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My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer

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  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804

    Well, heating up a pizza, pepperoni pesto with tomato on top, I also squirted the great value brand of sour cream and lime and ranch dressing on top. Once it comes out, I will let it cool and rip apart the pizza. It has a thinner crust which I like better as well. Must say, ordering a delivery for later in the day works very well. 6.00 less expensive. Will update if I enjoyed it.

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804

    I did enjoy the pepperoni, pesto and tomato thin crust pizza. Only thing I did wrong was put the sour cream and lime and bit of ranch on the pizza, made it a bit sloppy but ate quite a bit, it did taste good, put rest in a container and put in the fridge. Can add a bit of pizza to rice or other stuff. The sour cream and lime squeeze was a nice flavour as well, would buy it again. Was unable to get squeeze queso but glad I could not, would have been spicy as it contained jalepeno in there.

  • cookie54
    cookie54 Posts: 1,022

    @shanagirl Glad your doing ok and enjoyed the weather we had last week, gorgeous! Yes the wildfire is terrible especially being arson,very sad. I always enjoy being creative wrapping gifts in baskets. Hope you enjoy your time with DD. Thanks for checking in❤️

    @mara51506 What a sweet pose , adorable. Sorry you didn't get out for your walk today, rain here also. Although I did get to walk Buster between the raindrops thank goodness. Now he's sulking because my DH and DS went to a concert together tonight. He hates when we're all not here, he can't settle. Hope the sun returns tomorrow for ya. Love the easy Walmart orders, free shipping over $35 is so easy to do. I was just saying to DH the other day what did we do before Amazon, we're so spoiled.

    @rlschaller Glad you got lots of cooking done for your week ahead. I love when the fridge is full lol. Hope you accomplished all you wanted to today. I love to bake but I actually never made scones. I'll have to look up a couple recipes on Pinterest. I did bake a chocolate chip cinnamon loaf and the house smelled wonderful. My DH and DS will devour that I try to make healthier treats for myself. So tonight I will have cottage cheese ice-cream that I made earlier. I kept seeing it on social media and figured I'd give it a try.

    @threetree I have a dishwasher but also hand wash many things too. I think because my job was always drying when I was little and I always wanted to wash lol.

    @intolight You just popped in my head, hope you are well. Thinking of many of the ladies here always!❣️

  • threetree
    threetree Posts: 2,135

    My mother was raised in a foster family from the time she was 18 mos old until she was in her mid 20's and married my dad. She knew snippets about her biological family, and had a very vague memory (single impression) of her biological mother, but that was all. She was a mental wreck while I was growing up and I didn't know about her not being the foster family's biological child until I was a late teen or something. I'd always understood that the foster family was our biological family. I came to realize that a lot of my mother's mental health issues stemmed from not knowing her biological family, so I started to look for them in the mid to late 1980's, when I was in my 30's, and before Ancestry. It was a long slow process and I made some headway, but when Ancestry debuted in the 1990's I went in leaps and bounds. Actually I think the first site that launched and was helpful to me was FamilySearch, which isn't nearly as prominent anymore, and it was up and running before Ancestry. Then I moved on to Ancestry. Well, I located some cousins of my mother and in the early 2000's my mother and I travelled a little together and met some of them. Some of them knew more pieces of her story, so we were able to not only put much more of her story together, but to also visit her family's old farm where her biological mother grew up, etc. Also saw a family graveyard on the farm, etc. and met some very elderly neighbors (in their 90's) who also knew a little more.

    My mother had 3 foster sisters (they were biological of the foster parents) and a foster brother (independent other foster child) growing up, but they all never wanted to talk about the situation and felt that they were all just family, period, and that there was no need to think about or look for these other people. By the time I started looking 2 of my "foster aunts" that I always thought of as just my aunts were gone, but one was still alive and she had always thought that her parents had formally adopted my mother, but they hadn't. Very reluctantly, she eventually agreed to tell me what she knew, but it wasn't much. I think my mother had always imagined a "better" family was there with her biological family, but as she learned more, I think she just realized it was just a "different" family and that all these imaginary dreams she had had of how much better her life would have been with her biological family got tamped down when she learned more facts. She always continued though, to feel that she was just "different" and not really in tune with her foster family members, and I do think that was because they simply were biologically different. I get it. It's a real mixed bag between the biological and non-biological stuff. I always thought of my "foster aunts" as my aunts, and I know they always thought of and treated me as their niece, no questions asked. It was nice to meet the biological family members (cousins) to get the story and have some contact, but only a couple of them seemed like serious and good connections, and we did stay in touch, but then of course they all died.

