I'M BACK...DID YOU MISS ME?

I've been gone for so long guys! I missed you all! But let's play catch up!

We left off a few days before my last chemo session. I thought I was cute sitting around the yard and watching the cat roll around:

SORT OF CANCER CUTIE OUTFIT?

So I was rocking a one sleeved cream blouse with ruffles with a pair of long khaki shorts. I accented the look with gold jewelry and my beige colored shades.

I was rocking my baldie! That can is simply soda--not a beer. I know what you were thinking! It's me after all!

 THE NEIGHBORHOOD CAT ROLLS AROUND...

On his back--full belly out

Roll to the side and yawn!

Roll to the other side and wag your tail. Midnight! Midnight!

At least we call him Midnight. Who knows what his real name is. He comes and goes as he pleases, but we think he has a home, but he likes it here for some reason. We've recently started calling him Smoky. He killed a little rabbit and left it under my car. It was so disgusting. Mom had to shovel the carcass up and toss it in the woods because it was stinking. Then the crazy cat decided that it was a good idea to walk on top of my car and sit on the roof for a nap. There's a reason that I never liked cats! Lol!

THE LAST CHEMO SESSION!

 

Sleeping through it as usual!

 

LIVING WITH THE WILDLIFE OR LIVESTOCK?

We had a visitor that decided to just come by to say hello...

We were sitting on the porch and this cow showed up out of nowhere and just walked right up the road.

There it goes back to the woods and over the hill where it lives. 

It turned out that the cow came back again with 3 other friends while I was out of town and the owners ended up being the grandparents of a girl I went to school with. They came up the road looking for them one evening after I got back and she apparently started talking to my Mom about how she knew me and my brother. Her little brother was buds with my little brother. They live on the other side of the woods over the hill. I forget just how small of a world this can be. 

HEADED TO ATLANTA!

So I had been to see the Doc for my usual blood work and I was doing good. No more Doc until July. It's almost time for India's wedding and I'm not sure if I want to go or not. I contact Mel and see if she's going and she's already in Atlanta and encourages me to come down offering a spot in her hotel room. So I pack a bag and prepare to head out in the morning. I drive down to Atlanta --a 9.5 hour ordeal! It was good though. I get there and Mel and every one is at the dinner rehearsal. So she calls the hotel and has them make a key for me.

I take a quick shower and head to JC's place since I'm already on the southside. He's leaving town the next morning because he's going to his father's for the weekend. It's his dad's b-day and father's day. So that was my time to catch up with him. His house was on the market and he had new hardwood floors and light blue walls. It looked really nice.  He had even gotten an offer, but it wasn't enough.  (I talked to him this weekend and he has a contract on the house. They're just waiting on the final appraisal! Him and Kevin are going to be looking for an apartment together! Yay for JC!)

So I head back to the hotel later and hang with Theresa, Mel and Caressa. I got to see Liam--Theresa's son! We stayed up late chatting and updating each other of course. We enjoyed the continental breakfast the next morning and got ready to head to "The Mansion" where the wedding is to be held later that evening. So I hung out too even though I wasn't in the wedding party. They all looked really beautiful.

It was a really pretty wedding and I think everyone was just really happy for them. There was some behind the scenes drama that I'm not going to go into, because that would spoil the beauty of their happy moment.

MY TRIP CONTINUES...

So after the wedding I head back to the hotel because my back is really hurting. Not long later the girls return and we have another night of chatting. After breakfast and check out in the morning, I went with Caressa and Theresa to go run a few errands. 

After bidding them goodbye, I head to Senior frogs to meet Nekima. She can't stay long, but we catch up a little bit. She's got another car, she's still going strong with her boyfriend and I'm super excited for her! Yeah--she's going to his family reunion! That's pretty serious! Yay!

Once she leaves Holly arrives a little later and I spend the night at her place. She's been quiet busy since I've been gone, but she's doing good. Working, looking for a new place and just trying to stay out of trouble. 

AND MY TRIP IS STILL GOING... 

I thank Holly for her hospitality! When I got up I headed 4 hours north to Charlotte, NC to see my brother and his family. I love time with my niece. She kept me busy playing with her gazillion toys! The Minnie's were her favorite. Her b-day is coming August 6th! She's gonna be three--Man time flies!

Tegan is playing in the tent!

