It's the most wonderful time of the year....

Still relishing the word "undetectable".

It's pouring rain sideways and is cold!  Gotta love New England.  I think there's a Nor'easter stuck off the coast and we're getting pounded.  Can't complain since it's been such a beautiful summer, and I think the weekend is supposed to be hot again.

Best back to school commercial ever.  

13 days til I go back to reality and have to be out of bed by 6 am if I have any chance of getting to school on time.  Ugh.  Today, I dozed on and off until the clock said 10:39 am.  At that rate, I'd be in my 4th class of the day.  This could be a problem Houston!  I'm so grateful that I had the summer to basically do nothing, zip, zilch, nada. I have a bag of school stuff that is starting to call my name louder and louder since it's feeling so neglected after all this lack of attention.  I'm meeting up with some teachers next week to do some planning, and I have to put my room together.  And update my syllabus. And reply to an email from guidance from a kid who is supposedly stuck in Cape Verde without her summer AP work packet and doesn't know what to do.  I can't really help her since the packet was photocopied...welcome to the real world honey!
And I'm still doing some shopping for supplies--found big blocks of construction paper for $1 at Target!!  Woo hoo!

If I reread that last statement, it's pretty sad that construction paper is exciting to me.  But, since this is the start of my 21st year in teaching, I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm still excited by school supplies.  I have most of my shopping done, but not all of it.  Post-it notes and colored pens simply make me giddy.

 Aside from school prep, I have to keep reminding myself sometimes that my body really has gone through a lot in the last six months, and the doctors said it would take at least a year for things to calm down. The surgeon said it can take a year just to recover from general anesthesia alone, never mind the missing gland and bits that went out with the gland.   Even the RAI is still working for up to a year after the dose!  That is amazing.  I can picture the little radioactive iodine globs zipping around, seeking and destroying any and all thyroid cell remnants.  (insert evil laugh here)

As for the Tums issue, I found some yummy gummy fruity calcium chews that don't create the hungry horrors.  Now I just have to remember to take them.

So, even though I look semi-normal, there is a lot of crazy stuff going on inside.  What's going on in my head is another story for another day, although you'd probably get images of folders, staplers and post-it notes with Spanish pop music in the background.

Undetectable!!

Thank you St. Peregrine!  Enjoy the rest of your summer and take a break! 

Amazing--Dr. N is on vacation and I get the results the next day.  TSH is at 0.15, putting me solidly in the hyperactive zone.  Thyroglobulin is negative, or undetectable.  So no cancer lurking in there at the moment!  I didn't get to talk to Dr. N, and the person who called me with the results didn't seem too thrilled with my questions.  However, she was much nicer than receptionist lady.  I need to come up with a name for that one.

Funny thing is over the years I've always felt pretty good once I slipped into the hyper zone, and Dr. N would sigh and tell me I was one of her few "strange" patients who reported feeling good there. I'd beg her to stay there, and she'd go down the laundry list of reasons why I couldn't.  I can't remember the list, but the reasons weren't good--heart stuff I think.  I guess it's a fine line between suppression and hyperness, and I hope I don't cross over the line too much more.  They want to keep the TSH between .01 and .02 to suppress the cancer since it can thrive on higher TSH levels.

Levoxyl dose will stay at .125  for now.  Seems odd to me that it's the same dose I was on pre-surgery, and that I don't need more hormone now that the thyroid is gone.  That makes me wonder if my thyroid was functioning at all in the year leading up to the TT.  Other people on the Thyca forums report being on double and triple my dose.

I don't care what I'm taking as long as the word "undetectable" keeps coming up.
Today is a good day!  Do I dare say that I'm starting to feel normal again?

Hey St. Peregrine....

Back at home today for another round of bloodwork--TSH and Thyroglobulin check.  I've already had a chat with St. Peregrine, telling him that it would be great to hear the word "undetectable" again.  He's doing well and it seems like he's having a pretty good summer.

Gives you something to think about, no?

I called Dr. N's office to let them know that I would be waiting for labs, and it turns out she's on vacation until the first week of September.  I love Dr. N, but the main person answering her phones can be soooo bitchy.  Even when I try to be really nice, she's snippy.  I'm all for forgiving for a bad day, but this poor woman is this way every time I call.  She's not much better in person.  I wonder if doctors really understand what the front office staff are like?   I was informed that I might hear from her before September since she's checking things and "might" call me, but she might not.

I'm feeling pretty close to normal this week in terms of being tired or not.  Still having trouble remembering things at various times, or keeping up with conversation topics (that can be so embarrassing).  Been living off of a huge variety of Moulton's produce--tried Kohlrabi for the first time, and I liked it!  It looks like something you'd find in outer space.  I ate it raw and haven't tried to cook it yet.  Sis' garden is still there and I don't think I killed anything.  In fact I've eaten a head of broccoli, three cucumbers and two jalapeno peppers.  Yum.

Now I just have to add physical activity to my routine.