    Re Sondra - I too really wonder about her, as like you've all said, she used to post so regularly. Wasn't her mother going to stay with her for some time though? Could it be that just with her mother visiting, she's busy with other things? I'd sure like to think that is the case. On the other hand, she wad dealing just so much, and it was all so very serious. I don't know if anyone else on the forum was in regular contact with her, who might be able to offer an update. It really is an unsettling situation and I wish we knew more. I have my fingers crosse, however, that she's doing OK.

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804

    I think about Sondra as well, in pockets for her but she had a lot she was dealing I do believe.

    Cookie, thank you, I do love that pose of Tigger as well. I think his eyes are big as well.

    Not sure what to have for breakfast, I bought things liked canned potato slices which would go into an egg and be microwaved then chopped with cheese. Other option is more an english breakfast type option with the chili adding some beans, an egg and english muffin. No blood pudding though and small portions of each. Option two could be the eggs, potato slices and butter, microwave about 4 mins then let cool for chopping. There is a third option involving leftover pizza. Thinking scoop some of it out and put in bottom of dish and pour a couple whisked eggs over, add spinach, heat for 4 mins, chop in with cheese and top with tortilla chips and queso and possibly the sour cream and lime squeezable version. I will see.

    Got laundry going, I am working hard to remove a queso stain, spilled some yesterday and wiped with white cloth, sprayed down with the tide spray and oxyclean spray. Rubbed together, left 15 mins and it is in the wash, leaving it to soak in the wash as well.

    After breakfast, plan to put some unscreen on, wear the cooling headband under wig and neck fan. It is sunny out so will wear the hat with the wide brim as well. Not sure where I wish to go or if just want a walk around the block. There is a route that used to take 30 mins round trip, unsure about the cane. Was going to walk to Harveys but spent enough this month. Plenty of time for all that later.

    I do hope everyone has a good day, in pockets for all who need me.

  • intolight
    intolight Posts: 2,579

    I do feel fortunate that I have a good relationship now with my three younger siblings from a different mother. They were very welcoming when we first met. I have even went on a "sisters" weekend three years ago with my two sisters and sister-in-law who are all good friends. I am in a group text with them and we text daily. My Sister who is coming for a visit and I text or email almost everyday in addition as we seemed to immediately click. We have only known each other for six years now but I feel like we belong. I have learned a lot of my medical history which I never knew before which has helped on this cancer journey. I actually thought I would connect with the maternal side since mine was a private adoption through my bio mother, but that hasn't happened. I know she was a mess. I have learned some things in my adult years because she was friends with my adopted aunt. It is complicated. I am content now and since I am limited in my travel, etc., I am not digging any deeper.

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804
    edited April 27

    Intolight, glad you are connecting with your family and I can agree that sometimes it is possible to dig to deeply. As long as you are content, that is the important thing.

    First meal turns out to be 2 eggs, bunch of frozen spinach and the riced veggies, threw in a sausage vegan patty. Once they have cooled off, throwing all in the chopper with some shredded cheese, I will decide about adding crumbled tortilla chips and adding queso and the sour cream with lime. I forgot about the pizza so my thought is to bake the rest up with cheese adorning the top tonight. Cannot add to first meal or it will be filling but another meal is percolating in my mind.

    The spinach, eggs, riced veggies, sausage patty and cheese mix is filling. Used the steps above, heating first batch of 2eggs, spinach and riced veggies, let cool. Chopped in the egg mixture and cheese, heated again for 2 min 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Added some crumbled tostitos and queso and sour cream and lime for binding. It was very good and very filling. Any left overs will be put in the fridge and combined with pizza leftovers.

  • cookie54
    cookie54 Posts: 1,022

    @intolight Sorry you had some rough days. I hope you got that out of the way last week so you can enjoy your time with your half-sister. It's so nice you have connected with your family and have a great relationship. Enjoy!

    mara I hope you got out today and enjoyed the sunshine. Was a nice sunny day here but very gusty winds nevertheless I did get out and did some weeding. BTW that pizza sounded delicious.

    So as far as sondraf goes the last seen was 2/22/25 and yes her mom was coming after her release from the hospital. I have been concerned since and have tagged her on here a couple times since then. My heart is heavy when I don't see someone who was pretty active on here. But I also know sometimes you just don't feel well enough mentally or physically to post.

