Im re-writing the entire post I just wrote ten minutes ago.

Ang told me to watch this show on TLC about this girl with Stage 4 breast cancer. I did relate to a lot of the emotions, the fears, all that, but in the end, I stopped watching after about 30 min.

Why? Because It annoyed me. Nothing against this girl, but what the hell? I guess Id just rather see someone with an actual 8-5 job, bills they cant pay, too much on their schedule. Someone who indulges themself a little bit ( or a lot).

Im watching this girl - ok, so you DONT WORK, and you have FIVE HOURS every day to prepare your stupid expensive as hell microbiotic diet food you just got from Whole Foods Market. OH how sweet, your boyfriend prepares your wheat grass smoothie for you every morning.

John walked in the living room while I was watching this (he had no idea what was on) and saw 15 seconds of it and says, "WHEAT GRASS? F**k THAT." I told my mom to start watching this and she called me at the commerical and was like, "What exactly does this girl DO?" Then she made some comment about the crazy diet, which relieved me. For a second I thought she was going to tell me it was a good idea, but then I forgot, this woman has known me almost THIRTY YEARS. She knows better than that.

I dont know. I guess if you have a fat bank roll and an entire day to spend at alternative healing conventions, your yoga class, having one on one sessions with all your professional, deeper than thou close friends, then way to go. Ill admit it, Im jealous. Id love to have that kind of time and money to do that.

But for the rest of us, an actual REAL LIFE is happening...with debt, fast food, bosses, salaries that have you living from paycheck to paycheck, no time to study every possible solution.....

Its just frustrating. Dont plaster that all over as the poster child for breast cancer. Those of us living in the real world cant live up to that. Simply cant afford it.

Despite all this- Ive actually had a pretty great week. Lots of energy, getting a TON of work done, and looking forward to a really good weekend. I cant go to the lake with John because I have to work the Fireworks train on Sunday, so Ill probably head over to Kats for a little bit on Saturday. Ill have some pictures I PROMISE!!!

We play AT Maderia Thursday - Come on out!! my girls are 1-2....shooting for .500 tomorrow!

:)

Ive had a few requests for the schedule....Here ya go! These are JV Starting times, Varsity will follow - plan to stay, they're great and a lot of fun to watch!

Wed 8/15/2007 Away *Scrimmage - Taylor High School * 11:00AM
Mon 8/20/2007 Away Walnut Hills High School 5:00PM
Wed 8/22/2007 Home *Scrimmage - Princeton High School * 4:15PM
Mon 8/27/2007 Home Seven Hills School 5:30PM
Tue 8/28/2007 Home Mariemont High School 5:30PM
Thu 8/30/2007 Away Madeira High School 5:30PM
Tue 9/4/2007 Away Taylor High School 5:30PM
Wed 9/5/2007 Away Northwest High School 5:00PM
Thu 9/6/2007 Home Deer Park High School 5:30PM
Sat 9/8/2007 Away Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy 10:00AM
Mon 9/10/2007 Away Wyoming High School 5:30PM
Tue 9/11/2007 Home Indian Hill High School 5:30PM
Mon 9/17/2007 Away Cincinnati Country Day School 5:00PM
Tue 9/18/2007 Away Reading High School 5:30PM
Thu 9/20/2007 Away Mariemont High School 5:30PM
Tue 9/25/2007 Home Madeira High School 5:30PM
Wed 9/26/2007 Home Taylor High School 5:30PM
Tue 10/2/2007 Away Deer Park High School 5:30PM
Thu 10/4/2007 Away Indian Hill High School 5:30PM
Tue 10/9/2007 Home Wyoming High School 5:30PM
Thu 10/11/2007 Home Reading High School 5:30PM

So Im sitting at chemo today, and the lady next to me is talking about filling out paperwork to get her government aid for chemo.

"You'd better belive I shot to the top of that list when I made it clear I had a disease I WAS GOING TO DIE FROM!", she said.

