New obsession
Facebook.com. It's addicting, time wasting and yet so much fun.
About a month ago, my summer camp had a reunion. I couldn't go for various reasons and apparently "our" generation from the late 70's thru the 80's was sorely underrepresented. So Greg L. put together a facebook group for us former campers and staff from Calamigos. In two short weeks, we've tracked town over 40 people which is fantastic and ridiculously fun. Luckily, I'm now back in touch with my two very favorite campers. Geoff I had tracked down a few months ago and we were in touch. My other fave Jayson, I had his email but hadn't gotten around to emailing. Maybe I was nervous that he wouldn't remember me or didn't want to talk to me or whatever. It was silly because he was thrilled to hear from me. As we've all been to connect back with everyone. It's been so great.
Now, of course, I'm spending a few too many hours in the day trying to track down people and sending them messages. But it is fun that I'm "friends" with my cousins in NY which is the closest communication that we've ever had. I've tracked down some people from other rare corners of my life, some of my scrapbooking girlfriends, flute choir, and a few others, which is also so cool. Time waster granted, but I'm having fun.
One digression, what the fuck is going on with the big "C"? Found out yet another friend was recently diagnosed with melanoma. Enough already. This is 3. Cut it out. All under the age of 45. Sick, awful, revolting. Thankfully, all will be fine but enough of this crap. Doesn't G-d have better things to do? I could come up with a few items if he/she's looking for something to do.
What the hell?
Most of you who read this know that I'm a scrapbooker and that I'm a proud member of a local scrap group called Foxy Croppers. Well, one of our dear girls was diagnosed with kidney cancer this week. What the hell? I know April although I will admit that we're not close. I mean, we're all close because we all chat on our message board and we've known each other for years. But there are some that closer than others and socialize more etc. But I did meet April, I think, at my very first Foxy crop at Bucket's house 4 years ago. Anyway, she just got this diagnosis and it's just hideous. I'm thinking April is around 30, maybe 34 at the oldest. So if you have any spare good thoughts and prayers, please direct them towards April. I have no idea what the details or prognosis are but it's just so wrong that she (or anyone) has to go through all of this.
update at 10P
Just read a post from April and her doctor says that the cancer is in the one kidney. They're going to remove it and once that's done, she'll be cancer free. It seems perfectly contained thank goodness. I don't know about post-surgery treatments but it's a 6 week recovery and it sounds really good. Whew! Cancer in any form is simply hideous but I'm starting to really believe that G-d knows who the good people are which is why Marla and April will both come through this with flying colors.
The good news continues
You all need to read the full report on
Marla's blog (if you're interested) but here's the latest news as reported tonight.
So here is the good news.
1) The cancer is out of my body! (cue: polite applause)
2) They got a clean margin! (cue: bigger applause)
3) Out of the 14 lymph nodes they removed -- only 1 has evidence of cancer and the cancer in that 1 lymph node is teeeeeeeny tiny. (o.3mm) (cue: thunderous applause)
So what does this all mean:
While I am technically cancer free (cue: CHEERING!) -- I will need to have chemotherapy. The type and the dosage are currently being discussed.Very exciting news. I'm so happy for them. Now comes the next step but it's clearly all going really well. And while we're at it, here's a picture of me and Mar at my wedding 6 years ago.
Teaser revealed
G will be directing the "American Idol" Finale! Yes, after a stellar performance directing "Idol Gives Back", he was asked to do the finale. John, the series director, will do the last performance show and G will do the big 2 hour finale. Woo-Hoo! I'm very excited for him. YAY!
Slumber Party
I had a sleepover with Marla last night. Not exactly like when we were 17. We really didn't talk about boys, SAT scores (boy did mine suck all 4 times I took the damn test), the prom or BBG but it was my pleasure to be at the hospital with her. She's doing well and resting comfortably. She had to have two blood transfusions overnight and her wonderful DH Mike wanted to be home to be with their son at night and when he woke up in the morning. Try to keep this crazy time to some little bits of normalcy. Marla didn't want to be alone during the transfusions because you never know if she'd need any help with anything. I'm thrilled and honored that they called me next on the list. We were driving home from seeing "The Little Mermaid" at the El Capitan but once I got home, I packed up a bag and my book and I was off again.
