Cat With Remote/ Wordful Wednesday

I found the cat asleep on the couch hugging the remote

He takes anything that is ours.

If he weren't so cute, it would be annoying :)

Apple Dessert/TMTT

A friend of mine sent me this recipe via email and I was a little doubtful. But so often these crazy recipes turn out to be the best, and this one is pretty amazing.

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 pieces each

2 cans crescent rolls

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 12oz can mountain dew

Roll each 1/8 of apple in a crescent triangle, starting at small end and sealing the ends. Space equally in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter in saucepan, add sugar and cinnamon. Pour over apples and then pour the can of mountain dew over everything.

Bake @ 350 35-45 minutes.

I halved the recipe, used less butter and put it all in a round cake pan. I also melted the butter in the microwave. The mountain dew evaporates in the oven and leaves a nice glaze. Either way, its delicious and quite easy.

More recipes at Lisa's

Crazy Leadership/SLAGI

When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that person is crazy.

-Dave Barry

This phrase is an apt description of Bob and I. When trouble arises, we are sure to be close by suggesting solutions. Sometimes we come across as bossy, sometimes crazy and every once in a while our behavior is actually heroic.

For example, Bob has saved several people from drowning. Thats heroic. He has also tried to grab people crossing the street in big cities because he thought they were going to be hit by a car. That comes across as crazy (even when its heroic). He will not start the car until everyone has their seatbelt on. Thats bossy.

I'm going to tell you the story of one troubling situation we found ourselves in and you can decide if Bob reacted in a way that was bossy, crazy or heroic.

We had just spent an entire day shopping at different little villages in the mountains of Ecuador. Being adventuresome, we took local buses from Quito and then to each little pueblo that we wanted to visit. Bob and I both got leather jackets for less than $40 and I bought a bunch of leather purses to gift.

The sun was setting when we boarded the bus to return to Quito. 10 year old Rebecca sat next to me on the bus and began pulling everything out of the bags so we could admire our purchases and thriftyness. We did not notice when two men boarded the bus and sat down directly behind us.

Marine Bob had his eye on everything, so he noticed. He noticed because it appeared they gun shaped bulges in their clothing. So he was not surprised when, after the bus left the station, they pulled out bullets intending to load those guns.

Bob stood up and shoved something in the pocket of his new leather jacket that made it look like he had a gun too. Then he went and talked to the kid who takes pasaje (fares) on the bus to warn him about potential hijackers. About then I began to notice that Bob wa

s looking a little intense but I could not break away from the conversation I was having with Rebecca about who would get which purse.

In the nonconfrontive way of the Quichua people who reside in the mountains of Ecuador, the kid approached the men with the guns and asked them where they wanted to get off. The men said the name of a city and kid said, "we are not going there, maybe you should get off the bus". The gun men mentioned another city and the kid again insisted the bus would not go there either and would they please exit the bus. About then the bus stopped and the kid, with Bob towering menacingly behind him, hand with fake gun in pocket, very kindl

y insisted the robbers exit because they bus could not take them where they needed to go.

Amazingly enough the gun men got off the bus and then stood and stared, hands in pockets, as the bus pulled away.

At a safe distance, Bob pulled his hand out of his pocket and blew on his finger as though it were a smoking gun. I then got a thorough scolding for speaking English too l

oud and for drawing too much attention to ourselves as Americans (I'm sure our blond 7 year old went completely unnoticed, I said sarcastically).

It took me days to fully understand what happened. When I did, I realized we probably narrowly escaped an armed robbery on a lonely patch of road high in the Andes. The entire adventure Seemed Like A Good Idea, but it would have ended very badly had it not been for my bossy, crazy, heroic husband.

Religion vs Spirituality

Religion

is for people who are afraid of going to hell

Spirituality

is for those who have been there

Ross V., Member of AA

From "Honestly", by Sheila Walsh

This Could Have Been Me. . . .

Fridays Fave Five

1. New Quilt. A friend gifted me this beautiful quilt to cuddle with this winter. It matches my living room perfectly.

2. Good report. I saw my oncologist last Friday and she thinks I am recovering well from chemo. She is hopeful that most of the damage done will heal itself. The only doubtful thing is the neuropathy in my feet. But it too seems to be getting better.

3. Caring Friends. All the ladies from my Bible study (100+) formed a human chain to pray for me as I enter this last stage of treatment, radiation therapy.

4. New Treatment Plan. I started radiation on Thursday and the way I understand it, I have 30 sessions. So 2 down, 28 to go :) Right now I go in at 8am every morning, five days a week. I'll be posting about that later.

5. Shopping in San Francisco. The city is starting to look a bit like Christmas. Lots of pretty things to see but no crowds yet. Perfect fall weather.

More favorites over at Susanne's

Choices in Breast Cancer Treatment

There is an article from the Wall Street Journal hanging on the wall of my oncologists waiting room that talks about one of the things I like so much about the UCSF Medical Centers Cancer Treatment program: They give the patients lots of choices.

The very first appointment I had with my surgeon, he patiently explained the options I had of either 1) a mastectomy and chemo or 2) chemo-lumpectomy-radiation. I chose option #2 and have been happy with that decision.

All along the way I have been given options. In the infusion center, the nurses would ask me where I wanted my IV. Even the phlebotomists asked which arm I preferred to use for the draw. When I got injections they asked me where I wanted it. I vaguely remember that after surgery they asked me if I wanted a dose of steroids for nausea.

I appreciate this approach because I have learned what works best for me. Although I am always open to suggestions, I know which medications work for me and which are just OK. Being given the choice also helps me feel more of a participant in my treatment.

Recently my radiation oncologist gave me a thorough explanation about radiation therapy, then looked me in the eye and asked me, "after listening to what I just said, do you still want to go through with radiation therapy?". I appreciate that they never assume that I will just jump through the next hoop or do the next thing. Its always my choice. (and obviously nothing is done without consent)

Last week I met with my regular oncologist and we discussed the fact that I will need hormone therapy (so that the cancer does not come back) for the next 5-10 years. She went through some options with me and gave me choices. In this case she also made a recommendation, but a choice was involved. Have I mentioned how much I like that?

This week I received three requests to be on clinical trials programs, two of those came as a result of getting care at UCSF and all three have the potential to improve my treatment or quality of life. They all require a little extra effort on my part, so I am studying them to see if they are going to work out for me. Its exciting to be a part of an effort that will impact treatment of breast cancer in the future. I'll be posting on some of these studies later.

There is still so much they are learning about how to treat breast cancer. It is not an exact science and treatments are constantly evolving. In light of that, I think its great that patients can make some decisions. On the other hand, I understand that some people would not want to make these choices. But this works for me.

How about you? Do you like being given choices in your medical treatment? Or would you prefer that your doctor decide most things for you?