This month at the local Community Health Center, they’re doing free yoga and qigong classes.  I was suppose to go this morning at 10am with my mom, but I was feeling kinda ill yesterday and wanted to get as much sleep as possible.  My mom went to the qigong class without me, and surprisingly, she loved it!  There’s a “Yoga For Better Health” on Monday night that we’re going to try to go to together.  My mom needs to do some kind of exercise - and qigong is a good path on to other things.  She mentioned there is another class starting in the fall every Monday at 8:30 - what a great way to start the work week!  I hope I can fit it into my schedule.

Do do, do do do do do do!

I was looking at some volunteer website, and said “Mom, we should host a foreign exchange student or something.  We need to  do more.”  And she replied, “Well, I was thinking that if the city closes the library, then we could get a foster child.  That way, I’d be home for when they got out of school.”

And I said, “A foster baaaaaaby?” She said no, but she’d go as young as elementary school.

And I said, “You could get two siblings, since we have two open bedrooms!”    She didn’t reply.

I love being able to do good things for other people.  It is good to make a difference, no matter how large or small.  And it is nice that my mom could take the awfulness of the library being closed, to make a difference in someone else’s life.

What do you do to make the world a better place?

You know the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?  Well, in Megan and Mac’s flat, the saying is more “If it ain’t 100% broke, don’t fix it.”   Megan’s bike is a five speed bike, but only four speeds works.  Their toaster also only toasts on one side.  It pops up, then you have to flip the toast over and put it down again.  Both of these things do what they’re suppose to do, just not perfectly.

Seriously, though, these things all work just fine.  That’s how they’re doing their part to help keeping things out of the landfill (they call dumpsters “skips”).  Most people would go out and buy a new toaster.   But their toaster just toasted me a delicious bagel, and her bike has been getting me in and out of town!

I will admit that sometimes they take it a BIT too far.  I’ve been helping out around the house as I can, and I try to make my bed (which is a futon, out flat, on their living/dining room floor), and I do the dishes and vacuum while they’re at work.

After dinner/breakfast, their tiny kitchen gets quite dirty.  Here, it’s loaded with dirty dishes.

This is their ENTIRE kitchen.  And they both love to cook. :(  Bottom left white thing is their fridge!!!

I was doing dishes yesterday while they were at work, and when she came home, I said “Megan, I think it’s time to get a new sponge.”  And she looked at me, and said “Yeah?  Ok.  There are new ones under the sink.”  I stared at her.  Seriously? If there are new ones, why hadn’t they gotten one out?

They let their sponge get THIS bad (see comparison), and Megan needed ME to tell her to replace it.

That’s a bit too far for my sake.

My mom is a librarian and she probably finishes a book every two days.  Because she reads so many different books, she often forgets what the cover of her current book looks like.  She is constantly wandering around the house saying, “Where is my book???”  Then, if I’ve misplaced something, I’ll say “Where are my sunglasses?”  And she’ll answer, “Probably off having sex with my book!”  It’s a great response.

I’ve already decided that when she dies, her tombstone will read “Where’s my book?”  I think everyone in my family can agree that is the one statement that sums up my mom the most.

I did the 5k in 28.44 and placed 567/  with a pace of 9:16.

My dad finished 620th with a time of 29:38, and a pace of 9:34.

Larry did it in 20.16 and in 116th place!  He had a pace of 6:44.  And he’s 55 years old!!!!  Good crap.

It was very hot, and I had to stop a couple times because I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I was so hot!  I finished, so that’s the important thing.   I do not like running when it that’s hot.  Jogging, perhaps, but not trying to run quickly.   I also don’t think I’m going to try to run a half marathon again, because I think running for that long would suck diddly.

We each had BEERSFORGOOD.com t-shirts to advertise our beer fest.  Mine was a cool tank top that Jason helped me make.  The two of us were up until 11pm making multiple shirts with iron-on paper.

After the race:  (Larry, dad, and me)

Mike, Trevor, and Amy.

