"Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today..."

Hey Everybody!

Don't you just love Robert Frost? He and Langston Hughes are my favorites!

I've just finished my first week since the beginning of February with absolutely NO chemo. Yippee! The 10 daily pills I take have now switched to a protocol of 2 weeks on-2 weeks off. I almost feel a little crazy as each morning and night I keep thinking, "What have I forgotten today? I know something is missing..."

The not-so-crazy good news is that without the daily stuff, I have felt more energy coming back. Yea! The other day I felt almost guilty for not being at work. My apologies to all my dear friends and students there...and if it helps make amends, I felt homesick for them. Luckily,
this is springbreak for them, so we all get to play hookie!

KC and I have tried to take advantage of the energy to do some small cleaning and organizing jobs around the house. Imagine that...spring cleaning! Boy, it feels good to check some things off my list that have been there a long time! I'm thinking I can now justify all those hours of HGTV, because I did much better getting rid of stuff I never use and I've had a few great new storage ideas. I'm a house-cleaning diva! (Although props to KC, he's quite the task-master as well.)

I've also been grateful for the extra time to tag-along with Kat in some of her wedding preparation. We are going to have sooo much fun at this wedding! I can hardly wait to see all the family! Mom and Dad have kept me entertained seeking/sharing house decorating advice, (oh! another credit for HGTV) and I have found I really enjoy making phone calls during the day...as in during regular business hours and not on a Saturday! I better not get too comfortable, because I could get used to this pretty quick!

For my future plans, I have this week again of chemo-free bliss. I'm planning on turning the TV off and reading some more good books from my pile! Thanks to some friends and my relished trips to Barnes and Noble, I've had quite a few titles calling my name these last weeks. I'm also very excited to go to the Tulip Festival with my mom and Amy, so next time I might have a few good pictures to share. Seeing my mom and I race on the wheelchairs will be classic, I think!

Then on the 21st I start my daily pills again and have additional chemo for 5 days at the clinic. I haven't had this type of chemo before, so we'll see how it goes. I can guarantee I'll repeat the practice of ice in the mouth! I brace myself for the worst each time, but we were all very happy to see that my numbers didn't dip too low this last time; and as I wrote before, the side-effects were minimal. So, my prognosis and outlook are very positive!


I wish you all a wonderful week! It is really beginning to feel like spring, isn't it? Our puppies (yea, they're dogs, but they'll always be puppies to me) have loved rolling in the fresh grass, and the cats are going outside more often to enjoy the warm weather. KC sits at his computer working with the open window letting a wonderful breeze through the office, while I keep going out to the flower beds to take pictures of the flowers coming up. It's a beautiful time of year; enjoy!

Love,
~Sarah