Cali pics: flora and fauna

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Affirmation for the 4th

Rich and Joyce's flag flying in Napa.

Happy July 4th, everyone! I'm headed out with Joshua to spend some time backpacking/camping in the mountains for a while. Taking some time to disconnect, reflect, and listen.

Many post ideas are percolating in this head of mine...So much to say on the blog, yet so little time.

Today I'd like to share something from an affirmation page I subscribe to via Facebook:

My feelings of gratitude emanate from deep within. 

Fortunate to live in this country and celebrate our freedom. 

Thankful for the people who honor and protect our country.

The flag flying at dad's house.

California Dreamin' to Reality

Prepared to take off!

My trip to California with mom was wonderful. Even though it felt odd to be on a plane again, it felt superb to travel. We hatched this idea part-way through the clinical trial and surprised ourselves when we saw an airline ticket sale and jumped on the opportunity. I'm so glad we did! We had memorable experiences together, saw natural beauty that left us awestruck, and got to reconnect with friends we hadn't seen in years. 

Wearing my lymphedema sleeve and gauntlet worked well and I only noticed a bit of swelling in my right trunk after the plane ride. Per my PT's recommendations, I'll wear Spanx or something similar to help compress my trunk area during flights in the future.

Some of the luckiest cows in the country.
They get coastal views all day long.

The beach at Stillwater Cove Regional Park.
We parked it here for a few hours; the view was entrancing.

Saw an owl up close and personal -
a first!

I was a tree hugger at
Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.

We met up with Gerda at the Occidental Farmer's Market.
Brr! It was so cold and drizzly that day.

Thanks to Groupon, we got a deal for a hot air balloon ride.
FANTASTIC! (And no motion sickness.)

Can you spot three balloons in this picture?

A nice, long visit with Rich and Joyce Fowler in Napa.
Even in the midst of their big move, they made time to see us.

We came out of the Fowler's house to a surprise: our rental car had a flat.
Thanks for getting us pumped up and headed to town, Rich!

If ever in the Sonoma area, try some cheese from Vella Cheese Company.
You will not be disappointed!

Back to the beginning...mom and daughter in Napa, CA.

Last night noshing at Oxbow Public Market in Napa.
Kind of like a mini Pike Place Market. 

Our takeoff from San Francisco was delayed because of
severe weather and fires in Colorado.
Here, you can see a stratified "layer" of smoke from the Co Springs area fire.

I'm toying with publishing an additional post full of California trip pictures - only without captions, just to share some of the beauty we saw with all of you. Is there any interest out there for a post like that?

Mark Bittman Suggests We Eat Less Meat

I love Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" cookbooks and really enjoyed watching his TED talk on food and the fate of humanity. It is great to hear such sensible thinking from a foodie!!!

In a nutshell Bittman says we eat too much meat, too few plants; too much fast food, too little home cooking -- all putting the entire planet at risk.

 

Direct video link: Mark Bittman on what's wrong with what we eat

Roaming Freely

Today was a big day. For the first time in >1 year, I left the state. Via airplane! (Lymphedema sleeve and gauntlet on, naturally.) What a thrill! It felt amazing to experience a takeoff again and even better to land in cooler weather.

I'm going to soak it all in. Probably won't write much for the next week or so (unless another family member wants to...anyone?).

Thanks, readers, for checking in. I do plan on continuing to write blog posts for the foreseeable future.

Pilates

In January of this year, I committed to attend a once-a-week Pilates class for 1 month. The class is offered through OncologyRehab, where I receive lymphatic massages. I noticed a definite positive change in my core strength and muscle tone, so decided to go back in May and June - after the clinical trial. I also plan on revisiting Pilates class after my switch-out surgery.

Shannon instructing class.
She modifies movements based on our individual abilities.

Shannon Pascoe

Pilates is an excellent way to condition and gain strength, flexibility, and overall body symmetry while minimizing impact on joints. Shannon Pascoe, PT, DPT is a certified pilates instructor who has experience working with different medical populations and is able to adjust exercise as needed. Shannon will develop an individualized pilates based exercise program focusing on impairments experienced by the patient. (this paragraph copied from OncologyRehab's web site)

Shannon is a positive, upbeat instructor that's willing to put up with our (at times) talkative group and yet manage to get down to "business time" on the mats. She changes exercises up for each session, which keeps things interesting. We use all sorts of accessories to get in a great Pilates workout: a Magic Circle, yoga mat, foam rollers, round weights, stretch bands, and stability balls. Shannon is familiar with our physical limitations, so she's prepared to give us alternatives tailored to our abilities.





