Really!?

It's not even f%*king July yet and I just saw a Back To School commercial!? That's a total mind f*%k to teachers and I'm not going to take it! Guess who's never shopping at Office Depot!? Man, that was a rude awakening (as I just got up)!

And now I have to say and I've said it before - this person "running" our country is a total embarrassment and I can't believe - still, 5 months later - that this is the new "norm".  Realistically, who is surprised by the latest tweet that the tool of a president recently put out there? I mean he's shown his misogynistic side before with his pussy grabbing comments (to just name one). He's mocked a physically handicapped person before. The only thing I have a hard time believing is that every time he says or does something, we move the line of acceptance for the kind of shit we'll put up with. We (the media, the public etc.) keep saying that we won't take it anymore and then the next thing you know another worse tweet comes out and we say, "WHAT!? NO! That's too much! He's gone too far!" But look at the people putting up with it? I get that his wife has to support him but isn't it ironic that her "platform" is cyber bullying and who's the biggest cyber bully out there? I'm flabbergasted that educated people are still supporting not only his presidency (what promises has he kept from his campaign) but supporting this so called man! Tools the bunch of you. Sorry, not sorry! If you love humans at this point, how can you support a man who uses the human race as a punching bag because he's a petulant little fool. Ridiculous!

And I'm done. Now on for good stuff: Jim's off today and YAY! We're heading down to Party Source to get some champagne. Kroger raised their price for my champs by a buck and I just won't take it anymore. When we were talking about going, Lauren was there and she said, "I want to go!" So she'll head down with us, we'll head to the Yard House for lunch, Party Source and then home. She's without kids for the day/night so WOOT!

And that's all I've got. Time to get a move on. Breakfast and a ride (if it doesn't rain). Later!

Slowly But Surely

Seems this week is creeping by and I'm getting things done in bits and pieces. A little carpet cleaning here, a little mowing the lawn there; a little cleaning house today a little grocery shopping tomorrow. All in preparation for Sunday and next week. I don't want grocery shop too soon because I want my corn to be as fresh as possible so I'll probably do that tomorrow. I'm making lemon squares for the 4th so I'll do some prep for that here at home so I'll have less to do at the Bay (getting the crust prepared). The weather isn't great today so I'll probably do a bike ride in the neighborhood and then head to Walmart for a few things. I want to buy stuffing for the couch cushions at the cottage (they're flat and saggy) and I need some new tank tops. Other than that, I've got no plans.

Jim was up and out before 6:00 this morning. I'm not sure he even kissed me goodbye. If he did I don't remember it. I didn't hear his alarm go off either. That's good. It was so nice having him home last night. I made a delicious dinner and we actually ate our supper together! WOW! Tonight I'll do something with pork chops. I'll cook tomorrow as well but Saturday I think I'll treat us with some hibachi. I've been so good about not spending money and I don't want to cook the night before we leave. Someone mentioned going to hibachi the other day and now I can't get it out of my head. YUMMY! Can't wait.

Oh, we got the approval yesterday for Jim's immunotherapy. That only took 2 days! Normally, Anthem takes forever to approve. This means that Jim should be able to get his appointment set up for his first infusion pretty quickly. Of course his port needs to be put in first but that's already been scheduled (the 17th).

And that's all I've got for the day. Time for some breakfast and then a nice ride. Happy Thursday! Later!

Happy Birthday Mom!!! 79!!!

Happy birthday MOM!!! Hope you have a great day! Love you!!!

Jim left for work this morning around 6:00 or so (I guess...as I was snoozing, I'm not sure). I do know he came in and kissed me but I barely remember. Thankfully he'll be home around 3:00 or so and I'll actually get to make dinner! YAY! I know he'll be on this job Thursday as well but I'm not sure about Friday. Doesn't really matter, however, since we aren't leaving for PIB until Sunday.

Speaking of...Sunday the Budweiser Clydesdale horses are supposed to be at the Bay. I'm wondering what time they'll get there since we plan on getting to the Miller around noon. Hmm...guess we'll just have to see what's what and roll with the punches.

