Boobie Tuesday, Special Edition

Have you fondled your boobies today? If not, you might want to... (or have someone else do it for you - hey, it has to be done, why not enjoy it?!?)

Don't forget, most important!!!

• Monthly self-exams
• Yearly Mammograms

Why do I bring this up now?

Funny you should ask.

I'll tell you.

Mid-November I was doing my own self-exam and found a tender lump.

A few days later was my yearly exam/physical. Doc takes a touchie feelie, yep, it's a lump alright. Sends me off with orders for a diagnostic mammogram.

Day before Thanksgiving, I'm getting all squished. Wait here while we check the films.

Step this way for an ultrasound, we need a better look. Wait here while we check the images.

Recommendation: biopsy

Cry on the way home. On the bus. It was raining.

Doc calls me back that afternoon with the name of some breast cancer surgeons.

Make appointment. J - That's where I was coming back from when you saw me going thru Heather Farms. I had just finished my consultation appointment with the surgeon and had found out exactly what I was up against.

Recommendation: Ultrasound guided needle core biopsy. We'll call hospital tomorrow and send over all your films and images. We'll call you when that's done so you can call them and set up an appointment.

December 18th, Honey and I bundled off to the hospital so I could have my procedure. It turned out a bit different than expected and now I have a small metal marker in my boob** - put there just in case they had to go back in for more. Oh, and we'll need to get a mammogram to mark the spot and record you have that in there. Gee. Thanks. You poke big fat needles in my boob and now you're going to squish it. Sigh. OK, you're all set - your surgeon will have the results at the earliest Monday.

Friday: soreness, occasional pain. Waiting.

Saturday: soreness. More waiting.

Sunday: We go out for a bike ride in the rain. The whole time this whole "is it bad or nothing" hanging over my head as I wait.

Monday: More waiting.

Tuesday morning: Results at last. I have good news for you. Nothing to worry about.

Easy for you to say. I wasn't the only one going thru this and my family, Honey, and a few very close friends have been waiting just as impatiently as I have. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a month.

I was in Target when I got the news. I cried tears of relief in the Target bathroom. And then again on the way back to the bus stop.

So Please, everyone. Do the needful and take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Make sure everyone has all their yearly exams and tests.

Luckily for me, the news was good. There are so many others where it is not.

I am happy to say that on the 11th 'anniversary' of when my Mother was diagnosed with colon cancer, I was not diagnosed with breast cancer.

We've had full days since Honey arrived. Out on the bikes and going all about and stuff. Now I hope I can FINALLY enjoy things and get into the Holiday spirit. And maybe now I'll be in the mood to decorate for Xmas.

I just haven't wanted to do anything.

** My first reaction was...is it made of plastic? Will it dissolve? Metal?!? Will it set off security alarms at the airport? NO?!?!?!?! wtf. What's the point in having something metal in your boob if it doesn't set off the scanners and embarrass the hell out of the poor soul unlucky enough to wand you. THAT'S NO FUN!!!! At least I got a laugh out of the ladies poking me with needles and stuff.

PANNNNNNNNIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not really, but I'm am about to start the last minute running about, cleaning, laundry, and general panic that comes before someone visits. Especially before Honey visits. He arrives TOMORROW NIGHT!

Gulp. So much to do still.

Still working on Pay It Forward Gifts. Yes they are late. But they are done, all I have to do is some finishing and I can send them off.

Finally back to knitting on SPencer's argyle double-knit scarf. God, I love this project! Definitely going to have to do some more - probably not projects as big as a scarf, but I just gotta do more! Four pattern repeats done, about 12 more to go...sigh.

Rode the bike a few times, then the rain started. I'm going to still ride in the cold tho. I'm still deciding on the rain. Oh, speaking of keeping warm on the bike, I found a club on Ravelry for bike riders. Lots of helpful advice and awesome ideas and patterns I'm definitely going to try.

It's been hard getting myself to do anything, but I think I'm getting back into stride.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some online donations to get to...

Show and Tell Saturday

OK, so now that I've come out of hibernating for a bit, I think it's time to show off a few things that I've been promising to show off all week.

First we have "My Precious"....a Pay It Forward gift from AmpuT. The link will take you directly to her blog post about all the 'making it' details and what she put into it... go there first before you continue here...I'll wait...

And now for my photos....and what I think of the bag...

OK, so I'm calling it "My Precious" - does that give you a clue of how I feel?

I absolutely adore this bag.

It's a bag (and we all know how I love bags, purses, totes...anything that holds other things).

It's all made by hand.

It's Olive green.

It's filled with many wonderful goodies.

It's a handmade BAG!




