Thank you notes are so important. I had to write them when I was younger and Boo has to do the same. Here are some cute Christmas themed ones that you can just print onto card stock…..it’s easy for your kiddos to just fill in the blanks. They fit into regular sized stationary envelopes! Enjoy!
New today: joint and nerve pain.
I finally got some sleep last night……after I finished reading my new book (that might be the fastest I’ve ever read a book in my life). I was thinking that the recent Neulesta shot was no big deal and I made it through with no side effects…….but then this morning I woke up feeling like I got hit by a truck. It’s mostly joint pain in the thigh, hip and lower back……but the most surprising is the jaw pain. I went to take a bite of a cake donut and the pain radiates from my teeth all the way out to my ears. I’ve never felt anything like it. I took some Tylenol and my mom picked up some Claritin which was recommended to alleviate some of the pain.
But…..a little pain never kept me from eating a donut.
The Nuelesta shot stimulates the growth of “healthy” white blood cells so I imagine the pain is from my white blood cell factory working overtime….so it’s not a bad thing:
I held my morning meeting with Lisa from bed and showed her a new “when I grow up” dress I want them to make today……something super bright and cheery. I want Brett to take me to L.A. next week so I can pick out some new fabrics that I need to round out our Spring line coming at the end of February.
I think the most exhausting thing for me right now is insurance companies and medical bills. When you don’t feel well, the last thing on your mind is opening up an envelope and writing a check. The worst feeling is getting a letter in the mail saying that they decided not to cover something and then you have to go through the appeal process and pray they cover it. And then there are all the phone calls trying to get payment plans set up…..it makes my head hurt. I haven’t even balanced my checkbook in 3 months….how on earth can I figure out a payment plan that makes sense?
Oh, last night all I could feel was my scalp and hair! It feels like little tight ponytails. I told Boo I was thinking about cutting my hair again and she was really upset.
My mother changed her flight to mid-January so she’s staying another week to help out with Boo. I’m so thankful. She’s been such a huge help already. She took Boo to the desert zoo yesterday and Boo is her kindred spirit because my mom likes to read every single plaque of information at each exhibit and Boo loves that. They were both full of new information last night at dinner. If I feel well enough next week we might make the 2 hours drive to the San Diego Zoo. My mom helped Boo write some Christmas thank you notes last night too…..she writes out the present and the names and Boo copies them onto the thank you card:. It was so sweet to see how excited Boo was to write and send mail to everyone:
Lisa and Brett have been moving the office to it’s new location. It’s going to be pretty awesome once we get to paint and decorate….my in-laws gave us a hand-me-down chandelier that will add some “shabby chic.” Right now they are just clearing out the old office so it can become a writing room / playroom. We need a place for the 3 foot Barbie dream house and Boo’s kitchen. With the girls out of school they’ve been making great use of the new space and had their OWN morning meeting…..I imagine one day these two girls will take over:
A cancer related book: Henrietta Lacks. Two nights ago I bought this book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks ….and I haven’t stopped reading since. Good think because one of the drugs I get as a pre-med with my chemotherapy is Decadron…..it helps with nausea but it also has a side effect of insomnia. I’ve been wired for 2 days straight! I’ve learned more about the science of cancer through just a few pages than I would have ever actually absorbed from another source:
From Amazon: “Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.”