    Hope everyone had a good day and a restful night to all💕

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804
    edited April 28

    Cookie, missed yesterday but today is sunny as well, need to try out the cooling stuff, not sure what time I will walk yet. Just do the 30 mins around the block would satisfy me either earlier today or just after dinner round six. Better today, we are supposed to have nasty thunderstorms tomorrow and then Wednesday is sunny but cooler out which I do not mind. Still got Paratransit coming for me on Wednesday though thinking of walking to the hospital again, I will see. Small steps. Could even see walking before the appointment and have a booked ride home, I will see.

    Doing some laundry, forgot about some in the spinner, they did not smell good so full cycle, will pay more attention too them. Also have some floating lint filters needing some attention, they are breaking from the force of agitation but that is easy enough to get done. Uses both zipties and a bit of sewing to shore up the holes. Later today, planning to download a windows operating system to put on one of t he formerly useless laptops and see if it will work this time. If not, no problem, find other operating systems. Cannot stop fixing things whether holes in blanket, clothes, washers not draining or computers.

    Food should be interesting, I have leftover pizza, it was a pesto thin crust and yummy and also have leftover egg and riced veggie with cheese mix. Thinking of taking both, heat them in my oven, microwave might make them tough in texture OR take a frypan, melt butter. I am finding it is better for me to rub butter all over pan first because once heated, it splatters a lot, could just heat both and mix together with some shredded cheese. I will see, pizza needs to be finished anyway. Option two still involves the leftovers but use separately with the pizza. Option 3 involves proper rice mixed in with both left overs, I will see. Too many ideas going on baking the mix too is an option. I will post what I finally decided to have.

    Edited, decided to finish the pizza, it was soggy so heated at 375 in the breville oven. Just kept checking on it and it looked just fine. Will finish the riced veggies mix later today I think. Also spent about 10 dollars for Bush's best Bush black bean fiesta since they actually look good to me, those will arrive tomorrow.

    I hope everyone has a good day, in pockets for those who need me. In my own to get out as well but I do give myself some slack simply because there are other things that need to happen like boosting my budget through the use of games, tv programs that pay me for ads and mobile phone games as well. I like to pay less for stuff on Amazon. One thing that would boost me more are surveys but I find them frustrating when I complete one and then they don't credit me.

  • kbl
    kbl Posts: 3,109

    @mara51506 Thank you.

    @tanya_djamila I’ll be on the meeting today. I don’t go to Wednesdays any longer. It’s too late in the day.

  • threetree
    threetree Posts: 2,135

    Hi Shana - Wow, what a change in plans. After reading your explanation of things, I too can see why your oncologist is doing what he's doing. While you have to do what is comfortable for you, this sounds like a better deal to me - more related knowledge and safety for your situation. I'm glad you posted and let us all know. You can be sure I am in your pocket for tomorrow and will be thinking of you! Hug.🌺

  • cookie54
    cookie54 Posts: 1,022

    @shanagirl Oh I'm sorry to hear this has become such an ordeal for you. But you can never be to cautious and your MO is great for stepping in and giving you direction. In your pocket for tomorrow and will say a prayer that you get the best advice and care on your side.❌⭕️

  • threetree
    threetree Posts: 2,135

    Tanya - Thank you, too! You are so right about "life being filled with so many intricacies". Never ending.

  • chicagoan
    chicagoan Posts: 1,196

    @shanagirl That must have been shocking to have your oncologist swear in front of you but it sounds like he is really concerned for you and looking out for you. Prayers as you navigate this.

    @tanya_djamila What a story about your mother! Sounds like she is a wonderful woman.

  • cookie54
    cookie54 Posts: 1,022

    @tanya_djamila Amazing and so interesting that you were able to go back to the 1700's, ancestry is a great tool. So much of our family history defines many aspects of our lives. Glad you were able to dig deep and find out how resilient and strong your mom is.

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804

    Shana, I am in your pocket for tomorrow as well and I also believe you are getting a better deal for yourself.

    Tanya, fascinating history of your family. Most of my ancestors were from England on the maternal side and Scotland on my paternal side. Supposedly my ancestors served King Henry the 8th as maids and such. Only thing I know about my paternal side is my great grandmother's name was Jemima. I thought that was pretty cool and they grew up in Peebles and read the Peebles shire news as well. Tell me Peebles is a common last name there without telling me.

    Not doing a lot today, supposed to get some stormy, humid weather. I also have 4 cans of bush's black bean fiesta that contains corn and such in a mild chipotle which will probably be good with other stuff, still have the chili and stuff too. I have eaten a large portion of my green veggies. Still take one immodium and enzyme as I do know it would cause big D without but as it is I am able to eat that kind of thing. The large salad was really good. Still have some greenery that I got a few weeks ago but it has not gone bad, smells as fresh as the day I got it.

