Comprehensive Update With Some Travel News! Woohoo!!

These are fat, hungry magpies out my window at work. Nora, ever dedicated to birds and other creatures, maintains a bird feeder in this tree and I thoroughly enjoy seeing the many different birds and critters that stop by.

Cramp Update: Still sleeping with soap in my bed. Still no night time cramps! I get the occasional day time cramp, particularly when trying to get into Luke's big, old winter boots, which I've been wearing in this cold weather to hike across campus on the way to work. They're a couple of sizes to big but they are warm. I have to point my toe for a bit to get into them and any pointing or going up on my toes to reach something almost always causes cramping now. It's strange.

Weight Loss Update: I've now lost the weight I gained back over the holidays which was only a couple of pounds but I can only lose weight VERY slowly. I still have one pound to go to be at the 15 pounds lost that was my goal for Christmas. It will happen. Eventually.

General Aches and Pains: The puffiness that troubled me last week (I think it was caused by lifting a bag of especially heavy groceries with awkward arm positioning) has gone away and things are back to how they were before that little incident. I am a little more tender than usual in my chest, though. Some residual pain probably. I still experience regular joint stiffness but it's not nearly so bad as it was and it doesn't prevent me from doing anything. I don't limp so noticeably and only for a little while when I start moving after sitting for a while. I don't feel 110 years old like I did. This is certainly liveable.

Frozen Shoulders Update: I'm not seeing any further improvement. Progress is stalled. My right shoulder is moving pretty good but my left one is still quite restricted. This means I'm going to have to work harder at getting more shoulder mobility. I also intend to get back for some massages. I think those will help, especially now that there's the possibility of improved range of motion.

Brain Update: My brain is frustratingly compromised. It's very likely a lingering effect of the chemo as well as a side effect of the Tamoxifen. Every day I am quietly astounded by something that I can't quite recall. We were at a party on Saturday night for a friend's 50th birthday and there were a lot of people there. A LOT! And lots of people I know from either having worked with them or from our neighbourhood. Within half an hour of having a conversation with someone, I could recall a conversation but couldn't remember who I had it with. That bothers me. How could I lose that so quickly? It's not normal. I hope it eventually improves but I won't count on it. It wouldn't be so bad if I could selectively forget things ... like corrupt lawyers who I had a dream about a few nights ago. *shudder*

Fatigue Update: I'm tired a lot. I hate it. HATE IT! I need more rest and live for weekends when I can get more sleep.

Hair Update: It's still growing ... of course. Maybe it's even getting a little thicker, which would be MOST welcome. It still looks like I have a super curly perm. If it weren't so curly, it would look a lot longer. This weekend I tried using a curling/blower tool to see if I could straighten it a bit. It kind of worked and mostly looked like loose curls. My bangs were really resistant though. No matter how I pulled, straightened, sprayed them, they insisted on curling up. When they get a little longer, I think trimming them will cut off the tightest part of the curl. The newer growth doesn't see quite as curly. I don't think I'll be getting any more eyebrow hairs and will have to continue drawing them on, which is fine ... except that I sometimes accidentally wipe parts of them off and don't notice until the evening when I catch a glimpse in the mirror and realize that I'm missing half an eyebrow.

Recipe Update 2011: 2 new ones tried - 1) Chicken Pot Pies, and 2) Butter Chicken

Reading Update: 2 books read - Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (I don't recommend it) and A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (I don't recommend it either). I've started The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson and already I'm not expecting great things from it. Next time I should do a little research before picking a book to read (which I've done and I have a nice long list of titles that look interesting). Speaking of books, feel free to browse my Library Thing library. There's a link to it in the right panel of my blog. You'll see the widget there that rotates my book covers. I've been using Library Thing for my personal collection since about 2004 and it's grown to be a really excellent tool not just for keeping one's library records but for finding out about other titles that might be worth reading. My Library Thing library is not a complete record (I don't invest too much time in it) but it does have most of my fiction titles and some art and children's literature. There's the occasional book listed that I no longer have but that I've read ... those might eventually come back to my shelves.

Quilting Update: I've made 2 yoyo's. Yup. That's it. Nothing more. Disappointing. If I'm going to really make some quilts, I have to do better than this.

Kid Update: Hannah and Luke are both doing great. Happy. Busy. Working hard.

Vacation Plans Update: Things are coming together and I'm SO EXCITED! It looks like we'll be seeing FOUR of Luke's lacrosse games this spring! Four in 10 days and I'm SO THRILLED! Here's a link to their schedule. Usually we only get to see 2 games but instead of going to Louisville this year, we're going to follow the team around during their spring break and catch 4 traveling games: two at two different universities in Maryland, one at Harvard University in Cambridge, and one in Hartford, Connecticut. We'll stay 4 0r 3 days in Baltimore at the same hotel the team is staying at and we'll spend the rest of the time in New York. NEW YORK!! NEW YORK!! We'll travel to Cambridge and Hartford from there - day trips. A bonus is that Hannah is going to join us on the trip! She knows her way around New York quite good by now so she'll be our guide to a fun time in New York! She told me that it doesn't really matter what the place is like that we stay at because we won't be sleeping much. Oh yeah? I know what will happen. I'll be sleeping while Kevin goes clubbing with Hannah and friends. Oh well! I'm in the process of booking a loft in Brooklyn near where Hannah's friend, Dani, lives. One with a big comfy bed for me, at least. It's a hop skip on the subway away from all the hot spots in New York and only 1/2 a block from the main happenin' area of Brooklyn. YEAH!! I can't wait!

And that's about all I have to update. Not so bad all considered!