Today's plans: I'll finish mowing the lawn (backyard today), bike ride, and make my grocery list. I'd like to get to Walmart but that might be pushed off until tomorrow. It's so lovely I don't really want to spend a beautiful day shopping. Bleh!

And that's all I've got. I slept until after 7:00 today so need to get rolling. Happy Wednesday! This time next week I'll be in PIB! Woot! Later

Jim's Next Treatment

Jim called the doc yesterday, just after they had opened and SHOCKER! They immediately put him in the books to meet with the doc. He went in for a 12:40 appointment (didn't see her until after 1:30) and she ordered a new treatment. As expected, Jim will get immunotherapy when we return from PIB. Specifically, he'll be taking Keytruda (more on that in a bit). Prior to his first treatment (on July 17th) he'll go in to get a chest port put in. This is because he'll need an IV so often (every three weeks for his infusion) and Jim is definitely a hard stick (though they'd do it regardless). He was a bit concerned and bummed about the port but after the first week, it seems he can resume normal activities. People can have ports for months and since the doc said this treatment would go on for about a year, there you go. Now, they did say that about the last treatment Jim had (that he'd be on the combo of drugs for a year, year and a half) but as we all know, he was unable to tolerate. I wonder about the Keytruda.

If you don't know anything about immunotherapy, what it is meant to do is boost the body's natural defenses to fight cancer. It uses substances made by the body or in a laboratory to improve or restore immune system function. The problem with it can be that along with the body fighting cancer, it can also attack healthy tissue and/or organs. In terms of side effects, the Keytruda "common" side effects are: fatigue, cough, rash, shortness of breath, loss of skin pigmentation, rash, itching, loss of appetite and nausea. The more serious side effects, however are: inflammation of lung tissue, holes in the intestines, hepatitis, kidney failure and lots of other stuff that scares the shit out of me. Considering how long it takes the doc to get back to us when things have gone wrong before, well, you can imagine my trepidation. On the positive side, however, the results that Keytruda has on advanced melanoma patients is pretty impressive. It's even put some people in remission which is unheard of in terms of melanoma. So here's hoping! I'll certainly update when things begin.

So Jim's still working at Christian Moerlein and last night, he brought home 4 cases of their beer. Apparently during the bottling of these cases, the machines didn't fill the cans all the way so BAM! We luck out. Of course it's the FC Blood Orange IPA and it's good, but I'm not the biggest IPA fan. I do like this one, however but I can only drink one and I'm done. Well, Jim's happy and the neighbors love it so they'll get to partake as well. YAY JIM! Now if we could just get him back over to the Hershey's offices again!

And that's all I've got for today. I started shampooing the carpets yesterday so I'll finish that today. I also will take a bike ride in a bit (this time in the neighborhood) and later today (this evening) my neighbor, Lauren, will come over to watch the final episodes of this past season of Walking Dead. Happy Tuesday! Time for breakfast. Later!

Hey! It's Monday!

Once again, I lost track of the days and almost forgot to post! Lucky all of you!

So the weekend. Well, first of all, everything turned out okay but it certainly started with the feeling that it might not. First of all, Jim, of course started swelling again from his medication. This tells me that his concoction isn't working for him anymore. That being the case, he will be calling the docs this morning to figure the next step. They told him last time that this last dosage adjustment would be the lowest they could go and from there, he would have to move on to something else. I'm thinking immunotherapy. Now, I haven't talked to them or heard from them what this would entail but I did read about one such medication that is meant for patients with metastatic melanoma. It would be a 12 week round of 90 minute infusions every 3 weeks. We'll see what they say but I'd like to get this under way this week since we're headed out of town next Sunday until the following Friday. We'll see. We all know how "fast" this medical group works. Jim probably won't even talk to someone until Wednesday. Jeez.

Anyway - after that happened I thought, nothing else could happen. And then we found out that Anne's fiance, Steve, had gone into the hospital because his blood sugar was cray high and they couldn't get it under control. Oh, did I mention their wedding was Saturday? UGH! So it was the big mystery if they would be able to get his levels back under control and be released from the ICU in time for the wedding. In the end, he was released and the wedding went off without a hitch (though about a half hour late because getting released from the hospital took longer than they had anticipated). The wedding was lovely. Food? Delicious (pasta bar). Cupcakes?  Amazing (the chocolate with mocha mousse inside and cream cheese frosting was to die for). Fun had by all? Yep! Oh, and I saved a kid from drowning even though he wasn't really drowning. In my dress. Hey, better safe than sorry.

