Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 4/13

Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did XTrain bis and tris (45:34)

Deb, hilarious typo! We, on the other hand, DID get the snot that missed you. A couple inches, and already melting.

Lori, do you think you will fly out to be with your brother after the surgery? I vaguely remember that you wanted to see him at some point. Hope everything goes well for him. Yes, the memorials were very beautiful.

More sclerotherapy this afternoon. Then another 2 month wait to see the results. My right leg looks great, my left still needed work. Wearing compression knee stockings for awhile.

Josie, if you want to see photos of Pam, her husband has a website: Honoring Pam Wells | The Alex & Elise Rogers College Fund. Obviously not asking for contributions. But if you hit on the photos you will see many of her and the whole family. I am in a couple. My DH is the one with the beard.
 
Good evening ladies,

This mornining was T25 Speed 1.0 and no workout tonight. Needed to rest the legs.

Can't believe how much ice / snow was on my car this morning. Took forever to scrape the windshield. Roads were slick and several bad fatal accidents. Very sad.

Lynda...I enjoyed looking at the pictures. Your SIL looked so happy and vibrant. How is the trial going? Or has it even gone to trial yet? Hope you are up and about soon after today's procedure. After my brothers surgery and he is feeling up to it I plan to fly out to visit him. I want him to get plenty of rest first and tell me when is good. He is in Arizona.

Valerie...my brother has a tumor in his pancreas. They discovered it in December I think and unable to do a biopsy because of where it is in his pancreas. It has taking this long for his surgery. It is a slow growing tumor and then the mix up with his vaccinations prolonged things.

Deb...that guy with the ricecooker is an ASS if you do not mind me saying so. Big jerk. Some people are just so messed up.

Hi to Judy and Josie!
 
Lori my friend is in AZ also. I just got word from her this evening that there is no sign that the cancer had spread. she lost some basic body parts in the surgery but not as much as could have been removed. she is sounding feisty and on the road to getting better. I know these things are never certain at this stage, but sounds like no chemo or radiation will be needed. I hope your brother has the same positive outcome. I think what my friend had is a modified whipple.

we all talk so much and don't know what each other look like!. will look at the pics tomorrow. a sad reminder of how suddenly and unfairly things can come to an end.

I did 25 on the elliptical, bi's, tri's, core 1. the yard work yesterday gave me a terrific load of pollen and I was coughing and sneezing all night ... thought I was getting a head cold until the allergy meds calmed it down.
 
Good morning,

Late night after the dog club meeting and did not sleep well. Another one tonight, with going to dinner with a group of the execs that are in from Memphis.

Did not see the typo until you pointed out how great it was that we did not get hit with a bunch of snot! LOL. :)

Lynda, glad your procedures are going well. I hope you are out of those stockings before it gets very warm. Very nice memorial website for your SIL..ok, now that you told us you were in some of those pics, you HAVE to tell us which ones. Is "Davis" your DH?

Lori, keeping good thoughts for your brother, amazing that it has taken this long for the surgery.

Valerie, glad your friend did well with the surgery, and the outcome sounds positive.

Hi to Josie, & Judy,

Another late night tonight. I thought I would never say this, but "I can't wait until Monday"..

Take care,
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did All Out Low Impact Hiit and core 1 (49:22).

Deb, no, DH is in the picture with Pam and his chickens and the headshots of the two of them laughing. He's Kim (short for Kimball), and I am in the Jiminy Peak photo, center, with a purple leather jacket and pink skirt, flanked on the left by Kim and my older son Jake on the right. Yes, I should be out of these stockings by next week. I wear tights over them but obviously would not want to wear tights if it were summer.

Valerie, that's wonderful news about your friend! Now the stupid weathermen are talking about a pollen vortex--I guess because it's supposed to be superbad this year.....or the weathermen want to feel self-important and like to scare all of us. Sheesh! They aren't just naming hurricanes anymore.

Lori, tomorrow is the big day for your brother. Hope it goes as well for him as for Valerie's friend.

How were the butterflies, Josie?

Hi to Judy!
 
Hi Ladies,

No gym workouts this week, but somehow I have managed to loose 2 lbs this week since my weigh in las Wednesday :). The butterfly exhibit was wonderful, the we went to the museum of natural history. The kids have been there before, but every year they enjoy it more and actually take their time reading about what they are looking at.

