This post is commemorating 2 years since I met Lucy and my wonderful Athena Foundation group. They’re all wonderful ladies and have been through a lot these past 2 years. Love you all!
Lucy - I wish we could have gone up to the cross for you.
Lucy left this world in early October. I hope she found her way to Heaven. I also hope she got to see her little doggo she’d lost recently - she missed him lots.
Lucy was the person who dragged me over the finish line of the 52-ish mile walk in San Diego in May 2021. She had just started a new chemo regimen right before the walk after being on the drug I had been on - Talazoparib - for about 18 months, if I recall correctly. The night before we started walking we hit up the smores at the hotel and talked.
Lucy was living for every moment. She knew better than any of us around her that her moments were limited.
She also didn’t take any shit. And seriously loved coffee.
Lucy was part mud person. I still loved her and her family.
And she was the glue that seemed to hold everything around her together. Her family, her friends. Our little Athena group has not been the same since she left. We’ve all wandered back on our paths, and that’s perfectly fine.
I’m just glad I got to meet her. We spent time together on the walk - we were bringing up the rear! Woohoo! We spent time together in Tampa when the whole gang got back together. She made a flan that was freaking amazing. I got the recipe and will attempt to replicate it someday, maybe, but I have to make sure I can put the love into it that she did. That’s a really important ingredient.
We hung out with her and her family in North Carolina. She got to meet Edie and Arthur. Arthur thought he was going to be able to chase down and take on a deer. Good luck, dude. I got to witness her family turn into swamp people after doing a 4-wheeler tour. Yes, it was a little frightening. But some of the pictures are epic.
And the last time I got to hang out with her was for a lunch in Tampa. We brought our husbands, no kids this time, no dogs, just a nice lunch next to the water.
Bringing up the rear, two strong ladies!
And that was the last time I saw Lucy. That was in June 2022. I’m glad I got to hang out with Lucy as much as I did. And I miss her. A lot. It’s amazing how some people you can know for a very short time, and they make a huge impact on your life.
I wish she could have been here longer. I wish cancer wasn’t such a terrible thing that steals lives. We need to find a cure. Funding. Support.
And love. If someone in your life is sick, hurt, dying - don’t forget to love them. And when they’re gone, do something to honor them. We’re fostering dogs - Lucy loved dogs - so that’s a little thing I can do that I know she’d absolutely approve of.
Flying away, love dogs.
I wish things were different. I wish she was still here. I wish she got to see all her kids grow up and see where they’d go. I wish she’d got to meet grandbabies. I wish she hadn’t gone so soon so that I could have gotten to know her more.
On Saturday, March 18th, 2023, I’ll be at my 3 year mark. I had surgery on March 18th, 2020, right before the world shut down for COVID. That was the day they cut the cancer out and cut the potential cancer sites out as much as possible. Still have a pancreas - pancreatic cancer is another BRCA1 thing - but no more reproductive bits. No more tatas. But I’m still me. I’m still here.
Sup... March 18th, 2020.
Why is 3 years significant? The recurrence and survival rate after three years for triple negative breast cancers is great. Many other cancers have a recurrence years later, but this one… this one is considered a good prognosis if you don’t have a recurrence within 3 years.
3 years. I made it.
A lot has happened in the last 3 years. Surgery recovery - always a good time. I started training to walk 52-ish miles in two days. I did it. I met a fabulous group of women. Lucy was one of them. Lucy had triple negative breast cancer too… but it wasn’t caught until it had spread and metastasized.
Project Athena sisters!
She taught me so much about living in such a short amount of time. I got to see her in Tampa when we all got back together and did a Mud Run. Then again in North Carolina on a mountain getaway. Her and her family became swamp people after an ATV ride. It was pretty awesome. Then again in Tampa in June. We made a special trip up to see her and her husband.
Lucy was part mud person. I still loved her and her family.
That was the last time I saw her. She left us in October. The rest of the group is still here, but we all miss her. She was the glue that held so many things together. I will not grieve for the past, but remember with joy the experiences and fun we had.
And keep living. Oh, yes. Keep living.
That living included a move to New Mexico. This winter was the first winter I can remember where I didn’t get depressed. The days were shorter, but the sun was there almost every day. It’s been amazing.
Sandia on a cloudy day.
We started fostering dogs. Chloe found her forever home, and now we are fostering Jasper. He’s a BBSD - big black scary dog - who is actually just a silly butt. He had surgery for odontoma. An odontoma is a benign tumor that is basically teeth growing into your head. People can have them too! Great. His had been left a really long time without treatment before he was brought to the shelter, so he has a deformed face. He really doesn’t care.
Dreams do come true, lovely Chloe. Happy forever!
The vet donated her time for it, and is donating more time for follow-ups and to fix a fistula in his mouth that formed after the surgery. I’m sure she’ll get a paper out of this - he’s an unusual case - but I’m very thankful she was willing to help this doofy guy. Otherwise he wouldn’t have made it out. He’ll be with us until he finds his forever home, and he’s only eaten part of one shoe. It’s been a challenge finding toys a dog who had mouth surgery can have! But he’s in love with his Kong toys. Yay!