 

BACK TO WV

I had a great trip, but I got back home and started looking for a job. I had two interviews and got both jobs. Customer service at Teletech hired me on the spot but training didn't start until July 15th. So that gave me plenty of time to go to my next dr's appointment and do a second interview for a job with ManPower as a staffing specialist. 

Prior to heading to Atlanta I also made a new friend online. He's Italian, from Pittsburgh and he's 45. So we went to Meadows casino and played slot machines and had dinner. He was really sweet. Nice guy and we've  been attempting to hang out again, but circumstances keep getting in the way. He was sick for a little while and we had finally set another time to meet up, but he ended up having to help a friend move. Then we were going to hang the following wknd, but I had a mishap with my phone and I had to go get a new one making me like an hour and a half late, so we decided that we would get together the following Monday--his schedule is flexible. Or so it seemed--he had to work out of town Monday thru Wednesday. So we weren't able to hang again, but the plan is to see each other again soon. 

ManPower ended up calling me back the Friday before I was supposed to start the job with Teletech. I accepted because they were paying $4 an hour more and it just seemed more interesting than customer service. But I wasn't supposed to start until today actually--July 25! Our trainer was on vacation last week and needed to spend some time at her office in Huntington before coming to the Morgantown office this week. She pushed the start date back to Friday--tomorrow. So in the morning I will be back to the workforce! Special thanks to Julie Cooper for giving me such a great reference to help me get the job.

I have also started working out for the past month. I've only lost 3 or 4 lbs so far, but I walk 2X everyday and count my calories. I also do workouts I find on Youtube and then I use www.myfitnesspal.com to track everything. I just put the app on my phone. 


What else? I heard from the ex--He's doing really well with his business and finally living the life that he dreamed of. He sent me a Youtube video of a radio interview he participated in. It's short, but poignant. He says something at the end that I think everyone can learn from. Take a quick listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOlsZgBaSCE

 I'm happy for him ultimately because if I carry any resentment or ill will for someone that was so important to me, then I wouldn't be genuine in how I claimed to feel about him and it would make it harder for me to find my own happiness! So Congratulations Lou! You're finally getting everything that you want! And I hope that we all get exactly what we dream of!

 

VERY IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!!!!

I RUINED MY PHONE AND I LOST ALL MY PHONE NUMBERS(THE DARN THING WON'T TURN BACK ON!)

SO I NEED YOUR PHONE NUMBERS AGAIN!

MY NUMBER IS THE SAME, SO JUST TEXT OR CALL. OR SEND IT IN AN EMAIL: cutetinabina@yahoo.com

 

SO I GUESS THIS IS THE END?

I'm done with chemo and radiation. I just started tamoxifen yesterday and I'm okay with that so far. I will have to visit with my Dr once a month and in a few months he wants to do another scan. I'm getting back to a normal life again. I've got a job. I'm starting to date. I'm working out. I'm happy. I'm ready to just live my life to the fullest! I hope that's what you're doing. Live to the fullest. Everyday isn't guaranteed so take a chance and do the things that you want! Don't keep postponing your dreams! You deserve more! Until we meet again guys! 

 

Exodus 20:17

 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 

 

CANCER CUTIE

Tina Bina

P.S.

I love you all! Thank you so much for your support and remember if you just believe in the Lord, he can perform miracles in your life! Trust Him--He'll do it for you too! Seize the day and make the most of every moment! I hope to hear from you soon!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON?

Tuesday was a doctor day. Went in for my weekly blood work.Everything came back good! Then we went to Walmart and dropped off our recyclables and picked up a couple of concrete pavers Mom needed for her yard. I wanted to make the most of the day and do some window shopping so we headed to Goodwill and that Habitat for Hunanity place to see what they might have. I didn't find anything that I actually needed or really even wanted, but I always enjoy looking because you never know what you may find. It was a beautiful day and I sat doing some doodling on the porch.

Wednesday I don't remember doing much of anything but watching the TV--exciting right?

Thursday was another day with the TV. More exciting times! The weather was kinda gloomy so it makes you feel like just sitting in the house.

And Friday was spent with the TV as well, Oh but I did find something else to do.I almost forgot that I discovered all these refashioned t-shirts on pinterest and I attempted to make a few creations. Two of them will be perfect for workout tanks and the third one is a cool no-sew vest. When I wear them, I'll show you some pictures.

Three days of just sitting around the house might make you think I wasn't feeling well, but I wasn't sick just feeling bored and lazy. I think I need another project to keep me busy.

