August?

So, the last time I blogged, it was July 10.  Maybe this will become just a monthly thing.  I don't know. Just like a butterfly, MPM is going through her own metamorphosis.  And a visit with the newly launched offspring is even more evidence of that.

They are happily settled into their new apartment in New York City.  Yes, the MPM rugrats are living under the same roof once again!  After 4 years at different universities, they have both secured jobs that pay a living wage, and are sharing an apartment.  I have seen it with my own eyes, and I am duly impressed.  Except for a minor detail, which has me quite flummoxed.  Apparently they were raised in a barn.

Sometimes I lie awake at night remembering this scene.  Where did I go wrong?

But I digress.  I had a spectacular time, and I got to visit with so many of my wonderful friends in New York and Connecticut.  I miss them so very much, but I know that I am on the right journey here in Tennessee, and they are just a quick 2 hour flight away.

There was lots of fun, too:

A wedding in Grand Central Station.

 

A visit with a spoiled dog who is summering in New England.

 Another expensive taxi trip downtown.

This one took us right past the Flatiron Building.

 A tapas restaurant that served champagne in the Ladies Room!

Thank you, Baby Bird for introducing us to Beauty and Essex!

 An early birthday dinner for my babies with Daryl.

This is our favorite restaurant on Columbus Circle, Robert.

 The best part of the whole trip:

Love them to the moon and back.

Even if they have no idea about the proper way to install toilet paper.

Popular

Dora and I are entertaining for the second time this week.

What should we make for dinner?

I am thinking about baked shrimp, salad, 

and linguine and garlic bread (for the wheat eaters).

Savory nibbles before, and sweet nibbles after.

We will be cheering for the Cardinals tonight.

That's who you cheer for in Middle Tennessee.

Dora even has two dog friends coming.

We will have treats for them as well.

Do you have any suggestions?

What are you doing for Hump Day?

EDIT: it's now pulled pork and tailgate cole slaw

Monday Motivation

29 years ago today:

Today:

Aquarius Horoscope

For The Week Starting October 15, 2012

This will turn out to be a great week for you. Your intuition is strong so follow your hunches. You may experience some sudden changes and happenings that may improve your surroundings. The chance of a lifetime could be yours before this week is over. Timing is everything this week. A large expense decreases your bank funds but you have expected it. If you have any artistic talent it will come out this next week.

What a difference a few decades make.  How does your week look?

Word-Filled Wednesday

Being back home in Franklin has been an exercise in revisiting every emotion I can name.  I wake up every morning and look out at the rolling foothills I have missed for 30 years.  I can take my sweet Dora for a walk at the family farm where I can inhale the comforting and clean air.  I also have bouts of "What was I thinking?"  This is when I allow myself to wallow in the memories of my Connecticut life.  My friends there.  (Hi!  I miss you!)  My established life.

I moved to New York City in the Spring of 1982.  Thirty years ago.  I built a life on the East Coast.  A Big Life.  And here, the life is not so big.  Yet.  But I am not the least bit stymied by this.  I do have my moments of longing, but they are being eased by my reconnections here.

Ingelein and I became best friends when we were 9.  We shared many misadventures and great, fun  times.  A lot of these events will go to our graves with us because that's just the way it is with someone you've spent so much time doing so many things with.  You know those Facebook sayings about best friends and how they will come burn your diaries if you die?  That's how Ingelein and I were.  Then I moved, and we both got on with our lives and raising our children.  We kept up through Christmas cards and Happy Birthday's!  But it's difficult.

We are now busy making up for lost time.  And while she lives three hours away, she spends a lot of time here because her mother and a daughter are nearby.  And this past Saturday, we all got together for an evening of good food, wine, dancing, and general frolicking in our finest duds at the Heritage Ball.  If you click on the link, you will see Ingelein's mother (89 year-old Inge Smith) dancing with her 'friend' Bill!  "Miss Inge" was the Headmistress of our grammar school; I could write a book about that, but I digress.

Ingelein and Lauren

In 1977, if you do the math, that is 35 years ago, when we were seniors in high school, Ingelein and I were hostesses at this soiree.  We may have a few of those grave-taking stories from that night, but I'm not saying anything else about that one.  We have both been back a handful of times since then, but not at the same time.  Until Saturday.  It was magical.  It was one of the most beautiful parties I have ever been to, and I am still smiling.  I was really home.

I am sitting here this morning, looking out at those hills, and I feel content.  I miss parts of my Connecticut life, and at the same time, I feel more connected here each day as well.  Life really is a journey, no?

This 'n That Thursday

What a ride...

• The moving truck left yesterday for Tennessee.
• I leave in a few hours to meet it.
• Then I'm back up here on Monday for the final wave of my "Goodbye Tour."
• I am emotionally and physically exhausted.
• I am also excited for what lies ahead.
• My babies are going to be 21 one week from today.
• Did I tell you how tired I am?
• But I also need to add how blessed I am to have such a support network in my life.
• Because I am so very blessed.
• And so very tired.

