Recessionista: Friday, October 23, 2009

I'm finally finding some time to write in the midst of a few busy days. My college roomate Shannon, who lives in San Francisco, is visiting right now. She's been in town for work and was staying at the new W hotel downtown this week so I met her there last night after a delicious vegetable curry dinner at Christy's. Apparently, the folks at the W rooftop bar royally screwed up her reservation the night before, so we were treated to prime seats and a great bottle of champagne. It sure does pay to complain (nicely) sometimes! While the W lobby is a bit of a scene, it's kind of worth putting up with that to experience the view from the rooftop bar on a nice evening.

We've had a great day thus far today. I used one of my fabulous Sugar House gift certificates this morning for a 50 minute massage (Shannon had one, too) and then Shannon and I went on a three mile walk down the GW Parkway. This week is peak foliage around here and it was so great to see it all on the trail. We had lunch at Restaurant Eve's bar and took advantage of its "Lickity-Split" $13.50 lunch special. I chose a delicious roasted beet salad and the risotto. Yum!

After lunch, we hit Alexandria's boutique district for a little retail therapy. Two of the spots we hit are my favorite consignment shops: Diva and Mint Condition. I've become quite a fan of the consignment store in recent months. Not so much to buy things but to sell things that either don't fit me anymore (never thought that any of my size 6 pants would ever be too big but, alas, they are) or that I'm just tired of and are too nice to just donate to the TWIG thriftstore. Anyway, I highly recommend these stores to any of you who live around here are looking good for a good deal on designer duds. I can't wait for the money to start pouring in so I can...go buy more new clothes (or, pay some more medical bills...drat!).

Speaking of paying medical bills, I have quite a few pending. Given this, and the fact that I still need to pay for half of my upcoming New Year's trip and a few other things, I'm thinking of getting to my babysitting roots and putting the word out that I'm open weekday evening sitting. Seriously. I mean, I enjoy spending time with my friends' kids and at $12-15 per hour, it may be just the way to cover cancer bills, Christmas shopping, and cocktails in the BVIs. Hmmm...have to think about it a bit more.

Here are a few kind of blurry shots of Shannon, me, and our friend Keira at the W last night. Check out the view in the background of the shot of Shannon. Okay, off to dinner at The Majestic in Old Town.

Celebrate Good Times: Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Today marks four weeks since my last treatment (my official first month-iversary...to borrow a term coined by Krista and Michael Drescher...is Friday). Ahhh. It feels so great to be done and focusing on other things....like celebrations! The past several weeks have consisted of many of those, including one birthday, two post-cancer treatment parties, one wedding, and one baby shower. Here's a brief recap of all of the fun events:

Last IP Chemo Treatment at INOVA Fairfax: Wednesday, September 23



Dr. A, who is Dr. E's current fellow, came by to say goodbye during my last IP treatment. Dr. A and I got off to a rough start (I flipped out on him the morning after my hysterectomy when I discovered he and Dr. E had stapled by incision instead of stitching it, as I had requested for my first surgery...) but became fast friends. He redeemed himself by bringing me fantastic pathology results the second morning he came for rounds AND somehow he knew that I have a huge weakness for trail mix and brought me some every time he came to see me during my IP chemo sessions. Isn't he kind of dreamy? He looks a bit like George Clooney, right?

Okay, this is kind of funny. I took this picture of Dr. A discussing women's...uh...grooming habits and body art with two of my favorite nurses, Sue and Christine. Basically, he's become an expert in predicting what things will be like "down there" based on a woman's age and socioeconomic background. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to discuss offline. Trust me, it was a very amusing conversation.


Time to for the bubbly! That's Dad pouring the sparkling wine at the end of the day.


Grandad joined us for a toast in the hospital room and then treated me, Mom, Dad, and Aunt Annie, who was in town for work, to dinner at Sweetwater Tavern after we left the hospital. It was nice to have him here to celebrate.





