Saturday...Dinner with the fam &

Kelts Breast Cancer fundraiser!!!

I dropped the ball in a big way by not even mentioning the Breast Cancer fundraiser this week. The Kelts hat their annual event on Sunday, and Mom, Dad, Nick and Meredith came down around 4 and we made dinner for everyone. Ok, John Made dinner for everyone. But you knew that. Lamb chops, lamb ribs, twice baked potatoes, and an assortment of salads provided a nice base before clocking in for the $20 all you can drink evening.

It was a great time as usual. Mass amounts of beer was consumed, and I woke up with a beautiful draft beer headache. Just like the good old days. Mom and Dad went home last night and Nick and Mere stuck around this afternoon for lunch (ordered Donatos) and then headed off to a family event she had in Cincy.

Pauly enlisted me to make signs again this year. Every year Ive used a different medium. One year it was fat markers, last year it was poster paints on poster board. This year its banners with spray paint....Nick was here so he wanted to contribute. We pulled up and printed this pic of Mongo in Drag and then did spray-painted a pair of breasts like he'd done it a thousand times before. Pauly keeps wanting this event to be a classy affair, so he put the kibosh on the poster...at least until 11pm when Nick & Co. managed to put it up:
And here are the party pics: Casey, Chuck, Eva, Amy, Dan & Patty
There she is!! Mary Ann Sweeney, Fellow survior, mans her post at the end of the bar. Thumper & Pauly join in on the fun:

Kyra, Nick, J-mac & Adam "Jimmy Shea" Schaffer. Jimmy Shea is quite possibly the loudest human in the tristate. There were no hearing issues last night!! Love you j-shea!
All the girls - way to go Ladies - Big victory over Louisville on Saturday - hopefully Ill be out in the spring! I think I was getting a little frustrated over the 40 shots tha were being taken....???
You didnt think Id disappoint and forget my "in the round" shot? NEVER!!!!!
No matter how tough they try to be, the guys enjoy a good photo op just like the rest of us...
Hula Nick and Brandon....getting ready to call it a night guys?

Yeah...its getting late....
Mike, Casey & Eva causing trouble.
E-Beth, Casey, Toby & Eva.
Another busy night at Haps....
On a sadder/happier note, I hugged my awesome, sequin, Junior prom dress good bye today and sent it up north to Dayton, to be personally delivered to Dana Sintell, drag queen extrordinarre. This dress is going me no good in my closet, and it is WAY TOO fabulous to just throw away. Ill be sure to take pictures if and when it gets christened at a Rubi Girls show.
This is the last official week of volleyball, games on Tuesday & Thursday, but I cant be at the last game on Thursday, as Ill be driving to Atlanta for the 3-Day breast cancer walk. I hate missing my last game, but Ive had these plans forever! Im scared to death about what Im getting myself into but Im committed to finish this bitch if its the last thing I do!! I said I would and im sticking to my word, no matter how out of shape I am!! arrrgghhttt.....I am stupid!!! HEAR ME ROAR!!!!

Can you belive Scrapbook weekend is like THREE WEEKS AWAY??? I have no idea what im going to do...Actually, Shannon says this walk is pretty spectacular and incredibly inspiring, I may just take my camera and take a TON of pictures and do a really nice scrapbook for it. Ill be sure to take my special pens and do some journaling while im there. These are the experiences that get you thinking and you cant get those moments/thoughts back! Yeah...thats what im doing.

HAPPY SUNDAY!

Question of the week

(I know most of these are music related, but I love hearing what everyone is into)

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE FAVORITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME???

(Ill answer later, I need to think this through. This is pretty heavy)

KATS QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Why did you text me asking what HS I went to?

Just a general, boring update.

• I meant to mention the other day that the ENT doc I saw made some comment about "Dayton people being much friendlier than Cincinnati people" after I gave him my more than enthusiastic report on recent chemo, transfusions, ear ringing, junkie looking forearms....It all dawned on me that Ive been trying so hard to evolve into this Cincinnatian, but I guess its true, you can take the girl out of Dayton.....
• The doc said alcohol and caffiene will make the ringing worse. He's right.
• Ive been noticing that people in Cincinnati dont give courtesy waves when you let them in. I think now Im hypersensitive to my friendly Dayton upbringing.
• Ive been feeling MUCH better except for the ear ringing....Im afraid it wont go away. Trying to fall asleep is the worst. Middle of the day is tolerable. The High School volleyball teams we've been playing have been blasting THE WORST rap known to man at ear drum blowing decibles. I need to pick up some ear plugs....
• We lost last nights game but I was down two starters. They kept it close and fought all the way. I was proud of them!
• My energy has been in lockstep with my work performance. I feel confident in what Im doing for the first time in months. My productivity was great this week. Actually going in tomorrow to wrap some things up. I feel like I havent been caught up since I got back from vacation four months ago!!
• YES! Scrapbook Mtn is just around the corner....fear not Stacy, Alisa, Jean, Jan, & Judy....the seating request has been SUBMITTED AND APPROVED!!!!
• Jami, sorry you cant make it. It will SUCK with out you!
• Thats all I can think of right now. Ill post some good pics from Angies 30th birthday tomorrow if I get a chance....

