Moving on – New Blog and a New Focus

I am restarting the blog!  But I have a new blog and a new focus.  

Check it out http://shoeaddictthriving.blogspot.com

Resolutions: How we did in February.

 How have we been doing with our New Year’s Resolution to spend less on food?  (Also, we resolved to spend less on miscellaneous items.) Well, we saved a total of $697.00 and would have saved $150.00 more.  (I purchased a cell phone and haven’t received the rebate back yet. )  We also managed to pay off all of our extraneous store credit cards: Best Buy, Lord and Taylor, Amazon, and Chadwicks. 

The cash only method is really working for us.  We only take what we need for groceries and spending money each week from the ATM.  Once that money is gone it’s gone!  Benjamin and I have been cooking more meals together and really enjoying not eating fast food every day.  I have started to go into shoe withdrawal and had to physically pry myself away from the Nordstrom’s shoe section the other day.   I’ll have to try to save up my spending money for a couple of weeks so that I can buy a fabulous pair.

Keeping Up With My Resolutions

My weakness!!

For once I am keeping up with my New Year’s resolutions and I am even still buying cute things!  My primary resolution this year was to cook more and save money on food.  Overall, I had hoped really to stop being so free with my money, still enjoy myself, and focus more on quality than quantity.  A really really tall order for me!!!!!!  (I know more than one exclamation point is not grammatically correct or necessary, but I really feel a whole lot of them get my point across better.)

I have been doing really good with the food resolution.  I haven’t eaten out for lunch since about mid-January, I have been baking bread instead of buying it, buying natural foods and not overly processed chemical laden stuff posing as food, and I have been curbing my shopping addiction.  (The last one probably being the hardest one for me.)  Now, I have my weaknesses…I almost fell in my shopping resolution just yesterday and I fell big time in my not eating unhealthy foods with bad chemicals resolution last week.

Last week I tried to justify buying two extremely expensive end tables for night stands.  My justifications were pretty good:

1. We haven’t had night stands since we were married 4.5 years ago.
2. The size we need is tricky because of our bedroom shape and the ones I saw would have worked perfectly.
3. They were on sale for 50% off.
4. We have been saving a lot of money!

However, despite all this, I had reasons I really didn’t need the night stands including:

1. We have been married 4.5 years without night stands.
2. They were still $139.99 each even on sale.
3. We are trying to save money for my husband’s car.
4. They were not all that well-made.
5. I didn’t even like them all that much.

So I ended up resisting the end-tables.  I did not fare so well with the four cans of Mt. Dew that my brother placed in the communal refrigerator.  I drank three of them all in the same day.  The next morning when I went downstairs and saw that there was one left in the refrigerator I had to convince myself to leave it alone.  I had a momentary rush of pride in my self-control.  However, this was momentary as my brother made his way upstairs.  As I began issuing an apology for drinking all his sodas what came out of my mouth was, “I owe you four Mountain Dews.  I drank all of them”.  (Remember at this point there was one left sitting in the refrigerator.)  As my unsuspecting brother, who had already graciously forgiven me for drinking them ran upstairs to the top floor, I ran to the refrigerator and stole that last can!  I sneaked up the stairs and then drank it before he could find out.

I guess I will have to keep trying to eat better and stop telling falsehoods, but at least I am keeping my money-saving resolution.  A trick my husband and I have found helpful for saving money and staying on budget:  We take out a predetermined amount of cash every week for food (groceries and eating out included) and for spending money for the each of us.  Once that cash is gone it is gone…no using our bank card.  We really think before we buy something now…and we have run out of cash before the next week.  The second week of this practice we were living off of fried egg sandwiches because we didn’t have any more food cash. 

One of my awesome sale purchases... at $2.00 these and two other pairs of wild pattern tights were worth the buy.

Being Frugal Is No Fun, But It Does Make Me Feel Good About Myself.

A little misshapen, but not too bad!

I forgot the egg wash on my second batch of baguettes.

I am really trying hard to fulfill my New Year’s resolutions.  This past week at work I was not able to completely carry out what I wanted, but I got really close.  My New Year’s resolutions were really all about food.  I resolved to:

1.  Spend less money on food while I am at work.

2.  Cook more meals.

Well, I have not really cooked more meals.  Although you can see from my last post that I did start baking bread.  This weekend I have done pretty well  on the baking front again.  I made baguette (we went through the two in less than a week), mini baguette to take to work with soup, and a loaf of wheat bread.   More on resolution number two a little later.  As far as spending less money on food while at work  I have managed to do pretty well with that.  My true goal is to not buy food at work, but to completely pack my food from home.

