Hi everybody! It's gorgeous here in Daly City- just sat outside on the deck, nice and sunny, huge waves! Just got radiation #22/25 today. Got chemo on Thurs. I just sent Sean to the market for egg nog, jello, ice cream and pudding, hehe...

Merry Christmas everybody!! Hope you're having an epic day. Things are beautiful here- we woke up and saw a pod of dolphins swim by, aaaah. Here's a picture of our tree. Giant hug to everyone out there!!!

Hope everybody's having a great weekend. We seem to be having one hell of a storm in Daly City- it resembles a hurricane. Just watched the Hunger Games movie- what an amazing flick. I loved the books and I wasn't sure how they could possibly make this movie, but they did an amazing job.
Doing ok- my esophagus and trachea are pretty fried- 18 doses of radiation down, 7 to go. Shan just picked up this amazing concoction of lidocaine, anti-histamine, and maalox for me to swallow. I think this is an excellent opportunity to eat more ice cream. Thankfully I get a mini-break from treatment because of Xmas- radiation resumes on Wed, chemo on Thurs... Big giant hug to Sean's Mom Janet for making us a smorgasbord (sp?) of holiday treats, and Sean's Dad, who unfortunately I missed on Sat :( 
We are trying to think up a post-radiation trip to Alaska to see the Northern Lights... Fairbanks?

Look who stole a shoulder ride!

Yikes!!! I just cracked out and read the entire Hunger Games 1st book in 24 hours! I had no idea that it would be so addictive. Are the other books as good? The movie? Sean and I are headed to Santa Cruz right now for the night. Hope everyone is having a spectacular weekend!

Hey guys! Nothing exciting on this front. Just recovering from this week's chemo. Had coffee with Mata, Adam and Revio this afternoon. Revio was a really happy baby today, and I dig his brand new teeth! We're going to take it easy for another night (might stream the Pipe Masters contest) and then head down to Santa Cruz tomorrow night to see the Expendables at the Catalyst. Those guys put on an epic show. Radiation is fine- 13 down, 12 to go! Hi-YA!!

Hey everybody!
Chemo went smoothly yesterday, radiation's fine too (just got dose 10/25). Have a dry cough, but nothing else to report. Summer went for a night at camp Steve- she returned very happy and with a massive container of grilled steak!
Here are a couple pics of Willam (aka the little man, aka rat fink)

Wow, everything's been wonderfully unexciting over here! Worked a busy half-day on Friday, am getting irradiated every day at 2- no side effects thus far. Gearing up for more chemotherapy on Monday. Had french toast on the back deck this am, aaaah. Pretty freaking nice sunny winter day at the beach! Ok- out to the yard to plant some stuff. Hope everybody's having a great weekend!

Huh, huh- we are the original Laser Cats crew!!

Look at this beautiful card that Sean gave me this morning- made my his Mom, Janet! Gorgeous!!

Everything's going fine with radiation- got dose 5/25 today, no side effects yet!

Happy Sunday! So did I tell you that Sean bought a new Mercedes? OK, it's a white van (Sprinter), pervert-style. Traded in the Subaru and now we have a windowless molester van!
Everything going OK- just dealing with the last day of chemo-induced ileus (I think this is just another part of the neuropathy). Hopefully the gastrointestinal tract will be good as new tomorrow. Getting radiation #4 on Mon, no problems so far...
Hope everyone's getting a little bit of sunshine today!

Holy crap it's windy here, and gnarly double to triple overhead waves.
Radiation therapy went fine yesterday- am about to head over to El Camino for dose #2. They position me in the machine by using skin marks, then do a CT (every time). They then use the CT images to fine tune the positioning (by moving the table) for the actual treatment. The radiation gantry moves around me in an arc as the radiation dose is delivered. Varian RapidArc is the name of this- high tech, eh? This is so cool... I'm totally nerding out!

Great news! I start radiation tomorrow. It's 25 total doses, Mon-Fri, and the goal is to shrink all the enlarged lymph nodes inside my chest. This will improved the coughing and also wipe out nests of chemo-resistant cells, the end goal is to prolong this nice partial remission. Got chemo yesterday (Abraxane +Avastin+ Zometa) and am feeling awesome. Yahoo! Hope you guys are doing great as well.

