Future Candy Stripers of America

Don't worry, Matt is fine. These pictures are from a few weeks ago, when Matt was getting a blood transfusion before he was finished with chemo. Elena and I decided it would be fun to go get Happy Meals and take them to the hospital. Elena was hellbent on the idea that a toy, along with the sight of her, would make Matt all better. Maybe she was right :)


Anticipation


The Happy Meal toys sucked, so we had to improvise :)


Wasting medical supplies in the name of fun.


Matt and Elena, and the tattoos they gave each other.


Sleepy? Elena had a nap that day. I did not :p

Sippin' & Dippin'

North Carolina passed a law last week prohibiting smoking in public places. I am not sure whether the law applies to ALL public places, or just indoors. Either way, the law states that it is unfair to force a restaurant worker to participate in "passive smoking" (formerly known as "being exposed to second-hand smoke").

Erin is not ready to make nice on this one yet. So like a true tobacco addict, she's found a way to skirt the law. It's probably not a coincidence that she got the idea to start dipping about two days after she attended her first NASCAR race. Dippin' ain't easy. There are all kinds of issues, other than the obvious ones, like the fact that tobacco doesn't stick together that well, so the dip falls out, and if you forget to spit, you'll barf. Regardless, I have a feeling she'll be a skilled pro by the time the new law takes effect next January, and ready to spit some Skoal in Bev Perdue's eye if given the chance.

Whether you agree or disagree, I still think she should get an A for dedication. Know your rights, ya'll. :)

No Mo Chemo

Collective sigh of relief

It's official!!!! We got Matt's CT results today and his cancer is in remission :)

I'm sure I will end up writing more about this later, getting into more details and reflecting/rambling on some things. Not today.

Today's word of the day is "gratitude".

Songs that remind me of you

It's late. I'm bored.

I've been sitting here listening to my Pandora station. Being able to hear is a wonderful thing, you know? There are so many songs that take me back so a certain place or time or remind me of someone. So I thought it would be kinda fun to share a few songs that remind me of people. I don't wanna hear any bitching from anyone who doesn't like "their" song. I'm 28. I can't change these memory associations, or control what they developed in the first place. The song just reminds me of you for some reason. I'll try to add some sidenotes about where I think the association between person and song developed (but with this mind of mine, who the hell knows?). For some of you, it will be hard/inaccurate to name just one song, but I don't have all night. Also, there is no way that I could list everyone in one post. So if you aren't listed, don't be offended. I'll have to continue in another post later. Enjoy, and feel free to let me know if you have a song that reminds you of me. I think it would be neat :)

Mom: Mariah Carey, I'll be there. Reminds me of Mom because when I was a child she told me to think of her when I heard this song. Pretty simple :P http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52d20PK_Kyk

Dad always sang a lot when I was a kid. Mostly songs to make me laugh or embarass me, but this one was my favorite :) The Hollies, The Air That I Breathe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7S8-Iewi0&feature=related

Joe: The Beatles, In My Life. I apologize for the horrible spelling at the beginning of this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0Q8ytD44Y

Gina: Rolling Stones, You Can't Always Get What You Want. But if you try sometimes, you might just find, I love you enough not to tell the world why this is your song, because I know that you already know why :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0jyKabLHVc

Brandon: Elton John, I Wan't Love. Robert Downey, Jr. kinda looks like Brandon in the video. And I just LOVE Elton :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_u6l7EsQMc

Matt: Here is one you wouldn't expect, since you and I have had this talk before. This one reminds me of some damn good times :). Toby Keith(sorry, Gina), I Love This Bar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q85rPq1u9sc

Erin: Duh. Janis Joplin, Me and Bobby McGee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FMhnl0__Vo . Good audio, nothing like how we do it, but at least the Janis video montage is cool.

Lex: Two days past 18, baby. Two fuckin days. It's a shame. I'm not kidding. Bring our troops home ASAP, please?. Sorry, you know I can't pass up a chance to give an unsolicited opinion :P Dixie Chicks, Travelin' Soldier. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLBgmbXBOb8

Elena: The Beatles, Get Back. Honey, you loved it when I sang this song when you were a baby. Always got a giggle with this one. Not sure if she was laughing at my singing or dancing?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlWFpdPX45g

I've saved the best for last. :) World's Cheesiest Song

Steven Corn: You already know, don't you? Celine Dion, Because You Loved Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji-GONSfwnE . You gotta see it, Steven. Celine is so full of her own shit in this video.