So Saturday came and I did do one project. I spray painted a planter green for the porch! Woo! Hoo! But again I spent a lot of the day on the couch. I went up to Mom's house to see what she was getting into in her yard and while I was up there, we took some pictures.

Sunday was a WalMart day. After Gran returned from church and I finished getting dressed, we went to pick up some things so that we'd have some stuff for a Memorial Day BBQ. When we got back I prepped turkey burgers with spinach and feta. I made a pasta salad with tortellini, chickpeas, black olives, tomatoes, onions, artichoke hearts and delicious feta cheese. Tasty! I also cubed and marinated chicken for shish-kabobs. I also chopped up the onions and peppers to go on the skewers as well. After standing around the kitchen for a while, my back started to hurt and I took to the couch with my favorite friend, the TV.

Today was spent at home too, but we had visitors. My Uncle Pearlie came by this morning with my Aunt Donna to pick up my Grandmother so that they could go visit the graves of my grandfather and Uncle Arthur. While they were gone, I finished assembling the shish-kabobs and Mom cooked up the baked beans and her cheesy grilled potatoes.Then she fired up the grill and got started on the meats. Gran, Pearlie and Donna returned and we sat around reminiscing on their childhoods and our neighbors and the crazy dogs that used to live up here and some of the crazy people who used to live up here. Then Uncle Jeffery came down and the stories continued. Everyone ate and we had a great time just hanging out. Then Pearlie, Donna and Jeffery headed home. So I stuffed my face again and then we got a visit from Linda. So we all sat and chit chatted for a while. When she headed home we watched a little reality TV and Mom finally headed home. So I'm sitting here writing this, watching The Newlyweds the first year, while Gran's getting shower.  I'll try to do something productive tomorrow. Probably some laundry because chemo is Wednesday-the last one! Yay! And I probably won't feel like doing laundry for a few days after that.

CANCER CUTIE OUTFITS:

This was my visit to Mom's yard. I had on my wig because it was a little bit cooler than it has been and I actually liked the added warmth it provided. I wore my black and white trench coat over my dark jeans and black and silver sweater. I had a white tank top on underneath that for a nice contrast.

Aren't those flowers gorgeous? Rhodedendrons! Our state flower. I had on my white shades and the white necklace I made out of t-shirt material.

Red white and blue and some makeup too! Just a little bronzer, eyeliner and filled in my brows

So I'm rocking my whitewashed jeans rolled up with a white tank and a navy polo. Then I threw on a red scarf and flipflops to pull this all American look together. 

 

I GOT IN SOME ART!

I was sitting on the porch just listening to the radio and chatting with Mom and Gran. I had a pen and my sketchbook so I decided to scribble some art onto the page:

This is what I wish for everyone--that God will just shower you with blessings! May God's goodness rain down on you!

This was just a little landscape scene and I wrote a little journal entry on the mountain about the beauty of that day.

This started as some curved lines and I just kept adding to it until it sort of looked like something to me. So we ended up with a butterfly--a very spring timey thing!

Started off with just my name and then I drew a little landscape around it. Then I added the gnomes. And I think they're flirting with each other. I added Love is in the air beneath the clouds.

 

HOW I'M FEELING...

I'm feeling awesome. I've been a little bit bored, but I'm ready to get this last chemo session done and over with. Yay! Then we will see where we go from there. I'll have to get back to a regular life soon.. I just can't wait for my hair to start growing again. That's really going to be exciting for me. I'm ready to see what life back in WV is really going to be like. The prospect of me working again and actually trying to date here are not at the top of my list of fun, but hopefully the right job and the right man will enter my life.I know that God is steering the ship, so I don't have anything to worry about. Good things are coming my way. I'm gonna find a job that I love, that pays well and has a very flexible schedule. Woohoo! I can't wait to get started. And as far as the man goes, I'm excited to meet someone who's going to be a good friend, a great lover, a spiritual being and the exact match God's been holding for me. Oh and don't forget that trailer rehab project will be in the works once I get some money saved! And if I meet a good man maybe he'll be somewhat handy to help out with some of that renovation work. I'm in a forward thinking state of mind right now. I think I've gotten through the worst of it and I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. So I'm going to just speak the next good things into existence! I'm so thankful for my healing! God is good and I trusted and believed in him. We just have to remember that he loves us and to trust him to show us how much. He wants us to be happy! He puts these wonderful things on our heart and even when it seems as though it's never going to happen, he has a plan to bring us something even better than we had imagined--we just have to believe and to keep the faith. So thank Him and trust him to make your wildest dreams come true! 