Right now we’re working on getting our house perfect. Or as perfect as we can. We have an upstairs deck we can’t really use because it needs replaced - hopefully that’ll be done by summer - and setting up an upstairs bedroom suite.
Hi! I'm Jasper.
Every day I look at the mountains and realize how much beauty there is in the world. How glad I am that I’ve had these 3 years. How I hope to have many more because there are so many adventures to be had.
Three years. It goes by in a flash, so enjoy it. Be kind. Love one another. Live your best life. Cheers!
Wow. Well… 2022 is almost over, and it was quite a year!
MOUNTAINS!!! ...from a mountain. So meta.
If you haven’t read my previous posts there’s the one big, giant thing that happened. We moved to New Mexico!
Suggestion...?
Why New Mexico? Well, we were looking at Colorado. Colorado has big mountains. Turns out, New Mexico has big mountains - not quite as big - as well, and the cost of living is lower. But the big catalyst was that my sister got a job in New Mexico, so that made the pivot much, much easier.
I mean... we can still see Colorado, right?
We have been away from Iowa for a decade. In that time, most of my family has moved away from there, and some of Gabe’s family. And as far as I can tell, the weather is still kinda bleh there. No offense, Iowans, but I hate humidity. And while I like snow, I also like sun.
I can see mountains from my house!!
Guess what New Mexico has? All that. Except for the humidity. Okay, not nearly as much snow, but that’s okay. The sky is a perfect blue outside my window as I write this!
There’s also this thing where no one really visited us in Pennsylvania. We had beautiful, wonderful friends and neighbors there, but it really did come down to missing family. And the weather. I was on the struggle bus every winter there. Pittsburgh is one of the least sunny places in the United States. New Mexico? One of the sunniest.
See! It snows! Amiright??
Don't worry. We're still a little weird.
We really miss our friends and neighbors in PA, but definitely recommend they come and visit us in NM! We’ve already had a few visitors, and we’ve only been here since May!
Popo came to visit and we went and looked at some petroglyphs!
Okay. What else? Well, that was the biggest thing. Oh! And we sold our house and bought a house, and then my sister bought a house and now we own half of the New Mexico real estate. Kidding….
Most of the last months in PA were spent getting the house ready. Selling the house. The deal fell through. And then a better buyer comes along. Phew!
Daisy! Woot!
There are beautiful plants here, they're just different.
Yikes!
Since we’ve been here, we’ve done some hiking and been to Petroglyph National Monument - it’s about a 20 minute drive - and gone up to the top of the Sandia Mountains on the Tramway. Definitely recommend! Even though it was foggy looking out over Albuquerque that day. Still a fun time! We also went to the Balloon Fiesta and watched a mass ascension. 500-600 balloons going up in 2 hours as we stood on the field among them and ohmigosh it was so freaking cool. That’s in October every year, if you’re thinking of visiting! The weather is beautiful and BALLOONS!! Although there really are balloons up a lot here. Just about every day we see one flying over. It’s really cool.
Like... wow. Just so many balloons!!
Like... so cool!!
Ohmigosh the Balloon Fiesta was fun!!
Ok. I gotta try it soon...
At the beginning of 2022 I also became an employee with White Coat Captioning. It’s been a great year working for them, and I hope to continue in the future. Admittedly, becoming a W-2 employee certainly helped us buy this house. Although I would have made it work as an independent contractor as well. It was way easier with a glowing employer recommendation and paystubs.
The tiny door over the garage going to the furnace. Weird. Ok.
Monsters are among us here.
Gabe has been working on becoming a home inspector. There have been a lot of bumps in the road, though, as we moved, and then I proceeded to make him paint a lot and do house stuff. And we currently have a leak in the roof of the garage. It’s a 30-year-old house with a flat roof. I still think we got a deal on it though.
2022 also had heartbreak for a lot of people. I’m still trying to come up with a fitting tribute for Lucy. The easiest one is always “fuck cancer” - she wasn’t much for swearing, but when she’d say that? The most adorable “fuck cancer” ever uttered. My heart is breaking for her family and I hope they are doing okay.
Our last time together. She was so beautiful in every way.
My heart is also breaking for another family who lost a loved one this past summer. Please, if you feel like your life isn’t worth continuing, call 988. Because you are loved. I promise you.
Birdie!! Coopers hawk.
For immediate family, aka, dogs, Edie had decided to hurt herself a little in the hips and neck, so she was on bedrest for a time. Arthur didn’t care. He only walks for cookies. But then he had a lump on his back, and it turned out to be a little sarcoma. Pathology says benign/clear margins. But as Lucy would say: Fuck cancer!
These two seems to like it here. yay!