Marla's hemoglobin levels and blood pressure were low, thus the need for the 2 units of blood. She was definitely pale and a little swollen and it was a long day yesterday, obviously. Needless to say, she slept most of the night and we didn't chat much. She seemed to be sleeping well in between the clunky nurse interruptions. The 9PM blood transfusion started at 11:57P. I went to sleep a little after that and managed to sleep until 4;20A when it was time for the 2nd unit of blood. Then between Marla having to pee a few times and nurses coming in and out, turning off the lights, then 5 minutes later another nurse turns on the light, I was up every 20 minutes until about 6A. Then slept again until 7:45A when her Rabbi came to visit.
Overall, Marla's doing well. Her color, energy and spirits were great this morning. We took a walk around the hospital floor. It looks like she'll be coming home tomorrow which is great. They wanted to watch her blood levels for one more day. I know she's feeling pretty good all things considered so it'll be great to get her home and relax in her own surroundings. And I was glad to be there to do my little bit to help. I've got a few other ideas of things I can do and she's very lucky that there's so much family around to help.
Surgery is done
Marla had her surgery today. While they found the cancer has spread to some of the lymph nodes, they got it all. And her form of cancer is highly treatable which is all good. I won't even attempt to reiterate anything. Just check out
her blog and get the latest update from her wonderful DH Mike. We need to send him to good cyber hugs as well so think good, healthy thoughts and prayers. And while you're in the positive thinking mood, my friend K told me today that her Mom was just diagnosed with leukemia. So if you have a little extra happy fairy dust to spare, send it her way as well. (Hugs and love to you K)
I'm glad Marla is resting now comfortably now. I'm glad it's over so she can move into full recovery mode. I'm hoping I can see her in the next day or two but I don't want to overwhelm. She needs to rest and relax. I'm sure there's a parade of family (as there should be) and I don't want to add to any chaos. I'll try to visit over the weekend when she's home, if it works out. I did make a bunch of Dream Dinners today for them which I hope they'll enjoy. Can't get more convenient and yummy than that so I hope it helps take a little pressure off, at least for a few meals.
149.2
That's how many miles I drove on Monday. It started off with driving from home to my golf lesson and then back home. Then took C to a park playdate hosted by her wonderful teacher and 3 of her classmates, then drove to Northridge to sign some loan documents for the condo in Las Vegas. Drove back to Agoura to pick up C from her playdate. Went to ballet. After ballet, went to CBS to visit Dad at "American Idol" so that C could meet Carly Smithson (before she's potentially voted off the island) and so we could do a family dinner on the blessed day of C's birth. We walked (how green of us) to the Farmer's Market for dinner. G took C home (via a stop for birthday ice cream) and I went off to a flute rehearsal and the home at 10PM. All tolled, 149.2 miles were put on my car. And at almost $4 a gallon, it really sucks to live in So. Cal.
I still owe the blogdom photos of C's 5th birthday party. It was quite a success. Everyone had a great time and everyone loved the cake. Flavors were picked out by the birthday girl herself. I've taught her early to be a proper cake connoisseur.
Some exciting news coming in the near future. Can't wait to share...
Insane week
First of all, here's a shot of C with Robin Williams last week when we went to visit "Idol Gives Back". She's still beside herself with excitement and honestly, who can blame her?
"Idol Gives Back" went extremely well for G. I think I mentioned when we visited on Saturday that everyone was saying what a great job he did. When I went in to the office on Monday (I was filling in for him on regular "Idol" this week) the praisefest continued. People who weren't there said they heard how beautiful it looked, he was so calm and it was fun, how he "gets it", etc. Mostly, it looked fantastic which is really the whole point. I personally haven't seen the whole show yet but I did see a couple of performances and it did look gorgeous. I'm so proud of him. And I hope this brings some well deserved recognition and some other directing job opportunities.
My week on "Idol" was fun. It's a crazy show but fun. I think it's probably the biggest show that I've done. Maybe not the biggest in terms of logistics but certainly the biggest in terms of viewership. That's actually a little nerve wracking. I mean, I wanted to do a good job, of course, but there's also the thought that "oh shit, 30 million people are watching this and I am the only one who gets the show off the air on time". No pressure there. America doesn't know or care if the show is off the air on time but it is part of my job description so I figure I might as well try to get it right. I got the phone numbers in and the show off the air on time on Tuesday. All was right with the world.