I had to interject.

"HEY NOW! Dont say THAT! You never know! You might beat this cancer! And you could walk out the door today and get hit by a TRUCK!"

Some people just dont know how to think positive.

FINNEYTOWN JV VOLLEYBALL beats WALNUT HILLS in TWO GAMES!!!

Way to go girls! It was the first scrimmage I had with my girls and they did great! Looking forward to Wednesday's scrimmage against Princeton.
FYI - Our first game is THIS SATURDAY at Middletown HS- JV starts at 10:00 am, Varsity to follow. GO WILDCATS!

Awww....how cute is THIS!!! Nick and Sam Mittermeier (Karen's little girl) show off their pearly whites at Bone's Cornhole Tournament!

So- Bone had his cornhole tournament this weekend. It seriously started off like a dream. 30 random people, guys and girls teamed up by pulling numbers out of two hats, and who do I get as my partner??

So now we've got all the pressure in the world. People expect perfection with a team like this. Cunningham is walking around calling us "Fortener Nation" and we start our two first games with convincing wins - 21-0, 21-3. We're gonna walk right through this tournament.

Bone and his dad playing against each other:
J-Mac teamed up with Debbie, Bone's mom, and did ok. I think they pulled one off in the losers bracket, still, he was never satisfied....

Vince Dean (my senior year turnabout date and Sarah's fiance...dont be jealous, Sarah.), me & CUnningham. We kept singing Duran Duran songs all night after John said Cunningham looked like Simon LeBon. "Her name is Rio......."

Bone models angies new hair bows as he marks one of the worst bracket posters ever seen in these parts.
So yeah......Nick and I make it into the finals. I was really more tired than I was confident, and who really gave a rats ass? We knew everyone there anyway, the championship game didnt REALLY mean anything, right? Wrong.

Nick approaches me and demands that we "Kick their ass"....and.."This girl we're playing has been talking S*hit all night and she's driving me crazy.".....blah blah blah. Apparently this girl had been pretty obnoxious all night and was annoying people left and right. I never saw it, but I was going to do my best regardless. Whatever Nick.

Two minutes later, Sadie Shit-Talker comes strutting out, pointing at me, telling me to "JUST CONCEDE.....Just Concede.....YOu're Goin' Down.....blah blah blah....Dont even try.....blah blah blah"

Now, there's friendly banter, and then theres tiptoeing across that line once a 12-pack bloats your ego to the point where you're REEELY begging to get punched in the face. Im a pacifist for the most part, but this girl made it very easy to imagine her face covered in blood as she continued to cross the line of drunken shit talking......all the while kicking our ass......

Yes folks, thats right. We lost in the finals. In all fairness, her male counterpart did the most damage - she didnt perform quite enough to back up her mouth, but did it matter? no. We lost. Nick was so pissed off he whipped his last bag at me and this other girl. He said he was aiming for her, yet I was the one who got drilled in the leg.

We then sat around licking our wounds, and Nick confessed that no loss suffered in High School or Collegiate Football quite compared to the bite of this defeat. I feel ya, bro.

We then went out to celebrate mom's birthday at LaRosas on Sunday.

Ive got chemo Tomorrow. I only have tomorrow, off a week, and then TWO more Tuesday treatments before Im done. At least done for now, then another PET scan and we'll see how it goes. This week is going to be SUPER HARD. Getting blasted with chemo and trying to push out 12-14 hour days is very taxing but I dont feel like I have much of a choice. Ill probably lay low this weekend after the game. Im supposed to work the Oktoberfest at Germania Park on Sunday but I will relax if Im feeling bad. I promise I wont push it.

DONT FORGET!!! -

Scrimmage AT Finneytown on WEDNESDAY - 5:30! First game at MIDDLETOWN HS on SATURDAY - JV at 10:00am- Varsity to follow.

