Well, once again, I'm way behind. Life has been running pretty fast, some days I'm not really sure what day it really is. I find myself almost in a panic on Saturday mornings when I've slept a little later than usual and am awaken (as I prefer) by the sun rising through the trees. But I'm hoping, if all goes as planned, that things will change for the better after my next endo appointment at the end of the month. I'm hoping for a medication change that, again I hope, will provide more energy and an over all improvement in how I feel.
But on with the rest of the show...
Speaking of show, well, Jeff's band is really coming along. And I'm not sure how it happened, but in a moment of weakness I found myself saying to the lead singer as she was saying she wished there were other voices on the track that they'd just recorded, "Send me some lyrics and I'll see what I can do to help out." What was I thinking? It's been 25 years since I sang in a group, been 3 years since surgery, and I KNOW I don't have my full vocal range back nor even a forth of my vocal control. But I did it, and now, I too am a part of the band.
It's only been about a month, and boy do my cords feel it. By the end of our weekly practice my throat is so swollen and tender. I have to ban myself from ANY singing for a least 2 days during the week. I gave in once last week on a no singing day, but it was Patsy Cline, how could I not??? LOL I may actually see if I can find a vocal coach who has worked with post surgical clients. I wasn't all that before, but I was better than I am. I'd like to try and at least get back to close to what I had before. I know many never fully regain their singing voice, some never regain any at all. I am very happy and thankful for what I do have. Especially since I NEVER figured I'd ever be where I am today.
Work is stressful. We have moved twice since April. The first moved, while it sucked having to move, I LOVED my tiny cube with a full wall of windows. I am a sun baby after all. To have gone from a dark, dank cube to light, I felt SO much better. I was happier, physically felt better, everything was sunshine and roses. I should have known it wouldn't last. Moved again at the end of August, newer cube, HATE it, too much harsh lighting, even with 2 of the 3 bulbs out of the over head light, no windows, no natural light, just dull, dark, dank cube walls. I can honestly say, it is the LAST place I want to be, and I find it extremely hard to go to work. Today, it was all I could do to not just sit there and cry the whole day and a few times I fought those tears really hard. I have the brain cloud, is there a volcano somewhere that needs a sacrifice??? LOL Joe vs. the Volcano incase you didn't get that one. :-)
So I've been thinking for about 6 months of doing a thyroid cancer photo project. With September being thyroid cancer awareness month, and a fellow cancer survivor sharing her story of how through her cancer the scar that she has on her neck that once stood for something else painful in her life is now a survival scar that she can be proud of. I really feel strongly about this project, once because, everyone's scar and story is different, and I know that, at least for me, knowing what I could look like afterwards was a big help going into surgery. My grandmother and my dad had both had theirs removed. Yet, my scar is completely different from theirs, worlds different. Anyway, I'm still working it out in my head, but I think I might start the project next week, put it out there to the world and see where it goes.
So I have my next endo appt on September 30. I'll let you know how it goes.
So until then, y'all rock on!
Dawn
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
March 29, 2013 - Happy #3!
Happy Three Year Anniversary!!!
Early in the morning three years ago, I walked into Brackenridge Hospital with what probably looked like my own security force. Jeff and Justin are a force to be reckoned with. I like to think that I was calm and cool, or at least was faking it well. I knew the day was going to bring what it was and there was not much I could do to change the new path that was set in front of me. I woke to a sunbean and the thumping whirl of a StarFlight helicopter, two of my favorite things. :-) It hasn't always been easy, there have been tears, and loneliness from isolation, I blew up like a huge balloon while waiting for radioactive treatment and starting and balancing meds. I have found that even in our 40's, we can still act like four year olds when we are totally exhausted and in dire need of an afternoon nap. Jeff is very good at handling that whining, crying, huffing, stomping four year old. Even when I try to hide that I'm not feeling well or experiencing some side effects Jeff always knows.
Thank you to Jeff for always knowing when to force me to get my banky and teddy bear. To friends always being there to make me laugh and telling me I look awesome even when I was blown up like a balloon and to family for always being there with love and support. The road may not always be an easy one, but with all the awesome people I have in my life, even though the introverted me may have trouble expressing it sometimes, I know I don't travel it alone and there will always be someone there to make me smile. ♥ Here's to many more years cancer free! 
Now... in other news...
My brother got married March 16. It was beautiful. I did all the decorations for the rehearsal dinner. Thought it would be cool to do simple wheatgrass arrangements. Let me tell you, when you have a deadline watching wheatgrass grow can be a VERY stressful thing. LOL! But in the end they all turned out beautifully! It seemed like I had ordered my dress forever ago, I got it a size smaller than they suggested and while it was a bit tight when it came in, it fit awesomely the day of the wedding. Right now this is the only picture I have of it, I'll have to find another or have Jeff take some because you can't really see the dress well in it. But it does show my fat hashi neck well. LOL!!!
Jeff's new band project is going well. It's almost 100 miles from our door to the studio door so on practice days it's an all day event. But it's worth it. I get to experience some of the most amazing music ever produced and in many cases, other than the band I'm the only person who gets to experience the amazing creations that flow from them. And for that I am extremely lucky! Jeff and I are pretty much inseparable. If you get one you get the other, and if the other isn't right there, it's usually lurking in the background some where. LOL! There are a few times that we will go places on our own but it's rare. We're weird that way. LOL To the band I never want to be considered a Yoko, I'm more of a Linda.
Since my last appointment went so well, I don't have to go back to the endo until September. Which, going from every 3 months to 6 months is AWESOME!!!
So for now, we continue on. Even though things aren't always perfect I know my thyroid cancer path has been much easier than many. For that I am very grateful. It's not always easy, but as long as we remember to keep calm and sparkle it will all be okay.
Rock on!
Dawn
PS, In case you didn't know, I am a professed glitter addict. Some days, all it takes is a little sparkle to make it all okay.
March 22, 2013 - First Endo Appt and Ultrasound of the year!
Been so busy I had to reschedule my normal January appointment to March, so I'm running a little bit behind this year. But....
So had good news on the cancer front! Ultrasound was good, the one node of interest was still unchanged from the last 3 ultrasounds and its last biopsy came back clean so as long as it stays as it is it's nothing to worry about. So, since that all came out well AND the thyroid-goblins are still in hiding I get to go another year without taking those beautiful blue radioactive pills and doing a radioactive iodine scan. Whoohoo!!!
My labs were so good I get to cut one of my other medication doses in half or if the situation is right, skip it altogether. Yea! That's one more step to getting down to only one medication, my thyroid in a bottle Synthroid, balancing my body back from cancer and a lifetime of undiagnosed Hashimoto's Disease. All in all, life is pretty damn good.
Because ALL my lab work was so good I don't have to go back until September, which is AWESOME!!!
Writing this post was kind of hard, I have a life long friend who was getting his biopsy results the same and and unfortunately didn't get similar good news. I've been on that bad news side and it sucks royally. But if the universe allows that could change for him at least I greatly hope so. ♥
Love you guys!!!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
2013 - Welcome! - Moving into year 3
So far 2013 is looking pretty good.
The second half of 2012 was kind of wild, extremely busy at work, the majority of our management team jumped ship all at the same time. Several of us stepped up to help pick up the slack, there were some days I wanted to blog but was just too exhausted to do so. But I thought about you guys!
Because of this "management opening" I applied for a new job, didn't get it because the two they gave it to had been HERE longer than the other two of us, but yet, we both had more experience in Medicaid as a whole, and the two of them have as many years with the state together as I do on my own but that is that. Their beds have been made and what is is. I will continue on rockin' it with my awesome self.
All in all, things are going well. My TSH levels have remained steady through out the year. I am still on 224mg of Synthroid. I have an ultrasound and an endo appt scheduled for January 30. So I'll let you know how that goes.
Considering doing Ladies Rock Camp again this year. It's funny, a year ago I longed for a bass of my own. Today, I have three. My two Lunas posted about previously, and Jeff gave me one of his basses, a Jaguar Jazz bass, in red. I had been looking to get the exact same bass in silver to be my "goofy" bass I was gonna put Hello Kitty on it and such, but since he'd bought a fretless, and had been playing it along with his Getty Lee Fender Jazz he didn't really need it so passed it on to me. Yea! I'm seriously considering doing it again, but which bass to use. Boy, I'm a Libra, this could take a while. LOL!!!
Other than that life is good. Sorta started back on South Beach again, kind of more of a "soft" start. Not being OVERLY strict at this point but starting to cut stuff out. Details on that can be found over on the Beach Bum blog.
That's it for now. Hope all is well with you and that you had an awesome holiday season and a happy new year!
Rock on!!!
Dawn
The second half of 2012 was kind of wild, extremely busy at work, the majority of our management team jumped ship all at the same time. Several of us stepped up to help pick up the slack, there were some days I wanted to blog but was just too exhausted to do so. But I thought about you guys!
