Meet our new baby...

Meet Liz, the newest baby in our home. The pics aren't real good, it's very difficult to photograph her. She's WILD! She can jump right out of your hands and she runs when we touch her. She's tiny, about 4 inches long. Emily chose her name, much to Megan's disappointment. I told Megan not to fret about it, it's not an original name for a lizard but we can tack on a last name and make her famous. Like Liz Claiborne or something. Send any suggestions for last names that will make her famous and we'll use the best one!

Zip 2005-2009

I'm back! I had a post nearly ready to hit the presses but then we had a sad day and I don't feel like cracking any jokes. We had to have Zip, our 4 yr old leopard gecko, euthanized. It was very difficult to say goodbye to him. Megan is very upset. Emily is taking it well. I have to commend the staff at Deer Ridge. Although this is not our vet clinic, we were forced to use them, as they are the only exotic animal clinic in this area. Their kindness and professionalism will not be forgotten. They knew exactly how to handle the situation, from start to finish.

4 years ago, we vacationed in Gulfport, Mississippi with Scott's brother Chris. When we returned from this trip, 2 things happened. We bought Zip and Hurricane Katrina hit. All in the same week. So I always associated Zip with Katrina. I never imagined that not only would it be 4 years before I would return to the area, but Zip would pass away when we returned. What a strange coincidence.

Goodbye, Zip. See you on the Rainbow Bridge.

Taking a Break

There were a lot of guesses about what Emily was doing in the picture. Kara was the closest guess! Emily was going to the moon, thus the helmet and oxygen tank strapped to her back. Clever.
I wanted to let everyone know I'm taking a break from blogging for awhile. I am suffering from a little bit of burnout and I need to take some time off. I'll be back though! Give me a couple of weeks and I'll be good as new.
See you soon!
Love,
Michele

Wordless Thursday

I would LOVE to tell you what my creative daughter is up to, but for now I'll leave it up to you to decide.

Ask Me Anything

Here are some responses to "Ask Me Anything".
(I don't really have a blog feature titled Ask Me Anything, I just made that up.)
Many of you asked for more info about what Megan is going to be doing. She is now an official Jr. Reporter for the local newspaper. She went to a training last week and received her first story assignment. She will be writing a news story every month and it will appear in the newspaper. The pic I took was her badge. Her first assignment? Squarefoot gardening. Now, look up at the title of my blog, where it states that my blog landscape contains "occasionally bragging about my children". Now I can tell you that they gave her the hardest story assignment b/c she was the most vocal in the class, asking the most q's, etc.

Now onto my health. I am doing great! My platelet counts are climbing up slowly. My hematologist said I will not need a repeat bone marrow biopsy. My next CT scans are scheduled for Aug 27th. I am nervous already. Really nervous. I try not to think of it too often and since I still have short term memory loss, remembering is not a problem.

I am often asked whether my feet are still numb. Yes, they are. I am trying to believe that the numbness serves as a reminder of my cancer journey. Not that I could forget but you get the point.

I did have to return to the house in the middle of nowhere. I was happy that the road construction was completed and I could make it without trouble. I did notice about a half mile down the final gravel road that the fields were flooded and there was a small stream of water running over the road. I was so thankful I could easily cross. Imagine my surprise when, an hour later, I am bumping along the gravel road and I realize the road ahead is flooded. My first thought is I'm trapped. I'm gonna have to spend the night with people who butcher chickens, can their own lard and make their own cheese. Not that there's anything wrong with that. There's really not. But I didn't want to be a part of it. I was terrified b/c the only other way out was through one of those low-water bridges. So I drove back the other way and said many prayers that I could cross. My criteria for crossing a low water bridge is that I have to be able to see the bottom of the bridge. And there can't be any water rushing over it. Standing water is fine, rushing water is not.
I got lucky. Even though there was water on the bridge, I could see the bottom and the water was sloooowly moving across it. I made it.
No canned lard for dinner tonight.
Thank you Jesus.