MATTHEW 7:7

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you

CANCER CUTIE

Tina Bina

ENJOYING THE WEATHER!!!

WEEKEND FUN!

 Saturday was a good day. I decided that it was the day for me to wash my car. So I cleaned out the inside before heading to the car wash in Fairmont--well actually Bellview. I was planning to just vacuum it out and then manually wash. Well this became an ordeal. First all the vacuum hoses were taped up except for one. So I moved over to that one and quickly sucked up the dirt in the car. Now I can get the outside clean, right? So yeah these do it yourself machines usually take quarters and I had a couple of dollars worth, but I needed some change and had a $5 bill. No change machine. I walked all around that place and couldn't find one change machine. Well luckily they have automated car washes too, so I could just do that. I back out and move to one of those spots. Well the cheapest wash is $6. I put in my five and then I had to add the rest with my quarters, but the machine has a quarter jammed in the slot and I can't add the quarters. So I hit the refund button and get back quarters. I guess that became my change machine. So I had to move the car back over to the manual washing space. So alright that worked out right. Kinda annoying, but it worked. I decided to rinse the car first and then went to use the foam brush. Well no chance of that because it wasn't working! So I had to use this foam conditioner stuff that they had and rinsed that off. I then went and grabbed some lunch and went to the Family Dollar store. Oh and this was the second time I had taken the car out by myself. It's funny because I've gotten so used to being driven around now that it's a big deal if I go somewhere by myself. I got back home and about an hour later it started storming. So much for all my car washing efforts. But at least the inside is clean and fresh smelling! So we sat on the porch for a while and then we watched some TV before heading to bed. I watched a really cute moving on GMC called Trinity Goodheart. Check it out if you get a chance.

Sunday Gran went to church as usual. Me and mom went to pick her up and after we got back, we went to the grocery store and picked up a pizza from Little Caesar's for dinner. I also grabbed some stuff to help unblock my ears. I got some wax buildup and I got some drops to help loosen it up. Wow! Exciting stuff. But on a good note, Gran's arthritis is doing much better and she could go without her cane. After we ate our pizza, we were sitting on the porch and both of us were falling to sleep. So we got up and walked up to my Mom's house and watched her work on setting up her yard. Then of course it was time to watch my Sunday reality shows. The finale of Married to Medicine was on and I had to watch the drama unfold. To be doctor's wives they have a lot of drama.

Well this morning has been spent watching the Amish--well the ex-Amish on some show on National Geographic. I need to get up and dressed and do something productive with my day. I'll let you know if anything exciting happens!

CANCER CUTIE OUTFIT:

Rocking the Sinead O Connor look as Rev. Buckner stated. I've been foregoing the wigs and make up really. And with these big old glasses, you can't see most of my face anyway!

I was comfy in a pair of jeans, one of my Obama Tee's with a white tank underneath and some flip flops. Cute and casual.

 

HOW I'M FEELING?

I feel really good. I'm very thankful for that too! I was watching a little bit of Oprah's Soul Series yesterday with Maya Angelou and she was talking about thanking God for everything. Little things and when things are bad thank Him because God loves you and ultimately wants the best for you. So you're upset that you lost your job, but you need to be thankful because you didn't like it anyway and God's going to open the door to a job that you like better and pays you better. There are all kinds of blessings that come to you in disguise of being something bad. Be thankful for it. Trust that God is working towards your best life. Having faith that he can create that for you is essential. God is everything and he has given me everything and I am very thankful for every moment. Good and bad because it all makes me who I am.

PROVERBS 20:12

Ears that hear and eyes that see--the Lord has made them both.

CANCER CUTIE

Tina Bina

  

 

WOW! I'VE REALLY BEEN SLACKING!

IT'S BEEN A WEEK! LET'S CATCH UP!

 

FRIDAY THE 10TH:
So last Friday I don't really remember doing much of anything. I laid in the bed all day and it was kinda rainy out. Hence the reason for no blog. I was tired from low blood and I didn't really have much to talk about unless you guys wanted to hear about what I watched on TV.  Lol!

SATURDAY THE 11TH:
Saturday came around and I spent most of the day in bed again. My blood was low, so it makes you really tired. Mom and Gran needed to head to the store for some groceries for our Mother's day cookout. Shortly after they left, my brother and his family arrived! The rest of my evening was spent playing with my niece and catching up with him and his girlfriend. 