Stayed at mom & dads Monday night before chemo....how cute! Mine and dads coaching clipboards.....like father like daughter. Jami - this is about as far as I got with the second fan....I did manage to take out the old fan in the master bedroom, but I cant get the base on. Otherwise I think it'd be fine. Theres like, a square (but technically an octagon) insert in the wall....and the base I have is supposed to go into the beams but this little metal "insert" is nestled in the ceiling and the 3" screws I have to put the base on dont fit into the holes in the insert. I dont know what to do. I may take pictures of the issue and take it to someone who knows what they're doing. I no longer feel smart.

John on the other hand, will be LOVIN IT, becuase he CANT STAND having the ceiling fan on in teh bedroom and I cant sleep without it! Should be interesting. - oh, reminder- just went upstairs and turned the window ac on. I like it to be cold.

Tomorrow is team picture day - arrgh! I dont know what Im going to wear...but I might try and take my camera and get some secret team shots. Should I order John a button?

Sorry - this is my only real night off this week - vb practice tomorrow and friday. Ill try to write more. My eyes are just burning. I think these last few chemos are going to wear on me. Lately ive been in a fog after I get that second dose in two weeks. I just had a week off and I shouldnt be this tired right after my first dose after a week off!!!

Sounds like Ill have chemo next Tuesday, off a week, and then chemos the two following Tuesdays and Ill go back for another miraculously successful PET scan. Ill be looking forward to getting off chemo for awhile. I do hate feeling like Im at about 60% living a 110% life.

Im just tired. Its gonna be difficult getting through the next 2 1/2 months..... anywhere from 2-4 more hours after I get off work? What have I gotten myself into?

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....................................

What I am about to share with you is both INCREDIBLY true, and INCREDIBLY dull.

Ang has informed me that my posts of late SUCK, because its all about home improvements, so for the rest of you who dont give a hoot about hard labor, painting, and electrical pursuits, feel free to walk away. Because this weekend was, no joke, about 28 hours of cleaning, swiffering, pitching, painting, and screwing.....- with my Black and Decker you pervert!


Well, I had chosen the color of paint I wanted to use in the living room. I was happy with it. Then I made the grave mistake of sending Stacy a computer generated painted room showing my choice. She said she saw "purple in it". I said she was crazy and copied Kristen on the email. Kristen would definitely back me up. "I agree with Stacy, theres purple in it." These exchanges went back and forth and Stacy actually wrote, "Whatever. Its got purple undertones in it, barney. just letting you know." SHE CALLED ME BARNEY!!!!!!


So these crazy biz-nits put this bug in my head that had me at Lowes on Friday for about an HOUR longer than I should have been there, doubting my original choice. But in the end, I went with my gut. Im happy with it, although Stacy said it would be to "dark" ?????? So I painted the living room, and its all connected to the hallway upstairs, so I painted that too......

And bought too much paint! I had a whole gallon & a half left so I did the den as well. I finished the living room at 2am Friday night, and worked on this room most of the day Saturday. Check out the new curtains! We picked those up at Wal-Mart. Moved the couch around for those of you who have been here.... Heres a better shot of the dining room light. No joke, replaced those old tacky things with something a little more updated.....2.30 a pop. Let me remind you again....an $11 improvement vs. a new $150 lamp...


This is probably, hands down, my greatest technical feat ever. I got a wild hair to bust open this ceiling fan grandpa had lying around and gave to us. I have NEVER attempted to replace a ceiling fan, so I did not have very high expectations. Three hours and 47 F-Bombs later, I give you, the new celing fan in the green room. But the lights arent working. Im not sure why. Get into that next weekend I guess.....
After I put a celing fan up all by myself, I walking around like a Rhodes Scholar. John's parents had a left over porch light that didnt end up getting used at their house in North Carolina, so they gave it to us. Honestly, I knew we needed one on the back porch, but neither of us have any electrical skills at all, so I expected it to stay in the garage for another four years.....UNTIL NOW.