This 'n That Thursday

Some survivor perspective:

• I was diagnosed with breast cancer 133 days ago.
• I completed 6 weeks of radiation 9 days ago.
• After you hang up the phone and dry your tears, you are already a survivor.
• The words "I have cancer" are actually empowering.
• Not since the birth of my twins have I ever been more proud of my body.
• My body has taken some abuse, and I am determined to treat it more kindly.
• I am going to layer in a lot of more holistic therapies into my repertoire.
• I am truly happy.
• I am truly blessed and grateful.
• I am most likely moving back home to Tennessee this year.
• That adage about life being short is really true.
• I will not live in a world of "should." 
• We are all capable of living out our desires.
• I have the most amazing family and friends.
• Some of my friends live in my computer. I will meet them some day.
• Today is going to be an awesome day.
• Yesterday was an awesome day.  We celebrated.

• I am so very blessed.
• Go get a mammogram.

So. I've Been Thinking.

I know-- you're all: What?!

But.  I've been thinking.

I went on an extra long walk with Dora The Explorer today.  We have been blessed with the most extraordinary weather this winter, and today is no exception.  It's been especially budget-friendly in terms of snow removal costs for us all.  That is, unless you are in the business of snow removal.  But I know those guys are looking forward to making up for it in all the early spring landscaping work that is heading our way.  I can just feel it.

But I digress.  I was walking and thinking about how my life has been lately.  How it's all become one big medical appointment.  How much I have to look forward to now that I am making some decisions about what I want to do for my Second Act.  How lucky I am to have my children, family, and friends who continually seek to do for me.  Just how very lucky I am.  Period.

I was thinking about my breast cancer diagnosis.  You can believe me when I tell you that, even though there was a small part of me that had an inkling there was something bad in those little calcifications, I was blindsided on the morning of December 14 at 9:06 am when my surgeon called to tell me I had cancer.  Blindsided.  That is the day my existence as one big medical appointment began.

Now I am preparing to begin my radiation treatments which I will have Monday - Friday for about six weeks.  They start on March 6, and I am so ready.  Both my medical oncologist and my radiation oncologist are reassuring to the point that there are times I feel like I am going to have super powers by the time they are done with me.  I am lucky.  Expect no side effects.

However, there have already been side effects to this disease.  Side effects of the soul-searching, taking an objective look at oneself, owning your bad habits kind.  It's been interesting.  And I am being somewhat facetious when I say interesting, but you probably already knew that.  I was a social smoker in college, quit for 15 years, and picked it up again in the late 90's.  I quit for good almost 10 years ago.  But there was a little nagging voice that wondered if that nasty habit had caused these cells to misfire.  It's no secret I like my wine.  Sometimes a little too much.  Did that do this?  Did the 3+ cups of coffee I drink every day do it?  White flour? Red meat? Bacon? Hair dye?  What??

The answer is that we don't know.  All of us are walking around with cancer cells in our bodies, and it could be any or none of the above that caused mine to spring to life.  And my busy cancer cells have inadvertently given me an incredible gift:  A wake up call that I need to stop taking my amazing body for granted any more.  If this Second Act is going to be as grand as I am envisioning it, I need to straighten up and fly right.  While I will never be that person who does an all-or-nothing type of lifestyle change, I am going to change some things for a while.  Well, with the exception of the smoking part.  That is a permanent nothing.  So done with that.

I have been collecting all sorts of food-for-cancer books and articles.  I have Googled myself into a tizzy.  I have gone to my appointments with lists of questions.  And I believe that I really don't have any more answers.  Medical answers anyway.  In that vein (pun intended), I've decided to do my own part to help kick this crap out.  I am going to treat everything I eat throughout all my treatment as my medicine as well.  I haven't formulated a specific plan.  I cannot do severe plans.  I have a little disobedient streak--it's called being an Aquarian.  So we'll see.  But cutting out dietary toxins and helping myself heal during radiation is my goal.  Any suggestions will be welcome.  I've thought about Daniel's Diet.  I like everything in it.  Although I would miss my wine, my coffee, and my cheese, just to name a few, I am looking forward to the challenge.  I'm starting to enjoy challenges.  Another little side effect...

 I don't want to miss my Second Act. 

Dora seems to agree.

This-n-That Thursday

Grateful for:

• Waking up
• Loving family
• Loving friends
• Loving dog
• Vitamin D3
• Clean water
• Health insurance
• Reading glasses
• Fluffy pajamas
• Eye cream
• Cetaphil lotion
• Ionic hairdryer

And all by 7:30 am. You?

Feeling Affectionate

I just love my sign.

Aquarius - Sept. 20, 2010

An affectionate letter, phone call, or e-mail could come to you from an old friend, Aquarius, expressing gratitude for past favors. This is going to make you feel warm and loving toward this person, and you'll want to reciprocate in kind. Invite him or her for coffee and have a long conversation. The bond between you is strong. This isn't a friendship you'll want to let go.

...I'm wondering if I'll have to travel to meet this old friend. I am seriously feeling a little wanderlust again. And I wonder how I could make a living traveling....

Is your horoscope this good?

Winner!

Just as I predicted...

I was the big winner at jihad bridge last night.

What to do with my loot....

Hall Pass

I received a wonderful gift in the mail recently...

I love Mary's fun charms.

