Happy Birthday to Charlie!!!

Today is Charlie's 3-month birthday!!!

Dare I Say "Healthy"?

So I'm 1 year out from treatment. How fast time passes! I had a bunch of doctor follow-ups last week: Dr. Smith (who I see every 3 months), Dr. Richards (every 6 months) and Dr. Rounsaville (every 6 months). I also did a bilateral breast MRI. All three docs said everything looked great, and Dr. Rounsaville even said I no longer needed follow ups with him! My MRI was "perfectly normal" and my bloodwork was normal as well. Whew... sigh of relief!! I rarely think about cancer these days, but anxiety definitely still strikes around follow-up time.

I can't believe how different my life is one year later. One year ago I was house-ridden (sometimes bed-ridden) with a post-chemo stomach affliction that cost me 3 months, 20 pounds, and some sanity. Now I'm healthy and have gained the weight back. I was unhappy, super stressed and consumed with my high-pressure job. Now I love where I work, enjoy the people I see every day, and when I leave at 5 PM work is the last thing on my mind. We were renting an old, moldy and dank apartment that leaked rain every winter and smelled like dead rats every few months. Now we own a beautiful home in the trees with tons of space to spare. We were living in SF, where folks scurry around all fast-paced and forget to connect with each other. Now we live in awesome Sonoma County aka "Wine Country" (LOL) where everyone is happy and friendly because the beautiful surroundings help ease their everyday lives. We used to drive to Dolores Park on the nicest days for a little warm sunshine, or perhaps drive 1.5 hours to the Russian River for a day of sun, water and beer. Now we walk just 5 minutes to our nearest Russian River beach to drink Blue Moons! We used to dream of the day when we could comfortably house a dog. Now not only do we have the company of the sweetest puppy, but it's a Golden Retriever aka "Which puppy is BEST?"! AND, we've also added a Smooshie who's full of nothing but love! The only thing missing is Trigger of course...

Nutsy, Joseph, Douglas and Charlie: So many names I get tripped up sometimes! Like when my Mom says "Tre-Dan" hahaha. Charlie is doing so well. The potty accidents are decreasing - once every couple days only. He sleeps in his crate by the bed no problem. He knows where to "go baubles," he does "sit" so well, and he's on his way to "down" and "drop it". He's about doubled in size in less than three weeks! He's awesome at retrieving - his favorite thing to do is run back at full-speed with his turtle and faceplant into my lap. He really is the cutest dude ever!!! But he is growing so quickly, I can already see the future, handsome, grown up Golden Retriever dude when I look at his puppy face. I LOVE HIM!!!!

The kitties are doing great too!! Nutsy is totally healthy and back to her spry, whiny self (hahahha). She'd gained a whole pound last time they checked her weight! Though she's already 14 years old, I feel she'll be around for a long time to come! :) Joseph is his sweet, shy self - always sitting in his favorite chair with armrest. He loves his bathroom pets and his face pets. I bet he misses heater pets & the static electricity, poor dude heheheh. And Douglas is so attached to us sometimes he doesn't know what to do with himself! When I step out of the shower he's there sitting on the foot towel, waiting to rub on my legs - so I have to towel my legs off before I step out, otherwise they get coated in Douglas hair! He snuggles with me all the time and loves to gaze up at me with those big copper eyes. He's also in love with Charlie and is always visiting him. Yay for the petting zoo!

Also, I've been playing the drums! Miles and I have a couple of awesome songs!! I'm really excited about them!