Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection - A Great Escape!

Jamie Quinn Mystery Collection: Box Set Books 1-3 by Barbara Venkataraman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Spend some time with Jamie Quinn, esq., you will thank me! This collection includes the first three of Jamie Quinn's adventures in Hollywoood, FL. The books are novella length and fast-paced. I really enjoyed Jamie Quinn our protagonist, she is great with the one-liners and down to earth. The books are told in a conversational style where you feel like you are sitting in a coffee shop while Jamie regales you with what has been happening in her life. At any moment you hope that Jamie's best friend Grace, a smart stylish lawyer or Duke, a PI with a heart of gold, will walk in and join the coffee talk.

Jamie is smart enough to use her resources and her researching skills as a lawyer to solve crimes without putting herself in physical danger. As you read you will hope for all good things for Jamie, and you will literally laugh out loud at some of her commentary.

The books take place in a real town, Hollywood, Florida. Many of the places she talks about in the book are real places. I had fun looking up the Broward County Parks and seeing where Jamie was going!

If you like cozies, make sure to check this one out, it's great summer or weekend reading!

As soon as I finished the third book in this series, I went right to the Amazon app on my phone to get the next book because I wanted to know what happened next in Jamie's life (of course, you can't purchase Kindle books on the app so that was annoying!)

I received a copy of this from the author to review. It is available as part of a Kindle Unlimited collection or is currently only $1.99.


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Today is a Weird Day

Hello! Happy May.  I really enjoy the month of May, it's one of my top 3 favorite months. :-) However, last year the universe decided to play a little trick on me and now this time of year is not just the glorious May flower fest and sunny days of old. 

Yes, you guessed it, on this day, May 6th,  last year  I got one of the crummiest phone calls a person can get- ie your biopsy results have come back and you have cancer. Not what anyone wants to hear, ever.  Another reason I'm glad to have an Imerman Angel (Margot) who I can contact anytime to talk is on a not great anniversary day like today.   Everyone who gets a crummy cancer diagnosis should have someone in their corner they can talk to who gets it--especially now!

May 6, 2019, what a crap day, but I can imagine how much more anxiety-producing it would be if I was being diagnosed now during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are able to donate any $ toward my marathon run this month you are helping those people out there right now who just found out they have cancer. 

Here is the good news for today!  During May a big foundation is double matching all the funds us runners raise.  So if you are able to donate $20 to me this month,  you are actually making a $60 donation to Imerman Angels. How cool is that!

The sun is shining today and the cancer that I had with me last year is gone.  I get to go for a nice run today, How wonderful to have that going for me!  During the stay at home order I have been out there running, my only issue right now is a persistent blister on my toe that is healing- but also annoying.  

Each day I run because I can. Thank you for giving what you can to help raise money for Imerman Angels!

If you are on Instagram, I post a run picture each day- @Victoria7401

Here is my link if you would like to know more about Imerman Angels or donate to my run! 

May is Here! Let's Stay Home!

I mean really, I don't see any of my constitutional rights being taken from me. I can go places if I need or want to, now I can't eat in at a restaurant, but that isn't in the constitution so I'm cool with it.  Also, I'm a big fan of people getting to live as long as possible.

I'm running every day, I made a few neck gaiters/buffs out of a pair of fleece-lined tights. Running with a face covering is difficult so what I do is I keep it down unless I am getting close to other people. Since I run around my neighborhood it is easy to avoid getting w/in 10 feet of other people. It also helps me to vary my runs because if I see someone headed my way I turn around or turn a corner to avoid them. Mind tricks help distract esp when I am doing my weekly long run. With the rest of the tights, I made ties for my garden stakes this summer. To celebrate each run, I take a daily post-run picture. Above is one of those pictures. I post my daily pics on Instagram.

Just a few weeks until it's officially garden planting time!  I've got my scrap garden growing and in a couple more weeks I'll be transplanted the lettuce, scallions, and celery!

I am celebrating this new month with Day Pajamas. I highly recommend the Day Pajama lifestyle.

The PJs are short sleeves and 3/4 length. Perfect for May.

Enjoy your Day!
xoxo

On One Hand, I Had To Go To The Hospital

On the other hand, I got to see and speak to people who aren't my immediate family members! I work a mask, they checked my temperature before they would let me go to the medical infusion floor. I wore gloves to sign papers saying  I would pay my bill and used the gloves to press the elevator buttons, then I threw out the gloves in a trash can. I  used hand sanitizer after taking off the gloves. I wore my coat and mask the whole time I was in the hospital and then after I hand sanitized. I took off my mask and coat threw them in the trunk and hand sanitized again. Then I drove home took my shoes off and put all my clothes in the wash and took a shower. 

