*Updated: The Nail Protocol is at the bottom of this post. The nail thing is not just a vanity issue.  This new chemo drug is going to make my fingernails and toenails die; it won’t be pretty.  Eventually new ones will grow in.  I am okay with this; chemo is killing the cancer, so chemo can have my hair and my nails and whatever else necessary!  The problem...

I am so not perfect: 10. I dislike going to events where I don’t know anyone.  I am shy and tense before and during. 9.  My house is messy most of the time.  Not dirty at least, but definitely messy.  (It’s an important distinction.) 8.  Maren only brushes her teeth 1x/day even though the dentist keeps telling us it should be 2x a day. 7.  I...

It’s like I’m on the edge of the cliff. I’m teetering and I know that I’m going over the edge, it’s just a matter of time. Luckily, I know that I also have a rope and harness so it’s a safe fall. I’m not falling, I’m repelling.  This is a calculated, measured, controlled fall.  Physiologically, my brain tells me: I am...

It’s been happening.  A couple of my nearest and dearest of friends, they have said it. “You are glowing.” “You look amazing and strong.” “You look taller (haha), your skin looks terrific.” “You look great.” I am glowing.  Brad and I look at each other, and shrug, and agree: we are not stressed.  We, as with...

Yesterday was another day of cancer normal.  I feel normal.  Greta was passed between my mom and I all day and didn’t seem to mind at all.  (Okay, so that is not normal, but I like it!) I’ve had short hair now for five or six days; I am used to it.  My day was filled very ordinary, even boring, tasks.  Dare I say, cancer is normal to me now?  Brad and I told my...

My hubs is the kind of guy who takes all of his girls on dates.  The two of us try for at least once a month, but I-Need-My-Mama-Baby-G has hurt our track record for the past ten months.  In light of recent events, we are again motivated to make our dates a priority.  I always love my husband, but we like each other a lot more when we make time for our marriage....