I'm still cancer free. Yep, I had my 6 month scan again and it came back clean. Instead of having a PET/CT scan I just had to have a chest CT scan. I didn't have to drink that contrast or anything. I was literally in and out of the appointment in 25 minutes. It was heaven compared to my PET scans that lasts 3 hours.
Tomorrow marks the 3 year anniversary of being diagnosed with Hodgkin's...still a day that is so vivid and yet kind of a blur all at the same time. It feels so long ago and yet it's still on my mind all the time. I am grateful for the many prayers and for the doctors and treatment that saved my life. I am all too aware of so many people that since that time have lost their own battle to cancer. It feels so good to have moved on with life and yet whenever I hear of a new diagnosis or someone who is losing the battle my stomach literally does a flip flop for them. I don't think I'll ever lose that feeling and I kind of hope I don't. It helps me remember my blessings and helps me be a little more empathetic to others.
Happy 3 years to me!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Californ I A
Since I had the whole week off between Christmas and New Years we decided to make a trip to California for the week. So here's a run down of our trip.
Sunday after church we drove down to Las Vegas. We stayed the night there. We didn't do much except walk up to the Bellagio fountains and watch their water show...ok well we watched it 3x's actually. I LOVE watching that water show and could stand there for a very long time and not get bored...if only there wasn't so much time between shows. They were still playing Christmas music so we got to see For we need a little Christmas and the Hallelujah chorus from Messiah. Both were super good.
Monday we woke up and decided to drive out to the Hoover Dam. I had never been there so we thought it would be a fun little stop before heading to California. Apparently everyone else thought so too...we hit soo much traffic just trying to get there. In fact by the time we got there we jumped out, took a few pictures, peered over the wall and had to get going. It was cool to see it but I wish we could've spent a little more time. We hit traffic from Vegas off and on the whole way to Arcadia...ugh, it was a long trip, I'll spare you the details, but we will never stop in Primm again for lunch and gas!
When we finally made it to Arcadia we met my parents and Christy and her family for dinner at BJ's pizza. It was so good to see my parents and they seem so happy and doing good on their mission. After dinner we drove over to the Balian mansion to look at Christmas lights...a family tradition for as long as I can remember. The lights were not nearly as good as I remember them being when I was little...I think they need some updating but it was a little nostalgic for me. Mia, Christy's little 3 year old (she is 3 right?...Christy?) Anyways, when Mia saw the blow up Santa on the lawn next door she insisted on running up the driveway so she could thank Santa for her Dora house. So she did and then came back and asked me why Santa wasn't talking back...I think she was a little offended...lol.
That night we spent the night at my parents apartment and it was a fun evening just relaxing and seeing where they live. The next morning we got up and drove over to La Crescenta for my favorite doughnuts of all time...Fosters. mmmm, my mouth is watering just typing this. My parents thought I was a little crazy but it was only 13 miles each way, well worth it when you're that close. We took a dozen into the mission office and got a tour of the office. My parents showed us all around the office and showed us everything they had learned on the computer (great job by the way Mom and Dad!) It was fun seeing what they do each day and had a good visit with them for a while.
After the office visit we drove past the Rose Bowl to see if we could see some floats being built for the New Years Day Rose Parade...uh yeah you can see floats not totally done yet for... $10/person...uh yeah no thanks! Seriously, I thought that was a rip off. So we headed down to Santa Monica for the rest of the day. We walked around the pier, went on the ferris wheel, shopped, saw the LA temple and then went out to dinner with my high school friend Konstantina. It was such a nice day, blue skies and sun shining.
After the traffic died down we headed down to Orange County to Christy's and spent 2 nights there. One day it rained most of the day but it was fun just hanging out with the kids. One night Christy and Brettt and us all went to dinner at Islands and went and saw a movie. Fun times.
Thursday we headed to Palm Springs. We only spent one night there but it was fun to get out of the city. Every Thursday night Palm Springs shuts down the main road and sets up a little street fair with all these vendors renting out booths. So we walked around there for a while and then got some really yummy mexican food and called it a night.