I did everything I could think of and stayed as far away as possible from everyone. My visit was to get my port flushed.  It was already really overdue for flushing. 

What is a port? A little medical device implanted up by my neck that can be used to take blood or administer IV drugs right to my jugular. They use it to give you chemotherapy drugs so your veins in your arms don't get trashed from all the sticks and medications. I should be getting the port removed, but that is an outpatient procedure and it's not essential right now.  The flush is to help avoid a potential infection so I needed to get that done. 

How was your Monday? My celery plant is coming along! Look at that! 

 Here we have my future bookshelf. I am going to try and talk BMO and Dear Daughter into putting it together for me. Wish me luck.  They are very busy with all the laying around in their rooms sleeping all day because they stay up all night long. It's only 11:27am, way too early to ask them to do it now. LOL (To be fair, they are doing school work right now, I think.)

Last picture for today,  weedy flower on my Sunday run.

Happy Tuesday!

Throwback Thursday

Remember the good old days when there wasn't a global pandemic?  Good times. Good times.  Happy Thursday to you!

I'm trying to grow celery from a celery stalk. I think it has started growing. If you look close you can see some little leaves starting inside on the lefthand side. I'm not sure what I am doing, so I turned to the internet and found this blog post: Regrowing Celery We will see how it goes.  While it is solidly Springtime, the forecast is calling for a bunch of snow tonight.  Up to 6 inches of snow, ugh!  We are still a month out from thinking about planting outside. Hopefully, I can get this celery going and transplant it outside right around Mother's Day. I am also trying to regrow lettuce, my fingers are crossed. 

Thursday is my short run day. I run in the morning and then I participate in a virtual journaling class.  It's good for reducing anxiety during this weird time. It's a group for people who have had cancer and I think everyone in the group has commented that the pandemic has triggered stress and emotions bringing one back to the uncertain days of cancer treatment.  We are all working through some things. these days. 

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

My decision last week to order our whole Easter Dinner from Boston Market was a great decision. The family all enjoyed the food, no complaints at all about my recipe decisions ( I like to try recipes from Williams-Sonoma and my family doesn't appreciate trying new things) and it was much less work for me.  The hardest part was done by The Hubs who put on a mask and gloves and picked up our order. I'm glad it was an option because I was worried about whether or not I'd be able to get all the ingredients from the store - esp. a good ham. 

Today the weather is windy and cold.  My plan was to run about 2.5 miles, I was going to cut myself slack and have an easy day. However, I was feeling good and it wasn't super, super windy so I ran 5 miles.  

As I ran, I noticed how blue the sky was and how vibrant the flowers and grass looked.  I mean, look at this picture how crystal clear is that air?!?  The reduction of cars on the road has made the air cleaner!  Do yourself a favor and go out and grab a nice deep breath of this newly improved air. (Just do that heavy breathing away from other people please).  When we get COVID-19 figured out and are able to move forward, I hope we can plan out a way to keep the gains of this time.  It's easy to see that people staying home more means less pollution = fewer fossil fuels= a reduction in climate change. 

A better environment could be had for all. I'm happy to do my part and avoid driving as much as possible. 

Made some potato salad today and since I have a bunch of parsley in the fridge, I went a little garnish crazy. Tomorrow I have a plan for dinner - it's called Taco Tuesday. I'm trying to stick to an intermittent fasting schedule of eating from 10am-6pm daily.  It's easy to do since I am at home. If I am working downtown I  can't get home in time to start making dinner before six. 

Since the teenagers stay up till all hours of the night my Early Bird Dinner Specials are more like their lunch!

Hopefully the wind dies down more overnight and tomorrow it is as beautiful and sunny as today, w/o a wind blasting from the West.

Tomorrow night I am going to get out of my comfort zone and join a Zoom workout for runners, so that will be ...interesting.

xoxo

What in Tarnation?

I spy with my little eyes a snowflake on my weather app, not once but twice in the next 10 days!  Not cool.

I'm not too worried.  A- plenty of other things to worry about and B- Chicagoland forecasts changed every hour on the hour so who knows!

Today was blustery and I was kind of slow, but I was able to run 4.5 miles and for that I am happy.

I took a picture at a local nursery here-

And then yesterday I took a photo from our front yard.

Weeds you say?  Ah pshaw, I say they are flowers I don't have to maintain.  Plus according to The Guardian: 

"Gardeners should avoid mowing over dandelions on their lawn if they want to help bees, according to the new president of the British Ecological Society.

