Grumpy Gus

Who hates HTML?! That would be me. All my posts are posting w/o any paragragh division. (And we all know that i like to pretend that one sentence, a paragraph makes. Listen, I like to break stuff up for dramatic inference.) Seems that HTML has it out for me, and the paragraph breaks won't happen. I need a personal IT guy. (Seriously. I do. ... And if he could help me carry the groceries up to my 2nd floor apartment, that would be great, too. ... I'm not even kidding.) HELP!

Do Re Mi

I went to a fireside last night. (I know, recreational church. Like a crazy person.) And I sang. To clarify: I sang a couple congregational hymns. It's not like I sang a solo from the mic or anything. Anyway, I sang. I sat between two people I hadn't ever met before (dudes, both taller than me - wahoo!), and I sang my little heart out. And after the meeting, both men told me that I had a nice voice. Which, in and of itself, is a nice compliment. But I'm writing about it, because it reminded me of last Sunday, when my Lizzie went to church with me. (Liz moved to Prescott last October, and is temporarily back in town because she has a little one at Phoenix Children's.) On the walk home from church last week, Liz said something about how she could tell that I'm feeling better, and how great it is that I can sing again. I love my Lizzie. I love that she knows me well enough to know that a) I couldn't sing for a while there, and b) that was hard for me. It's totally awesome to be able to sing again. ... It took over a year, and I can't hit anything over an E, but I can hit an E again. And I'm not gasping for breath anymore. And my voice doesn't just give out if I try to hold a note for a full measure. Life is good. I mean, it always has been... but it sure seems better when I can sing High on the Mountain Top with vigor.

Technical Difficulties

Long time, no post. Here's the skinny: 1) I've been working long days. Like, all summer. And when I've been at work from sun-up to sun-down, the last thing I want to do is come home and sit in front of a computer. (It seems that what I want to do is come home and fall asleep on my couch, watching the Netflix. I'm pretty cute that way.) 2) My life is boring. Well... sort of. I mean, I still drive off with gas hoses and have complete mental breaks between the hours of 5:00 and 7:00 AM. But there really hasn't been anything of any actual merit going on. 3) See the title of this post: Technical. Difficulties. Big time. Between my phone that has a mind of its own (Android and Blogger are friends off) and my computer that, for some reason, doesn't want to let me type when I'm in Compose (currently, all blog posts have to be put up in HTML, so I don't have spellcheck... forgive me for the typos!), I am challenged. But I'm sick of working long days and have decided that if you all want to read stories about gas station incidents and brain lapses in the early AM, the very least I can do is oblige with posts full of shoddy spelling. (Yeah, shoddy. That wasn't a typo.) You're welcome. Anyhoo... I had some older posts that were in the half-finished phase (read: stuck in limbo land in my phone), but I'm pretty sure I figured out how to get them to pop up here. Here's hoping that I can find the time, the energy (no more coming home from work and crashing on my couch until the wee hours of the morning) and - most importantly - a way to get my computer and/or phone to work with me. *fingers crossed*

Our wild (WILD!) weekend

As you may recall, I baked up a bunch of sugar cookies last week.

Like the dutiful sister/daughter that I am, I took a couple tupperwares full of leftovers home for the weekend.

Katie was pretty stoked. It had been while since she'd had the beloved sugar cookies:

Later, Saturday afternoon, we took a family trip over to the Taylor Bashas, home of the $2 two scoop, and Mom and I got matchy-matchy ice cream cones.

Sunday morning, we woke up, went to church... And then Mom had A FREAKING HEART ATTACK.

I only wish I was kidding.

She'd been tired that morning - having woken up early, like a kid on Christmas, excited about her RS lesson. (I kid you not. We Evans girls heart teaching and public speaking.) 

The VERY CLEAR upside is, even when Judy's been taken out of the house on a stretcher, she's smiling for the camera. (I know, we're a little sick, but Kate and I were following her - and the EMT's - with our cameras throughout the entire ambulance pick-up. If there's one thing we know about Mom, it's that she'd want us to take full advantage of a photo op.) *She's doing well. No permanent damage. With some diet modifications, she should be good as new in no time. (Good thing we got those double decker cones THE DAY BEFORE the big event, eh?)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

It's a funny thing, Christmas in July. It doesn't seem to matter that it's technically five months too soon, or that it's WAY too hot outside, whenever I celebrate Christmas, it feels like Christmas! Maybe it's the sugar rush (I ate fudge for breakfast - true story), but I'm telling you... I'm pretty much in love with everything in my life right now. Ahhhh... The power of sugar cookies and Bing Crosby. This is why I do Christmas in July. This happy little sugar buzz, combined with memories of parties with my cousins and roommates. The music, the food, the movies = Joy.

It's... Christmas in July!

How did I spend my night last night?