Today I got chemo (Avastin, Abraxane, Zometa combo)- everything went fine. The radiation-plannning CTs from 10 days ago showed stable disease- yahoo!! The radiation oncologist said that he hasn't been able to construct a plan where my lungs don't get zapped, but he still thinks it is possible- he and the physicist are trying to solve the problem this week. I am so excited- it'll be a huge relief from the cough if they can zap those hilar and tracheobronchial nodes. Hooray!

Sebastopol was a blast!! Here's the view from our bed in the travel trailer:

Woke up early and had coffee on the deck that Sean built

Planted the #1 redwood tree of the season (5th overall). The ones from last season are green and looking super healthy. Have to clear chaparral and poison oak in the gully/creekbed ini order to clear a planting spot. Made tons of headway. Pretty snazzy poison-oak and tick- proof outfit (longs shirt tucked into long gloves and yoga pants, yoga pants tucked into socks, then Technu).

Hey!! Everything's going well. Planted a bunch of moss in the fern garden this morning, then watched football with Mata, Revio and Adam, and we're now headed north for an overnight in Sebastopol! I have a redwood tree to plant, trying to think of a name for it...

No news from radiation doc- expect to hear the verdict from my medical oncologist on Mon... Hope everybody has an awesome weekend! Wahoo!!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!! We're about to sit down to turkey- my Mom, Shan, and Sean.
For some reason we did a massive amount of yardwork today, planted lots of bulbs, constructed new retaining wall for garden terraces. HiYA!
Here's the view from our place this am. Massive surf!!

No news yet from radiation dept at El Camino...
I went to see the new Bond movie with Claudia last night- amazing!! Good one to catch on the big screen.
Here's a photo of Yosemite Samantha. She comes bearing flowers and vino...

We had breakfast at the Fairmont with the Sveivens today! Butch and Sean smuggled me bacon from the buffet. I forgot about the tiny ketchups and tiny syrups... They're in the process of erecting a ridiculously large gingerbread house there (picture a dude in a cherry picker putting the gumdrops on).

My sister brought over my Grandma's photo album today, so I'm going to have to post some of these. My second favorite pic is this one of my beautiful Mom (and me looking like Jabba the Hut). My very favorite one takes place in the tub circa 1976 and Shan's going to have to give permission, hehe...

Hey everybody- nothing exciting to report here! Rain stopped and the sun came out, next storm tonight? Chains required on road to Kirkwood- ya!!
My miniature irises decided to bloom...?! These suckers are only a few inches tall.

Had a couple CTs today- will know within next week or so whether they can irradiate me. Everything's fine around here- plan to cruise into work for a few hrs tomorrow.
Check out this Mexican Butterwort- this is in my orchid box with my minis. This is the active verion of the other butterwort I showed you which was in its winter rosette. This one I've had for 5 or 6 years and it's never made a rosette- just blooms full time. Plant looks too beautiful to be carniverous!

I saw the radiation oncologist at El Camino today. He's hoping he can irradiate the residual cancer in my chest- he's running an MRI tomorrow to see if he can safely hit all of the affected lymph nodes, now that they've shrunk. The main worry is hitting lung (which causes pneumonitis) and esophagus. Fingers crossed. Post-chemo stuff is fine, stomach a little off and everything still tastes funky, otherwise ok :)

Here's my little yard! You can't see the ton of vines that Sean removed this wkd (hehe) with the help of power tools. The vines took up the whole back of Janet's pickup truck (Tundra). He left those little bastards at the dump! My irises are all putting up new little fans- this time of year is so cool!  Post-chemo stuff is going fine- pain is milder this cycle.

Hey guys, everything going fine post-chemo. Taking it easy, went road tripping with Barb Kitchell on Sat. We went to one of my favorite places 'California Carnivores' which is this masssive nursery filled with carniverous plants and orchids. I accidentally bought 3 tiny carn plants:

This is a Mexican butterwort in its 'winter rosette' form...

Then we went to Dillon Beach- freakin beautiful and windy!

