Philip is growing up!

I know I've mentioned how much Philip matured over the summer.  It really has been amazing to watch.  In fact, I now have photo proof!!  I thought I would share.

It really came to fruition all summer but it slapped me in the face when Philip got his suit.  Yes it is for the cruise but I think he will use it for other things too.  Here he is decked out on the trip.  Getting a new suit made him realize that nicer clothes require more upkeep.  He asked me to show him how to iron dress shirts.  He handled it like a pro.

 

The other big news is Philip finishing his driver's license and his Dad letting him take over his 2007  VW Passat.  It is a really nice car.   Philip takes driving seriously and is actually a pretty good driver.  We took it to the car wash so they could clean up all the serious gunk out of the nooks and crannies and Philip is loving the car.  He is working for his Dad and paying his Dad for the car.  It will take a few  years to pay it off.

 

 

This is Philip on his first day of school (below).  He is a Junior at Highland High.  We were anxious to get him registered because his schedule was far too aggressive after last year.  After much drama and negotiation, we were able to drop his AP Chemistry class but he replaced it with Honors Physics (not really that easy of class either).  He also picked up German III.  We found some colleges require 4 years of foreign language.  German is very easy for Philip so it was easy to slot in his schedule.  Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get into his Culinary Arts class.  He was so incredibly sad.  The only time it was offered was the only time AP Calculus was offered.  He did get to be a teachers aid for the Culinary Arts teacher so that is probably the next best thing.  So his courses are:  AP American History, AP Language Arts, AP Calculus (this is a double course covering 2 class periods), Honors Physics, German III, Teachers Aid, and Woodshop.  Philip is loving school this year and says it is much better than last year.  And guess what?  He got an invite yesterday to be in the Honors Society again this year.  I thought his bad grade last year bumped him out but they look at the cumulative grade and that made it in another year.

 

 

 

 

One of the benefits of Philip taking Culinary classes is he helps with cooking.  His favorite thing is to make goodies to take to school and share with his friends.  Last week, this mood hit him as I was getting ready for bed.  But how often does your kid want to whip out cookies?  It won't be long before I won't have the chance.  So we broke out the ingredients and he whipped out the best chocolate chip cookies.  He is also pretty good at helping me make dinner.  Over the summer, we often cooked dinner together.  I love that.  It has taken us awhile to learn to work together in the kitchen but we have figured it out pretty well.

Philip spent some time over the summer doing research on colleges.  Since he decided he wants to go into ECE (Electronic and Computer Engineering), he can target on colleges with good ECE programs.  He has 10 schools he is researching.  NC State is still on the list but it turns out, the University of Utah has a good program too.  You can't ignore the benefits of going to school in state.  He also is looking at University of Southern California, University of Illinois, and UC Berkeley (along with others but these are the front runners so far).  I have encouraged him to continue his research.  There are some schools that require he apply this October for admissions his Freshman year in 2015.  Yikes!!  I'm hoping his Dad will take him on a few school tours to learn more.  It is reasonable to think that he will end up working in the area he goes to school.  His ultimate goal is to work in Research and Development at a company that does sound or computer hardware.  Places like Bose, HP, Disney, or Gibson Guitars.

I know we raise our kids to be independent and ambitious.  I'm so proud of how Philip is turning out.  I'm happy to see him finding himself and gaining confidence that he can be and do anything he sets his mind to do.  But it is hard.  As a single Mom, my life has focused around Philip.  I know it is going to be a bumpy ride in the next few years for me.  But I promise, I will let him go be a man.

Pneumonia....still

I finally got into my regular GP....Thank god.  He was very concerned I've been sick 3 weeks.  We decided to pull out the big gun tests to figure out why I'm on these super strong antibiotics and still sick.  Because I caught this on the cruise ship, he wanted to rule out lots of things because you are exposed to so many people.  So I had an Xray and lots of blood draws.

He looked in my ears and said the right one was a mess and he could see significant fluid build up.  The left was a little better.  To fix that, we are going to try Afrin but only for 3 days.  After that, it can damage the tissue in my nose.  I will take Sudafed during the day to help.