At my old office I could buy food and it was not really that expensive.  I would go to the nearest grocery store and buy frozen dinners, water, juice, soda, and snacks while they were on sale.  We had a fairly normal sized refrigerator with a top freezer and only eight people in the office, and only two besides myself actually used it.  Now I am at the Pentagon, and the only way to get grocery type food in is to haul it on the very long metro ride in and then walk the 10 minutes to the office lugging it with you.  So no grocery bags of food for me.  Also, if I shlepped it in with me then I would have to store it.  Well, let’s just say that our fridge in the office would be lucky to hold more than six cans of soda and a loaf of bread on a good day. In addition there is no freezer space in the mini-fridge.  Because of this I have bought lunch every day.  Not only is the calorie count gaining on me fast, but the price is outrageous.  I also need my cup of coffee in the morning and since the Starbucks opened up right where I come in…my daily cash outflow for food has risen dramatically.

My whole-wheat dough.

Let’s start with what I have done.   I spend $3.79- 4.39 every morning depending on what drink I get.  I have never been a breakfast person so I did not think that buying breakfast would be a problem.  However, it is easier said that done when everyone has their breakfast food at their desks and you smell it.  All of a sudden sounds come out of my stomach that are like a mix between a 5.0 earthquake and a bear growling.  So I end up spending $5-$8 on breakfast.  Lunch usually costs me about $7-$9.  So on average I have spent $93 a week on food at work.  That is at least a pair of shoes a week.

I have tried to use my hoard of travel mugs and to-go cups to decrease the coffee cost.  I have taken my Tassimo one cup drinks in my travel mugs.  They cost me about $1.00 per cup of coffee/tea.  I have taken packs of oatmeal ($0.50 each) with me to work that I can make instead of going and buying breakfast with my co-workers when they all go.  For lunch I was shocked when I realized that the lowest calorie thing I get is a bean burrito from Taco Bell!  It also only costs me $1.19 and with a $1.00 soda from the soda machine I am spending.$18.50 on food per week instead of $93!!  I don’t think I am going to do any better money wise for my New Year’s resolution, but I do think I can be a little healthier than Taco Bell.

All the dirty pans.

Although my New Year’s resolution may be no fun.  Let’s face it cooking, cleaning up after, and eating oatmeal everyday for breakfast isn’t the greatest.  However, it does make me feel pretty good about myself and maybe I’ll put some of that money I am saving towards a really great pair of shoes – or a new kitten.

Shoe Addict Goes Domestic.

Ready for the egg wash.

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to cook more this year.  So, I decided to get started with something I love to eat and that is home-made bread.  I usually just dump ingredients in my trusty bread machine and let it do all the work.  I have never been very happy with the shape of the loaves that the bread machine makes, but never really attempted to do much else with it.

About to let the yeast do its thing.

I looked up recipes for various breads you can make in the bread machine.  I came across a recipe for baguette and realized for the first time that the bread machine has a dough setting that will mix the dough for you and you can do the rest.  This works great for me since I would have to wear my compression sleeve to do the mixing and initial kneading.  So I put the ingredients in the bread machine and let it do the really heavy lifting or rather mixing for me.  Then I took out the dough and put it into a greased bowl.

I admit I had to take a breather at this point.

Now, during this bread making process I got to the one part that was really difficult for me.  I had to roll out the dough into a rectangle.  Well, I wouldn’t exactly call the shape I managed to finally roll out a rectangle, but I did finally manage to roll out the dough into some semblance of a rectangular shape.  I probably should have worn a sleeve during the time I was rolling out the dough.  I was surprised by how much arm power it required.  Well, maybe for a person with  normal strength instead of someone like me who tries to lift nothing heavier than shopping bags it wouldn’t have been a big deal.

Into the oven they go.

With the hard part done I just had to roll and shape the loaves and then let them sit some more to raise a little.  Then I bushed them with an egg wash and then popped them in the oven.  20 minutes later and I was able to enjoy real home-made bread.  I have to say I was really proud of myself and I know my husband and brother will be very happy with fresh bread in the house.

...and they are ready!

The moment before I ate a couple of slices.