Look at all the cool and awesome things inside. I was feeling a bit down at the beginning of the week, but then the Postman arrived with this...and well, I almost started crying - my hands were shaking at the thought of such a lovely, thoughtful gift coming to me. Seriously, just ask Spencer. My mood lifted and well, I was just so excited, I put it on my wrist and carried it around awhile calling it My Precious.




Today, I will attempt to ball up the sock yarn (Gone with The Wind "Tara" colorway - how awesome is that). The little tin of notions (LOVE the "crap" and "oops" markers!) have a permanent home in the Precious as does the crochet hook and the purple hair band. I think I will use the crochet hook and some sock yarn I inherited from AmpuT a while back and crochet myself a scrunchie.

And now for a little added something...it kept calling to me...as well as a few of my favorite single beads I had no idea what to do with....




I hope you don't mind AmpuT...I added some of my favorite beads that I've had for ages to the ends of the ties. I never knew what to do with them as they are singles and they were just begging to be put on the bag.



So I listened. And it's even more Precious to me. A wonderful handmade gift filled with goodies and now the new home to some cherished beads.

Right now, it's holding my PIF projects. I'm definitely behind on mine, but I'll be finished very shortly.

And once those are done, it will be carrying this special project for Spencer - until it gets too long that is...

As promised, the double knit Argle Scarf - shown on the cover of Son of Stitch and Bitch

Yes, Folks, I am knitting that scarf! And I am TOTALLY FREAKIN' LOVING IT!




I'm knitting it in KnitPicks Swish DK in brown and blue to match a hoodless hoodie that Spencer just loves to wear...like ALL the time.



It took me 5 or 6 frakking times (I totally stopped counting after 4) to get this darn thing started and to understand the damn chart and all, but it was definitely worth it!!!



Yes!! That's double knitted Argyle. On MY needles!!!


Comments Comment: yes AmpuT, the pockets on that dress are a bit much. They would be way too much for my shortness and wideness, so I'd totally either just make a blouse or would switch out the skirt to be something less pockety. Oooh, a sheath with a belt perhaps....I'm with you tho, it's the collar and all that that hooked me.

Scary Saturday continued with...

...Gnat II, Revenge of the Gnats

So I go out Saturday afternoon for a bike ride, figuring it will be a short one since I've had a slight fever the last few days, but I haven't been out of the apartment for 2 days now and I'm going crazy and if I don't get out soon I'll explode.

You know how it goes.

So I get into my gear, get outside, think to myself...hmmmm....maybe I'll go a bit longer cos the fresh air feels great and I think I can manage a nice leisurely ride for a bit.

Get going down the path and OMG!!!! Attack of the killer swarms of GNATS.

Check for bugs. I hate bugs - Cairo Prison Warden, The Mummy (movie)

DAY-UM...Huge, ginormous swarms ALL OVER THE FREAKIN' PATH!!!!

I swear, I almost wrecked several times just trying to make it thru - and I kept going thinking, there MUST be an end to this torture soon, they can't go for that long, can they?

Um, yes, they can - but with no place to turn around quickly on the path, I kept going right thru.

Only problem with that was that I had to come back thru.

Since I'm sitting here typing, I must have made it...

...to forge on ahead today with a 10mile round trip on Sgt Puff to meet Antonella for an afternoon of shopping and an early dinner while Spencer and his friend were at the house playing xbox.

I got the cutest ankle boots and a small olive leather Liz Claibourne purse ($9 - can't go wrong) and shared an awesome sample platter off BBQ with Antonella.

Honey, we'll be going there when you come, you will like it better than the usual place. Yes, you will.

Was going to post a picture of the only crafting project I can show for now, but I'm not far enough yet. Trust me tho when I say - it's AWESOME!!!!! Two new knitting techniques for me, but I seem to be catching on most awesomely. Argyle and double knitting.

Spencer says I rock.

As far as this project is concerned? Yeah, I do. Yay!

Head down, working...working...and yeah...

Work for work's sake and to pay the bills, continues to be, well, work.

Job Basket fun and frolic has slowed down a bit. I've been picking out jobs that are taking more than one or two sessions to complete, and between Work Work, the kid, crafting, and life, well, those sessions are down to one or two a day.

Crafting continues at a frenzied pace and panic has set in as deadlines loom...

Bank issues with new cards being sent out and old ones being cancelled adds to the chaos.

Now having to change all my stuff, well, that just pisses me off.

Good stuff:

Spencer got a great grade report! We have our first family/teacher conference some time this week if only we can all agree on a time. (Not my fault, I blame the Ex. See AmpuT? You're not alone.)

Honey is coming to visit for the Xmas/New Year/His B-day Holidays. You can't tell, but I'm very excited. He'll be here 3 weeks. PANIC!