Because of this "management opening" I applied for a new job, didn't get it because the two they gave it to had been HERE longer than the other two of us, but yet, we both had more experience in Medicaid as a whole, and the two of them have as many years with the state together as I do on my own but that is that. Their beds have been made and what is is. I will continue on rockin' it with my awesome self.
All in all, things are going well. My TSH levels have remained steady through out the year. I am still on 224mg of Synthroid. I have an ultrasound and an endo appt scheduled for January 30. So I'll let you know how that goes.
Considering doing Ladies Rock Camp again this year. It's funny, a year ago I longed for a bass of my own. Today, I have three. My two Lunas posted about previously, and Jeff gave me one of his basses, a Jaguar Jazz bass, in red. I had been looking to get the exact same bass in silver to be my "goofy" bass I was gonna put Hello Kitty on it and such, but since he'd bought a fretless, and had been playing it along with his Getty Lee Fender Jazz he didn't really need it so passed it on to me. Yea! I'm seriously considering doing it again, but which bass to use. Boy, I'm a Libra, this could take a while. LOL!!!
Other than that life is good. Sorta started back on South Beach again, kind of more of a "soft" start. Not being OVERLY strict at this point but starting to cut stuff out. Details on that can be found over on the Beach Bum blog.
That's it for now. Hope all is well with you and that you had an awesome holiday season and a happy new year!
Rock on!!!
Dawn
Friday, July 27, 2012
2012 London Olympics
OMG OMG OMG OMG the Olympics start in 9 hours 34 minutes and 27 seconds...26...25...24...23...22...21...you get the picture! LOL
So excited I LOVE the Olympics!
So excited I LOVE the Olympics!
GO TEAM USA!!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
July 2012 Endo Appt
Had an appointment with the endos office Monday. Things are still rockin' along awesomely. No thyroidgoblins to be found and TSH still holding at 0.3. My weight is 11 pounds down from my surgery weight. And while that might not seem like a big deal to me it is. Having no thyroid adds a new battle on the weightloss front, I only gained 10 pounds after my surgery before doing my treatment and starting my Synthroid and reaching a stable TSH level. To have lost that 10, plus an additional 10 is a good thing. Oh sure, I could go on a "diet" and loose a lot more even faster, but while rapid loss is great for the "I want to see it all now!" ones, I want to make changes that are permanent healthy changes for myself and my family. I'm not perfect, I know that, hello life long fat kid, and I'm not always going to make the best choices, sometimes life just needs chocolate ice cream. A scoop or two is one thing, half a gallon is another.
For the most part I've been feeling okay. My back has been a little buggie, the SI joint or piriformis is acting up. All I know is at times, it's a pain in the buttocks! I have stretches and such from my chiro that help, and spending time on the SI wedge that I bought help a lot. I need to be better about my stretches. There is a little summer cold/bug going around, not to mention with all the rain we've had lately that the mold count has exploded, in the 16,000's the other day. Jeff had the cold/bug last week and I started with it over the weekend. I think it's starting to move out because as I've been writing this both my ears have popped and stuff seems to be clearing out.
Life on the home front is good, busy, but good. I got one of the two kitchen garden boxes that my late husband built me back into working order, planted way too many tomatoes in it, with some herbs and a pepper plant. Between the deer eating the plants, the normal Texas heat, and the mother loving, stupid squirrels STEALING my heirloom tomatoes...muttermutter...it's been great having fresh tomatoes and herbs, for what I've been able to get.
My brother is getting married to his long time girlfriend. Yea! Wedding is set for March 16, 2013. I"m a bridesmaid and I even like the dress. Already have it ordered too. Jeff is a groomsman. This I can't wait for, I've never seen him in a suit. We've been together for 5 years next month and I've never seen the man in a suit, let alone a tux. It could get dangerous. LOL!!! I'll be taking the pink out of my hair for the wedding. I decided it on my own, no one has said anything or asked me about it, it's out of respect for my brother and Tiffany. Plus, I really need to have the sections redone professionally so I'll get that done after the wedding.
Jeff is working on a new music project. I think it's going to be good for him, will defiantly push him to grow. I'm not really sure how you'd classify it, physco-surfer-rockabilly? I think it's going to be fun. Band practice makes for a long day, from the house to the studio it's 100 miles one way. The toll roads make it nice as there isn't much, if any, traffic on them. We don't mind the travel and I will do whatever we need to for the band. With the Humiliators he was always having to travel to South Austin and that's like 50-60 miles from the house. We just rock on!
My new bass came in. I've named her Ruby, in honor of my granny, plus she's a beautiful red. She is as awesome and perfect as Lucky (my other bass) is. I know some may think that it is silly to have two basses, identical in every way except for their color. All the guys said it was good to have a back up, and we learned that first hand one night when Jeff broke an E string on stage. We'd brought the 5-string bass but hadn't taken it in, luckily we'd parked right in front of the bar. I had to run out and grab the other bass. Many things I learned that night, always take a back up, take your heels off before trying to run through a bar with a sloped floor(especially if you are wearing blinking heels, and yes I was), and never miss the bands opening number. I had gone to the bar across the street with two of the other band wives, being the newbie I was trying to be social, we could hear the sound check, but there was no lighten a fire under them and they were in no hurry, I learned when it's time to go, it's time to go, close out and go (if running a tab). If I have any control I will never miss an opening note again.
And to make things even sillier, I'm already considering a third bass. LOL I know, I know! I love my Lunas. But I want a Fender too, so I've been considering a silver Fender. It's for...range of motion and fretting dexterity. (oh that sounded good LOL) I fear I have contracted GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) from my husband. LOL I think it's time to seriously consider building a music/photography studio. LOL!!!
Jeff's brother came to visit for a few days at the end of June. They are both HAMs and Justin came down to do Field Day with Jeff. I think they had a good time.
And on a sad note, we had to put our 15 year old lab to sleep. Licorice Whips was the last of the three pups that we kept from the litter our yellow lab had just 15 days after we moved to our property. We had only planned on keeping 1 pup from that litter, but ended up keeping three. It was an extremely hard decision to make and to live with for a few weeks. I found myself being mad at my late husband. Mad at him for leaving me to have to make this decision. It wasn't like he had a choice in leaving, lung cancer didn't give him much choice, and it only took me seven years to get mad at him for it finally. It's a normal widow experience they say we will all have at some point, I guess some sooner than others. I wasn't alone in the decision, Jeff, and our vet, who delivered that litter by C-section that cold, wet, November night, were all there along with me. It's been just over a month and I still find myself going to the door to get her, or if I hear clicking or scraping on the floor going to help her stand up. I know with time I will learn to live without her.
Okay, now that I've brought everyone down... time for goofy man-ness
"Tell me which is better? 1 or 2? How about 3 or 4?" LOL!!!
Rock on!
For the most part I've been feeling okay. My back has been a little buggie, the SI joint or piriformis is acting up. All I know is at times, it's a pain in the buttocks! I have stretches and such from my chiro that help, and spending time on the SI wedge that I bought help a lot. I need to be better about my stretches. There is a little summer cold/bug going around, not to mention with all the rain we've had lately that the mold count has exploded, in the 16,000's the other day. Jeff had the cold/bug last week and I started with it over the weekend. I think it's starting to move out because as I've been writing this both my ears have popped and stuff seems to be clearing out.
Life on the home front is good, busy, but good. I got one of the two kitchen garden boxes that my late husband built me back into working order, planted way too many tomatoes in it, with some herbs and a pepper plant. Between the deer eating the plants, the normal Texas heat, and the mother loving, stupid squirrels STEALING my heirloom tomatoes...muttermutter...it's been great having fresh tomatoes and herbs, for what I've been able to get. 
My brother is getting married to his long time girlfriend. Yea! Wedding is set for March 16, 2013. I"m a bridesmaid and I even like the dress. Already have it ordered too. Jeff is a groomsman. This I can't wait for, I've never seen him in a suit. We've been together for 5 years next month and I've never seen the man in a suit, let alone a tux. It could get dangerous. LOL!!! I'll be taking the pink out of my hair for the wedding. I decided it on my own, no one has said anything or asked me about it, it's out of respect for my brother and Tiffany. Plus, I really need to have the sections redone professionally so I'll get that done after the wedding.Jeff is working on a new music project. I think it's going to be good for him, will defiantly push him to grow. I'm not really sure how you'd classify it, physco-surfer-rockabilly? I think it's going to be fun. Band practice makes for a long day, from the house to the studio it's 100 miles one way. The toll roads make it nice as there isn't much, if any, traffic on them. We don't mind the travel and I will do whatever we need to for the band. With the Humiliators he was always having to travel to South Austin and that's like 50-60 miles from the house. We just rock on!
And to make things even sillier, I'm already considering a third bass. LOL I know, I know! I love my Lunas. But I want a Fender too, so I've been considering a silver Fender. It's for...range of motion and fretting dexterity. (oh that sounded good LOL) I fear I have contracted GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) from my husband. LOL I think it's time to seriously consider building a music/photography studio. LOL!!!
