Monday, January 31, 2011

January: A Month in Review

I guess as I'm really starting to figure out what direction I'll be taking the blog, I'm starting to form different ways of writing because in my mind variety is good. Sometimes I can't just sit down and write this really long thing and expect people to read it all because I can't sit here and re-read it all either. Anyways to my point I decided on the last day of the month calls for a recap of the month because well January was awesome.

If 2011 is as awesome as the month of January was this year will possibly be the best yet.

The month started out at Disney World in Orlando and with an Alabama dominating win against Michigan State.  If there was a way to kick off a new year that was the best way imaginable.

I ended up with the flu at the beginning of the month and let me say it was one of the more miserable few days of my life on top of also having a bronch the Friday that I was sick.

Also we ended up with the most snow I have ever seen in Atlanta that I was allowed to play with pushing 6 inches. When "The Storm of the Century" hit in 1993 it was too cold outside and I was all of 5 and we were not allowed to go outside to play in it.

I also spent MLK weekend in Panama City with Charles and his friends from UAB for Gulf Coast Getaway which is a college ministry retreat weekend and it was amazing.

One Friday evening I spent hanging out with Katie and a few of the bridesmaids for her wedding playing dress up and I am in LOVE with my dress! I can't wait to order it, pick it up and just play dress up in it. :) Confession time: A guilty pleasure of mine is when I'm cleaning a lot or packing I like to play dress up and put on my dresses that I don't get to wear all the time.

To round out the month of January after visiting with my surgeon and making sure I was not going to be scheduled for surgery immediately I decided that it was the perfect weekend to go to Tuscaloosa to see my friends and catch the Alabama-LSU basketball game. As it turns out almost all of my friends from Tide for Christ Student Ministries aka TCSM thought the same. So it just formed into this awesome weekend of spending as much time with one another as possible, eating, shopping, laughing, watching basketball. I love seeing how little actions in the big scheme of things work out perfectly. For instance I really didn't commit until Wednesday night late to going to Tuscaloosa and it was too late to get a ticket with Charles. Friday night we're walking out of dinner and Mike mentions that Dustin has an extra ticket possibly so Mike would take that ticket so they could have "man time" and I could sit with Cassie and her parents. This worked out perfectly, and so I stayed the first half with Cassie and since Mike and Dustin had some extra seats next to them I went and hung out with them since I hadn't seen Dustin in 8 months which is a record that I don't like. Words honestly can't quite describe how great of a weekend it was and how great of friends I have.

Just a few of the ladies

The month of January in Review gets an A+. I really don't know how any of the other months this year can quite be as great.

Also today to end out the month is my first "baby's" birthday. He is 9 years old today and boy does that make me feel old. Isaiah and I have been connected since I met him at a few weeks old and that's all she wrote. Isaiah is just precious and I love him but he's not my little baby any more but we still have fun together.
6 years ago

I hope everyone else has had just as great of a January as I have! 
Rebecca

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Visit with Dr F.

Today we met with Dr. F to discuss based on the PET and CT scans what needs to be done to have a biopsy that will give us an actual diagnosis of something. This something is nothing that can be derived from any prior information that the doctors have, so we are not assuming what diagnosis will come from this procedure, but that they are going to do panels for everything and something should be found.

The VATS Picture from The Mayo Clinic

Thursday, February 10th, I'll be having the biopsy done via a Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery aka VATS at Emory. The VATS procedure is similar to a knee scope where they will make 3 incisions to complete the procedure. In my VATS they will go in on my left side and in one slit a camera will go to guide them, with the two other slits they will go the instruments to remove the node that is the easiest and seal it up. Dr. F is pretty confident that no matter what something will be found from VATS. The reason why the needle aspirations haven't been able to find something is that there is a lot of scar tissue around my nodes and so it's kind of like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, you just take a few stabs but that doesn't mean you win the game. While on the other hand taking out a node will give us an answer and won't just come back "non diagnostic."

Also yesterday I had to get a hard flush from Dr. D to make sure my port would flow the correct direction and let me say I did not puke when they accessed it. That was probably the first time that has happened since I got it and I had no idea what was going on. Yay Me! As Katie said "It was the brinner" So thank you Praline French Toast for not making me puke.

