Happiness Is: Painting, Flailing and Smaller Lymph Nodes

Why, hello friends!

Is anyone out there VERY responsive to caffeinated energy-type drinks?  I am.  I'm not talking about gross-tasting poisonous crap like Red Bull--I never drink those.  But, sometimes, I will see some kind of energy-related Vitamin Water or the like, and I have to try them.  Mostly because I can't EVER seem to get up early enough to work out before work, so most weekday workouts occur after dinner.  And ya'll.  Most times I need some help feeling energetic when I work out at 7 or 8pm.

So recently, I came across THIS little gem at Target.

Not only had I never SEEN the likes of this drink before, but it promised to do the following for me:

• increase alertness
• promote concentration
• reduce mental fatigue
• support memory

Oh, and it contains a "proprietary blend" of 375mg caffeine, taurine, and a bunch of other crap.  There is a warning on the bottle NOT to let kids under 12 OR people who are sensitive to caffeine drink this drink.  Oops.  

Undaunted, I sipped on this sucker last night, thinking, "I'm sure this will make getting on the elliptical machine more fun!"

Ya'll--I cranked up some music...but I didn't get on the elliptical machine.  No.  Instead,  I flailed and bounced and jumped and twirled and generally freaked out for a solid 25 minutes.  If I had ANY rhythm at all, this might could have been referred to as "dancing."  It was SO fun and freeing to flail and sing along at the top of my lungs to embarrassing artists like Selena Gomez!!  This is what I felt like:

Perhaps part of my un-inhibitedness had SOMETHING to do with the fact that husband was in Boston for work, and I was not expecting him home until after 11pm.  Well, unbeknownst to me (and...quite luckily for him, I can assure you), he caught an earlier flight home.  That's right--he caught me doing this.  And were I in a non-neurosonic-induced state, I may have been VERY startled or embarrassed.  But instead, I just kept right on flailing and insisted he join me.  Poor guy.  

I also spent part of last night searching for inspiration for my next art class which starts tonight.  (Thanks to the Neurosonic, I was VERY focused.)  I have LOVED doing this art class.  Not only because I get to see my friends on the regular, but because I literally don't think about ANYTHING else when I'm there.  It's been so fun and soothing to just...create.  Even if my "creation" is just a copy of something that I really like.  Here are the top contenders for copy-catting this time around:

I've also considered painting some colorful fruit....perhaps to hang in my kitchen somewhere?

Tropical things make me happy.  Thus, I must paint them!  Painting makes me happy.  Creating makes me happy.  FLAILING makes me happy!  Know what else makes me GIDDY with GLEE??  My Mom's CT scan results.

SO, onto the REAL reason you are all here.  Most of you know that on Tuesday, my Mom got a call from her Oncologist saying that the results of her CT scan from last week MADE HIS DAY.  This was all I needed to hear to be excited, but I was still looking forward her appointment today!  We didn't get TOO much more information, but we did get to see and read the report.

Highlights:

• Biggest lymph nodes are noticeably smaller
• No new activity
• Several nodes are completely normal/"resolved"

WOO HOO!!  So, she's got two more chemo treatments (one is next Wednesday), then she'll get another CT and a PET scan.  Her blood cell counts were outstanding.  Everything was positive.  We are so thankful, and I feel like we are finally in the home stretch with this garbage! 

And thanks to my WONDERFUL friend Andrea, Mom and I have a gift card to go get manicures and celebrate at some fancy place in Vinings on Saturday.  This will OBVIOUSLY be proceeded by a sleepover Friday night.  WEEEEE!  

It's called "Posh Spot." Fancy pants, right??

So, next time I blog, I hope to have nicely manicured nails and even more good news.  

Until then-

HUGS,

S

Who Wants Some BBQ Chicken Pizza?! (I promise there's a recipe in here)

Hello, friends!  Long time no blog.

Most of you know I've been completely pre-occupied with my kitty, Jo, and her transition into life with three legs.  It's not been MUCH of a transition, yet, as we both essentially lived in the bathroom Tuesday-Sunday.  She's been confined to "upstairs only" since Monday.  But SAINTS BE PRAISED, she gets her staples out (and therefore her cone head OFF) at 9:30 tomorrow morning.  (Insert sigh of relief).

This is back when Jo still had her fuzzy bed privileges during "bathroom living".  BEFORE she had a disgusting poop in there that ruined at least 3 hours of my Friday afternoon.

I must also take a moment to say how incredibly thankful I am that husband was willing to partake in the crazy-cat lady behavior with me this week!  He even slept on the air mattress in the bathroom with her so I could have a break, AND made her TWO custom litter boxes (none of which she actually ended up using).  I'm not positive, but I'm thinking that LOTS of husbands would just tell me I'm crazy and I can sleep in the bathroom if I want to.  But not mine.  He always makes an effort to care about the things I care about.  And oh, do I love him for it!!

But Jo is starting to feel back to normal, and she recently re-received her fuzzy bed privileges now that's she's OUT of the bathroom.  Here is a short picture journey that she would like me to share with all of you.

First moments home from the vet.  Note the wonky eyes.  She's so drugged up in this photo.

Whenever she was feeling the most depressed, she'd just lay by the toilet.  Pretty sad, really.

