17 miles & Misty went a whole 19!!!

(pic from at home, the next day)

at around 5:30am, we stopped for a group picture...we might look like death warmed over, but we wanted to stop & thank each one of u for ur support & donations! we couldn't have been so darn successful without u guys!!!
♥

& i'm soooo thankful for these ladies!

of course, my mom - for always supporting me! she actually passed me & my fundraising total at the very end of the week - raising $860!!!

Misty - for not only coming all the way up from North Carolina to walk with us! but for being a true best friend - there for me always...encouraging & supporting me more than anyone i know!

& my dear friend Cindy - who was one heck of a trooper that night...staying out there with us the entire night...& she's 4 months pregnant!!!

the sun was rising during our closing ceremony at 6am...we were so proud to be among the few that stuck it out all night...it was such a rewarding experience & we've already talked about what cool stuff we can do next year to be even more successful...i can't wait!!!

here's a video i took while walking around the whole area (double lap)...i wanted to catch all the luminaria lit up...remember that each luminaria u see, represents a person that has fought the battle against cancer - some winning, some losing, some still fighting

celebrate. remember. fight back.



& lastly, here's a pic of Misty & i before she headed home...after our IHOP breakfast & only 4hrs of sleep! ;0) luv ya girl!!! ♥

& the winner of a FREE CUSTOM CAKE is...

Kristin Watts!!!

thanks so much for your generous donation of $250 to our Relay for Life team, Kristin! with ur help (& that of many others), the Warrior Women flew right by our goal of $2,000 & raised over $3,185!!! i say over, because believe it or not...there's actually a few more donations that were turned in the night of the relay, & have not been added to our total yet!

once again, thx to EVERYONE that supported our team & this amazing cause! i'm working on a post for tomorrow that will tell u guys all about our night at Relay...& of course i have some pics to share...it was quite the experience - once of the best nights of my life!!!
♥

*Kristin - shoot me an email & let's start designing that free custom cake ;0)

these boots were made for walkin'...

and that's just what they'll do...

tonight, at Relay for Life!

there ceremony kicks off at 6pm tonight, with the survivor lap being the very first lap...then we'll continue on thru the night - up until 6am! (then comes clean up ~wink~)

thx again for all the support u guys have given us...we set our original team goal at $2,000...& after all is said & done this weekend, we're gonna be right at $3,000! & that's just amazing! for getting started a little late (January), & being such a small team...i think we did good!

i mean check it out...we're golden!!!
;0)

thank u, thank u, thank u!!!
♥

celebrate, remember...fight back!

Warrior Women - Stronger Than Cancer


u know i'll have plenty of pics coming next week ;0)

xoxox,
sharon

we did it!!!

team Warrior Women has raised $2,665 so far...flying by our $2,000 goal!!!

there are 3 days left til Relay, so u still have a chance to win that free cake...the gift to beat now is $250 (thx Kristin!!!)...winner announced Monday

thx for all ur support!!!

getting close...

the Relay for Life walk is almost a week away (it's next Fri/Sat) & our team is sooooo close to reaching our team goal!

we just had a fundraiser at my office today...we made a home-cooked meal & took free will donations...& we raised almost $500!!!

that puts us about $75 shy of our $2,000 team goal...we're getting close!

please go to my page & give what u can...no gift is too small or too big!

& remember...i will award a prize of one free cake order (to serve up to 25 people) to the person donating the highest amount to my personal goal!

so go give!!!

i found out that our final "bank night" is on May 3rd - that means that any money collected by that day will show up in our grand total at the walk...we can still take donations up until the walk (& even after), but to have it factored into our grand total, i need it by Monday...however, this contest will run until the walk on May 7th, so u have plenty of time to give...i will announce the winner here on May 10th

don't forget...we need your help...

don't forget to visit my page & donate today...help the Warrior Women reach our goal & raise $2,000 for Relay for Life!!!

to motivate folks just a little, i've decided to offer up a prize to the highest contributor...i will award a prize of one free cake order (to serve up to 25 people) to the person donating the highest amount! this will run until the walk on May 8th, so u have plenty of time to give...i will announce the winner here on May 10th

so go give!!!

xoxox,
sharon

hypothyroidism...

i promised to let u know how my last scan went...well, i met with my oncologist on Monday (Corinn's bday) & found out that everything came back clear...praise God! the doc said my lymph nodes actually look smaller than when all this began...guess all that treatment really did do the trick!

in fact, the radiation did such a good job of zapping the tissues in my neck, that i'm still feeling the effects! i have a sore throat almost weekly, but the doc says this is normal (really? after almost a year?!)...i also have pretty brutal reflux - doesn't matter if i've eaten too much, eaten the wrong type of food, or just haven't eaten at all...i get heartburn almost daily (also apparently normal?!)