Friday (New Years Eve) we decided to head back to Vegas to ring in the New Year. After hitting all the traffic on the way down I was going to avoid I-15 at all costs...so...we decided to drive to Vegas via the Mohave desert. We weren't really sure what we were getting ourselves into and we had to pay attention to make sure we made all the right turns but it ended up being such a great drive. We were on all these quiet back roads and didn't get to I-15 until just before Primm, NV. I'm pretty sure it saved us a ton of time and we weren't all stressed out sitting in traffic.
In case you're ever wondering what the Mohave Desert looks like, look no further my friends:
Ohhh....Ahhhh.... :)
New Years Eve in Vegas was quite the adventure for us. People thought we might be crazy but we figured we would check it out and if it was horrible then we would just leave. So we got there found a spot not too far from the strip and parked. It was in the 20's in Vegas that night....FREEZING. We were prepared...for the most part and ended up doing ok. We had gotten movie tickets to see a movie earlier in the evening at a theater on the strip, which killed a few hours. Then we mostly just walked around the different hotels and people watched. We did see 2 guys fighting and then running from the cops...the cops won and tackled and arrested them...exciting! A little after 11 we made our way outside the Bellagio over looking the strip and planted ourselves there waiting for midnight. I thought for sure the fountain show would start right at midnight. It didn't but it ended up still being a really good spot because they shoot fireworks off from 6 different hotels up and down the strip. We could see 3 of them perfectly from where we were and we weren't right in the mass of people on the strip. The fireworks show lasted about 10 minutes and although there were sooo many people there it was a fun and new place for us to celebrate the New Year. It took us about 45 mins to make it to our car (with no people or policeman not letting us back onto the strip it should've taken 10) but we survived. We had gotten a hotel room in St. George so we took off and made it to St. George where the nice hotel let us extend our check out to 1:00 instead of 11:00.
Later that day on New Years Day we made it back to Draper. We sure saw a lot and drove a lot but we had a blast. It was fun seeing some different places and being able to see my parents and sister all at the same time. It sure was good to be back in our own bed again though!
Sunday after church we drove down to Las Vegas. We stayed the night there. We didn't do much except walk up to the Bellagio fountains and watch their water show...ok well we watched it 3x's actually. I LOVE watching that water show and could stand there for a very long time and not get bored...if only there wasn't so much time between shows. They were still playing Christmas music so we got to see For we need a little Christmas and the Hallelujah chorus from Messiah. Both were super good.
Monday we woke up and decided to drive out to the Hoover Dam. I had never been there so we thought it would be a fun little stop before heading to California. Apparently everyone else thought so too...we hit soo much traffic just trying to get there. In fact by the time we got there we jumped out, took a few pictures, peered over the wall and had to get going. It was cool to see it but I wish we could've spent a little more time. We hit traffic from Vegas off and on the whole way to Arcadia...ugh, it was a long trip, I'll spare you the details, but we will never stop in Primm again for lunch and gas!
When we finally made it to Arcadia we met my parents and Christy and her family for dinner at BJ's pizza. It was so good to see my parents and they seem so happy and doing good on their mission. After dinner we drove over to the Balian mansion to look at Christmas lights...a family tradition for as long as I can remember. The lights were not nearly as good as I remember them being when I was little...I think they need some updating but it was a little nostalgic for me. Mia, Christy's little 3 year old (she is 3 right?...Christy?) Anyways, when Mia saw the blow up Santa on the lawn next door she insisted on running up the driveway so she could thank Santa for her Dora house. So she did and then came back and asked me why Santa wasn't talking back...I think she was a little offended...lol.
That night we spent the night at my parents apartment and it was a fun evening just relaxing and seeing where they live. The next morning we got up and drove over to La Crescenta for my favorite doughnuts of all time...Fosters. mmmm, my mouth is watering just typing this. My parents thought I was a little crazy but it was only 13 miles each way, well worth it when you're that close. We took a dozen into the mission office and got a tour of the office. My parents showed us all around the office and showed us everything they had learned on the computer (great job by the way Mom and Dad!) It was fun seeing what they do each day and had a good visit with them for a while.
After the office visit we drove past the Rose Bowl to see if we could see some floats being built for the New Years Day Rose Parade...uh yeah you can see floats not totally done yet for... $10/person...uh yeah no thanks! Seriously, I thought that was a rip off. So we headed down to Santa Monica for the rest of the day. We walked around the pier, went on the ferris wheel, shopped, saw the LA temple and then went out to dinner with my high school friend Konstantina. It was such a nice day, blue skies and sun shining.