oh yeah....correction:

EMMA IS TWO!!! (not 1 as I posted before)

HAPPY BELATED 30TH BIRTHDAY ANG!!!

YES! That's a Rubi Girl Venue!....

YES! Its on top of a building!

In what was one of the coolest spots in town, the Rubi girls performed on top of the Firefly building. This was a brand new location, offered up by the building's owner and tennant - who was lucky enough to join the girls in drag....and his wife loved it! It was a great night and well over a thousand dollars was raised for Cystic Fibrosis! As always, Josh was a ham, dropping the f-bomb no less than 12 times, harassed the crowd and kept things exciting....of course the rest of the girls were spectacular as usual. If you have yet to catch a Rubi girls show - Id highly reccomend it - John actually passed up watching the OSU game to go, if that tells you anything. Here, Filene Nails breaks it down...
The crowd favorite, Fonda Peters takes a break from the bar for a self portrait. This one cracks me up everytime. Usually about 2/3s into the show, she gets so hammered she cant remember any of the routines and basically freestyles it for the rest of the show. Always my favorite part!
This was toward the end I think, Anita Beer was already out of her costume, but they needed a male part for what ever song they were performing. The drinks were quite strong so unfortunately I have no idea....something from 'Rent' perhaps???
Of course my first question to Josh at the beginning of the night, was, "TELL ME, someone is going do SOMETHING on Britney..." And of course, the Rubi girls never disappoint. Bravo Ileasa Plymouth! Defintely one of my top favorites!
Wow! Could this post get raunchier? No. I didnt have the batteries for any film clips...Ill get it the next time. Lets get this post back to something wholesome....

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY EMMA KATE!!!!!

Sunday I woke up feeling less than stellar. I belive I suffered from a post-dated hangover, as I felt fine until we all headed to China Cottage for lunch with mom and dad. It was great as usual, although I hardly touched my food. Around 2 we finally headed back south to Stacy & Casey's for Emma's 2nd birthday party. Great spread, good company as always. Happy Birthday Emma!
She was NOT having the party hat. AT. ALL.
Will, Stacy, Sandy, Megan, Merle, and Emma!

Thats about it for the weekend wrapup. I have no general observations, heated controversial opinions to share, nothing. I hope these posts havent been boring you. Honestly, this constant ear ringing and co-existing headache that wont go away (im 6 days in to a 10-pack Levaquin with no changese), I hardly have the energy to do ANYTHING.

Seriously...and Im supposed to take a 60 mile walk in two weeks and I was winded after walking to the football game this friday. Stay tuned. I have a feeling my life is going to resemble a massive train wreck in about two weeks!

Happy Monday!

TODAY: SUCKFEST TO PLEASANT SURPRISE.

Ok - Let me just quickly address the SUCKFEST that was my visit to ENT doc this afternoon. Long story short? The ringing in my ears and sudden hearing loss is legit...as in about a THRITY FIVE PERCENT LOSS according to the test. Here are a few highlights: (yes, Jami & stacy Im TOTALLY copying IBBB - everyone else, IBBB is a blog that we've all become addicted to. We "heart" the Hills and this dude gives THE BEST wrap-ups. PERIOD. The shiz: http://imbringingbloggingback.blogspot.com/ Ok, back to the appointment:

• Doc looks at report and excitedly says, "Well! You're 29 and you have the hearing of a FIFTY-NINE year old!" Does this mean I can finally retire?



• Even with a 35% loss, as I was taking the test in the sound booth, here's a little sneak peek into my inner thoughts: "Ok, heard that...'yes'......heard that, 'yes'......heard that, 'yes', oh, that was really quiet but I definitely thought i heard something, 'yes', ok, this must be the part where she doesnt make the headphones beep, like she's trying to keep me honest, ....ok, defintely heard that, 'yes'.....wow, im hearing all these low tones, im passing the test, they're totally going to think im an idiot for coming in here, heard that, 'yes', great, I have 100% hearing and they're going to think Im the biggest hypochondriac." Unfortunately that was not the case.



