A Beautiful Day

Today I went to the breast center for the Celebration of Life.  While I was there I signed a quilt that will hang on the wall, and the chair that sits in the lobby.  I did get to spend more time with Miss Vickie too.  That's always a bonus.

So when I signed the quilt and chair, the comment was made asking if I had signed "Cornbread", on the quilt I didn't, but on the chair I went back and did.  The "Cornbread" nickname came from Miss Vickie.  We had a discussion one time about different foods and such, and I shared with her how I like soup beans and cornbread.  Well, after that, she deemed me "Cornbread".  I'll take it.  :-)

Not only did I get to spend time with Miss Vickie, I also spent some time with Miss June, who I'd only met twice.  Miss June is a lot like Miss Vickie with her funny, bubbly and caring personality.  The more people I meet connected with my care team, the more and more thankful I am that I have had them.

I'm actually drawing a blank right now on what else to write.  Probably because I have 2 conferences and a paper to write for school.  If I think of something else later on, I'll be on here to post it.  So for now, here are the pics of me signing the quilt and chair.  Once Miss Vickie gets the pics of her and I together sent to me, I'll post those too.

I wish each of you a beautiful and blessed night.

Refreshed....Just a Little

Since this is November, the month of thankfulness, I want to start this blog out with the thing I am thankful for today.

I am thankful for Miss Vickie, Dr. Jacobs, Renee, and Dr. Mess.  All of these wonderful ladies have been my cancer care team.  I'm not sure where I would be without them, but I know that I am a healthier and better person because of them.

Now on to the original sentiments of today's blog.

So for the first time in I'm not sure how long, I spent part of the day pampering myself.  I honestly started to forget what it felt like to have me time and to feel pretty again.  Of course the pretty started before I even went to the salon.

I actually put on one of my bras today.  You know, my collection of beautiful Victoria's Secrets bras.  I'm pretty sure that I'll need to go up a bit, but I'm okay with it.  Honestly, looking at how it looked on me, I cried.  I cried like a baby.  For the first time in a long time, I cried tears of joy.

Standing there looking in the mirror at my rebuilt boobs in one of my favorite bras was priceless.  There was no way to really describe all of the emotions and how I truly felt in those moments.  I finally looked at myself through the tears and saw my chest like I used to see it.

While these boobs are implants, they look as much like my own, with the exception of the nipples, which I am not having reconstructed.  I knew this process was going to be hard.  I knew I was going to have to change.  I knew that it wasn't going to be easy all of the time, but I pushed through it because I had to.  What is my reward?  Looking and feeling like a woman again in my own skin.  That is a priceless feeling.

So, what did I do at the salon?  I cut quite a bit off of my hair.  While it may look the same to some, it's not, and I sure can tell the difference.  I absolutely love it.  I also darkened it up a lot with a deep red and added some subtle lighter red highlights.  I tried to keep as much of the length as possible, but did have to part ways with some of it as it was in such bad shape.  Not completely because of not taking care of it, but the anesthesia does some pretty bad things to your hair.

I used to tell my customers that when I was in the hair industry, I just never was sure why since it was just something that I had learned.  Now I know first hand.  As much as I wanted to have the long, long sleek hair, my body wasn't going to allow me to, and I am okay with that.  At this point, anything that makes me feel better is a good thing.  So, with that said, I will leave you with 2 pictures.  1 is my new look and the other is in the pics section since it is the boobs.

I wish you all a beautiful and blessed night.

You Learn a Whole Lot

When you find out bad news, you find out a lot about the people you associate yourself with.  I have a great support system around the world.  People who I've only known for a short time seem to reach out more than people I've known forever.  Guess that really shows me that people I have thought mattered for the longest time, don't really matter at all.  I guess I should be thankful that I am finally seeing their true colors.

The support I am seeing from my mommy friends whom I met when I was pregnant with Jackson is just amazing.  They are from so many different walks of life.  They come from all different families, backgrounds and professions.  To see that so many of them are willing to help me in any way they can just warms my heart.  Thank you so much ladies.  I hope you know that you mean the world to me!

One of the mostly unlikely friends I've had recently is Mike's step-mom.  Unless you know the history between us, this wouldn't seem too much like a big deal.  Really, to me it is a big deal.  Thank you so much Teri!  I'm glad that we have finally made it to this point.

I can't forget to mention my family.  I'm sure that they are all tired of hearing the things rolling in my head.  They are probably doing their own amount of worrying.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  So much more than you will ever know.  

With that said, I'm gonna hit the hay.  Hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight so I can get myself up for church in the morning.