After the traffic died down we headed down to Orange County to Christy's and spent 2 nights there. One day it rained most of the day but it was fun just hanging out with the kids. One night Christy and Brettt and us all went to dinner at Islands and went and saw a movie. Fun times.
Thursday we headed to Palm Springs. We only spent one night there but it was fun to get out of the city. Every Thursday night Palm Springs shuts down the main road and sets up a little street fair with all these vendors renting out booths. So we walked around there for a while and then got some really yummy mexican food and called it a night.
Friday (New Years Eve) we decided to head back to Vegas to ring in the New Year. After hitting all the traffic on the way down I was going to avoid I-15 at all costs...so...we decided to drive to Vegas via the Mohave desert. We weren't really sure what we were getting ourselves into and we had to pay attention to make sure we made all the right turns but it ended up being such a great drive. We were on all these quiet back roads and didn't get to I-15 until just before Primm, NV. I'm pretty sure it saved us a ton of time and we weren't all stressed out sitting in traffic.
In case you're ever wondering what the Mohave Desert looks like, look no further my friends:
Ohhh....Ahhhh.... :)
New Years Eve in Vegas was quite the adventure for us. People thought we might be crazy but we figured we would check it out and if it was horrible then we would just leave. So we got there found a spot not too far from the strip and parked. It was in the 20's in Vegas that night....FREEZING. We were prepared...for the most part and ended up doing ok. We had gotten movie tickets to see a movie earlier in the evening at a theater on the strip, which killed a few hours. Then we mostly just walked around the different hotels and people watched. We did see 2 guys fighting and then running from the cops...the cops won and tackled and arrested them...exciting! A little after 11 we made our way outside the Bellagio over looking the strip and planted ourselves there waiting for midnight. I thought for sure the fountain show would start right at midnight. It didn't but it ended up still being a really good spot because they shoot fireworks off from 6 different hotels up and down the strip. We could see 3 of them perfectly from where we were and we weren't right in the mass of people on the strip. The fireworks show lasted about 10 minutes and although there were sooo many people there it was a fun and new place for us to celebrate the New Year. It took us about 45 mins to make it to our car (with no people or policeman not letting us back onto the strip it should've taken 10) but we survived. We had gotten a hotel room in St. George so we took off and made it to St. George where the nice hotel let us extend our check out to 1:00 instead of 11:00.
Later that day on New Years Day we made it back to Draper. We sure saw a lot and drove a lot but we had a blast. It was fun seeing some different places and being able to see my parents and sister all at the same time. It sure was good to be back in our own bed again though!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Sadie Girl
So most people that know me know that I'm not much of an animal lover. And this week is one reason why. My sister had to put their yellow lab down today and it's so sad. I'm not really a fan of animals because for some reason I have this tender heart towards animals and it makes me cry. I cry in every, and I mean every animal movie there ever was. Benji, Small One, Hachi, 8 below...and yes I even cried in Free Willy (it's so sad when the boy has to say good-bye to him.) So yes mostly it's because I hate good-byes when an animal is involved.
Jennifer and her kids with Sadie this week.
Anyways, back to Sadie. My sister Jennifer got Sadie when I was living with her when I first moved up to Salt Lake. She was the cutest little puppy and such a good dog. She was calm and gentle and let all of Jennifer's kids and others climb all over her, poke her and do anything they wanted with her. She's had the best home and love from her family even though she had medical issues most her life. She had hip dysplasia when she was just over a year old among other allergies and issues. But she's been a good dog through it all. She was 12 years old and over the last little while you could just tell she wasn't herself and not as happy. So it was time. I cry just thinking about it so it's such a good thing I didn't have to be the one to do it.
One funny story about Sadie. When she was just a puppy everyone LOVED how cute she was. Well Jennifer, Aaron, and Sadie came with me to this singles ward activity once as I was racing my pinewood derby car. Aaron had helped me build it so Jennifer was sitting there with Sadie and even though she had her wedding ring on and I'm pretty sure she was pregnant with Ashlee, this guy came over and started talking to her about what a cute dog she had and totally hit on her...lol. I guess that is what she gets for having such a cute puppy and being at a singles activity. After that Jennifer kept telling me to take Sadie to all my activities so the boys would flirt with me. I've always felt attached to Sadie since living there when she was a puppy.
