Hello Once Again

I have to apologize for the unintended long break and just jump in again here.

What's been happening?



Fiona just finished performing in her school play, The Jungle Book. She was a monkey. She was a totally cute monkey. She had the greatest facial expressions. The little monkeys were made up of Kindergarten and 1st grade students. The first night of the performance, she forgot which way to run off the stage after Shere-Khan (the scary tiger) walked in. After being confused for a minute, she bolted off the stage the right away after a bit of help from some flowers. It got such a laugh, that apparently her music teacher asked her to do it again for the performance the next night.

In February, I went in to see my doctor about my SAD and the Lexapro (fine) and mentioned a lump I had found on my breast. After feeling the lump, he had me set up an appointment with a surgeon (just in case, so we had the ball rolling) and get an ultrasound and a mammogram. Long story short, my lump was just a galactocele . I don't even need to have an annual mammogram at this point (I will, of course, do so when I turn 40). Oh, and by the way, the mammogram is so not a big deal. I had the digital mammogram, and while it is certainly quite awkward to get yer boobs totally sandwiched and handled by a stranger (the tech was very nice, however, and did a great job), it was not at all painful. I couldn't actually look at my boobs being flattened, but as long as I didn't look, it was okay. So not a big deal. Needle biopsy was much worse. Worth it, but painful. The worst thing about the surgery was the recovery from the anesthesia. So that's that. It probably will not happen again and I certainly don't plan on lactating again at this point (not that I wouldn't breastfeed because of this, mind you). I had the surgery because they couldn't tell what it was from the tests and I did have some atypical cells (not malignant, but could possibly lead to malignant cells).

So, anyway, I got to spend a full week in Texas at the end of April and I had the most amazing time. I got to see my family in little D and go to the Spring Fling (okay, okay, the Jazz Festival). Then my sisters Alex and Ellen Aim and I drove down to the fabulous city of Austin to see Triana and her hubby and their adorable cats Harlow and Clover. Triana's new house is totally fab. I have finally been to the legendary Alamo Theater, where we saw Big Man Japan. I just loved the movie (maybe just one time, though). I had a yummy Guinness milkshake, which certainly added to the enjoyment of the film. Those candy coated sunflower seeds seem to be the hot new thing...they are everywhere now and I had green ones on the top of my milkshake. Nice touch. I want every theater to be an Alamo Theater.



More about my Texas trip later. There is just a lot to write about with pictures and links. Fiona has lost a top front tooth, which gives her that typical endearing smile you see on kids this age. Both Fiona and Sophia are in a dance recital this week. We'll see how that goes, but their costumes are very cute. They are supposed to wear make up, which I am not wild about, and no underwear. I'm sure that's so you don't see underwear peeking out, but it seems a little over the top for kids this age.

The top picture was taken of a sign to the back room. While I was away (did I mention I went alone?), Doug took the week off from work and watched the girls. Fiona also had the week off from school and there were no activities that week (well, except for the last two days of my trip). They not only had a fabulous time, but the house was clean! Projects were done! Laundry was done! I am not worthy. However, I am extremely lucky.

When Doug goes away on work trips, I can assure you all the house is not clean when he returns.

More trip details to come. Really.