Rebecca

Monday, January 24, 2011

Southern Living Praline-Pecan French Toast

Let me say there are not many times that I read a recipe for the first time and not need to change a thing about it, but this recipe is great as is no improv needed. BUT I have gotten a little better about taking pictures as I cook

Ingredients

  • 1  (16-oz.) French bread loaf
  • 1  cup  firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3  cup  butter, melted
  • 2  tablespoons  maple syrup
  • 3/4  cup  chopped pecans
  • 4  large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1  cup  2% reduced-fat milk
  • 2  tablespoons  granulated sugar
  • 1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
  • 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Cut 10 (1-inch-thick) slices of bread. Reserve remaining bread for another use.




2. Stir together brown sugar and next 2 ingredients; pour into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.



3. Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Arrange bread slices over pecans; pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and chill 8 hours. I lied I actually just chilled for about 6 which really didn't matter in my opinion.






4. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake bread 35 to 37 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Let me say this meal was fabulous. I also did oven baked bacon which bakes miraculously at 350* for 25 minutes which gives you the perfect time to pull it off the lined baking sheet to place on some paper towels to dry before the french toast is ready.

Also I have a thing for some good fruit salad which a nice thing about cooking is fixing the fruit salad as I like. I did one carton strawberries quartered, 1 cup blueberries, 3 clementines, and 1 Granny Smith apple to that I put the apples in last and covered them with about 2 tablespoons of pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice and added 2 teaspoons of sugar and put in the fridge and let chill for about 3 hours.


Also to make it look prettier you need to flip it over and it was gorgeous and fabulous.

Rebecca

Things I Wish I Didn't Have To Deal With Because Of Cancer/Chemo

I often am amused by my quirks and randomness one of which I love bullet points and lists. I wish I could share some of my college notes because then I feel it would give a great insight into how my brain works as my bullet points often went insane and if I did share my notes y'all would probably go insane. Anyway I guess I am introducing another aspect and label of my blog: lists. These lists will be of a great variety of things but today's are based on my #1 because of recently having them done.

Things I Wish I Didn't Have To Deal With Because Of Cancer/Chemo
  1. Weird skin reactions to getting my eye brows done (I had them done Saturday and now my skin's irritated and it never has done that for the past 5 years)
  2. Weird skin reactions to certain lotions-stuff that worked before chemo didn't work during chemo which now does work after chemo and stuff that worked during chemo irritates my skin now. If you followed that I'm impressed
  3. The fear of never having kids
  4. Smelling everything: good, bad, or ugly. Let me say I never really had hardcore scent senses before chemo but now it seems as if everything that has a scent I can smell and they linger so bad smells are terrible. I can also smell lemon hand sanitizer from across the room (which I hate the lemon so much and Mama kept using I threw away the almost full bottle)
  5. Being a 23 year old bum with a college degree living with my parents (I love y'all but really...)
  6. Having to miss camp last summer
  7. Not being able to really schedule much in advance because there just has been too much up in the air to do so because I want to be at camp this summer but I have no idea whether I can or not
  8. Living in Georgia and not in Alabama where I would prefer (no offense GA readers)
  9. Being on a first name basis with like everyone at Emory, Sunday during church Brian our preacher was talking about seeing a doctor for more than 5 minutes and my first thought was A) I see my doctor too much and I'm such a "primadonna" as Ken my PA says they end up spending a lot of time with me B) I answer caller ID the phone calls from my nurse as "What's up Christina" she laughs but it's what happens when at this point I've memorized phone numbers from Emory
  10. Weird hair stuff, honestly some times it just doesn't make sense last week I had a chunk of hair that just stuck out like Alfalfa but on the side of my head...it was really attractive...
  11. Having too much time on my hands
  12. Seeing everyone else's life move on and forward and I'm just in a holding pattern, this is so hard to have to cope with because being in college you just keep moving on and doing things and you're life is just going so fast there are so many check lists to complete then you graduate and are diagnosed with cancer and it's just all halted and then you finish treatment then it's starting to accelerate then you have a bad scan then you have more tests and then you get sick and then you're just still in this holding pattern
  13. Weird germaphobe issues that I formed during chemo that now are hard to break. I haven't had a Jersey Mike sub in over 7 months and let me say that is a record. 
  14. Overly emotional at times my cancer friend in Miles told me about this but I didn't quite believe him until more recently. Let's just say during Christmas I cried at a Folgers commercial...yea I have turned into that girl
  15. I'm now grossed out by touching raw meat, I have never been scared or fearful of things in the kitchen but I'm working to get over my disgust of raw meats I think I washed my hands 4 times during dinner prep earlier because I cracked a few eggs. 
  16. Conquering my fear of needles-I used to be afraid and would end up passing out, now I don't even flinch and I feel at this point I could put in my own IV and do my own blood work if need be 
  17. Being woken up at 7:30am by Emory with phone calls 
  18. My port
Speaking of dinner I'll post later tonight about my experience with Praline Pecan French Toast. Yep you heard right we're having breakfast for dinner tonight at The Little House.