Me with Sadie in 1998 when she was a puppy
So farewell to Sadie, we will all miss her and remember what a cute and fun dog she was.
Jennifer and her kids with Sadie this week.
Anyways, back to Sadie. My sister Jennifer got Sadie when I was living with her when I first moved up to Salt Lake. She was the cutest little puppy and such a good dog. She was calm and gentle and let all of Jennifer's kids and others climb all over her, poke her and do anything they wanted with her. She's had the best home and love from her family even though she had medical issues most her life. She had hip dysplasia when she was just over a year old among other allergies and issues. But she's been a good dog through it all. She was 12 years old and over the last little while you could just tell she wasn't herself and not as happy. So it was time. I cry just thinking about it so it's such a good thing I didn't have to be the one to do it.
One funny story about Sadie. When she was just a puppy everyone LOVED how cute she was. Well Jennifer, Aaron, and Sadie came with me to this singles ward activity once as I was racing my pinewood derby car. Aaron had helped me build it so Jennifer was sitting there with Sadie and even though she had her wedding ring on and I'm pretty sure she was pregnant with Ashlee, this guy came over and started talking to her about what a cute dog she had and totally hit on her...lol. I guess that is what she gets for having such a cute puppy and being at a singles activity. After that Jennifer kept telling me to take Sadie to all my activities so the boys would flirt with me. I've always felt attached to Sadie since living there when she was a puppy.
Me with Sadie in 1998 when she was a puppy
So farewell to Sadie, we will all miss her and remember what a cute and fun dog she was.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas 2010
Just playing a little catch up today...
We had a great Christmas this year. We did all our activities with Shane's side of the family this year. It was a nice holiday weekend.
Christmas Eve we hosted dinner with Shane's mom and sister. Since it was just the 4 of us we didn't act our the nativity but we did have a good time. They both left about 9:00 and all of the sudden Shane and I decided to go see a movie. So at the last minute we jumped in the car and drove to the theater. The theater was very quiet but a fun time.
Christmas morning we slept in...late. A nice little present for both of us. It won't always be that way so we take advantage on days like this and sleep while we can. We woke up and cooked our cinnamon rolls (yummy) then decided to open presents. Shane spoiled me as always and I got a nice sweater, a new curling iron, a new black coat and some other things. Then we just hung around until it was time to go over to Shane's brothers for dinner. We had a nice turkey dinner over there and had a nice Christmas dinner and evening together before it was time for us to get home and pack for our trip...we were leaving the next morning.
All in all it was a great Christmas and I'm so thankful for the many blessings in my life and to reflect on Christ's birth and all that He has given us.
We had a great Christmas this year. We did all our activities with Shane's side of the family this year. It was a nice holiday weekend.
Christmas Eve we hosted dinner with Shane's mom and sister. Since it was just the 4 of us we didn't act our the nativity but we did have a good time. They both left about 9:00 and all of the sudden Shane and I decided to go see a movie. So at the last minute we jumped in the car and drove to the theater. The theater was very quiet but a fun time.
Christmas morning we slept in...late. A nice little present for both of us. It won't always be that way so we take advantage on days like this and sleep while we can. We woke up and cooked our cinnamon rolls (yummy) then decided to open presents. Shane spoiled me as always and I got a nice sweater, a new curling iron, a new black coat and some other things. Then we just hung around until it was time to go over to Shane's brothers for dinner. We had a nice turkey dinner over there and had a nice Christmas dinner and evening together before it was time for us to get home and pack for our trip...we were leaving the next morning.
All in all it was a great Christmas and I'm so thankful for the many blessings in my life and to reflect on Christ's birth and all that He has given us.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Ramblings
Are you sick of looking at me in an 80's prom dress? I don't look at my blog that often, but I am sick of seeing me in that wig and dress...I guess it's time to post. The only problem is I have nothing to post about, so here are a few ramblings that are going on with us.
