I'm Ready, I'm Ready, I'm Ready Ready Ready

So, I wanted to give you guys an update on my journey.

Last week you might remember that I had to go to Moffitt 

for pre-op tests. The day before I had to do an

all protein diet and then couldn't have anything

but water 6 hours before my appointment,

which meant NO coffee.

Now, I have openly admitted that I have an

addiction to coffee, esp. Starbucks coffee.

When I checked in at the desk, I could 

SMELL the coffee. I was jonesin' BAD!

I then went back to have my P.E.T. test done

(it's a test similar to a cat scan, where they check 

to see if the cancer has spread).

The tech gave me a shot of saline,

which oddly I could taste.

Then the tech came in with this small metal box.

He was holding it like it was about to explode.

I asked him what it was and he says,

"It will make you glow".

Come to find out, it was radiation.

Then I got yet ANOTHER shot of saline.

I had to wait an hour for the radiation to go threw my system

before I could have the scan.

The scan went fairly quickly, only about 25 minutes.

I felt like I was on a copy machine.

The scan tech then says I can't be around kids for

6 hours. WHAT? What was I going to do with my 8 year old?

She ended up spending the day with my father in law.

My last test that day was an EKG.

As far as I know everything is a go for my surgery tomorrow.

It was a long day but not too bad.
**Sidenote** After all my tests were done
I consumed 2 cups of Starbucks
(luckily there's a Starbucks at Moffitt)
AND a cinnamon roll (which I must say tasted AMAZING)

Now, we're at today. I'm on a ALL liquid diet.

Still no coffee because I can't have the cream.

Why have coffee without the half & half, lol.

I also had to take magnesium citrate.
If you have ever had to take it

ya know that you can't really leave the house.
I'm looking forward to getting the surgery over with tomorrow.
I realize that it's a 5 hour surgery, major at that, and
that recovery will be long and maybe painful but
I'm about as prepared as I can be.
I have about 6 projects that I have stored to blog
about while I'm in the hospital.
That will be the most difficult thing for me, being still.
I still won't know about the radiation till about
 10 days after the surgery. I have a feeling I won't need it,
fingers crossed : )
Welp, that's it for today's update guys.
I promise to keep you posted.
Thank you so much for all your comments, well wishes and prayers.
They mean SO much to me.

My Journey Begins

I start my journey ...

I have to go to Moffitt Cancer Center tomorrow.

I'm meeting my doctor then we're scheduling my surgery.

I believe it will be sometime next week.

I'm actually looking forward to it.

It would be wonderful to not be in pain everyday : )

I wanted to thank everyone for all your well wishes.

All your comments keep me going : )

**UPDATE** 
Went to Moffitt yesterday. My cancer is at stage 1B.
I go the 18th for a PET test (where the give you
radiation then you go into a cat-scan-like machine to
test and see if the cancer has spread).
Then, the 25th I will be having a radical
hysterectomy. Major surgery : (
I will be in the hospital for 5 days -
no garage salin', what am I gonna do : ( -
then I will be re-covering for 4-6 weeks.
I know I will be blogging but I'm not sure
if I will be able to do any projects.
Luckily, I have some projects stored : )

The more difficulties one has to encounter, 

within and without, the more significant 

and the higher in inspiration his life will be.
Horace Bushnell

Happy Valentine's Day

  

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
~William Shakespeare

13 Years Ago ... There Were 2 Who Became 1

13 years ago today I said,

"I DO"

to my best friend.

 I could never imagine my life without him.

Thank you Roland for always having my back.

For staying with me through all the bad times

and making all the good times amazing.

You're the only person I could see myself with.

I am so thankful to call myself your wife.

Here's to the rest of our lives ...

Happy Anniversary

I love you : )

From Arggg to Oooh La La

** WARNING ** 

this transformation requires NUMEROUS pictures

Enjoy : )

I picked this "treasure chest" up at a garage sale last weekend for $2.

 It's a cedar chest. The only problem was the hinge 

(you can see it inside on the side) was broken.

The owner had removed the top but had ALL the screws.

It MUST be MINE : )

I started by removing all the hardware and filing all the groves, holes and divots.

I kept teasing Monkey that I was gonna leave it like that.

I then sanded it and refilled everything making sure it was completely smooth.

After priming and 2 coats of a cream color 

(and DAYS later - I wanted to make sure it was dry)

I wanted to add some yummy-ness.

I thought a pretty scroll design would work.

I looked threw a graphic design book 

And found this ...

I took a picture of it and emailed it to myself (our scanner wasn't hooked up)

so that I could put it in PhotoShop to be able to print it out. 

I then used carbon paper and traced the design. 

Took me about 3 hours to do.

After I traced the design I colored it in with a Painters Pen in Black.

Free Rooty Tooty Fresh N' Fruity & Counting My Blessings

Happy Birthday to ME !!!
Yup, today's my birthday.

