The C Word

no, not that one, you sickos.

My mind is a jumble of stress, worry, and general pissed-off-ness... so I'm sure this is going to be one incoherent mess. My sister Holly seemed to do a great job describing things...read that.

The "C" Word is cancer. Cancer sucks. It has taken and effected many people in my life, but right now it's messin' with two of my favorites. Jay's mom has breast cancer and started chemothereapy today. My 22 year old sister has Non-Hogkins Lymphoma and started chemo last week. She was diagnosed and started chemo within 5 days. Both Sandi and Mary will be fine....in about a year. It's gonna be a long year. My insides actually hurt for them. I wish I could take their pain and suffering away.....I'd do it in a heartbeat.

I went and visited them both this last weekend and had to see with my own eyes that they're okay. That made the worry a little better, but the pain is still there. I can't wrap my head around it....WHY? I know that's the question everybody asks when things go badly, but I can't think of another way to say it. How does this happen to someone so young? Why does she have to put her life on hold for a year+, when it hasn't really started yet? I know, there are no answers. It's all just CRAPPY.

I want so much to make things better, but am helpless. I don't know what to do, don't know what to say. A bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup and a knit hat don't even scratch the surface, I know. But it's all I can think of. I'm sorry.

Tagged

A long lost friend from my childhood tagged me. Here we go:

List 3 joys:
1. my family (hubby and kids-but only when they're being good:)
2. my friends (can't live without 'em)
3. triathlon (I know!-who woulda thought)

List 3 fears:
1. bats, snakes, all things creepy-crawly
2. teenagers
3. Jay finally deciding that I'm too much of a pain to put up with.

3 goals:
1. keep getting faster in triathlon
2. keep up with my teenagers (physically and emotionally)
3. be more productive

3 current obsessions/collections:
1. getting the house ready to sell
2. finding a house in CA
3. hating cancer (it has effected way too many people in my life lately)

3 random surprising facts about me:
1. I can't think of anything....I'm an open book
2. I love new purses
3. I REALLY want a little convertible BMW

Technically, I am suppose to tag 5 people... if you want to be one of the 5, go for it. Feel free to leave a comment on anything about me that I missed.

Where have I been?

Last week I drove Rebekah and some of her friends up to Girl's Camp. After lots of drama, I ended up staying the entire 3 days. Long story, Rebekah would kill me if I shared all the details. Who else but me would be lame enough to CAMP for 3 days, on a whim, unprepared, etc. Someone had an extra sleeping bag, and extra toothbrush, contact solution, etc. I can't even say any more without ranting.

We drove home on Thursday morning, took a shower AND a bath, took a nap for an hour, then packed to go CAMPING again. This time we went to Leo Carrillo Beach, near Malibu, CA. (the trip had been planned for months, so I couldn't back out) Add it all together and I was camping for a week straight! Yuck! Dirt, sweat, dirt, bugs....it gets old after about a day and a half. Actually, I love Leo Carrillo. It's my favorite camping spot. We've gone there 7 of the last 8 years. We had tons of fun laying in the sand, climbing rocks, playing in the ocean, boogieboarding, surfing, napping, and eating.

We're back home now for just long enough to finish the house (hopefully), get some work done, get Eric ready for football camp, and go again. House-hunting this time?

Fun for the Fourth

We've been working and painting and building and cleaning for about 2 weeks now. Non-stop, intense kind of DIY. Lots of time and money spent at Home Depot. We decided to take a break after dinner on the 4th. The boys were in the backyard messing around. Jay said "Hey, make sure you have shoes on. There are rusty nails all over the place!" Just a short time before this, Eric and Jay were tearing out the old patio cover...getting ready to put up the new, larger, spectacularly fantastic new one. Eric chases David and screams "OUCH!", plus a couple other words, and collapses on the grass. Knuckle-head didn't have shoes on. Stepped on a nail. We ended up in the ER for a tetnus shot. Fun times were had by all.

See that lovely ID band on his wrist? They gave me a matching one...'cause I'm his mama and he's a minor (I think). We were in the parking lot leaving and Eric decided to rip his ID band off. No scissors...just brut strength. You know....15 year old hulk-like. Well, then he was so pumped that he decided to rip the band off my arm, too. He ended up punching himself in the eye...I was laughing so hard...I thought we were going to have to go back into the ER and explain what a dork he was. He does have a little bruise on his eye:)

All Stars ends

There were 3 all-star games. We won the first one...lost the second one (it was really ugly)... and won the last one. However, the top 3 teams all had a 2-1 record. Therefore, the team that gave up the most runs is out. That's us. We gave up 3 more runs than the other guy. David is pissed. There isn't even another word to describe it. He personally did really well, and is really disappointed that the season is over. I have to say, I am sad for him....but super glad I don't have to sit out in the heat and watch another game! When we left the field on Thursday night at 10:15....it was still 104. That's just wrong. I think I have 4 weeks off until Eric's football starts. (Go Skyhawks!)

If you enlarge this picture, you can see that David sticks his tongue out to the side of his mouth when he's concentrating. This is just like Jay. So cute!

...continued

Okay, so a few posts ago, I had a "to be continued". So......... here it is:
We are trying to sell our house. After living in AZ for 15 years, we think it's finally time to move "home" (SoCal). Jay's mom needs all the help and support she can get, and with all that's happened, we think now is the time. If the house sells, we go. If it doesn't, we stay. That's it in a nut shell.

STRESS!!!!! I have been cleaning, painting, cleaning, and painting. Jay's been trying to finish our patio cover. Hopefully we'll have all the "projects" finished by the end of the week so we can actually list it. The fact that he is sooooo against hiring anyone to do any of these "projects" has caused me to be incredibly grumpy. Anyone wanna buy a 2600+ sq. ft. house in the middle of hell? (AZ really sucks this time of year). We live in a very family friendly, established neighborhood with lots of perks. Really...... anyone?....anyone?....bueler?

Oh yeah....the kids actually WANT to move. At first they were leery, but now they are all on board...even the #1 PITA. (PITA stands for "pain in the ***". We came up with that nickname when we had a client who was REALLY a PITA.)

The All-Star

Friday night was the first all-star game...and David did GREAT! He made a play in right field and hit a single and a triple. His team won 8 to 1. I'm so proud! If only it wasn't 114 at 8:00 at night when he plays. I think I've melted.

In the last week, my life has turned absolutely, 100% more chaotic than I can remember...at least for a long time. I'll update on that later....but until then....I have another baseball game in 115 degree heat to watch. Go turn on your oven, let it preheat, then put your face right in front of the door and open it. That's what it feels like. I think I'm gonna die.