Anyway, he's been wearing little shirts for a while. He is a nudist, and gets very frustrated because he can’t smoothly manipulate blankets because the shirt catches on them. Lots of frustrated little grunts. I know, buddy, I know. As soon as your hair grows back, you can run around naked again.
Edie doesn't have to wear clothes. She doesn't care either way though.
I'm CUTE. Oh, yes.
I just... I am adorable.
And then another thing just happened yesterday. That was December 10th. The story starts a long while ago, but culminated in a Facebook post by Sandoval County Animal Control on December 7th looking for a foster, some vodka - maybe gin too? - on December 7th and a promise. I promise to only foster. If we fail, it’s not my choice. And an application on December 8th, and a call that evening, and December 9th at 1pm, a dog being brought to our home with a crate and food and a bed.
Anyway, this is Chloe. Or something. She doesn’t respond to that name at all, and we’re working on that. Or we’ll change her name.
Hi! Do you have food???
She was dumped. As one does with a mama dog and her puppies. Three puppies came into the shelter with her. Judging by her dangly boobies - she had way more. Hers are bigger ones than either Edie or I have - haha! The shelter was able to find a rescue to take the babies, but not mama. She’s emaciated and has yellow eyes and a nondescript brown color. I do not fault them for breaking them up a little early. They are full to the point of maybe having to euthanize dogs, and I absolutely know that they do not want to do that.
Chloe is way too freaking skinny.
In her short time in the actual shelter, she slit her leg open trying to get out of her cage, so she has to wear a cone unless we can monitor her so she doesn’t chew on her stitches. They itch. She also isn’t allowed in our backyard without a leash because she’s pretty athletic. I will not be the foster that loses their foster doggo!!
Sweet lovin'? Ok!
We went on a walk today, and she doesn’t seem to really understand a leash, but also isn’t terrible with it. She’s a little nervous just walking out of doors into the outside. I mean, when someone dumps you and your babies, I don’t blame you at all. So far she appears to be fully potty trained and appears willing to learn. Our goal is to get her crate trained - I want to go see the lights at the botanic gardens! - and put 6-10 lbs on her. I believe she will be quite beautiful - regal even - when she’s at a normal weight and has gotten her muscle mass back. She’ll be fixed as soon as they can get her in, and she’ll never have to worry about babies ever again.
TREATS!!!
Sorry so much about that, but that’s what’s happening now.
2022 was uneventful for our health, so that was good. I did have an MRI a few weeks ago on a Sunday - yes, a Sunday - but that appears to be a non-event. Yay! We also got electric bikes, so we’ve been going out and riding. We even went for a ride after Thanksgiving, and might do more because it’s cool outside, but the sun makes it ok. The wind is the only issue, but a good windbreaker takes care of that. It’s been fun rolling around and getting to know our area. We often ride to the library - we have two in less than 2 miles - to grab my book club books.
We got ebikes! Love them. This was about a 3 minute ride from home. Not bad!
Oh! We also had solar installed on our house here. Just waiting for the electric company to turn it on. Come on, PNM! And we have eaten an incredible amount of Hatch green chili since we have been here. It’s so freaking good. Even on Dion’s pizza. I’m serious. We are a green chili household, through and through.
Look! An Amanda in a hammock! And Arthur too!
I hope your 2022 went well, and that you did fun stuff. I hope that 2023 is awesome, and don’t forget to go outside and take a walk! Cheers!
It was our first Halloween in our new house! We left all of our big props in Pennsylvania - gave them away to a local Halloween lover - and so we needed to start anew!
Getting ready for Halloween!
We had a deck out back that was for a pool that has been relocated to a shed at my sister’s house, so we started removing the deck. The neighbor was very happy, bonus! Gabe was really happy with all the different types of screws the deck was built with. As he’s been removing it, he’s out there with a drill in each hand, and sometimes it’s a different type of screw so he still has to change the bits. He’s really loving it*! *Sarcasm in use.
Hi! Halloween is the best.
Anyway, because we were destroying a deck, we had lots of scrap wood. So… we made a few things. Giant paper mache pumpkin man:
Pumpkin man!!
And a coffin:
Yes, we are the normal neighbors. Totally normal.
We also found an old chair behind the garage that had been left by the previous homeowners, so we put a dude on the roof of the garage, and also built gallows to hang baskets with skeletons and bones in:
Yes. Totally normal.
All in all, a pretty successful first attempt at Halloween in our new home. And everything comes apart. Except the coffin, but maybe we’ll use it for storage or something?
We also went through a variety of costumes to make sure the neighbors knew we were serious:
Normal neighbors doing normal things.
Day 2? 3? ...or normal.
Halloween night was not super busy, but I believe that’s because another neighborhood in our area has put it out that they are the Halloween place. That’s fine. I have leftover Reese’s still. Winning!! Yes, we do full-size candy bars. That was one of my goals in life: Be the house that hands out full-size candy bars.
All set up! We were told trick or treat is like 4pm to next week or something.
Done.
Walkies ftw!!