Aunt Kathy's 50-something Birthday: Wednesday, September 30

"Brenda" needed a wash and style before Ali's wedding weekend so Mom and I ventured up to the dreaded Silver Spring on Aunt Kathy's birthday to get the wig washed and treat Kathy to lunch at Christina's, which is a great Italian restaurant around the corner from Amy's of Denmark. We were actually able to celebrate with Kathy two times this year. We spent the previous Saturday in Baltimore having lunch and visiting Ladew Topiary Gardens, which were breathtaking, with Kathy and her daughter, Heather. It's always fun celebrating anything with Kathy!

Post-Treatment Celebration at Food Matters' Pasta Night: Wed, September 30

Later that night on the 30th, I met up with about a dozen girlfriends for all you can eat pasta night to celebrate the end of my treatment. My friends were so great to surprise me with balloons (in the appropriate ovarian and GYN cancer awareness colors!) and toasts about "what they love about Jennie besides that she beat cancer." Of course, I totally *hated* hearing all of the great things they had to say about me. From left to right: Joey, Kelley, Alison, Layla, Julie, me, Kristin, Michelle, Christy, Melissa R., and Melissa S.


A close-up shot of the fantastic Alexandria Pastry Shop cake that said, "Jennie Won, Cancer 0" and the extra special teal ribbon sugar cookies that Christy's manager, Mary, made for me. They were delicious!

Ali and Pete's Wedding in Quechee, VT: Saturday, October 3

Rehearsal time! That's me (maid of honor), Ali (bride-to-be), and Millsie (matron of honor) before things got underway. I met (and fell in love with) Ali during our first year of college; Ali and Millsie grew up together in Hingham, MA. Millsie, who is also a cancer survivor, is currently getting her Master's in genetic counseling at Stanford. Needless to say, both of our crappy genes gave us a lot to talk about!

Ali about to practice her walk down the aisle.

The entrance to Murphy Farm, which is where the fun and yummy rehearsal dinner was held.

A shot of the gorgeous fall foliage and its reflection on Lake Pinneo.

Approaching Murphy Farm.

The pretty entrance table filled with the place cards.

The most important element: the bar.

The dining room where the dinner was held.

A close-up of the festive centerpieces.

The guest of honor: Pete and Ali. I think Pete kind of looks like a brunette Woody Harrelson. Agree?

Two of Ali's NYC friends: Christina and Julie.

Christina and me. We've been friends since the 7th grade when she introduced herself to me in Mr. Kennedy's social studies class. I introduced Ali and Christina to each other when Ali moved to NYC. Have you read The Tipping Point? I'm a connector.

Time to get pretty. Pete's mom and sister with Ali in the salon.

Ali's sister-in-law, Suzanne, and her daughter, Olivia, who was the flower girl.

Time for make-up!

Finishing things up.

Picture time! Obviously, I'm having trouble loading the vertical shots AGAIN. The gray overcast skies made for great light for the pre-wedding photos.

I couldn't resist getting a shot of the groom and his men relieving themselves during the photo session.

I think the photographer's shot of this will turn out great!

Just Married! Ali and Pete in their limo on the wedding to the reception at The Quechee Club.

Millsie and her husband, Steve, at the reception.

Our gorgeous flowers and centerpiece.

The Brooklyn hipsters: Christina and her husband, Andy.

So much love in the air!

Time to cut the cake! Ali's mom, who is a fantastic baker, baked all of the desserts, including brownies, cookies, and the wedding cake. Everything was delicious!

Jori and Baby T's Baby Shower: Sunday, October 11

Getting the tables ready at Kristin's great new house, which is where the shower was held.

One of the gorgeous centerpieces Jori's sister, Kristen, made for the shower.

The fantastic cupcakes Kristen also made. She blew up images from the invitation and stuck them in the cupcakes. Isn't that a great idea?