Wednesday, I did my regular "Big Brother". You may notice that that is also a live 1-hour show that I do every week and get on and off the air on time with no problems. Absolutely true. But in the big scheme of things, there are about 24 million less watching BB than Idol. We can't go long on BB like they can on Idol and with, I think 1 or 2 exceptions, BB has always gone off on the exact second. The 1 or 2 exceptions in the 4 seasons that I've done the show, we've been off by :01 second.
Thursday at "Idol" was a little hairier. The boot off shows are notoriously crazy, lots of changes, not a lot of information. For awhile we thought there might not be a boot off because it's "Idol Gives Back" so why be cruel to a contestant. That was not to pass as Michael Johns was shockingly eliminated from the competition. We were cruising right along time wise, plenty of time to get off the air in a proper manner, and when I was counting down to put the credits in (a full one minute count back), the credits didn't go in at zero. I start screaming "Credits!". The director starts screaming "Credits" and they finally went in about 2 seconds late. I got off right as the copyright went up but darn it we were doing so well so I was annoyed we got off :01 second long. I know, I know, no big deal. But darn it, timing a show is a perfectionist art and I consider myself pretty good at it so it was annoying.
Now, I'm just tired and trying to catch up with life while still looking at a full calendar. Today was a DGA National Board meeting which thankfully was done at 12:30P. Tomorrow is C's 5th birthday party. Monday is C's birthday, a park playdate, flute rehearsal, etc. Work Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday is my flute concert which you're all invited to attend. I'll post details on Monday. Friday, I'm hoping to keep free and maybe we'll go to Disneyland. It's C's two week spring break. Saturday is Passover and the next week is just as nutty. Sleep is clearly an option.
Thursday is M's surgery. Please keep thinking good, happy, positive thoughts. My boobs have been sore lately which I think is sympathy pain. I know it's all going to be ok but it's still a stressful time. Her DH M had to leave the last two weeks working on "Big Brother" which is really disappointing to me. I loved seeing him every week, even when we were both running in different directions. But obviously, he needs to be home for the next few weeks after surgery. Luckily, there's only the two weeks left of this season and hopefully he'll be back for the summer run.
More posting tomorrow after the big birthday soiree.
Oy what a day!
Busy day today that started off pretty much on schedule. Me, Caz and C were planning on going to the final Kings game of the season. As horrific as they've been as a team, currently tied for last place in the league, I have been a fan for 35 years so I might as well be supportive on the last game of the year. So getting ready to get dressed and head out to Staples, I go to check on the dogs and gee, what a surprise, they've disappeared. This is about 10:30A. Caz had let them out to pee and forgot that they need supervised visits in the backyard because of their previous walkabouts. So I quickly get dressed, climb up the hill in search of two dumb dogs. Caz ultimately climbed the fence to give it a search but came up with nothing. We called my MIL to see if she'd swing by to see if they'd show up on the front doorstep like they always have.
We took off to the hockey game where the Kings lost to the Ducks 4-3. We got there at the start of the 2nd period which sadly, has been pretty standard this season. I was hoping to actually make it to the whole game but the dogs clearly didn't want that to happen.
After the game, we headed to see G at the Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars) where they're rehearsing "Idol Gives Back". Anyway, it's about 5PM and as I'm getting off the freeway, I get a call from some guy in private community, which our backyard backs up to and where our dogs escaped to, asking if I lost my dog named Tazzie. Yes, I did. I explain that my MIL is at my house, where I live and he's willing to drive her home. He asked if I had a Rottweiler too. I said yes, her name is Keely and she's a big weenie. A couple of disconnected cell phone calls later, he tells me that Keely wouldn't come to him and that he's driving Tazzie home and my MIL can come get Keely. So she goes driving around Hidden Hills (multi million dollar huge homes) but can't find her. She meets a couple riding their horses and the woman gets in the car to help her find Keely and her husband, on horseback, goes off to find her as well. The woman said that she saw Keely earlier but she wouldn't come to her either. At about 7P, my MIL called it a day (she had been driving around for almost 2 hours) and headed home, hoping, that Keely would make it home to the front or along the back fence. No such luck on the return. Obviously, there's nothing we can do but hope that she's safe and finds a place to lay low.