Sunday was relaxing. Jim and I hung out, played cards and grilled chicken for dinner.

And my eyeballs are doing great! I had an appointment with the doc and he said everything looked as it should. I'm off my medicated drops (still take tears every couple of hours and will for about a month). I'm supposed to wear my goggles when I sleep still but they bug me and I'm not a wild sleeper. Jim doesn't tend to sock me in the face while I sleep so I think it's safe. My next appointment is July 18.

And that's about all I've got. This week will be all about preparing for PIB. I'll get the goods for food (I'm going to do a pork tenderloin one night with corn and potato salad) plus I'll probably do a lemon bar dessert for July 4th. I also want to get some pillow filler for the couch cushions. I'll try to bike every day this week. Today I'll head to the trail and try and get 15 miles in. I'll be happy, however, if I get 13 in. That's pretty good. Jim's still on 2nd shift so I'll make my big meals for lunch.

K - time for breakfast. Happy Monday. Later!

Happy Anniversary To Me (And Jim)!!!

We both totally forgot upon waking up and I had just yelled at Jim because I couldn't see the TV. I said, "Move your big fat head! I can't see the TV! Oh, Happy anniversary!" Hee hee. Makes me laugh. Who can believe that 16 years ago, this sham of a marriage (as Maggie calls it) began. Our plans today: Jim's actually off today because he put his 40 hours in over the last 4 days (he really only needs to put in 35 hours when on 2nd shift) - woot! I'll go to my one week appointment at CEI...get my balls checked at 9:40 and then come home. We'll go to Shooters to celebrate and then I think I'll just make taco salad for dinner. Nothing major; no big deal.

Here comes the rain. It actually started last night around 7:00 and the major stuff is just moving in. We're going to get up to 3 inches and thankfully, my mom put off her travel north for Anne's wedding until tomorrow. No point in a stressful drive in my opinion.

Jim started his meds yesterday and - knock on wood - so far so good. No swelling. Here's hoping that remains.

What else? I went on a nice 13 mile bike ride yesterday on the trail...saw two people riding horses. I've seen piles of horse shit on the trail before so I knew this happened but I just don't understand why you would ride your horse on the trail and not clean up after your animal. I mean, it's not like there just a little turd on the trail. It's a literal load of shit. Carry a shovel with you. I mean if I have to pick up after my dog, you should have to pick up after your horse. That said, they sure were pretty horses.

And that's all I've got for now. No biking for me today with all this rain on the way. But on a positive front, the aftermath from this weather is going to cool weather. Next week's highs are in the upper 70s. Nice! Love it!

K - happy Friday! Later!

What A Relief!

Richard is home and it seems that his echo showed no heart issues. I guess the retention of fluid he had was causing the shortness of breath. Not sure of the exact diagnosis but apparently he slept well last night and this was a major cause of anxiety for him. YAY! I love it when there's good news.

I went for a bike ride yesterday on the trail - later than I normally do - and only managed to get in 5 1/4 miles because they were doing tree work. Additionally there were a lot of annoying people on the trail who had to be told ("Oh your left!") that I was trying to pass. I'll try again today and take a different route. When I start my ride in downtown Loveland, it's always a pain because there are so many people on the trail. I think I'll start down in Miamiville today and take my ride through Milford and Mariemont into Newtown. It's just under a 16 mile ride...hopefully I'll make it but it's really humid already so I need to be extra careful about sweat in my eyes.

Speaking of my balls - my eyeballs - I have my one week appointment tomorrow morning. Hopefully everything will look as it should. I'll be happy to stop taking my medicated drops and just go to my "tears" drops.

Cindy weather is headed our way and will be here tomorrow. It's coming up from the south and is supposed to bring us over two inches of rain. I'm okay with that since we need a good soaking. It'll be out of here by Saturday.