Jason came to cheer me on, but I didn’t get a picture of him.  Probably because he failed to wear his Beers For Good t-shirt.  Fail!

After the race, we got free food, and FREE BEER!!!!  Everytime we got in line for beer, we each grabbed two.  I don’t drink beer, so I was able to hold them for other people.  Whoever finished theirs first got dibs on mine.  I was happy with G2 gatorade and my water.

Not bad for a $25 registration fee.  Free t-shirt, free food, and free beer.  Not bad at all.

Mom, dad, and I went to the Stowe Weekend of Hope in Stowe, Vermont.  We left early Friday morning (7ish), and got home  Sunday night (also 7ish).  I had a great time, and obviously enjoyed it more than my parents did, because I am the one who is the cancer survivor.

There were 342 people with over 47 different kinds of cancer attending, and with their friends, families, and care takers, there were over 800 people there.

I got a very cool name tag that had my name and city and state, along with the word “Thyroid.”  I was the youngest cancer patient there (that I could see).  I think that I got a lot of looks from wearing my name tag.  You only wore a name tag if you were a cancer patient.  It was obvious from standing with my parents, that I was the one with cancer.  I want to keep wearing my name tag. 

Friday

Friday we arrived too late for me to go to the “Using the Power Of Your Mind” session with a hypnotherapist.  But I was able to go to our hotel and shower.  Then we went to The Bagel for lunch.  They were donating 10% of their profits back to Stowe Hope.  After lunch, we went up to the Trapp Family Lodge (the Trapp family is the real family from The Sound of Music) where we went to Cancer and Distress.  It was just ok.  2/5 stars.  I don’t feel like I really learned anything, but I made a fantastic joke when they were talking about suffering alone.  I said that because I blog about everything, I make all of you suffer with me!  I got a nice hearty chuckle.

At 4pm, we had the opening ceremony at the Stoweflake Resort.  We were welcomed and told that we can take this weekend to do whatever we want.  We can go to the sessions, hang out with our cancer friends, or just hang out in Stowe on the bike trail or in the restaurants.   This was our time to relax, and we were free to do whatever we wanted with our time.  I thought that was very nice, because they were paying for us to be there, and they didn’t care if we went to any of their cancer programs (but we did).

Friday night I went to the Dessert and Discussion about thyroid cancer.   All of us with ThyCa met at a Stowe restaurant and just talked about having ThyCa. I had a apple cobbler, and the apples were deliciously warm, and the ice cream was just cold enough to balance it out.

Saturday

Dad and I woke up and went for a 3 mile run down the mountain road, and my mom came and picked us up.  We immediately went to breakfast at the Hob Knob (where we were staying), and had delicious pancakes and toast.  We missed the Opening Ceremony at 9am because of our run, but I’m glad I went running.  We ran on Stowe’s beautiful bike trail.

At 10am, my sessions started with “Cancer and it’s relationship to Diet and Exercise.”  It wasn’t all that informative, but my parents are now aware they shouldn’t be eating cured meat because of the carcinogens.  I didn’t learn too much, except the dietitian said that Diet Soda was OK.  Yay! Oh, and also you should wash your fruits and veggies in warm water.

At 11am, I went by myself to “When a Parent Has Cancer: A Guide for Supporting Children and Teens Facing the Serious Illness of a Parent.“  I went to this because I am in school for counseling, and I thought it would be informative.  It was my favorite session of all that I went to.

At 12, I had Reiki done on me.  The woman said she could see dancing.  I dance a lot for fun, and I had been dancing that morning in the hotel room in front of my parents - who simply rolled their eyes at me.
At 12:30, the thyroid sessions began!  There was:

Thyroid Cancer is NOT the “Good Cancer:” Patient’s Perspective

Familial Forms of Non-Medullary Thyroid Cancer and Questions on the Management

Follow-up of Differentiated Thyroid Cancers, and The Role of Nuclear Medicine in Thryoid Cancer

They were all “meh.”  I didn’t learn anything from them, and next time will go to something else that I WILL learn from.  Instead, I could have gone to:

The Nature of Hope: Psychological, Spiritual, and Physical Dimensions
Massage Therapy as Complimentary Medicine
Living Through Cancer: Your Survivorship Plan
Cancer in the Elderly
The Importance of Exercise in Recovery

Those would have all been more educational, and I could use them in my career as a counselor.  I think that I already know enough about thyroid cancer.