And after ordering some of her trinkets for my good friends, she sent me my own.

I wear it a lot.

I wore it to a party last weekend.

It was a really, really fun party.

And at one point, as I was explaining the name to an acquaintance,

her husband chimed in and said he thought it said Mental Patient.

~~~

In his defense, it was dark....

Maybe he thought I had a pass for the night.

But then I started thinking.

What if there were medic-alert bracelets for this kind of stuff?

So that, along with your regular penicillin and bee sting bracelet,

you could also have them for things like "Low Estrogen" or

"Does Not Suffer Fools Gladly."

Ahhhh. The possibilities.

I think Mary and I need to have a chat.

I smell a business opportunity.

What would you like an alert bracelet to say?

Girlfriends and Blisters: Nature's Prozac

A thought to share....

She wrote............ I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection--the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.

At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin--a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel. Women do it all the time. We share from our souls with our sisters, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged--not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking! So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health!

We are indeed very very lucky.

So let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health.

Thank you Noe Noe, and, Happy Friday, y'all!

This-n-That Thursday

More drivel, but it's wise, humanity sorta stuff. I am allowed....

Hey, I'm older than the President:

• Love is not a feeling, it is a behavior.
• You don't really have to have 8 glasses of water every day.
• "Parent" is actually a verb.
• Don't "say," just "do."
• How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. ~ Wayne Dyer
• That clean underwear thing you've always heard? It's true.
• Love is when two people know everything about each other, and it's okay.
• True friends stab you in the front. ~ Oscar Wilde
• A dirty diaper always needs to be changed as soon as possible.
• Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. ~ George Washington
• The only way to have a friend is to be one. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~ Abraham Lincoln

And, yes, I know this is quote-heavy, but they are brilliant, right? And, wise? Don't worry...all my good friends are still there. I've just been thinking....

What do you have to add?

Summertoes

"Think of the magic of that foot, comparatively small, upon which your whole weight rests. It's a miracle, and the dance...is a celebration of that miracle." ~ Martha Washington

This-n-That Thursday

Random thoughts and bad things:

• The Bird and I saw Eclipse yesterday. It was good! And that Kristen Stewart actually looked pretty.
• A random blogger I occasionally read is an attorney in Texas. He eloped last weekend in Vegas, and I felt a twinge of envy. What's that about?
• I did Day One of P90X, and a week later, did half of Day Two. Fail.
• So now, I am researching the Nike Plus. Anybody have a review for me?
• We are friends with a couple, and the husband is openly dating another woman. Openly. Should we tell the wife?
• Did you know that there is a device you can put on a cell phone and get a report on every call and text from that phone? Sad.
• I think honesty and integrity are more important to me in a partner than anything else. I guess that's what being 50 brings....
• I just found two different apps that help you find your car in a parking lot. Seriously? Are we that dumb?
• Speaking of dumb, why would anyone run for public office?

Last Night's Bridge Game at Candy's

Always a feast for the eyes...

Oh, and I came in dead last.

Hola!

Aquarius: Today's Daily Horoscope

Stretch your boundaries somewhat -- that's what you're best at, after all. If you can come up with just one crazy scheme, you can call it a day. There's so much activity that it's easy to sneak it past the censor.

Okay. Let's see. It's 11:45 here in Madrid, and I just woke up. That's pretty crazy in my book. I think some coffee and some cardio are in order. Then perhaps some lunch. A museum tour at 5:45. Then dinner...which will probably happen sometime between 10 and 11. So, um, yeah. I'm stretching some boundaries here. And I love every minute of it!

Get your scope here

How's your day shaping up?

This-n-That Thursday--Traveling While Aging

You know you're getting there when...

• You spend two whole days deciding whether or not to roll or fold your clothes.
• You cannot find any more ziploc bags to put toiletries in so you opt for a doggie-poop-bag solution. Unused, of course.
• You wonder how many magnifying mirrors you can safely pack.
• The same with tweezer products of all manner.
• Snappy flat shoes become your obsession.
• You pack more meds than make-up.
• You wonder how long it will take your bodily functions to catch up when you get there. Sorry. But I know you agree.
• You are counting on your cute wraps to draw the eye away from your upper arm issues.
• You are thrilled to be able to bring as much Sudafed as the CVS would allow you to buy to your hostess. There isn't any in Spain.
• You are just thrilled. Period.

I'll be reporting from the scene....

I Want...

This puppy.

Charlie is a 9 week old maltese/yorkie mix.

And no silly sign is going to keep him away from Mental P.

No-siree.

But I eventually gave him back to his mommy.

sigh.

And in other news?

I am going to Spain this afternoon!

My old friend Miss Hower has invited me.

She has lots of plans for us.

Check out her life in Madrid here.

Stay tuned for my adventures...

I just wish I'd paid more attention in Spanish class.

Ahhhh Friday

Counting my blessings--

Wonderful friends.

Old and new.

Blisters are blog sisters.

We convene at this event.

Blisters are thoughtful folks.

They sent this basket as a housewarming.

Or I should say condowarming....

Look at the sweet bird's nest.

I just love birds.

All kinds of birds.

Happy Friday, my friends.

Be well.