A Melanoma Patient’s Guide to Mexico

At the airport.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Mexico and successfully achieved my goal of getting absolutely not one bit more of color than I came with.  The day before we left it was a snow blizzard in Maryland.  We got to enjoy a bit of the winter white and then it was off to the airport to make our way down south and to the warmth of Mexico.  We were supposed to leave at 10:30am and ended up flying sometime around 2:00pm.  Not too bad all things considered. 

A shoe addict on vacation - no shoes at all.

It was the first time that I have flown since having my ancillary lymph node dissection.  I followed precautions and put on my compression sleeve and gauntlet about an hour and a half before the flight.  When I arrived in Mexico I noticed that my fingers looked very swollen.  I was worried that the flying had caused me to get some swelling.  However, the entire flight and after it I felt like the gauntlet piece was very uncomfortable.  After about 45 minutes after landing I decided to take off just the gauntlet.  After about 10 minutes I noticed that the swelling in my fingers was gone.  When we arrived at the hotel 2 hours later I took off the compression sleeve and did not notice any swelling in my arm or hand. 

Really protecting my skin from the sun!

Reading on the beach.

Our trip was so nice and relaxing.  I had just finished my sixth cycle of treatment and needed a nice relaxing time with my husband to just breath, have some adventure, and enjoy life.   

Getting ready to sun himself.

 The first couple of days we were there we really just ate, read, sat on the beach, and went for walks together.  We enjoyed this time very much.  We especially enjoyed the second day when the sun came out nice and bright and all the iguanas came out of hiding to sun themselves.

Under the umbrella and in my coverup.

 Unlike the iguanas, I am not allowed to bask in the sun unfettered and unprotected.  I took extra precautions to protect myself from the sun.  I coated myself with Fallen’s COTZ sunblock.  This is a very nice product.  I only use it on my face because I can’t use regular or even standard sensitive skin sunblock on my face.  This is the only thing that doesn’t irritate my eyes.  I end up using very little so it is worth the price.  For the rest of me I used a 70 spf waterproof sunblock.  I also re-applied my sunblock not only according to the directions on the bottle, but also every time I swam and then dried off.    I also wore a hat and sat under umbrellas at the pool or beach and also wore a coverup.

The pyramid at Chichen-Itza

On the day we went to Chichen-Itza I decided that I did not need my compression sleeve and gauntlet.  We did a whole lot of walking!  I loaded up on the sunblock like our days on the beach and also wore a hat.  During some of the tour guide’s talks the group was standing directly in the sun.  I chose to forgo part of these learning experiences and stand in the shade on my own.  It was incredibly fascinating and I was able to hear enough during the talks in the shady parts of the area that I did not feel my experience was in any way incomplete. 

Getting a dolphin kiss.

 On Christmas Eve day we went to swim with the dolphins.  I did wear my compression sleeve, but not my gauntlet because of it bothering my hand so much when I was flying.  Now, salt and oil breaks down the special weave of fibers that the compression garments are made of.  What I did was ask the place where I get my compression garments from what to do while swimming in salt water.  I wore my old compression sleeve and immediately cleaned it when I got back from swimming with the dolphins. 

Christmas Eve dinner - right before the hives.

That night at dinner I ate some thing that I was allergic to.  I broke out in hives all  over both arms, neck, and legs.  I chose not to see a medic because my airways were not in any way restricted and I was having no trouble breathing.  I had brought Benadryl with me and chose to take that as recommended.   The hives lasted long after our vacation had ended.  They were pretty much gone about a week after they popped up.  

Starbucks!!

Our last two days were spent in lazy enjoyment.  Ben played golf, we went shopping in Playa Del Carmen,  (where I found a Starbucks!), and I got a hot stone massage and pedi-cure at the hotel spa.  Now, one of the precautions one should take to prevent lymphedema is to avoid massages on that area.  I simply told the spa that I could not be massaged on my right arm, shoulder, and the surrounding area of my arm.  It was not a problem and I got to enjoy the perfect relaxing day.

We found the churros!

 I suppose now it is back to reality and New Year’s resolutions.  I don’t usually make any, but I think I am going to this year…even if they will start a month late. 

Last picture we took together in Mexico.

Snow, Snow, Snow before I go to Mexico

Ben and I in the snow...for about 5 minutes!

So, I am finishing up packing and alternately checking Air Tran’s website for our flight status tomorrow.  Still on-time every time we check.  I really don’t like cold weather, but even I have to admire such a beautiful white winter wonderland.  When I first heard that we were expecting this kind of weather I panicked!  I immediately called Apple vacations and when I found out that the worst-case scenario was us leaving on Monday morning I breathed easy and embarked on packing.