Dandelions – which will start flowering in the UK this month – provide a valuable food source for early pollinators coming out of hibernation, including solitary bees, honey bees and hoverflies."

-The rest of the article is here!

I would like to add more flowers to our backyard this spring/summer, it, however, remains to be seen if that will be a practical pursuit, given the need to #stayhome unless you are doing essential shopping. Browsing around the garden center while the Hubs is wandering around Menards for hours isn't likely to happen this year.  I'll survive!

Speaking of surviving, I may or may not have a birthday this year. I had big plans to pester my children and the Hubs into throwing me a milestone epic bday party. A well-deserved half-century party.  Now that COVID-19 is here, I may well postpone my birthday until 2021. If the Olympics can postpone until next year so can my big party. 

Advice You Didn't Ask For!

Hi All,
I hope you are having a good Wednesday.  We are home and knock on wood-virus free. I only leave the house to go run, and when I run, I run away from people.  I also take pictures (see below).

Also, here is my advice you didn't ask for...

Boring, but free ways to not gain weight during a pandemic:

1. Weigh yourself every morning.
2. Don't eat after dinner.
3. Drink water, not booze.

See I warned you, boring free, but effective! 

Today in my neck of the woods the weather is on loan from Summer. We have to give it back tomorrow, but in the meantime,  it is the perfect afternoon to sit outside on your porch, balcony or patio.  With a nice glass of water. LOL

 Here we have the free mulch pile my city has for residents ...

 

A great sign I saw in front of a house in Worth, IL 

It's a really unusual time (understatement of the year) but I thought maybe I will try to blog a couple times a week, hopefully with lighthearted content! So this is my plan going forward in the land of quarantine.

#Stayhome #Stayhealthy

Can I Speak to The Manager?

This is not the 2020 I ordered. I would like to return it and get a new virus-free version.

How are you doing?  I'm hanging in there. I'm at home this week and frankly, I'd really rather be at work, how about you?  While I currently have all the time in the day to read books, write and listen to podcasts, I'm having trouble focusing to do any of that.

I don't know if I am feeling more general anxiety because I spent the last nine months or so undergoing cancer treatments and now I'm feeling some PTSD or if I would have this same level of anxiety either way. I feel like my stress is higher than it would be if not for my cancer season.  Just a few weeks ago I was enjoying a comfort that had come from making peace with my 'new post-cancer normal'  and now here we are.

 Now suddenly we are living in a time for everyone everywhere to struggle with uncertainty everywhere. Will we have jobs? Will the kids go back to school?  and most importantly, Will I get sick? Will they get sick? How sick? And this one for me personally, is it possible when we were all sick in February that we already had COVID-19?  Will we ever know? How long does this go on?

A bunch of questions and no solid answers. This is why I've been busying myself with cleaning out cabinets and drawers as well as cooking. These are things I can control.  I am actually running out of nooks and crannies to clean. I'm on the brink of ordering paint to paint our bedroom. I should not do this. I'm not good at painting and it makes me cranky.   Today I am pledging to myself to stay away from any press conferences on my TV and to use my time to escape into an urban fantasy book.  If you can, I suggest doing the same.  If you are working please wash your hands as much as you can!

Yesterday, I wanted to use up leftover noodles and it was definitely time for comfort food so I tried to recreate a breakfast my Oma would make.   1. Cut up some thick-cut bacon and fry it in a pan. 2. Take out the bacon and fry a chopped onion in the pan for a couple minutes. 3. Add in leftover baked potatoes that you have cut up.  4. Stir for a couple minutes adding salt, pepper, and some thyme to taste. 5. Take your leftover noodles and toss those with breadcrumbs you have from stale bread. 6. put the noodles in the pan along with the bacon and cook it all together for about 4 minutes.  Then serve.

I used turkey bacon and added in some chopped yellow bell pepper I had leftover from the day before.  I made an egg over easy to top my noodle dish. I used a little oil in my skillet because I didn't have delicious bacon grease.

My Oma's was obviously better than my re-creation. But I will say this dish is a hearty breakfast and a good way to use leftovers!

Stay Healthy. Stay at home!

Let's Talk About Not Being in the Mood

I'm not in the mood to write; but, I figure the act of writing works like eight out of ten times when I run.  If I just start doing it, and stop thinking about doing it, then I'll be in the swing of it in no time.