I was going to post a Thanksgiving post and say how grateful I am for our garbage can. Right before Thanksgiving when we had all that wind, our garbage can blew away on garbage day. There were several cans all over the street but they were all claimed by the next day. We sent emails, made some phone calls, and no one had it. We called the city, they gave us the serial # on it (note to others: write down your serial #, you never know when you'll need it). Then they told us it costs $75 to replace it. Uh yeah...we'll keep looking. A week went by...nothing. Luckily it's just the 2 of us and we don't have much trash. Then one night we're coming home and notice our neighbors have 3 garbage cans....they usually only have 2. We called over there and yep they had it. So although we had sent them an email apparently one spouse didn't communicate to the other about their find. All is well and all garbage has been taken out and life is good again. See what a great Thanksgiving post that would've made...yeah that's why I didn't post it.
Work has been extremely busy. I am managing 2 major projects right now and both have their challenges and both keep me going from meeting to meeting all day. I'm still not sure how to get my work done when all I do is sit in meetings and talk about what work needs to be done. It's been stressful. The other part of stressful work is that this year we have to use all our vacation before the end of the year or lose it. So I had to use all my vacation plus what I had saved up from previous years. I had to take 35 days this year and as I type this I still have 6 days left to take, which will happen over Christmas. I know you're thinking, why is that stressful?...cuz being on vacation is not stressful and I love it, it's just that everyone else is on vacation and it's hard to get things done when you are at work...plus you still have your same job to do, just in less time. It has been nice but it will be a big adjustment for everyone come January when we don't have all this saved vacation to use.
What else? Something happened to me last week that I can't blog about for a while. I've wanted this to happen to me for a long time. Shane says that if I blog about it, I will curse myself and it won't happen. And no...it's not that I'm pregnant, I promise! Just to prove that it's not that I'm pregnant when I told Brigitte she said and I quote "I'm sooo jealous!!!" See...she wouldn't say that if it was that I'm pregnant. I promise to blog about it if it happens.
Speaking of Brigitte, in case you read my blog and not hers..she's pregnant...yeah. Fyi...you should read her blog if you don't. She's a cute pregnant girl, although she's not had the easiest of pregnancies. Here's hoping it starts getting better soon. She's having a girl...yeah. I can't wait to start buying some cute girl clothes for her. Although I just thought of this, it would have been cool to have a boy so he would have those Pace eyes that Tyler and his brothers all have.
One other thing, if you've seen this countdown on my blog and wonder who Stacy is...she's my friend and past roommate that currently lives in DC and she got a job and is moving to Utah at the beginning of summer. So excited to have her back in town and especially in the same timezone as me. I think we'll do a lot better at communicating if we're at least in the same timezone.
I think that's about it. My life these days consists of going to work, going home, going to work, going home, etc. Then throw in a few young women activities and you have the summary of my life the last few months. I'm not complaining, it's just been low key and nothing to brag about on this blog.
I've enjoyed the Christmas season so far. We cut down on presents this year on my family side and although it's fun shopping for other people, it's been nice not having a lot of shopping to get done. I'm just sitting here typing by my tree and enjoying being home. I'll update again after Christmas on my Christmas activites.
Thanks for reading, sorry for the long time between posts and sorry for no pictures this time. Here's hoping 2011 will bring more blog posts.
I was going to post a Thanksgiving post and say how grateful I am for our garbage can. Right before Thanksgiving when we had all that wind, our garbage can blew away on garbage day. There were several cans all over the street but they were all claimed by the next day. We sent emails, made some phone calls, and no one had it. We called the city, they gave us the serial # on it (note to others: write down your serial #, you never know when you'll need it). Then they told us it costs $75 to replace it. Uh yeah...we'll keep looking. A week went by...nothing. Luckily it's just the 2 of us and we don't have much trash. Then one night we're coming home and notice our neighbors have 3 garbage cans....they usually only have 2. We called over there and yep they had it. So although we had sent them an email apparently one spouse didn't communicate to the other about their find. All is well and all garbage has been taken out and life is good again. See what a great Thanksgiving post that would've made...yeah that's why I didn't post it.
