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I'm heading into my good week. 

I will confess that there were a couple of days I overdid it. Shhhh don't tell my mom. So I have made sure to rest. I will make sure I am ready of my good week. 

There is a tech conference is Philly that I would've loved to have gone to, but I can't. I'm seeing pictures of friends of mine learning and presenting at the conference. i know what you are thinking. I don't have #FOMO (fear of missing out) I have #IWTSMFALAT (I want to see my friends and learn about technology) and I also have #stickerenvy #tshirtenvy. I love my stickers. I was going to beg for someone to bring me stickers (or a tshirt) from ISTE, but decided that I probably shouldn't (but would still accept them if someone gave them to me.)


In the Wisconsin Dells there is another conference coming up. I was to present at that conference. I had to back out of presenting and going to the conference. I'm sad I am going to miss seeing my friends and learning from others. I am a life long learner. (more on that later) Again I have #IWTSMFALAT

God is good and he knows I need to be distracted. Well, he also knows that I am easily distracted. 

I have lots of fun plans this week. Yesterday a friend came for lunch and we went to Titletown and played ping pong. It was a fun day. #Iwonthepingponggame

 If you haven't visited Titletown in Green Bay, you really need to come and see all the cool things that are there. Thursday they have a Market. I went last Thursday and had cornbread. I was going to have some BBQ, but they had run out. Next Thursday I will get there earlier and have some cornbread and BBQ. There is yoga on Monday evening also. #yummycornbread 

I have some friends coming to see me this week. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends. #lookingforwardtoseeingmyfriends 

I have been working on a quilt that has been on my "I will finish someday"  pile.  It was put on the back burner because I was making quilts for other people. Now I can finish this quilt. It has fabric from different 4H projects from when I was in 4H many moons ago. #Ilovetoquilt #finishinganoldquilt

Along with working on my quilt and making puppets. 

I have been working on different certifications. So far I have finished my BrainPOP certification and my Arts Integration Certification. #morebadges 

   

I have a couple more certifications that I would like to get this summer. I will keep you posted when I get them. 

Now some of you might be thinking that I am taking on too much. But quilting and certifications have a lot of sitting. And sitting is resting. #sittingandresting

I'm feeling good today. I would love to say I have figured out my eating pattern and what foods still taste good. I have been drinking my fluids.  I'm looking forward to my good week. #goodweek #energylevelup #kickingcancertothecurb 

overdone and burnt

I'm getting my energy back. The issue I have is that I think I should get it back all at once. I don't and my body tells me it is time to rest and sit down. I also need to remember to get to bed at an earlier time. 

I love my beautiful bracelet. I wear it all the time. It reminds me that God has me in his hands and he's looking out for me and will get me through this cancer journey. And that shoes are awesome! Thank you my friend for sending this to me. I will always treasure it. 

I was told that my taste would change. It has been pretty good until now. Now everything I eat tastes burnt. I know I'm not the best cook in the world. (trust me I watch enough cooking shows to know that) But I know everything I cook isn't burnt. Makes for interesting meals. But only some things taste burnt. When I eat fruit, that tastes the same. I know that's strange. (but then, I'm strange, so it fits.) Eating the rest of the time for chemo will be interesting. 

The Jovi has been by my side the last couple of days. She knew yesterday and this morning I still wasn't feeling 100%. It was the same thing I had round three, just a few days later. I will have to remember it for round five. Can you believe I'm saying round five already? It seemed like such a long journey when I started. Now I'm looking at round five. God is good to see me through this far and I know he will be with me the rest of the way. 

ZZZZZZ

My chemo treatment was on Monday. That was the last day of school for the students. I had some  great people sit with me for my chemo treatment. We sat in the chairs by the windows. It was nice to see the natural light. One of the people who sat with me is a 19 year breast cancer survivor.  It was great to talk to her. We also taught together so it was great to hear how her kids are doing.  I am so blessed to have people who would sit with me during my chemo treatment. 

After chemo, we went out for lunch. Titletown Brewery was a great choice for us. It was yummy. Then we went to a quilt shop. Both of us love to quilt. 

I went back to school on Tuesday to make sure everything was ready for summer. This will be an odd summer. No conferences, no summer school, no traveling. But, I'm doing what I need to do for my health. 

I have this really cool shirt to wear. 

I got everything I needed to get done in both my libraries. Next year will be different. There are changes in both schools. Sometimes change is good, sometimes it is sad. These are both. I look forward to the new changes. 