Jim's meds finally were delivered so he'll start those back up today. I'm hoping this latest dosage reduction will agree with him. Otherwise, I think we may have to go another route for treatment. UGH!

Okay time to watch the Today Show, have breakfast and head out to ride. Happy Thursday! Later!

Unexpected Night Out

Basically the same view I had from our table.

Yesterday around 4:00 I headed out to have a couple beers with my neighbors. And by "out" I mean out to the picnic table in the circle outside my front door. We sat and chatted for a while and as dinner time rolled around, everyone discussed what they were doing. I said I was just going to have a sandwich or cereal because A) I had a large Cobb salad for lunch with Jim and B) having just paid for my Lasik, I needed to be good about not spending. Doug and Lauren then invited me to dinner with them to Bella's in downtown Loveland. I declined but they insisted. And then I started thinking, "Mmm, Bella's! Yum!" so I succumbed and decided to go. Little did I know that Doug was going to be a devil and pay for my meal. Doug's a dog! I treated them to Graeter's afterward. It was a lovely night and the best part was (if you saw on Facebook) the older motorcyclist who rode by on his bike with Bon Jovi blaring "Living on a Prayer" with his little dachshund strapped in the back. It was CUUUUTE! Dinner was delicious (wine on tap for $5 on Tuesdays!) but I missed Jim being there. That's the second time I've been there and Jim hasn't been once. UGH!

Richard news: Still no solid information. I sent mom a text around 5:00 yesterday to see what was what and they STILL hadn't done the echo for Richard. Ridiculous! Oh, just read Mom's blog and I guess he FINALLY had his echo last night and after it's read they will release Richard. Mom is still planning on coming up on Friday for the wedding. Richard will not be coming (understanding) and they have friends who will be there in case Richard needs anything. Hopefully the treatment they'll give Richard will give him some relief from his symptoms. Especially being able to sleep again!

Today I'll go for a bike ride on the trail. There's some rain going through here in a few so I'll put it off until later morning. I then want to go to Costco and pop by Kohl's to get Jimmy something to wear for the wedding. Maybe he'll go with me, maybe he won't. He had to be in early yesterday (left around 1:30) so who knows. Still no Tensing verdict which is pointing more and more toward a hung jury. Ridiculous.

My eyeballs are doing better and better everyday. I had less dry eye yesterday and hope that continues. I can still see and that's what really counts. Hopefully my appointment Friday is a thumbs up!

And that's all I've got. I think I'll just do leftovers for lunch today or sandwiches. Now it's time for breakfast and some Today Show. Later!

This & That

First - sending healing thoughts and prayers to my mom and Richard. Richard was admitted into the hospital yesterday due to breathing difficulties.He's had trouble sleeping of late and they noticed Sunday that he seemed to have edema (swelling caused by fluid retention in the body's tissues). The signs are pointing to congestive heart failure but I haven't heard for sure the diagnosis.We're all sending positive thoughts and we love you both!

So I've mentioned that Jim's on 2nd shift for the next couple weeks at Christian Moerlein's bottling facility which is located in the heart of Over the Rhine. He called me last night on a break saying how much he hated working down there because he's constantly harassed by some of the locals. Scary. I told him that we needed to watch the Tensing trial's verdict because if things go south and he's let off, Jim is not stepping anywhere near Over the Rhine! UGH!

My eyeballs are doing well. I've had a bit more dry eye over the last day than I had before but that's to be expected. Today is day 4 post surgery. I'd like to go out for a bike ride this morning but I may actually hold off until tomorrow for safety's sake. I just don't want to do anything that would interfere with my recovery. I just hate not being able to exercise! UGH!

Plans today: Nothing major. I'll make a nice lunch - Cobb salad for Jim before he heads off to work today. We had hot ham and Swiss yesterday. I just hate not feeding him a good meal when he's on 2nd shift. Other than that - we'll just hang. We do need to go out and get him some new pants and a shirt for the wedding on Saturday but that may wait until Thursday. We'll see what he wants to do. He's worked late last night and plans on working long hours for the next three days so that he can take Friday off. We'll see how that goes.