Work has been extremely busy. I am managing 2 major projects right now and both have their challenges and both keep me going from meeting to meeting all day. I'm still not sure how to get my work done when all I do is sit in meetings and talk about what work needs to be done. It's been stressful. The other part of stressful work is that this year we have to use all our vacation before the end of the year or lose it. So I had to use all my vacation plus what I had saved up from previous years. I had to take 35 days this year and as I type this I still have 6 days left to take, which will happen over Christmas. I know you're thinking, why is that stressful?...cuz being on vacation is not stressful and I love it, it's just that everyone else is on vacation and it's hard to get things done when you are at work...plus you still have your same job to do, just in less time. It has been nice but it will be a big adjustment for everyone come January when we don't have all this saved vacation to use.
What else? Something happened to me last week that I can't blog about for a while. I've wanted this to happen to me for a long time. Shane says that if I blog about it, I will curse myself and it won't happen. And no...it's not that I'm pregnant, I promise! Just to prove that it's not that I'm pregnant when I told Brigitte she said and I quote "I'm sooo jealous!!!" See...she wouldn't say that if it was that I'm pregnant. I promise to blog about it if it happens.
Speaking of Brigitte, in case you read my blog and not hers..she's pregnant...yeah. Fyi...you should read her blog if you don't. She's a cute pregnant girl, although she's not had the easiest of pregnancies. Here's hoping it starts getting better soon. She's having a girl...yeah. I can't wait to start buying some cute girl clothes for her. Although I just thought of this, it would have been cool to have a boy so he would have those Pace eyes that Tyler and his brothers all have.
One other thing, if you've seen this countdown on my blog and wonder who Stacy is...she's my friend and past roommate that currently lives in DC and she got a job and is moving to Utah at the beginning of summer. So excited to have her back in town and especially in the same timezone as me. I think we'll do a lot better at communicating if we're at least in the same timezone.
I think that's about it. My life these days consists of going to work, going home, going to work, going home, etc. Then throw in a few young women activities and you have the summary of my life the last few months. I'm not complaining, it's just been low key and nothing to brag about on this blog.
I've enjoyed the Christmas season so far. We cut down on presents this year on my family side and although it's fun shopping for other people, it's been nice not having a lot of shopping to get done. I'm just sitting here typing by my tree and enjoying being home. I'll update again after Christmas on my Christmas activites.
Thanks for reading, sorry for the long time between posts and sorry for no pictures this time. Here's hoping 2011 will bring more blog posts.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
80's Murder Mystery Party
Last week we were invited to a Murder Mystery party with some people in our neighborhood/ward. When we got the invitation we found out it was an 80's theme. I was supposed to be Molly Mingmold (Molly Ringwald) and Shane was to be Scabface (Scarface who I had never heard of before but he is a mobster character from the 80's.) It just so happens that my sister still has her Pink prom dress from 1986 and it was PERFECT for the part. I found a red wig and was set. Shane's was a little harder but eventually we found a great white leisure suit, gold chain, gun, etc. As part of his character he had to have a scab on his face. So we found this scar makeup thing in a halloween store and when he put it on it looked so real it was kind of freaky. Then about 20 mins after we got to the party, this guy comes up to Shane and asks if it's real...he didn't think it was but said he had to make sure cuz it looked so real he then couldn't remember if he had seen that on Shane before...lol. You can see the scar over Shane's right eye in the pictures below.
The night was super fun, we were given different clues and things to reveal to people throughout the night and everyone came dressed up so great for all their characters. We were attending the Debbie Gribson album release party when the 'murder' occurred. It ended up that neither of us commited the murder although we were both accused of it and then it ended up that I did actually confess to murdering my childhood friend by smashing a rubik's cube into his head! Gruesome...
Here are some pictures of the night:
The night was super fun, we were given different clues and things to reveal to people throughout the night and everyone came dressed up so great for all their characters. We were attending the Debbie Gribson album release party when the 'murder' occurred. It ended up that neither of us commited the murder although we were both accused of it and then it ended up that I did actually confess to murdering my childhood friend by smashing a rubik's cube into his head! Gruesome...
Here are some pictures of the night:
Final Hike of 2010
Shane and I decided to do one final hike of the season yesterday. It was such a nice day so we wanted to get out and enjoy it. We decided to hike to Lake Solitude. It starts at Silver Lake at Brighton and is appx. 3 miles long (round trip). It was a really easy hike with just one steep hill to climb up at the end. We took a little picnic and ate it on our way to the lake. We had a great time getting out doors as we know this weather will not last much longer. Here is a picture we took of Lake Solitude.
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