HONEY

My Mom "Honey" and Sister

For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been living in a twilight zone.  I honestly have started writing this post several times, and walk away, as if I have “writers block”.  Sadly, it’s not.  It’s a true, real story, that I’ve been living, that is much more intense than any story I could ever dream up.

On Friday, December 7^th, my mom had an emergency hysterectomy.  I’d taken my mom into the hospital the Sunday before (December 2^nd) because she couldn’t stand up straight and she was in a lot of pain.  In the emergency room, the doctors told my mom she had 2 masses on her ovaries (14 cm large) that might be cancerous.  The week following was filled with several doctors’ appointments—fast forward 5 days later to December 7^th.  

Mom told us kids that they’d found masses and that she might need chemo.  Never did she say that the masses were cancerous.  She even called friends and her family to just let them know she’d be having a hysterectomy “nothing to be worried about” and that she’d be out of the hospital in 5 days.  I prepared myself for the worst, that “she had ovarian cancer, but luckily, we [doctors] were able to remove it all and she’d be A-OK”.  I went to work that morning for meetings, then headed over to the hospital at noon, assuming I’d just wait another hour for her to be out of surgery, make sure she was okay, and then head back to the office to finish up some work….you see, I had a deadline and a 3 o’clock meeting.

At about 2 (I think it was 2, but I’m not positive, that was a long day), my mom’s Ovarian Oncology Doctor [Dr. Kehoe—like Key-Hoe] came out to the waiting room where I, along with 3 of my mom’s sweet friends, were holding court.  She took us into a private room.  “Oh boy, this can’t be good.”

Dr. Kehoe then began, “I’m glad we had the surgery today, because the masses on your mom’s ovaries ruptured, so there was blood all in her stomach.  After I removed your mom’s ovaries, I felt her colon, and it didn’t feel right. I called in the Colon doctor, and he’s working on your mom right now. Your mom has Colon Cancer.”  All I remember saying was “It’s just not fair.  Can’t she get a break?”

I emailed my VP “Not coming back to office”.

I had prepared myself to hear the whole “ovarian cancer” thing, but not Colon cancer.  I cried, and cried, and cried.  About an hour later, the Colon Doctor came out to talk to me.  “Your mom has stage 4 colon cancer.  We found the cancer started in her colon at her rectum, and spread to her ovaries and liver.  I was able to get most of the cancer out, but had to leave a legion on her liver.  It was too deep and your mom’s been in surgery too long, so we had to leave it.”  I laughed at the doctor.  I couldn’t help myself.  I laughed because I thought he was being funny.  But, he wasn’t.

My mom was only supposed to be in surgery for 2 hours.  By the time she was done, it had been 5 hours. 

I had to make the call to my Husband and Aunt and Brother and Mother-in-Law to deliver the unexpected news.  It was very sad.  Painfully sad.  And very hard to have to remember doing. 

What was even harder was knowing all this and having to wait to tell my mom until the next day—because she was groggy after surgery.  Once she was in her room after surgery though, she knew something was wrong, because she saw the time (clearly past when she was supposed to be out of surgery) and because she could feel the port (for administering chemo) in her stomach. 

That night was the hardest night of my life.  My husband had to get up with me in the middle of the night because I was crying so hard.  I didn’t stop crying that night.  The next morning, I awoke in a haze to the sad reality I was in—it wasn’t a dream.  I felt heavy and exhausted—I could barely move my body. 

We went back to the hospital and the doctors came in to tell my mom what they’d found.  (They’d somewhat explained it the night before but they knew she wouldn’t remember the conversation.)

Dr. Kehoe came in and said “Do you remember what we talked about last night?” and I heard my mom say “that I have Colon Cancer”.

Some friends came to visit, and she said that “God’s still in this.  He’s not done with me yet.  I am going to be famous for God and for my story.  If God has a favorite child, I’m pretty sure that right now, I’m it.”  She’s so positive and so faithful.