Back to the Kodak. Of course, we're there to support G and his big directing gig, to which everyone I know said he's doing an amazing job. :-) But the real reason we were there was to see Carrie Underwood. You know, the girl who sings "Ever Ever After" from "Enchanted". The video we watch endlessly on my iphone. When we get to the Kodak, Robin Williams is rehearsing and needless to say, he's hilarious. Caz was able to say hello to him and take a photo. She was flipping out that she saw a real movie star and it doesn't get much bigger than him. She was so excited. She'll email the photo. So, a little bit later, Carrie arrives. G knows her from when she was on "Idol" season 5. So he goes up to say hi and calls us over. C, in her infinite shyness, didn't say much. Carrie was very sweet talking to her. G said asked C what her second favorite song was (next to "Ever Ever After") that she watches on my iphone. Dad had to answer "Wicked" for her and Carrie said that she listens to that a lot too. I was able to take this picture which was pretty cool.
We watched a little more rehearsal to which, yes, G is doing a great job. It's looking fantastic so be sure to tune in to "Idol Gives Back", give if you can to the cause, and enjoy watching G's big directing gig. Then, us three girls went to CPK for dinner, a little Cold Stone for ice cream and then head off to the airport. I get so sad when Caz has to leave. We're so close, we get along so well, we always have fun when we're together so it's just so hard that we live so far apart. I hope we can get to Sydney sooner than later.
So C and I get home. Still no Keely. I climb up the hill to see if she's made it along the back fence but no. I hear coyotes and dogs carrying on which scared the crap out of me. Little Keely isn't the brightest dog in the world and could easily just be wandering being lost without any idea which way to go. I climb up the hill another couple of times but nothing. G finally gets home at 12:30A and climbs the fence just to take a walk and see if he can find her. Of course,
another round of coyotes going nuts ensues so that's not a good sound. About 5 minutes after he climbed over, he calls saying that he has her. Hallelujah! After another 14 hour journey, we have two dogs. Keely hurt her paw a little bit and was filthy, but she's fine. Both dogs are now splayed out on their pillow and I'm guessing they won't be moving much in the next 24 hours.
Okay, I'm glad that they're home of course, but the stress they cause is just ridiculous. We need to shore up the hole they keep digging under to escape. This one particular escape route has been viable for them for almost 4 months. We tried to plug it up, but where there's a will there's a way, and they keep digging it up again. I'm thinking concrete at this point. And if they think they're going out for more than 1 minute supervised they're nuts. It's all extremely aggravating. So that was my full day. I'm throughly mentally and physically exhausted and I'm going to bed.
Again, watch "Idol Gives Back" on Wednesday and be sure to give a big YAY when you see the directed by credit.
We have a fight on our hands
If any of my regulars are those that I work with, you already know the news. For those of you in my scrapbook and other worlds, my best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer last week. I've been trying to figure out the best way to blog this. It's been a difficult few days of processing and I can't even imagine what it's been like for M, M & S. I've known M since 7th grade so we've really grown up together. I work with M on "Big Brother" which I have to admit is really fun that I get to see him every week. And I'm S's godmother and M is C's godmother. My parents love M like another daughter so as you can imagine, we're really close.
I know and feel deep in my being that M is going to come through this with flying colors. She has a not so great history of cancer in her family which makes this all a little more scary. But because of that history, she's always been extremely diligent when it comes to all health matters. So after two MRI's (the mammogram didn't spot anything), this damn f'in cancer was diagnosed. I know it's early. As posted on her blog, it's a form that reacts well to hormone therapy which is excellent. I know she, we - the world, can beat this thing. She will have a mastectomy (probably double) and then chemo and radiation. For how long, hasn't been 100% determined yet. It's going to be a long couple of month upcoming but I do know that it's all going to be good. It has to be. I'm lucky to have two best friends in the world and the other is here in town from Australia this week. I have every intention of all of us being around celebrating our grandchildren.
Please say a prayer, light a candle, do whatever you do to think good, happy thoughts for M and for anyone else who may need a little extra positive energy. I've posted M's
blog-link on the side if you're interested in checking out the journey or saying hi. Thanks for listening.
