Committed to a Cure

Yesterday we finally got our license plates on the truck. They have breast cancer plates in CO so we are officially "committed to a cure" with the pink plate. Here they are:I also found out yesterday that Robin from the Good Morning America show was diagnosed with breast cancer and she announced it yesterday. It is always hard to hear anyone say that they were diagnosed. Hopefully someday there will be a 100% cure for cancer. Here is a link to the video online if you want to hear her announcement.

http://tv.yahoo.com/good-morning-america/show/30753/videos/3535642

Olivia figured out yesterday that she could reach all the movies if she moved the bar stools. She stood up there for 30 min "organizing" her favorite princess movies. Silly girl.

I am not sure if the pictures that I post will show up in the subscription emails that I set up through feedblitz. Someone email me or comment and let me know if they come across with the subscription or not. Have a fun day!

Monday July 30th

I finally have an end in site. I have to do Herceptin next week and then again Aug 27th. Aug 27th will be my LAST treatment day!! Hurray! It is also Olivia's first day of kindergarten. I will still have to see the doctor but that is my last treatment. I am finishing right in time to not enjoy the new facility. My doctor is moving her office and facilities to a new wing of the Harmony campus of PVH. The nurses are all excited to have more room and lots more electrical outlets for pumps. Exciting times.
Nothing too exciting happened this weekend. We had our ward social for church on Friday that was fun. It was nice to visit and get to know newer faces in our ward. Saturday Jon and I spent the day cleaning the house and I worked a bunch. Saturday night we went out to eat and to hand out with Jon's friend from high school Ryan and his girlfriend Gail. We don't see them much so it was fun to catch up. We went to eat at Beau Jo's pizza in Fort Collins. Always yummy! Yesterday not too much either. We went to church and then had our home teachers over yesterday afternoon. Our home teachers are both into cars, one is a mechanic and the other likes to four wheel and built a moon buggy that he enters competitions with. Jon being the talker that he is always ends up talking about cars and whatnot. He could go on all day about it. It is fun to have home teachers assigned to us that are into the same type of stuff as us.
Jon is working nights in Greeley so he went to work last night at 8pm and got home at 6ish this morning. He is trying to sleep now, with the kids being noisy. It is nice to have him here though instead of out of town.
Not much going on this week. It is the end of the month, so the busy time for work with me and then I think we are going to try and go camping and ride the 4 wheelers this weekend with Vernon and Kira.

Email Subscription anyone??

Okay all,

I have updated my snapfish link with some of our summer pictures so take a look. Also...I stole this idea from a friend to do a subscription to my blog through your email. I am not sure how well it works but we will try it out. In the upper right corner of my page you enter your email address and I will send you an email every night that I put an update on my blog. I had some family members that were having a hard time figuring out how to view it and I know everyone isn't computer savvy so hopefully this will work out better. Like I have always said, anyone is more than welcome to view my blog so don't feel shy about subscribing. The more people I can help make aware of cancer or help through their own cancer journey the better!

Love you guys!!
Eliza

Tues July 24th

Today I went in to Sears to take pictures for that contest I won. I must say it was interesting having such a relaxing experience taking pictures since with the kids it is always so stressful. Don't pull you sister's hair, smile, look over here, stay still.....none of that! It is kinda weird taking pictures by yourself. I feel like a realtor or something. I did have to share one exciting thing though, I haven't put on make up in over a week since we have been at the lake camping for the last week. When I put on my mascara today I noticed that my eyelashes are practically back to normal. Hello Ladies!! I must say, I am in love with my lashes. I have always had long and thick eyelashes and it has been a bummer to have lost them and then have them fall out again when they were almost back to normal. I still hate my hair, but it is nice to have my lashes back.
I am having a bit of a hard time finding energy this week. I think I was just so busy while we were out of town I can't catch up on my rest. My arm is also bothering me somewhat. I noticed it was pretty sore starting last Friday after unloading the jet ski, I was trying to hang onto the dock and hold the jet ski from bumping into it. It is still sore in my arm pit area where they took a lymph node. Maybe just from playing on the jet ski so much and using muscles that I don't normally use there. It has been sore from there all the way down my arm. Maybe I need to do something to make sure those muscles stay active and heal better? Funny that my surgery was almost 6 months ago and it isn't all the way better yet. And better yet, I get to do this all over again before the end of the year.
I found a video of that Craig Morgan song I wrote about on here a few months ago and put it on the blog. Our friend who is a DJ at K99, Vernon, dedicated it to me when it very first came out. What a sweet man and a neat song! Give it a listen.

