Life's Journey

This week has been another “small” treatment week. These are much easier to get through. I think the biggest side effect is lethargy. I am so freakin tired. I’m learning how to deal with it, but it’s super frustrating for me. I just want to get out and live… it’s hard to remind myself to slow down sometimes. In fact, this week was a perfect example. On Wednesday night I went out with a group of girlfriends. Everyone came here around 6p for drinks and finger foods and then we walked around our neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. Our neighborhood is amazing at the holidays. Everyone puts up lights and it’s become a sort of silent competition with everyone trying to out “griswald” the other.  After the Christmas festivities we all went out to dinner at an Asian Fusion restaurant at a casino nearby. Well, many of you know that I have a weakness for sake bombers. So… of course I had a few while I was there. We were having a great time. After dinner we decided to do a little gambling while we were there… I mean, why not right? But, you can’t gamble empty handed so more beer was in order. Next thing I knew it was 12:30a and I was $60 ahead, it was time to go. I had a little too much… and here’s the lesson… don’t go out and party it up the night before chemo. Der! So many errors in judgment involved here. I was ridiculously hung over Thursday morning… I mean it was rough! I can’t remember the last time I felt that hung over. The very last thing in the world I wanted to do was get up and go to chemo. UGH! Then I got a little paranoid that maybe they couldn’t give me chemo because I was so hungover. I texted Supernurse Michele and told her my error in judgement (btw – I was really mad at myself at this point – I mean what a stupid thing to do) and asked her if this was going to be an issue with treatment. She lol’d me and said no, actually it will help your hangover. Phew. That was a relief. So when I got there for treatment word spread quickly and all the nurses had to come over and throw in a few funny jabs. And they hooked me up to a bag of IV fluids right away. Within 30 min I was feeling a ton better. They gave me a lot of extra fluids that day, nausea preventative, and anti anxiety meds to help with everything. So, lesson learned, this was a good example of what not to do. But, sometimes you just gotta let loose and have a little fun!

Ok, switching to a more exciting topic… I’m amazed, humbled, and overwhelmed by the following my Bucket List has received. There are so many angels out there that have given me over-the-top contributions to help me check off my list. I want to tell you all about all of it because it’s so exciting… but I’m instead going to share a month at a time  I’ve also updated the actual Bucket List page so you know what’s in progress and will update the calendar as things get booked.

The first item on my list is “Give one random act of kindness every day!” – I have made an effort every day since building my list to be sure that I do this. I must say that I was happy to realize that this is something I generally do anyway so it’s easy to achieve  I also have a dear angel that found a book for me called Random Acts of Kindness – a daily journal. It’s awesome, it’s a book of suggested acts of kindness and I can write little notes in it. I look through it every morning to have things to keep in mind. I encourage everyone to try to do this. I have found that it makes me really happy to do these things and gives me something positive to think about throughout the day.

Another item on my list is to “Spend New Year’s in Las Vegas”. I am so excited to say that I will be crossing this off the list next week! Thanks to an amazing group of angels Roy and I are headed to Vegas to celebrate the New Year. We are staying in an amazing room at Caesars! I definitely could not have pulled this room off on my own it’s awesome! We are meeting my Dad and Marjorie and some of her family as well. It will be a fantastic weekend. Definitely something to look forward to! That will be a fun bucket list blog update when we get back.

I also have “Go to a taping of the Ellen Show” listed, I really thought this was a long shot because I know how hard it is to get tickets. Amazingly there are a few angels out there that have a connection to this show. Yesterday in my mail I found a letter from the Ellen Show notifying me that there are 4 tickets reserved in my name for the January 31st taping!!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!! I’m going to see Ellen! Who knew that would happen?!?!?! The show will air on February 1st, watch for me in the audience! I can’t wait to see who’s on the show. I always DVR her show and watch it later in the day or save them up so I have a smile when I need it. That’s the thing about Ellen that I love so much, even if I’m having a crappy day after treatment somehow she makes me laugh. She’s so funny and such a positive person that does so much for others. I can’t wait! So I’m going with some girlfriends to LA and we are making it a celebrity stalking type of trip. We are booked at all the top celebrity spotting restaurants and bars.8) There will be a TMZ Bus Tour and shopping, aka browsing, on Rodeo Dr. We are even trying to squeeze in a day at the spa. If anyone in the LA area has any suggestions of places to splurge please let me know.

“Learn Glassblowing” is another item on the list. This is one of those things I’ve always wanted to try but never have. A very special angel sent me a certificate for 2 to attend a glass blowing class here in Phoenix. How cool is that!?!? Dean (my stepdad) is also an artist at heart and will be joining me for this one. We are scheduled for mid January… can’t wait to try it.

I feel so blessed and lucky to have so many angels out there! I know I say it all the time but I am truly overwhelmed. This is just a portion of all of the unbelievable contributions I’ve received to help me with my list. I will continue to post updates and fill you in on other experiences that are currently a work in progress. There is no possible way for me to truly express my gratitude for all of the outreach from so many angels. Please know that you all have touched my heart and I will be forever grateful.

Sending hugs and smiles
Sarah