The centerpiece and the lox and bagels. I love me some lox and bagels! The fall brunch menu included: two egg stratas (one with meat and one veggie; delicious!) , lox and bagels, roast asparagus, roast potatoes, mixed greens with cranberries, goat cheese, and toasted pine nuts, pear tarts with carmalized onions and swiss cheese (delicious!), and cupcakes.

A rather blurry shot of the napkins I got in honor of Baby (Boy) T.

The bar.

Jori opening one of her fantastic gifts.

Jori with three of the five co-hosts. Unfortunately, S'Nokes and Mary Morgan couldn't be with us but were so generous to help from afar. From left to right: Kristen, Jori, me, and Kristin.

So, that sums up what's been going on post-treatment....for the most part. Stay tuned for picture of the Sigler's oyster roast and other upcoming fun October events. Off to continue my major organization project before spending the rest of this gorgeous afternoon with my friend Thomas.

Japanese or Bust!: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

As many of you know, I am not really into cars...at all. I drove a Toyota Corolla from my second year of college until March 2008, so for about 12 years. The only reason that I got rid of it is that I finally started having to put more money into it on an annual basis than if I had a monthly car payment. It was hard to say goodbye but I did. Forutnately, my parents were willing to give me a *great* deal on their third car -- a Volkswagon Passat -- so that I could replace my Corolla. While it's been pretty good to me up until now, I've had to put about $2,500 into that 2004 Passat over the past two-three months in order to keep it running. No joke. The latest repair was a wopping $1,400 to replace the damaged heater core. (Apparently, it is very dangerous to drive a car with a damaged heater core because you engine can overheat easily and it is very difficult to fix.) Needless to say, I'm not happy. I'm pretty sure that I've decided that I need to go back to my roots, so to speak, and sell the Passat (quickly, while it's working...) in order to purchase either a Hondo Civic or Toyota Corolla. I love how easily those cars handle. I love how cheap they are to fill up and that they get great gas mileage. I love that they are easy to parallel park. I love everything about them. My Passat might be nicer to look at but it's a royal pain in all other ways!

Speaking of pains, I had a lot of them last weekend, including the big car repair. They included leaving my cell phone in a taxi cab Friday night (I recovered it from Alexandria Yellow Cab yesterday afternoon), loaner dog puking on my bedroom rug on Saturday morning, and having my father discover that my neighbor's bathroom plumbing drains into mine. When it rains it pours! And it sure did pour last weekend. Despite the rain, I had a lot of fun catching up with T.C. girlfriends at Vermillion on Friday night and attending the Sigler's annual oyster roast on Saturday afternoon.

Alright, off to begin a serious cleanout and reorganization of my upstairs. Oh, and even though it may have taken me exactly a month to post them, I finally posted the Southern Swing photos I promised you long, long ago. Please refer to the "Southern Swing" post back on September 20 to find them!

Just Do It: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The tagline worked out pretty well for Nike so I'm following its message myself. As I mentioned before, I've decided to compete in the U.S. Women's Triathlon Series' sprint triathlon, which will take place in San Diego on October 14, 2010. The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund is the official charity of the U.S. Women's Triathlon Series so when my friend Jori, who lives in San Diego and has done this particular tri before, suggested we do it to celebrate the one year anniversary of the successful completion of my treatment, I was in! And others were too! So far, my cousin Heather, Krista, Jori, Jill, and perhaps one or two others are also planning to do it next fall.

Believe it or not, but I'm already starting to focus on training for the half mile swim in the San Diego Bay, the 12.5 mile bike, and the 5K run. The first step is rebuilding my surgery-ravaged core muscles with some Pilates reformer training. The next step is to sign up for swim lessons (no joke!) at the city's indoor pool. I think I'm going to tackle this in January. I know, it's kind of pathetic that I need swim lessons to better learn the freestyle stroke and proper breathing but I do. Then, next spring I need to get my friend Pete's extra bike from him so that I can start cycling on the roads. The running will be easy except for the fact that it's the last leg of the race and therefore, I will be exhausted by the time I start to run the 3.2 miles.