After the sessions, we went to the Ben and Jerry’s Factory to get a tour.  It ended up being free cause we were with the Stowe Weekend of Hope.  We all got HUGE samples of Chunky Monkey at the end.  My dad said “The best thing about my daughter getting cancer is the free ice cream.”

At 6pm - we went to Jamie’s rental house (a fellow ThyCa) for a delicious dinner. Thank God she had made eggplant parmesan, because I was worried about having to eat meat!

At 7:30, we went back into town for a candle light service.  For a $5 donation, you could have a friend/family member’s name read during the service (either “in honor of” or “in memory of”), and then they would write them name on a bag, and have a candle inside of it.  While we were there, I wish we had done one for my dad’s mom:  In Honor of Mary Jo Streb.  We all got candles to carry and place on the altar, so when I placed mine down, I thought of her.

At 9pm, we went to The Rusty Nail where a band, Primitive Soul, was playing for us.  It was fun to go from church to a bar with everyone.

Sunday

My mom woke up up at 7:30, and said I didn’t have time for a run.  We had breakfast at 8am, and then didn’t have to be at the closing ceremony until 11.  I most definitely had time for a run.  D’Oh!

The closing ceremony was also on the Trapp Family property.  Behind the stage was beautiful mountains, and it was great.

Then we went to Burlington for lunch and a bit of shopping.  We got some food for my Low Iodine Diet which starts on May 14.  I’ve decided I won’t start eating meat until then, because while on my diet I can’t have any fake meat.  I can’t have soy or tofu, or anything - but I CAN have hamburg and chicken as long as they haven’t been cured with salt.

*

I most definitely want to go again next May.  It won’t be free, but they offer discounted rates at the hotels.  One I saw for only $59 a night, so discounted for two nights wouldn’t be bad at all!!  Next year, I will go to different sessions, and not ones for thyroid cancer.  I want to learn.  I won’t go to the closing ceremony because it was cold and windy, and lame.  We just listened to music and watched people dance.  Lame but beautiful.

I don’t think my parents will come next year.  I think that’s fine, because I know I enjoyed it more than they did.  I really felt like home there, and I knew that people wouldn’t think it was weird if I walked into church wearing a blanket (which I did), because everyone else had cancer, and they’re probably always cold too.

I was with my peeps.

Saturday morning we went out to Coggshall to clean up some storm damage.  Coggshall is this very nice large park in Fitchburg (where Megan got married), but because of all the damage, the government Parks people said that we couldn’t open the park because of the damage.  Joel Kaddy organized a clean up on Saturday, and I went with my parents (at 8am!).

Trees were actually ripped out of the earth, and were laying across the street.  The DPW had been in earlier to chainsaw the large trees.

We were suppose to pick up these large branches, and carry them to the side of the road to be picked up.  Everything 30 feet back needed to be cleared.

I got a good slice in my arm that really hurt, and started bleeding.  I didn’t have crappy jeans to wear, so I wore yoga pants.  Bad idea, because the jeans would have protected my legs better.  I also have a big scrape and bruise on my upper thigh.

After cleaning, dad came home and changed to go to the movies with my mom.  Since I wasn’t going out with him, I told him he should add to his look by adding his bright red suspenders.  He thought it was a good idea.

Trevor came over on sunday to help chop firewood out of an old tree that we had taken down.  Trevor banged on the window, and said “If you want to live in a mini house by yourself, you better come outside and learn how to chop firewood!”

You can see this piece of wood nicely breaking in half.