Jeff's brother came to visit for a few days at the end of June. They are both HAMs and Justin came down to do Field Day with Jeff. I think they had a good time.
And on a sad note, we had to put our 15 year old lab to sleep. Licorice Whips was the last of the three pups that we kept from the litter our yellow lab had just 15 days after we moved to our property. We had only planned on keeping 1 pup from that litter, but ended up keeping three. It was an extremely hard decision to make and to live with for a few weeks. I found myself being mad at my late husband. Mad at him for leaving me to have to make this decision. It wasn't like he had a choice in leaving, lung cancer didn't give him much choice, and it only took me seven years to get mad at him for it finally. It's a normal widow experience they say we will all have at some point, I guess some sooner than others. I wasn't alone in the decision, Jeff, and our vet, who delivered that litter by C-section that cold, wet, November night, were all there along with me. It's been just over a month and I still find myself going to the door to get her, or if I hear clicking or scraping on the floor going to help her stand up. I know with time I will learn to live without her.
Okay, now that I've brought everyone down... time for goofy man-ness
"Tell me which is better? 1 or 2? How about 3 or 4?" LOL!!!
Rock on!
Monday, May 7, 2012
Two Year Endo Appt & Ultrasound
Had my two year endo appointment and ultrasound.
The ultrasound came out good. That same lymph node was still visible, but it had shrunk some, so since we biopsied it last year and it is remaining basically unchanged then it's just a lymph node doing what lymphs do.
All my thyroid lab worked looked good, all right where it should be. I asked about whether or not I have to do another yearly scan and he confirmed that not this year. He said that they are starting to move away from doing yearly radioactive iodine scan in patients who have had clean scans. Most likely will do one next year, but we will see when the time comes.
So for now, just keep on keepin' on!
I'm currently taking 112mcg Synthroid, 2 tabs in the morning. This dosage is holding my TSH levels steadily at 0.3.
And life on the Rock front? We spent some time with Leon out at the Leapin' Lizards Studio. Keeping my fingers crossed that a new project will come Jeff's way. After SXSW we've not really been out a lot, but we have been to a few shows. The long await Skrew show at Hardtails in Georgetown ended just as I expected it. I was born and raised in Georgetown, Hardtails is basically in my great aunt and uncles back yard. I kid you know, where her kennels were is their side parking lot. Half way (if even that far) through Skrew set the stage went dark and silent. Skrew is an industrial metal band, silent is not in their vocabulary. The industrial metal crowd is not Hardtails normal clientele. We've been there a few times, and I have plenty of friends who are regulars there. Some of the looks we got when we walked in you would have thought we were chewing on newborn babies or something. The sound guy claimed he was told by management that it had to be shut down at a certain time. If that's the case then the sound guy sucks as a time keeper, and allowed all the other bands to run over and take too long getting on and off the stage. Shutting the headlining act down...not cool man.
I have a new bass coming. Same brand and model as my current one but this one is in the merlot flame. The style I had originally wanted. I found it for about a 1/3 or the original price so I couldn't pass it up. The guys kept telling me I needed a back-up, so after watching it for 4 months, I got it. Yea! She should hopefully be here tomorrow.
And life on the Rock front? We spent some time with Leon out at the Leapin' Lizards Studio. Keeping my fingers crossed that a new project will come Jeff's way. After SXSW we've not really been out a lot, but we have been to a few shows. The long await Skrew show at Hardtails in Georgetown ended just as I expected it. I was born and raised in Georgetown, Hardtails is basically in my great aunt and uncles back yard. I kid you know, where her kennels were is their side parking lot. Half way (if even that far) through Skrew set the stage went dark and silent. Skrew is an industrial metal band, silent is not in their vocabulary. The industrial metal crowd is not Hardtails normal clientele. We've been there a few times, and I have plenty of friends who are regulars there. Some of the looks we got when we walked in you would have thought we were chewing on newborn babies or something. The sound guy claimed he was told by management that it had to be shut down at a certain time. If that's the case then the sound guy sucks as a time keeper, and allowed all the other bands to run over and take too long getting on and off the stage. Shutting the headlining act down...not cool man.
I have a new bass coming. Same brand and model as my current one but this one is in the merlot flame. The style I had originally wanted. I found it for about a 1/3 or the original price so I couldn't pass it up. The guys kept telling me I needed a back-up, so after watching it for 4 months, I got it. Yea! She should hopefully be here tomorrow.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Two Years!!
Two years ago I woke up in recovery, basking in the sun, loving the sounds of the medevac helicopters coming in and taking off (I"m weird I know, but it comes from my EMS background), with a tube in my neck and my cancer ridden thyroid gone. It's been an interesting two years, with lots of ups and downs, pain and tears, both good and bad. I've done goofy things just because I could and I've done long desired thing just because I could.
In the world of cancer my path has been easy compared to others, I still have most of my hair, those somedays I don't feel like it and my radiation didn't leave burns but gave rise to RadioactiveGirl. In a way, it's been a bed of roses, awesome and sweet at times but can't forget about the poking thorns and scratchy leaves.
Here's to the next year being even better! Much love to my amazing husband who at times has fretted over me like no other and my awesome family and friends who have been by my side (even though you were required to stay 10 ft away at all times LOL) and supported me through all of it. I love you guys so much!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Cloud 9
After the Ladies Rock Camp Showcase we went over to The Blind Pig Pub to catch two of our favorite peeps (Will and Amy) son-in-laws' band Cannon. I was still floating on Cloud 9, I might have even been on 10 by that time. LOLI don't think there is any way of measuring just how much love and total happiness that was bubbling out. Jeff said if I wanted to get some ink to commemorate the night I could, but since I'd had a couple of gin and tonics at Lucky Lounge it was going to have to wait until another night. It was so awesome to finish off the night with Will and Amy, Justin and Zara, and Jenna and Joey. And most of all, my Bou, Jeff.
I did think about what I wanted for my new tattoo and I decided on something that I'd wanted for a long time, but I changed the location. I've been wanting a bass heart (made from bass clefs), but I decided to put it on my left wrist. That way, one, I can see it, and two, I can see it when I play to remind me of how awesome this night has been.
When we met with Mike at True Blue Tattoo on Red River I decided to go with a coloration similar to the orange sunburst colors on my bass. The surprise for the night, was that Jeff decided to get a matching tat in black and white to match his bass. I love my man. Mike did an amazing job.
I realizing something that night, the muscle "twitches/spasms" I've had since my thryoid surgery, when they are bad are almost exactly the same as the sinsations I have when getting a tattoo. My other ink was done a few years before I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer so the sinsation was long out of my mind, but now, I deal with that feeling somewhat frequently, more ink should be a piece of cake. LOL!!!
What's next in life? Who knows! SXSW is in a few weeks, we'll see what that brings for this rock girl.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Ladies Rock Camp 2012
February 2012
This entry has been hard to write. Where to begin? Where oh where....eh how about the beginning.
One day, when I was...14-ish the Sears Wishbook (catalog) came. Yes, it was back in the day when major retailers actually sent out these things called...cat-a-logs. There was a black on black bass. Black body, black neck, black head and I wanted it. I asked for it and was told, "no." I asked again a year or two later and was told, "NO!" So, being the good girl, I gave up and happily went on playing my saxaphone. There were a few times in high school when I was a bit jealous of friends who got a bass or an electric guitar. I think I even asked once more in high school and of course the answer the the same.
Fast forward 24 years. Well, I couldn't have a bass so I'll be happy being the bass player's girl. Jeff always said that if I wanted to play any of his guitars that I could. And while I greatly appreciated that, I didn't want to break them. He'd always laugh and said I wouldn't break them, but knowing me, I'd drop his Geddy Lee Fender Jazz and break it and I'd never forgive myself. Which always made him laugh more condering the number of times he's dropped it. Oh well, if he drops and breaks it, that one thing, he did it. But if *I* drop and break it I would feel absolutely horrible and honestly never forgive myself. It's his favorite bass. I always declined the offer, but was doing a little searching for maybe a bass of my own. Something that would be suited to my stubby little fingers.
Hello Luna!
My research brought me to Luna Guitars. Guitars ideally designed by women for women (and men) The founder had watched her mother, a petite bass player, rare in the 60's, physically struggle everytime she strapped on a heavy bass to play the music she loved. So she began designing instruments with her mom in mind.
I fell in love with the Andromeda bass . Oh how I loved the merlot flame style. But could never bring myself to actually buy it. That "responsiblility" gene kept kicking in... don't be silly, you are a grown woman, you have no NEED for a bass, there are more responsible things you need or can put that money towards... and so I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. But I still followed every Ebay auction and online listing I could find for it.