The last part of this week are my low days. Which means not much activity and a lot of naps. The weather is dreary. So much rain. 

I was blessed to have a friend come and sit with me for part of my low days. She is an amazing friend and I am blessed to have her as my friend. She made sure I drank fluids and helped make lunch. She also made sure I had what I needed every day. We also took a fun car ride. It was nice to get out and it was while the sun was out. 

I have one more day of low energy. But on a happy note, I'm over halfway through my chemo treatments. So only two more left which means only two more low energy times. I have been blessed with everyone who is cheering me though the treatments. 

Jovi hasn't left my side. She is my protector, she also loves all the naps I take, because she naps with me.

 

I'm so excited there has been no nausea. I am making sure to take my meds. I have to remember to listen to my body. I know I get frustrated because by Saturday I think I should be back to my normal energy level. And I'm not at my normal energy level. I'm learning to accept my energy level. Its a hard lesson to learn. 

Welcome Back!

Monday I went back to work.  I was excited to go back and be there the last week. 
I work with some great people! I had this amazing sign waiting for me in my library. 

Many people stopped in the library to see me and ask how I was doing. Lot's of great emails saying they were happy I was back.  I was suppose to have a meeting right away in the morning. It was interrupted many times. I was still able to get things done in my library.  I was so excited to see the kids. They were excited to see me. 

I wore my new Bon Jovi scarf. I didn't do a terrible job tying it. It wasn't the best job. But practice makes perfect. 

I had energy all day long. The best medicine was being around great people.  There was also Cosco cake. It was yummy!! 

Poor Jovi, she was alone all day. She hasn't been alone in a very long time. I made sure she had a special treat before I left in the morning. She was very happy to see me. 

I took her on a car ride after I got home. We went to get air in my tires, gas and milk. She loved the car ride. She also wanted a ride in the stroller. We didn't have time for that. Maybe on Wednesday. 

I made sure I had my lunch packed the night before. It was strange to get my Purple lunch bag out again. 

I got a lot accomplished Monday and Tuesday. I am strange. I am looking forward to the rest of the week. Wednesday and Thursday I am going to be at my other school. 

I am reminded how blessed I am. Great people to work with and a great place to work. 

Everyone is telling me not to overdo it. I have gotten really good about listening to my body. I made sure I have everything ready to go the night before and make sure I get to bed on time. My rockstar doctor told me sleep is very important to my recovery. I make sure I sleep. 

Speaking of sleeping. It is time for me to pack my lunch. I have frozen peaches that I will pack for tomorrow. (I'm looking forward to strawberry season, I love to freeze them so I can have them all year round.) Just to be clear. I am also having spaghetti I'm  not just eating peaches. 

Excited, nervous, all all things in between

I was able to go to church this morning. It was great and wonderful to worship at church and take communion. We sang one of my favorite hymns "Take and Eat" I was also reminded why the hymn in my supplement was color coded. its hard to keep track on what line you are singing. I color coded mine when I would canter at church. 

Monday I go back to work. I'm excited and nervous. It's like the first day of school all over again. I have to make sure I have my bag packed, lunch made. 

I have things planned to do at school. I also have paperwork stuff to do. 

It has been two months since I have been at either of my schools.  Will I have the energy to do everything I need to do? Will I be able to find everything? Will people remember who I am? I had a good friend give me a scarf that I am going to wear on my first day back. I probably will do a really bad job tying it, but it is a Bon Jovi scarf. Have I mentioned I like to listen to Bon Jovi? I even named my dog after him, Which confuses everyone because Jon Bon Jovi is a guy and my dog Jovi is a girl. The name fits her. 

Poor Jovi, she is going to be home. I can't sneak her into school. Really I probably could, she could just sleep under my desk all day. She would be content.  

Today I planted flowers. It was so great to play in the dirt. I now have pretty flowers in containers in my courtyard and my patio. I made sure to not overdo it and before I went out I put sunscreen on my head. I was told I could get sunburn even if I was wearing a hat or cap or scarf. 

One thing I have been meaning to address and is very important. 

And it was the one thing I didn't realize about chemo. It really does impact your memory. I will confess that my memory wasn't that terrific when I started this process, it has gotten worse. So if you're thinking ....Why didn't Shelly get back to me? or Why didn't Shelly remember that?? I have lost and found so many things around the house it isn't funny anymore. I have gone to the store for an item and left without buying what I needed. So now I have an app on my phone to help and post it notes also. 

I better get going. Tomorrow is a big day!