The BIG 41 ~

I have to say though, that I'm looking forward to this year.

So many blessing have come to be this past few months.

 Let me share a few with you:

1.  With being faced with cancer, 

I now know what it means to appreciate life : )

I can honestly say that I have never really had that kind of appreciation. 

2. I have learned who my true friends are. That kindness sometimes comes in the

smallest forms but has the biggest effect. I intend to pay it forward.

3. There are sincere people in the world. 

I have met so many amazing people in blog-land.

I'm thankful for their friendship.

4. I am FOREVER thankful for my Mother.

I could not imagine my life without her.

5.  Taking time, when I have the energy, MUST be spent

showing my daughters just how much they mean to me.

6. The Hubby is the PERFECT person for me. 

I now know that he was made just for ME.

I'm grateful to wake up next to him every morning

and fall asleep next to him every night.

Now, I'm gonna go to IHOP and enjoy a Rooty Tooty Fresh n' Fruity (for FREE)

then stopping by Starbucks for my free cup o' joe : )

** sidenote **
Go see

It opens today and
today's Jen's birthday too. She's 1 year older : )
Happy Birthday Jen : )

Remembering Abbey

I have no idea where this originated from.

I received it today from my Mother in an email

and wanted to share it with you guys.

I hope it brings a smile to you as it did me ...

 This is one of the kindest things you may ever see..
It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her.. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it.. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand.. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies..' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.
Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. 

Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, 

I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by..
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.  I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

A $4.99 Pottery Barn Lamp ... Maybe

A few days ago I teased you guys

by telling you that I was working on a lamp.

Well, let me first show you my inspiration ...

Pottery Barn's Brentwood Table Lamp

selling for $100.00 without the shade

Love it but at $100 ... Um, NO!

I found this last weekend at The ReStore

I found the shade at Goodwill for $.99

And the base is solid wood

Not exactly the same shape but I thought it would be a perfect dupe

I started by painting it a cream color then I applied

I was hoping that I would achieve the same effect as the PB lamp

Nope : (

 The crackling medium turned the cream a brownish color.

It was suppose to "dry clear".

 I thought sanding it would help, NOPE

So, I had a brilliant idea to do a light coat of the cream over it

Then sand it again

Which did help. I then finished it by

applying Ralph Lauren's Glaze in Smoke

I like the way it looks. Very close to the inspiration 

and only cost me $4.99

EVEN BETTER !!!

I'm linking up to

Serenity Now

Cottage Instincts
Savvy Southern Style

Ahh, Free Art

Ya know what they say,

"Necessity is the mother of invention"

Well, I showed you guys this coffee table

that I found on the side of the road

and how it ended up over my bed

Well, last night I had a wild hair to paint it

I did a "drunk man's" paint job

meaning VERY little paint on a fairly dry brush

I used $.50 "oops" paint in cream & white. Then I applied

Rub'n Buff in Patina (which I picked up at Michael's).

The Patina was only applied to look like rubbed off blue paint.

I then water down the white paint and painted the whole piece.

After a lil' sanding then glazing with Ralph Lauren's Smoke

it was finished.

I really love how it looks.

I'm linking to

The Shabby Chic Cottage

Serenity Now
Cottage Instincts 

HELP Needed !!!

Well hello, my friends.

Today I need to ask for some

HELP

I have been saying for sometime that I 

wanted to change my kitchen.

Although I LOVE the open feel,

the mosaic tiles and color HAVE to change.

Let me show ya the way it looks today

I'm starting to get rid of stuff so don't mind the mess ...

I installed the shelves and did all the tile work. 

I actually did the tiling when there were cabinets, hence the space

between the tiles and the shelf.

Let me show you my pet peeves ...

THE WIRES !!! ARGH !!!!!

HATE HATE HATE them ...

There's a cable/phone outlet there though and is a needed evil.

(the color isn't yellow, that's from the bright white under cabinet lights)

  I had also textured the walls about 8 years ago.

We had our kitchen re-done 3 years ago 

and I'm kinda over this too.

I like the European feel of the kitchen but

I want something different now

Oh, one more pet peeve ...

I hate this ... do you see it?

The 2 different colors ... BLAH

There once a HUGE cabinet that was in the opening here

from that small 1/2 wall, across the top of the sink to the other side

behind the refrigerator.

I removed it by myself and finished the wall.

So be kind. I need some suggestions.

I want to do more a country farmhouse style.

I'm thinking white ... a warm white for the walls.

Maybe batten and board

(I think that's what it's called) for the backslash.

Cream for the shelves.

Ideas? Thoughts? Colors?

Keep in mind, I'm doing this all by MYSELF : )

** UPDATE **
I've started to remove the tile.
Gotta learn how to repair the wall : (

What'a mess !!!