We took her cone head off sometimes.  But eventually, she couldn't be trusted NOT to lick.

As you can see, since she can't lick anything else with her cone head on, she just licks it instead.

This is serious contentment/lounging.

And if you had any doubts as to just how much of a crazy cat lady I ACTUALLY am, here's a selfie of Jo and I that I took on our last night in the bathroom.

OK, so we DID get out of the bathroom this past weekend for long enough to do SOME fun things...like make a homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza!!  MAN, was it good.  I'd like to take credit for my mixture of ingredients, but really it was inspired by California Pizza Kitchen's version of this pizza.  Which I love.

So we started with a pillsbury thin pizza crust.  Yes...it comes in one of those bursty-can things like biscuits or crescent rolls do.  Weirdly, I refuse to open them.  I made husband do it.  I just hate the jack-in-the-box type waiting for the thing to pop open.  It's the same reason I don't open champagne. Anyway, this is what it looks like, although I suspect if you are an expert at using a more "real" type pizza dough, this recipe might be even better!

So anyways, you just pop this sucker open and roll it out onto a cookie sheet that you've sprayed with cooking spray.  You have to pre-bake it for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.  

Next, you put 1/2 cup of sauce on it.  I used BONE-SUCKIN-SAUCE because it's freakin' delicious.  Then, I layered on some shredded cheese...sharp cheddar and monterey jack.  MMMMMM!  Next, I chopped up MAYBE 1/4 cup of red onion...chop it really small, ya'll.  Big chunks of red onion make me want to die.  They're gross.  Husband grilled some chicken tenderloins with BBQ sauce on them, so I chopped those up and put them on top too.  I probably only used about 4-5 of them, but it all depends on how much chicken you want!

Then, we popped it back in the oven for about 8 more minutes.  While this is not my favorite crust in the WHOLE world, it DOES get very crispy which I appreciate.  When it was all melty and golden-crusty, I took it out and put a couple tablespoons each of chopped scallions and cilantro on top.  Ya'll.  It was SO good!  I experiment with cooking a lot, but I don't always want to make my experiments ever again.  This one...I do.  May I present...the finished, delicious product!

Ok, so here is the actual recipe that I promised:

1 Can Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough

Olive Oil Cooking Spray (or PAM.  Whatevs)

1/2 Cup BBQ Sauce (plus more to put on the chicken as you grill it)

4-5 Chicken Tenders (or more if you crazy)

1 1/2 cup Cheese (I used Sharp Cheddar and Monterrey Jack)

1/4 cup finely chopped Red Onion

2 Tbsp chopped Scallions

2 Tbsp chopped Cilantro

Pre-heat oven to 400, and turn on yo' grill.  Brush the chicken tenders with BBQ sauce, then grill.  Unroll the pizza dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, and pre-bake for 5 minutes.  Put BBQ Sauce, cheese, onion and chopped grilled chicken on crust.  Put it back in the oven for about 6-10 minutes.  When it looks all melty and golden-crust-y, take it out.  Sprinkle the chopped scallions and cilantro on it.  Slice and ENJOY!!!

I also recommend drinking wine with this.  But I'm no expert on pairing so I'll just tell you that we had a bottle of THIS with it.  Perfection.

Also--quick Mom update...she had her 4th chemo treatment today.  She did good day-of, as always!!  She has scans next week to see what kind of progress we've made.  Say your prayers for good results...I know I will.  :)

HUGS,

S

I'm Baaaaack! (For Now).

Hi there,

You'll be pleased to know that I'm coming to you now, fresh off an attitude adjustment.  That's right--I am no longer in the dumps.  Nothing has changed about my circumstances.  All the crap that was dragging me down is still there.  But after having a complete breakdown last night (and the puffy eyes today to prove it), I've realized some stuff.

I've been too busy focusing on how awful things are to see or enjoy what I have.  I find that most of my worst times are less a crisis of circumstances and more a crisis of focusing on all the wrong things.  Here are just a couple of examples:

I've been so focused on how much it sucks that my Mom has cancer that I haven't had time to be thankful that I can still call her, see her, talk to her as much as I want to.  I've been so upset that my cat is going to have three legs and that I am going to have to watch her suffer that I haven't had time to be thankful that she WON'T have cancer anymore, and that she'll still be my kitty.

It's a matter of perspective, I think....and it's all a part of the processes we go through as humans.  We struggle and struggle and struggle against our circumstances; whether we're trying actively to change things we cannot change, or we're devoting all our energy to fervently wishing things were different.  Sometimes it's so hard to simply accept what we have TODAY and start looking up and being thankful for those things.

I don't want to keep struggling against my circumstances and focusing on all the wrong things.  Today, I went to my niece's first birthday party.  It was such a great day, just watching her opening presents and discovering new toys, and, especially, seeing her first reaction to BIRTHDAY CAKE!

 

Not only that, but my Mom was there, looking super cute and feeling at least a little bit better than she has most of the week.

Tonight, Husband and I randomly went into Home Goods (looking for pillows) and came out with a fuzzy kitty bed that we hoped Jo would enjoy during her recovery.

I do believe we nailed this one.  She's still happily snoozing in this bed as I type.

So, when I really think about it...I have so much to be thankful for.  So many blessings.  And more than enough to get me through today.  And today, that's all I need.


Hugs,
S