• The doc says, "You have any Idea what may have brought this on?" I start rattling off the insanity of medical procedures, and conclude with the chemo. "What chemos are you on?" Cisplatin was the only one I could think of. "Nuff said" he replies. "The Platinum agents in those chemos will cause hearing loss." Thats SUPER!



• Anyway, there is no cure, we just hope it goes away. He said the only thing he could really give me was Xanax....WHAT??? I guess it just lowers the stress that can make the constant ear ringing less tolerable. I told John and he laughed. "Yeah, I got this ear-ringing, but its all good."



• Ears are ringing right now. Im going back in a month to see if things have improved. I can deal with the hearing loss but this ringing might make me go totally mad!!!



• Got home from the appointment to get ready for the:

FINNEYTOWN COMMUNITY HOMECOMING PARADE!!!!or whatever they call it...

I gotta tell ya. Despite all the shit thats been dumped in my lap for the last four years (can you belive its been four years?) I have to say the good stuff seems to pour in at about the same clip as the bad. I never thought we'd ever actually be out of the apartment and in a house, and Id always hoped to have some sort of community involvement whereever we ended up, but I have to tell you, I never imagined in my wildest dreams Id be coaching hs volleyball and driving a pickup truck full of my players through the streets of Finneytown. All the sports teams, (Middle school-hs) marching band, Homecoming King/Queen Candidates, and maybe some clubs?- All parade through the streets and end up at the high school for a class vs. class game of dodge ball. This is a great place to live!!! Here some of the girls wait for the parade to start: Paige, Bri, Kaitlin, Laney & Melissa:

Katie, Me, Kylie & the future Homecoming Queen - STEPH!!!!!
Steph and Patrick Dawson rode behind Coach Baker's car. Shoe-in if you ask me.
Abby ups her marching band cool factor by representin' the Volleyball team....WHUT WHUT!
Varsity girls in their pick-em-up:
We were behind the soccer team - All the teams bring bags of candy and throw it out to all the kids in the neigborhood. The kid in front of me actually had a bag of dog bones and was running off the platform and treating all the dogs that were out - quite a few!

Oh yeah....here are a few pics Stacy took at the Volley for The Cure last night....my team, and me with Melissa, in the "We 'heart' Fort" t-shirts the varsity team wore for warmups....awesome.



I didnt even mention anything to John about when I left - I had explained that Im like an infant with all of this - everything is brand new. Luckly I called him and he got back to the high school to see the end of the parade as we were coming back.

I havent had a really good question of the day in awhile- and I was bummed that no one had an opinion on "The DInette Set"....seriously? Are you all just being nice? I doubt the lady that writes it reads my blog. (And if you know her, please dont forward the link)

QUESTION OF THE DAY -

What is your favorite music video EVER?

FINNEYTOWN BEATS TAYLOR IN 3!!!!

Volley For the Cure was a Huge Success! Over $3000 dollars raised! Im pretty wiped out but Ill post some pictures- Heres the clip of the final point scored:


JV & Varsity:

The whole fam, gma, Jean, Steve, Jan, Ryan, Chris & Tom. Tom was the line judge for the varsity match -Thanks! Im a slacker and didnt get a second judge. Oops!
Another shot of the stands...
Alisa, Me, Stacy & KJ- I pulled the 50/50 ticket and whos did I pull??? Stacys!! That bleeding heart gave all $115 back to the cause!
Long night, too tired to write anything, but Ill post some more pictures if anyone sends them.

Crossing Paths

Ever have one of those days where you catch something that you may not have if you simply werent paying attention?

In light of my recent botched hair-bleaching, I panicked on my way from mom and dads to chemo. (Ive been telling Joni all this time Ive been wanting to go platinum and she's been all, "You go for it sister!") I didnt want to walk into chemo and have everyone glaring at my rediculous hair, so I diverted from my usual route to hit the Walgreens across from Parnell's for a hair band to cover much of my hair.

Im sitting at the stop light waiting to turn left onto Forrer, and who makes a left hand turn in front of me, but MY BROTHER and Keith on their way to work. We both saw each other and quickly, excitedly waved. It was like, the most exciting thing thats ever happened to me between the hours of 8am & 9am.

Thennnnnn......Im speeding on my way to my game tonight and Im talking to Stacy, and she's all, "where are you?" And Im all, "Im on Ronald Regan heading east, passing Stoll's house." And she's all, "Im heading west about to pass you!" I cant see her yet, and just as she says, "Im flashing my headlights!" I see her coming. Of course we're both in the fast lane, and moments later, we share a half second of violent waving and laughing as we pass each other. It was the most fun Ive had on a commute home, EVER!

