Me and my big ol' mouth, health update, St. Paddy's

You'd think in 37 years I'd learn when to keep my mouth shut. Well, I kind of have, except when it comes to my Facebook. Sometimes when I'm aggravated about something I spout off on Facebook, not thinking that there are over 500 people who may see it and read something into it. Or figure I'm talking about them. I really gotta learn to Tweet my annoyance rather than Facebook it. Or maybe I should just keep it to myself.

My appointments at Siteman went well last week. I see my oncologist again in three months, my plastic surgeon again in six weeks and my breast surgeon in a year. All my labs were back to normal, my weight was pretty stable, my incisions from my implants looked good, my bone density was within normal limits, and Dr. M (breast surgeon) told me how to find a recurrence. Thank God, because I've been wondering about that for six months and never thought to ask.

So how does a woman who's had a bilateral mastectomy determine if her breast cancer has recurred? Well, the implants are under the pectoralis muscle, so if the cancer comes back, it will be a lump on my breast. So I still am supposed to do monthly breast exams! And if there's distant metastasis, well, you find that the same way you'd find it otherwise.

Pinup Barber and I had a lot of fun in St. Louis. We had awesome bar food for lunch (reubens, curly fries and bleu cheese chips...sinful!!) and sushi for dinner. For dessert, cosmopolitans (Pinup Barber), Smithwick's (me) and a couple of Purple Hooters (which we had never heard of before, but they were good). All the drinks were consumed at the bar adjacent to the hotel so we didn't have to worry about driving. Pinup Barber prank called her husband after we got back to the room. It was pretty funny. At least I thought so. I guess we were cold when we got back so we turned on the heat, but I woke up at like three AM and I swear it was 80 degrees in there! So I turned on the air and it was much more like it. I think we've both gotten used to husbands who freeze us out.

We found the coolest little store Tuesday and we both bought a ton of clothes, shoes and jewelry. They had their boots on clearance and we both got cute new boots. I also got some ridiculous 5 inch platform wedges. I've worn them once and fell down twice before I left the house, but managed to stay upright in public. I should probably only wear them when I'm the designated driver though. I also expanded my large earring collection. With hair as short as mine, I've gotta make sure it's obvious which team I play for.

I got a sweet surprise Wednesday...DH got to come home for about a day and a half! He texted me and asked me to look for a cheap flight when I got home, but by the time I got home to look for one he had already booked it and e-mailed me his itinerary. He flew into St. Louis...three hour drive up to get him but totally worth it :-) And he did drive most of the way back home.

I was so glad he made it home for St. Paddy's so we could wear our matching kilts. Well, kind of matching...when girls wear kilts they are supposed to fall below the knee and mens' are supposed to be at or slightly above the knee. Besides the matching vintage Captain America motorcycle helmets, we are not a matchy-matchy couple. I honestly even try not to wear our bar shirts at the same time he does unless we are representing. But we do make a few exceptions. I fished out my new Guinness shirt and a green belt just in case someone didn't notice our bar name embroidered in green on my kilt. I couldn't find my shamrock knee socks so I just wore flip flops...now that's quite a statement huh?

For St. Paddy's we got matching tattoos!! Yep we went with our best friends and we all got a little four-leaf clover. And it looks like I'll be wearing flip-flops a lot for the next couple of weeks since I got mine on my left foot! Everyone else got theirs incorporated into their sleeves, but I don't have a sleeve. Probably never will either...not sure I could get away with that as a nurse. And I'm so hot-natured since I've been in my chemically induced menopause that I'd die if I had to wear a long-sleeve shirt under my scrubs to cover my tattoos. So I'll stick with tattooing areas that are hidden by business casual...

Our St. Paddy's party was an absolute blast. The bar was packed and everyone raved about C's corned beef and cabbage and potatoes. She corned the beef herself instead of using pre-made corned beef. I think it was all gone before the second band even started and I'll bet less than half the people there ate. The bands were incredible and the turnout was just awesome. Thank goodness the weather cooperated. Since St. Paddy's was on Thursday and our bike nights are on Thursdays, we went ahead and kicked off the bike night season! And I believe we had one of our best nights ever!!

It was fun hanging out with everyone, but with DH home I just wanted to keep him to myself. Once I was able to hand off the food donation stuff to someone else, I hunted him down and tried my best to stay stuck to him for the rest of the night. I almost wish we would have just stayed in St. Louis in a hotel and I could have had him all to myself!! But that wouldn't have been fair to the kids or our friends...they all miss him too when he's gone.

The little ones went with me to take DH to the airport to go back to work. After four hours in the car, I knew they needed a break, so we did a little shopping. Springfield has lots of good places to shop, so when I shop in St. Louis I try to go to places we don't have here. We went to Trader Joe's, a beauty supply store, and World Market. I picked up a few cool things and got a new wine to try from Trader Joe's and some new coffee and funny birthday cards at World Market. I also got some good bedroom ideas from World Market, although I don't thing they sell what I want but I can probably get it made by a friend who builds furniture.

Before we hit the road, we hit Romano's Macaroni Grill. It's been awhile since I've eaten at one. I think the last time was during a PTA convention. Oh my goodness it was so good!! BabyBoy loved the bread dipped in olive oil and pepper. Ms. Thang didn't like it though. I really missed DH being there though. It made me remember when we used to drive to Tulsa just for dinner and to wander around the mall for an hour or so. Or that record store and head shop. I wish I could remember the name of that place. Anyway, when we ate at Macaroni Grill in Tulsa, they had a waitress or hostess or something that sang opera arias during dinner. It was amazing...both the food and the singing. Neither of us are big opera fans but we were blown away by that girl's voice. The kids got a kick out of drawing on the butcher paper on the table. I paid with cash and the waiter accidentally gave me back $5 too much in change. When I realized it, I added it to his tip, but I didn't want him to think I'd left him a huge tip so I left him a note about the change too. I'm glad I noticed, I would have felt bad if I'd figured it out later.

I got a call about another study that I think I'm going to enroll in. This will make four now! But I think this one will be beneficial to both me and research. It's a study about diet and exercise modification and weight loss for breast cancer survivors. They are looking at recurrence rates. I am just overweight enough to qualify. I go in a couple of weeks for my initial labs, measurements and a fitness test. LOL I'm gonna be in trouble! But I can't start losing yet or I won't qualify for the study when I go for my appointment.

My Twitter buddies are meeting up tonight in Gruene, TX and I'm so jealous! I wanna go! I guess I will have to catch up with them next time. I'm not a huge Roger Creager fan so I can't see driving that far to see him...I'm not sure I'd cross the street! OK I probably would cross the street, but only if it wasn't busy. And if they were serving Shiner.

Hmmm, well, what else is there? I can't believe the kids' spring break is already over. I was hoping we could get out of town but I guess that's going to have to wait till school is out. I really need DH to work somewhere with a beach...

Alright, that's it, I'm beyond sleepy and going to bed!!