Mon July 23rd

I have been notified that I am slacking on my posts! Sorry Ashley! Let's see.... Since last post, Jon did take me to see the new Harry Potter movie last weekend. Overall a good movie, but of course the book was better. Still a great flick though.
I got my hair cut that weekend also. I had a friend get me a gift certificate to her stylist and I love her! If anyone is looking for a new stylist she is awesome. Her name is Roni and she works at Hair Atelier in Fort Collins. Such a sweet gal and I loved the salon. It is in old town fort Collins in a remodeled old house. Very cool ambiance. She did a good job on my hair, but I still hate it. Honestly there aren't many options when it is only 2 inches long. It does look better "shaped up".
I had a check up with my radiation doc on Friday the 13th. She said everything seemed to be fine and I was healing fine. I am now just tan, in the radiation area. A big tan block of skin over my whole right side...looks interesting.....whatever. It is only a little on the itchy side now. So she said that I didn't have to come back for 6 months.
My grandpa from Salt Lake was here last weekend as well. It was great to see him, he is such sweet man and it is always good to visit with him. I wish we could see him more often.
I had my Herceptin treatment last Monday. Jon was home trying to get ready for our camping trip and so I took Alex with me to my appointment. I also saw the nurse practitioner. The check up went fine. The normal poking and prodding and questions about any new pains. Of course, no. Which is awesome. I know the second that something starts hurting or bothering me I will become obsessed so it is a good thing I am doing alright. My mom and grandpa came to meet me for my Herceptin infusion. When I got into the treatment area it was so full that there were no empty chairs to sit in. Man that is depressing. So I had to wait for an open chair. I did get to meet a gal that is a friend of a friend that was just diagnosed in May I think. She is a sweetie and it is always hard to see new faces and more people getting diagnosed with cancer at a young age. I think she is in her mid thirties. Darn Cancer. She is a fighter also though and really positive. I had talked to her on the phone once and she had checked out my blog so she recognized me when I walked in and of course I am thinking...."Man it is embarrassing when you don't remember people you've been introduced to." I was safe though since we had technically never met. Keep fighting Dana and keep your head up. I went out to lunch with my mom, dad, grandpa, brother Mason, and Alex after Herceptin at the Olive Garden and that was nice. When I got home I had an email from the marketing department at Kids II (the company I won the trip from) that said I had to fill out these forms and get them notarized and overnighted back to them to claim my prize. Good thing I was not on vacation that day...sheesh. So of course we stopped everything and had the forms filled out and Bev from my work was sweet enough to notarize them for us.
After running around all day Monday and Tuesday we finally left to go to Glendo on Tuesday afternoon. We had a fun week and the kids had a blast playing in the sand and the sun. We of course got stuck by annoying campers that wanted to party until all hours of the night which is always frustrating but moved the camper around a little to where they weren't right on top of us. I guess it is almost impossible to go to a busy camping area and get quiet time. Jon's parents stayed for the week and then Jon's aunt and uncle and their 2 grand kids came up on Friday night. Our friends Seth and Courtnee and their 2 boys Taylor and Drew also came up on Friday morning. We had a fun week camping and playing on the jet ski. I was definitely ready to come home by Sunday. It is a lot of work with the kids and I was ready to sleep in my own bed again. We made it home at 3pm and spent the rest of the afternoon and night unpacking and putting stuff away. I am still not done.
I got the brochures about our trip to Atlanta while we were gone and it sounds really exciting. I have to go into Sears tomorrow to get my pictures taken for the magazine story they are doing on the winners in the October issue of Fit Pregnancy for breast cancer awareness month.
Jon started his new job last night. He will be working nights this week but he is in Boulder so he will still be home, which is nice. He is still doing refrigeration, just for a different company. So far so good and hopefully everything is a smooth transition with the insurance.
Nothing too exciting to report for today. Still trying to put stuff away and get back to working. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more relaxing.
I didn't take too many pictures of our camping trip, I always seemed to forget my camera in the bag, but I will upload the ones I did take onto my snapfish link tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a fun summer!

