Vegas Vacation

In an attempt to reclaim a small piece of my soul, and to celebrate the end of almost one YEAR of treatments, hubby and I ran away to Vegas for a few days last week. Without the kids. I did nothing but eat, eat, sit in the sun, eat some more. Oh, and I got SICK! VERY, VERY SICK! So, at least one of the days was not any fun, and a lesson in the fact that compromised immune systems don't magically come back.

We broke the bank and chose Gordon Ramsay's Steakhouse has the "official" celebratory meal. Final bill could have been scarier, but we opted not to get the Hell's Kitchen tasting menu. I did get the life-changing dessert however. Looking back, I almost wish that I'd just had 12 of those. Seriously! Life-changing! Pictures below!

Here are some highlights of the sun, food, and relaxing that went on:

VEGAS!

Vacation is FUN and relaxing and I'm so glad to be on one after what seems like FOREVER. Yes, I know, it really hasn't been forever...I tend to exaggerate just a little. But it is nice to go somewhere and pretend you're not really a cancer patient.

A couple of notes about vacationing in Vegas when you are sick:

(1) Not the cleanest, most smoke-free city in the world by any stretch of the imagination. Have been trying very hard not to touch elevator buttons or escaltor hand rails. Also trying not to sit near anyone with obvious symptoms of the plague and/or smoking like a chimney (yeah, super easy to do here).

(2) Want to have some fun? Wear a mask through TSA security at the airport like I did.

(3) Having no taste buds means that your eating options are limited. Luckily Vegas has a million restaurants. But, I have to check out the menu first to make sure that there is something that I can eat before committing to a particular establishment, so we've become those annoying people that spend an hour blocking access to the menu posted outside the restaurant.

(4) There is no 5 second rule in Vegas. If it falls on the floor, it's over. 

(5) I am not supposed to sit in the sun (stop laughing). I had to borrow several hats so that I could hang out by the pool and soak up the warmth. No wearing the wig 24/7 since it tends to get a little sweaty.

(6) My neuropathy has gotten SO MUCH WORSE (will post more about this later). Currently I cannot feel my hands, feet, a big section of my left shoulder blade, and part of my chest. Since we've been walking most places, not feeling your feet makes for a really fun time. Especially when you have a cross between Vasco de Gama and Speed Racer for a husband. Now, the good thing? It's Vegas...everyone just assumes that I'm drunk.

(7) As the kids pointed out, "Mom, you fit in here." Meaning me and the Katy Perry wig look relatively "normal" here (for Vegas). People don't stare quite as much. It's actually kind of nice. 

Rescuing the Sloth!

Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?

I have become a serious sloth. Yes, I have a great excuse, but even the chemo doc says that if I don't do something to build up my red blood cell count now, I am going to regret it. Seriously, most days find me sitting down in the shower after a few minutes.

To attempt to reclaim my life, I decided a couple of weeks ago to start walking. It gets me out of the house and off the couch that has a spot for my ass permanently imprinted on it.

To accomplish this task, I enlisted some friends to force me to walk with them. It's going pretty well. They understand the rules: must be done during the school day because I usually need a nap by 3pm; and under no circumstances will there be walking at 6AM or they will no longer be my friend.

As you would expect in Seattle, there have been some rainy days (and a few that we have decided not to walk because being wet and cold might actually be worse for my health than sitting on my ass). But there have been a few gloriously sunny ones as well. FEELS. SO. GOOD. This is a photo of a recent outing, with my friend doing the 3Day (and all of her walking buddies). I only took a wrong turn once, but I didn't get us too lost, honest! And the sunshine was wonderful!

Thanks to all of you (and you know who you are) for getting me up and moving!

A Week to Be Normal

Still bitter about losing my trip to Hawaii (please don't think this is the last that you'll hear about this), I refused to give up our Thanksgiving Vegas trip. Wasn't gonna happen, no matter how cross-eyed the doctors looked at me.

Not going to bore you with all the details, because if you're my friend on Facebook you saw the daily posts and photos anyway. But I will say that it was GLORIOUS! God was truly smiling on us because it was sunny and 75 the entire week (it's normally sunny and 60ish that week).


We had friends and family with us, we ate MUCH yummy food, saw a show, and sat in the sun by the pool. There were also many, many books read (by me) and quite a bit of swimming (by everyone else).

It was great to have fun, relax, and sort of forget about all that is coming...