& now i'm finding out it has effected my thyroid as well - turns out my levels were low when they ran my blood work on Monday, so they asked to run it again...sure enough, Hypothyroidism...apparently, another common effect of radiation to the neck - yay! ;0)

thankfully, my levels are not severely low...i'm on a low dosage of meds now (Synthroid) & they'll check my levels again in a month...& this could explain my recent lack of concentration & memory loss...and my dry skin/irritation...maybe even some of my weight gain & lack of energy?! yeah, that's it! that's why i'm fat ;0)

so hopefully, the meds work...& hopefully i don't have to take em forever! sounds like there's a good chance i will tho - i guess we'll see...& of course i'll keep u updated

as for my next scan, i'll go again in may (another 3 months) - taking me up to a whole year since i finished treatment!!! if that 1 is all clear too, then i'll go down to just once every 6 months...that def will be nice!

hodge podge...

i'm sorry if u're sick of my snow posts

guess what? i'm sick of the snow! ;0)

but i thought this time lapse video was really cool...it's of the storm that just hit us Friday/Saturday & was taken in DC (2hrs northeast of us - where my hubby is from & where my inlaws currently live...hi Pop!)...i hear they got about the same accumulation as us - a little more in some areas...of course it hits them a lot harder up there - those city folk don't worry about 4-wheel drive...or even have a place to put all the white stuff when they plow! ;0)



it's snowing right now - just the beginning of the new storm that's supposed to hit us today...they're now saying 6-12 inches...we shall see, i guess

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don't forget about the Valentine Truffle offer i have going on right now...let me know by Thursday if u want your truffles on Friday or Saturday


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i had another CT scan yesterday...has it been 3 months again already?!

this time, i had to drink about 30 oz of this "smoothie" that they gave me...it seems they wanted a clear shot of my belly & pelvic area this time too (along with my chest & neck)...the smoothie really tasted like liquid TUMS...it was chalky & disgusting! & i of course couldn't eat anything for 12hrs leading up to my scan...it's a good thing i didn't too!

cause as soon as they put the contrast in my IV, i lost it! u know how u get that warm feeling down the back side of ur body from the contrast? well, if u don't know - it first puts a weird taste in ur mouth, then ur neck gets warm, then ur back...all the way down to ur butt...they tell u ahead of time that u'll feel like u peed ur pants - but that u really didn't - it's a normal sensation ~lol~ well, anyway...they'd already done a few scans - i guess with just the smoothie in my system...then they pulled me out & put the contrast in my IV...they slid me back in the machine & the warm sensations started down my body...the warmer i got, the more nauseous i began to feel!

this was a new feeling...normally, the contrast doesn't bother me at all...but this time - whoo! they were in the middle of scanning me the 2nd time, giving me the instruction to take a deep breath & hold it...& it was taking all i had not to hurl right inside that machine, let alone hold my breath! as soon as they pulled me out, i sat up & told the nurse i was gonna be sick...she handed me one of those nifty pink hospital buckets & up the smoothie came!

i was just glad that i made it thru the scan...cause i def won't b doing that again!

i meet with my oncologist on the 22nd & will get the scan results then...u know i'll keep u updated ;0)

ice & warriors...

well, the wintry mix did indeed show up...it started slowly yesterday afternoon...then we woke up to this today...

not much of a mix tho - mostly just ice...took me about 10 minutes to scrape thru the thick sheet covering my vehicle!

but hopefully mother nature has gotten it all out of her system & this weekend will be nice...right now, they're saying 40's tomorrow & sunny...50's on Sunday with a chance of rain...i can deal with that - just NO MORE WINTER PLEASE! ;0)


& hey...guess what?

yesterday, i formed a Relay For Life team!

right now, we're a team of 5...we're looking for some more recruits tho - so let me know if u're local & interested in joining!

we're calling ourselves...

WARRIOR WOMEN -
STRONGER THAN CANCER!

i know! isn't that cool?!
we're even going to have t-shirts made up with my favorite little woman on them!
(with a violet scarf, of course)

yes, Curtis is on my team too...& he's ok with the team name - even wearing purple shirts if we make him ;0)

we've got lots of cool fundraising ideas...& even the kiddos are super excited about the walk in May! we've already got the ball rolling & have raised $145 in our 1st day! but we've got a long way to go to reach our $2,000 goal...that's where u can help...

please visit our team page...or my personal page...& give what u can!

of course if u're here reading this, u know how special this charity is to me...it's important that we help the millions that will be diagnosed with cancer just this year! those other mamas out there - getting slapped in the face with one of the worst possible diagnosis u could ever hear! i want to help make sure that we're doing everything we can to not only find a cure for this hateful thing called cancer, but also make it easier for people to find treatment - good treatment...& assistance...& support!

the goal of the American Cancer Society is to prevent cancer, save lives, and diminish suffering from cancer...simple as that!

so give what u can...i appreciate ur help!