So here I am! Today I've been listening to Harriet the Spy as my selection as a classic children's book for the 20 in 20 book challenge. Come to find out, Harriet the Spy was an oft banned book. Why?  Apparently a book about a child spying on adults and taking notes about grown ups set a bad example for kids.  The book is slightly older than The Hubs, so pretty, pretty old. (1964)

I have to admit they might have been on to something. When I was a kid and read the books, I wanted to *be* Harriet. These days if I had to pick a career related to spying, I'd go with private investigator.  That being said all my experience watching PI shows on TV leads me to conclude private investigating looks like a lot of sitting in cars and almost getting yourself killed. I guess I will stick to my day job. Lots of sitting at a desk, but none of that almost getting myself killed.

Speaking of  mortality, Coronavirus is closing down events and canceling trips.  Being selfish I think the following thoughts:

1. It's really BS that I finish like 9 months of cancer treatments and then now that I am ready to go out and do stuff, it's not a good idea to go out and do stuff!

2. I hope this is all sorted so Anna can go on her Band Trip and BMO gets to do all the end of the year senior stuff.

3. Back to me, it's 2020- it's  a big birthday year for me, what the heck with a pandemic! I did not ask for a pandemic this is supposed to be *my* year!   *me shaking my fist at the sky* 

Oh well what can you do? 

Don't forget to wash your hands! 

Speaking of viruses, if you'd like to expand your knowledge of all things bacterial and virus check out This Podcast Will Kill You ! 

Happy March 10th!

Is Winter Winding Down?

Gosh I hope so!  One of my goals for this year was to not get too bogged down in my dislike of winter. If I can rate myself here, I give myself a 3.5 out of 5 on not spending too much time being annoyed by all things winter.

This year I did spend all of January doing weekday radiation so that definitely proved to be a distraction from dwelling on the cold. Plus radiation gives you hot flushes, so well timed on my part--better to have one's internal temp rise in January than in July!

Once February arrived, our house spend the entire month with at least one person sick with some virus.  Was it Coronavirus? I don't think so, but who knows! To round out the month, surgery for me.  Medical interventions not winter blues were the order of the day! Now here is March coming in like a warmer than usual lion; so far, our temps have been decent and the sun has been shining.

The nice weather has lead to a certain BFF of The Man tracking mud into the house several times a day.  Keep your fingers crossed for us as we are crunching numbers and hoping to get wood flooring on our main floor ASAP. If  all goes well, 2020 will be the year of home renovations and me having many more celebrations and fest to attend than doctor appointments!

*Accountability* - How did I do with my February Goals?

Not great!  The cold I had really knocked me out for most of the month!
I did reach my blog post goals and I did achieve the most important goal: Lastly, have a very uneventful laparoscopic preventative surgery and celebrate being done with medical interventions for hopefully ever. (not including routine tests)

Actually as I re-read it.  I have not celebrated having a routine surgery w/clear pathology. So I'm due a celebration. Note to self plan some celebrating!

Wanna Get Away? Travel via Book to Sunset Cove!

A Novel Way To Die by Tamra Baumann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"A Novel Way to Die" is the second book in Tamra Baumann's Cozy Mystery Bookshop Series. (The first book is called "Plotting for Murder".) If you have already read "Plotting for Murder" I think you are going to love this second installment. I came into "A Novel Way to Die" without having read the first book so it took me a little bit longer to understand our main character and her eclectic community.

Tamra Baumann's does a wonderful job crafting this mystery! There are several points where you think you know who did it and who helped, only to find out there is more to the story. I enjoyed that she uses technology in the main mystery and I found it pleasing to read a Cozy Mystery that had major supporting characters from several different generations.

Not only does this book have a central murder mystery, but it also has some interesting ongoing mysteries that drawn in the reader into Sunset Cove and makes one look forward to future installments. What is going to happen with the bookshop? Will Sawyer's uncle thwart Sawyer? What will we find out about Brittany's mother? The non-murder mystery subplots are almost more fascinating than who killed the person in this book!

As a fan of Cozy Mysteries, this book really has it all- 1. small town, 2. a plucky heroine who can cook, 3. a cute dog, 4. a handsome sheriff, 5 a bookstore with a book club and 6. A witty best friend.

I look forward to going back and reading "Plotting for Murder" ASAP!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.


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Challenges for Challenging Times!

What a week! That might be my new catch phrase.  But really more like, what a month.  The Hamel house has been in the throes of medical stuff all month long! Just as I am recovering from surgery and returned to work yesterday, Patrick came down with some sort of cold virus and The Man had to take him to the urgent care last night! Good news, young P doesn't have the flu. Bad news he is on steroids to curtail his uncontrolled coughing.