Then late last October or November I got a message from my PR friend that I used to work with, Dean Lofton, promoting a Ladies Rock Camp to support the Girls Rock Austin, which has been empowering girls of all backgrounds through music education. Three days of camp to let loose and play rock music together. No experience required. Sounded awesome! AND they'd provide instruments, all I'd have to do is show up? I could have instrument of choice, well, there would be only one option there. LOL There would be instrument lessons, as well as songwriting, recording, stage equipment setup (being the widow of a professional roadie, and the wife of a rockstar I kind of had a clue on that part), and merchandising and more. In addition, in those three days, we'd also form bands, write an orginal song, and then perform it in a special showcase on the third night. OH MY!
So I talked to Jeff about it later that evening. He too thought it was an awesome idea and said that if I wanted to do it we'd make it happen. I think he may have been a little more excited about it than I was. LOL He even said that if I wanted to use Jag (his beloved bass) that I could. Again, I declined for that whole breaking, never forgiving myself thing. LOL He offered if I wanted my own bass then by all means I could get one. YEA! So you know those Ebay autions from earlier... yeah I started watching them even closer, and wouldn't you know it, when I finally could bring myself to pull the trigger, the bass I SO wanted was sold. There was one other exactly like it, but it was in Great Brittian. I don't have an issue with shipping across the US, but shipping an instrument across the pond? That, while I'm sure would be fine, I just didn't really feel comfortable with it. So now, the hunt was on!
We began the great search for MY bass. We hit the music stores, watched craigslist (found one that I like but the guy sold it the night before...figures), watched auctions, had the great debates of what brand and style of bass did I want. I really wanted a Luna, but had kind of put it on the back burner. We had wittled it down to either a Fender Jazz or a Cort. Couldn't really find any Corts locally to lay hands on, and all of the Fender's, while they were the right style, they just didn't speak to me, and honestly, I really just found them ugly. Then one day, I again did a search on Ebay a Luna bass, and there she was. A little music store in Brooklyn, New York had an amber Andromeda....and cheaper than I'd ever been able to find them.
After a few days of talking it over (have a meantioned before we both "research" things to death before we buy them? LOL) we decided to go for it. When I got to the office the next morning I figured Jeff would be too busy, so I was going to buy it, but then I got busy with a few pharmacies, and by the time I got back over to buy it, it was gone! Someone had, once again had beat me too it. I was almost in tears. I couldn't even tell Jeff. A little while later he asked me to send him the link to the auction, I did and told him it didn't matter cause it was sold already, and he was like "oh really." and I sniffled "yeah" and he fed the sad puppy for a little while before he reveled that HE was the one who had bought it. Yea! Our offices are just under 2 miles apart, he could hear the squealing from there.
I had a bass! My very own bass! After a couple of weeks she was here! AAAAAAHHHHH {insert chorus of angels and rock girl screams} She was here, she is beautiful, and she is perfect! Jeff checked her out for me, she needs a little tweeking (like any guitar out of the box would need) but luckily we now the best bass man in town, so when we get the chance she'll be going in for a set-up and a little adjusting.
Jeff bought me cables, gave/loaned me his favorite tuner, the little Fender practice amp, and he let me borrow a strap. I went on the search for a strap worthy of my guitars' awesomeness and found one in, of all places, North Yorkshire. Oh sure, I'm not comfortable with my bass traveling the pond, but a strap, pfft, no problem. LOL! I also found a few little beginner videos online and began fumbling around till the big day came.
Then finally came the day of Ladies Rock Camp. I was so excited, a little nervous, but mostly excited. Would there be others as with as little experience as me? Was I really ready for this? Could I really do this? Pfft...was I really asking these questions? LOL
Day 1 started awesomely. Once we got started we had a little "warm-up." As a facilitator and event planner (retired lol) I know and understand the importance of warm-ups, but the introvert in me still doesn't like them. LOL! We got a little run down of the day then split up into our intrument classes. I can't say what took place in the other classes, there was guitar, drums, keyboards, and vocals, but the bass class, WAS DA BEST! I'm a little biased maybe...LOL
There were four of us, Kaitlynn and Shelly had experience on guitar and maybe some bass, and Steph and I were the "true" beginners. We had the best instructor, the AMAZING Heather Webb (of Adrian and the Sickness, BugGiRL, Princess of Darkness). The whole keys to strings, staff to tabs, being new, and while yes frustrating, I love it. And I felt a little better that the look on Steph's face at times matched how I felt, so I wasn't alone. LOL
After lunch we had a pleasant performace by Melissa Bryan,then they gave us our
band assignments. I got Kathy on guitar, Gladys on keyboards, Betty on drums, me on bass, and our band coach....Heather and Eva! Score... for me and Kathy! LOL! We had a song writing workshop, then we jumped right in to the whole band thing and by the end of the day, we had a band name, The Underwires, the title of our song, I Found It!, and for the most part, the songs rhythem and key. When we initally started messing around I REALLY enjoyed and like, no loved the sound. By the end of the day, not so much. I don't remember where or why we had the change but the "sound" just lost me, but I was still open to the process. Oh, AND we had homework! 
Our homework was to write lyrics. Um....oh gawd, what to write?
Day 2 started out pretty much the same, intrument instruction in the morning, lunch time entertainment by Agent Ribbons (cute!) and the afternoon spend with the band working on our song.
The late afternoon workshop was on merch and screen printing. We made our own Ladies Rock Camp tshirts and/or patches.
We made some cord changes to our song so when I went home, I asked Jeff for help. I wanted something "new" for the section that we changed. I played him the recording that I had made and the bass line that I had been using and he instantly said "This is what I hear..." and he played me another bass line and I liked it. A nice simple driving line with a simple octive change. Score!
Day 3 was going to be a BIG day. We had just the morning to finish working the kinks out of our song, because after lunch, we had our on stage run through and then that was it. I was pumped! I got to the school early (just as I had been). LOL
We got busy working out the final lyric s and rehearsing. Over and over and over again we ran through the song. The other bands would stop in to check it out and they said it was sounding great. It was kind of funny to suddenly look up and have a full audience. It was sounding great and to me, we were nailing it. Even after Heather erased all our notes from the board. LOL Then the hour finally came, it was time for lunch. Dund-dun-duuuuuuunnnnnnn!!! We were as ready as we were going to be. I'm not sure Kathy agreed with me. LOL Our lunch time entertainment was provided by Amy Cook. She was a really nice wind down for the morning. Our afternoon workshop was on stage set-up/sound.
Then it was time for the stage rehearsals. OMG...okay, I've been here before. But man, when you aren't in front of your amp, and the monitor's not really where you can hear, and the drummer doesn't have a monitor and everyone is lost by the fact that they can no longer see each other...yeah, that first one I felt like a train wreck. LOL I'm sure it wasn't THAT bad but it was frustrating for me. Poor Kathy, she was so nervous. The second run through was better, but still, not as perfect as we had been. But it gave me things to remember for that night, check and crank that bass amp up and get more feed through the monitor.
After the last band had their last run through, even though we wanted more practice time, that was it. Technically rock camp was over. All that was left was the showcase at Lucky Lounge that night and we had to be there at 6pm for set-up and sound check, with the show at 7pm.
Here it was, not yet 3pm and I didn't have to be downtown until 6pm? The other girls were going to go home, to chill and practice, but concidering it would an hour drive each way, that wasn't an option. So...what to do? Well, do exactly what the bass player in my house does, be the first to the gig. LOL
I went and picked up Jeff from work, we made a few stops and headed downtown to the Lucky Lounge. It would give us time to find decent parking (hopefully), a bite to eat, take some pictures and just chill before the showcase.
Being that Monday, February 20, was a State holiday it was pretty dead downtown around 3ish. We got a parking spot right next to the club. I changed clothes in the Jeep, as any rock girl would do. I wished I'd grabbed my little jacket, but I had grabbed my skull vasity sweater, oh well. We grabbed a bite to eat at Franks. It was nummy, and while I was hungry, it just wasn't what I think I really wanted. And while I usually drink diet Dr. Pepper, I put a hurt on that Dublin DP. LOL!!!
We went back to the club to just hang and wait for them to open. We took some pictures and chatted and as I stood there, pumped ready to go, full of energy and excitment I realized my life had kind of come full circle.
At the time of this photo, I was the happiest girl on earth. My life had come full circle, and it was AMAZING! Six years ago, I stood, in almost, the same spot. My life had vastly ch
anged, Rich, my love, my husband, my partner, my road dog, my other half, was gone, taken in the blink of an eye by lung cancer and I was having to figure out life without him. I felt safe there in the shadows of his WPHobby Buildings. He could watch me from his towers, as he often did of 4th and 5th street. I was safe, he was watching over me and for then Antone's was my world. It was where I went to see Butcherwhite, Velvet Brick, the Addictions (wow, life there was much different with Clifford around) and many others.
The last 6 years have been an amazing mix of ups and downs, sad tears, happy tears, failures and triumps, and after many years, life had brought me back around to that starting point. That point where I was just learning to crawl out from under the rock and stand on my own. And here, here I was standing on top of the rock, owning the world. Today, the circle was complete. Nothing can stop me now. That night Lucky Lounge was my world, and I owned it!