Happy Friday, my friends!!
Everything is fine on this end- had a pretty full day at work today, saw some of my favorite clients. Just got acupuncture with Ella.
Got Summer a doggie door so she can reach her porch potty- but she's afraid of the flap. Working on that this wkd... any advice other than giving treats through it?! Argh!

Here are a couple more Maui pics from Oct!

Holy crap, look at me 1 year ago going snowboarding at Kirkwook (with hair)- aaaah. Heeheee, it's snowing in Tahoe right now. Yah!! So who wants to snowshoe around and drink peppermint schnapps with me this winter?
Chemo went fine. Taking it easy. People keep telling me my voice is coming back- hiyaaaaa!

Gearing up for a visit from Kitch and chemo tomorrow morning. I am bad at resting up (just pulled an entire yard waste bin of vines from the yard). These gd vines are making me crazy.

This is my throat (my THROAT, you creepy pervs!). The left arytenoid is the side that got injected- you can see a couple of needle punctures. Throat way less sore than yest, Sean swears my voice is better. Yahoo. Still will be needing more milkshakes...

Here's what recuperation looks like- watching the ASP world tour (Coldwater Classic) on the computer with the Little Man and my Candy Corn Halloween slippers (thanks Janet!)...

Arytenoid injection went fine- whew!! Breathing a-ok, just have a sore throat. Thanks for all the texts and emails you guys. Yippee!! This is a great excuse to drink milkshakes, hehe...

Am going to get my left arytenoid injected at 3 in Los Gatos- wish me luck! I thought I'd post a photo of one of my stranger orchids, a cirrhopetalum. It hasn't bloomed for years! Check this out:

Saw Chasing Maverick's yesterday- I thought it was great. Gerard Butler is really awesome- I am so impressed! The teenage dude that played Jay was great- is he an actual surfer? The love story seemed a little unlikely the way they presented it (glamourous blond older high school girl falls for childhood friend), but maybe that's the way it happened in real life?! The Mav's footage is amazing! Went to dinner in Montara- that place (La Costanera) has the tastiest seafood and Pisco Sours!

I realize that I am a total science nerd, but this book is freaking awesome!! I think even non-scientists would enjoy it- it's about the origin and spread of viruses (and back and forth transmission between the human and animal world), including SARS, Ebola, HIV-1, influenza etc...  Woohoo!

Good evening!! Thought I'd post a picture of Summer aka The Beagle, who recently snagged herself a tortilla! She is a senior citizen, but still enjoys ripping the ears off of stuffed animals...

Everything's fine with me. Mild cough, down to lower doses of pain meds. Going to work tomorrow!!

Where can I get a pair of those pants? Superb!

Shan causing trouble

Daddy, Mommy, Me Grandma, Popo

Daddy and Me

Daddy and Me!

Popo on my birthday!

Grandma

Daddy, Mommy, Grandma

Another couple Maui pics- here is the smallest cove in the world!!
Feeling fine today, chemo pain should be gone tomorrow- this cycle was pretty mild.
Hugs to my homies on the East Coast!

Thanks to everybody at work who came out to drink beers with me at Devil's Canyon! The band played Metallica and Foo Fighters just for me- Kristine knows Bray, the singer. They're normally an 80s band, so the Metallica (Seek and Destroy!) was very impressive (but wait a minute, Metallica was around in the 80s, right, so is it really so strange?)... Here are a pic from Sunday nite, more to follow!

For those of you who are following my laryngeal paralaysis (there is something wrong with my left recurrent laryngeal nerve), I just saw an ENT today, and he is going to inject my arytenoid on Monday under a short anesthesia. Apparently this will help prevent aspiration and also should improve my voice. But I will feel like I swallowed a golf ball for a week (!). Hurrah!!

Hi folks- holy crap, it's sunny in Pacifica today!!! By popular demand, more Burning Man wedding pics!

OK_ time to start blogging for real!! We just got back from Maui and it was insane- we saw a giant sea turtle at close range, looked him right in the eye... (we were kayaking and thought he was a rock). Ate tons of fresh fruit, drank lots of Mai Tais!

Got chemo on the 1st day back, 10/24, things are going fine side effect-wise.... no more chemo til 11/9 yahoo!!

Hi friends! Sunshine rocks. We're Maui bound!

Test for Casey's new blog.   She is the most awesome, rockstar!