I went outside and inspected the light thats out there now. Bad Stuff. Its so rusted that I couldnt even twist the screws out to replace the light when It went out last winter.

But now that I had my masters in electrical engineering, I had a new optimism about the crappy old light and the gift from my in-laws. I pryed out the rusted nail, undid the old white to white wires and black to black wires, and got started on assembling my new porch light.....

An hour later, I had John come out and inspect....the light. It works!
And finally, I took the two blinds we had in the den and moved them into the bedroom...again, only about 8 more F-bombs to hang these bad boys.

All in all, it was probably the most productive weekend we've had since we moved into the place.
Sorry this wasnt more exciting, Ang.

Oh yeah, Shannon called me the other day to give me a few pointers about this 3-day walk and to remind me to start training a little. So I walked to winton woods, about 6 miles and it kicked my butt....I am NOT ready for this.

oh well.

HAPPY MONDAY! Chemo on Tuesday.

If this article doesnt make you sick, something is seriously wrong. And these righteous folk wonder why so many people are chosing to be "Spiritual" over "Religious". C'mon people.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20221295/?GT1=10252

Before I tell you all about my next crusade, how about a collective, "Awwwwww".....

That's my brother & I at my aunt Mary's wedding. I was a Junior Bridesmaid, which, in my mind, made me mature enough to drive a car. Ironically, im 30, and apparently still not equipped to drive legally by myself....

Anyway, KJ and I were emailing each other today and she spouts this grammar correcting email response to something I wrote:

"BTW, loose and lose are not the same word :P
It’s a giant pet peeve of mine."

Ive never claimed to have copy-editor quality grammar skills, but something sparked inside of me when I started to think about it, and I responded:

"Ive been doing that since the third grade. And probably will not stop.

Loop…hoop…boop…coop…it makes the ewww sound. Im going to petition that “lose” be corrected in the dictionary as it should be properly spelled: LOOSE. My superior brain actually corrects it, despite what we’ve all been taught.

So lose has the ewww sound, so do we pronounce pose? “puze”?.....rose is “ruze”….dose is “duze”…

Im taking a stand against society as a whole for allowing this to go on as long as it has. Im going to petition “Society” to change “lose” to “loose” and officially call it a heteronym. It shouldn’t cause any harm.

Heteronymy. Heteronyms are homonyms that share the same spelling but have different pronunciations. That is, they are homographs which are not homophones. Such words include desert (to abandon) and desert (arid region). Heteronyms are also sometimes called heterophones. ("Heteronym" also has a specialised meaning in poetry; see Heteronym (literature).)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonym

Screw you wavy red lines!"

So there you have it. Im going to take stand and continue spelling "lose", as "loose", just because in my opinion, its correct. I would encourage you all to do the same.

Dont forget to keep those elbows on the table....(Which KJ doesnt like either...)

feel free to vent your own personal gripes with the english language.

UPDATE: LIVING ROOM AND UPSTAIRS HALLWAY ARE PAINTED!!! I bought too much paint so I have PLENTY to paint the den, which needs it desperately!

Oh yeah...One more quicky home improvement....I was never crazy about the light fixture in the dining room, but didnt want to spend $150 bucks on a new light. I dont even know what you call these things....sconces? vases? Anyway, I noticed I could just pull them off. So I went to lowes and picked up six of these for like $3 a pop and turned this:

INTO THIS!!!

Im REEEELY proud of this one - a 15 dollar improvement as opposed to a new $150 light. >patting myself on the back<

I told John if I got the den painted tomorrow we were celebrating at Haps...I think he might pitch in with that one!!!

GAAAHH!!! Why cant I find a flippin' TRIPLE TOGGLE SWITCH PLATE in DISTRESSED BLACK WOOD??? IS THIS TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR???

noooooo!!!! not BRONZE!!

So anyway, im going to paint this weekend and I reeeely want to change the switchplate by teh door. Right now its a cheap bendy gold one and Id really like get a black one. I was just kidding about the distressed wood. It doesnt have to be distressed. But it could be. but not flat either. Something with a little girth.