The Xray shows indeed it is still pneumonia.  About 1/2 my lungs are filled with fluid which is no bueno.  I actually thought I was doing a little better.  But he was curious what kind of pneumonia.  So the blood work showed that.  My White Blood count is high but not "cancer"  high.  It's actually been high all month so I wasn't terribly worried about that (scary I get enough blood work done to know that eh?).  He also said my glucose test showed I was a little high.  He wants me to come back for another one of those to double check since I wasn't fasting.  He said it wasn't Legionnaires disease which is nice because that is deadly but he said this one is going to take awhile to get over.  He said when he had it, it took 6 weeks and he is healthy.

He was very concerned I was on 2 very strong antibiotics.  He said in "people like me" without healthy immune systems, there is significant risks in stripping my body of all the "healthy" flora.  He said I could catch things we can't fight.  So we are changing antibiotics.  To a Tetracycline version.  He said it should do the trick.  He also gave me some probiotics to take to help boost my system.  I certainly don't want stripped flora!

He gave me more narcotic cough syrup.  I stuck with the 4-5 hour one because it has a decongestant in it that really clears up my sniffles at night.  The 12 hour one doesn't have that.  I am totally okay to take another dose in the middle of the night as long as it has been at least 5 hours.  I also told him about the insomnia.  It is killing me after 2 weeks of restless on/off sleeping.  He said I can take my Benedryl I take to sleep but to realize we are double dipping in similar drugs.  It is okay but DO NOT DRIVE while on both.  Silly guy.  I would never drive on a narcotic....and no alcohol.  Good thing my next party isn't until October!

He said if I am not feeling much better by next week, he wants to see me again.  The good news is even my client told me I sounded better today.  Maybe I do.  I wouldn't know because I still can't hear a damn thing.  What?....what?.....Say again.  I still didn't catch it........never mind.  It probably wasn't that important anyway.

Pneumonia

I still have this cold/cough...but yesterday, things seemed different.  I have a drier cough, still plugged ears, sharp pain in my back, and shortness of breath.  I tried to get into Dr. T (my general doctor) but he was in an accident last week while on vacation and working a reduced work week and all appointments are gone.  After sitting around all day wondering what to do, and getting to feel worse and worse, I decided I needed to go back to the night clinic and see the doctor I saw last week.

The nurse and doctor were pretty surprised to see me.  I was on a really strong antibiotic that should have kept it from turning to pneumonia.  I reminded them that I have a bad immune system and it isn't the first time I got pneumonia.  The doctor is concerned I have a strain that is resistant to antibiotics.  And because pneumonia can be deadly, he was pretty serious.  There are so many antibiotics I can't take because of the Methotrexate I take and I'm also very allergic to Penicillin.  So there were only a few choices and I am on both.  I'm taking 2 super strong antibiotics.  I also have a narcotic cough syrup, steroid nasal spray (to hopefully unblock my ears after almost 3 weeks), and still taking Musinex.

I was supposed to fly to Oakland today for a big meeting tomorrow and a celebration for a big project we did.  But I decided yesterday that it just wasn't a good idea.  In hindsight, I was totally on target because I really need to slow down and take care of myself.  So I backed out of my reservations and  made my apologies to my client.  Turns out this is perfect because my team is gone and my schedule is very light so I can take it easy and focus on my health.  This is the first business trip I have cancelled in 18 years!

After just a night of the new drugs, I already feel a little better.  At least I am not coughing until I pee my pants and  my eyes bulge.  Philip is back to school today (I'll write about that later) and over to his Dad's house for the rest the week.  So I can really focus on taking care of myself.  While at the store to get my prescriptions last night, I got some soup, juice, jello, and crackers so I am ready to settle in for a few days and get better.  I know I really don't want to be admitted to the hospital.  Now all I need is for my antibiotics to work on the inside and I'll be set!

A visit with Dr. L

Yesterday I saw Dr. L, my regular Oncologist.  I had not seen him since June when I was in the middle of radiation.  Boy he is a busy guy.  Today took the record for amount of time to wait...1 hour 20 minutes after I was taken to a room.  But I got to catch up on the "Us" magazine which is one of my guilty pleasures.