SUNDAY: MOTHER'S DAY:
I had a little more energy. After Mom took Gran to church, I got dressed and ready to head out to Cheat Lake to pick up Aunt Donna. I gave Mom her gift before we left. A gazing ball and pedestal for her yard and a solar light that went with it. She likes stuff for her yard. Plus I had gotten cards for all the Mom's-my grandmother and my aunt and my niece's mom. So we enjoyed BBQ steak, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, baked beans and macaroni salad. It was pretty brisk out from what it had been--only reaching 59 degrees. 

MONDAY THE 13TH:
I had another day of just relaxing. Gran stayed home from her usual early morning trip to Christian Help. We spent much of the day being entertained by the ball full of energy known as my niece, Tegan! She will keep you busy! Running from room to room. Reading stories, scribbling with crayons, tossing balloons, jumping on the bed, eating chocolate, playing monsters, tickling, watching five minutes of a dvd, playing games on Mommy's phone and whatever else she makes up as we go along. She keeps you entertained though. That is one certainty. 

TUESDAY THE 14TH: 
Another day of hanging with Tegan! I found out at the last minute that I had my lab work at 8am the next morning. They are really bad about letting you know about your appointments or changing them at the last minute. Whatever though. So that meant taking a bath that night, having my clothes laid out and going to bed a little earlier. 

Toddler Angst! She's so silly!

 WEDNESDAY THE 15TH:
Early morning. We had to be at the hospital at 8:00am and it was of course a day where it just had to be crowded. I had to wait forever before they were able to get me back for my blood work. Then the poor nurse couldn't get my port to work. She had to ask someone else for help and she got it immediately! I think the other lady may not of had a lot of experience with ports. So then we go back to the exam room to meet with my doctor. He already knew that I was going to be tired because my blood was low and they were going to give me some more blood again! I had also been having some problems with a lot of mucus and I told him it has been kinda green and yellow. So he said it may be pneumonia and they sent me down immediately to have an x-ray. I had a little touch of it when I first got diagnosed. So my favorite nurses aid, Celeste walked me down to the x-ray center and they got me right in. It apparently didn't look bad, but to be on the safe side, he decided to prescribe an antibiotic. Then I went upstairs to get my blood. We had to wait for about 2 hours before it finally came. They mentioned that my blood work showed that my potassium and phosphorous were low and they were sending a prescription for that over to my pharmacy at WalMart. She also gave me some pamphlets on what to eat to increase my potassium and phosphorous levels. I got my blood finally, but that itself takes about 2 hours. They brought my next appointments to me, so I didn't need to check out when I left. We headed to Panera for lunch because by that time I was starving and I had forgotten to bring any snacks with me. Then we headed to Walmart to fill the prescription. The other one that was faxed over had to be ordered and wouldn't be in until the next day. I also grabbed a couple of groceries while there. Headed home expecting to see my niece, but they had went to her Grammie's house to go fishing in their pond. We hung out on our new porch most of the night with the citronella candles lit and just the quiet of the evening. 

THURSDAY THE 16TH:
So I should be feeling spry and ready to dance around the world since I've gotten some blood. Not exactly, but I do start feeling much better. Mom took Gran to her women's luncheon while I stayed home. I'd slept in since we had gotten up so early on Wednesday. I got showered and dressed. The pharmacy called to let me know that my prescription was ready. I had gotten sucked into a marathon of ANTM on the Style network and by the time I was getting ready to eat a little something, they returned. After eating some lunch, me and Mom headed back to WalMart, so I could get my prescription and pick up some gingerale--my current soda addiction. We got back and played with Tegan for a few before they got on the road headed back to North Carolina. Then we watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal later that night. Good TV!!!

FRIDAY THE 17TH:
Today hasn't been very exciting. I ended up taking some benadryl last night at like 2 am, so I slept until almost 10 this morning. I just couldn't get up. I laid in bed most of the day. This time Million Dollar Listing NY sucked me into the TV. I finally broke free and took a shower. I ate some lunch and watched Days. Now I'm sitting on the new porch typing this up. I'm contemplating what color to paint my toe nails. It's such a beautiful day. It's 80 degrees and plenty of sunshine. I actually have on a skirt and tank top. I so appreciate the nice weather. I'm going to spend the rest of the evening out here enjoying the weather and reading a book. 