G'head. Try to find one.....YOU WONT!!!! I called Lowes AND HD and both said they didnt carry anything like that. WHAT EVER.

Also, I am ashamed....

Had my 1st real practice with my JV squad tonight and gave them a pep talk that included a blurb that I stole from many a rugby pep talk. I actually said, "Ladies, the water tastes SOOO much better after a win."

Ok, let me have it. I just couldnt say beer right? Especially not after the Fall Sports drug & alcohol policy kickoff event yesterday.

But then I got to thinking about it, and Aquafina swapped water for beer a LONG time ago! I love this commercial.

Everyone have a good weekend, Ill keep you updated on the painting!

Another "Poor-Mans-el-cheapo-but-aesthetically-pleasing" Home Improvement brought to you by Fort & J-Mac.

So, our computer workstation sits smack dab in the middle of our living room and dining room, and its always been a bit of an eyesore. Ive been keeping my eyes open for a "cleaner" looking desk, as the plywood monstrosity below has seen better days. that drooping desktop looks even more dramatic from the couch - so i finally found a cheap and perfect matching desk off of Target.com.

So I had to go to the Finneytown HS Fall Sports drug and alcohol policy kickoff, (yeah, it was as fun as it sounds!) but it was mostly a bear because it was ninety-some degress the whole time...very uncomfortable. Anyway, John put the desk together when I was gone and set everything up - I think it looks pretty nice!!!
Although, as Murphy's Law would have it, now theres even more shit all over everywhere else:
Monday & Tuesday we had our volleyball tryouts and I only kept 11 girls for JV, which meant cutting 3 nice young ladies. It wasnt easy - especially since we didnt just post a sign, we had to conference with each player. Ive never been in a position to fire someone (unless you count when Nick worked at the Donut Man for like two days and quit becuase he didnt respect my authori-TYE when I told him to go wash trays) so giving the face to face "your cut" meeting was not easy!

We had a great group of girls tryout and Im happy with my JV squad. Hopefully some of you can make it out to some games. The next 2.5 months are going to fly by - the first weekend after the season is over is the Atlanta 3-day walk so my butt is gonna be KICKED!!!

thats it for now. We actually have NO plans this weekend...so, you may not hear back from me for awhile unless something greath happens. Oh wait, I think im going to paint the living room all weekend so I will post pictures of that....ohhhh....I know you're all SOOOOO excited!

PS - Judy or Bobby? Im finishing up my thankyous from the stack of envelopes you sent me and there are three envelopes that dont have names....one is from a Signet Drive in Dayton, one is from Rancocas, NJ and one doesnt even have a return addy so Im at a loss for that one. Can you help me on the other two - just need names... Thanks!

Ok everyone - question to take you into the weekend:

Its 100 fargin degrees out - you're staying in for the weekend with the AC cranked REAL LOW....What are you going to watch on TV all day??? (or, for you smarties, what are you going to read?)

WHY??

Why did I insist to the waitress at Tanks that I wanted the "Regular" size omelette, even after she looked at me like, "Are you reeeealy sure?" On the menu they have omelettes and then a cheaper, "Girlie" omelette (the menu really says "girlie")...I guess I just thought I was hungrier than that. All I really wanted was a bite of someones french toast, but I can never bring myself to order that much sugary carbs for breakfast. Someone else always does. Anyway, I was so ashamed of my complete waste of a good omelette I had to post it and repent..

Turns out Mom, Dad and the Kaysers got a wild hair last night and decided to drive all the way home from Florida. They got home around 3am and then went to breakfast with us today - He'res me, Grandpa & Dad.