To catch you up on my health - we found a nurse practitioner in the area to see for a regular doctor. It’s a monthly fee, but then you have access to the PA or a doctor 24/7. We’ll still have to keep regular insurance too because I also found an oncologist at the University of New Mexico. She listened to all my concerns and I had an MRI on Sunday. Yes, Sunday. All appears to be well except my neck is getting old or something.
Pumpkin Man all dressed up for the night.
Obviously I know how to read MRI reports very well. Anyway, no metastasis is always a good thing, and hopefully I’ll be ‘in the clear’ in 2023 from triple negative breast cancer. It’s most likely to reoccur within 3 years of diagnosis.
The reason we are here. My sister. Yay!
Almost there.
Yes. We are 100% normal.
I also had acupuncture on my neck and it seemed to help a lot, so I’m thankful for that and will perhaps go again soon. Did you know acupuncture was illegal in the United States until 1973? Crazy. I highly recommend it. It’s not going to cure cancer, but it has helped all of my issues with pain to date.
I’m working on a blog about my friend Lucy. We had the same type of cancer, except hers wasn’t caught until it had metastasized and was stage 4. She died at the beginning of October, and I’ve been trying to work through how to honor her as best I can. Words seem not enough, but I’ll do my best.
Going for a bike ride. Dressed totally normal.
Hopefully I’ll get that done before Thanksgiving.
Boo!
Welcome to our normal home!
Hug the people you love every day. Promise me you’ll do that. And vote in every election. We did! Woot!
Two days ago we saw a dust devil while we were out riding our ebikes. They pop up and make little dust tornadoes. If you get in the middle of one, you’ll get sandblasted a bit, but you’ll be fine. They’re fun to watch dance around. This one went across a parking lot and then onto a baseball diamond where it found more dust to play with. We moved on then, heading home from a 6 mile ride around the area to get out for some exercise and fresh air.
The weather here. It’s been pretty great! We are at the tail end of monsoon season at the moment. That means there are pop-up showers, usually in the afternoon or evening now, sometimes. You can see the rain in the distance because the sky is huge. Sometimes it rains here. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it rains at my sister’s house, 6 miles away, and nothing here or vice versa. It’s new weather for us, and it’s nice to enjoy the rain again. There’s usually a rainbow somewhere after it passes.
A rainbow!!
The monsoons can also be dangerous. The ground takes a bit to absorb the water, so the arroyos - basically open air storm drains - can get full and create temporary rivers. People die in arroyos here every year. The best way to avoid that is just to avoid the arroyos when it’s raining. Easy peasy!
Now, I want to talk about the weather in Florida. Hurricane Ian is barreling toward Tampa at the moment. But when a storm of that size hits Florida, everyone gets rain and storms and power outages. My oldest sister lives there, as well as many dear friends. I worry about them during these times especially. I can’t imagine living somewhere that had a storm like that coming knowing there was nothing I could do to escape, or that my home might be destroyed and insurance - assuming I have it or could afford it - would probably not cover a lot of it because they just don’t. Insurance is a business. If they are losing money, they pull out of a market.
Kinda like health care. Because we should definitely base how much to pay for someone’s care based on how much money a business is set to make for shareholders.
Anyway.
Florida. There is a program there called Rebuild Florida. It’s a federal program put into place for all the people who had home damage after Hurricane Irma and had no insurance - any home over 20 years old in Florida is basically uninsurable or prohibitively expensive to insure - that’s why the rich people along the coast in Naples who want to sell raze their homes and sell the land for more than it would be with the home on it. So the new people can build a new home. It’s insanity x 1 million.
Also, FEMA didn’t help a lot of people that it probably should have. But some other dude was President at that time, so not unexpected.
Anyway, my sister’s home was damaged. Roof leak. Sewer backed up. Pretty bad. Needed a lot of repairs.
I’m not sure on exactly the timeline for this, but eventually this program came available, but the caveat is that in order to be in the program, you can do zero repairs to your home. So, if you need a new tarp placed while you’re waiting, the program has to do it.
They never did it. She tried to get someone to help - she’s like me… we don’t do roofs! - Nothing. I don’t even know how long there’s been no tarp on her roof.
It’s now 5 years after Irma and another big hurricane is hitting, and I’m worried that her home will cave in on her. What was damage that could be fixed is now deemed by the program to be a tear down and rebuild. So many people have been stuck in limbo with this program. Sometimes they’d tear down a mobile home, and eventually bring a new one, except they couldn’t get it hooked up to, oh, power and such, so the resident couldn’t move back in. They’re living in hotels.
This program has been so poorly run, I feel the government of Florida should all face a lawsuit and be found personally liable to pay back all the money they’ve wasted. They’ve had people in hotels for a year waiting on their homes. They have far too many people living in unsafe homes - including my sister - for years waiting for help.
They’re playing with peoples’ lives. It has to stop.
Or, if you don’t care about human lives, maybe realize it’s a complete utter waste of your tax dollars.