Alright, that's all I've got in me tonight. G'night.

A promise is a promise

So, most of you probably already know that I promised Matt back in March (when we thought that the surgery would most likely catch all the cancer) that if he had to have chemo, then I would let him do whatever he wanted with my hair. For the past few years, I have been repeating a cycle of growing my hair long enough to donate to Locks of Love, and then having it chopped off. For the past few years, Matt has begged me to try different things with my hair, but I don't really care that much about my hair, and don't like to spend time or money on it. So I thought that if Matt had to do chemo (and lose his eyebrows and eyelashes, his biggest fear) then it would be proper to do my own little "Locks of Love" project a bit closer to home. Instead of donating my hair, I promised to get it cut, colored, permed, whatever Matt wanted, at the hands of a well trained professional.

That's not exactly how it worked out. First, Matt still has not lost his eyebrows OR eyelashes. But, like the title says, a promise is a promise. I have learned my lesson. I should have been more specific. "If your eyebrows fall out, you can have total reign over my hair" would have been better. Second, we have NOT had the time to find a well trained professional, and I started getting really sick of my hair as it started getting hotter outside. Third, it's been kinda boring around here lately.

So the other night, we decided to throw caution to the wind, and I let Matt take a pair of scissors to my locks*. My lovely lady locks. I have to say it was fun. At first Matt was scared, but after a few times of me repeating "I don't care if you screw it up, I'll just shave it off, I've done it before, and you may never cut hair again, so enjoy yourself" he loosened up and we had a blast, along with just a few scary moments when Matt went hog-wild and almost stabbed me with the scissors. Ok, he did stab me with the scissors*, but he didn't draw blood, so we're cool. And of course we got some funny pics :)

*I know you are wondering. We were totally sober. I swear. :)


The look in my eyes makes me pretty
sure that this pic was shot after the
accidental stabbing.



But it didn't turn out half bad. I like it a lot :) It's very
layery and and it looks quite nice when rockin' the dogwood
blossom, which just happens to be the state flower (or is
it tree?) for NC. My 4th grade teacher would be ashamed.

It me birthday yesterday!!

Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes my way in one way, shape or form yesterday. Mad props to Liz, who commented via the blog ;)

I had a great birthday. I sure all of you can guess that I was ready to kiss 27 goodbye and watch the door hit it in the ass on the way out, so needless to say, I was very excited about my birthday this year. 27 sucked. Hopefully 28 will be much better. 27 was full of heartache. It is a year that I will never forget mostly for negative reasons. Two failed pregnancies, dad's tumor, Matt's cancer, and a couple of deaths in the family are just the first things that pop into mind when I think about what has happened in my life since my 27th birthday. I could probably think of more sad stuff, but who wants to sit around and do that?

The point is, even though it sucked, I have learned a lot in the last year about happiness, love, gratitude, compassion and how to take what you life gives you and do the best that you can with it. There are a lot of things that have happenned that made me want to run for the hills and become a total recluse so that the world couldn't get me anymore. Even though it wasn't the best year ever, I am thankful to have lived through it and for having the chance to see strength and love in myself and the people around me. I always knew that it existed, but now I know better than before that it is solid, and knowing that is a good feeling. It's the only measure of safety I can have in this totally unpredictable world. When I think about all that I have learned this year, about appreciation, hidden strength, gratitude, sympathy, peace, and what is really important, using the word "thankful" seems trite.

Even though life often seems like an episode of "As The World Turns", I am ready for my next trip around the sun and the joy that I hope it brings. Happy Birthday to me :)



Celebrating with the family. Judging by the look on
Mamaw's face, I think I may have dropped an F-bomb
right before Matt shot this pic. Mamaw has started a new policy:
each time I say that word, it's costing me a quarter. Now
the economy is hitting me EXTRA hard :b


Heather remembered to bring the
Sesame Street shirt that says "Party
Animal" on the front, and "It me birthday"
on the back. I think I made her wear it
for two birthdays, so happy that she
remembered to carry on the tradition :)


With Waylon




Erin on balloon duty. I think she has a new
sympathy for Brenda now :) (sorry, inside
joke, but I couldn't resist.)