Charlcie

How was your Thanksgiving? Do leave a comment and tell me how yours was...yes, this is my sad attempt to see who is really reading my blog! You lurkers, jump in and leave a comment. Our Thanksgiving was great...we spent it at my in-laws home along with almost 20 other folks. It was great food and great company! A fun twist: we had a talent show. At first, most complained, including my husband. However, once it got going, it was awesome! From Morgan's clarinet solo to Kenzie's piano playing to Kevin's "running man" a la Bobby Brown 80's music, it was lots of fun. The next day, I decided we would do something spontaneous and go on an overnight trip. We went to The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. I had found a deal on the Virginia Tourism Newsletter for a great room price that included breakfast. I called on Friday AM, and they had availability so we were on our way by 12:30 PM. Little did we know that it takes almost four hours to get there, but it was wort

This past week, I went to Austin, Texas for both business and pleasure. When I travel to Texas for work, I almost always incorporate a visit to see my family as I did last week. After traveling to a conference in Austin, I rented a car and drove to Mema's house, about a four-hour drive. Unfortunately, I left Austin during rush hour traffic. I called Mema to let her know that I was on my way. "Watch out for deer and wild boars," she says. "Wild boars? Since when?" She proceeded to tell me that my uncle's wife, Marsha, had hit a wild board recently (turned out to be two years previous), and they were "everywhere." Within minutes, Mom calls. She and Gary are on their way to a church Thanksgiving dinner for which she had spent the day cooking. Before they walked out the door, she wanted to make sure that I was on the road, doing OK, and to let me know to "watch out for the deer and wild boars." Really? Sufficiently warned, I continue on in th

I love airports. It's strange, I know, but maybe I don't love airports as much as the people there. I do like to people watch. All sorts of people travel by airplane, and I wonder things like: who are they? where are they going? where are they from? business or pleasure or neither? This trip to Austin takes me back to July 2008 when my Mom got on a plane from OKC to come to VA for my thyroid cancer surgery and recovery. Did others look at her and wonder where she was going? Thnking about airports today also makes me think of a trip I took three years ago, August 2005, right before Hurricane Katrina hit. I got a call from Mom on my way home from work. My Pepa was supposed to have a simple pacemaker procedure that morning. It didn't go well, and Pepa was in a grave situation. At 6 AM the next morning, I was on a plane at Reagan National Airport headed (via Dallas) to Abliene, Texas. I knew I had to go, and I had a feeling it would be the last time I saw my Pepa. I arrived at

I've let a week lapse again without blogging...and I really enjoy it! An update on what's been going on around here: Last weekend we went to West Virginia for a church youth retreat. We went last year as sponsors, now again this fall, and really enjoyed it. I'm glad we went again. This time, we were able to take Morgan since Jennifer, the Youth Pastor, deemed her a "mini-youth" (she'll graduate to the youth group next summer). She liked the title and was thrilled to go. Chris put shutters on our bedroom windows to put one of the finishing touches on the remodel of our room, and it really looks great! The shutters really make the whole room. He has a few cabinet details to do, but the project is probably 90% done and looks wonderful. Chris and Morgan are getting ready for basketball season to start. Practice starts soon, and games the first weekend of December. Kenzie is busy as ever, finishing up the Wounded Veterans' Project for SGA and starting to work

So here's the full story on the endo visit. I blogged earlier this week it "went well" with him as it has not in the past...at all. He increased my dose of Levoxyl from 125 to 137 immediately, even before checking my blood work. He initially said that my blood work looked fine, and I pointed out that's good but I still don't feel well. I had been at 125 since September and wanted an increase so that is good he actually listened. What I'm still rolling around in my head...my thyroglobulin levels reveal that I still have thyroid tissue, which is a little surprising. I knew I had some post-surgery as the surgeon said that to us, but I thought the radioactive iodine treatment would get rid of that. Apparently it didn't. The endo said he will give me an order for an ultrasound at my next appointment to see what's left. So...what's left? Random thyroid tissue? A friend suggested that maybe a lymph node was missed. Ugh. Endo suggested I might get another

Many of you know that Kenzie is the co-chair for the Wounded Veterans Project as part of the Student Government Association at her high school. They are collecting items to put together bags to give to service men and women who are returning from the Middle East injured and needing hospitalization prior to returning home. They have had an overwhelming response from the community and school donating items. The picture to the left is just a sample of what they have collected. Kenzie and I went to the American Legion last night to collect items from there as she left a collection box there last week, and we loaded several boxes into the car of items for this project. It's a great thing when your kids get involved to giving to someone else. I am proud of what she is doing and the example she is setting for Morgan and others.

We made it home from Hampton in time to see Morgan's last soccer game of the fall season, a Storm win in Annandale. It was a great game for the Storm! Kenzie drove 1/2 of the way to Hampton and 1/2 of the way home, giving her some great experience to document prior to her receiving her license. I guess you are supposed to have so many hours documented of driving. In VA, you can get your first license at 16 years, 3 months, which will be March 28th for Kenzie. I saw my endocrinologist today with the best results so far. If you read this blog, you know that I have struggled in communicating with him thus far regarding my thyroid medication/cancer. I expressed that frustration today to him in a very constructive manner, and he was receptive. Even better, he upped my dose of thyroid meds so we'll see if this helps me to feel better.

On the way down here to Hampton, VA, for Kenzie's meeting, it was fun to hear how much 80s music Kenzie had on her ipod. We listened to some Journey, Heart, and Run-DMC and more than even having them on the ipod, SHE KNEW THE WORDS! Lots of mother-daughter fun. On a side note, I had to look for my favorite RUN-DMC song on YouTube and found it. I present to you my favorite "Tricky": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C2b8XWJnfE . For those of you who don't know RUN-DMC, do you watch Run's House on MTV? Look how young the Rev. Run is...you'll find him in the video. I went to Jones High School in Jones, OK, a million years ago...OK, class of 1985. I can still hear the cheer:"We're the best, that's no lie, we're the class of 85!" I was a cheerleader all four years, and these things stick with you...but I digress. There were approximately 75 kids in my graduating class. It was such a small school compared to Kenzie's high school! Last year,