Dont forget!! Tonights the big Volley For the Cure game at Finneytown. JV is 530- Varsity to follow around 630 - Parking will be tight, get there early!!!

If it doesnt end too late, we're heading over to JB's across the street for a beer or three and some appetizers. Come out and Join us!!

DONT FORGET!!!

TOMORROW (Wed. Sept 26th) IS

VOLLEY FOR THE CURE @

FINNEYTOWN HIGH SCHOOL!!!

8916 Fontainebleau Terrace
Cincinnati, OH 45231

http://www.mapquest.com if you need directions.

JUNIOR VARSITY starts at 5:30 - VARSITY TO FOLLOW 630ish

DONT FORGET TO WEAR YOUR PINK SHIRTS IF YOU HAVE THEM,

or any pink shirt will do.

Discounted entry fee for pink shirts!

(I think its $2 or something....)

SEE YOU THERE!!!!

Cincinnati: Putting the "ASS" back in "CLASSY"

I cant deny I've always been a fan of novelty t-shirts. Typically reserved for Junior High boys and retired men, I was pleased to see this middle-aged woman sporting one of the funniest and disturbing novelty t-shirts Ive seen in awhile. This was at the Oktoberfest this weekend. Bravo Lady!

Dont Forget! Volley for the cure is THIS WEDNESDAY!!! There was a bit of a "snafu" with the t-shirts and it turns out I only have one Small (for willie) and a bunch of XL's and ONE 4X...eek. This was partially my fault. I know I took orders and I have failed a few of you. I honestly thought there would be plenty more ordered to fill what I forgot to order and the tshirts sold out in a matter of HOURS. I will be contacting those of you who pre-ordered to let you know what's available. If you're still coming down for the game, wear a pink shirt just in case. Here I am with co-workers Jessica and Molly:
This was a busy weekend and the pics are already WAY out of order so here goes....this is really the only shot I took of the Finneytown/Wyoming football game on Friday night. Finneytown lost. I think we're the bad luck charm. It really sucked bc Finneytown was undefeated and hadn't beaten Wyoming in seventeen years. Not sure what happened there - oh right...we showed up. Here's the band - and one of our varsity setters front middle Ashley "A-Lew" Lewis on the clarinet. I could hardly imagine picking up a kazoo on the couch when I played hs sports let alone join the marching band. props to you, Ashley & Abby!
J-Mac and smiley Chuck at Haps:
Continuing our bad luck charm effect, we headed to Brimelow on Saturday to watch the hounds loose to the Chicago Griffins. Not satsified with spreading the suck, we headed to the Queen City pitch to contribute to the Kelts loss to Queen City. Of all the games we could have attended this weekend only the one we didnt go to (Cincy Ladies vs Dayton Ladies in dayton) did a favorable outcome occur. On a happier note, I had a few beers at the pitch, and then at the Vogue....and then at Haps.....(yes mom, I lied - big time - I was boozin' it up when I talked to you) and felt better than I have in SIX MONTHS. Apparently it wasnt the chemo that was kicking my butt, I was simply suffering from a serious HOPS DEFICIENCY.

Oh yeah, and we did make it to Haps, just for ONE BEER (promise mom) and got to see MaryAnn & Tom Sweeney, our favorite Haps regulars! She's my sister survior, who, after a unimpressive trip to our local Wellness Center, informed me "Screw the Wellness Center, Come to Haps!" Of course I was spacey and forgot my camera, so here's an old picture of us, actually about two years ago at one of the fundraisers.

Ok, Ive meant to blog about this on numerous occasions, and I would like some feedback.

IS THIS THE WORST COMIC STRIP IN THE WORLD, or is it simply the MOST HORRIBLE COMIC STRIP EVER?

I dont even have words for this comic strip. Day after day, Sunday after painfully colorful Sunday I see this strip and wonder......how is this person making a living off of this???? The art is something I could have achieved in high school, and the humor is JUST AWFUL. Time after time, I catch sight of those chinless characters and, like a train wreck, I am pulled in to see what sort of cheesy, unfunny antics they're up to again.

Does anyone else have any sort of comment on "The Dinette Set"? Do you find this funny? Is there another comic strip that you hate more? I want to know.

Oh yeah.....I BLEACHED my hair this weekend. Every five minutes I change my mind on whether I like it or not. Right now Im not feeling it. Now I have to face my girls tomorrow. Oh the honest expression of a 15 year old. God Save ME!!!!!

After telling my brother about what I did, he responded, "Why do you take your life out on your hair?" That kids not just a pretty face, folks. Quite astute, indeed!!!