My mom is only 51- and one of the healthiest people I know.  How could SHE have colon cancer?  How could it have spread throughout her body?  This isn’t right—she’s too young.  She has at least 40 good years left.  People don’t get cancer at 51—especially not my mom.    

My mom was in the hospital for 6 days, and because she was recovering from her surgery so well, they released her to come home to my house to continue recovering. 

I have to be honest, it’s not easy.  It’s not easy to see someone who has always been so strong now be so weak and helpless.  During the day she is okay, but during the night, there are many meltdowns.  Many tears.  Many pains. 

Because the masses on her ovaries ruptured, the doctors are worried that the cancer in the blood could have spread and are going to plant themselves on other organs.  On Wednesday, 12 days after her surgery, she starts chemo to flush those cells out.  She has chemo Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  3 days a week, every other week, over a 6 week period.  THEN, she will begin chemo treatment (for a minimum of 4 months) to try and kill the legion that’s still on her liver…the legion the doctor wasn’t able to remove. 

My mom has always said that when she has grandchildren, she wants them to call her “Honey”.  My saddest thought right now is What if my children never get to meet their Honey? 



Lions and Tigers and Boots, Oh my!

Saw these and fell in love. 



Fendi Wuthering Heights Platform Ankle Boot



Do you like ankle boots, or ones that go to your knee?  I tend to prefer boots that go to my knee, but I could seriously consider adding these babes to my collection for fall!

Remodel: My Kitchen, Part III

I'm so sorry I left you all hanging!  I went to Cabo San Lucas on vacation last weekend, and had full intentions of getting a post in prior to leaving.  Well, sorry, I waited until the last minute to pack, so I wasn't able to get the last of my kitchen remodel up!

 

Well, today I am going to reveal the final product.  If you want to know more about the remodel, take a look at my first Kitchen Remodel Post (here), or my 2nd one (here)!

 

I think I left you guys with my uncle and me installing Subway tile all the way to the ceiling over the oven. 

Tiling the entire wall was painful, but my Uncle Extraordinaire got the job done. 

 

So, after the tile set and dried, my uncle grouted it with a grey color I picked out.  He then installed the vent hood and vent hood housing. 

 

Are you ready to see the final product?  Take a looks-y!

 

The finished wall.  I'm glad I decided to tile to the ceiling!



View from the living room. 

 

Can you see my Ghost acrylic stools in the picture above (from CB2)?  What about the picture below?  I love them because they blend right in with the kitchen and don't distract!  Plus, they are super comfy!  

 



 

 

When I was working with the cabinet man, I made sure that there would be a spot for the microwave.  I didn't want it siting on the counter!  I'm so glad the island turned out the way it did!

 



 

I actually don't mind standing at my sink doing dishes any more!  I love the faucet and the apron sink!  

 

 

 

 

 

Looking into the kitchen from the garage entrance!

So, a quick look at the before and after!



Before

After

I can't say enough how happy I am with the new kitchen.  Even though it was quite stressful planning it out, I'd say it was worth it.  I think the most stressful part was worrying if my husband would like it or not.  Guess what!  He loves it!  He even says I'm a much better cook now! 

 

This just goes to show that anyone can do a remodel (with lots of research and careful planning.)  I'm not naturally a creative person (hello, I work in Mergers & Acquisitions at 7-Eleven), but I put in a lot of time and effort, and the end result was worth it!

What do you think of my new kitchen?  Anyone ready to hire me to redo theirs yet?

JIMMY JIMMY CHOO(se) Me

It’s been a while since I’ve done a shoe post…what’s wrong with me?  Welp, the wait is over, because this morning, I got a sweet little email from Saks Fifth Avenue telling me all about Jimmy’s Fall Collection.  (That’s right, I’m on a first name with Jimmy Choo…)

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites that I’m adding to my wish list.  Ohhh HONEY, hint hint, wink wink. 