Also tomorrow I get to go back to Emory to see Dr. D about my port and a PET scan and Wednesday I'm meeting with Dr. F about what my scan says and whether or not there will be a biopsy.

Happy Monday
Rebecca

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Super Easy Baklava

Inspiration comes from HERE but in true Rebecca fashion I definitely changed it up a bit, my changes in bold

 

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup pecans 
  • 3/4 cup walnuts
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1/4 cup, plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 boxes mini filo shells (found in the frozen section), 15 shells each
  • 1/2 cup water 
  • 1/4 cup honey

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Arrange the walnuts and pecans on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Let nuts cool slightly and add to a food processor along with the lemon zest, 3 tablespoons of sugar, butter, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla and pulse to combine.


Place mini fillo shells in wells of 2 mini cupcake pans. Add 1 teaspoon of the nut mixture into each shell. Bake until filling is hot, about 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat add the water, 1/4 cup sugar and honey and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until reduced and slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Pour 1 teaspoon syrup into each cup and allow it to soak in, then repeat with another teaspoon. Refrigerate for a hour

Let me just say these things are fabulous! I also put the remaining 6 filo cups into a regular 6 cupcake pan, I used cup papers and they were not as good as the mini pans with no paper.






Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A Crazy Week In Review

Where to start, the past week or so has been absolutely crazy. Between being snowed in, having the flu, a delayed Dr. L visit, Gulf Coast Getaway, and an actual visit with Dr. L life has been a little busy.

So Dr L today: to sum it up in quick and easy fashion my scan from Thursday 1/6 didn't tell much because I had the flu and because of that the Drs couldn't decipher anything from it except that they need another scan. January 7th I had a bronch, again, and from all the samples taken and biopsy that was done nothing was positive for anything except that I had the flu.

What does all of this mean? I get to have another PET scan sometime in the near future (Emory's schedule is all messed up from the Snowpocolypse) and from that I will be meeting with a new doctor, Dr. F to figure out where an intrusive biopsy will probably be to get a portion of a node and to figure out once and for all what's going on.

Why intrusive over needle aspirations? I have had numerous needle aspiration biopsies (they send a needle into a node wo extract cells) over the past 2 years and none of them have ever came back with an answer for anything. The only biopsy option that Dr. L wants is intrusive because that is how Dr. Cerf got an answer.

Where do we go from here? Well we wait for the date of the scan and meeting with Dr. F, so once I know something y'all will know something.

Now recap of Gulf Coast Getaway. One word: AWESOME! God is truly awesome and this past weekend just helped greatly with keeping perspective. 


 The Paradise that we woke up to Saturday morning from out balcony
 Gorgeous Sunset
Me and AK
 Our Sunset view Saturday evening

 Me and Jerome, he's my favorite Alabama Law student
The Becca's on the Beach
 Me and Charles
 The BEAUTIFUL artwork of  Laura Amstutz created by the work of all of us at Gulf Coast. You can visit her site here http://creativespillage.com/
My piece of the puzzle: a purple Hodgkins ribbon

One of my favorite points from the weekend was about our puzzle piece. We each have abilities and strong suites and that we need to use those to share God and our faith with others along with helping those who need it the most. So the question is how are you going to play your puzzle piece in life? 

