Report Card

Last week…

1. I finished one author’s edits and will complete another’s today! So, a productive week, even if I didn’t write one word for myself.
2. I attended the annual potluck at my art guild. It was lovely seeing friends! I was good until just after I finished eating, then I felt as though a curtain fell and I was instantly exhausted. You can see the moment in the picture. Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave immediately because my dd, SIL, and the girls were busy hanging donated wreaths around the center after the meal. When I got home, I crawled straight into bed and slept like a rock. The food was good BTW. 🙂
3. I had a Doppler scan of my port area. The doctor wanted to rule out blood clots as the cause for the swelling. No clots! But also no explanation for why my port area is still swelling and sore. I also had a blood draw to make sure I’m good to go for infusions on Monday!
4. I watched the romcom Hot Frosty this week on Netflix. So I got in one Christmas movie! It was really cute! I’d recommend.

This next week…

1. Chemo is tomorrow! I’ll be there bright and early in the morning and sitting in the chair until around 3 PM. It’s a long day, but they start it off with a bag of Benedryl, so I get a long nap, too. Silver linings, folks!
2. I have no plans to do ANY WORK AT ALL this week.  I’ll likely be miserable and sleeping most of the week anyway, but without the stress of working. My holiday gift to me.
3. Despite the fact I’ll be in my worst phase of recovery from chemo on Thanksgiving Day, I’m still looking forward to spending it with my family. Maybe I’ll sleep in the recliner in the living room rather than in my bed so I can hear the chatter and be closer to the kitchen and dining room. Fewer steps to walk! I do love the holiday meal!!!
4. I do plan to putter around my office a little bit during the week to clear out some clutter. Mostly to get in some movement, if not real exercise. Clutter tends to accumulate without my even noticing, but I’m noticing now because my In Box is so tall it’s teetering, and there’s dust on my bookshelves. So, there’s a goal.

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

1. A Poll! Advent Countdown Giveaways (Contest) — This one ends tomorrow night! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. It’s Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day! (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
3. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Your Christmas Movie List! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Flashback: Brian (Contest–3 Winners!) — Win a FREE book! THREE winners!
5. Gabbi Grey/Gabbi Powell: Why mental health is so damn important (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Memory Puzzle: Dead Horse Bounty Hunters (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
7. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Turkey Day is Coming! — Win an Amazon gift card!

A quick health update. Next week, I have chemo on Monday, which will make for a miserable week while I recover. Right now, I should be feeling almost like normal. However, this problem with my chemo port continues. I had a CT scan, a regular ultrasound, and then a Doppler ultrasound—all to tell me that I do not have a blood clot causing the swelling and pain around the port. So, I have no idea why the area around it is painful and swollen. I left a message yesterday with the clinic asking them to rip out the port because it really is driving me nuts. Lying down exacerbates the pain for some reason, so I’ve had insomnia, and I nap two to three times a day to try to catch up on rest. The one good thing is that I don’t think as much about the aching numbness in my feet.

Last night was the first time I went out for something non-medical related in months. My beloved art guild had its annual potluck at the center. It was nice catching up with everyone. We arrived early at 6 PM. By 7:30, I was swaying in my seat, ready to go home to bed. I felt so good for about an hour, so happy to be there, then it was like a curtain fell, and I couldn’t wait to get home and crawl into bed. I had to wait another hour before we could leave. Still, I’m glad I went. The food was good, and the company was even better. 🙂

The weather’s finally turning here. Our nights are dropping toward freezing. Our days are in the 60s. Today’s the last day kids are in school before their weeklong break begins. It’ll be fun having them around every day, all day. Really. The girls have their unique personalities but get along so well. There’s always music playing, always lots of laughter. Even if I’m not feeling well, I’ll want to sit in the midst of all of that chaos. And dang! There will be Black Friday shopping, which we never miss, but this year, I will. 🙁

I’ll be working on edits for other authors today. I have two sets to wrap up over the next few days. I’m a very lucky person that my job lets me walk from my bedroom to my office and back, as I please/need. I can’t imagine going through all this and trying to keep a regular day job where I’d have to get dressed and put on makeup, make a drive, and smile all day. My head would be on my desk sobbing by mid-morning I’d be so tired. How do other people cope with something like this—especially if they don’t have a family to fall back on? I can’t even imagine it. I count my many blessings every day.

