Stable CT scan

Yummy gumbo and bbq I had while at home. Can't get good versions of these in New England.

Last month I traveled to Houston for my 3 month chest ct scan. I am happy to report that my ct scan remains stable! I also saw my cardiologist and I am good from that standpoint too. It has been determined that the chest pain was musculoskeletal. I really think a lot of it was from anxiety too, because now that I know there is not a tumor causing the pain it's almost all gone away. This scan marked two years of stable ct scans so for the first time ever I have been moved from 3 month check ups to 4 months. One month may not sound like a lot but this is huge in the sarcoma world. I was happy and nervous all at this same time. This will be the longest time in almost 9 years I will go without seeing a doctor, but I'm ready for it. I've been waiting for this good news for a long time!

A little scare...

This was taken a few weeks ago at a Kool and the Gang Concert. We had so much fun and I was fortunately able to ignore the pain for this night with the help of some ibuprofen.

Well actually a kind of big scare. A few weeks ago I started to have some occasional left chest pain, right around my heart. I have had post surgical pain from the chest tumor removal (sternotomy, the one smack dab in the middle of my chest) in 2009 but it has always been concentrated to the right side of my chest. Imagine my panic when I started to feel pain else where. I tried to ignore it, sure that I had pushed to hard in my bikram yoga class. After all we do some crazy things in there and I was sure that I had just gone to far. Fast forward two week and the pain in increasing and now radiating to my neck, jaw and arm. Sounds kind of scary right, kind of like a heart attack scary. By this point I was so anxious that I was sure I was making what I was feeling even worse. I have had my heart monitored since the last round of chemo in 2010 because I received a chemo call adriamycin that can be very toxic to the heart. All of my tests have been good since then and some have even improved, so I really didn't think it was my heart but at this point I knew I had to get checked out. One family practice doctor, a cardiologist, chest x ray and an echo cardiogram later I am cleared on my heart. I am soooo relieved but also a little nervous about what may be causing the pain. I find that as being someone who has dealt with cancer, recurrence is always in the back of my mind. I'm constantly hoping for the best. My chest x-ray was clear so that makes me feel a lot better. I will have CT scans in Houston in a few weeks. I always get a little restless around this time but I just try to stay focused on what I need to do and look at all of the blessings I have in my life. My hubby will be going with me this time. No matter how crazy and nervous I get he can always calm me down and make me laugh. I am a lucky girl and so thankful for him.

Playing with pumpkins

Last weekend I had the pleasure of playing with pumpkins. I made homemade pumpkin bread, roasted pumpkin seeds and a delicious beef stew cooked to perfection inside one of my pretty little pumpkins. I love pumpkin flavored anything year round, but it just seems to taste so much better in the fall.

Pumpkin beef stew: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-stew/detail.aspx

Pumpkin seeds: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/toasted_pumpkin_seeds/

Pumpkin pie bread (please try this with cream cheese..so good) :http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Pie-Bread/Detail.aspx

Providence, Rhode Island

I. Love. Providence. New England has definitely taken some getting used to but it is slowly growing on me. We moved from Lincoln, RI to Providence, RI last month. While the move was a very unexpected disturbance-our land lady decided to sell the house to owners who didn't want tenants-everything has worked out for the best and I am happy we made the move. After all I always wanted to live in the city. Now I am closer to work and 2 minutes from my beloved Whole Foods.

Below is the house we are renting and our street. EVERYTHING is old in this part of the country. Both of the houses we have lived in were built in 1890. I was beyond weirded out at first, living in a house that so many others had been in before, but I have come to adore the history. The homes are large and beautiful, many with original floors, windows and cabinets. There is a certain charm that comes with things that old. Many of the homes, including ours are multi family: 2-3 independently functioning sections in the home. We have 2 other "families" living in ours.

This is the first time I will be experiencing a real fall. Back home in Texas the leaves just eventually turn brown and fall off the tree and it seems to stay warm through most of the season. Here the air is turning cool and crisp and the leaves are just starting to move to hues of orange and red. I'm so excited for a of the fall activities that will be happening in the next few weeks!!!!

On a side note, lil man had his teeth cleaned yesterday under general anesthesia. He did so well, didn't bite anyone and even gave kisses. This is much unlike most vet visits, or really any contact with anyone besides me, so I'm quite pleased.

New Recipes

I love to cook and have been really wanting to try some new recipes for a while. But because I lived alone for the last 6 months I always felt it was kind of a waste to buy and make so much food for just one person. That problem is solved now. I have my wonderful husband/taste tester who is very happy to help me eat all of the new things I have been cooking. Most dishes have turned out well. Others, like last night when I tried to bake broccoli, didn't really work out but it was definitely a good learning experience.

From left to right: Black-eyed pea stew with collards and potatoes Spinach and mushroom quesadilla Shrimp Pasta in foil bag French Dip Sandwiches Taco Soup Filet Roast with roasted asparagus and quinoa

I'm Back!!

Ahhh it feels good to be able to blog again. Things were crazy for a few months and I had a lot that needed to be focused on. I am now a MRS. and have been living in Rhode Island for two weeks. It is definitely different from my sweet Texas: the accents, the dress, the food, the WEATHER! But it's nothing I can't adapt too. I think it's a good experience to move away from home for a while. Especially as newly weds, we only have each other up here and I hope that it strengthens us and leads to a good foundation for our marriage.

Thankfully all of my CT scans have been fine and I will continue to go to Houston every 3 months for my routine check ups. It has been a little nerve racking being so far from my oncologist, I don't even have a primary care here yet. But I have my doctors blessing, so that made it a lot easier to do. Right now I feel as good, if not better than I ever have. When ever I get nervous I just focus on that.

I will be attempting to do a variation of project 365 this year but I will only be focusing on each month and using an online tool to help keep track of my pictures and documenting. So I guess it's more like project twelve. I will use 7 pictures from each month. Taking a picture every day makes me kind of crazy and I always feel bad if I forget so I feel like this method will work for me. I started the year on February 19, the day we were married. I think having a snapshot into our first year of marriage will be something that I and maybe future children can treasure.