Please pray, send good thoughts, do a little dance, whatever you do when you’re thinking of others and hoping for the best for them for everyone in Florida this week. Hopefully they make it through this storm.
Seriously. I know I haven’t posted since COVID, which… my bad. Sorry. I’m doing okay. So far, I don‘t think I’ve got any long COVID symptoms, but it did take us both a *really* long time to recover. And.. I don’t want to get it again. So, if you want to see my smiling face any time in the near future, it is going to be outside. I’ll do things inside, but will wear a mask.
We got ebikes! Love them. This was about a 3 minute ride from home. Not bad!
Why?
Because you can get COVID again, and again, and again. And you’re supposed to wait 3 months after an infection to get a booster. So, I’m looking at mid-October to get a booster and a flu shot.
I am ADORABLE.
A lot has been going on besides that. We’re starting to figure out how we want to make our new house awesome. We’re riding our e-bikes. For someone who wants to bike and hasn’t got the stamina - or who hasn’t been on a bike in 20 years like me - they’re great! Highly recommend.
We got the flooring done in my sister’s house! And she was finally able to have living room furniture and they are all moved in. Yay!
We've been doing stuff! The Sandia Tramway is pretty cool!
We also lost a friend this summer. We don’t know what happened, really, but I want you to remember: you are loved. Okay? Please don’t forget that. You are loved, and I want you here for as long as your natural life allows.
There are a lot of things going on in the world, so please remember to take care of yourself. Also, please remember to be kind to each other. Oh! And fascists ban books.
Remember: Don't forget to stop and shove your head in a plant sometimes. I think that's the saying...
Yep. After avoiding it since surgery in March 2020, we’ve caught the COVID. Thankfully, both of us seem to have the ‘it’s just a cold!’ variety - although what kind of f’ed up colds these people are getting? I don’t want to know. Anyway, I think after about four days of being pretty bleh we’re starting to be on the mend.
Looking a little worse for the wear, but overall happy to be healthy enough to work... I think?
I mean, I have enough energy to blog and I worked for like 3 minutes earlier. Must be better! (Cough, cough)
It sucks. Thank goodness we are 3x vaccinated. I’d like to have been boosted, but it appears that I’m reacting as expected so far. As long as I keep on this trajectory, I should be better soon.
The doggos don’t take pity on us, though, so we have been out every day for walkies. I’m not complaining. Not with views like these...
It's just so pretty here... I can't even...
WE DEMAND WALKIES!!!
I will keep masking. I never stopped. We probably picked it up second hand from family, but that’s okay. I said that was how I was going to get it, and… ta-da! COVID is rampant and as much as people want to believe it’s ‘just a cold’ - it’s not. It can hurt you in ways we don’t understand fully yet. I wish everyone would start masking again and that public health departments at the local, state, and federal level would take it more seriously before we lose more people who would be fine if they just hadn’t gotten COVID.
Unfortunately, being sick has delayed my attempt to get a new oncologist, so I’ll be a little behind on my checkups, but hopefully will get in by August to see someone.
In other news, we helped my sister buy a house for her and the kids! We worked really hard on it over the 4th of July weekend before husband and I crapped out with COVID. Sigh. It’s a cute little place on a half acre that feels like it’s in the middle of nowhere, but it’s only 12 minutes from our house. Easy drive!
Child labor for wall removal. Highly recommend!
We have ripped out all the carpets, left the tile, ordered vinyl waterproof flooring, and the painting is happening. I hate tack strips and am trying to figure out if they used too much glue or not enough glue to stick up some flooring on a wall over the tub. Anyway, that’s gone. As is the bad crown molding - hint, it wasn’t crown molding… - in the bathroom.
...after completion of child labor.
I have to admit, her view is better than ours. But that’s okay. Our houses each have perks!
Sister's view. Not bad... not bad at all...
I’m pondering buying land in The Way Out for the future country home, but we’ll see.
It’s monsoon season here!! That means it was cloudy for approximately two days. The other days it might have rained and was cloudy some and then moved on. It’s pretty amazing that we can get .25 inches of rain and the arroyos - basically the storm sewers, but more like dry streambeds most of the time - are flooded and some places are dangerous to drive. We are high and dry here, though, so no problem. We were able to stop watering the grass for about a week, so that was cool.
Monsoon season rainbow!!
We are now back to watering the grass. It’s only a small patch, but if we don’t water it, it will quickly die.
We had a nice 4th before the COVID was revealed.
All in all, we still love it here! I can’t wait to feel better so we can go hiking or something fun like that again. Of course I got sick when my work schedule lightened up for a bit. Plus side: Don’t miss any work. Down side: Don’t have any fun stuff outside of work because I’m sleeping.
I am two years out from surgery now, and my latest oncology appointment and surgeon appointment were uneventful. Blood work was in line, nothing glaringly obvious on exam. Make it through one more year and I can maybe start to breathe easier. Triple negative breast cancers are most likely to reoccur within the first three years. Fingers crossed!