Thurs July 12th

This week has gone by so fast. We have been busy. I have kept myself busy with work and running around. I hit a great sale with my friend Alyssa at the Children's Place this week and got the kids stocked up on clothes for next summer. I love saving money on cute clothes. My neighbor from down the street Ann and my old neighbor Pam took me out for a belated birthday lunch yesterday at a place in downtown Loveland called Henry's. It was very good. I don't visit the downtown area much but it was good and they had some fun shops that we went into on the way back to the car. They got me a really cut hand bag with a bright paisley pattern on it.
We are getting really excited to go on vacation next week. Jon has been going to Glendo state park in WY every summer since he was a kid. We started going the summer after Olivia was born and always have a great time. It is supposed to be in the 90s all next week, perfect weather for camping at the lake. I am excited to take our Jet ski up there and play. It is about 2 to 3 hours straight up I 25. If anyone is interested in going up there with us to camp during the week or next weekend let me know. We would love to have you. Our family always has a blast there.
Olivia is going to the dentist this afternoon and and quit talking about it. She has only been once but keeps asking when she gets to go back. Ever since I told her a few days ago she had to go back in today she hasn't stopped talking about it.
I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow with the radiation oncologist to check my healing progress and then I am going to get my first hair cut since I lost my hair! I can't believe it. My hair is about 1 1/2 inches long all the way around. It needs to be trimmed up and shaped and hopefully it will look a little less shaggy. I hate it. I guess it is better than not having any though. I will post a picture of it afterwards.
Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix came out on Wednesday and hopefully Jon will take me to see it this weekend. I am obsessed, I admit it. I am bummed because the last book comes out next Saturday. Just in time to miss my vacation and perfect time to read my book. Darn. Guess I will have to fit it into my busy schedule here at home.

Buddy Check 9 Day!