My eyebrow lump is much smaller but still there...still beady.  He felt around and really didn't say much except he doesn't feel anything concerning which is what I wanted to hear.  He said my labs looked good and encouraged me to get back to my gym workouts as soon as I could to help my strength.  He would like to have a CT Scan before I see him again in October.  He felt the PET Scan didn't show anything last time and a CT Scan would do the trick better.  He ordered one from my chin down.  He felt if anything is happening in my face, we can easily find it.  So I will have that mid - October.

Then he scrounged around in his papers and gave me an Advanced Directives packet.  He explained that all patients with active cancer should consider filling one out.  I teased him that he was giving up on me for which he was adamant that he doesn't feel cancer will be what does me in and it wasn't something on the horizon...but it was recommended and prudent to fill out the Advanced Directives packet just in case. You know...I agree.  Everyone should have one.  If anything, to help their loved ones make those difficult decisions should that terrible time come.  Mom has been trying to get me to take care of this for many years and I have resisted but at Dr. L's urging, I'm going to do it....for you guys...my family.  In fact, I'm going to urge everyone to complete one.  We aren't spring chickens anymore.  And who wants to leave a loved one with the difficult decision on those tough choices should that time come unexpectedly.  So think about it and see if you can join me in the adventure.  Here is an online resource to help.  http://intermountainhealthcare.org/health-resources/health-topics/healthwise/content/aa114595/writing-an-advance-directive.aspx

Then Dr. L and I talked about our vacations (he was just in Oregon) and how we are close to the same age and certainly not old.  That we will never be old because we don't want to be old.  I like that Dr. L takes the time to not only talk cancer but other things too.  I like that we can laugh together and hopefully I brighten his dreary day....or at least not make it more dreary.  I'm very glad my cancer beast is back in the cage.  It makes it easier to not take it so seriously.  I'll be honest.  This last one kind of scared me.  I love that my body will accept the treatments and respond accordingly.  Can't ask for more than that.

So onward and upward until October when I have to think about it again.  Hopefully by then, the eyebrow will be back to normal.

Annual chili sauce making

Mom is up this weekend.  Our big plan was to make Chili Sauce.  You know, Grandma's Chili Sauce.  This is the third year in a row I've made it.  I simply love it and can't seem to eat beef roast without it.  Mom bought tomatoes at the farmer's stand.  I got green peppers at another farm stand.  We got started about 11:00 this morning.  We finished at 6:30 tonight.  Our plan was two batches.  One for each of us.  We knew going in that it would be lots of work but we figured...well we can do it together.

Mom is a great tomato peeler.  We are talking 52 tomatoes.  And 8 onions, 4 green peppers...then the magic spices and such.  I did the onions and green peppers and was so glad for my Pampered Chef chopper.  Makes things so much quicker. 

Once it is all put together, you boil it for 2 hours before packing it in jars and heat canning it.  I don't have a large enough pot so each batch is put into 2 pots.  Once they boil down enough, I combine them to finish the process.  By the time it is all boiled down, I have about 3/4 of a pan total to put in jars.  But this is 3/4 of a pan of simmered and combined goodness.  I can't describe how delicious it is.

When I was  young, we had chili sauce on our "game" meat.  We ate lots of venison growing up and we would pack this chili sauce on the meat.  Honestly, it was the only way I could eat the meat my father killed.  Duck?  Sure....Goose?  Sure...pheasant...absolutely.  I don't eat "funky" meat anymore but I still like chili sauce.

When it was all said and done, we had 22 bottles.  Every single bottle sealed which is a bonus!

 



Certainly a productive day.  I'm beat but it was energy spent well.  I hope you had a good weekend too.

Alaska!

Finally...I'm blogging about Alaska.  I do apologize for the delay.  I came back to "reality" running...and running sick.  Thanks cruise people, for this lovely cold/cough.  It truly is the "best" souvenir a girl could ask for!....really.  But as Friday rolls around, I feel the need to blog.