 Side note: if you have any surgery that is done through your belly button, I do not recommend wearing pants with a button and a zipper on your first day back to work. Learn from my lesson. If possible wear a flowy dress- no belts!

If the current weather forecast holds, in a few days I can crack a window opened during the day and try and get some of the sickness out of our house. I don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to March!

As you all know, I love to read and I also like challenges.  Lucky for me, my public library is doing a 20 in 20 book challenge! I just found out about it and so I am quite behind.  I need to read from the categories listed above  by the third week of March. Eek!  Anyone have any good suggestions for a Classic Children's Book or the Classic book by a Female Author?

I spend time during my surgery recuperation reading Moving Forward and it's a great memoir. Karine Jean-Pierre has that can-do spirit I love to see in people. Spoiler alert- Karine is also a runner!

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent and while I don't go to church; I do still enjoy a good Lent. This year I am giving up nothing! Nothing I tell you!  I've given up enough over the past year. Instead, I'm going to use Lent as a reason to focus on cleaning out all the drawers, bins and closets in my home. Spring Cleaning in increments of 15 minutes per day, join me!

Best Day Ever!

This past week was quite long for me.  Tuesday I got to experience a colonoscopy prep. Not because I was having a colonoscopy but because Wednesday I was scheduled for a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. (BSO)

I have to tell you that colonoscopy prep, which you will all be lucky enough to have one day, was in my opinion worse than a day spent having a Taxol chemo treatment. Yes, you read that right. Worse than a day of chemo!

Wednesday I had my surgery. Talk about a long day.  I almost died of starvation prior to the surgery and then after surgery when I finally had sustenance - Belvita crackers- I was immediately nauseous.  How rude!

On the plus side being very hangry prior to the surgery and pukey after the surgery did help keep my mind off the pathology report.  You see because I have the BRCA 2 gene I'm high risk for some cancers - namely breast and ovarian.  Well, we know how the risk of breast cancer turned out. 

The point of the BSO was to remove my tubes and ovaries tout suite to reduce my risk of ovarian cancer.  Ovarian cancer is sneaky, while you can have tests like a CT scan, an MRI, or an ultrasound- all of which I had in July and August- even when they come back all clear- that does not mean that you don't actually have cancer.  The only way to be sure is to have your fallopian tubes and ovaries taken out and viewed under a microscope. 

I did as much research as a non-scientist could do to try and reassure myself that I was not likely to have ovarian cancer. I even tried to get my Medical Oncologist to tell me it was not likely I'd find out I had another cancer.  However, she wouldn't tell me what I wanted to hear. Booo. She did tell me that if they found cancer I'd have to have more chemo. Good times!  I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, not that!!!!!

As you can imagine, I spend a good deal of my mental energy on keeping my spirits up.  The thought of another cancer and more chemo was very, very stressful.  I couldn't wait to get the surgery over and I hope that maybe my GYN could give Tom some reassurance that everything looked good.

However, all I got was that one ovary looked fabulous and the other looked a little funky and that pathology results would be back by Monday. Ugh ugh ugh.

Thursday was spent by me sleeping and stressing. I have an app on my phone for my medical stuff and I kid you not, every 15 minutes I was on there looking to see if new test results were up.  I did this even though I know they don't automatically post pathology reports.  Those results were only coming to me from a phone call. 

I'm stressing out just writing about my waiting game. On Friday morning my phone rang and it was the hospital, I jumped on that call with high hopes, and it was just nurse follow up. Which is great, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that they were checking in on me. I hung up that call and tried to bury myself in something good on Netflix, but I could not concentrate and kept checking my phone and trying to figure out if I could find anything from Dr. Google.

Finally and also earlier than Monday I got the call. 12:23pm on 2/21.  The doctor herself called. She had THE BEST news for me!  The pathology was all clear.  I was so happy, she was so happy.

Best Day Ever!

Got a Minute?

I need opinions! Last year shortly after the one year anniversary of buying our house, right when I was ready for a year of home improvements, I found out I had breast cancer and all my fun plans were put on hold for an exciting year of really getting to know our medical system inside and out. It was a real nose-to-the-grindstone just get through each day time for me. 

Fortunately, I am here now, 'new year, new me' and I"m ready to live my best Pinterest life. Too bad I don't have buckets of cash to fund that life. My Pinterest life is going to need to be done on the cheap. We are talking DIY and clearance endcaps. 

This is what I need opinions on, I'd like to put a big plant here in the corner of our master bedroom.  Anyone know what sort of big plant would thrive in a second-floor bedroom with three big southern-exposure windows? The plant needs to be inexpensive to purchase and easy to maintain. Our bedroom furniture is a weathered wood beachy style and I'd like the plant to fit in with that style. 