The Magic Circle looks like a friendly little thing...but boy, can it make you do a lot of work! I liked its compact design and multi-use so much that I purchased one here on Amazon!



I LOVE the feeling of my core being sore (in a good way) in the days following Pilates class. Weeks of chemotherapy usually lead to decreased activity = soft tummy syndrome (STS). Pilates is a low impact way to fight back against STS! It's also been a good way for me to meet other survivors.

Try it - you just might like it!

The Tutu Project

Have you heard of The Tutu Project?

photo from The Tutu Project web site

Now you have! An excerpt from the Project's web site:

"...nine years ago my wife, Linda, and I moved to the East Coast and, as odd as it may sound it, the self-portraits proved to be a perfect way of expressing myself. Why? Because even though the move was exciting, exhilarating, and inspiring, it was 180 degrees from what I knew. So I took the old, mixed it in with the new, and kept the tutu handy.

Six months after the move, Linda, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it, only to have it recur in 2006. During these past nine years, I’ve been in awe of her power, her beauty, and her spirit. Oddly enough, her cancer has taught us that life is good, dealing with it can be hard, and sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others."

Check it out. Neat pictures. I found some funny, some encouraging, some emotional, and all interesting!

Also...a link to their Today show interview.

And...a link to The Tutu Project web site.

Time for a Camping Trip

This past weekend, we went camping to get away and enjoy some solid time together. What a LOT of adventures we had! Here's a sampling of pictures from our weekend.

All packed up and ready to go!

We found a relatively flat location for our camp site.

...and enjoyed a few minutes of cloud gazing
before getting to work on camp life.

First priority: water.
We pumped and filtered it from a nearby stream.

Reading while it was still daylight.
Buffs come in really handy for staying warm
and helping(ish) with mosquitoes. Ouch!

Willing the water to boil faster.

Joshua read up on camping safety info before leaving home.
We hung all of our food and scented products between trees.

You can practically hike ANYwhere!
So many trails to explore... 

Much to my surprise, we made it to The Colorado Trail -
which runs from Denver to Durango. 

Laura the explora'.

The sky just looks different here.
We love it!

Requisite shadow picture along the trail. 

Our typical meal while camping:
dry food packet and tea. Mmm!

We is Hobbitses!
Or at least we felt like it while walking along this path.

Survivor Anniversary

Yesterday was a special day to me. It marked a new anniversary date in my life. A year ago yesterday, I received results from a breast biopsy I'd had the day before: the "suspicious" lump in my breast was invasive breast cancer. How easy it is to type that sentence now - and how difficult it was to wrap my head around a year ago.

My, we've all come a long way since June 3, 2011! This blog has provided a wonderful way to spread news, share information, and educate about my personal journey through and beyond breast cancer. Thank you, readers, for following along and making me feel like my writings are important, useful, interesting, and sometimes humorous.

Naturally, Joshua and I couldn't let an anniversary slip by without doing something to commemorate the occasion. We printed out a Groupon and headed out for...SUSHI! :) See a trend? Thought so.

So it's only fitting that today I met with my plastic surgeon to discuss the "next step" - the lovely switch-out surgery. First off, he thought my breast skin looked good and handled radiation nicely. That felt wonderful to hear coming from him! He didn't think there would be any benefit to me waiting above and beyond my 6-month window post-radiation for the switch-out surgery. (Music to my ears, but I'd do pretty much anything he'd recommend if I knew it would help my body and its reaction to this upcoming surgery.)

Although the expanders have done their job (stretching my skin to accommodate the implants), I'm of the opinion that I've lived with them long enough. They will have been in me 9 months and 6 days, to be exact! Definitely looking forward to the softer, movable implants. Now I'll cut to the chase: switch-out surgery will be on July 31. Oh, happy day!

The Greenest Juice of All

May 27 marked the day of superior juicing quantities. We practically juiced our bladders out and had to...um...expel the liquids often. What follows are some shots of the making of the greenest juice of all that day.

Joshua piled a special concoction of raw ingredients into the Vitamix.

Ingredients:  lots of chard, 6 little peppers, fresh ginger, water 

He blended until the consistency was uniform and "just right." Then he poured the contents into a milk nut bag. Mom was on squeeze duty (hey, someone had to take pictures!) - this was so we would be drinking pure juice sans fiber.

Squeezing pure juice from the milk nut bag.

The resulting ball of fiberous goo was weird, devoid of most color, and would be great for composting!

Joshua plays with his fiber.

Poured into stylish vessels, of course. It's all about presentation!

Then it was down the hatch!