Why, baking and frosting sugar cookies to take to work and make them think I'm a crazy person, of course! 

Listen, it's how I roll. If I am well enough to bake in July (something I have not been able to do since July 2009 - not that I'm counting. ... Oh, wait. Yes, I am!), sugar cookies are on the tippy top of my list of things to do. I mean, they're right up there with fudge and dipped pretzels.

It's not the full-blown affair that Jule, Weez and I used to do every year, but ... in a dark corner, on a late shift, it'll do.

(Ha! I do love throwing a little TMM humor in every once in a while.)

And now I must be off. I have a movie to start. At 7:00 PM sharp!

Because, again, this is how I roll on the 25th of July.

Too much of a good thing

Do you know what this is?

Yup. Cherries. 20 POUNDS of cherries.

Well, at this point, it's more like 10 lbs of cherries. (Because I've dealt with half the box.) But that's still A LOT of fruit for one person!

This is how this happened: My AWESOME friend Emily orders fruit by the box from the great state of Utah. (And Utah is a great little produce producer. Best cherries and peaches EVER!) The cherries were $30 for a 20 lb box. You heard me, $1.50 a pound. (That's awesome, right?!) So, I ordered a 20 lb box and planned on splitting it with Jo when it came in. Too bad Jo took her own self (and 80% of her cherry-eating young) to Utah last week, and the cherries didn't come in until yesterday.

The good news: Now I have 20 lbs of cherries all to myself.

The bad news: Now I have 20 lbs of cherries all to myself.

I've already frozen two cookie sheets full of them, and given a gallon ziploc-ful away... I have another ziploc in my fridge, you've seen the box on my counter, and this is what's in my sink:

Good thing I like them....

My summer plans

I keep having people ask what I'm doing this summer. As in, "Do you have any big plans this summer?"

You can hardly blame them. 'Tis the season and all.

This afternoon, I answered my hygienist honestly. I said, "I do, in fact, have big plans this summer. I'm going home for the 4th of July. I'm NOT having surgery, AND I'm not going to have to learn to walk again. For the first time since 2009, on all counts."

This summer's gonna be epic, in an I-have-absolutely-nothing-planned-but-that's-alright-because-I-don't-have-to-have-surgery-this-summer sort of way. Wahoo!

Would you look at that...

This is a screenshot of last week's views.

Lebanon?

Really?

Kids, I have one known tie to Lebanon. (And that's a pretty loose tie . As in, I'm-twisting-a-fantasy-into-a-tie, tie. But whatever.)

Man alive, I do love statistical data. Numbers bring me serious joy. (As do page views from countries where I have no known friends or relations. Netherlands, Indonesia, South Korea and France, I'm talking to you!) True story.

365 Days

That's right, it's been one whole year since I had cancer growing inside my body.

Happy Anniversary to me!

Three years ago, tomorrow, I had my first cancer-related surgery. One year ago, today, I had (what I am hoping and praying was) my last cancer-related surgery.

6-22-10, Tumor #1
3-22-11, Tumor #2
6-21-12, Tumors #3 and #4

Call me OCD (go ahead, I promise you won't be the first), but I love to see patterns in numbers. It's (and I know this is going to sound a little weird, but it really is) comforting to me when I see patterns like this in my life. (Sidebar: my birthday is 10/21 and I had oral surgery to remove my wisdom teeth on 10/22/12. Again, with the 21st and 22nd. Awesome, right?!)

Here is what I know: the Lord loves me, and He knows me. He knows that, for someone who is truly TERRIBLE at math, I sure do have an appreciation for numbers lining up.

For me, the funny little coincidence of surgery dates (dates scheduled by staff in several different facilities, mind you) falling so closely together is not so much a coincidence, as it is a sign that there is a higher power out there.

To me, the dates are significant.

So many details of so many experiences have been significant, in their exact match to what I had asked for. (And I'm not just talking about that single, age-appropriate oncologist that I wheeled and dealed for with the Lord when I found out about #3.)

So many words that have been said, gifts that have been given, prayers that have been offered have been EXACTLY what I needed. So many friends have called, written or stopped in to visit over the last three years. So many nurses, so many doctors (and way too many anesthesiologists), have been exactly where I needed them to be, when I needed them to be there.

I haven't always gotten what I wanted (see above multiple surgery dates - I would have been fine, sticking to the first surgery in 2010 and never going back for more), but I have always had what I needed.

And you, my dear readers, have been a part of that. Thank you for having been invested in my life. Thank you for having shared the journey with me. Thank you for having given me what I needed, on so many levels, in so many ways. Over and over again, you have taught me so much about love and kindness and hope. I will be eternally grateful for the life lessons you have taught me by showing so much love. Thank you.

One cancer-free year down. ... Here's to 40 or so more!