Some other stuff has happened since I last wrote. We, ah, moved from Pennsylvania to New Mexico!
I had a slight foreshadow in my previous post: The Mountains are Calling, and I Must Go. But I honestly thought we would be moving to Colorado. Well… plans change. Because family says, “I”m movin’ to New Mexico!” and I’m like… ok! So, we pivoted.
Off we go!
But still. What? Ohmigosh!
When we moved to Pennsylvania at the end of 2012 for me to begin a career as a captioner, we knew it wasn’t the place we’d land for forever. We honestly thought we’d stay for 2-3 years and then head west. Or to London. Or something. Somewhere else. Not because we didn’t like it, but because of the family thing + the mountains there are too old for me. I like younger mountains. (Younger mountains are taller - Everest is a baby)
Well, we ended up staying for almost 9.5 years. Why? Because we were comfortable. We had a beautiful home. We had the absolute best neighbors ever and many friends. Pennsylvania is very beautiful.
We were all really close for the 24 hour drive.
But.
The urge to go had never left my heart. Especially in the winter when I would suffer from some pretty bad seasonal depression. I was on 5000 IU of Vitamin D. That’s twice what would normally be prescribed. Yes, that was prescribed by my doctor. It kept me at almost baseline, but the best solution for Vitamin D deficiency is and always be something I could not get in Pennsylvania on a consistent basis: sunshine!
Shoulda kept the Fit... seen in Texas.
Well, if New Mexico has one thing in plenty, it’s sunshine! With 310 days of sunshine per year compared to 160 for the Pittsburgh area, that is a huge change. I already am feeling better physically. I make sure to go outside every day for a bit even if I’m working too much (it’s commencement season!) so that I get a nice hit of the sun. It’s wonderful.
Almost there, you two!
We’ve also had a few adventures already and so many green chile salsas. Red vs green chile is a huge thing here, although I think we are both leaning toward green at the moment. My dear husband got to do something he could never do in Pennsylvania already: He flew a kite. Try it if you can. It’s very zen. I could just sit there and watch kites do their thing for hours. He also has a trick kite that we’ll get out soon. I’m not really allowed to fly it because all I do is crash it. Oops.
Kite!!
We see hot air balloons several days a week flying out of the Albuquerque area. Pretty cool!
See...mountains. Not from our house, but from a park!
And… I can see mountains from our house. Yes.
We totally bid on a house that I found on Realtor.com site unseen. It needs some updating - we already updated part of the air conditioning - but we got it for almost $15,000 under list in this market. Woot! We closed at the beginning of May and have been in our new home for just over two weeks now.
I really love it.
Walkies have been super fun!
It’s also enormous. Oops.
I’m excited for so many new adventures. First, we’ll have face-melting heat over the summer, and then the more temperate fall-spring months. It will probably snow - yes, it snows here! And we’ll see a bit of rain in the monsoon season - July, we have been told. I’m looking forward to hiking in the Sandia Mountains. Even just walking around our neighborhood and the park nearby has been fun. So. Many. Parks.
Mountains.
It has pretty much what I wanted in Colorado but with more reasonable house prices and less snow. The sunshine was the most important thing.
So, this is the beginning of a new chapter. I am thankful for the previous chapters. I miss my friends in Pennsylvania and Iowa, but I really hope we get more visitors here than we did in Pennsylvania! Y’all missed a lotta cool stuff there, by the way. I still recommend a visit, you just can’t crash with us!
We have a cactus in the front yard!!
Unless you come to New Mexico, then I’m sure we’ll find a room for you in some wing of this enormous house.
Hugs and love to those we left behind. I won’t forget you. I promise.
Never, ever be afraid to follow your dreams.
Hello from New Mexico! We walked here from our house, yes.
...2021. Where to start? At the beginning? Maybe… or not. The beginning was much like 2020. Lockdown. Avoiding everyone. It’s kind of ending that way too due to Omicron and the complete lack of masks in most places around here.
So, the pandemic was kinda long...
With that being said, there was a lot of fun in 2021! I worked too much - that’s a given - but we also got to do some really fun stuff.
Work, work, work!
The first thing that was accomplished in 2021 was three bathroom remodels. This was made possible by 2020 being ridiculously busy for work, a home equity line of credit, and not having to meet a $7000 medical deductible in 2021. We got a nice shower. I got my freestanding tub. All is well in the world.
Did we install this right? Maybe?
Most exciting part though? WE FOUND A POCKET DOOR. Okay. Todd found a pocket door while demoing the weird door frame on our master bathroom. Thanks, Todd!
Beautiful tile that costs not that much? Sign me up!
We are still in the process of refinishing the pocket door and also making it so that if you close it all the way you don’t get locked in the bathroom, but to say I’m excited is an understatement. The entire time we’ve lived in this house I’ve always mused about a secret pocket door hiding somewhere. Found it!