CANCER CUTIE OUTFITS:

This is actually a dress, but I just rouched up the bottom. I wore a darker purple tank underneath it. It came with the teal belt, so I added my teal beanie cap. I rarely feel like wearing the wigs anymore. I had a caramel colored bad with shoes to match. I wore skinny jeans with it and of course threw on some shades.

My $4 outfit from Gabes. Both the skirt and the tank were only $2 a piece. It's comfy and colorful. No wig and no hat today. I just put a pair of shades on top of my head and some flip flops on my feet.

 

TOUR OUR NEW PORCH:

Isn't it so much brighter with the all white!

These bright cushions really liven up the first corner as you walk in. Plants give it a little more life and the bamboo shade shields us from too much sunshine.

Ready to eat, well have a seat. I painted this table black. It was previously a funky off white color, which would have just looked dirty next to our new white walls.

This is the other end of the porch with plenty of seating and a coffee table. We painted the table green from the grayish look it was before. the little sofa was originally green and we painted it black to coordinate with all the other furniture. My green shelf is in the corner and we have more of the brightly colored cushions on this end as well.

This rug is so comfy. Not really meant for outdoors, but this is a covered porch and it was only twenty bucks.

This rug was also $20 but it's more of a utilitarian feel to it. It's closer to the entrance so that dirty feet wouldn't ruin the other one. It's a slightly darker gray than the floor that we patched and painted.

This is the gardening shelf I painted green and next to it we have our recyclables in the separate black bins. 

 

HOW I'M FEELING?

Pretty darn good! I'm getting excited that chemo will be over soon! Next session will be the end of this month! Woo! Hoo! The weather right now is great and I'm ready to enjoy it. I'm anxious to see what lies ahead for me. I'm gonna have to find a job eventually and start living a normal life again. It feels good. You just never know what may be in store for you and you always have to embrace it with enthusiasm and positivity. Think of it as a new opportunity filled with possibility. What's possible for you? Remember not to limit yourself and dream big!

DEUTERONOMY 32:4

 The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

CANCER CUTIE

Tina Bina

 

 

 T

ONE MORE CHEMO TO GO! 5-9-13

WE'RE GETTING TO THE END!

 I've been busy with the porch project and we're basically done, but I have to finish touching up the spray paint on our wicker coffee table.

Sunday was all about arranging and rearranging the furniture until we got it just right. It was also Cinco De Mayo so in tribute, I made enchiladas with re-fried beans and chips and salsa. No margaritas! Hope someone had one for me!

Monday I had to go pick up my prescription from the hospital because silly Walmart doesn't carry it. And I actually had to pay full price because my insurance doesn't cover it because it's considered an over the counter medication.Whatever! Then we finished getting our final needs for the porch. We exchanged the thin cushions for the thicker ones. We purchased spray paint in green for the coffee table. We purchased some blue spray paint for a white metal plant shelf that we were given. It's going to end up in the yard somewhere. No more room on the porch. We also purchased two rugs for the floor--one in a fluffy green by the little sofa and the other is a gray one that's more of an outdoor rug. We also purchased some hook screws so I could finish re-hanging Gran's wind chimes. I also added 4 green citronella candles to the room. When we got home, I gave one coat of paint to our wicker coffee table, but it needs another. It started raining and I had to bring it inside before the first coat even dried.

Tuesday was a lazy day. I pretty much laid in bed watching television all day. It was raining out and I just felt tired so I took a few naps and just relaxed in the bed.

Wednesday was chemo day! We were up at the crack of dawn! 8:00 am for my lab and we didn't get out of there until about 4pm. Not too bad of a day, but they were concerned about my blood counts and think that they are going to have to give me more blood next week. It was just where it needed to be, so that I could go ahead and have the chemo, but since the chemo depletes your blood counts even more, they think I will need more blood next week. I slept through most of my chemo session And after we left we had to wait around for my prescription. We ended up at Walmart and I grabbed a few things while we were there.

This morning, I had to get up early again. I had to get my follow up shot at 9:00 am. They were pretty quick today and we were out of there in about 40 minutes. It was raining while were drove home and I was in dire need of clean clothes, so when we got back I headed to the basement with my laundry. That's what I've been doing since getting home. I will probably work on finishing up my porch project tomorrow if it finally stops raining. I will show you guys the pictures of the final product. It's already so much more comfortable. It's got a fresh look! Oh and looking forward to seeing my niece this weekend. They'll be here for Mother's day because my brother is going to an auction on the 14th to buy some land up here so they decided that they would come up a few days early.

