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!
this past Saturday, we had Den races for Jaden's Cub Scout pack...i'm sure u've heard of the Pinewood Derby races before...each boy gets a kit (remember, Santa gave Jaden this kit) - which contains a block of wood, axles (nails) & wheels...it's up to them to turn those items into a derby car...
of course Jaden's car had to be blue...& he went with a 3-headed dragon design of course ;0) he was soooo proud of his car...all he talked about was how much he hoped to win a trophy...
this was my 1st time at a Pinewood Derby race & i was surprised at how official it was...the boys had to turn in their cars, have them weighed (u want to get as close to 5oz as u can so the car is heavy enuff to pick up some speed, but u can't go over 5oz) & checked in to the computer...
the boys waited patiently for the races to start...
they raced 3 cars at a time... (the skateboard car on the right was the overall winner)
they'd place them at the top of the track, leaning on these little pegs that would hold them in place until the start... (the front light on the lighthouse car on the left actually blinked)
then the pack leader would pull out the pegs & the cars would take off...at the end of the track was a digital finish line that would record each finishing place...
Jaden's car was raced 3 times before it was taken out of the running...he placed 2nd, 2nd & 3rd...
here's a video of his 2nd race...we had a pretty fun time!
Jaden placed 6th overall (out of 9) - pretty good for his very 1st car if u ask me! (btw, no one got trophies - thank God!)
he won't get to compete in the pack races this Saturday during the Blue & Gold banquet (only the top 3 from each den do), but his car will be in the running for "most original design"...each boy will decorate a shoe box to set beside their car & folks will put money in the boxes of the cars they want to vote for...each quarter counts as 1 vote...i'm thinking about stacking Jaden's box with like $50 so he can win ~lol~ i bet i'm not the only parent considering that tho! ;0)
u already saw the cupcake cake i made for Corinn's birthday snack today (she's 6!!!)...it was 23 fudge chip cupcakes - iced/decorated in butter cream
but i also had 2 other cake orders this weekend...
1st was this cutie for an old friend (BHS grads - this was for Keena's son)...she lives about 2hrs away, but her parents are still local & are always happy to deliver cakes for us...i made Cole's big sister's 1st birthday cake back in 2008 - this time, it was his turn
Cole's mom said the elephant theme has followed him from birth...his cake was 2 tiers of fudge chip, iced in butter cream, then accented in fondant...i made the little elephant from fondant as well
i also created a little peanut smash cake for Coleman (yellow cake, iced in butter cream)...although from certain angels, this cake tends to look more like boobs or a butt! ~lol~
Cole's mom sent me this pic & a sweet email after the party... "Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! The cake was perfect, just as I had imagined! And taste good...man! Love that chocolate chocolate chip! Thanks Sharon! Your cakes made the day perfect!"
isn't he adorable?!
next up was this Vera Bradley bag...
it was picked out by 13 year old Jordan (who is also a repeat customer)...her mom sent me the link to the VB Bowler bag, in Rasberry Fizz...it was my job to turn it into a cake ;0) it's marble cake, iced in butter cream, then covered in pink fondant & hand painted (with edible gel colors)
to be honest, i wish i had a few more hours to devote to the painting of this design...it was soooo detailed! i did my best to simplify it, but to still make it recognizable...i think i found a happy medium
i got an email & pic from this mother too... "Oh my heck, the cake was beautiful! Jordan loved it and so did all of her friends. Next time I need to get some business cards from you to hand out because I think every person at the skating rink wanted you name and number! Here is a picture of Jordan with her cake and thanks again."
we woke her up with singing & a cupcake this morning...like we do for every birthday
then she came out to see the cupcake cake i'd created while she was asleep - a kitty & puppy picture she'd picked out - on enough fudge chip cupcakes to feed her entire kindergarten class
& even tho she already knew the design ahead of time - even picked out the colors for the 2 cute baby animals...she still gasped when she saw it...
"oh Mama, thank u soooo much!"
my sweet baby girl cannot be 6 years old today!!! i'm pretending this day isn't happening...thx for playing along!
"Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music." ~Jimi Hendrix
i'm at a total loss for a blog post today...home life is crazy with Curtis working 2 jobs again (& of course me & my 2 gigs)...work is crazy busy too...& my brain just can't seem to keep it's act together lately - i've been forgetful, spacey...just plain ole out of it these days!
the 1 thing that's always a constant in my life tho?