Garance, the pictures are beautiful. I agree with Valerie regarding us not knowing how we look. I know that Deb, you and Valerie have seen pictures of me and my family but Judy and Lori have not. I did see a picture do Deb and now you:)

I may take the kids to the Griffith observatory and the train museum today. We are just playing it by ear, no schedules here ;)

I will e back later.

Josie
 
Just did yoga class today and ended up taking my car in to get tires switched out. I ended up talking to all kinds of people... so before I knew it, the time was gone.

I looked up some numbers on my friend ( knowing what tumor and the stage) and the numbers are grim. not a very big % of people survive 5 years. I would never ever say anything to scare her.... she is very upbeat and maybe will beat bad odds.... it's good she was accepted for the surgery...some people are rejected immediately, others are accepted but the procedure not completed because of what the surgeon sees when he takes a look.

Lynda, so nice to put faces with names... now I can picture you and your DH. Hope you get rid of the support hose ASAP. that's the only reason I can think of to be happy about winter like conditions this late in the year. they'd be awful in July.

Josie that is so wonderful that you take the kids to fun and interesting places to open up their worlds. so many kids never get beyond the shopping mall.
 
Good morning,

Well execs all catered to, now the hard stuff. Hopefully all will go well with the warehouse move today, and I will not have to be there all day tomorrow. I have a hair cut/color appointment that I don't want to cancel.

Lynda, nice pictures! Pollen vortex? Unbelievable.

Josie, nice job on the weight loss. We have a butterfly museum in Canada, not too far from here, I have never been there but now want to see it!

Valerie, they say that attitude can play a big part in the healing and results of major illnesses. I hope your friend keeps her spirits up and fights this.

Lori, prayers and thoughts for your brother today.

Hi to Judy,

Work, work, and more work ugh...

Take care,
 
Hi Ladies,

Today I'm having my DD friend since elementary come over and take pictures of the kids. She is a professional photographer and does it on the side to support herself through graduate school. She has taken pictures of me and the boys, but its been about three years.

Deb, the butterflies were alive. The exhibit shows the kids what kind of plants they like and where they lay their eggs. Some of the butterflies landed on us :)

Valerie, I took them to the park yesterday and they recognized some of the plants that the Monarch Butterflies like. They are like little sponges :)

Hi to Garance, Lori and Judy!

Josie
 
Hi ladies!

sorry i have been away for so long. lots of stuff. hope you all are well. i just saw the 100 rep excercises the other day on the HIIT dvd. that is the only one i have. can ya'll give me an idea of what the other 100's are. i really like it. i did the one with jai. i felt it the next day. can't really get anymore of cathe's w/outs right now, but i did like that and would like to incorporate them into my w/outs. i've had some health issues so my w/outs are down to 3 a week, and no cathe's. cannot handle the intensity right now. it really stinks getting old. thanks for letting me pop in after so long.
cathy

if anyone is interested i can explain further about my health stuff, just don't want to bore ya'll to death. :)
 
have a BLESSED GOOD FRIDAY AND EASTER SUNDAY!! it's friday, but SUNDAY'S COMING!!! not sure why it is called "good" friday. should be called black friday, but, praise the Lord, he is ALIVE!!
 
Oh I forgot to comment on the "pollen vortex"... we get massive spring pollen amounts from trees. my understanding is not many people are allergic but it looks like smoke blowing off the trees some days. we had one or two days this spring when the cedars ..we have many massive cedars... looked like vague massive clouds of smoke.
the other day when I spent several hours pulling weeds and walking in the grass.. the next morning I head cold symptoms but it was just pollen. went away with one antihistamine. I know I have allergies to grass and some tree pollen but mostly keep it under control by not mowing the lawn and sports like golf. sitting quietly on grass is OK, just when it gets stirred up and blown back in my face for long periods of time.

Deb, I know my friend is a fighter and will not succumb to self pity give up and will do what's necessary. still, the statistics are not good. but some % get thru it and do well. it's just that number is not as big a % as I'd like to read.
Lori I don't mean to sound so negative when your brother is looking at surgery soon. it depends on where his problem is located, what kind of tumor, and the stage. he may have a totally different situation. the long wait and uncertainty about surgery makes it sound completely different from my friend. every situation is different.
 
Hi Everyone,

We have been so busy with FIL issues that I haven't been online much. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Lori, I am praying for you and your brother today.

Hi to Deb, Lynda, Valerie, Josie & Cathy!

Judy
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, Judy, and Cathy--

This morning I did Flextrain (56:36).