CANCER CUTIE OUTFITS:

Looking cute during chemo isn't easy, but I at least make my clothes match. No make-up and no wig. I wore the hat because it matched and threw on the scarf. Red white and blue--such a patriot! LOL!

 

HOW I'M FEELING...

I'm feeling good, but just a little bit tired. I napped a lot the past few days including today. I'm going to stay positive and just relax for a few days. I hopefully won't feel too bad, but if I take it easy then I should be fine. I'm feeling very good about my progress and I'm ready to get back to regular life. I guess I'll be back to working soon enough. Fun! Just gotta find something. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm very thankful for all my blessings and I'm just going to share an email I received about being thankful. Some of you may have already seen it, but that's how I'm feeling right now:

 

WOW!!! What a wonderful reminder of how much we have to be thankful for.

Absolutely beautiful! ENJOY!

 

 

 
 
 
 

Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.
Look within and find God!

God closes doors no man can open and
God opens doors no man can close.
If you need God to open some doors for you,

Send this to people you like, and if you don't
Need God to open some doors for you, just delete it.

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ISIAH 55: 11

So is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 

CANCER CUTIE

Tina Bina

 

SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG GUYS!

TRYING TO STAY BUSY, BUSY, BUSY...

Hey! It's me! I've been seriously slacking on writing this blog!I've been busy working on the redo Gran's porch project.  Let me catch you up!

So last Sunday wasn't the best day for painting. My porch painting was going to have to wait. Mom on the other hand decided to finish the wall on the side of the porch where the entrance is. I guess they had run out of material for the wall when they put up some new walls a couple of years ago and they just left it open. So my Mom decided to grab some scrap wood she had and pieced it together to fill in the wall. I on the other hand cooked dinner--chicken and broccoli alfredo with garlic toast. Then we went to pick up Gran from church. They were having some special ceremony that was a memorial for miners that had died in the mines in Everttsville. So she was there a lot later than usual but came home with leftovers from their meal--sandwiches, chips and dessert.

On Monday Mom finished up the trim work on her new wall. I was supposed to be meeting up with my friend Nicole later that day. She was in Waynesburg, PA to visit her family for a week. She had arrived on either Tuesday or Wednesday and we were going to make plans to hang out while she was in town. She lives all the way in California and only comes back to the East Coast every so often. She had to cancel on Monday and Tuesday but we ended up hanging out on Wednesday before she flew back home. I was waiting around for my prescription that the pharmacy had to order. They finally called late that evening that it had come in. I had been waiting since Thursday. The weather was supposed to be really good on Tuesday, but it ended up being just as nice on Monday so I started painting the porch in all white. 

This was our first coat of paint. Some of the walls were a faux red brick color with this lovely mint green ceiling! The white is so much better! So much brighter and an easy neutral to match everything.

Tuesday arrived and we had put one whole coat on the walls minus the ones that were already white and the ceiling, so we knew that we would need another bucket of paint. So we headed out to WalMart for my prescription, some more paint, more caulk, smaller rollers for cutting in and I also purchased little solar lights to line the pathway down to the house. When we got back it was time to go to work again. I also started my spray painting projects. I painted two wire shelves that Gran uses for plants and other little knick-knacks a nice bright green color. Mom rolled the ceiling with one coat of white paint to somewhat cover the mint green color it was painted.

Painting is so much fun!

Wednesday came and it was time to see the doctor again. We had a 8:30 appointment for lab work and then my bone hardener shot at 9:30. Of course my shot took twenty years to get going when it only takes but 5 minutes for them to give it to me. This time they had to track down my doctor to authorize my shot before they gave it to me. You would think that they would already have this taken care of, but they didn't even let me know that I  had any appointments. I had to call on Tuesday to double check. My last visit, the nurse stated that she was going to send my appointments out to me and that they were going to send my prescriptions over for their refill. She forgot to do both. I had to call about the prescriptions and I had to call to check when my next appointments were. I guess they just get too busy. So we stopped and grabbed some black spray paint that I needed for the patio table and the rocking sofa on the porch. I did a little bit of spray painting before Nicole arrived. We went to Gabes and met up with her friend Blue for lunch at Kegler's Sports Bar over near the hospital. It was good to see her because it had been about a year. 

This bright green is our accent color!