So what do you think?  It's a great spot for a big plant, right?  Once I've found the perfect plant, it will be time to crowdsource a name for my new pal!

Happy Sunday! 

xoxo

Hey There, Whatcha Reading?

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I suddenly realized the month of February is just about half over and I still needed to listen to one more audiobook in order to complete the audible challenge and earn a $20 gift card from Amazon. What to do? I previewed a few books and one caught my ear. Our Little Lies is read by a British reader with the most delightful accent--so I downloaded it. Audible.com has icons you earn for various feats and this book earned me the marathon badge because I could not stop listening.  I had to know how this book ended!

If you choose to read it, make sure you block off quality time.  Don't start reading at 8pm on Sunday when you have to work the next day! You have been warned!

Our Little Lies by Sue Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first third of the book is such a slow-building rise of tension that it is almost maddening. You think you can rely on the narrator, but she doesn't even know herself. Layer upon layer you wonder, will she wise up? Will she believe herself? As the roller coaster starts down its steep incline, you can't stop reading this book. You really need to have time to stop everything else in your life and finish it.

Is there a twist? More than one--and then one big one. I'll be surprised if you figure it out before it happens.

The only issue I had with this book is I thought the villain got some undeserved redemption at the end.

If you are looking for a thriller you can't put down, get this book ASAP.


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You Know What is Super Annoying?

Not being able to talk! That's the new phase of my almost-over cold. I have laryngitis.  If I speak, I sound terrible. I don't feel terrible, but obviously my vocal cords disagree!


I sound more like Bowie when I attempt to speak. It's been rough answering the phone at work, but I'm healthy and I can do all the other aspects of my job so there is no reason to take off work, especially since I have to take off for surgery next week.

Do you realize how difficult it is for me not to be able to yell at The Man?  He can't hear me talking half the time when I am able to speak! How is he to know when we need to leave for work if I am not yelling, "five minutes! we have to leave in five minutes to catch the train!"

And the kids, I can't do my usual questioning of how school is going and make my jokes. Parenting teenagers means bugging them and making them laugh. I can't do either right now.

Poor P keeps asking me if I am ok.  What a good kid. Then I have to croak out, "I'm fine, I just can't talk." Then he says, "What?" as he takes out an earbud. Then I give him a look and shake my head. Then he says "Are you OK? You look upset?"  Then I have to re-croak, "I'm fine. I just can't talk."

I can't even communicate properly with the dog.  Over the last year, I have mastered a special no that I use to get Bowie off the bed when he jumps on it. My no has been very effective up until now.  However, the last few days my no sounds like a Peter Brady voice-changing impersonation, and Bowie isn't falling for it.

Sigh.  The only silver lining I can find is that the laryngitis is great distraction keeping me from getting worried about surgery next week. It's always nice to have a more mundane temporary annoyance to focus one's energy upon.

Yesterday Nothing Bundt Cakes was in our lobby peddling their delicious bundt cakes.  I purchased a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake. I ate the whole thing and it was scrumptious.  I regret nothing!  

Then for dinner, I made steak which is a real rarity in our house; we have red meat about once a quarter. Since I couldn't have a conversation with anyone while cooking, I tried my hand at plating food instead. 

You can't see it here, but that steak has a nice crust and is deliciously rare inside. 

Happy Valentine's Day !!💕💕

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Colds and Flu Woe Woe Woe

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OMG I'm so tired of having a cold.  I suppose I should be grateful I have not gotten whatever Dear Daughter and Oldest Child had since they spent a fun 24 hours vomiting. I hate puking. Hate it!

For the record, guess how many times I threw up during chemo? Zero. Anti-nausea drugs are amazing.  This morning Middle Son texted me from upstairs to let me know his stomach hurt and he thought he was going to throw up. I googled symptoms of appendicitis and I think he is in clear. Which is great, last place he or I want to be on a Sunday afternoon is an ER. Ugh.

Blech, cold medicine. These look innocent but they are hard to swallow. The package said they are smaller than they used to be and I shudder to think how bad they were before.

 Also, my cold laughed at these pills. 

Valentine's Day is coming up on Friday and I set a little goal for myself. This week I'm going to make sure to wear something shades of red every day of the week. Friday I think I might get a dozen Krispy Kremes for the kids or maybe I'll go to Nothing Bundt Cake for me! 

Keep your fingers crossed that this cold decides to leave me ASAP and I'll keep my fingers crossed that it doesn't head over to your house!