That night Butcherwhite was there for me. My bass player was at my feet. And my roadie
shined his spot light on me. The energy that pumped through me was like no other. Well, not true, there was one other time. The afternoon I stood in a little kitchen, eating chocolate covered marshmallows, and doing tequila shots and shook a man's hand. That night, I was on cloud 9.
The showcase went awesomely. Was it perfect, no, but it was as close to perfect as 16 women can pull off in three days, who, for most, had never met before that weekend, many who had never played their instruments before, or stepped foot upon a stage. But I loved ever
y minute of it. Would I do it again? Oh HELL yeah! I can't wait to do it again!
A huge thank you to everyone with Girls Rock Austin/Ladies Rock Camp for pulling off an awesome camp. To all the other attendees, you ladies ROCK! To Heather and Eva, thank you for all your patience, endurance, guidence, your awesomeness and laughs. To Kathy, Betty, and Gladys, thanks for deciding to come to Rock Camp, for your patience, your awesomeness, your willingness to work the process, your laughter and most of all, putting up with my coughing. LOL!!! You ladies ROCK!!!
When it's all said and done, and the memories begin to fade, this I know for fact; I will ALWAYS be an Underwire and I know I Found It! at Ladies Rock Camp 2012.
This entry has been hard to write. Where to begin? Where oh where....eh how about the beginning.
One day, when I was...14-ish the Sears Wishbook (catalog) came. Yes, it was back in the day when major retailers actually sent out these things called...cat-a-logs. There was a black on black bass. Black body, black neck, black head and I wanted it. I asked for it and was told, "no." I asked again a year or two later and was told, "NO!" So, being the good girl, I gave up and happily went on playing my saxaphone. There were a few times in high school when I was a bit jealous of friends who got a bass or an electric guitar. I think I even asked once more in high school and of course the answer the the same.
Fast forward 24 years. Well, I couldn't have a bass so I'll be happy being the bass player's girl. Jeff always said that if I wanted to play any of his guitars that I could. And while I greatly appreciated that, I didn't want to break them. He'd always laugh and said I wouldn't break them, but knowing me, I'd drop his Geddy Lee Fender Jazz and break it and I'd never forgive myself. Which always made him laugh more condering the number of times he's dropped it. Oh well, if he drops and breaks it, that one thing, he did it. But if *I* drop and break it I would feel absolutely horrible and honestly never forgive myself. It's his favorite bass. I always declined the offer, but was doing a little searching for maybe a bass of my own. Something that would be suited to my stubby little fingers.
Hello Luna!
My research brought me to Luna Guitars. Guitars ideally designed by women for women (and men) The founder had watched her mother, a petite bass player, rare in the 60's, physically struggle everytime she strapped on a heavy bass to play the music she loved. So she began designing instruments with her mom in mind.I fell in love with the Andromeda bass . Oh how I loved the merlot flame style. But could never bring myself to actually buy it. That "responsiblility" gene kept kicking in... don't be silly, you are a grown woman, you have no NEED for a bass, there are more responsible things you need or can put that money towards... and so I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. But I still followed every Ebay auction and online listing I could find for it.
Then late last October or November I got a message from my PR friend that I used to work with, Dean Lofton, promoting a Ladies Rock Camp to support the Girls Rock Austin, which has been empowering girls of all backgrounds through music education. Three days of camp to let loose and play rock music together. No experience required. Sounded awesome! AND they'd provide instruments, all I'd have to do is show up? I could have instrument of choice, well, there would be only one option there. LOL There would be instrument lessons, as well as songwriting, recording, stage equipment setup (being the widow of a professional roadie, and the wife of a rockstar I kind of had a clue on that part), and merchandising and more. In addition, in those three days, we'd also form bands, write an orginal song, and then perform it in a special showcase on the third night. OH MY!
So I talked to Jeff about it later that evening. He too thought it was an awesome idea and said that if I wanted to do it we'd make it happen. I think he may have been a little more excited about it than I was. LOL He even said that if I wanted to use Jag (his beloved bass) that I could. Again, I declined for that whole breaking, never forgiving myself thing. LOL He offered if I wanted my own bass then by all means I could get one. YEA! So you know those Ebay autions from earlier... yeah I started watching them even closer, and wouldn't you know it, when I finally could bring myself to pull the trigger, the bass I SO wanted was sold. There was one other exactly like it, but it was in Great Brittian. I don't have an issue with shipping across the US, but shipping an instrument across the pond? That, while I'm sure would be fine, I just didn't really feel comfortable with it. So now, the hunt was on!
We began the great search for MY bass. We hit the music stores, watched craigslist (found one that I like but the guy sold it the night before...figures), watched auctions, had the great debates of what brand and style of bass did I want. I really wanted a Luna, but had kind of put it on the back burner. We had wittled it down to either a Fender Jazz or a Cort. Couldn't really find any Corts locally to lay hands on, and all of the Fender's, while they were the right style, they just didn't speak to me, and honestly, I really just found them ugly. Then one day, I again did a search on Ebay a Luna bass, and there she was. A little music store in Brooklyn, New York had an amber Andromeda....and cheaper than I'd ever been able to find them.
After a few days of talking it over (have a meantioned before we both "research" things to death before we buy them? LOL) we decided to go for it. When I got to the office the next morning I figured Jeff would be too busy, so I was going to buy it, but then I got busy with a few pharmacies, and by the time I got back over to buy it, it was gone! Someone had, once again had beat me too it. I was almost in tears. I couldn't even tell Jeff. A little while later he asked me to send him the link to the auction, I did and told him it didn't matter cause it was sold already, and he was like "oh really." and I sniffled "yeah" and he fed the sad puppy for a little while before he reveled that HE was the one who had bought it. Yea! Our offices are just under 2 miles apart, he could hear the squealing from there.
I had a bass! My very own bass! After a couple of weeks she was here! AAAAAAHHHHH {insert chorus of angels and rock girl screams} She was here, she is beautiful, and she is perfect! Jeff checked her out for me, she needs a little tweeking (like any guitar out of the box would need) but luckily we now the best bass man in town, so when we get the chance she'll be going in for a set-up and a little adjusting.
Jeff bought me cables, gave/loaned me his favorite tuner, the little Fender practice amp, and he let me borrow a strap. I went on the search for a strap worthy of my guitars' awesomeness and found one in, of all places, North Yorkshire. Oh sure, I'm not comfortable with my bass traveling the pond, but a strap, pfft, no problem. LOL! I also found a few little beginner videos online and began fumbling around till the big day came.
Then finally came the day of Ladies Rock Camp. I was so excited, a little nervous, but mostly excited. Would there be others as with as little experience as me? Was I really ready for this? Could I really do this? Pfft...was I really asking these questions? LOL
Day 1 started awesomely. Once we got started we had a little "warm-up." As a facilitator and event planner (retired lol) I know and understand the importance of warm-ups, but the introvert in me still doesn't like them. LOL! We got a little run down of the day then split up into our intrument classes. I can't say what took place in the other classes, there was guitar, drums, keyboards, and vocals, but the bass class, WAS DA BEST! I'm a little biased maybe...LOL
There were four of us, Kaitlynn and Shelly had experience on guitar and maybe some bass, and Steph and I were the "true" beginners. We had the best instructor, the AMAZING Heather Webb (of Adrian and the Sickness, BugGiRL, Princess of Darkness). The whole keys to strings, staff to tabs, being new, and while yes frustrating, I love it. And I felt a little better that the look on Steph's face at times matched how I felt, so I wasn't alone. LOL
After lunch we had a pleasant performace by Melissa Bryan,then they gave us our
band assignments. I got Kathy on guitar, Gladys on keyboards, Betty on drums, me on bass, and our band coach....Heather and Eva! Score... for me and Kathy! LOL! We had a song writing workshop, then we jumped right in to the whole band thing and by the end of the day, we had a band name, The Underwires, the title of our song, I Found It!, and for the most part, the songs rhythem and key. When we initally started messing around I REALLY enjoyed and like, no loved the sound. By the end of the day, not so much. I don't remember where or why we had the change but the "sound" just lost me, but I was still open to the process. Oh, AND we had homework! Our homework was to write lyrics. Um....oh gawd, what to write?
Day 2 started out pretty much the same, intrument instruction in the morning, lunch time entertainment by Agent Ribbons (cute!) and the afternoon spend with the band working on our song.
The late afternoon workshop was on merch and screen printing. We made our own Ladies Rock Camp tshirts and/or patches.
We made some cord changes to our song so when I went home, I asked Jeff for help. I wanted something "new" for the section that we changed. I played him the recording that I had made and the bass line that I had been using and he instantly said "This is what I hear..." and he played me another bass line and I liked it. A nice simple driving line with a simple octive change. Score!
