Fab Friday Five

I've been particular busy this last week and didn't manage to spend much time on Pinterest (what?!) But I do have five...so at least there's that!

Oh thank God it's Friday....I'm pooped!  Unfortunately, my evening at home will be MUCH busier than my day at work as it's Aria's first trick-or-treat experience, plus we're doing our usual family festivities at our house....and I have a 30-45 minute commute home.  Blech.

I recently got some chalkboard contact paper (that I'm SUPER excited about) to put up on my pantry door...and wherever else I feel like putting it...and knew that I was going to occasionally want to do something artsy-fartsy on it.  I see all these chalkboard signs on Pinterest and all I can think to myself is "HOW do they do that without smudging anything?!"  Well, this tutorial (check it out >> here) explained to me, in pictures, how to do it.  I can't wait to get going on this project!

(Not like I need any more projects...)

Legit! (shop for this sign >> here) There's nothing better than a bath, a book, and some wine!

OK folks...this is for real.  To be a real friend, you've got to do this.  Let's say you've got this friend who's a complete mess (lets be honest, we all have at least one).  But guess what?  That complete mess is what makes your friend so great!  And behind that craziness is most likely a person with one of the most beautiful souls you know.  There are times when you've just got to suck it up, look past all that extra stuff she's got going on and just love her for everything she is! 

BECAUSE SHE'S AWESOME!

(and she might not always know it, so tell her...tell her often!)

This speaks to me.  I was raised by such wonderful people.  My parents taught me (and showed me, time and time again) that if there is somebody in need, you help....no questions asked.  You help every time.  Even if there's nothing you can actually do, you still offer.  If asked, you say "yes, absolutely, what can I do?"  It doesn't matter what else you've got going on...it's your duty, as a good person, to help those in need.  You have to be there for people, whenever they need you, as often as they need you.  And you absolutely cannot go into it with the mindset of getting something in return.  That's just selfish and horrible.  You can't say to yourself "Well I'll help so-and-so this time so the next time I need help with something, so-and-so will have to help me."  No.  That's not appropriate.  Expect NOTHING in return aside from knowing that you'll feel good about yourself because you did your part to help out a friend, family member, coworker, or stranger.  

My parent's STILL teach me this lesson.  

We have a family friend who's all by herself and sometimes needs help with some yard work....whens she asks if my dad or brother can help, they always say yes and are there by that weekend.  

While growing up my brother had a friend who desperately needed a home....my parents took him in, no questions asked....they never asked "How long is he staying? When is he going to leave?"....they just let him stay as long as he needed. (if they did ask, I didn't know about it)

My dad always graciously accepts the request from Shepeard Blood Center to be the mascot (Buddy the Blood Drop).  Even though he's old and it gets TOO hot in that suit, he walks around outside in the middle of July for hours.  He doesn't get paid for this; he doesn't need to.

See...my parents are awesome!

So hopefully by now, I've made my mom cry (YES! NAILED IT!)

Have a Happy Halloween, y'all.  Stay safe (and my Wisconsin friends, stay warm).  Enjoy this time with your loved ones, whoever they may be and whatever it may be that you're doing.  

The holidays are upon us...it's to time to start living, giving, and loving!

**Update on Dave:  He wanted to have "Family Shave Time pt. 2" yesterday.  He noticed every time he ran his hands across his head, he had little hairs all over them.  He noticed hairs stuck in his hat, making his head itch.  So we went ahead and shaved his head and face again yesterday. I think this was the last time we'll have to do that.  When I was helping shave his head, I noticed that it seemed as if there was a LOT of hair up there...and I thought to myself "his hair isn't this long right now, I don't get it."  That's when we realized that the razor wasn't cutting through the hair.  The slight force of dragging the razor across his head was actually PULLING the entire hair out of the follicle, like tweezers or waxing, but without the pain.  I'm not sure how he felt about it, but it put me in a somber sort of mood for a little.  We're hoping that by next Monday his white count is up high enough to continue with the treatment plan.  I think we're both just ready to move forward.

Pushin' It Back

Dave was scheduled to begin Cycle 2 today.  His body apparently had different plans.

On the first day of every cycle, labs are drawn to make sure that all of his counts are where they should be.  Once the labs come back, then the chemo can be hung.  Today, his counts were unacceptable and thus his whole treatment cycle shifts back one week.

His white blood cells (WBCs) were too low.  They were at 3.3K/mm3 (cubic millimeter).  According to the reference on the page, they need to be at least 4.8.

His absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was also too low.  It was 990 and it needs to be at least 1000.  (Fun fact:  A 'neutrophil' is a particular type of WBC that leads the fight against infection.) With a low neutrophil count, you are extremely susceptible to infection.  We have to treat his health like a newborn:  go to the ER if he has a fever of 100.5 or higher.

So chemo this week has been cancelled.  His doctors are giving his body another week to increase it's WBC production.  If all goes according to plan, he will have chemo next week instead.  Then, at the end of next week, he'll get a shot called Neulasta.

Neulasta will boost his WBC production.  It will, most likely, cause an aching pain in his bones.  The packet of information does not indicate how long that pain will last, so that's super fun! This is the same type of shot you're given if you're a bone marrow donor and you're selected to donate Peripheral Stem Cells via blood donation.  (Check out the National Marrow Donor Program for more information on registering to be a bone marrow donor >> here)

So in the meantime, I get an unexpected night off from cooking (and some unexpected grilled chicken) and Dave will earn an unexpected paycheck.  It also means that Dave will have enough energy to go trick-or-treating with Aria for her first time.  So you see, there's always a silver lining!

On the flip side, assuming things stick to the new schedule and don't get changed again, Thanksgiving is a chemo day   :(    Bummer.

Fab Friday Five

Sure, that'll work for now!

Five things that spoke to me this week........

Scotcheroos!  (recipe >> here)  I've really been thinking about these a lot lately.  I'm hoping that one of our coworkers has to deliver over by whatever bakery he gets theses from REAL SOON!

The fart chart :)

This sweet little baby elephant!

Legit.

I love a good hand-lettered quote paired with beautiful, colorful art.  I think it's just perfect.  And this quote y'all, seriously....nothing is impossible.  Always tell yourself this.  And tell your kids this; kids should not go through life thinking that some things will never happen.  If they have enough courage and drive to get it, they'll achieve anything and everything!

(order this print >> here)

Happy Friday, everyone!

**Next week starts another treatment week.  We're gearing up for it, having baked ziti for dinner the next few nights (because my pan will feed a family of 3 for 3 days; message me if you want the recipe...FYI: there's nothing healthy about it other than it's homemade).  We're hoping that having a big, hearty meal for a few days will help his body feel strengthened and ready (or as ready as one can be for receiving 4 straight days of extra-toxic poison).  In terms of his hair, he is starting to lose some of his body hair.  His head hair and facial hair has started to grow back in from the shave, but it's growing VERY slow.  It's too early to tell if it's growing back in patchy or not.  He's thinking that maybe the chemo next week will "finish the job" on his hair.**