Xoxo -Victoria

Guess Who's Done With Radiation?

Yes, you are correct! Today was my last radiation treatment. I hope to not ever need to repeat the experience. If you were to see me, you might be disappointed that I don't seem thrilled.  I am, it's just that I am still dealing with a stupid cough from a dumb cold.

Rest assured, should you or a loved one ever need radiation, the most trying part of the experience will likely be just the day in day out drag of it all. Fun radiation fact, nurse Hope told me today that radiation continues to work in your body for two weeks after you finish treatment.

I would like to take a moment to brag. Today, the technicians told me- and it was not for the first time, that I have amazing skin and in fact,  technician Theresa said my skin hand held up wonderfully and she has only seen a handful of patients that looked as good as me by the end of the treatment.

I said to The Man: "Apparently my body is made to really ace cancer treatments." He looked at me like I'm a few cards short of a deck.

Would be very nice if my body could also like not allow cancer cells to hang out and build themselves into a mass again. I've already committed to doing my part through eating healthy, regular exercise, and not taking up vaping; I just need my biology to also commit to staying cancer free!

Treated myself to a celebratory Mug Cake courtesy of  Becky McNeill in one of my Snoopy mugs. 

Now 12 days and I'm back at the hospital for a preventative Bilateral Salpingectomy  What a February, eh?

Happy First Friday of February 2020!

When NyQuil Doesn't Work.

Much to my dismay, February has begun with me having a cold. I blame The Man, he had it first. Then again, his illness started off with a fever and body aches. I have the traditional runny nose, scratchy throat, and coughing. BMO was sick last week and was better quickly so I should stop blaming The Man and put the blame squarely on the kids.  Dear daughter is also home sick today, yes it is definitely the kids' fault!  

Typically when I have a cold I take NyQuil and enjoy a decent night's sleep. This time around NyQuil is not working and neither is DayQuil. It's just coughing, coughing, coughing. Can't work when all I do is cough and sound like death warmed over.  Not what you want to hear when calling a professional office!  

Radiation Fact of the Day: If you should happen to have a cold during radiation treatment, your treatment carries on. Which is my preference anyway. This is my last week of treatment, you bet I'm going to drag my hiney there! 

Today and tonight I'm switching from my old tried and true NyQuil to Tylenol Sinus Severe. Let's hope it works, if not tomorrow I'm going to try a shot of whiskey and a tablespoon of honey. 

At least my abs are getting a nice workout from all this coughing! And the weather isn't great, I suppose if I am to have a cold in 2020 might as well get it over with in February. Summer colds are the worst!  

Did He See His Shadow Or What?

According to my Aunt who resides in the keystone state AKA Pennsylvania, Punxasutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow.  Early Spring!  Or maybe not, here in Chicagoland the sun is shining for the first time in 183 days and so any local groundhogs definitely saw their shadows.

Oh well, at least January has finally ended. Don't get me wrong it wasn't terrible.  It wasn't great either. Do you have monthly goals? Did you make New Year's Resolutions?  How are you hanging in there?

Here is how my January went:

1. First and foremost, 80% done with radiation!  Wahoo! My skin looks red like a sunburn but it isn't peeling so great news.
2. I ran every day of January.  I hit my goal of running a long run of 6.5.  I raised money toward my goal for Imerman's Angels! 
3. My goal to blog 2-5 times per week was achieved.
4. I listened to 2 audiobooks and read 3 books so that meets my goal of 5 books for the month.
5. I tried two new things! 1. I attended a phone bank and made calls for Abdelnasser Rashid for Cook County Board of Review and 2. The Man and I went to CONEX the Conservation Expo.

Here is where I fell short: I wasn't able to make it to three events I really wanted to go. For one, I was too tired, two, The Man was sick as a dog with a nasty cold and three I didn't get the book of the month from the library until the date of the monthly library book club (#3 was poor planning on my part!).

Overall I give myself an A- for achieving my January Goals.

Another meal from the workshop,  two thumbs up from The Man! Chicken Enchiladas

Here is what I'll be up to in February -- reminder all -- we have an extra Saturday in February. Plan something fun for that day!

February Goals:
A long run of 7.5 miles
Dinner with Friends x 2
Blog 2-5 times per week
Create my first DIY Pinterest Project: A coffee bar!
Try 2 new things (still working on what that will be)
Lastly, have a very uneventful laparoscopic preventative surgery and celebrate being done with medical interventions for hopefully ever. (not including routine tests)

Welcome to February 2020!  Today is the same forward and backward 02022020!!

The End Is Near!