I am currently down in Dartmouth visiting Rob again.  I’m coming every month, so this is my April trip.  In March, we ate a bunch of strawberries and watched a bunch of movies.  Last night we watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which was awesome.  Later today we’re going to see Sunshine Cleaning.  He has a blog here.

Since my mom has been walking a lot more, she’s decided that her old shoes hurt her feet. Off Zappos she ordered new shoes one size 8 and one 8.5. She thought the 8s fit, but her toes hurt in the old ones when walking down hill. She couldn’t walk down hill with her new shoes cause she couldn’t get them dirty.

I suggested that she put grocery bags on her feet and to just walk outside. Finally after several days of being unsure, she finally took my advice and we tied bags on her feet and went for a walk up and down the hill near our house.
She lucked out and there was no one around to make fun of her.
I’m making up for that by posting them for all my blog friends.

This morning for my morning run with my dad, there was a bit of a mix up.  I had asked him what time he usually ate breakfast, and he said “around 7.”  So I said “ok, well, depending on when I wake up, I will either eat breakfast first (if it’s 9ish), or we’ll go running first and then I’ll eat.  I got up around 8:15, and my mom said my dad was still in bed.  So I ate breakfast.  Then, he came downstairs at 9:30 and was surprised to see that I was awake, and disappointed that I had eaten already.  He had been waiting for me to wake up, and had been lying in bed reading.  I didn’t know that, and thought he was just sleeping.  So he ate breakfast at 9:30, and we had to wait until 11 to run.  I did an extra mile today, and he turned around again at the .8 mile mark.   Here’s my route.

Once home, I took a shower, ate some soup, and headed out to Coraline.  I walked, and my parents and brother drove to the theater.  I was reading while I was walking, so I didn’t make it all the way.  My parents stopped me when I was about 2/3 of the way there, and my dad yelled out “This is as far as you made it???”  Luckily, there was a red light, and I shouted to him “What time is it?”  “1:25″ Uh oh!  The movie was at 1:30!  I yelled “Can I get a ride?”  And I looked both ways, and ran across the street and jumped into the car.  I wish I had made it the whole way (the reading slowed me down, says my mom), but I’m glad I got to walk a little bit of the way.

As for Coraline, the NY Times sums it up with ““Coraline” is rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). There are many scenes and images that are likely to scare young children.” Of course, there are many parents who don’t read (or can’t, for that matter), and didn’t bother to find out if this movie was appropriate for their youngsters.  There was a 3 year old boy sitting behind us who kept asking, “What does that say?”  “Who’s that?”  “Why is he sad?”  His mother didn’t once shush him or tell him to whisper, instead she answered all of his questions.  It was driving me batty, until finally the movie got too scary and they left the theater (minus the $10.50 they paid - HA!).  In front of me, there was a young girl who looked to be about 7 or 8 (which I would think would be old enough to not be scared at a movie rated PG), but she climbed on her mother’s lap and said “Can we go now, please?”  Like a trooper, the mother said “No.  Just close your eyes.”  I think I would have just said “Go wait in the hallway.”  And if the girl wasn’t there when the movie was over, it’s probably for the best (it’s amazing that I enjoy babysitting, isn’t it?  Nah… I’m all talk).   There was one point a bit later when the girl had resumed watching and sighed at one point and said “Whew!  That was close.”  I rolled my eyes, and thought “Really?  You thought the main character would die?”  The movie was good.  Not one I’d really care to see again, and I wish I had gotten to see it in 3D.  We were stuck with lousy 2D.  On a scale of 1-100, I would give it a 72.

Dylan and I made homemade bread for dinner.  It was delicious, as it always is.  I had Dylan bring home the bread machine from his apartment because he hadn’t been using it.  He has break coming up anyway (they do four terms, rather than two semesters, and they have a week break in between terms), so we can just keep it here until after the break.  I can use it to make rolls and pizza dough.  There is a “dough” setting, and then once the dough is done, you simply take it out, and shape it how you want for rolls or bagels or even Italian loafs, and then put it in the oven.  For pizza dough, you’d take it out and make the pizza on it, then put it in the oven as is.