♥ music! ♥
it never disappoints...it's always what i turn to for a quick pick me up...there's music playing around me & my family at almost every minute of the day - whether it's at home, in the car or even at work (gotta love ear buds!)
so i figured i'd post some music videos for u today...
the first one - the new We Are The World 25...let's please not forget about Haiti! there's still such a long journey ahead for our fallen friends!
next - the Black Eyed Peas newest video...i've had this song as one of the ringback tones in my Verizon jukebox for a while, but i was so hyped to see the video...of course the BEPs never disappoint - it stinkin rocks!
lastly - 1 of my very favorite Matisyahu songs (& i love a LOT of his music!)...it's an older one of his, but this song always gets me pumped & ready to face the world! ;0) (you might recognize one of his newer songs, One Day - the theme song to this year's winter Olympics)
i hope u've had a great week...& i hope u have an even better weekend!!! i'll see u lovelies back here on Monday
it didn't snow this weekend!!! now that's what i'm talking about!
never you mind the foot plus that's still on the ground...forcing my punks to crawl wherever they wanna go play! (that, or possibly lose a boot! ~lol~)
or the conditions in the town where i work...there are massive dirty snow piles that sit on the sides of the streets now - sometimes blocking your view of oncoming traffic...check out how far past the stop sign, & into the street, this one goes!
but u know what? i'm just glad the snow level is going down finally...& NOT accumulating any more! as for forecast for the next few weeks...i'm keeping my fingers crossed! (scattered snow showers here & there, but basically mild winter days - temps in the 40s)
besides getting out & playing in the snow some more, the kiddos enjoyed a chill weekend at home with me...daddy had to work his 2nd job all weekend (he's delivering pizza again - YAY!), so it was just Mama & the rugrats
oh, & Matthew on Saturday! he came over to hang out for the 2nd half of the day & have a sleepover...but mostly, he spent the entire night wresting Jaden to the ground...who didn't mind it so much...actually, i think he rather enjoyed it!
Jaden first asked us for a little brother when he was about 5 (so the girls were 3 & 2)...back then, he didn't get why we couldn't just add another boy to our family - what's the big deal?! but now, he pretty much understands that's just not gonna happen...& he's happy to be able to spend some rough boy time with his little cousin(s) instead
speaking of having someone smaller to play with, Corinn is quite the little Mama these days...always has been really, but she's especially getting into it lately...
she's constantly in Mama mode - caring after her many little ones (she has quite the baby doll collection!)...& i love it! ;0)
of course Sunday was Valentine's Day! Curtis & i never go crazy on any holiday...no matter how cliche it sounds, we really try to remember (& teach the kiddos) that u should show how much u love & appreciate ur family every day! ;0) but it's still fun to get each other little treats...these that i got the kiddos were $1/each - & u'd thought we'd given em diamonds!
we finished up Jaden's science project this weekend too...the due date came & went while the kiddos were out for snow - so i figured we'd better have it ready for when they finally did go back
in 3rd grade, they're studying simple machines & he chose to make a pulley...
the teacher had explained that the class presentation of their project was 1/2 their grade, but that all they really needed to remember to do was tell what type of simple machine it was & what they made it out of...then be able to answer questions about it...we practiced his presentation a few times at home...he was psyched to show everyone what he had created!
last evening (after they'd finally gotten to give their presentations in class), he told me that it went well & that he remembered everything he wanted to say...but he was upset that no one had any questions for him :0( poor thing - most kiddos would hope & pray no one asked anything...but Jaden really wanted the other kiddos to be interested enuff in what he made, to ask questions about it
trying to cheer him up, i started raising my hand & acting silly "oh, oh...i have a question! pick me!" he totally went for it & called on me (giggling)...i asked a few serious questions & a few goofy questions - it definitely lightened the mood & put a smile back on Jaden's face ;0)
Gabby & Corinn's project this weekend were Valentines (which were difficult to do with no name lists...the teachers never had the chance to send em home before all the snow days started...remember, the kiddos hadn't been in school at all in Feb. by this point!)...& a "chicky house"...
the girls spend hours & hours building & playing with little houses for their chicks, rabbits, mice, kitties, whatever imaginary animal their raising at the time...chickies are the most popular - & they always end up begging me to let them have real eggs to play with...they just don't understand why i insist they use plastic ones instead! ~lol~
so Monday rolled around...& we all wondered if the little bit of snow that was due to come that afternoon would mean the kiddos would be out of school again! but the county decided to go for it...they put us on a 2hr delay & started sending the buses out
i was ecstatic...it was President's Day i had a date with the sofa! the house was clean, laundry was almost caught up, the kiddos would be at school & i had nothing to do!!!
i think it must have felt like the 1st day of school all over again for the kiddos too...the girls even dressed alike for the occasion! ~lol~
but wouldn't u know it - around 11am, the snow started to fall...then it started falling harder...next thing u know, the sidewalks & roads started getting slushy - it was time to send the kiddos back home
they dismissed school at 1:30pm that day...meaning the punks were in school for a whole 3hrs! ~lmao~
yesterday was a 2hr delay again, just to play it safe...& they did finish out the rest of the day! today - they finally got a full day in...hallelujah!!! i can't even tell ya where they stand with spring break & getting out for summer...i know we def used up all banked snow days, we've dipped into spring break some...shoot, they're even extending the school day 5 minutes for the rest of the year - saying they'll gain 2 whole days that way! i'm just glad they're back in their normal routines tho...& that life can resume it's regularly scheduled program again!
we had a pretty low key weekend over all...i can't wait 4 spring when i can actually have some exciting stuff to report to u guys again!
tell me what's going on in ur neck of the woods...are u seeing green where u live? i almost forget what grass looks like!