Other than that, my time in the 603 was pretty good.  Mookie is turning into a bigger lovebug than I thought he would be, and he's so damn cute.  O'Malley is fine, and Clancy is, well, Clancy.  He growled and hissed at me all morning, tried to snuggle and then started growling again.  I also spent some bittersweet time with some of mom's friends.  Bittersweet because it was great to catch up with these "extra mothers" in my life, but my mom wasn't there with us, and she should have been there.  So frustrating and an excruciating reminder of her absence.  We swapped some good stories, so there was some laughter in there.

Sis is bombing her way thru Maine tonight and should be home tonight.  I had a weird suspicion that she'd she'd be back today.  Clancy will be happy to see her.  I hope he doesn't growl at her.

Summertime and the eatin' is amazing

Heaven, I'm in heaven....thanks to Moulton's and their amazing farm stand.

Tonight's dinner was a locavore's delight, and pretty healthy.  Mr. Wonderful didn't make it up here in time to eat it last night, so we had it today.  With the exception of the mushrooms and the marinade, everything else came either from the farm or Sis' garden.

Inside Moulton's farm stand

Marinated tenderloin on the grill
Fresh corn on the cob--and I mean fresh--the ears had just been added to the pile from the field!
Fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil salad (basil from Sis' garden) with balsamic vinegar
Freshly steamed green beans
Fresh green salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes from the farm and broccoli from Sis' garden
Sauteed onions and baby portabello mushrooms with fresh parsley (parsley from Sis' garden)

Dessert was fresh strawberries, blueberries and native peaches

Everything was bursting with color, and sooooooo delicious.
Figured it would be a boost to the immune system, right?  I wish we could eat like this all year.

Highlight of my day tomorrow (I hope):  harvesting broccoli and cucumbers from the garden!   Plus another trip to Moulton's for more fresh corn.

Video: GRANITE STATE OF MIND (Jay-Z Parody - The SSP)

Pretty funny....

Back in the 603

I'm back up north!  Not doing much except updating my lovely blog and snuggling with O'Malley. He's curled up next to me, snoring and making funny noises.  Clancy has already hissed at me once, and Mookie is in exile.  I think he's under the bed somewhere.

And I don't have much to update from the past week, other than more health complaints about my apparently lazy-ass immune system.  I should not have a cold in August, and don't tell me it's allergies.  Unless you can suddenly out of nowhere develop allergies at 41?  I've been taking vitamins and really trying to eat good stuff to get my immune system back up to snuff, but guess that's not quite good enough.  Ugh.

Bloodwork the week of the 18th.

Interesting tidbit from Thyca forum:  I started taking Tums Ultra for extra calcium after my weird weekend, and suddenly developed the hungry horrors.  And I mean hungry--one hour after eating I'd be absolutely starving again.  This went on for a couple of days, and I was starting to panic about eating extra calories that wouldn't go anywhere but to my waistline due to lack of a well-functioning metabolism.  Turns out that a couple of people posted about experiencing the same thing when they started taking Tums as a calcium supplement.  So I am not crazy.  I will have to explore other options though, or just drink more milk since I can't afford to have an overstimulated appetite. My weight is holding steady for some strange reason--hasn't taken off in an upward trajectory like I thought it would.  Having said that, I'm still not happy where I've ended up after all these years of infertility treatment, overwhelming stress, recovery from surgery and now being thyroidless.  I'm working on it, but certainly don't need to add something like Tums that will add more.  Where else can you get extra calcium from?  Answer at 11.

Highlight of the week was hitting the clearance racks at Marshall's and TJ Maxx.  There's some good stuff in there if you take the time!  And of course spending time with Mr. Wonderful.  He's supposed to come up tomorrow, hopefully in the afternoon if he can get out of work early.  He's been coming home around 7pm every night, so he's putting in some long days.  Summer is flying by, so it would be nice to get him to relax a little.

Sis is up in PEI camping for a week--hope she has good weather!  It's all about Anne of Green Gables this trip.  I still haven't watched/read it.  Scary thing is she's left me in charge of the garden--lots of stuff I'll have to pick!  Tons of broccoli coming up, and I can see peppers and cukes a-poppin'.  I hope I don't kill the stuff by mistake....she left me instructions, and I think I can follow them.  Soon I'll be singing, "She's choppin' broccoli..."

Blecch.

Today's "Get Fuzzy" strip seemed perfect for how my brain has been functioning lately.  I'm Satchel.  Everybody else is Bucky the cat.   

Yesterday I felt like I was in a fog most of the day.  Then the sore throat struck in the afternoon.  I think it's just a run-of-the-mill sore throat with a headache, summer  cold and some congestion, but you'd be amazed at how the onset of the scratchiness made me start checking my neck for lumps and bumps.  So far I haven't found any enlarged lymph nodes and I hope none of them start to pop because that would just freak me out.  I'm trying to convince myself that the sore throat has absolutely nothing to do with thcya since this is the first time I've felt crappy due to something that is non-cancer related.  I've read that you can have an exhausted immune system for months after all of this, so maybe I've just picked up a bug.  So depressing to realize that I will probably  spend the rest of my life checking for lumps and bumps.  Can you say anxiety-provoking?  

