fun · letters

Friday’s Letters – Silver Lining Edition – February 21

Angela Pea7 Comments

Friday's Letters

Dear Chemotherapy – You are not the funnest thing I’ve ever done; however, you’re not the worst thing either.  In fact, there are some very tangible, appreciable GOOD things about you! Since you’re so maligned and Jane Public generally thinks you’re terrifying, I thought I would post some of your benefits here today.

  • You’re very good at what you do.  Kill All the Cells!
  • Everyone I meet comments about how great I look – glowing skin, etc.  Yep.  It’s true. My skin is super smooth, fresh and soft.  Even the calluses on the feet are gone. I’m getting a full body chemical peel from the inside out.
  • You’ve killed my sweet tooth, especially for ice cream.  Sweet foods taste terrible to me right now.  I’m not even tempted by an open bag of Dove chocolates.
  • Perfect Hair. Every. Single. Day.
  • You’ve given me loads of extra time every morning for snoozing and eating a leisurely breakfast – No hair to blow dry! No shaving!
  • I’ve met some incredibly nice, compassionate and amazing folks at the local Chemo Bar.

  There’s Good In Everything.  Keep the Faith.

angela pea

minutes

Minutes – February 17, 2014

Angela Pea7 Comments

Moments of Grace Logo

::faithful – prayers of thanksgiving – we’ve made it through rounds three and four of chemo and I’m still smiling!  Everyone is fed and has clean clothes!  I’m learning to ignore the dust bunnies! Praying for Mr. Pea. He has a nasty respiratory virus going on and is coughing coughing coughing.  He needs some rest.  Praying for The Architect who is working through crunchtime with the school’s robotics team.  Praying for Cherry Ames and Princess Pea.  Praying for DirtBike, too, as we resolve issues in academia.

::creative – I’m working on creative napping.  Where can I flop myself down for a nap? Aside from the car while Mr. Pea is driving, how about the sofa in the living room? The sofa in the family room?  A lounge chair on the back deck in the sun?  One of the empty beds in the girls’ room?  How long can I stretch said nap by pretending to be sound asleep while the rest of the family swishes by with dramatic whispering of “Be QUIET!!  Mom is sleeping!”  What cap should I wear on my cold head?  Can I get away with laying down on a yoga mat in my office during  lunch hour and catching forty winks?  ABSOLUTELY!

::pondering –  Being tired.  I’m so used to being perky.  It’s weird to not be perky. Coffee doesn’t make a dent.  The only thing to do?  MORE NAPPING!!  Mwahahahaha!

Chemo Warrior::Kill All the Cells!! – I’ve had to put myself in time out again and declare every room in the house other than my bedroom a “No Whining Zone”.  That means no whining from me. I was just a Crabby Patty this weekend and I was making everyone else miserable.  Why?  because steroids stink.  I’ve never liked taking them (i.e. for severe allergic reactions, poison ivy, etc.) because they make me so darned irritable. Irritable as in growling and snapping at innocent bystanders; as in being totally unreasonable about ridiculous things like sweeping the kitchen floor; or flipping out because someone used a white bath towel to clean up a hot chocolate spill. And mustard.

This round of steroids is now over and I don’t have to take any for two weeks.  I’ve apologized, we’ve had family hugs, and it’s a beautiful new week with a fresh start.  Yes! The abundance of Grace showering down on us is humbling.

::delicious

  • Frozen pizza, tossed salad
  • Chili and cornbread from the neighbor
  • Chicken soup, rolls
  • Jimmy Johns’ Sandwiches
  • Leftovers
  • Something Else
  • Oh mercy, I’ll figure it out later!

::fun – The kids saw The Lego Movie and have declared it to be fun.  Mr. Pea and I may try to see it this weekend.  The weather is finally returning to our typical Texas Winter status (warmer), so the boys have been out riding bikes and driving the RC car all over the neighborhood.  I did pull Princess Grace and Lady Penelope from the bike shed, but I haven’t actually set my behind on  a saddle.  Napping was more appealing this weekend. They’re available, though, should I decide to pedal around the block.

::fashionable –  boucle skirt, bright turquoise cardigan, flippy strawberry blonde wig. Big pearl earrings and matching bracelet.  I’m almost totally bald now…toss me some overalls and funky goggles, and I look like a Minion!  The irony of it all?  The most determined strands of hair are the shiny silver and white ones.  *sigh*

Minion!