this weekend began with the Valentine truffle orders i'd taken...quite a few of my co-workers had placed orders...& some local folks took advantage of the deal & picked theirs up from me on Friday as well...
i made almost 400 truffles all together & am actually shipping a bunch out today too! apparently, i pissed off some folks by saying i wouldn't be able to ship em this time around! ~lol~ they twisted my arm, & even tho the truffles won't be there in time for Valentines Day (obviously), they'll still be happy to hear they've got truffles on the way ;0)
Saturday, i had 3 orders - 2 cakes & an order of cupcakes...both cakes were repeat designs, but for brand new customers!
i made Strawberry Shortcake & her little town for Miss Kenzy...she wanted to of course have Strawberry Shortcake on there - but also her pony, Honey Pie...& her friend, Orange Blossom
the cake was fudge chip (not strawberry!)...iced in butter cream...the pink mountain is cake too (decorated in pink butter cream)...
the lollies are fondant on sucker sticks, i made characters from fondant & gum paste, and the strawberry house & trees are styrofoam...
Curtis delivered this cake for me...when he came home & i asked how they liked it, he said "she started jumping up & down, clapping & squealing about how wonderful it was when she saw it!"...i just assumed he was talking about little Kenzy - but he said that was actually the mother's reaction! ~lol~ guess she liked it ;0)
the next cake for Saturday was this John Deere tractor for little Levi...
Levi is the son of one of my dear friends from high school - we were cheerleaders together! ;0) their family recently moved back to the area, so i was able to create Levi's 2nd birthday cake...it's a yellow base cake, iced in butter cream & chocolate butter cream...the tractor is rice krispy treats, decorated in fondant & the fence is gum paste
here's a msg i received from Levi's mom after the party... "Your cake was AWESOME!!! Levi was in awe of it (as well as all of the kids who kept running up to look at it and the adults!!) Not only was it amazing aesthetically, it was so delicious! One particular cake lover said it was absolutely one of the best cakes he's ever tasted! What an incredible talent you have!"
the order of cupcakes that i mentioned? i totally forgot to take a pic of them! :0( there were a dozen fudge chip cupcakes - all iced in green butter cream & topped with little fondant bananas...the mother of the birthday girl was going to try her hand at creating a monkey cake for her daughter...she wanted the cupcakes to go along with the cake, just in case it didn't turn out ;0)
then this morning, i had this cake picked up...
it was a small yellow cake, iced in butter cream & decorated with sugar flowers...a birthday gift from one sister, to another :0)
whatever you're celebrating this weekend, i hope u're having a great one! i'm off work on Monday (hooray for 3-day weekends!) & hopefully the kiddos will be back in school so Mama can get in some Mama time! (yes, we supposed to get more snow showers tomorrow, Monday & Tuesday...so we shall see)
i'll be back in this space on Tuesday with some cake pics for ya...hope to see u then!
the storm did show up...but thankfully, it wasn't with the 6-12 inches predicted...i'm guessing we got 3 or 4?
that morning, i called the daycare to see if they would be opening (school still isn't back in - the kiddos have not been to school at all in February!!!)...the machine said they were opening at 10am, so we took our time getting ready...Curtis cleared off my truck & shoveled (again!) & then we headed out right before 10am
when we pulled up to the daycare, there were 2 other parents pulling in behind me...but there were absolutely no cars in the parking lot...it appeared they were closed after all, even tho the machine still had the same recording
there's these icicles that always hang over the door of the daycare...they get super long over night, then get broken off by the door & the older kiddos the next morning...
those icicles gave me an idea - while we were waiting around to see if the daycare was going to open or not, we should go icicle hunting!
so we drove off, on a hunt for the biggest icicles we could find!
we drove around town...down some back roads, in & out of subdivisions...we spotted quite a few like this...
pretty impressive, but we knew we could find bigger!
a few houses would have a random big icicle on the corner of their house...or some would even curve in towards the house - like claws trying to attack the siding...each spotting would send the kiddos into screams of "look at those over there!!"
finally, we found the house we'd been looking for...right on main street too! we couldn't believe how big the icicles were on this house - almost touching the front porch!!!
we also took the time to enjoy the scenery on our drive...as much as i'm hating the snow right now - u can't deny how beautiful it is...especially right after a fresh covering!
see this house? it's our dream house!
there's actually a pretty creepy story behind it...it's less than a mile from where my parents & brother live, & there was a murder in it about 2yrs ago (a woman shot & killed her abusive boyfriend)...it has sat empty ever since...they tried to rent it out for a while (way over our budget) & then finally put it on the market...but it's not selling either...the murder part doesn't really bother me - i'd totally still live there...if only we could afford it!
anyway...finally, at about 10:15am, the daycare changed their message to say they were indeed closed for the day...after driving around for almost an hour, the kiddos & i finally headed home...cause guess what?
we've got pretty big icicles there too! ;0)
ps. look what those darn snow plows did to our fence!
it's not only majorly bent & bowed, but if u look closely u can see where it's broken too...Grandpa ain't gonna be happy bout that!
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)