We also put up a barn door for the hall bath. I found a great deal on closeout doors or ‘someone marked this wrong’ doors that included the hardware. It only took us 1.5 months from buying to putting together to installing.
This is why we hired someone to do most of the bathroom work.
Beer and Asiatic lily. You can see more @gardenales on Instagram!
In the nicer weather, even up to this past weekend, we’ve been able to hang out with friends outside and have an impressive number of pizza parties. It’s always nice to hang out and catch up with neighbors and friends.
And Edie was the mascot for Woofstock Dog Party in the Park! She had fun. Arthur just vomited in the car both ways. That’s his M.O.
Edie was excited about leading the parade. Probably. Or just excited about sniffs...
This year also involved some travel! You heard that right! N95 masks on planes and in airports - didn’t pass out once! Woot! And a bit of driving as well. We didn’t wear N95s while driving in the car together though.
A tiny toad! We always save lives when we can. Because dogs.
Tiny leaf.
NATURE. This snake was in our yard. All good.
I think we need a bigger feeder...?
Saving lives.
The first big trip was the trip I’d been training for since fall of 2020. I went to San Diego with Project Athena and walked 52-ish miles with an amazing group of humans. You can read all about this adventure here:
This adventure introduced me to what I call my Athena Sisters. Mostly cancer survivors or thrivers. A group of badass women who I am excited to travel through life with. I’ll get back to them later though!
Making music! With a little help....
This year marked our 10-year wedding anniversary and 20 years together. Crap. What? Seriously, time is flying by. To commemorate this milestone we went back to where the whole married thing started: Las Vegas!
That’s right. We got married in Vegas 10 years ago this summer and didn’t tell anyone. Unfortunately, we missed my brother’s wedding to his beautiful wife - CONGRATULATIONS!!! - because of our travel, but it was an awesome trip!
Amanda holding up rocks.
Rocks. Pictures of rocks.
Rocks.
And then in Vegas we wandered off into the desert. Because why not?
We did the normal Vegas things - hiked a bit in the Valley of Fire and Red Rocks.
Mmmm....
Some Implied Chicken, anyone? Omega Mart is a challenge to shop in for sure...
Went to Meow Wolf.
Meow Wolf!?
Mmmm... interesting stuff at Omega Mart in Vegas!
Meow Wolf. No. We didn't finish. But we had fun!
Dam. That dam is a big dam.
Cool switchback by the Hoover Dam!
Lake Mead! It's low.
Went to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.
Ate a lot of tacos. Saw some art. Pinball Museum. And then we ended the trip differently than last time. The first time I was there for a conference, and he stayed. I’d come back to the room, and he’d be bundled up in bed with the air on ‘arctic freeze’ and watching Asian TV in whatever language was being spoken with no subtitles. This time I was also to attend the same conference, but I shipped the hubby home. We have kids at home now, after all. Sure, they’re four-legged and hairy, but still.
The Pinball Museum. It's very subtle.
Pinball innards.
So, I stayed and spoke at my conference and avoided everyone because cases were rising in Vegas sharply and mask mandates had gone back into effect while we were there. We wore our masks whenever we were around people anyway, so it was the same for us. Oh! We still do.
That was the end of July. August 1 I turned 40 again, so that was cool. Pandemic birthdays don’t count.
BIL and SIL sent us some Iowa faves! Woot!
Fall was insanely busy with work, as usual, so it’s mostly a blur for me until we got to Thanksgiving week. That week we drove to the Quad Cities of Iowa - but not all the way to Des Moines, sorry, guys - and met our newest niece! She’s 1. She's adorable. She’s very popular with four-legged family members. It was nice to see Gabe’s family and to meet her. And I’m not gonna lie - avoiding that additional 3 hour drive to Des Moines? It’s a killer. I invite anyone from Des Moines to visit us in Pennsylvania and tell us it was an easy drive.
Pondering the meaning of life.
Edie beagle. We love her so much.
I did a C25K this fall - Couch to 5k - for fun and because I keep saying I want to run. I got up to 30 minutes of ‘running’ - I’m not fast - and did not die, so I feel if I maybe keep doing it, someday I’ll be able to actually run a 5k in 30 minutes!
Strike a pose! Haircuts were happening less in pandemic times, but... Pandemic hair, don't care! Woot!
Note to self: Get back to running since you stopped three weeks ago… oops.
He cooks for me. I love that.
The next trip saw me leaving the family at home and flying to Tampa, Florida. Why? For a Mud Run with my Athena Sisters! We rented a house and I was there Thursday to Monday, Mud Run was on Saturday, and there was a heated pool and it was just an awesome little vacation. It’s amazing that you can meet a group of people once and just be friends like we are now. Bonded by something ethereal, yet real.
It was great to see them all again and to meet a few of their kids. We are trying to figure out the next adventure and where to go. I hope we can make something happen in 2022 again!
This is Lucy. She's pretty badass.
Yes, it was heated. Totes went swimming!