Next blog up: the future, life and kids

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Irony of the Snowpocolypse 2011

Well there are so many times in my life that things that happen in my life don't fit the calendar I want for my life ex: cancer. Other things that didn't quite fit but has turned into a huge blessing to me is the Snowpocolypse 2011. I was suppose to see my doctor today and there was talk of me getting my port fixed this week that they just figured out has been severely messed up for a good time now. And if that had happened they would have taken away my weekend in Panama City Beach, Florida for Gulf Coast Getaway with Charles' ministry he is involved with in Birmingham. Gulf Coast is a huge campus ministry retreat at the beach that happens every year in PCB on MLK weekend that I have been looking forward to since last year's trip. I have been really down about the past week once I was told that there was a possibility that I wasn't going to be able to go, but thanks to all of this snow and ice my appointment for today was canceled and I won't be seen until next week and I honestly couldn't be happier about that.

Anyways here is my ramble about why I want to be at Gulf Coast this weekend and why I have been bummed and a story about my student teaching.

Gulf Coast last year truly helped me get through much of my student internship that was at times very trying for me. The combination of exhaustion from teaching everyday starting my second week and steriods going into my body with cancer living in it as well and my heart breaking for many of my students the more I learned about their lives at home it was definitely rough. Gulf Coast definitely gave me the booster shot of Jesus that I really needed to show my students through my actions towards them so they could see Christ living in me. I feel Gulf Coast truly helped me reach the level that I needed to be at for my kids last Spring. Thanks to showing Jesus' love and just a peacefulness about myself in a hectic environment one of my students, K, noticed my aura and helped me realize that how I was doing things was the right way. K was not the top of the class and he had a hard time focusing a lot and never had a pencil but he gave me the greatest complement during my student teaching. From my very beginning of being in class and maybe it was also a slight crush but he would would always turn around and give me a huge grin, it's a memory I will keep for life but I digress. During the last 2 minutes of class the days when finished early he would sometimes call me over and ask me the same question "Miss Little do you have any siblings?" I would always respond "Yes, I have a brother" and his next question was always the same "Is he nice to you?" and sometimes the bell would ring right after that question and other times he'd look up at me with big eyes and say "That's real nice." Talk about heart break I never got to ask him about his siblings to try to figure out the reasons why I would always get the same question. The real heart break came on the Friday before Spring Break. I had just finished my official 10 day unit of teaching WWII and I was exhausted as we were waiting on the buses that Friday K waved me over to talk before leaving for the week long vacation. He in his big smile asked "What are you doing for Spring Break Miss Little?" I told him "I'm going home to Georgia to see my family" he asked his typical question about my brother and then came the kicker question "Miss Little can you take me home with you?" To ever be looked in the eyes by a child and be asked if you could take them home is one of the most gut wrenching moments that any human being with a heart will ever encounter. I'd be lying to say that I don't have tears in my eyes right now.

I know that it was a long story to reiterate the point that I feel Gulf Coast gave me that boost to show a peacefulness inside that I'm not sure he had ever met or would have ever met before and this year I did not want to miss for the world. So thank you Snowpocolypse 2011 for letting me get back to Gulf Coast and not letting the doctors mess up my calendar for once. Now if I can just get out of Atlanta I will be in business.

Rebecca

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Weekend Recap, plus great recipe

So the bronch came and went and now with the snow and ice and everything else being like it is, who knows when I'll here anything/see Dr L. But here are two gems from my mouth during the post-op:

-The first went to my nurse in recovery that I also don't remember saying: "I met Cinderella last week at Disney World" and "My aunt works up stairs" thanks to these she started  wondering and asking if I were "special" then she was told I was just well drugged

-And the second came Friday night on the sofa to both parents "Why is plow, pronounced plowwww, but blow is pronounced blooooow they are spelt the same" my mother responded "I'm opting not to answer that"

Anyways we've been sick and still sick, and let me tell you there is absolutely nothing worse in this world than the combination of being recovering from a bronch with a severe cold. I don't know if I have EVER felt to the level of bad that I did Friday and yes that is including chemo and all. It was absolutely terrible.

Here are some pictures of snow for y'all. We had 4 inches in 2 hours at our house between 9:40 pm and 11:40 pm Sunday night.




One last thing, something I completely forgot to post last week was a new recipe that we tried and my oh my was it wonderful! They were Cheesy Lasagna Rolls and perfect, what is nice about this recipe is that you can make them to fit how many you have in your family of for a big gathering. Also two week ago Mama and I finally found the perfect Au Gratin dishes which ended up fitting two rolls perfectly. I am no where close to a hardcore measurering cook so I play everything by ear when I'm cooking. If it is baking that is a whole different ballgame.