I did my Federal taxes tonight (well…. I didn’t finish them, but I got close).  I’m getting $359 back from the Feds. Yay!  I could use the money.  I haven’t bought anything in a really long time, but I could use the money for my gas, phone, and car insurance.  I’m not planning on going shopping or buying anything in the near future.  In fact, I have a credit on my Macy’s card, and I called today and they’re going to issue me a rebate check for $54 because I’m not planning on using the credit to purchase anything.

It’s bed time, but I want a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.  :(  But I’m not going to succomb!  I am stronger than HBoO (but not by much).

My practicum went really well.  I was there from 9am - 1pm.  We saw two clients for a whole intake assessment (50 minutes), and then another patient of my supervisor’s stopped in for a few minutes to chat about starting counseling again.  I just sat there the whole time, and observed.  I need to understand and watch the practice first, and then I’ll be able to do it myself!  I have to audio record myself in these sessions, and I need people who will allow me to record them.  That might be pretty tricky, and I hope I don’t have problems with it. But I only need to have three sessions recorded.  I need the first one by mid March.

I can’t go back tomorrow, because I have to babysit at 10:30 until 3ish (yay money!)  Unfortunately, my supervisor is going to Aruba on Thursday, and won’t be back until March 2nd.  I’ll have just under two weeks to get my first recording.  I can definitely do that!

After I was done at 1pm, I went home and had lunch.  Then, I went out to run some errands. I went to the Salvation Army, and didn’t find anything that looked good. Then I went to Michaels and I finally bought my yarn and needles for my afghan.  I bought size 50 needles, and the largest ones I have ever used in the past are size 13!

Here’s a picture of me with three sets of needles.  The blue ones are size 8 that were the first ones that I ever knit with (I made a scarf).  The pink ones are the biggest I’ve used in the past, and the huge red ones are the ones I just bought.  They’re called “Speed Stix.”  They’re so large that it makes knitting go faster.  But the afghan will probably be holey. But I think that’s what makes it an afghan.

I’m so excited to get started!  I have eight skeins of yarn that I have to roll into balls (it makes it easier to knit with).  The total of all my stuff came to $43 (I bought a cute pack of note cards for $1 - they have an ‘R’ on them and they’re blank inside).  I had a gift card that I got from Dylan for Christmas, and I figured I’d just front the rest in cash.  After the gift card went through, I only owed $3!!!  Dylan had gotten me a $40 gift card!!!   I called him to thank him, and told him I was able to buy everything with the card. Yay Dylan!

I stopped at the library and picked up 5 books.  One of them is Angels and Demons, which I want to read before the movie comes out in May.  I’ve heard from many people that it’s much better than the DaVinci Code. I think the other four are all memoirs.  I’ve like to read memoirs lately.

On to dinner!  I used the Sloppy Joes recipe that I got from the Low Iodine Cookbook.  My mom and I both give it 5/5 stars.  It is SOOO delicious.  Absolutely amazing.  I ate it on one hamburger bun, open faced, and doubled up on my meat.  It was so messy!

Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground beef or turkey or Quorn (beef only for LID)
1 small chopped onion
1 small chopped green bell pepper (cut really small)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup (to make it LID compatible, use no salt ketchup)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Combine first three ingredients in large skillet. Cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble, scoop the fatty water out of the pan with a spoon.
Add rest of ingredients to skillet and mix. Simmer 15 minutes.
Serves 4-5.

You know how good it was?  It was so good, I licked my plate clean.

Megan and I have a history of licking our plates, especially if there is pie involved.  I’ve gotten in the bad habbit of doing it even when there is no pie involved.  I physically had the plate up to my face, licking it with my tongue.  I was in the middle of talking to my mom, and she didn’t even flinch.  I think she’s used to it, too.