Report Card

Last week…

1. The Demon Lord’s Cloak released! I promoted it, running a couple of small ads. It’s the last release of the year for me. 🙁 
2. I completed edits for one author and worked on another two editing projects.
3. There have been some health issues with two other family members. Nothing as consequential as my continuing PITA cancer. However, it does mean, everyone’s stressed out. Also, the skin around my chemo port has gotten tender and swollen. I talked to me oncologist this weekend, and he recommended I show up to clinic on Monday for them to check it out. I’m hoping it just needs a flush. If something’s wrong, I’ll have to have a minor surgery to remove it, and I’ll be back to IVs in the arm.

This next week…

1. No books on the horizon. I think I’m not even going to put pages on my schedule until a month after my last chemo appointment. It’s just too hard to keep up with everything and try to be creative when I’m fighting fatigue. I’ll putter with editing and enjoy the holidays with my family. Priorities!
2. I’ll be at the clinic tomorrow to have them examine my port. And I have a blood draw on Thursday in preparation for next Monday’s chemo infusions.
3. I’ll be finishing edits for two authors this week.
4. The local art guild is having their holiday potluck this week. I’m hoping to be rested enough to join them for the evening.
5. The rest of my time will be spent living in the moment with my family and my cats!

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs:

1. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Thanksgiving Prep! — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Gabbi Grey: Why I keep going back to Passport to Pleasure (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
3. Word Puzzle: Favorite Shifters (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
4. A Poll! Advent Countdown Giveaways (Contest) — Win an Amazon gift card!
5. It’s Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day! (Contest) — Win a FREE book!
6. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Your Christmas Movie List! — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Stephanie!
*~*~*

I unplugged completely yesterday. I had to make a trip in the morning to the cancer center an hour away for a shot to boost my white cell count. I still felt sick as a dog, so the winding roads to get to Hot Springs just about killed me. When I got home, I went straight to bed and pretty much stayed there all day. I didn’t turn on my computer even once.

I’m still not feeling great, but I’ll try to get a few high priority tasks out of the way before I take a pain pill and sleep away the day. The pain is from the chemo, not the cancer. My feet are cramped with charley horses constantly. My legs have painful spasms. I have a headache, a slight fever… I could go on and on. And I think I just did. 🙂

My daughter decorated for Christmas early the last couple of days, so I did sit for a little while watching as she hustled around, setting up all her treasures. We have numerous trees, nutcrackers, gnomes, townscapes, etc. We like our Christmas decorations and try to stretch the season as much as we can. My dd and oldest granddaughter then watched a Hallmark Christmas movie. I tried to stick it with them but ended up heading back to bed a third of the way in. Hopefully, I’ll start feeling better soon. My next treatment is the Monday of Thanksgiving week. I’ll be completely miserable for the holiday.

Anyway, enough of the health (unhealth?) update. We have some Saturday fun to begin!

Saturday Puzzle-Contest — Thanksgiving Prep!

Now that the Christmas decorations are up, my daughter is turning her attention to the Thanksgiving feast. She has a very detailed plan, which includes her shopping list, the times she has to put certain foods on to cook, recipes for the dishes, etc. She even has a shelf in the pantry that she’s cleared to hold her ingredients. Her Uber-plan works. For the past three Thanksgivings, her meal has been superb.

For you U.S.-residents, do you go all-out for Thanksgiving? For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me about your Thanksgiving preparations. And if you’re not in the U.S., do you have a similar feast?

Report Card

Last week…

1. I had my chemo on Monday with all the usual symptoms that followed—nausea, body aches, fatigue, and insomnia. As of today, I’m getting back to normal.
2. I worked on edits for one author.
3. I slept—a lot.

This next week…

1. Tomorrow, I’ll get a white cell booster shot and have a blood draw. At some point soon, my oncologist is going to order up some more scans to see how the treatment is working.
2. I’m still working on edits for one author and will finish it by the weekend. Then I’ll start the next set.
3. I’ll try working/editing on of the pages I’ve already written for Ignition, just to keep the story in my head so at some point I can commit to writing new pages.
4. I have the last Delta Heat stories to take wide, meaning, to upload to sites other than KU.
5. Yes, my plan is very unambitious, but that’s okay.