Found out yesterday that one of our assistant principals have taken a principal's position at a local high school (Lakota East Freshman Building). I certainly don't like it when administrators leave who have historically been a support to me. Of course not everyone likes everyone and sure, I've said a negative word or two about this guy (he talks too much) but the support he gave me over the last year in terms of Jim's health issues was something that can't be ignored. I made sure to send him an email wishing him luck and thanking him for his compassion. It's a quality that not everyone has but is probably the most important quality an administrator should have.

And that's all I've got. Time to decide what I want to do. Happy Tuesday! Later!

Progress

More and more, my eyesight seems to be crisper and clearer. This morning I had a bit of dryness when I awoke but that's normal after this surgery. It's also tough to look straight at a light or something really white (like this page I'm typing on) but again, that's normal from what I understand. The goggles that I have to wear at night when sleeping cause a bit of a headache - it's the band around my head. I ended up having to take them off around 1:00 last night but I think the main reason for wearing them is to keep from rubbing eyes in the middle of the night. I'm very aware of that, however. I'll keep trying to wear the goggles, however.

Today I don't have any real plans. Jim's still on second shift (will be until we go to PIB again I believe) so I'll make a nice lunch for us (instead of dinner) and just hang. Jim hasn't been sleeping very well - waking up in the early morning...not sure why. He's currently snoring on the couch because he got up at 4:15.

I was going to take a bike ride today but it's still a bit wet out so I'll wait until tomorrow. I'm allowed to go back to exercise I just have to be careful about getting sweat in my eyes. Mainly so I don't rub them. I'll wear a sweat band.

What else? Nothing. It's time for breakfast. Happy Monday. Later!

I Can See! I Can See!

Amazing! That's what I can say about the Lasik surgery. I went in at 7:15, wearing my stupid glasses that I hate and by 8:45 I was sitting up, reading a clock clearly from 10 feet away. I didn't have any issues with the surgery. It was painless, quick and so easy, I wonder why I didn't do it sooner. My appointment today went well. I had a little something (protein?) on my left cornea that the doc quickly removed and I have a little inflammation of the right eye but that shouldn't cause any issues. I'll go in next Friday for my 1 week appointment and from there I'll go at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. Bam! So far I'm not having any issues with reading - no current need for readers but who knows when that will change. I'm not worried about it. My restrictions are: no exercise for the first week, no swimming for 2 weeks and then I'm not supposed to go under after that for another two weeks but if I do I need to make sure not water gets in my eyes. Oh, and I have to wear my goggles for sleeping for the next few weeks. No big whoop.

So for the next couple of days I'll just be laying low. I'm supposed to stay out of the heat (no sweat in the eyes) which means Jim has to cut the grass. Tonight I'll make some Cincinnati chicken chili for dinner (and freeze most of it).

Jim's doing pretty well. His CT scan came back with good results: nothing on his pancreas; the spots on his colon are diverticulitis; and though there's a small spot on his liver it isn't large enough for them to determine what exactly (if anything ) it is. I'm still concerned about his uptake levels in all three areas but will go with what the doctor has said. He started back on his meds Wednesday and immediately started swelling (knees and ankles). Still waiting for word from the doc on what to do.

And that's all I've got. Time to rest my eyes. Later!

Back Into The Swing Of Things

And I'm back. Actually we got back Saturday. Our vacation was...lets say fun at times but stressful at others. Definitely had good company (Maggie, Eva, Doug and Lauren; Dad and Becky) but there was a lot of  anxiety for Jim and thus me. Jim was dealing a LOT with the hospital and feelings of neglect from his caregivers. I think this was on his mind a ton over the last week and it reflected and bled into his attitude and overall demeanor. He didn't sleep great, was moody, snappy and preoccupied. It was tough to watch and even harder to try and help and soothe. In the end, however, Jim managed to have it out with the only person who gave him any attention from UC - a nurse/receptionist. She listened to Jim rant and rave and helped him to set up the CT, which he's getting right now - 7 AM. He has an appointment with his oncologist tomorrow morning and from there we'll figure out what the next step is. We may be headed to another doctor. It's just gotten to the point where these people don't seem to have Jim's back and stress it's causing Jim can't be good for his health.