Sorry I haven't updated everyone in awhile. But it is a great day to update since it is in fact BUDDY CHECK 9 DAY! So give the girls a good squeeze and make sure everything feels right. If you want more info on doing a self breast exam follow the buddy check nine link on the side bar of my blog.
I had a great birthday and we are all having fun with our new toy. We have been out to Boyd Lake 4 times and it is a blast. Since the lake is only 5 min away it is very easy to load up the kids and go play for awhile in the morning or after naps. We out to eat with my girlfriend Abbey and her husband Larry the weekend after my birthday to celebrate. It was fun hanging out with them. We think the last time the 4 of us went out without any kids was year ago before we had the twins. Yikes, that was overdue. Jon is feeling much better but still is somewhat sore every now and then. He didn't work much last week, just here and there. We did get a lot of odds and ends done around the house. We finished laying our mulch and planting some bushes and flowers in the yard.
Jon also put in his 2 weeks notice at Source. Source has been such a wonderful company to work for and we have appreciated all their support to our family! They have been extremely supportive to our situation this last year. His buddy Tommy has started his own business doing refrigeration and so Jon has decided to go and work for him. It sounds like he will be working over in Greeley for awhile so that will be nice for him to be some what closer to home.
For the 4th of July we went to a BBQ at my nurse practitioner's house, Lisa. She is awesome and has helped me out so much over the last year. It was great to see her beautiful smiling face all year when I was feeling horrible. What a great person. She was definitely cut out to work in oncology. Then we went over to Boyd for a few hours after the twins had a nap with our friends Brad and Patti and their 3 boys Austin, Grant, and Trey. Jon has worked with Brad at different jobs for the past 4 years and they are an awesome family. Their youngest 2 are twins. We got home at about 6:30 to clean up and grab a quick dinner before we headed out to the fireworks. Our neighbors across the street Jeremy and Danielle came with us to the fireworks and then my girlfriend Alyssa and her family. We were the "twins club". (Heath and Alyssa also have twins) Must be something in the water here :-) The weather did get rainy for a little bit right before the fireworks but stopped right before they went off. Of course the fireworks were awesome! Loveland has the best fireworks show in Northern Colorado. They are set to a music program on the radio and we always enjoy them. Cody was narrating the entire event. "Green, mom. Purple, mom. That one might land on our socks. Wow that was high in the sky." He was pretty entertaining.
Friday we went out to eat with Heath and Alyssa. Since Heath rescued the kids and I a few weeks ago and hooked up our AC we thought we should at least buy them dinner! We went to the new Texas Land and Cattle in Fort Collins. Good Eats! It was very yummy. Who doesn't love Steak, I know we do! It was fun to visit with them also. I don't think we have been out with them since last fall or summer either. It was fun.
Saturday we were back at Boyd for the majority of the day with Heath and Alyssa and their 2 older girls. The kids all played on the beach and we took turns riding the jet ski. The rest of the day was lazy. We were all so worn out from being in the sun and cleaning up from being out that we relaxed for the rest of the night. I did my grocery game shopping on Saturday night since I really didn't have coupons that I needed to cut from this Sunday's paper. It worked out well and I didn't have to take all the kids with me which was a bonus. Still saving a ton of money and loving every minute of it! If anyone is interested in signing up for their free trial be sure to use my email as recommending you. It is elizajonbrock@msn.com If you have any questions about it feel free to ask also. Takes some work but it is worth it for the money you save for sure!
Jon's parents have been traveling for about a month and came back on Saturday so they came over after we got home from church yesterday to hang out and eat dinner. It was great to see them and the kids really missed them!
I had to do Jury duty this morning. After checking in and watching a video we were led up to the courtroom and informed they would need 14 jurors in an attempted murder with a hand gun case. Yikes. Of course my number was chosen first to go up into the jury box with 30 other people and start getting questioned. I though it would be very interesting as I have never done jury duty before. After getting through a numerous amount of disqualification questions the judge informed us that we could be sitting on the jury for 7-10 days plus deliberation time. Holy cow. The judge said if this is a genuine hardship for anyone they could discuss it with the judge, prosecution, and defense so I did that. I don't think I could find day care for the kids for 10 plus business days and then I would be missing my Herceptin on Monday which again isn't an option. Although I do think it would have been rather interesting to do and be a part of. I ended up getting dismissed at about noon.
Jon left to work in Casper for the week around 1pm when I got home. It has been nice having him here the last 2 weeks.
I also got a very exciting call this afternoon. My girlfriend Alyssa nominated me back in April for the "Bright Starts Pink Power Mom search" put on by Kids II corporation. They are a baby product brand. Click Here to read the article about the search. Well they called this afternoon and chose me as one of only 8 winners!! I am so excited. Here is the excerpt from the article about what I won:
"The eight “Pink Power Moms” will be flown to Atlanta in October for a weekend of wellness where they will be recognized at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Pink Tie Ball and a donation will be given in their name to the breast cancer charity of their choice. The winners will also be featured in a national advertising campaign and have their inspirational stories shared throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month."
I think the magazine I will be in is called Fit Pregnancy. I am so excited. She said that they put you and a guest up in a nice hotel and treat you to spa sessions all weekend. I can't believe that I actually won something. I have never won anything exciting besides concert tickets. It is Oct 12th to the 14th. I can't wait!