Here's the official site for the race, which includes a link to the race course. Check it out and let me know if you have any training tips. I'm all ears if you do! Oh, and just a heads up, there's fundraising for the race so I'll be hitting you up in the new year.

Two Week Hiatus: Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Well, it's been nearly two weeks since I last posted and three weeks since my last treatment. I believe the two week hiatus is a record for me since launching this blog. So, how am I and what I have been up to?

I'm pleased to report that I'm feeling great and haven't been blogging because I'm super busy just living life. As you might guess, I'm up to my old tricks! This includes helping my Aunt Kathy celebrate her birthday two times before heading up to Vermont to serve as maid of honor in Ali's wedding on October 3, co-hosting Jori's baby shower this past Sunday, babysitting for a few friends several times over the past couple of weeks, attending a TWIG coffee to say hello and thank so many of my TWIG friends who have been so nice to me over the past six months, helping Melissa S. prepare for her annual fall oyster roast that is this weekend (the forecast isn't looking good...boo!), working on a few design projects, and running around with Michelle -- either at the dog park with River and Lucy or doing wedding errands.

Despite all of the things I'm doing with and for others, I'm actually making some time for myself. I'm walking every morning with my mom and River (always the 45-minute route now!), I've rejoined the gym and am starting Pilates reformer classes this week, and I'm planning my first annual holiday shopping fundraiser at the end of the month to support ovarian cancer research (I need to get the Evite out for that today!). Oh, and Alison and I are going to have a spa day on Friday at...you guessed it...Sugar House. I'm finally going to start using all of the fantastic gift certificates I've accumulated over the past several months to get some much needed massages and other treatments to try and spruce myself up.

Since we're catching up, I thought I'd give you a brief medical update. I had my last chemo planning appointment with Dr. E on Monday, September 28. We went over a long laundry list of topics but here are the highlights:

1. He recommended that I get both a regular flu and H1N1 vaccine this fall. I've never received a flu vaccine before (nor have I had the flu) and am highly skeptical about doing so, particularly since I'm not on planes or trains or any other form of public transportation these days. I don't know what it is but I'm just not into flu shots. I'll let you know what I decide to do about this one.
2. He wrote me a prescription for Tamoxifan, which is an anti-estrogen drug. I'll take 20 mg of it for at least the next five years but probably for the rest of my life. Fortunately, because my tumor was 92% estrogen receptive, taking an anti-estrogen drug should help suppress future tumor growth. Tamoxifan is particularly effective on microscopic cancer cells so I started taking it last week, which was two weeks after my last treatment. I figured if I'm going to take it I might as well get it started when it's most effective. No time like the present, right?
3. He wants me to make sure I get 1500 mg of calcium everyday to help ward off osteoporosis (you know, since I don't have any estrogen anymore at the age of 32 I'm at increased risk for that too...). Have any of you tried to do this? It's hard to take enough pills to get this amount and when I come close to doing so it causes other problems...if you get my drift. So, I'm taking what I can and hoping I get the rest from dark leafy greens. Oh, and my weight training should also help with the osteoporosis too.
4. Finally, we discussed when I'll see him next, which is in December. I'll have a CT scan, mammogram (good times!), and blood work before I go in for an exam (more good times!) with Dr. E. Depending on how things look, I probably won't have a CT scan every three months (too much radiation!) but I will have blood work done and see Dr. E every three months for the next two years. Then, if I'm still doing well, I'll see him every six months for the next three years. I'm considered cured at five years and I go back to being a normal, healthy person who only sees their doctor once a year.

Okay, I've got to go. The dog is barking for attention and I need to clear out to run several errands before heading over to hang out with the Pryzstawik kids for the afternoon and evening. I will be back tomorrow to give everyone an overview of another BIG project I'm going to work on over the next year. And don't worry MPR...pictures of various celebrations will be posted before the end of the week!