When Life Hands You Stale Bread, Make Croutons

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Gearing up for a nice, relaxing, holiday weekend by doing very little today. I mean, why not start celebrating early, right? 

Basically, my morning was about kicking back with a cup of coffee and a fluff read. (Yes, I'm trying not to hurt myself.) However, this afternoon, I managed to get off my duff (slightly) to perform the task of making lunch. Unfortunately, nothing was jumping out at me except some bread that was on the verge of becoming stale and some random veg, so I decided salad was the way to go.

I preheated the oven to 400°F and cut up a slice of whole wheat sourdough into cubes (I prefer to use French bread for croutons since it gets much crispier, but whaddayagonnado?). I tossed the cubes in a little olive oil and seasoned them with some garlic and onion powder. Then, I popped them in the oven and waited for them to crisp up (turning them once).

Looking crispy and delicious!

After the croutons cooled down a bit, I added them to my Greekish salad of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cukes, black olives, and Feta cheese, which I tossed in a light champagne vinaigrette. (Fancy!) And trust me, the salad tasted every bit as yummy as it looked...

Isn't that so pretty?

While I was gobbling up my lunch, I jammed out to some tunes by the Kooks. I just LOVE them; they always put me in a great mood. Check out this incredibly awesome and gorgeous video (one of my absolute FAVES!!) for their song, "Ooh La"...




So, that's my not-very-exciting-but-extremely-relaxing-and-enjoyable day so far. If I'm lucky, I'll get to do more of the same for the rest of the weekend. Buuuut, I'll probably have to do stuff. *sigh*

Back to being a bum, but not before I add a string of weird, pointless photos to the end of my blog post (hmm, this is becoming such a pattern)...enjoy!

Have a happy, lazy Friday!! ☺

There's No TREAT in Treatment

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Treatment days are never very fun, but yesterday was especially long and exhausting. I suppose it didn't really help that I woke up to this outside...

pitter patter

If that doesn't make you want to crawl back under the covers, I don't know what would. Unfortunately, sleeping in wasn't an option, so I got up and let my long day begin.

First, I headed out for chemo (joy, joy)...

Bring on the IV drip...can you make it coffee?

Since I had my port removed when I got the new boobs, they had to give me the old-fashioned stick in the arm...or three. Yep, I received THREE needle pokes before everything was up and running because my veins kept puffing up right away. Guess being a junky isn't really in my future, huh?

I tried to relax with a bit of music, reading, and texting friends, but all that poking, prodding, and flowing of IV meds makes a girl hungry, so I had a little snack...

nom nom nom

Eventually, my time was served and I went to a café for a cup o' joe and a little reading before my next doctor's appointment. Oh yes, today I was booked solid. This is just a day in the life. *sigh*

So, I headed over to my breast surgeon's office (not to be confused with my plastic surgeon who gave me the new ta-tas) and waited and waited and waited. Thankfully, the visit was worth the wait because he pronounced everything in working (and theoretically, cancer-free) order and sent me on my way. Woo-ha!

All those hours logged in medical facilities really knackered me out, so I collapsed on the couch the minute I walked through the door. After curling up with my book, listening to some chill music, and receiving a phone call from my BFF, I was FINALLY mellow...

Ugh. I can't wait until I'm done with treatments! Will it ever end??

Bundle of Joy

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Guess what arrived yesterday?? A little package of lovelies for me to adopt! That's right, my order from Better World Books is finally here!! Yaaaaaaay!

Is there anything more thrilling than a box of books arriving in the mail? Well, I'm sure there must be, but this is pretty damn exciting.

My precious!

The War of the End of the World - Mario Vargas Llosa
Death with Interruptions - José Saramago
East Lynne - Ellen Wood
The Easter Parade - Richard Yates
The End of the World News - Anthony Burgess

Looks like a nice bunch for my summer reading. Can't wait to curl up with these guys!

Saving the Ta-Tas

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Saturday was the Columbus Komen Race for the Cure, which, apparently, is the third largest in the world! Gooooo Columbus!!

Jon and I woke up early and headed downtown to get in on the activities and excitement before the races were set to start. The atmosphere was just incredible. The buzz was electrifying!

We checked out all the survivors tents where I signed the survivor banner and grabbed up some free swag. Then, I made a nice little sign to wear on my back for the race...