::looking ahead –  Maybe a banquet on Thursday evening with friends (depends on how well I feel) school for the boys, work, napping and more napping.  Did I mention napping?

Take Another Nap. Keep the Faith.

angela pea

Uncategorized

Minutes – January 29, 2014

Angela Pea9 Comments

Moments of Grace Logo

::faithful – prayers of thanksgiving and joy – it was another a beautiful weekend! I sat outside in a lawn chair and watched Mr. Pea and DirtBike wax the cars.

Chemo Warrior

::Kill All the Cells!! – Second chemo infusion was not as easy as the first.  It was the double dose day. I get one full dose of Gemzar in the first week of a cycle, then a second full dose of Gemzar AND a full dose of Taxotere AND a Neulasta shot in the second week of the cycle. The Gemzar scrambles the DNA inside the cells; the Neulasta forces my bone marrow to make white blood cells; and the Taxotere?  She’s a Mean Girl!  The first clue was the immediate allergic reaction to the drip.  I’m sitting there clicking away on my laptop sending messages for work and all of a sudden the world sped up.  I was HOT, my heart was pounding and I couldn’t talk.  Cherry Ames was with me and called the nurse.  They laid me out flat and immediately injected Benadryl and steroids straight into my port line.  WHOOSH!  It was like being the Star Trek Enterprise flying along at warp speed and then suddenly coming to a stop.  I became quite Zen, all relaxed and chatty.  I was feeling okay on the steroids for the next 30-ish hours and then came the crash.  Ugh. Saturday evening and Sunday were rough.  Taxotere does a good job at killing cells, but she’s not very discriminate.  She takes out a lot of healthy cells as well, like the inside of your mouth, taste buds, and all the good bugs in your gut that keep the plumbing working correctly.  All in all, it feels like extreme morning sickness, complete with nausea, aches and general lethargy, but without the anticipation of a sweet baby on the other end!  By Tuesday morning I felt human again.

The good news is that this is an OFF WEEK!!  No chemo, just lab draws and rest.

::creative – Making progress on the beanie.

::pondering –  Life in general. The fun stuff that we’re going to do this spring and summer.

::delicious – Wonderful neighbors stocked our freezer for this week – Yeah!!!

  • Brisket, Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans
  • Chicken Soup
  • Vegetable Soup
  • Manicotti, Salad
  • Chicken and Tater Tot Casserole
  • Eat All The Leftovers!
  • Black Bean Tamales, Salad

Oh, and I didn’t get to all the planned baking last week. I did make an applesauce cake in the midst of my medically induced frenzy on Saturday morning, and we’ve been snacking on it.  Yum!

::fun – Ordination of our New Bishop!!  I will not be attending, as that day coincides with my lowest white blood cell counts and I can’t risk being in a crowded public arena.  Mr. Pea can’t get off work this afternoon, either.  However, the Architect and Cherry Ames will be there!  Cherry Ames just started a clinical rotation as the school nurse at The Architect’s high school; she’ll be manning one of the first aid stations during the ordination.

The head of our survey department at work is also undergoing cancer treatment.  I told him that between him being radioactive and me being poisonous, we should be superheroes and wear capes to work.  I am seriously, SERIOUSLY considering whipping up some satin capes with bling for us to wear to staff meetings – Radioactive Man and Poison Girl!!

::fashionable –  Dark Purple cashmere sweater, tweed dress pants, sassy boots. And a new haircut!  Check it out!

New Haircut!

I decided to be brave and buzz my head before it starts falling out – a decision made after talking to friends who have already walked this path and assured me that shedding hair all over the house is not only traumatic, it’s messy as all get-out and clogs up both the shower drain and the vacuum hose. Honestly?  I LIKE my hair short!  I’ve wanted a short sassy pixie style for decades, but have deferred to Mr. Pea’s preference for longer locks.  I am immensely relieved to discover that I have a very prettily shaped head – no lumps or bumps.  Most of this mini short hair will fall out before the end of this week, if all goes according to schedule – but it will be easier to clean up with just a sticky lint roller.

::looking ahead –  MathCounts on Saturday, storm drain system analysis, and finishing a report that has been nagging me since December.

Take a Nap. Keep the Faith.

angela pea