    Have a laundry on right now, not able to fix the lint filters but that is OK, not meant to last forever I guess. They were too far gone. Got quite a few other ones. I also started a mini wash and soak in one of my wee washers. Only fill it up halfway, hoping to remove the spot from wiping out window sills but already started larger load. Need to sweep and mop floor and get dishes ready. Planning egg type meals, might make some eggs in my mini griddles. If I use both, can do two eggs or one egg and fry up other stuff, not sure yet. I have not been up long. I do have a mini grill as well but not convinced that would be good for much of anything. I will see. I want to have some rice as well as beans. I also bought some canned tomato and mushrooms. I will post once I decide what to have, I still have many options I can do with these.

    I do hope everyone has a good day, in pockets for those who need me as well. For now, running the TV ads that pay money.

  • threetree
    threetree Posts: 2,135

    Mara - I've always been a bit taken with the name "Jemima". It's pretty much not used at all here in the US any more, but I do see where some in England are still given the name. I have some old ancestors (1600's) back in Maryland on my mother's side (also English and Scottish like yours), and when I read the history of that area, there were many Jemimas back then. It's interesting how names trend and come and go as "fashionable" over time. Many disappear and then come back again years and even centuries later.

  • rlschaller
    rlschaller Posts: 537

    @shanagirl - hope everything goes well today . Sending light and love. ❤️ no need to post, we’re radiating support. Most importantly I hope the pain can be alleviated. You are quite a trooper. 💃

    Love the family stories being shared, And I agree families can be so complex. I also learned a lot about resilience from my mom the last 10 years of her life, she changed evolved in ways that were very spiritual as she prepared for her passing. She made a list of questions she was glinting to ask “god”. With other family members, she used to talk about “our group” , the family members who she thought understood her way of thinking, and she ignored the rest.lol .. So interesting as I think about it. My sister on the other hand gathers in everyone, goes to every wedding and party. Keeps me updated as I catch up on Facebook mostly.

    Enjoy the day everyone, as best as you can. It’s gorgeous here in Hoboken, sunny and lovely breeze as I’m taking a break from work. Resting my mind so to speak from all my meetings, that start up again in an hour. I made a green smoothie and am just listening to the birds, airplanes and decided to post a bit.

    Mara - enjoy the food, laundry and paid ads. Careful about the older greens though , might still have bacteria you might want to avoid.

    Threetree - I agree, naming conventions are so interesting. What comes into popular use and when. Wow to trace family back that far…

  • mara51506
    mara51506 Posts: 6,804
    edited April 30

    Threetree, names in my family on both sides tend to favour David a lot, my dad was John Patrick and my brother is Christopher John. I was given the middle name of Elizabeth for my grandmother but turned out her first name was Lily and her middle name was also Elizabeth. Oh well Catherine for my own first name.

    Got the chipotle beans and have some canned chili. Not sure if mixing them up is a good idea or keeping them separate. I will have to see. As a kid you could not get me near a bean, I would just eat the meat leaving the beans.

    Opened chili and the chipotle beans and put them in the fridge separately.

    I decided to rub butter in the bottom of the pan before heating, dumped both the chili and the chipotle in, about 1/4 cup each, heated on high for a couple of minutes then turned off and put a lid on.

    Edit, did the 1/4 cup chili and 1/4 cup beans flavoured with mild chipotle. I did do in a pan on the stove, started with butter rubbed on the bottom, turned heat up to high, dumped the beans and chili in, stirred and then turned off the burner and covered with a lid, took out and spooned into a bowl. Felt it needed something, not liquid so added movie theatre flavour popcorn and sour cream and onion seasoning with salt. Mixed it all together and it was surprisingly good. I did not even chop up the mixture, just ate it all from the bowl. Quite yummy. Tomorrow, will likely have that after my Herceptin, sticking with white food pre appointment.

  • threetree
    threetree Posts: 2,135

    rlschaller - Hey, enjoy that sun, breeze, and birds. That's got to be the best combination in life!

    (Re tracing family back, it is real interesting. My father has an old Massachusetts colony side and my mother has an old colonial Maryland one. Then they both have an Irish immigrant side that goes to about the 1850's. I like it, because I have the "old and the new" more or less. It makes it more "all American" to me in certain way; a little bit of everything.)