HOW CAN I GO WRONG WITH THIS KIND OF SUPPORT OUT THERE??

THANKS WILLIE!!!!

Well, you've all been waiting for it, and some of you already know.....GREAT NEWS!!!!

The PET scan came back with SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT - no soft tissue (organ) abnormalities. Ive typed out the important stuff but also posted pics of the documents, you can click on them to read yourself.

Heres a snippet:

FINDINGS: The distribution of the radiotracer in the brain is unremarkable with no focal abnormalities being noted. The cervical neck region is also unremarkable.

In the chest area there is no abnormal uptake seen in the hilar or medistinal areas. The lungs are clear bilaterally. There is no abnormal uptake seen in teh right adn left axilla, right breast or the left breast area. There may be some very limited esophogeal uptake seen in the central chest.

The abdomen and pelvis there is normal uptake of the radiotracer in teh liver and the spleen. Normal physiological activity is seen associcated with the urinary tract and bowel structures. There were no focal abnormalities seen within the abdomen and pelvis. The groin areas are unremarkable bilaterally.

IMPRESSSION:

1) There is no definite evidence for soft tissue malignancy related to the patients history of left breast carcinoma.

2) On the previous study it was though that there could be widespread bony metastatic disease. There is SIGNIFICANTLY (I put that in caps/italics!) less uptake of the radiotracer in teh bony skeleton on the current study. There are some areas in the pelvis and femurs and humeri that may still represent active tumor.

YAY!!!

Im going to agree to let the cancer take residency in my pelvis and femur IF AND ONLY IF, it stays put for at least 50 years. I think its a fair agreement...dont you?

Thanks for all the prayers and the positve energy....its working!!! Im SOOOOOO excited to get off chemo. I suspect he'll put me on some sort of oral drug or some kind of maintence chemo....I really have no idea, but Im looking forward to AT LEAST a month of detox.

PLease let me know if you know of any good detox programs, boxes at heath stores, etc...Im interested.

THANK YOU -THANK YOU- THANK YOU

THANK YOU!!!!!

And finally, the question to end the week:

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE's THEME SONG???

VISIT THE FOLLOWING LINK, PUT IN THE DATE OF YOUR 18th Birthday, and find out what the theme song of your life is!!!

http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/member/birthdayno1.php

POST YOUR RESULTS!!!!

(Stacy, dont do ours, its stupid....)

Yeah, I realize this is a disgustingly unflattering photo of myself, but I took this the other day after about 4 days of non-stop nose bleeding. Looking a little pale, you're thinking. Gotta take care of that, Fort. Right. Got it. Well, my PET scan was today. Nothing new. Only my dumb ass scheduled it for SEVEN AM, mostly so I could get out sooner and get close to a full day of work before going to my volleyball game. Wishful thinking.

I get the PET scan done, with a slight delay becuase my nose was still bleeding after they had injected me with the radioactive dye. I had called Joni at Dr. Romers office yesterday and she said she wanted me to get a CBC test to check my blood counts. I tried to get one at the hospital after the PET scan, but we waited 30 min, and at this point, Im still thinking Im going back to work. We left and went to Romers office since I knew they could prick me and send me on my way much quicker. That was not to be. My platelets were at 17,000. Apparently it should be in the 100,000-500,000 range. I had also lost a unit of blood as well. Hence the white pale face and bloody noses that would not stop since I had no platelets.

Joni has threatened me about having to go to the hospital if my counts got to a certian point, but I just thought those were empy threats. not this time. I was instructed to get my but back to the hospital for a TRANSFUSION..... for 2 units of blood and one unit of platelets (looks like a pukey gold liquid) This was to last me about 6-7 hours. bye bye work. Bye bye volleyball game.

Here I am all ready to roll. My arm got stuck no less than six times today. super fun.
Thats me below looking at the pukey green gold platelet bag. Ok, now they've got the blood flowin, and they brought me a ham sandwich for lunch. But my nose was really sore so they brought me in small packet of KY jelly. I was a little creeped out. The Mayo and the KY looked too much alike. I was worried I might put KY on the sandwich, but It was all good.
Nick stopped by after work, shared some nick stories, and was on his way.

Ok, heres the bag of blood. Thanks to who evers blood is runnign through my veins right now....'Preciateit!!!!! Oh yeah, then I had to an MRI on my brain at 7:30 since I was having headaches. So all in all, what should have been a two hour event, evoloved into a fourteen hour proceedure-thon. What a day.

Hopefully things will improve tremendously by tomorrow, im still alittle loopy from the benedryl, vicodin, etc i had today.

Thanks for sending all the prayers & positive energy!!! Im finally feelin it!!!

:)