1. Metallic Glitter-Coated LeatherIngrid Sandals

2. Leather Ankle Boots

3. Vamp Glitter-Coated Leather & Metallic Leather Platform Sandals

4. Taffy Patent Leather Pumps

5. Archer Flannel and PatentLeather Pumps

6. Double-Band Patent Sandal

I promise they are worth it!  Every cent!  Really, they aren’t that expensive if you take into account the number of times I’ll wear them…..and plus, every woman deserves to have good shoes in her closet and on her feet!

PS- My first choice would be the Double-Band Patent Sandal (for work) and the Vamp Glitter-Coated Leather & Metallic Sandals (for my brother's wedding Black Tie events...).

Which pair is YOUR favorite?

Remodel: My Kitchen, Part II

So, bright and early on a Monday morning, my Uncle showed up to being putting our kitchen back together.  He moved the electrical around, added new can lighting, sealed unnecessary gas lines, and re-plumbed.  Let me just say, I was so happy with his work!

After the 1st day, I came home to this!  Drywall was up!!

Once the drywall was up, my uncle positioned the base pots & pans cabinets to ensure everything was centered!

So, after 4 days of hard work, a painter came in a textured and painted the walls.  That took all weekend.

My uncle came back the following Monday, and got right to work hanging cabinets.  My husband was going to help him do some heavy lifting, but when we came home from work, my uncle had all the cabinets on the wall!  I was soooooooooooooo happy to see this!

Once my uncle got the cabinets in place, he began working on the island and adding the crown molding.  That week, we also had granite installed. 

We went round and round looking for the perfect stone.  I found a fabulous Marble, but P told me that I couldn't have it in the kitchen.  He told me that I'd be devastated if  I accidently knocked my red wine over on the counter.  Eventually, I agreed with him....but only after he promised me I could put marble counter tops in the Master Bath. 

We then set out to find the PERFECT granite, which was quite challenging.  We went to several different stone yards, but could never find something we both liked.  (We like movement of the lines, and decided we didn't want a granite that had several spots (like polka dots) in it.  As my husband was telling his mom about how much trouble we were having finding a granite piece, she reminded him that we both love the granite they have in their weekend home.  Holy heck- she's right!  We love the granite in that house.  She told us the name, Lady Dream, and luckily, our granite man had 1 slab of it.  The Hubs drove out to his shop, gave it a once over, and the deal was done.  I was so happy to come home and see how great it looks with our cabinets.

You can't really see how pretty the granite is here, but I have better pictures coming!  We also
took down the plastic divider that served to keep all the construction dust out of the rest of our house.

Oh, can you see the aweome hardwood floor?  We were able to match the wood to the hardwood we have in the rest of the house.  I think it makes the spaces flow perfectly! 

So, in the 3rd week of the remodel, my uncle began putting the finishing touches on.  I decided I wanted subway tile to run all the way up the wall over the oven, so I helped my uncle lay all the tiles.  Boy, let me tell you how difficult it was to make sure all the lines were lining up correctly!  But, I think we got faster and better as we added the rows.  I'm glad I got to help my uncle with this though, because I always wanted to know how to lay tile! 

Oh, do you see my farmhouse sink below the window?  It's my favorite thing ever.  It's enormous, and I can't wait to bathe my babies in it!

Okay, enough teasing....I'll reveal our new kitchen in the next post!  What do you think so far?

Remodeling: My Kitchen

So, I think I mentioned a while ago that we were remodeling our kitchen.  Didn't I?  Well, it's done!

Complete!  Finished!  And I LOVE IT!  My husband says I'm a much better cook now.  Go figure.

We took our kitchen down to the studs and started over.  Paul and I demoed, and my uncle did the installation for us.  I can't wait to show you our new, awesome kitchen.

But first, here are some before pictures:



View of the Kitchen from the Living Room.  See the fur downs?

Oh, that gate in the above picture is to keep the dogs restricted to the kitchen.  I have white furniture....and I like to keep it that way.

Our Kitchen had a peninsula that jutted out awkwardly.
Oh, please note the faux wood laminate floors.

Standing where the fridge used to be, looking back toward the Living Room

These were taken the day before my Uncle began putting our kitchen back together again:

We didn't want to rip out the sink without my Uncle there to guide us!