Cheesy Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:

Uncooked lasagna noodles
Olive oil
Ricotta cheese, with a pinch of salt and pepper added for flavor
Prepared marinara sauce (I love Ragu)
Packed baby spinach, washed well 
Shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add noodles and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and gently transfer to a clean work surface, to do this I removed the noodles gently with tongs onto paper towels I laid out on the counter so I didn't end up with the chaos in the sink that lasagna noodle bring me because of the fear of sticking

Grease small dishes or large casserole with olive oil; set aside. Working with one noodle at a time, spread with about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta and 2 tablespoons of the marinara (the ricotta and marinara should cover the noodle don't be concerned with the Ts) then top with 2 layers of spinach. Starting at one end, roll up noodle snugly then arrange in pan either seam-side down or with the rolls close enough together to hold each other closed. Pour remaining marinara over assembled rolls then sprinkle with mozzarella and bake until golden and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.


Tips and Changes:
-Let the kids help with this dish, it's easy, not that messy and fun.
-You could really add any vegetable or meat to this dish in either the sauce or in the wraps
-Try it with the your favorite multi-grain noodle and it was really good
-They are also great for cooking ahead and hold up well reheating

Here is a glimpse at the final product, these are seem side down




Happy Snow Day! Be Safe! 
Rebecca

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Dr. Visit 1/6: Not the Best Day of My Life

Well I don't even know where on Earth to start at the moment. First off Mama and Daddy are sick, so sick that yesterday I was kicked out of the house but by the time Daddy called to say I should leave because he was sick I already felt it was too late. Well by the middle of the night I knew for fact that it was too late that I left, so this morning when I couldn't sleep I started working on figuring out what Dr. L wanted to do, well since my main complaint was my lungs she wanted me to see Dr. B but the downfall is he was not in the office until next Monday. So Dr. L went to work trying to figure out what was going on, pretty much what was figured out in respect to what I(we) have is inconclusive so tomorrow I having another bronch to see if Dr. B can find something for conclusive so we can come up with a plan of action to try to get me better. So pretty much what it boils down to is we won't know anything conclusive until next Wednesday.

Prayers would be highly appreciated right now while my Drs figure out what's going on.

Thanks, Rebecca

Monday, January 3, 2011

A Week In Review

Christmas was fabulous! I finally got my new iPod and a Tassimo coffee maker AND SNOW!!!!

We made our Gingerbread Reindeer cookies, that can also be made with Peanut Butter. Quick and easy steps

1 tube of Gingerbread cookie dough
red and green M&Ms
a bag of mini pretzel of your choice

Directions: Press cookies into a reindeer shape, gently press in the M&Ms and pretzels. Bake as directed. The outcome look marvelous, also if you want to add a twist to it dip the pretzels in white chocolate. The thought of the dipped pretzels were a new twist I came up with this year and let's just say it was a real winner.


Also I mentioned we had snow. 2010 was the first White Christmas I have ever had, also when I say it snowed I mean we had 2 inches. It was extremely awesome.

 Cousins on Christmas in the snow.

Cindy was not sure what to think about the snowy ice on the cul-de-sac


 Sledding!
Mama was not properly dressed for sledding so Daddy dressed her up with his camo gear

Now onto ORLANDO! We left early Thursday morning aka New Years Eve-Eve. We got into Orlando early in the afternoon in enough time for Mama and I to go get my "I'm Celebrating Chemo Grad" pin and for Mama to find a stunning Houndstooth jacket and scarf at The Grand Floridian. The best quote that was said on our way down there came out of my mouth. As we were entering Orlando Charles was talking about why Walt Disney chose to put Disney World in a swamp and I just blurted out "He was a man with a vision...and that just gave me chills." Yes, my name is Rebecca and I'm a little bit of a Disney freak. 

Anyways here is the trip in pictures.