 

As you know, this cruise was a last minute cruise so there wasn't months of anticipation or planning.  In fact, I just couldn't get my act together to get it together.  It was so weird to be packing cold weather clothes in 100 degrees.   But alas we did get it all together and left bright and early Sunday for Seattle.  Our flight went without a hitch and I even got upgraded to First Class!  I thought that was an excellent way to start the trip.  I used to go to Seattle often for work but this was the first time in several years I've been.  It always catches my breath when we fly past Mt. Rainier.  It feels like we fly so close! 

Mt. Rainier

Once we got to Seattle, we gathered our bags and found a place to meet Mom and Chuck at the airport.  We met up without a hitch and had some time to kill before heading over to the cruise terminal.  When we went to get a taxi, we were offered a towncar service.  Again, I'm wondering if this is indicative of this trip...such nice surprises.  But when we got to the cruise terminal, it was overwhelming.  It was hot and crowded.  I had forgot how much I hate to be herded...and we sure were for about an hour.  But once we got on board, our rooms were ready and lunch was being served.



I call this Balcony row.  Balconies as far as you can see. 
Yes that is tons of luggage waiting to be put onboard on the lower left corner

Our cruise deal included a balcony room which was just lovely.  This time we were towards the back of the ship and by the elevators which was very nice.  Mom and Chuck's room was across the elevator lobby on the other side of the ship.  Turned out to be pretty convenient.  After dropping our stuff and a little lunch (little is relative...the plates are as big as turkey platters), we started orienting ourselves to the ship.  This was a big ship with several pools and lots of common areas.  Philip checked out the Teen club and found there were 190 teens onboard!  Yippee!  He couldn't wait to get mingling. 

Philip on our balcony waiting to set sail.

One of the many pools

Let's pause for a moment to talk about the teen club.  We have had varied experiences with the teen club on cruises.  Sometimes it is just full of rowdy kids and turns out to not be fun as they skip most the activities and just run around the ship...but this cruise, they had a great staff that kept things in check and, for the most part, followed the schedule.  Philip made friends with several groups of kids including some from New York and Boise.  The club was active most days from after breakfast until 1 am.  We've had problems in the past with Philip roaming with kids after the club closed so this time, I made a deal that if he was going to be out past 1:15 am, he had to let me know....even if that meant waking me up.  He was great on this trip and always made it back by our curfew.  There is a whole secret section of our cruise that I know very little about...and that is Philip in the teen club.  He had a great time and spent a huge hunk of cruise time in the club or with his new friends.



Teen club photos covertly pulled from Philip's Facebook

Teen club hi-jinx

The first day, we were at sea all day.  I love sea days.  We sleep in and relax.  We enjoyed our balcony and watching the ocean.  Mom and I went to a journal making class which was great fun.  I watched a movie on TV and got in vacation mode.

On Tuesday, we woke up in Ketchikan.  This is a small island in Alaska where everything must be shipped or flown in.  There are about 8,500 people that live there...until the cruise ships come in.  Luckily on our day, there were only 2 cruise ships but that is still a double in their population for the day.  We booked a Duck Tour shore excursion.  On this excursion, you board a boat/truck thing.  You drive around town on land, and then they drive into the ocean and you put around the water.  It was fun to see the boats and Ketchikan from the water.  Ketchikan is known for their totem poles.  We passed a few in town but didn't  make it to the totem pole park.  After our Duck Tour, Mom and Chuck left to go explore and Philip and I went souvenier shopping.  We picked up some smoked salmon to bring home for gifts.  We also got some treats and Dr. Pepper...which they didn't have on board.  More movies for me and relaxation until dinner and into the evening.

 

 

