Weekend Recap

I've had a pretty busy and exciting weekend, I hardly know where to begin!

Unfortunately allergies or some annoying bug is in the air and I've been dealing with stuffy ears and throat for the past several days. Drinking a lot of fluids seems to help, though I keep forgetting to refrigerate my Gatorade, and that helps with the leg cramps that I get in the nighttime.

Friday I met with Beth from Lungevity, who came in from California to meet with me and a few other Cleveland area folks about putting on a fundraiser event in Cleveland in the late spring of 2015. We brainstormed and came up with some really good ideas. I'm excited to be a part of an event that will undoubtedly be fun, information and help raise funds for lung cancer research.

Saturday we went to the market and I got to test out my new sunscreen some more - it's called Sun Bum (SPF 30) and I wore it around noon, and again in the later afternoon sun (at the beach) and did not burn at all. I'd tried a few other things (Alba Mineral Sunscreen, SPF 30, Alba Hawaiian Sunscreen, SPF 45 and Coppertone Sport, SPF 50) and would burn without fail. So, looks like Sun Bum is the way to go for me!

We bought a sun shelter like this one (in fact it is this one) and brought it with us to the beach and it was fantastic. There was a lot of sand so it took some work to stake the umbrella, but it is amazing so far!

I realize that a lot of this post sounds like I'm a shill for sun care products, but I'm not!

I have scans today, which I think are part of the protocol for the clinical trial I'm in (MRI & CT). They'll also be accessing my port for a blood draw which is super weird (it doesn't hurt me, but the *snap* sound as the needle/thing hooks in is sort of weird and makes me feel a bit inhuman...). I'm pretty tired, but I think that has to do with the humidity and heat. We should have a reprieve from both starting tomorrow, for a day or so anyway.

I'm on the lookout for grocery panniers or other bags that will attach to my bicycle. I don't mind riding of course, but having a bag on my back (especially where the cross-strap hits right on my port) is annoying, especially on uphill treks. I've gotten a few suggestions and am mulling them over now. If anyone has any more ideas, I'm open to suggestion! When we move, we'll be easy biking distance to the grocery store. I don't want to have to drive to the grocery (at all, if we can help it) so they'll be useful then too!

As I briefly touched on in my last post, my hair has fallen out some. It's weird, if nothing else!! A good friend of mine was kind enough to give me a trim so it looks and feels a bit less obvious that I have bald patches. It feels nice! I'm completely okay with losing my hair - I may get some scarves or even a wig at some point (we'll see what happens with future treatments) but it's okay. It's only hair. It will grow back. 

I'm looking at a website that lists all of the cool stuff that goes on in our new neighborhood. There's so much fun stuff nearby, I'm excited! 

Musings of a 5:00AM Baker

I'm not even going to try and pretend like the past few days have been 100% sunshine, because they haven't. I haven't been sleeping, which translates to early morning baking/cooking and binge watching Say Yes to the Dress on Netflix. This morning's episode involves a young girl who is buying her dream wedding dress - she's in remission from Stage IV lung cancer. I am totally crying.

Extreme insomnia started a few days ago when I woke up at 5:30 and proceeded to make a strawberry pie before I went to work. Saturday I was up at 4:00 in the morning. Today, I woke up at 3:00, but was able to nap on the couch (listening to Spotify on earbuds) for a little while. I woke up again at 5.

More Say Yes to the Dress.
More baking - a beer bread using a local (Westlake, Ohio) beer.
More frustration. 

I have some jam with your name on it, bread.

I have sleeping pills - Trazodone - which is actually an anti-depressant... I guess it's working because while I'm not sleeping very much, I'm not terribly sad about it. I think it's time to ask the doctor for something else. I have Ambien, but I don't like it, and I've said why before. I've actually got some Benadryl and a lot of sleep aids are actually antihistamines, so it's worth a shot. Some have also suggested melatonin.

My sister-in-law flew in yesterday and we had such a good time. We got brunch, and then went swimming in Lake Erie. I got a little sunburned (I have tried nearly EVERY sunscreen and there's really only been one that works so far) but I feel okay. I'm not on the chemotherapy at this time, but I still seem to be highly sensitive to the sun. To be fair, it's only been a week since I stopped so it's very likely it's still in my system. Either way, sunscreen is very important! A good friend of mine just bought this and it's cheaper than the other stuff, I've also read very good reviews for it, so I'm ordering it today.

Last night my mother and father-in-law and cousins went to dinner. The in-laws and my husband and I will be headed to brunch in a little while. I expect I will drink a lot of coffee. They're going home afterwards. I might try to sleep, then. I love my family so much - it means a great deal to me that they're here. I served them the strawberry pie I made, and it was a hit!!

My next radiation appointment is Tuesday!