Dear Santa,

Dear Santa, My deepest wishes are as follows: A baby for Nessa, Good health for myself and my loved ones, A cure for cancer, An end to the Tea Party which has plagued this country with it's poison, A couple of snows that are measured in feet not inches, A season pass to Whitefish Mountain Ski resort, Another few steps forward in my understanding of what ALL of this is all about :)

Well, Crud

This past year has been a humdinger. July 2012 brought the relapse of my Renal Cell Carcinoma :( After a 6 year period of No Evidence of Disease, I fractured my femur while riding a roller coaster. The break occurred as a result of a tumor de-mineralizng the bone and weakening it. I had a titanium rod placed, conventional radiation, cyberknife and surgery to debulk the tumor. The recovery has been a real challenge. In addition I had a rip roaring gallbladder flare up which required surgical removal. While ultra sounding the stinky gallbladder it was discovered that the RCC had spread to the tail of my pancreas. #@#$#%@!!!!! It was not the best of news, but I have refused to give in to this horrible disease. At this point, I am walking fairly normally. That has been the result of several months P.T. with daily (and I do mean daily) yoga. Without the yoga my leg becomes so stiff and painful that I am unable to function. Yay yoga! It has been my saving grace. I have been doing targeted chemo twice daily for the past year. Side effects...well, I won't go there in this blog. The small tumor in my pancreas shows shrinkage and I now feel fabulous! All told I had 4 surgeries last year and various therapies, none of which were pleasant. The good news is that I am very much alive and enjoying life.

Geocaching

Treasure hunting!!! I nailed my first geocaches today! Totally fun stuff. I sort of stumbled across geocaching.com while reading gps reviews. I went out and tried it today and it's a blast! I ordered a few geo accessories today from Amazon. When they come in I'll be planting my first cache somewhere in the Lewis and Clark forest.
My handle on geocaching.com is EscapetheRain Join me if you like, hide and seek for adults. It really is fun.

How woulda thunk it?

It is my new passion in life...belly dancing. We have learned enough moves now that we are beginning to work it all in together into a choreographed routine. It's just really cool to have it come together into an actual dance! I'm really wanting to get some harem pants...satin and bright....a bunch of jingle bling, etc. Fun! I'm looking forward to some of the more advanced stuff. We hung around briefly and watched the advance class. Soooooo cool.

That time again

Nearly time for another check up. This time I will do a chest cat scan with contrast. I guess that Weiner wants a closer look at the left lung crud. I hate how this part is forever a part of my life. I want it to go away, the worry, etc. Cancer sucks. Always has, always will.

My dogs have been MIA since about 6:30. I do hope they will come home soon. The neighborhood is quiet and I wonder where they are and why they haven't returned. I hope some "good samaratin" has not taken it upon themselves to intervene. If left alone they always come back. It is people who are the problem.

I'm tired tonight. I just want to close my eyes and shut the world out for awhile. Waiting up for the dogs...and then I will

Under the Moonlight

Today I retired my road bike for the winter and remounted my MTB. I had a rather challenging headwind riding into work today. Arrived at the bike rack and could not remove my cycling computer from it's mount. I ended up having to remove the whole mount. I got my bike secured to the bike rack and went inside for a very hectic 8 hour shift. None stop people all day long.

I stepped out into the fresh air at about 9:20 p.m. There was a full moon and the wind was still blowing from the west. Hallelujah a tailwind on a cool September evening. And downhill too!!! It was just beautiful. Six years ago I asked God for a little more time. I have received so much more. I am beyond happy these days.

The Falling Rain

It's really coming down tonight. I love the sound and the feel in the air. Fall is coming and I'm so glad. Today I bought some thermal arm warmers for winter cycling. They are colorful and rather unique looking. Bring on the cold weather. I'm ready. I'm excited and happy for the next season. I hope to get out there plenty of times on the snow shoes with Kristy. Such a wonderful and fun friend! When has it ever NOT been a fun adventure with K.? Approximately never!

Kelly and I started Belly Dance lessons last night with the new teacher. Fabulous fun.

FUN FUN FUN FUN.....it's all that really matters to me these days.

Well, rambling badly tonight. Going to hit the sack. The Tour de Cure is in 3 days and I need my sleep!