And John, Mom & Nick:
And another great t-shirt my brother likes to wear:
Then when we got home, there was an auction going on two houses down....ALL DAY! I blocked my parents driveway and someone called the cops. funny.
No chemo this week, but Monday and Tuesday starts Volleyball tryouts and then its EVERYDAY after work -practice or games until the second week of October....I dont know WHAT Ive gotten myself into! I hope it doesnt wipe me out too bad. Could make for a long fall with only a few blog posts....at the very least, Ill try and keep you updated on how the teams doing!

In other news, Something is going on with my right arm. A few weeks ago, I could feel some sort of tendon, or vein or SOMETHING that had "popped out" under my skin. I could touch my arm and feel it moving around. Weird. Then a few weeks ago, I had volleyball on Monday and at chemo the next day, I told Joni to "Check this out" and I start feeeling my arm (its actually in the video), trying to find whatever had popped out. It was gone. So I thought maybe it had gone back to where it was supposed to be but then for the last two weeks, my arm has been in more and more pain....now my arm is a bit swollen, but I really dont want to wait two weeks to get into a hand specialist....I think its probably just going to go away anyway. But this should make volleyball practice suck if im only 75%.....>SHRUG<> Can you tell? Just a little swollen I guess.

Thanks to nick and mere for having us over - someone let me know if they've ever experienced this wrist issue. Im perplexed.

One more thing....Ive been completely fixated on this new ice cream flavor I saw the other day at UDF....I had to try it tonight.

The verdict? Definitely dates like a red creme soda float, although its a bit "sugar shock" sweet...I guess thats good because it was SO sweet I couldnt even finish half the pint, and lets face it, I shouldnt be devouring pints of ice cream in one sitting anyway.

Question of the week:

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP THREE FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVORS??

Ugh...my 14 hour day is still haunting me....
I was pretty much in a fog all day, and after dinner tonight came home and crashed from about 730-930. Unusual, since im not a napper at ALL. Ive pretty much come to the conclusion that my two week on, one week off chemo regimen has been hitting me the hardest the 3-4 days after the second dose.

Didnt win the iPhone, I checked out the winners blogs - very professional! Personally, I would have picked the Frecklephoto one, but Im just here to be entertained - I dont want to learn anything, at least not about wine....snore! >Stacy sings< "Jealous"! Brent at work sent me the following email: I saw you did not win the iPhone contest. Luckily, there is a consolation prize. Hope you like it. J

Brent L. Collins
Sales & Marketing Manager
Commonwealth Inc.

(click on the word Consolation) - very nice, Brent. In honor of Brent, for, if nothing else, bringing the term "Weak sauce" into the lexicon (John keeps trying to use it in general conversation) here's a video he filmed in his basement of his two friends having a "Dance Off" to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" -- Please stay tuned through about half way to see Josh (blond kid) make an unsuccessful attempt to swing the pole..

Top 10 Blogs in Cincy!

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070801/BIZ01/708010334/

Big thanks to any and everyone who sent in a nomination....I was shocked to see that seeing as we only had a days notice! Today the chamber is hosting a Blog "boot camp" and at the end they'll name the top two winners, who will receive iPhones. I checked out the other blogs and they're all really good.

I dont really get into the ads and all the other features you can do with a blog, so on a technical scale, Im definitely the red-headed stepchild in the group, and as far as being "informative" goes, I dont know if J-macs cooking and my weekend benders on chemo count as important community information.....but who knows? Stranger things have happened!

On a funnier note, my boss came in yesterday a bit in a huff because I was supposed to remind him of his hair appointment the day before and I forgot.

I was all, "Um, did you SEE cincinnati.com today?? Im one of the top ten blogs in Cincinnati. You'll need to be reminding me of MY haircuts from now on."

he didnt laugh.

Im taking off for work late today...I worked a 14 hr day yesterday, heading off to the railyard at 5 to see the private railcars off to Chicago en route to Petoskey....got to meet all the people Ive been talking to on the phone for months - Everyone was great & they're going to have so much fun! Let me know if you're interested in any of the upcoming trips.....

www.cincinnatirailway.com