January Book List & Contemplating A Swap

I can't believe how fast January has flown by.  Anyone else wondering where the month went? 

I got some pretty cool responses from my 2009 book list.  Two authors thanked me for reading their books.  How cool is that?!?!  I'm always looking for new books to read - so if you have something on your booklist that seems good - let me know!  I'd love to read it too and compare notes.  :-)

Here's my book list for January:

1. Hunted - P.C & Kristin Cast
2. Tempted - P.C & Kristin Cast
3. Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
4. Pilgrims - Elizabeth Gilbert
5. Souvenir - Therese Fowler
6. The Secret of Everything - Barbara O'Neal
7. Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz
8. Masquerade - Melissa de la Cruz
9. Revelations - Melissa de la Cruz
10. Why Moms Are Weird - Pamela Ribon
11. Jupiter's Bones - Faye Kellerman
12. High Tea - Sandra Harper

I wondering if I should start doing book reviews...but think you all might throttle me if I reviewed every book I read.

Now that everyone has made it past the holidays and can breathe a little, I think I want to host a swap.  I mentioned it on Twitter earlier in the week, and want the opinion of those of you aren't my Twitter followers (yet).  :-)  My ideas are: favorite book, stationery, favorite movie, journal, or cookbook swap.  Do you have any other ideas?  I want something easy, fun and perhaps a little spring-y.  Could you envision participating if one of these were chosen?

I See Dumb People....

OK... I'm pretty careful not to complain about work or give away clues as to my company's name.  Today, I'm breaking my self-imposed rules and having a *quick* bitch session.  Bear with me.

Dear, sweet co-worker B - you get emails for a reason.  Most of us know that emails are intended to READ.  Telling me and co-worker C that you don't read them - ON PURPOSE doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Furthermore, declaring with pride that if it's too long or you don't know the sender that you immediately delete said email ticks me off.

We have jobs that require we pay attention.  And not only read, but respond and archive our emails.  I have every.single.email since I started with my company 6 years ago (except for a month of emails that got wiped out in 2007 during a computer upgrade...but let's not go there).  It makes me wonder if you're going to hang up on people if you don't think the questions they are asking pertain to you.  I'd also like you to please pay attention to the details.  We know it isn't fun sometimes - but you get paid to know what is going on with your customer.  Suck it up, buttercup.  Just sayin'.

On another note...I *stupidly* did the math on how much I worked in 2009.  Somehow, I fit just short of 16 months worth of work into a 12 month span.  And I find myself wonder how in the world I did it. Seriously!  I took three of my four weeks of vacation. It could have been worse if I gave up more PTO time.  The final thought on this... Um, can someone please PAY ME for all the extra hours I put in?  Being a salaried employee sucks sometimes.

My rant has ended. Sigh.

But while I'm talking about work - let me share that I don't know what I'm going to do in April.  Co-worker C is going on maternity leave.  I'm so, so, so happy for her!!  She's my sanity at work though.  We're really alike in a lot of ways.  I know that if something is bugging me; it's highly likely that it's bugging her too and vice versa.  I'm going to have to bribe her to bring the baby in to visit - so I can see what is likely to be one of the cutest babies in history and so I can do a microrant.  :-)

Is anyone else having a craptastic time at work lately?

THANK YOU

Last week I did a post about my mom having breast cancer.  I did it "for me", thinking that I wouldn't get much response.

I was sooooo wrong, and it made me realize just how much I love you guys.  From the bottom of my heart - thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you for letting me share; thank you for being supportive; more than anything - THANK YOU for every single comment, every single email, all the prayer and positive thoughts.  You are all amazing!  You shared your thoughts, your opinions, and your experiences.  YOU MADE ME CRY (in a good way)!!  I am so proud to know each of you.  If you lived closer, you'd get hugs and baked goods as tokens of my appreciation.  Let me know if you move closer - both the hugs and baked goods offer are open invitations.  :-)

And now, for a status report....

Mom has heard from her surgeon with some not so great news.  The margins still aren't clear.  Her breast surgeon is fantastic and very informative about the three available options.

1. Proceed with chemo and radiation & see if that kills the still cancerous cells.
2. Opt to have another margin revision.
3. Move forward with a mastectomy.

After some careful thought, mom has decided for a mastectomy.  She is sure of herself and her decision...and we are sure of her.  Surgery is next Thursday.  It's still up in the air if reconstructive surgery will happen now or later.  Either way - she wants her boob job!  Come on.  If you're maintaining a positive attitude through all these procedures - you've earned a boob job!  :-)

Tuesdays At The Table - Chocolate Wheat Cereal Snacks

Happy Tuesday!  I hope you're all having a good week.  ;-)

Remember Andrea, the fabulous creator of Tuesdays At The Table?  Well, she had her baby!  Some of you are FaceBook friends with her and already know - but I wanted to share just in case.  Swing by and help welcome little Cooper to the bloggy world!

I found these little suckers in the Summer edition of A Taste of Home.  They are so good!

Chocolate Wheat Cereal Snacks

6 cups frosted bite-size Shredded Wheat
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Set cereal aside in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Stir until smooth.  poor over cereal  and stir gently to coat.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and toss to coat.  Cool completely.  Store in airtight containers.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Sunday Scramble

The fabulous Tiney has started a new meme - Sunday Scramble.

Let the randomness begin!