I'm not whining about this.  I just don't feel good.  And I'm getting really tired of not feeling good.  I keep telling myself that it's going to get better, but today it's harder to hear it.  I'll go drink some more hot water with honey and lemon...it does help.  

I've had a few days of feeling close to normal and want that back.  

One more thing--I had my hair colored a couple of days ago, and this time my head started flaming as soon as she put the chemicals on my scalp.  Not as bad as last time, but it was quicker.  I checked the Thyca forum for any discussions about hair coloring, and there is whole separate folder of stories devoted to the subject!  Who knew....apparently coloring your hair while hypo can lead to very unpredictable results--hair can get frizzy, won't take up color....no one mentioned burning, but I guess anything is possible.  However, I'm not really hypo right now.  My scalp seems drier lately (aren't you glad you know that? ), so I'll have to add that to my list of questions for the endo when I get my next blood draw the week of the 18th.  My hair took up the color, which is good because it's soooooo gray.  And I'm not ready to go gray.  Mr. Wonderful is a gray/white, but men look distinguished.  And he's older than I am, so it's ok for him.  Not for me.  Good God I'd look awful at 41 with all white hair!  I can tolerate some burning I guess....I really don't want to think about what the chemicals are doing, and since I've already had cancer, what difference does it make? (I'm saying this laughing).  

On a happier note, I finished my cross stitch piece about old books!  All done, washed and ready for framing. Mr. Wonderful said it was "nice", which is good because it is referring to his old books.   I've started working on a heart design for Sis and the NH house.  And I ordered a bunch of stuff online since I can't do my annual pilgrimage to my favorite store anymore.  So frustrating to look at something on the screen but not be able to see if it would be doable.  Can't wait for the package to arrive.  

Sis is getting a ton of stuff from the garden--she actually got a potato!  Somewhere an Irish ancestor is smiling.  

Maybe I'll go take a nap.  

Lazy days of summer with fruit slices

Still in NH...
Weather has been absolutely gorgeous with warm sunny days and bright blue skies, and cooler nights that are great for sleeping now that the humidity has broken.   I can hear the loons on the lake over the tapping of my keyboard...and Mookie slurping in the cat bowl.  He is soooo loud.

Haven't done much all week!  I think I've managed to get my body back in sync so that I'm not staying up til all hours and then sleeping through the morning.  In fact it's after 10pm and I think I could fall asleep with no problem.  Energy has been mostly stable and I haven't seen an afternoon wall all week.  I'm still not remembering things and word retrieval is spotty, but I'll take that over being a giant slug any day. No need for pm caffeine either.  Things seem to be holding steady.  Mr. W referred to me twice this week as a "cancer survivor".  Has a nice yet eerie ring to it, especially since he was talking about future stuff and needing to plan for the just-in-case scenarios of taking time off from work to take care of me if the damn cancer ever decides to take up residence in my neck again.  I guess looking ahead is a good thing, right?  He has some pretty interesting post-retirement ideas tucked away in the back of his head that sound good to me, partially spurred on by the "cancer survivor" factor.  We shall see.

Sis and I have been hanging out with the cats.  We spent a couple of nights visiting old family friends and catching up with people we haven't seen.  Did a couple of road trips north--I finally had Polly's Pancakes in Sugar Hill.  Mmmmmm.....

I had Whole Wheat Walnut pancakes and Oatmeal pancakes.  Sis had blueberry with chocolate chips.  

Drake Island, Wells, Maine 

Stacked a cord of wood (again--wind blew most of the first attempt over), did some laundry, did some shopping, almost finished my cross stitch sampler, spent a couple of days in Wells, Maine visiting a friend and her family while trying to coax some conversation out of my almost teenager goddaughter in the midst of beach time and a trip to see Lenny the 1700 lb. moose made entirely of chocolate. No really, there is a rather large chocolate moose in Scarborough inside a candy shop.  Lenny was about 13 years old, so we decided against trying to steal an antler to munch on for the ride home--probably wouldn't have tasted very good.  Aside from the moose, I bought some candy we didn't need.  The fruit slices reminded me of my grandmother, so I had to get some.  I'm enjoying myself!

Lenny and two small chocolate bears....

Our road trip today was up to Littleton, Dalton and Lancaster.  Real boonies.  We did go to Chutter's for candy and saw some amazing mountain scenery.

112 feet of a dentist's dream....$9.59 a lb. today.  Highlights:  pomegranate fruit slices and red Swedish fish (of course) Selection was impressive....

Yummy fruit slices.

Sis' garden is still going--jalapenos a poppin' everywhere!  Cucumbers and flowers and herbs too.  No blueberries this summer though. :(

Headed home for a bit tomorrow to spend some time with Mr. W and get my hair cut.

Mookie is sampling each and every cat bowl that is on the floor.  His latest talent that we've discovered is that he can drink out of the kitchen faucet.  First he puts his entire head in the stream, and then remembers to turn his head and continues to slurp for a few minutes.  Funny cat my Mookie.

Not a very exciting post here, but things have been pretty mellow lately.  I probably shouldn't say that too loudly or else the gods will hear and decide that we need another crisis....