Scripts & Scraps from a Survivor

Well….we are still traveling.  We were supposed to be in MA by tomorrow but we were having so much fun up in Canada that we extended our trip by one day.

 The kids have been amazing - we haven’t even pulled out the portable DVD yet (Ok…now that I’ve said that out loud…I probably will have to tomorrow, right??? LOL :))

 The kids and I each have our scrapbooks on the go. The kids are doing much better than I have. I have day one done but they have been collecting stuff from everywhere (leaf from Niagra Falls, coins from Canada, business cards from all the hotels we’ve stayed at and menus. I know that they are going to cherish these books some day.  We’ve had a few fights but very few.  We just been having fun.

 Here’s what my den looked like early on Friday:

then a little later, my front yard looked like this:

 The movers said they would be finished before 5 - they left at 7:30.  So we have learned that we are going to need to be flexible for the next couple of weeks because nothing has gone as planned! LOL

We only made it to IL on Saturday but then woke up on Sunday and decided to make up time so on Sunday alone we finished driving though IL, then IN, then MI and finally stopped in London Ontario (about 12 hours in the car - UGH!).  The one great thing about travelling at this time of year is the colors. I love fall but seeing all the leaves and beautiful colors in the field has just been incredible and I swear that Niagra Falls (on the Canada side) just took my breath away.  What an incredible trip this has been with the kids.

 Here’s Mike and the kids at “the falls” on the Canada side earlier today:

I also realized today after downloading 377 pictures to the computer that maybe I should get in some of them tomorrow.  You wouldn’t know from the pictures that I’m even on this trip! LOL :)  Isn’t it always that way?? 

 Tomorrow we are headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame (no way I was going to be able to skip this with Matthew in the car). I think that Mari, Nicholas and I will spend the day at an apple orchard instead as they have little interest in baseball.  And then, we are headed (finally) to MA. I’m so excited to see my family and to see the house we are renting! LOL :)  My brother said it’s great and we have similar taste so….I’m hoping it’s all good.

 Dana Farber called yesterday and asked me to get my records there asap.  I’m scheduled for an appt. on Tuesday (we decided to skip this week from chemo because of all the traveling).

I’m already missing my friends from IA. A few have been texting me so it’s been nice to hear from them.  I’m just amazed that in only 5 years, our lives were so weaved in that community.  I’m so excited to see my family but really sad to leave such a good thing. :)  On Friday, I dropped the kids off at school and sat in the parking lot sobbing for 10 minutes. I think it was the first time I let all those emotions go.  Well…actually not the first time, about 20 women showed up on Monday night at a restaurant to say goodbye and although I was laughing and having fun during the meal, as soon as the cards and gifts came at the end, I just couldn’t get the words out without tears. It was an amazing group of women who have all touched my life in one way or another and because of them, I am a better person.

 Speaking of special women, I also had so many the last two weeks I was there come help me pack.  It was just incredible.  You all  know who you are but I’m going to miss you all so much and just like the women above, I’m a better person for having known you!

Ok…enough mushy stuff.  So not like me.  I guess I should also mention (since I’m making this trip sound SO good) that I’ve had three kids with a cold who have all been whiney at one point or another but really the good has way outweighed the bad and I would do it again in heartbeat!  For all you moms out there who travel in the car for hours with kids on vacation, I highly suggest a comp book (they can decorate the cover), a glue stick, markers and stickers. My kids have been keeping themselves busy for HOURS with those books!!

 Well…off to reorganize our luggage (again)….take out laundry and figure out outfits for tomorrow. We are all almost out of clothes so….time to get to our new home soon. Of course the moving company called yesterday to tell use that our moving van has been held up with another move and won’t get there until Monday. These people PROMISED me that it would get there no later than Saturday.  I called today to see if they could figure something out. I kept saying to the woman “but you gave me your word”.  I don’t understand that these days - no one keeps their word anymore. It’s so hard to trust businesses when no one takes responsiblity for not following through.  Ok…even writing about this is making me cranky so…..

Hope everyone is enjoying FALL!! :)  For those reading from IA, we miss you already.  From those in MA, we can’t wait to see you soon!! :)  I’m still in disbelief that my dream to go live by my family is actually coming true.  I just can’t wait!!

 Not sure when the next update will be but I just wanted to let everyone know that we are safe and happy. Actually, LIFE IS GOOD these days!! :) 

 P.S. I’m week behind on emails so please know that I’ll get my act together soon and start responding to them.  Between the move, chemo and emotions, etc, I’m just behind…..really, really behind! :)  I promise to catch up in the next week or two.

We got the word today that the lease was signed.  We are heading to MA in just a few weeks.  The movers are arriving on the 26th and off we go!

 Lots to get done before then so I doubt I’ll be posting much.

My tumor markers have also gone up (hoping that’s just all the stress).  I start new treatment on Wednesday (Taxol) and would appreciate prayers that this drug will do it’s job.

We are so excited.  The kids have been singing “we are moving to Boston! We are moving to Boston”.  Of course we are moving over an hour away from Boston but I’m glad they are so excited!

I can’t wait to be in driving distance of my entire family and I just know that being around them will help heal me.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

I LOVE scrapbook magazines. Not as much as I used to but I think that has more to do with the quality lately.

 Anyways, magazines are HEAVY and since they base a move on weight, I’ve decided that they magazines can’t come with us so….I started flipping through them to save what I wanted and toss the rest (I’m making an inspiration book with them since I really need one these days). Anyways, a few things happened while I was going through them:

1. I miss the layouts from the 03-04 time frame (and yes….I DID still have magazines that old. I swore I through them all out but I found a huge stack in the back of one of my shelves in the closet).  If you have a chance to go through a book or magazine from this time, look at the layouts. They were so beautiful and had so many layers to them. It made me realize that I missed the tearing (especially for photo mats) and layering of paper, mesh, fabric, etc.  I’ve been doing simpler layouts lately (you’ll usually find me with ribbon, a stapler, a pen and adhesive but that’s kind of it).  I miss the stamping, inking, ripping, etc so….my new goal is to try to do atleast one of the “old way” layouts once a week.  I know the big push in the industry is for simplicity and I’m all about that but I kind of miss the hours on one layout thing as well so maybe I can find a balance!

2.  In CK, I was flipping through the reader layouts and one was on faith and I thought…wow…that would be a great page on my kids so I ripped it out. When I looked closer, the “reader” was Ali Edwards. How funny is that???

3.  The use of eyelets…..I haven’t used an eyelet in I don’t know how long and let me tell you….I have a few of them just hanging around here. :) There were some great ideas for using them. One had ribbon weaved in and out of them etc.

For those of you who don’t scrapbook, I’m sure this post is “out there” but if you do, I wish you could all see what I saw in those old magazines tonight.  The layouts had so much more texture then.  I, for one, miss that.

 Laundry bell just rang so gotta go fold before it gets wrinkled.

Have a great night everyone!

Deb