I can now officially enjoy my new glasses. Both pairs. I have this awesome tricked out pair for computer/reading work that I wear at (where else) the computer while I'm working. Most. Awesome. Things. Ever. Now I can officially say, I have my distance glasses as well. Got them, couldn't see shit, had to get tested again, got them updated and picked them up today. They work and I can see!!! Just taken me over a month to say, "I can see again". Sigh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The official countdown has started: Honey says it's 29 days. I'll take his word for it as I'm too freaked out and panicked to count.

Speaking of panic...The Job Basket still looks full! Need to get moving a bit faster and get going on completing more jobs!!!

Now we're talkin'...

...or should I say working...

I'm finally getting some 'tougher' jobs out of the basket.

Last night I worked on one of our storage closests.

Tonight I get to tackle some boxes from the storage unit that are in the living area. Specifically two boxes. And I've freed up enough space in that storage closet to add in anything from those boxes that needs to stay. Can't wait!

Can't believe I'm typing that...about to go and check if I have a fever or something.

Now you see why I need to make another set of Jobs for the Basket once this set is done. Everything that I'm putting back into the closests will need a permanent home. And those permanent homes are yet to be determined.

Yeah, this is gonna take some time.

Holiday and Pay It Forward crafting continues...

Now what did I do with that thermometer...

Ummmm....

OK, so no photos again today. My excuse today is that the bike is back in the shop.

I got a few bucks unexpectedly (ok, so I knew it was coming, just not when), and I'm having a rack installed on the back. And I bought some folding (collapsible against the bike) baskets to hang on it, oh, and a small basket for the front.

Once I get it back, it'll be all kitted out and then I can take some photos for show and tell. Although with all the baskets, etc on it, you might not be able to see the poor bike. hee hee. Oh, and you know I named it.

In the mean time, know that I've set aside the socks and the suede bag and am working on some very important projects (2 to be exact) that are on a tight deadline. It envolves cotton - lots of cotton. Yarn or fabric I won't say...as you'll see soon enough.

PIF is happening...and an FO!

Wow, I have two people signed up so far...my friend Cherry...and someone I don't know - Suz - from all the way over in Scotland!

How exciting! I'm already thinking of stuff to make...I'll be reading Suz's blog to find out more about her and will be asking both a few questions to help me make them something not only crafty, but that they will enjoy. Once the gift knitting is done, and the Holidaze are over, I'm going to get going on this. Whee!

Now need only one more person! Hello - knock's on screen - anybody else out there wanna play?

And now for bed...just getting over the head cold and I've been blind-sided by some sort of stomach bug. Gah!!!! Didn't make it to the treadmill today...headed to bed for a short nap instead and then went back to work.

This weekend will most likely be filled with many hours in bed being taken care of by my 13 yr old. About time, don't you think?!?

Ooooh...FO ALERT! The cable project is done...needs the ends woven in and a good blocking. Still waiting on the rest of the yarn for Spencer's hat. In the meantime, I have started the Honey's Dalek. I'm making it out of the leftover yarn from his Leeds United scarf. Going good so far as I've been managing to keep count despite my current state. Also going to start on a few other gifts 'cause I like to have a few projects in varying degrees of difficulty on the needles to switch around to if I get bored or tired of counting.

OH, and we've switched up the plan for Spencer's hat...it will be loosely based on Swell now and we're adding a third color. Once I get all the yarn, I'll show you the colors he picked out. He's found a different graphic pattern that he likes, and I'll be making the earflaps a bit differently, and there will be a color work pattern at the top of the hat as well, and , and, and... Once I'm feeling better, I've got a lot of numbers to crunch to make sure the new design and extra design work in with the amount of stitches I've got to work with...gah...so many numbers, so few coherent brain cells...

Honey visit update...Looks like it's been pushed back to Feb...Spencer is in the school play and they've finally set the date for January 27th. We've been working on his lines for a few weeks now, and there's no way I'd miss his stage debut. But you better believe I'll be jumping on a plane soon afterwards...

PIF

Not pffft, but PIF as in Pay It Forward...

Saw this on No-Blog-Rachel's blog and then today on Amputeehee's blog. Decided to think about it and well...I'm in...so here goes...

First we have the pledge:

Here's the deal:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.


And then we have the...omg what have I done?

Well, for starters, I'm going to get something handmade by non other than the Amputee. She's a wonderfully creative lady and can't wait to see what she comes up with...met her in person last year and she's just as lovely in real life as on her blog.

Next, I get to make something for 3 different people that I most likely have not made something for before...at least I hope it'll be 3 people...do 3 people actually read my blog?!? hee hee

Something different and definitely fun...oh, and please realize, I do all sorts of crafting, so it may or may not be knitted, but it will definitely be made by my own two little hands. Once someone signs on and pledges, I might ask you a few questions to help me decide what I should make and send to you.

OK? s'alright...let the crafting begin...oh and the 365 day time limit? No problem.