This was the first time I ever went to Kegler's and I'm from here and I went to college here. It was decent but they forgot to put cheese on my sandwich and I had to send it back. But whatever it still tasted good and I was able to eat the second half for lunch the next day!

Thursdsay Gran went to the doctor and when she got back me and Mom worked on patching the concrete floor of the porch and let it dry overnight. It was a patching product that comes in a big bucket and you just mix it with water. That was the biggest thing happening that day--oh and of course we had to watch Scandal. Crazy stuff going on there!

Sleeping with the President! Isn't Ms. Pope a naughty girl!

Friday was a full day too. We went to run errands early. Before we left, Mom said she some cows roaming up towards the woods by her house! She said that she thought it was a bear at first. It was big and black and some of our neighbors claimed that they had seen a black bear out here. (The black bear is our state animal, but I've never seen one. Thank God.) Turns out that it was just a couple of cows--one black and one brown. We don't know who they belonged to or how they ended up over here.  Craziness! So we headed to town so Gran could go to the bank and the post office. Then we headed to the grocery store. We went to WalMart for new patio chair cushions and I also filled a couple of prescriptions. I also found a storage bin solution for our recyclables. I needed more black spray paint and we got some stuff to try and rid ourselves of the carpenter bees outside the porch door. We went to the Dollar Tree too. When we got back we ate and watched  a little bit of Days before getting back to work. Mom actually headed to go clean the church and I finished painting the rocking sofa and was going to start the patio table, but couldn't figure out how to remove the glass. So instead of working on that, I moved all the stuff off the porch except for a chair and a box of books that would have been way too heavy for me to lift. Besides most of the heavy stuff was outside where I had been spray painting anyway. When Mom returned, we ended up having to take apart the table to get the glass out. I started painting the pieces and realized that I would need some more spray paint. Then we started painting the floor a light gray color. We left a pathway unpainted, but Mom finished it and then laid some boards on top for us to walk on if we needed to get out. I got reprimanded for doing too much and was told that I needed to rest--so I did.

The brightly colored new cushions for our rocking sofa and two of the patio chairs.

The rocking sofa is all black after three cans of spray paint!

The deconstructed table painted in black. Still gotta touch up the opposite side.

Our path in and out of the house. Thanks to these boards. We've got a nice neutral color palette with the gray and white. So she can always change up the cushions on her chairs to change the look without a lot of work.

 

We were keeping out recyclables in cardboard boxes but that wasn't really cutting it, so we found these bins on clearance at WalMart to solve the disorganization.

This morning, I headed back out for more spray paint. I went all by myself today!!!! Mom was down at the church doing a favor for Gran. It was nice to get out on my own today. I went to Big Lots, WalMart and the Dollar Tree. I also bought my Mom her Mother's day gift since she wasn't with me. So I got back and ate some lunch and started spray painting again. Mom says the porch floor is almost dry, so we should be able to set things back up tonight. I'll have to show you guys the pictures of the final product soon!

CANCER CUTIE OUTFIT FROM YESTERDAY:

 I haven't exactly been getting dolled up-been busy painting, but I actually had on clothes that matched and didn't  have paint dripped all over them yesterday. I've been bad about remembering to snap a photo when I do actually look nice, but anyways here's a video of my outfit from yesterday:

HOW I'M FEELING...

Great! I'm excited that chemo is almost over. I feel really good physically. I'm glad to see that we're having nicer weather. I'm excited that my brother, Candace and my niece are coming to visit for Mother's day. I'm glad that I had a chance to see my old friend Nicole this past week. Glad that I got to talk to Nekima and hear that she has good things going on for her. It was good to see my Grandmother get some new medicine to help ease some of her arthritis pain. It feels good to have the porch to work on and just gets me excited for when I get involved in my own renovations. I'm feeling great! I hope that everyone else is catching Spring Fever and feeling great too. Soak up some sunshine and get outside! Enjoy all the beauty that nature has to offer. God made such a beautiful world and we seem to take it for granted sometimes. Flowers, sunsets, birds or even the deer can be the just the beauty that you needed to see. Even if you have no plans on going outdoors--just not your thing--get some fresh flowers and put them in the room you spend the majority of your time in. They're gonna make you feel great every time you see them. A bright reminder that life is beautiful and you have to take a moment to truly enjoy it and all it has to offer. So here's a bouquet for you:

Enjoy!

MARK 13:31

Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

CANCER CUTIE

Tina Bina