For me - I seem to cry at the littlest thing. I'm good with Jim and have managed to keep it together around him but yowza...I'm a bit of a disaster with anyone else. One thing that helped yesterday was a lovely bike ride on the trail. I went 12 1/2 miles and hope to get 15 today. I'll head out here in a minute. Tomorrow I'll go to Columbus. I'll return on Thursday. Friday I have my Lasik surgery. Jim's on 2nd shift for the next several days...maybe the week. This is good, however, since he's got a several doc appointments during the day.

And that's all I have time for now. I'm headed out for the trail and a nice bike ride before taking Sami to the vet for a follow up. I'm then hoping to get a pedicure at 11:00 with Lauren. She's not had a pedi before...should be interesting.

Okay...I'm off. Later

This Time Tomorrow...

...Jim and I should be approaching our exit on I-75! I'm hoping that we'll get on the road at the same time we always do: 5:00. This means we'll get to the ferry by 9:00. It being a Saturday, it may be a bit busier than usual so I won't be surprised if we have to wait in line for a bit. That will affect our Frosty tradition. If we catch the ferry too late, we'll head straight to Frosty's for breakfast and more importantly, mimosas and bloody Marys. If we catch the 9:00, we'll head home, unload the car and then breakfast. YUM! Our travel weather should be good which makes me happy!

Yesterday I finished up my cooking for the week (made the French dip beef) and did my grocery shop, including a stop at Party Source for new kegs (Summer Shandy and Summerfest) and champagne, wine and spiced rum. Mowed the lawn as well. Today, I'll pack up the car with what I can, do laundry, clean the house and pack. Woot!

Jim is completely back to "normal". I would have liked him to go to work yesterday and today but that would kind of be stupid so instead, he'll be my bitch. I think I'll make him vacuum and clean the bathrooms. He's going to wish he went to work. Hee hee.

I had my official last day yesterday. I really only needed to go in to clear off my desk, grab my Kuerig and hand in my check out sheet. The school was in shambles already with the Media Center being demolished for rehab. Additionally, we had a union meeting to discuss our tentative contract. I voted yes on it as it did three of the things I was hoping for: A) increased our sick bank from 247 days to 300; B) didn't change insurance and C) gave us an increase on base by 2.5% each year of the contract, which is a 3 year contract (even better for insurance purposes). All good.

And that's about all I have. I won't be posting for the next week or so but I will, of course, post on FB. Happy Friday! Safe travels to me and Jim. Later!

Damn America's Got Talent!

 You know how people always like or share videos on FB? Well there was one from America's Got Talent with a little (I don't know) 10-year-old or so holding a cute puppet. So I decided to watch it (I'm a sucker for a cute puppet). And dammit! It made me cry! Freakin' cute kids with cute puppets who can sing! Arg!

Quick Jim Update: He's definitely on the mend from this last med reaction. His fever only got to 99 yesterday and his joints are better. After many phone calls from the docs office (including one where a nurse told him he needed to meet with the doctor today and then a follow up to say, oh, woops! The doc is out for the week) Jim finally talked to the nurse practitioner who said everything Jim had done is what they would have had him do. They're calling in another prescription for predinsone (just in case) and he'll stay off his meds through vacation. He probably won't be getting a colonoscopy because ANOTHER doc looked at his PET scan and believes the uptake on his colon and pancreas are melanoma related. The CT will confirm and that will be scheduled when we return. I definitely don't like all this back and forth, however. And that's all I have to say about that.

Today I'll head into work to finish up in my room and then vote on the tentative agreement for our contract. I'm hoping for a nice increase on base and for insurance to stay the same. Basically the only reason I would vote "no" would be if my insurance gets all effed up but I don't anticipate that. We'll see.

From there I'll come home, get Jim and we'll head to Newport to replenish kegs and stock up on champs. Then I'll head to the grocery for our big buy before vacation.

And that's all I've got. I need to get a move on so I can get to work. My "last day". Happy Thursday! Later!