Physically, I'm still noticing that my energy level is not up to 100% (from where I was before the BC journey began), but I can tell an increase in my overall stamina as each month passes. It's a privilege to "just keep livin' " and I'm doing my best to take it all in!
Here are some highlights of this year so far:
*click images to enlarge pics*
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| Snowshoeing at Mueller State Park. That's right - we stayed out past dark. Risky business. Returned to the car at nearly 6:30, temp: 17F! |
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| I enrolled in a beginner's stained glass class. Only two students: me and Seth. Our instructor, Jennifer, was GREAT! Hope to do some experimenting with stained glass in the garage this spring/summer. |
February:
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| Joshua suffered SEVERE back pain most of Jan/Feb/March. Official diagnosis: "cervical radiculopathy" at the C6-7 area. He promises to write a blog post about his pain experience. He felt like a zombie. A lot was gleaned from this medical journey. |
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| We visited Taos and stayed in an earthship. |
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| Raised a lot of greenbacks for the TNBC Foundation. The Ta-Ta Times raised over $3.000 in donations and was in the top 10 fundraisers for this event - WOW! |
*March simply doesn't exist in photo documentation, apparently.
April:
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| Went to 9News with gal pal Stephanie for her interview taping session. She is a BC warrior. Click here to hear her interview and see more visuals of her journey. She's got sparkle through and through! |
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| Six weeks after Gramma Birch's total knee replacement surgery, I flew to OK, rented a car, and knocked her socks off. Don't worry - mom stood behind her 'just in case.' It was SO fun to see the look on her eyes when she realized who was at the door! |
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| Also got to see other family while in Oklahoma - and meet Emery... the newest addition to the plentiful Bull family. Brian must really love her...a pacifier in his mouth?!! And homemade (by Nolton!) sweet biscuits for strawberry "shortcake." Mmmm... |
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| Celebrated my 1 year surviversary! (One year from the last chemo infusion I received.) A big milestone that we nodded to on the day of. That's another blog post to come... |
May:
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| We made it to Ithaca! Had lots of fun adventures with Adam and Jeney - including a naughty ice cream licking session. :) A separate blog post with more pics from this trip to come. |
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| We visited an earthship while in New York! So nice of the owners to meet with us and let us tour their home. |
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| Gerda came back from Cali to empty her storage unit. A great excuse to have people over! We all used to work together in a past life. Joshua made green juice - we played with the fiber ball! And mandatory beers after everything in the storage unit was 'all gone.' Yay! Loved having girlfriends over - lots of laughs, great discussions, and moments made. |
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| These pics were discovered when emptying Gerda's storage unit. Left: Gerda in all her glory. Right: Gerda's mother, Rosemarie, hauling plants at their German nursery. I love these photos. |
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| Stephanie took a long-awaited dream vacation to Scotland with her older brother. While she was gone, Jo and I had fun with her kiddos. We went to soccer practice, played games, shot hoops, cooked, played "Jell-O" in the car, made sure homework was done, and occasionally mitigated sibling spats. Heidi and Liam have seemingly boundless energy and are delightful people to get to know. |
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| Yours truly is upping the ante on her exercise regimen! Maintaining a healthy weight is important for many reasons - including my overall prognosis. Encouraged by a long-time friend, Rach, I'm using the Couch to 5K in 9 weeks jogging program. Curious? Click here - and yes, there's an app for that! |