Wednesday, we entered Tracy Arm Fjord at 6:00 am.  I set our alarm because I remembered how beautiful it was.  I bundled up in my hat, gloves, sweats, jacket, and eventually down quilt from my bed and sat on the balcony to watch.  There were huge chunks of ice in the water.  The mountains of the fjord were so close and so tall.  I really can't adequately describe how gorgeous it was.  By 9:00, we were at the Sawyer Glacier and turning the boat around.  I love the Sawyer Glacier.   It is just tough to imagine how massive it is.  I would have loved to get even closer but didn't take the opportunity.  After cruising the fjord, the boat made it's way to Juneau.  Philip and I hadn't planned a shore excursion in Juneau.  There just wasn't anything I was interested in.  It turns out, there were 4 ships in Juneau and we were far from town.  So, you had to take a bus to town which didn't really appeal to me.  By Juneau, I had my cold and didn't feel much like exploring...and Philip had no interest so we stayed onboard.  I took a nap and Philip and I talked and watched another movie.  Dinner was messed up this day because we got in town so late and Mom and Chuck were on their excursion until 5:30 (dinner time) so we decided to eat in the fancy steakhouse, Crowne Grill.  For the  premium dining, you pay an extra cover charge but the food was....wow....fabulous and we gorged ourselves to death.  One interesting thing is we were given a plate of gourmet salt.  One was black, one pink, and one mesquite flavored.  It was delicious on my steak but made my ankles and feet swell like no tomorrow. 



What I saw at 6:00 am.  Big floating ice chunks!



Sawyer Glacier

 



Many waterfalls through the fjord

 

Bright and early Thursday, we were in Skagway.  Skagway has grown a lot since I was last there 17 years ago.  Still a sleepy little town but much bigger.  We decided to go on the Narrow Gauge White Pass railroad up to Yukon, Canada and back.  This follows the gold miner trails.  It was absolutely beautiful and when we got closer to Canada, we were so high (3,000 ft), there was tons of fog.  At one point, it was tough to see much.  It also started to rain but we were nice and tidy in our railcar.  Mom and Chuck decided to get off in town but Philip and I headed back to the ship.   The dock was very long and it was quite a hike into town.  They did have little golf carts to drive "disabled" people from one end of the dock to the other.  I loved that and tipped the driver well.  By the time we got back on board, I was exhausted and wet...and my cold was in full swing.  I felt crummy.  In fact, that night I know I had a pretty serious fever.  I couldn't get warm to save my life but Philip said my skin was burning hot.

 

Friday was a sea day and pretty much a blur for me.  I stayed in bed as long as I could and only got up for some soup, hot tea, and to let our room steward clean our room.  I really wasn't up for anything.  Philip spent almost the entire day at the teen club which was probably good.  He kept checking on me and bringing me hot tea.  Mom and Chuck were also wonderful checking on me and bringing me food.  But by dinner, I was bound and determined to go to the dining room.  But it was back to bed after that.  I was glad I wasn't sick on a day we were in town or had excursions.  I couldn't have done it.

The next day, Saturday, we cruised almost all day until we got to Victoria at 7:00.  We spent the afternoon getting packed up.  That is the part I always hate because the end of the cruise is near.  We had an early dinner and then set off for our horse drawn trolley tour of Victoria.  It was so much fun and I really enjoyed the tour guide.  She was really cute with the horses too.  Coming back to the ship, we came along the waterfront and saw the most beautiful sunset...and it was COLD.  In fact, cold enough that people were snugged up in blankets offered on the trolley.  When we got off, Mom and Chuck hurried back to the ship to finish packing.  Philip and I stopped through a gift shop by the dock.  Philip wanted some Canada money to bring home.  I would have liked more time in Victoria.  I have very fond memories of Victoria when I was younger and we took a family trip there.  Nothing seemed the same at all.  But it is quaint and historic and seemed very friendly.  I could live there.

By far the most unflattering photo of me in history...but this is the entry to Victoria

Our trolley driver



I could live here

The flowers were amazing.  This doesn't do them justice

Our ship at night

Sadly, on Sunday, we were back in Seattle and ready to head home.  We met for an early breakfast as we had to be out of our room by 8:00 am.  Mom and Chuck booked a tour of Seattle to fill their time until their flight.  Philip and I went back to the airport for our flight.  We had some time to kill so we went and had some outrageously overpriced airport burgers (they were fantastic though) at a pub restaurant.  It was very crowded so it must be one of the better places to eat there.  Our flight home was without issue. 

It is sad to say the cruise already seems like it was a month ago.  We came back and had to get back in the grind immediately.  Register for school, work, etc...etc...etc.  But we loved this trip.  It was way fun to get away to a cooler climate and see some nature.  Philip said it was one of the best cruises he has been on.  We just might have to add Alaska to the rotation more often.