Day 3 was going to be a BIG day. We had just the morning to finish working the kinks out of our song, because after lunch, we had our on stage run through and then that was it. I was pumped! I got to the school early (just as I had been). LOL
We got busy working out the final lyric s and rehearsing. Over and over and over again we ran through the song. The other bands would stop in to check it out and they said it was sounding great. It was kind of funny to suddenly look up and have a full audience. It was sounding great and to me, we were nailing it. Even after Heather erased all our notes from the board. LOL Then the hour finally came, it was time for lunch. Dund-dun-duuuuuuunnnnnnn!!! We were as ready as we were going to be. I'm not sure Kathy agreed with me. LOL Our lunch time entertainment was provided by Amy Cook. She was a really nice wind down for the morning. Our afternoon workshop was on stage set-up/sound.
Then it was time for the stage rehearsals. OMG...okay, I've been here before. But man, when you aren't in front of your amp, and the monitor's not really where you can hear, and the drummer doesn't have a monitor and everyone is lost by the fact that they can no longer see each other...yeah, that first one I felt like a train wreck. LOL I'm sure it wasn't THAT bad but it was frustrating for me. Poor Kathy, she was so nervous. The second run through was better, but still, not as perfect as we had been. But it gave me things to remember for that night, check and crank that bass amp up and get more feed through the monitor.
After the last band had their last run through, even though we wanted more practice time, that was it. Technically rock camp was over. All that was left was the showcase at Lucky Lounge that night and we had to be there at 6pm for set-up and sound check, with the show at 7pm.
Here it was, not yet 3pm and I didn't have to be downtown until 6pm? The other girls were going to go home, to chill and practice, but concidering it would an hour drive each way, that wasn't an option. So...what to do? Well, do exactly what the bass player in my house does, be the first to the gig. LOL
I went and picked up Jeff from work, we made a few stops and headed downtown to the Lucky Lounge. It would give us time to find decent parking (hopefully), a bite to eat, take some pictures and just chill before the showcase.
Being that Monday, February 20, was a State holiday it was pretty dead downtown around 3ish. We got a parking spot right next to the club. I changed clothes in the Jeep, as any rock girl would do. I wished I'd grabbed my little jacket, but I had grabbed my skull vasity sweater, oh well. We grabbed a bite to eat at Franks. It was nummy, and while I was hungry, it just wasn't what I think I really wanted. And while I usually drink diet Dr. Pepper, I put a hurt on that Dublin DP. LOL!!!
We went back to the club to just hang and wait for them to open. We took some pictures and chatted and as I stood there, pumped ready to go, full of energy and excitment I realized my life had kind of come full circle.
At the time of this photo, I was the happiest girl on earth. My life had come full circle, and it was AMAZING! Six years ago, I stood, in almost, the same spot. My life had vastly ch
anged, Rich, my love, my husband, my partner, my road dog, my other half, was gone, taken in the blink of an eye by lung cancer and I was having to figure out life without him. I felt safe there in the shadows of his WPHobby Buildings. He could watch me from his towers, as he often did of 4th and 5th street. I was safe, he was watching over me and for then Antone's was my world. It was where I went to see Butcherwhite, Velvet Brick, the Addictions (wow, life there was much different with Clifford around) and many others.The last 6 years have been an amazing mix of ups and downs, sad tears, happy tears, failures and triumps, and after many years, life had brought me back around to that starting point. That point where I was just learning to crawl out from under the rock and stand on my own. And here, here I was standing on top of the rock, owning the world. Today, the circle was complete. Nothing can stop me now. That night Lucky Lounge was my world, and I owned it!
That night Butcherwhite was there for me. My bass player was at my feet. And my roadie
shined his spot light on me. The energy that pumped through me was like no other. Well, not true, there was one other time. The afternoon I stood in a little kitchen, eating chocolate covered marshmallows, and doing tequila shots and shook a man's hand. That night, I was on cloud 9.The showcase went awesomely. Was it perfect, no, but it was as close to perfect as 16 women can pull off in three days, who, for most, had never met before that weekend, many who had never played their instruments before, or stepped foot upon a stage. But I loved ever
y minute of it. Would I do it again? Oh HELL yeah! I can't wait to do it again!A huge thank you to everyone with Girls Rock Austin/Ladies Rock Camp for pulling off an awesome camp. To all the other attendees, you ladies ROCK! To Heather and Eva, thank you for all your patience, endurance, guidence, your awesomeness and laughs. To Kathy, Betty, and Gladys, thanks for deciding to come to Rock Camp, for your patience, your awesomeness, your willingness to work the process, your laughter and most of all, putting up with my coughing. LOL!!! You ladies ROCK!!!
When it's all said and done, and the memories begin to fade, this I know for fact; I will ALWAYS be an Underwire and I know I Found It! at Ladies Rock Camp 2012.
January 2012 Endo appt
January 18, 2012
Had an appointment with the endos office. TSH levels were 0.3.
We discussed the whole thinning hair thing. She said that after a while (probably like 5 years or so) we'll be able to allow my TSH level to go down a little and that should help with the thinning. I hope I still have hair by then! LOL!!!
So, I figured since we were coming up on "that" time of year I'd be proactive and ask about whether we would do the planning for the upcoming yearly scan that day or wait until my appointment in April. She said I wouldn't have to. Since my post treatment and my one year scan were both clean, I wouldn't have to do one this year. Wwwhhhhhaaaaaaaattttttttt???!!!???!!!?? Yes, since my scans had been clean, with no thyroid cells lighting up then I wouldn't have to do a scan this year. WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!!
I was not looking forward to having to come off my meds for a few weeks. While I am extremely happy about this, I'm not going to hold my breath just yet, not until I get it directly from the big guy himself at the April appointment.
So that's pretty much it.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
2012 - Moving in to year 2
Well, 2011 has come to an end. And wow, what a year it was. Had my one year, which, the lab guy drove me nuts!
I have one of the top endos in the state...if not country, his orders were to be off my meds for two weeks then test, and do the scan. If the test hadn't shown that my TSH levels were high enough we'd have waited another week. Or would have checked them the day before I was to take the pills. But the labs procedures are for the patient to be off their meds for SIX weeks before testing. Six weeks? Being off two was bad enough with the fatigue, the muscle spasms, brain fog, and just over all malaise. But six week, I'm not sure I'd have been able to continue to function at that point. The guys was a nervous wreck, I don't know how long he'd been doing this but I was about ready to a sk where they chick I had last year went and transferred all my test to her lab. But we got through it and it was just as clean as my post treatment one.
After the scan I went back on my Synthroid two 112mcg in the mornings. My levels have remained at a steady 0.2-0.3.
So, how has life REALLY been? For the most part okay. I'm not having muscle spasms like I was, but then I drink a good bit on tonic water too, mainly for the quinine. We got a Soadstream a couple of Christmas' back and tonic is the main mixer we buy, probably should just buy it by the box.
I have one of the top endos in the state...if not country, his orders were to be off my meds for two weeks then test, and do the scan. If the test hadn't shown that my TSH levels were high enough we'd have waited another week. Or would have checked them the day before I was to take the pills. But the labs procedures are for the patient to be off their meds for SIX weeks before testing. Six weeks? Being off two was bad enough with the fatigue, the muscle spasms, brain fog, and just over all malaise. But six week, I'm not sure I'd have been able to continue to function at that point. The guys was a nervous wreck, I don't know how long he'd been doing this but I was about ready to a sk where they chick I had last year went and transferred all my test to her lab. But we got through it and it was just as clean as my post treatment one.
After the scan I went back on my Synthroid two 112mcg in the mornings. My levels have remained at a steady 0.2-0.3.
So, how has life REALLY been? For the most part okay. I'm not having muscle spasms like I was, but then I drink a good bit on tonic water too, mainly for the quinine. We got a Soadstream a couple of Christmas' back and tonic is the main mixer we buy, probably should just buy it by the box.
One thing they don't really admit to is that with your TSH levels almost zero your hair tends to fall out and been thin. That's the only thing on this body that is! LOL I USED to have a metric butt ton of hair. But these days it's about 1/3 of what I used to have. While that sucks big ones, I am thankful to have it.
I'm not as tired as I once was. Some days there is just no motivation. I don't really know if that's just "tired" or just lack of motivation or just being lazy. Though, unless we are out downtown at show and such, by 10pm I start to shut down. I can be having a conversation with Jeff and it's like someone flipped the switch......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Another thing that I have figured out since surgery. I now seem to be somewhat allergic to beer. I have to be sure to be selective of what I have. I've never been a major American brand drinker, you know, the mass produced types...okay I'll say it Bud, Miller, Coors, and the like. I love a good Guinness and microbrews, I'm a good Texas girl and love my Shiner. But now I have to plan, if I know I'm going to have a beer during the night I have to make sure I have a good ballast in me, something to def soak it up. And that doesn't even guarantee that I'm not going to be a little miserable the next day. So drinks of choice once we hit the bars lately has been gin & tonic or Ace pear cider. I tend to drink them a little slower or I should really say less because I know they are more expensive and even though I know I don't necessarily HAVE to be sometimes it's hard to turn of that frugal widow in the back of my brain. Ace ciders I can drink like mad, and then I start yawning, I'm not tired, they just make me yawn. LOL and THEN they go to my head. LOL It also allows me to pace myself, 3-5 drinks between 6pm-2am is not bad...I think.