During the demolition, we made sure to knock out the fur downs.  In the picture below, you can see where we removed the fur down over the peninsula.  As soon as we knocked that one down, my husband and I were shocked to see how much larger our space looked once the fur downs were gone!  People had warned us that there might be venting and electrical work in the fur downs, but luckily, there was nothing except empty space!

Looking back toward the Living Room.

That's it for today.  I can't wait to show you more pictures of the remodel process and then, the final product!

One day during our Italy trip, we "kids" decided to go explore Siena.  Siena is only about 30 miles from Radda, but because of all the hills, twists, and turns, it took us an hour. 

Exploring this ancient city was so amazing.  Just like all the other towns, the main square is at the top of the city, so we spent a lot of time conquering hills.  (I appreciated all the hill walking because let me tell ya, that pasta was starting to get to my butt.) 

Standing outside the city gates, I had to take a picture of the skyline. 
The tall steeple is the Duomo.



The Duomo (Cathedral) in Siena is made of all marble and is in itself an amazing piece of art.  We toured it, and I want to dedicate a post soley to the Duomo.  So, all the following pictures are just snapshots of how we spent the rest of our time in Siena.



I literally had to push my way through a group of TRAVELING TOURISTS to get this shot.
I loved the Siena skyline.

The streets in Siena were incredibly steep.  Can you spot Lauren
in the background? 

Okay, so I have been keeping a secret from you.  I've been telling you about all the wonderful trips we went on in Italy, but I haven't said anything about actually getting there.  Because the trips were so hilly and twisty, I got sick on every car ride.  I would take motion sickness medicine, but it made me really drowsy.  I tried to suffer through, but I would get to a new town and feel drunk--even though I'd had nothing to drink.  So, once we got to Siena, I caved and went to a pharmacy to get better motion sickness medicine.  In the below picture, I'm really trying to play it cool, but I was feeling so sick it wasn't even funny.  Check out how pale I look!





Found the gelato.  I love how they display the cones!

My sweet Hubs enjoying some sweet sweet gelato.

We spent quite a while people watching in the Piazza del Campo.  My hubs even took a nap in the Piazza.  I had to laugh because, can you imagine napping in the center of Downtown Dallas?  How long do you think it would take for a) someone to steal your stuff or b) a cop to wake you up and tell you to move along (because you look homeless)? 

How can you not admire the Italians for their love of taking things easy?  Everyone was so relaxed just walking around the Piazza, enjoying wine (Chianti), carbs, and the company of others.

The Hubs in Piazza del Campo

Typical.  We loved all the Vespas.

Because we were there over Thanksgiving, the towns were decorating for Christmas. 
Notice all the tourists behind me?

My favorite shot of Siena.

Eating gelato....again.

We found the Futbol Stadium.  They were preparing for a big game that night.

Gosh, when can I go back?

Warning: Don't drive through the Arches in Italy

On the way back from Montepulciano, my FIL and Opa decided to take a quick road trip around the town of Sienna, since it was on the way back to our villa.  First, let me show you the van we were in:

The back of our Villa.  That lady in the door was the housekeeper and very nice!

It was an 11 passenger van, so it was quite large.  It was, in fact, the size of a daycare van.  (I should know--I grew up in daycare.)

Anyway, we were in this bus, driving around Italy, on the tiny streets.  Well, as we entered Sienna, traffic was going every which direction and people were everywhere.  People were yelling at us in Italian, honking at us, cutting us off, etc.  As we are about to enter into Sienna, we come to a stop light, and right after the light, there was a BEAUTIFUL arch way (like the one in Montepulciano).  My FIL yelled "Which way do I go" and Opa yelled back "GO STRAIGHT!".  At that moment, I said "WOW, we get to DRIVE through this?" 

Foreshadowing, anyone?

Well, here we are in a big arse van, driving on the cobblestone roads of Old Sienna.  I've already told you how narrow the roads where, so that means there was room for about 2 people to walk on either side of our van as we bumped along. 