1. The old school "Winnie The Pooh" theme song is my current cell phone ring tone.  Nothing significant, just love me some Winnie - and thought I'd share.
2. My beat my best string score in bowling by a landslide last week.  An 89!!  Go me!  Yes, I know that bowling is geeky - but I have so much freaking fun.  You blow off a little steam, chat with the girls, and do some AMAZING people watching.  As Heather said last week, "People watching at bowling is on the same caliper as people watching at Disney".  It's that good. *Update: My high score for a string was 89....not the ENTIRE game.  That would, in fact, suck.  And, it's candlepin bowling.  Smaller balls =harder to get a fantastic score.*
3. Any of you have a Keurig coffee machine?  If so - go out and buy Gloria Jean's Pomegranate Berry Fusion Tea.  It is sooooo good.  Actually, I know it's great iced.  I don't drink hot tea, so I can't tell how you how yummy it is hot.  But I imagine is still just as yummy!
4. Another awesome discovery?  Sticky Fingers Gourmet Apples.  These suckers are FABULOUS!!  A small company in upstate NY makes gourmet dipped apples (and other cool stuff), and when it arrives, they are so fresh that it's like they were picked off the tree already coated in caramel and chocolate!  Based on one little taste - I ordered some for myself and for a friend that is recovering from a nasty virus.
5. I'm committing myself to actually go on vacation this year.  Unfortunately, I don't have any brilliant ideas.  Any suggestions?

Drop by Tiney's to read her Sunday Scramble and everyone else's too!

Lucky Tag

I saw this on Amy's blog, and thought it would be fun to play along.  Drop by and check out her answers too.  :-)

8 TV Shows I Watch:

• NCIS
• Grey's Anatomy
• Private Practice
• Brothers & Sisters
• Bones
• Ugly Betty
• Ghost Whisperer
• Tabatha's Salon Takeover
  

8 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink:

• Cheesecake Factory
• Margarita's
• Rebecca's Cafe
• The Brew Moon
• Chipotle
• Panera Bread
• Bertucci's
• Rustic Kitchen
  

8 Things I Look Forward To:

• Knitting
• Reading
• Weekends
• Bowling with the girls
• Twilight: Eclipse coming out
• The new season of True Blood
• Cuddling with the pups
• Mom making it through treatment successfully
  

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

• WAY too many meetings
• Watched TV
• Knitted
• A little online window shopping
• Wrestled a plastic container away from Meadow
• An impomptu department lunch
• Paid bills
• Thanked heaven for caffeine

8 Things I Love About Winter:

• The smell of snow
• Watching the dogs play in the snow
• Hot chocolate
• Snow days! (though very rare)
• That snow makes everything look new (for a while)
• Cuddling up with a good book
• Short, sleepy days
• Knowing that Spring is right around the corner

8 Things on My Wish List:

• A real vacation
• Pay off bills
• Help my friends and family
• Buy a house
• Find Prince Charming
• Get a promotion
• More hours in the day :-)
• Write a book

8 Things I'm Passionate About:

• My family
• My friends
• My dogs
• Reading
• Crafting
• Blogging
• Photography
• Cooking

8 Words/Phrases I Use Often:

• Thank you
• SERIOUSLY?!?!
• He/She had an attack of stupid
• I'm like a walking post-it note
• Love
• Drop it! (directed towards the dogs)
• Eventually, I'll learn to say "no"
• Of course I'll help

8 Things I've Learned From the Past:

• Give of yourself, as much as you can
• Surround yourself with people you can trust
• When in doubt; laugh.  It'll be funny later.
• It's OK to cry now and then
• Friends and foes are found when you least expect it
• Find joy in the small things
• Time is a precious comodity
• You can't fix stupid  :-)

8 Things I Currently Want/Need:

• Money Tree (this was Amy's but I totally agree)
• To find the perfect pair of jeans
• More books
• More hours in the day
• A hug
• A new TV
• A massage
• A mani/pedi
  

I tag all of you!  Let me know if you decide to participate.  I'd love to read your answers!!

Cuz She's My MOM!

I'm trying hard to do bright, cute posts lately... but today is not one of those posts. Back to our regularly scheduled "happy" tomorrow.



Instead, I'm going to share with you something I wish I could have shared with you in October and should have shared with you in December.  My mom has breast cancer.


My mom is amazing. She's always been healthy - in fact she never even felt this lump. Why you ask? Because it's right along her chest wall. I credit my mom's diligence in annual mammograms for finding this problem so quickly. In a way - she's really lucky. The breast cancer is between Stage I and Stage II. Totally treatable.  However, it's Grade III - the cells are irregular and grow quicker.


My lovely, fabulous, upbeat mom has been through a lumpectomy and three margin revisions now. In the process has also had a port put in, had a punctured lung and aspirated bile on the surgical table. Through it all, she has managed to smile. Last Thursday was the lastest in margin revisions, and we now have news that the margins still aren't clean.


Realistically, I know she's going to be fine. It means either another margin revision or (likely) a mastectomy. I'm joking with her that she gets a free boob job if she opts for the mastectomy. But every now and then - I have "holy crap" moments.

What would I ever do without her? How can I best support her through another surgery, chemo, radiation and HER2 treatments? Why won't these cells just STOP growing?!?!


Thank you all for letting me get this off my chest (I know... NOT funny). I'm totally ok is you don't comment, want to comment but don't know what to say, etc. I'm stressed. I'm optomistic. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little scared.

I just appreciate you letting me share. And a big thank you to Kirstren, Jane and Tiney. They did know and have been awesome support as I support my mom.