I enjoy that the phrase 'the end is near' can be positive or negative. For the purposes of today,
 it's a good thing.

The end of me driving through the gauntlet to go to radiation will be over a week from tomorrow. What is the gauntlet?  Its afternoon traffic on 95th Street where people don't use turn signals, think switching lanes in the middle of an intersection is cool, and too many people aren't paying attention when the light has changed and I am behind them.

Every day I see a few almost-accidents.  I thought I was done with my mini-rant, but before I leave the subject. Every single trip I have to stop for emergency vehicles, this isn't the rant yet, every day there are emergency vehicles going up and down 95th street--because there are two hospitals in a 2-mile stretch. And every day there are foolish drivers that turn in front of ambulances/police or fire trucks. I mean come on people! 

Okay, I'm done now, back to the good stuff. The end is near for January! It's been a long, long month. Yesterday I got my Valentine's Day leggings from Aldi and as you can see, I'm ready for February! Personally, I'm not a fan of February either, but I'm making an effort this year to appreciate the shortest month of the year. If you love February, please let me know your secret. Maybe it is copious amounts of chocolate?  I could give that a try... 

A couple of things about this picture. 1. #nofilter 2. #nomakeup and 3. my hair was still wet from a shower so you can't see the wavy curl of it. I supposed I could take another picture but #idontfeellikeit.

The end of our streak of cloudy days is near, hopefully, Sunday will be as advertised on my app: Sunny and 51 degrees. That is a Super Sunday! If it is that nice, I'm visualizing myself going on a nice long 7-mile run. #Goals! 

Only 8 more to Go! And 8 Soup Recipes!

You guys, by Friday at 5:00 PM. I'll be 80% done with radiation and I will have a literal handful of treatments left!

Today being only Wednesday, I have 8 left and completely coincidentally an e-mail from Williams-Sonoma popped into my inbox sharing 8 awesome soup recipes.  If I was a food blogger who made money from blogging about soup, I might try to make a recipe a day for the next 8 days.  However, I am not and also--who would eat that much soup.  Additionally, not having a giant freezer prevents me from making a soup a day and freezing it.  Finally, that's too much of a cooking commitment!

These are the super comfy and soft Aldi Christmas leggings. They are the best, they are like velour.

One of the soups does look amazing and I have everything except white wine and Gruyere cheese on hand to make that soup.  The name says it all, Onion Soup with Bacon, Winter Herbs and Guyere Cheese!  Again, coincidentally, the two needed ingredients are available for a low cost at Aldi, where I want to go today anyway and get those $7.99 Valentine's Day-themed fleece leggings.

Here are the super comfy and soft Aldi Christmas leggings. They are the best; they are like velour.

The stars are aligning for me to make this soup.  I'm sure it is rich in fat and calories, but also it's cold outside and life is too short not to try a decadent meal once in a while!

I feel at this point I have done a great job talking myself into making the soup.  While I don't have time today. I will have time  tomorrow.  I already have another freezer meal defrosting to whip up tonight. It's a stir fry like the picture below except for variety I'm adding rice instead of noodles tonight.

Keep your fingers crossed that Aldi has some leggings left by the time I get there tonight! Yes this is the highlight of my week, as you can tell. 

Happy Wednesday! - the last Wednesday of January 2020!  Do something nice for yourself!

How Are You Doing On Your 2020 Goals?

Did you make some goals or resolutions for this year?  It's a new decade! Exciting times and also loads of doom to focus on globally. Any who...

I am trying to keep my goals simple and specific.  One goal I have for this year is to do or try two new experiences each month.

To that end, The Man and I went to the Conservation Expo at our local high school earlier this month.  There I picked up lots of information from various groups with activities we can try this year. I'll be following up on some of the opportunities to check out wild spaces near us to visit or volunteer when the weather slides out of winter and spring begins.  :-)

For my second new experience this month, I'm really pushing myself out my comfort zone. I'm making calls for a candidate running for my congressional district.  I did postcards and now I'm going to actually speak on the phone. That's big. I don't like using my phone to speak to people, I highly prefer texting.

I should just start each phone call by saying, "Look I am actually calling you and I highly dislike making phone calls, so this shows you how much I believe in Marie Newman for District IL-03."

Our primary day is St. Patrick's Day and this is Chicagoland, so everyone needs all the reminders to go to the polls--esp. before commencing with the green beer drinking!

There you have it, my second new thing for 2020, phone calls for candidates! On the plus side, I can make the calls from home and it also helps me with my full year goal to be involved with  local government.

Anyone else out there have goals to try new things in 2020?