 I am obsessed with the castle, I will admit it
 Charles and I rode the tea cups and no one got sick got a two thumbs up
 The castle from the top of The Swiss Family Robinson Tree House
 Me and Pirate Goofy
 Let me tell you about The Beast. First I am obsessed with Belle, she is my favorite princess. There will be more on that in a minute, but first let me tell you about the Christmas Parade. A sweet little girl in front of us had on the gorgeous gold Belle dress and when the float with the Princesses and Prince on it came by The Beast and Belle were front and center. The little Belle was waving her arm away at The Beast and he saw her and bowed to her and blew her a kiss and let's just say my heart melted. Also during the parade I did get a shout out from Santa when he was passing by with a "Merry Christmas Alabama."

 Family portrait in front of the castle
 Let's say once we started planning our trip pretty last minute because it was hard to plan, how are we going to get the boys to Disney World (THANK YOU ALABAMA FOOTBALL) and get dinner reservations at The Magic Kingdom 3 weeks before New Years. The best advise that Mama was given over the phone is get a celebration pin and put the real meaning on it, and go talk to the supervisors at the restaurant to see what could be done. Charles and I had a fast pass for Splash Mountain at 5pm, so that's when the parents went to see what could happen with dinner. I got a text message from Daddy when we got off the ride that said come to The Chrystal Pistol, yes the old ride at Six Flags that was there when the parents worked there back in the day, he really meant The Chrystal Palace. Mama talked to the supervisor and got us in to eat dinner with Pooh and Friends! Also while they were searching she went to see if we could get dessert or coffee at The Terrace to watch New Years Eve fireworks. The supervisor said that wasn't possible but he could one better us, and gave us clearance to stand on top of The Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland. Let me say, it was phenomenal we had fireworks 360 degrees around us.
 Tigger and I became really close, I got a lot of hugs and kisses. It might have been because I did say bye T-I-Double Ga-E-R or there is a possibility that I might know the guy who was in the costume that has yet to be confirmed.
 Me and Piglet
 Me and Pooh Bear
Also after dinner we walking through the stores down Main Street USA and we ended up in a store where they had princess items but no Belle. Mama and I were talking to two cast members about how we were sad that the Princess Meetings ended at what we thought was 1:30pm, but we were corrected it was 1:30 AM! So Mama and I went to to meet the Princesses. When we got there we were also told that only 3 princesses were in for viewing at a time so we were just hoping Belle was there. We walked in and SHE WAS!
 After Belle I met Cinderella and let me just give you the conversation that occurred.
My conversation with Cinderella
C: "Why hello Princess what's your name?"
Me: "Rebecca"
C: "Where are you from?"
M: "Marietta Georgia"
C: "Ohhh, well what's that on your shirt?" (referring to Alabama)
M: "It's The University of Alabama, it's where I went to school"
C: "Oh I hear that is a very magical kingdom"
M: "Oh it really is"
C: "Let's take a picture"
(Takes picture)
C: "Happy New year Princess and Roll Tide"
Can you say icing on the cake? 
 Me and Princess Tiana
 After I got my ears!
 Our view was absolutely phenomenal!
 I am saying the sky looked like the Sun was out!
I will go ahead and give you insight and rules when it comes down to visiting Disney on New Years Eve. It is a mad house, don't expect it to be other wise but there are ways to make it better. First, get there early we were there before 9am. You have to be there before 10 if not earlier. Second, use Fast Passes. they are complementary and do help you avoid really long lines. Third plan ahead, but if you see a short line for something you want to do, take it quick. We did Mickey's Philharmagic, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Teapots with waits less than 20 minutes. On long days go for character meetings late because the lines are short, I had never seen character meeting lines as short as we had. One more note about New Years Eve at Disney World especially Magic Kingdom. You need a good nights rest, good shoes, good attitude and have kids(big or small) that don't need naps. It will be one of the longest days of your life and you just have to expect that and know it, because if you don't you will be in for a bigger surprise than a phenomenal fireworks show.

Now onto New Years Day. It started out with a bang literally, with a car fire on the interstate. If there were a perfect day for football New Years Day was up there with them. We all got a little red tint from the Sun but by Sunday morning you couldn't tell. It was 72 and Alabama dominated.






Also this was Daddy's first bowl game and bowl victory he has a much better record than me.

Now onto this week's plans. I have labs, lung function test and echo cardiogram tomorrow, CT scan on Thursday and see Dr. L next Wednesday.
Whewwww, that took a long time. Happy New Year everyone! 

Rebecca