Subtle, I know.

You would not believe the number of people who would sneak up behind me to take a pic of that sign. Haha! Guess they share my sentiments.

Just as we were heading over to the car to drop off our bags to get ready for the run, we ran into our old friends, Brian and Jen. With 50,000+ people running around that day, what were the odds?

Me and Jen

Brian and Jon

Of course, once we ran into our friends, our plans quickly changed. We were so excited to see them and couldn't stop talking (which I'm sure no one is shocked to learn), so we decided to abandon the 5K run in favor of the 5K walk. No real biggie, but probably a bit surprising considering how long/hard I've been working on getting ready for the race. 

Oh well! We went with the flow and had an AMAZING time! No regrets.

After the race, we sprawled out on the courthouse lawn, snacking, gossiping, and enjoying the festivities. We couldn't have asked for a better day. I'm already looking forward to next year!

1-Year Survivor

Click here to find out how you can participate in Race for the Cure and stick it to breast cancer!

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Heart the Arts

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Last week we attended the ARTS EXTRAVAGANZA at Aidan's school. We feel very fortunate to live in a great school district that celebrates the arts and provides arts education that extends beyond finger painting. We expected a lot from the extravaganza, but even then, we were blown away by the experience.

The school was filled with the students' artwork, which gave it a very gallery-like feel. Of course, we wasted no time scoping out Aidan's work. Here are a few pieces...

Aidan's "Very Hungry Caterpillar"

Aidan's "Self-Portrait"

See any resemblance?

Aidan's "Dark Bird"

Posing with his creation

In addition to the visual art, there was plenty of performing art. Aidan and company put on quite a show of singing, playing instruments, dancing, and even putting on a little skit. I could not wipe the smile from my face! I was sooooo proud!!

I really wish I could have gotten a better, closer view of the kids when they were singing and using instruments (alas, I just couldn't get any good pics). Also, I'm absolutely kicking myself for not taking video...particularly during the dancing segments, which were absolutely hilarious and adorable. However, it was an incredible evening and we all had the best time.

I just can't believe Aidan's kindergarten career is about to come to an end! Even though there won't be any big time difference in his school day next year (since his school only provides all-day kindergarten), it is still hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that he'll be in 1st Grade! Not the little guys of the school for much longer. But, he can't wait!

Putting My Breast Foot Forward

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As some of you may or may not know, I had boob surgery last month to replace the knockers that I lost to the big C. (I'm no Boobs McGee, but I think they look pretty good.) Unfortunately, with surgery comes recovery time...which seemed to last FOREVER. During that time, I was restricted from most physical activity save walking, so I've been getting a wee bit twitchy to get up and moving again.

Well, I'm happy to report that my restrictions have officially been lifted and I have been sweating myself silly all week in celebration! Hurrah!

I was a little worried about how I'd do with my running since it had been a few weeks since my last jog, but it was just like riding a bike (only waaaaay suckier). This is great news since the Columbus Race for the Cure is this weekend and Jon and I are slotted to run in the coed 5K. 

(I think I can, I think I can, I think I can)

Of course, with the return of running comes the return of running songs...

5 SONGS I'M DYING TO RUNNING TO THIS WEEK:
Bullet and a Target - Citizen Cope
Time Running - Tegan & Sara
More - Usher 
Naïve - The Kooks
Long Train Running - The Doobie Brothers

COOL DOWN & BE COOL SONG OF THE WEEK:
Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch

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Right now, I am super happy to be back in the fitness groove. (We'll see how long that lasts.)  Just being able to do a little strength training and jogging has made me feel very accomplished. I'm hoping to add more activities back into my routine very soon.

I'll keep you posted.

Love,

Chesty La Rue 
(or do you prefer Hootie McBoob?)

EleFUNt

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Well, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus is in town again, so last night we made our annual family trek down to watch the handlers walk the elephants up to the arena. Always good times...

Here they come!

Our front row seats.

There they go.

Dylan was enraptured.

Aidan thought they smelled.

Don't know if we'll actually go to the circus since we have such a busy weekend coming up, but we may end up coming back down to watch the elephants walk back to the train on Sunday. Gotta wait and see if time and weather are on our side.