I am looking forward to being in Mexico, but I am so glad that right before I am leaving to enjoy nice sunny weather, zip-lining over the jungle, and swimming with the dolphins I am getting an opportunity to enjoy the only part of winter I like…snow!

Uncovering my little bug.

The snow ate it!

It was a nice day and felt reminiscent to my childhood.  What a lovely way to spend the day.  The started with my brother cooking everyone breakfast – scrambled eggs, sausage links for Ben and Fer, and veggie sausage patties for me.  A nice hot Chai Tea Latte and I felt ready to stay inside and enjoy my day.  I leisurely packed my suitcase, watched the snow come down, read, and watched TV with my husband.

A roll of cookies, round of Boursin cheese, and some Starbucks Java Chip ice cream later…I am feeling fat, lazy, and happy.  The best part of the day…being completely unfashionable and not changing out of my pajamas.

Proof that I went outside in the snow.

Ben knocking snow off of our tree.

Our street looks so pretty in the snow.

Long Time No Post

Hey all,

Sorry that it has been so long since my last post.  I have been super busy some days, not feeling so well other days, and just finished Cycle 6!  I am a quarter through the Clinical Trial! 

Also, I had a girl’s night dinner at my house so you know I was busy scrubbing and frantically shoving mass quantities of junk into closets.  I am super excited and getting ready for my upcoming trip to Mexico.  My good brother is watching the house and taking care of the cat children.  Supposedly the resort has free internet so I plan some serious updates from Mexico…at the very least a photo story describing our days. 

Have a wonderful holiday season and here’s to blogging to you soon from Mexico.

Feliz Navidad!

Mid-Atlantic Cancer Support Fashion Show

After the show with Ben - my hubby.

First Look - Rust Coat

This past Saturday I was able to participate as a model in the Mid-Atlantic Cancer Support Fashion Show at Lord and Taylor in the Annapolis Mall.  Along with myself, many of the other models were cancer survivors of varying types of cancer including breast cancer, male breast cancer, prostate cancer, and my own melanoma.  I was asked to be in the show and hesitated for all of two seconds before I agreed to be in it.  I hesitated because I did not want to be out of my comfort zone.

I want this dress!!

I ended up agreeing to be in the show for a few reasons.  1)  It is for a really good cause 2) They agreed to keep me in dresses or skirts so that I would feel comfortable and 3)  How many opportunities is a 5’2″ girl going to have to do runway?  I am really glad I participated in the show.

I not only got to have a lot of fun, but it helped raise money for a good cause.  www.macancersupport.org

The one thing people say the most to me when they meet me and find out that I was diagnosed with Melanoma at 25 is that they think I have such a wonderful attitude about everything.  I found when I met the rest of the survivors/models that the thing that makes us survivors is that vibrant, feisty, great attitude.  Everyone I talked to and got to know a little was so positive and encouraging of everyone else.  What an awesome group!!

So excited to see Grandma she joined her on the catwalk!

Playing around with our M.C. - Mrs. Maryland

Lord and Taylor did a wonderful job providing us with clothes, makeup, and accessories.  They thanked us with bags full of nice little goodies, and made the day exciting and fun for everyone.   Lord and Taylor provided gorgeous clothes for me to wear, but I already had the perfect shoes to go with them!

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from the day you can view them at http://macsfashionshow.shutterfly.com

Thanks to all my family and friend who came out to the show to watch me and cheer me on as I strutted my stuff on the runway.  I am glad that you support me and encourage me to be a survivor.

My mom especially liked the goodie bags.

Photo Story: Working From Home

Working from home would undoubtedly be better if I did not own cats and a husband.  While I am attempting to get things done I have three furry distractions.  Here is a day in photos of me trying to work from home:

1)  Kitty number one tries its hardest to get my attention via Jedi mind tricks.  Max stares me down all day long only occasionally changing location so that I remember he is still staring.

Max starts with the evil stare from his cat bed across the room.

Next is the what the heck are you doing stare from the window.

By my lunch break it is the you will not ignore me!!

2)  Little kitty tries to distract me by hacking into my computer or just laying across my arms in direct objection to me paying attention to anything other than her.

Hacking my facebook

She doesn't even let me use my computer after work...

Laying in my lap an exceptional attempt at distraction.

3)  My other furry distraction is my dear hubby and he just does his part in making working at home difficult by taking up as much space as possible.  I can’t say I really mind him as a distraction.  

My third furry distraction.