So what's been up on the rock front? Well, I had a little scare that Butcherwhite was broke up, dead and gone. Spent about four hours crying my heart out over it. I was loosing another love, it kind of hurt. The Butchers first show in March 2005 after the Archangels was the last night Rich and I went out. He had gotten to the point that he was hurting so much that he went to the truck to sleep. Little did I know at that time that for a few more years to come I was going to be standing alone at the feet of the Butcher. Rich was diagnosed with lung cancer in May. He was gone in August. My world went black and silent.
I knew I couldn't hide under my rock forever, and that Rich would not want me to. Other than webbie chat chows the Butcher was my reason for leaving the house. And the Butcher sliced through the silence when it got too loud. Rich had been a cabinet making for ElectroVoice (EV), I have more sound capacity in my tiny living room than many of the clubs/bars I go to do. And it's a good thing that I live in the country because there were many night that my Butcherwhite EPs were blaring. I put cracks in the ceiling and knocked all the stuff off the shelves. I could just be happy with no worries at the feet of the Butcher. They were my rock family, and through them I got to see and meet so many more awesome people and bands. For Butcherwhite I will do anything, go anywhere. Whether they knew it or not, they were always there for me when I needed them most.
So yeah, when I got the message that the Butcher was dead I kind of spirally down into a pit of darkness. But it didn't take long, the bells were ringing in the graveyard and he was dug from the gr
ave and still alive, moved to the ICU to recover and by November 2011 was back on stage with a new drummer, a slightly new sound and some new songs. So we loaded up the Jeep and road tripped to San Angelo for the first gig. We LOVED it! They played with Snake Skin Prison, love those guys! Then their Austin re-debute was in December. I had planned a whole Christmas oriented dress, but it didn't arrive in time, so I had to go shopping. Torrid once again saved the day! Got an awesome red sweater and a new pair a jeans. I'd bought a pair of awesome boots for the dress and they looked awesome with the new jeans too!
ave and still alive, moved to the ICU to recover and by November 2011 was back on stage with a new drummer, a slightly new sound and some new songs. So we loaded up the Jeep and road tripped to San Angelo for the first gig. We LOVED it! They played with Snake Skin Prison, love those guys! Then their Austin re-debute was in December. I had planned a whole Christmas oriented dress, but it didn't arrive in time, so I had to go shopping. Torrid once again saved the day! Got an awesome red sweater and a new pair a jeans. I'd bought a pair of awesome boots for the dress and they looked awesome with the new jeans too! So, I'm gonna proclaim 2011 a success.
First Year Whole Body Scan - Results May 2011
It was 100% clean! Yea!!!!
why I never posted this...I'll never know. I'm going to chalk it up to that whole "no thyroid" memory thing. I was pretty sure I'd done this, but guess not! But it's done now! LOL
why I never posted this...I'll never know. I'm going to chalk it up to that whole "no thyroid" memory thing. I was pretty sure I'd done this, but guess not! But it's done now! LOL
Monday, May 16, 2011
First year whole body scan - Part 2
Wednesday, May 27, 2011
So the hour has arrived. I returned once again to the Radiology place in Round Rock to do my scan. I wore my Hello Kitty Jamaican Me Crazy shirt as kind of a to the dude and his 2 million unnecessary phone calls.
I don't remember this process being this aggravating last time. I mean yes, the machine not working and having to go back 3 times was a bit of a pain, considering we had to make a 30 minute drive each time, and being radioactive and having to sit amongst children until someone let the tech know I was there so she could move me back to her area. But this guy, man, obsessive doesn't even begin. Not sure the guy had a sense of humor or not. The guy was just...weird.
The scan itself went uneventful. It's so hard to just lay there. LOL Tech guy wouldn't let me see the scan. He wouldn't "let" a lot of things like the chick last year did. Jeff couldn't sit with me, he couldn't take my picture (which he snuck anyway), I'm surprised he let him in the building. LOL
So with that done, tomorrow I can take my Synthroid again. Oh thank goodness! With my level having finally reached a stable level for 6 months I was starting to see some weight loss and other hypo/hashimoto's symptoms decrease, but with being off the meds and my TSH level rising, yeah, weight ballooned and face and neck began to puff. There were some days I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get my wedding ring off. But now I can get back on my meds, hopefully all will come out well, and I can shake this weight off quickly.
Will let you know what I find out soon.
D
So the hour has arrived. I returned once again to the Radiology place in Round Rock to do my scan. I wore my Hello Kitty Jamaican Me Crazy shirt as kind of a to the dude and his 2 million unnecessary phone calls.
I don't remember this process being this aggravating last time. I mean yes, the machine not working and having to go back 3 times was a bit of a pain, considering we had to make a 30 minute drive each time, and being radioactive and having to sit amongst children until someone let the tech know I was there so she could move me back to her area. But this guy, man, obsessive doesn't even begin. Not sure the guy had a sense of humor or not. The guy was just...weird.
The scan itself went uneventful. It's so hard to just lay there. LOL Tech guy wouldn't let me see the scan. He wouldn't "let" a lot of things like the chick last year did. Jeff couldn't sit with me, he couldn't take my picture (which he snuck anyway), I'm surprised he let him in the building. LOL
So with that done, tomorrow I can take my Synthroid again. Oh thank goodness! With my level having finally reached a stable level for 6 months I was starting to see some weight loss and other hypo/hashimoto's symptoms decrease, but with being off the meds and my TSH level rising, yeah, weight ballooned and face and neck began to puff. There were some days I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get my wedding ring off. But now I can get back on my meds, hopefully all will come out well, and I can shake this weight off quickly.
Will let you know what I find out soon.
D
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
First year whole body scan - Part 1
It kind of seems like just yesterday and yet it kind of seems like forever ago that I was here preparing for my I-131 radioactive iodine treatment. In fact, it's been 1 year, 5 days, 21 hours, 2 minutes, and 40 seconds. Jeff started me an "atomic" clock last year. Mostly so that we would know where we were with isolation and the other parts of the whole being radioactive so we would know when it "should" be safe and not have worries of exposure to others.
I've been off my Synthyroid for the past 2 weeks. Need my TSH at 30 or above. I had blood work done last Friday and my TSH levels were 37.8. I had my scan appointments schedule for April 26 & 27, 2011. And it was confirmed that I was not pregnant (no surprise) I was cleared for "GO." Yea!
Leading up to this day the last couple of weeks as been a bit of a pain. The radiology guy, ugh, has driven me and my doctors office kind of nuts. The radiology place's "chart" for Synthyroid requires that the patient be off the medication for six weeks. Yes, SIX weeks. My doctor, two weeks. They check the TSH, if you haven't converted to 30 or above then, they wait another week and check again, and you just move your appointment. The radiology place, I don't know what lab rat they got their numbers from, but they want you to be in extreme withdrawal. For a lot of people the two weeks is torture enough, six weeks, ugh, one would almost die. The nurse even said the same things I did last time I talked to her. I guess that maybe skinny people take longer to convert from hyper to REALLY hypo. But good gawd, this guy, you would think that after a phone call to me, and a call to my doctor that it would be settled but no, I think I had a total of three-four calls with him and a few with my doctor.
Don't know how he wasn't understanding that my doctor said to stop taking my meds on X day, to have blood work done on X day, to schedule my scan anytime during the week of X. If the TSH # don't come back high enough, we move it. I guess it all really came down to ordering the capsules, he didn't want to order them if the test wasn't going to be done, but is this really any different than any other thyroid cancer patient? Could the caps not wait, do they have a limited shelf life of a few days? Who knows, and frankly at this point, who cares, my numbers were good and were a go.
I went into day and took my two I-123 capsules. They were two dark blue, long capsules. Stuck to my tongue yet again. I hate that. LOL They give you two laxative pills to take by 9 pm so that the capsule has a chance to get into your system yet can be kind of flushed out of the your system so as to not create a starburst effect in the can which can make the area that they are wanting to really see be diminished. I took them. I hate them. They do their job. I still hate them. LOL The only other 'bad' part is no dairy products. Sigh, I can live 24 hours without cow juice I guess...if I have too.
Part 2 - tomorrow
I've been off my Synthyroid for the past 2 weeks. Need my TSH at 30 or above. I had blood work done last Friday and my TSH levels were 37.8. I had my scan appointments schedule for April 26 & 27, 2011. And it was confirmed that I was not pregnant (no surprise) I was cleared for "GO." Yea!