We ran for approximately 100 yards in total, and not all of us, just the slow ones who kept falling behind the fast walkers - you know who you are - and - Hi! Love, the slow walkers.
Mud Run? Yes. There wasn't too much mud though. It was Florida!
We still have one more trip to go this year - a quick jaunt to NYC to see Book of Mormon - and then the rest of the year will be quietly spent at home.
This year had challenges and wins. Sadness and joy. We lost people we loved. We made new friends. My football team was distinctly average yet somehow ended up in the Big Ten Championship.
Indian Rocks Beach is perfect on a Sunday morning.
Watching for bunnies...
Why am I here? Health checkup, silly boy! We all have to do it.
For 2022 there may be some big changes on the horizon, but I want you to know that if you are reading this - you are loved. Even if you stumbled across it while googling ‘Tatas.’
Nom noms were never a problem in our house!
To a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous New Year!
Now here are a bunch of photos of our flowers! Ha! And noms.
Iris. We have a lot of flowers. See?
Foxglove! They're cool.
These flowers are pretty cool...
WE LOVE FLOWERS!!
FLOWER!!! Daffodil.
A different kind of daylily. Cool...
Daylily = amazing variety! Highly recommend.
Grape hyacinth. Pretty sure. These are all in our garden by the way.
Asiatic lily. The flowers that make all the other flowers feel inadequate.
Before I get started writing something poetic, the update: I had my yearly physical *and* my oncology appointment within a few weeks of each other. My bloodwork from my physical came back that my triglycerides are heading off on a voyage to space. My vitamin D is still low - back to OD’ing. My calcium was pretty high - that’s bad. Stopped my supplements for now. And my oncology blood work showed me fighting something, probably, maybe, and upon telling my oncologist about my triglycerides, he asked me what I’m eating.
Oooo!! Scary.
Cake. For every meal. Obviously.
New look!
It’s all a little frustrating because I’ve been working out most days along with walking the dogs unless work is too nuts. On those days I sit too much. Admitted. I’ve been doing a couch to 5K - C25K - and I’m up to 25 minutes running without stopping. It’s not fast, but I’m cruising along at up to an average mile of 4.4 mph. Woohoo! For someone who hasn’t run since high school? Not bad.
But today I wanted to write something more poetic. There has been a lot of pain and loss among my friends and family lately. Joy as well, but some of the pain is very close to my heart. And it never is a good time when people you love are hurting. Or they’re done hurting and have moved on to what I hope is a freaky awesome party in another place with lots of dogs running around.
Fall is beautiful.
And I got my Pfizer booster! Woot! Get vaccinated/boosted. It looks like they’re close to a pill to prevent serious illness as well, so that’s pretty sweet!
So. Fall.
Family photo!
The first inkling of the change that is about to occur is the leaves. Some begin to change in August because they’re so over it and want to be ready for the first round of raking as soon as possible. Others hold on into November, December, January… are surprised by the new leaves sprouting in March.
That’s a different story.
Gorgeous.
And the sunlight. It’s slow at first, the lessening yet brightening of the sun beating down on us as we move about on this Earth. As the days get shorter, the light becomes more intense. When you are commuting to work, there’s a moment when you and everyone around you are completely blinded by the sun for a moment. It wasn’t there before. It’s there now. Sunglasses. Visors.
A totally normal Halloween walk.
As the days get shorter and shorter, more of the leaves join the early adopters. They turn a multitude of colors - yellow, orange, red - and then many change to brown as they release from the trees to join the raking game that is played. They think it’s fun. Sometimes the homeowners think it’s fun - look for videos of kids and dogs romping and jumping in leaf piles. It’s pure joy.
New dog sitter.
This year it was hot. Until it was not. 80 degrees. 29 degrees. Within a few weeks. No, that’s not normal.
The pines resist the change, maintaining their evergreen. Except some. Some are turning brown. Dying. Except it’s not some anymore. It’s many. They’re sick. No, that’s not normal.
The air starts to change. Where we live now the change is different than where we grew up. It smells different. It’s not good or bad. Just different.
Partial family photo.
The temperatures will go up and down, and all around. And perhaps snow will show up before fall is completely done. We are now past the frightening Halloween season. Our house was festive. It’s a temporary art installment to make others smile. I think it works. It’s pretty spooky. Plus, I got a hold of spray paint this year so there were some big changes. And flamingos.
Fall is a beautiful season. My favorite. Except this fall is and has been bittersweet. I worry about the futures. The ones I can shape and those I cannot. I worry about the people I love. Some are in places where they should be happy and joyful, but because of the politicization of an airborne illness they’re in danger daily. Some are living each day to its fullest as much as they can. We should all be doing that. Get with it, yo.
Alright then...
Next winter will come, and the only thing I can guarantee are a plethora of fake Christmas trees and flamingos. Because we still have spray paint.
And joy. Because you are loved. And if you’re reading this, I’m going to assume you love me. Or are plotting my downfall. One of those.
Even if you stumbled across it while googling ‘Tatas.’