To make a crowded road even worse, the University had just let out, so there were kids everywhere filtering out of the University buildings.  So, we continued on.  My FIL is saying the whole time "I don't know where to go, it's crazy crowded here".  People on the streets were giving us the meanest looks.  I can only imagine how they thought we looked "7 Americans in a huge van...driving on these roads". 

About that time, my BIL pulled out his Rick Steve's Italy travel book, flipped to Sienna and read aloud:

"Sienna is surrounded by arches that indicate you are entering city center.  You should NOT drive through these arches, as only local residents with special passes are allowed in.  If you should find yourself within the city walls, you should expect a fine to great you on your doorstep when you return home from your Italian vacation.  The fine for driving within the walls of Sienna are steep and will vary, depending on how many cameras pick up your license plate."

Oh, I wish I was joking, but it was almost comical.  All at once, we realized why we'd been given dirty looks--we weren't supposed to be there.  Just at that moments, a cop pulled us over and started yelling at my FIL in Italian. 

Here's what I heard:

Cop: "blah blah blah" hands waiving like crazy

FIL: I'm lost

Cop: "Ugh, YES, blah  blah blah lksjdfljdf

He then proceeded to tell us to turn left at the next turn and "get the hell out of here" as my FIL said.

We turned left, and found ourselves here:

Piazza del Campo

The absolute center of town, in the main square, Piazza del Campo.  Please take notice that there are NO OTHER CARS here.  We drove right along that road in front of the church, with thousands of onlookers watching the "Stupid Americans".  I have to say, it was so cool turning that corner and entering the main square.  It was beautiful.

Piazza del Campo: our view from the van

I'll show you more pictures of Sienna tomorrow.  The next morning, my BIL, SIL, hubs and I all went back to explore Sienna, but this time, by foot.

PS- In case you were wondering, my FIL still hasn't gotten a ticket / fine in the mail yet.  Fingers crossed it doesn't come.

Exporing Italy: Day 4

On day 4, we woke up bright and early, ready to start really exploring Tuscany.  My FIL and OPA decided we should head South to a small village, Montepulciano. 

The drive was beautiful, but I was completely unprepared for the beauty I was about to discover. You see, Montepulciano sits 605 meters high on a ledge, so there are spectacular views from any edge of the city.   

Many of the old villages in Tuscany are old fortresses, and Montepulciano is no different.  Also, there is no commuter driving into the town because the roads are so narrow.  To enter the town, we had to walk through this huge entry way.

Here's the view when looking through the Arch entrance.  It's hard to see here, but the roads were very steep, so to get to the center of town, we had to walk UP.

Of course, I had to get a shot of my FIL, looking dashing.

I tried to get a family shot to show persepective of just how narrow the pathways were.  From left to right, my FIL, OPA, S-i-L, B-i-L, MIL

I loved the knockers on these doors! All the doors in this town had cool details like this!

Beautiful Architecture!

The Hubs walking to see the amazing view overlooking Tuscany!

Here's the view.  Hello Heaven!

As I was window shopping, I came across this poster.  Totally excited, I ran back to my family yelling "OH MY GOSH, THEY FILMED PART OF TWILIGHT: NEW MOON HERE!"  Such an unexpected, amazing surprise!  

NEW MOON POSTER

So, I just happened to take a picture of this building in the center of town.  When I got home and googled "New Moon, Montepulciano", I found the picture 2 below, which was taken during filming of New Moon.  Wow, the red banners really bring out the beauty of this building!

Are you ready for the funniest part of our time in this village?  The picture below says it all! 

I think we all know that Europeans love to drive little cars.  Where do you think SMARTCARs came from?  Well, as the Hubs and I were wandering around, we found this car.  Yes, someone really drives this car.  I got my HOT husband to pose with it to give you perspective!  It's the length of his wing span!

I don't know why, but this is seriously one of my favorite picture from the WHOLE trip. 

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about one of the funniest things that happened on this trip.  Check back to hear all about my Father-in-Law getting stopped by a police officer in Siena!