    Very interesting about your mother's views evolving as she approached the inevitable. I probably would have loved talking to her. There is so much to spirituality and religion that is just fascinating, and there are just so many ways to view it and try to understand it. A never ending conundrum for many of us. Sometimes I'm amazed and even a bit jealous of those who just have a solid and unwavering belief of "how it is" and it just works for them, no questions asked. I can't stop asking questions of myself and "the universe".

    Hope you enjoy your day too, and I join you in wishing Shana all the best today!

  • betrayal
    betrayal Posts: 4,644

    Mara found this online in a post called Nextdoor. Thought it might be of interest to you:

    Hi Neighbors, this is JP from JayPee's plumbing. Lately I have been showing up to customers homes that have issues with clogs in bathroom or kitchen sinks. I've been unable to clear the clogs due to them using vinegar and baking soda . What's happening is the baking soda just sits behind the clog in a clump and my snake just moves it around but cannot clear it, and each one of these customers sadly had to get referred to a jetter company like zoom to then have the line blown out which costs upwards 600+. This is not one instance . I'm up to the 5th! Please do not use baking soda and vinegar. It may work in a rare circumstance , very rare , but what I've seen is only so much more issues. Thanks ! Jp

  • threetree
    threetree Posts: 2,135

    Mara - Re the names you discussed. I've seen where sometimes Lily is used as a nickname for Elizabeth. Interesting that your grandmother was both. Names really are an interesting study in their own right.

    Shana - How did things go yesterday?

  • chicagoan
    chicagoan Posts: 1,196

    @candy-678 How are you doing? Did you get your new glasses yet?

  • irishlove
    irishlove Posts: 642

    Hi all. I've been MIA for awhile, and I apologize. You are right that sometimes it's just difficult to open up and chat when you are just too wiped out. I never want my thoughts to go from some uplifting information and turn into one negative after another. So it's better for me to just shut down for a bit. I don't think it's depression, just weary and so very tired.

    Hoping everyone is well and thinking of Sondraf also. Shanagirl, I hope your surgery went well and you heal quickly. I kinda like your MO. He is certainly taking your best interests to heart. Mara, your receipes for pizza send tasty and brilliant. Wish you could patent your product and sell it wholesale. I'd certainly order most of your foods. For the gals talking about geneaology, it can be fun and also time consuming. I rather found it addictive to research. Calling elderly survivors fills in spaces but you know I also found they enjoy hearing from you as most are a bit lonely. And they love telling stories of growing up, well for the most part.

    I too am waiting on referral from MO for a neurospine surgeon for a workup on that L4 compression fractured disc. I like the idea of the cement placement, not major surgery and good successful outcomes. I'm just not enjoying quality of life with this back. MS doesn't help, either. The cortisone shot was a total waste of my time. Physical rehab therapy helped me to learn some tricks to ease the pressure on the back, but it was not a cure.

    I'm in pockets for all the sweet folks on the forum of breast cancer. Prayers sent too all that accept them.

    Laurel

  • candy-678
    candy-678 Posts: 4,214

    Thank you, Chicagoan, for thinking of me. With so much going on with folks and their cancer journeys I hate to say much about my cataract/glasses saga. I am still waiting for the glasses to come in- 8 business days/ 10 calendar days and counting. I am impatient and getting frustrated, but what can you do?! I can see distance without glasses, but a smidge blurry. But the "close up", several feet circumference around me, is really blurry. I have cheaters I got at the dollar store, but they are not the right prescription and make me feel wonky when I use them. I am getting tired of living in a blurry world.

    Thinking of you all and reading along. Hugs.

  • chicagoan
    chicagoan Posts: 1,196

    @candy-678 That is a very long time to wait for glasses! It must be very frustrating. Are you able to drive or do you need to rely on people for help to get your groceries, appts, etc. Wishing you patience-hope that the next week passes quickly and you will be very happy with your new glasses.

    On my own situation, I have finally gotten over this terrible cold. I lost my voice for over a week! Being a cancer patient, of course, I sometimes think the worst but thankfully it was not permanent. I'm excited b/c I am starting a new class tomorrow. I am going to teach an 8 week session on the book of Genesis at a senior living facility. I occasionally preach there but this will not be a religious class. It is open to anyone who lives there of any or no faith. I'm also looking into cryoablation for my primary tumor. I discussed it with my MO yesterday. They do not do it at my cancer center but some of the other major centers are now doing it for early stage and Stage 4 patients. I'm going to see if I can get a consult at Mayo clinic. Best wishes to everyone.

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