Leading up to this day the last couple of weeks as been a bit of a pain. The radiology guy, ugh, has driven me and my doctors office kind of nuts. The radiology place's "chart" for Synthyroid requires that the patient be off the medication for six weeks. Yes, SIX weeks. My doctor, two weeks. They check the TSH, if you haven't converted to 30 or above then, they wait another week and check again, and you just move your appointment. The radiology place, I don't know what lab rat they got their numbers from, but they want you to be in extreme withdrawal. For a lot of people the two weeks is torture enough, six weeks, ugh, one would almost die. The nurse even said the same things I did last time I talked to her. I guess that maybe skinny people take longer to convert from hyper to REALLY hypo. But good gawd, this guy, you would think that after a phone call to me, and a call to my doctor that it would be settled but no, I think I had a total of three-four calls with him and a few with my doctor.
Don't know how he wasn't understanding that my doctor said to stop taking my meds on X day, to have blood work done on X day, to schedule my scan anytime during the week of X. If the TSH # don't come back high enough, we move it. I guess it all really came down to ordering the capsules, he didn't want to order them if the test wasn't going to be done, but is this really any different than any other thyroid cancer patient? Could the caps not wait, do they have a limited shelf life of a few days? Who knows, and frankly at this point, who cares, my numbers were good and were a go.
I went into day and took my two I-123 capsules. They were two dark blue, long capsules. Stuck to my tongue yet again. I hate that. LOL They give you two laxative pills to take by 9 pm so that the capsule has a chance to get into your system yet can be kind of flushed out of the your system so as to not create a starburst effect in the can which can make the area that they are wanting to really see be diminished. I took them. I hate them. They do their job. I still hate them. LOL The only other 'bad' part is no dairy products. Sigh, I can live 24 hours without cow juice I guess...if I have too.
Part 2 - tomorrow
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
One year sans thyroid
Well, I made it through the first year. Yea!
It wasn't totally bad. And in the grand scheme of cancers, one could have called it a walk in the park. Though that night in the ER was nothing of that sort.
So what is the biggest thing I have noticed. I have less hair. I have about 1/3 the hair I had when I started this. Now, you have to understand, my hair is very important to me. I had been blessed with lots of it and for the majority of my life, have had it long. I still have hair, but, just not as much, and I know it's a vain thing, considering so may other cancer patients loose theirs completely I am still lucky to have what I have. And for the most part, no one really knows but me...and now you. LOL
The other big thing. Taking pills first thing in the morning. I've never been a pill taker. I don't like taking pills. But now, I have not choice. I religiously take my two Hello Kitty pink 112mcg Synthroid pills. I have been on this dosing now for 6 months. I started on the 150mcg, then 3 months later went to 200mcg, then 3 months later to the two 112mcg. My last check-up 3 months ago, my TSH was 0.2. Which is most likely why my hair is falling out. I have another check-up in a few days hopefully things will still be where they should. (Side note - they were TSH was 0.3).
I am starting to feel better. A lot of the cramping in my feet and such seems to have gone. I'm not as tired as I had been. But I think in the over all grand scheme of it all. I do feel better than I think I truly ever have. Having an autoimmune disease and not knowing it, you don't know that the way you feel when you feel "good" isn't truly as good as you could feel. I kind of struggled with that surgery. Now, since my energy levels are better and my back is getting better, I think it's time to start moving back into life.
So what's next, my first year whole body scan.
It wasn't totally bad. And in the grand scheme of cancers, one could have called it a walk in the park. Though that night in the ER was nothing of that sort.
So what is the biggest thing I have noticed. I have less hair. I have about 1/3 the hair I had when I started this. Now, you have to understand, my hair is very important to me. I had been blessed with lots of it and for the majority of my life, have had it long. I still have hair, but, just not as much, and I know it's a vain thing, considering so may other cancer patients loose theirs completely I am still lucky to have what I have. And for the most part, no one really knows but me...and now you. LOL
The other big thing. Taking pills first thing in the morning. I've never been a pill taker. I don't like taking pills. But now, I have not choice. I religiously take my two Hello Kitty pink 112mcg Synthroid pills. I have been on this dosing now for 6 months. I started on the 150mcg, then 3 months later went to 200mcg, then 3 months later to the two 112mcg. My last check-up 3 months ago, my TSH was 0.2. Which is most likely why my hair is falling out. I have another check-up in a few days hopefully things will still be where they should. (Side note - they were TSH was 0.3).
I am starting to feel better. A lot of the cramping in my feet and such seems to have gone. I'm not as tired as I had been. But I think in the over all grand scheme of it all. I do feel better than I think I truly ever have. Having an autoimmune disease and not knowing it, you don't know that the way you feel when you feel "good" isn't truly as good as you could feel. I kind of struggled with that surgery. Now, since my energy levels are better and my back is getting better, I think it's time to start moving back into life.
So what's next, my first year whole body scan.
February 1, 2011 - Biopsy #2
Today is my second biopsy. It's on that lymph node that they have not liked in the last two ultrasounds. So once again, they are sticking needles into my neck. Oh yea.
I have to admit I'm a little nervous. I mean come on, who wouldn't be, right? Well, I guess someone who absolutely knew the future. But I don't, so while I'm not like wringing my hands, I am a little concerned. I'm thinking that because of where it is, and I have a tooth right above it that needs some work that that could possibly cause of the "enlargement" and funkiness of the node. But we will see.
Some doctors do this in an outpatient setting. Some, like mine, are set up to do it in office. Which, is actually kind of nice. You don't have to do all the paperwork and what-nots for another office or facility.
This is the biopsy room and the tray of stuff for the biopsy. I would have taken a better, more up close one, but I knew as soon as I stood up to do it, someone would walk in and catch me being "nosie." LOL!
The procedure went fine. They tested some new image software while they were doing it. They liked their software better and went back to it in the process of it all.
The procedure wasn't as painful as the first time was. That one spot on my thyroid that was so heavily calcified hurt in the attempts to get into it, but this time, it was just a sweet little node, not hurtin' nobody. It gave up the goods with no problem. They slapped on a few band-aids and I was off.
The results.
Just a normal healthy lymph node doing what lymph nodes do. The fluid was nothing more than lymphatic fluid and cells. So all's good.
I discussed the biopsy with my new dentist the next day and he agreed that it was probably related the my tooth issue.
So what's next. Well, I have an appointment April 1 with the Endo's office. At that point we will be setting up for my first yearly full body scan. Hopefully the machine will work the first time and I won't have to do it three times. LOL!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Lymph node biopsy - February 1, 2001
The day has come for yet another fine needle biopsy. The first one, while wasn't..."bad" it wasn't any fun either. At least for this one, I have a clue as to what is coming. Last time, I could read all I wanted but you know, until you actually experence something, you REALLY don't have a context for what you've read.
This time is different, go in, lie down, little numbing shot, ultrasound prob rubbed around on the neck, then the long thin needle inserted where it's needed to be, needle comes out and, if it's just one sample, done. If there are more then one, then they repeat the long thin needle parts until all the samples that are desired are taken. Couple of bandaides applied and we're done.
This time is different, go in, lie down, little numbing shot, ultrasound prob rubbed around on the neck, then the long thin needle inserted where it's needed to be, needle comes out and, if it's just one sample, done. If there are more then one, then they repeat the long thin needle parts until all the samples that are desired are taken. Couple of bandaides applied and we're done.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
January 25, 2011 Check-Up
Saw Dr. Blevins today. My TSH levels were 0.2. Yea!!! So we are sticking with the 112mcg Synthroid for another 3 months and will check again for my April appointment.
I do have to admit that in the last 3 -4 weeks my motivational energy has greatly improved. The bad part is that there is SO much to catch up on I can't do it all. And my ADDness can get in my way. I need to stick to a "Flylady" schedule of 15 minutes here...15 minutes there. Eventually I know, that if I get back into it all (now that I am feeling better) everything will work out. The house and everything did not become a wreck overnight, I can't expect to fix it over night either. No matter how much I want to. LOL
I redid my ultrasound on January 24 so that it would be ready for my appointment on the 25th. He still didn't like it, and even though I'm due in April for my first yearly scan, he fully felt that it needed to be biopsied. So I will be doing that on February 1, 2011.
So cross your fingers and hope for the best!
I do have to admit that in the last 3 -4 weeks my motivational energy has greatly improved. The bad part is that there is SO much to catch up on I can't do it all. And my ADDness can get in my way. I need to stick to a "Flylady" schedule of 15 minutes here...15 minutes there. Eventually I know, that if I get back into it all (now that I am feeling better) everything will work out. The house and everything did not become a wreck overnight, I can't expect to fix it over night either. No matter how much I want to. LOL
I redid my ultrasound on January 24 so that it would be ready for my appointment on the 25th. He still didn't like it, and even though I'm due in April for my first yearly scan, he fully felt that it needed to be biopsied. So I will be doing that on February 1, 2011.
So cross your fingers and hope for the best!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Synthoid Path
These cute peach colored pills are the 200 mcg.
And these adorable, Hello Kitty pinkies are the 112mcg.
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