Open Contests

Be sure to check out these posts and enter to win the prizes that are still up for grabs!

1. September into October (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
2. Happy International Coffee Day! (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
3. Word Search: Crafts you might enjoy… (Contest) — Last day to enter! Win an Amazon gift card!
4. Gabby Grey: Dedications (Contest) — This one ends soon! Win a FREE book!
5. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Bucket List — This one ends soon! Win an Amazon gift card!
6. Cameron Allie: The Perfect October Fantasy Read is FREE–(for a limited time only!) — One more day to get your FREE book! 
7. Puzzle-Contest: Celebrating Ada Lovelace Day! — Win an Amazon gift card!
8. Krysten Lindsay Hager: YA Second Chance Romance that’s F*R*E*E for a Limited Time — Get your FREE book!
9. Saturday Puzzle-Contest: Halloween Movies & Activities — Win an Amazon gift card!

UPDATE: The winner is…Pansy Petal!
*~*~*

Halloween is always a fun time of year for our family. It’s the kickoff to the holiday season—Halloween, Thanksgiving, St. Nicklaus Day, Christmas, New Year’s Eve… We celebrate them all because we love excuses for celebrating.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, solve the puzzle, and then offer suggestions in the comments for Halloween movies or activities that would be fun for the family!

For those interested, here’s my health update:  Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

Yesterday was Chemo Day—the third round. It’s funny; I almost looked forward to it—or at least I wasn’t filled with dread or fear. I know it’s the beginning of a miserable week, but I don’t even dread that. Not yet. I’ll probably rethink it on Wednesday or Thursday when the deep muscle and joint aches begin—but I have some good drugs to help with that. 🙂

Anyway, I came home from chemo, which ended at 3 PM, and headed straight to bed. Other than getting up for dinner or walks to the bathroom, I slept all the way until 3 AM this morning, and I’ve been up since, on a roll. I puttered picking up things, and even dusted my desktop (a huge chore given all the crap I have on the surface).

Then, I turned my attention to what to do with my blog today—since I def feel up to it.

I love quirky, obscure holidays, and today is an important obscure one. It’s Ada Lovelace Day!

Who is Ada? From the website Time and Date:  “Ada Lovelace was an English mathematician who worked with Charles Babbage on his calculating engine, called the Analytical Engine. Her plan to calculate Bernoulli numbers using the engine is now widely considered as the world’s first computer program. In 1980, the United States Department of Defense created a programming language and named it Ada in honor of Ada Lovelace’s contribution to the world of computing.”

I remember when the ADA programming language was a thing back in the day. I remember, too, the state of computers back when I was new to the Army. In fact, during my summer ROTC training before I graduated from college, I was selected to be part of a team that went to an Army base to evaluate an exercise the active duty units there were undergoing. Our job was to shadow and assist the active Army observers. We were the ones entrusted to gather their observations and put them together into a single, extensive report. We were given access to a computer to write up the report—beginning after duty hours so we didn’t disrupt the people who worked there during the day. I was assigned the job of typing up all those reports, editing, then printing out the report (my first editing job, y’all). The computer sent the book to a printer that spit out hundreds of punch cards that looked like the picture above. The others had to take that stack and walk it to another device that read the cards then produced the written report. All those cards had to be kept in order so two people carried it, one holding the cards from the ends and the other supporting it so it didn’t fall to the floor. If you had one card out of order, you had to reprint the entire thing. If they (the active duty folks) decided to make changes to the report you had to repeat the entire process again.

Still, I thought how cool was it that we were able to type up a report, making changes along the way, and we didn’t have to retype the entire thing. It did save labor on that end. LOL

A few years later, I was assigned to work on the general’s staff at Fort Gordon (now, Fort Eisenhower), Georgia and we actually had an internal email system that connected the staff to all the heads of different organizations on the post. So much progress in so few years. Shortly after that, I bought my first computer, a Radio Shack TRS-80, and I was the first on my block to own a personal computer. I had to learn a smattering of code to work it, but that was just part of the adventure!

Today? We all take for granted the innovations. Back then, we felt like we would soon be living in the Jetson’s future.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Have fun with the puzzle. Solve the puzzle then tell me about any computer innovation that amazed you for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card!