Cathy, the 100 rep challenges are scattered throughout the XTrain series--Lateral raises on ch, ba, sh; bicep curls and flat bench triceps extensions on bis and tris and Tabatacise; hip thrusts on Super Cuts and Legs and Cardio Leg Blast; Scarecrows on Cardio leg Blast and All Out Low Impact Hiit; bicep curls on Hard Strikes. Happy Easter and welcome back! Hope your health problem is in the getting better stage.

Lori, I'm sure you are thinking of your brother today. All the best wishes for a successful surgery and swift recovery!

Josie, I remember learning so much about the Monarch butterfly migration from Mexico with all the stops on the way. Butterflies are fascinating and so beautiful.

Deb, I hope you can take off tomorrow. I know you and John have that big gathering to prepare for on Sunday.

Valerie, there is an article in the recent More mag about how to be if a friend is seriously ill. I have not read it yet so I'm not sure if it's helpful. I do remember when Nora Ephron died that many of her friends were surprised because she decided early on not to tell anyone but immediate family that she had leukemia. She just couldn't stand the pity and wanted her friends to treat her the same way they always had with no awkward queries about her illness.

Hi to Judy!

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
I spent some time looking up monarch butterflies a couple months ago. I grew up in the midwest when they were very common, as was the milkweed plant. it seems milkweed has been eradicated or at greatly reduced in number due to agriculture and the monarch caterpillars need the plant to survive.
it was a standard class project to pick a milkweed plant with a cocoon and watch the caterpillars develop into butterflies. maybe 3rd grade? I have not seen any out here although maps show they, in theory, might be here. I never found a helpful enough site to see if it was worthwhile to plant some milkweed here and see if I could attract monarchs. sometimes maps don't separate eastern from western WA and the climate and flora and fauna are very different.

Not everyone deals with serious illness the same way. my friend has been open about her situation and says when she wants to communicate, and when it's been too difficult for her. She does it by email sending out one message to friends and family. she has lots of local support. I send a response but don't expect to hear back on each.

Cathy.. if you want to talk about health issues, feel free but don't feel obligated. plenty of leeway both ways.
 
Good evening ladies,

Brothers surgery went well and was just over 7 hours of nail biting chocolate chip cookie eating hell of a wait. They ending up leaving his spleen but removing his entire pancreas. The tumor had not spread and they feel it is not cancerous. Which is great news, however, we will not know for certain until the biopsy results. Not sure why the entire pancreas was removed. When I chat longer tomorrow with my SIL I'll know more.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I really appreciated them. Valerie, no worries about discussing your friends issues. Did not bother me at all and I know every case is different. I hope she will beat the odds. This does happen from time to time.

I'm exhausted so going to relax a bit...too much stress and too many cookies have done me in tonight!
 
Lori my friend's situation is totally different. they removed her pancreas, bile ducts, bunch of lymph nodes, fatty tissue, most of her stomach, and her duodenum. the whole GI tract gets "re-routed". her situation was an adenocarcinoma. she was having all kind of symptoms from bile fluids going where they should not, because of the tumor interfering. statistics on her situation....a stage 3 ...spreading into fatty tissue even if they could remove it.... not good. doesn't mean it's not worth trying but 5 yr survival rates are poor.
your brother has better outlook ... if it's not cancer, right off, that's a whole hell of a lot better. If you look at the anatomy and where a pancreas is located, you can see why it's such a problem.... right in the middle of so much important stuff, organs, major blood vessels.

we had a tedious day and went for a mt bike later.,. about 90 minutes. our "close in" ride. it's about 1 hour uphill, a rest break and then back down. I rode further than ever... before stopping for breath breaks..... maybe a little hold over from Utah or just getting a little tougher. I am thinking of it as interval training. you go uphill as long as you can, stop to catch breath, then go again as long as you can, repeat. I can go further than I could 2 rides ago before stopping.

our spring hiking is being limited because of road access issues related to the mud slide. I don't want to sound petty because I know it does... here I am complaining about hiking access when so many people are dead or have lost everything.... but I can't phrase it better. I absolutely feel terrible for people who lost everything but still want to hike and the road won't be fixed anytime soon. the detour is a long drive that thankfully I don't have to make daily to get to work.
 
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Good morning all,

Just reading all of our recent posts, makes me so grateful to wake up every day with health and able to be with friends and loved ones.

Take every day as a gift.

Happy Early Easter to all.
 
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