Fun With The G's

Friday, May 06, 2011

Here Come the Boobie Troopers

Well it's that time of year again. Tomorrow I will be participating in the Sacramento Komen Race For The Cure along with 23 of my friends and family members as the Boobie Troopers. This will be our 5th year participating. Last year we took a break but we are back at it again this year and I couldn't be more excited. My team has helped to raise nearly $3,500 this year which currently puts us #15 on the list of top fundraising teams. Way to go Boobie Troopers!! I will be sure to post pictures after the walk. There is also time to still donate if you would like just go to www.komensacramento.org and click on Race For The Cure, Donate to an Individual, and look me up. Nichol Garcia.

In other news we are gearing up for the end of Shelby's 7th grade year, um yea, that flew by!! Oh and to top it off we are also preparing for my niece to graduate from high school. Again, I have no idea where all those years went however I do know I am so proud of both of them. We went to see my niece off for her prom last weekend and she looked absolutely gorgeous! I still can't believe it is time for her to go off to college. She is an amazing child, she has always had so much drive and motivation, she pushed herself in school and achieved wonderful grades and she has the power and strength to be whatever she wants to be so as her auntie you can tell I am quite proud. She is also a great role model to her cousins and brother.

That's about it for now. I know these posts are few and far between but I promise to keep it up cause I know there are a couple people out there that come here to keep up on what's going on with the G's. So happy reading and I will post again soon.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

News, News, and More News

Oh it has been so long, I just realized I have not posted since before Christmas. So let's get caught up here. First of all, our Christmas was wonderful. We spent time with friends and family and I couldn't ask for more. Now moving on to the new year. So far 2011 is shaping up quite nicely. I started my new chemo and have been on it for a little over 2 months now. I had a scan a couple of weeks ago and I am very happy to report that the spots in my liver are once again responding positively to this treatment, so I am really very excited about that. Now as if that wasn't exciting enough, the same week we got that news, we also found out that after 4 years of working in the Bay Area and being away from the family all week, and only home on weekends, drumroll please....it looks like Vince is coming home!!! The company he works for has had some changes which freed up some driver positions here in Sacramento. If all goes as planned he will start his job here in Sac. on March 1st. We are ecstatic about this news. This is what we have been praying for for the past 4 years, it is almost surreal and hard to believe. Also, on another note, we now officially have a teenager in the house. Shelby turned 13 a few weeks ago (also the same week that we received all the other good news). Maybe God knew we needed a break since we are embarking on the teen years, haha, whatever it is, our prayers are getting answered and we are feeling very blessed. I hope everyone else is also having a great start to the new year. Hugs!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Thankful

During this time of year a lot of people reflect on what they are thankful for. I have been thinking about that quite a bit for the past few weeks. I have come to realize I have quite a bit to be thankful for. Of course I am thankful for all the usual things like family, friends, etc...but there is one thing that I am thankful for that may seem unusual to some. I am thankful for cancer. I am not thankful that it has caused fear and tears for myself and the people that love me but I am thankful that it has given me strength. I never thought of myself as a weak person but I have come to realize that having cancer has given me quite a bit of strength, strength to face another round with chemo, strength to take another round of hair loss, strength to undergo another round of tests that leave me hoping every 2 months that things look better. In the beginning, 5 years ago I would look at all of these things with great fear but today, I look at these things with strength, I am ready, I can do this, and I am not afraid. So thanks to having cancer I have become much stronger than I once was. I am also thankful for everyday. None of us are promised tomorrow but I feel so strong and I believe that I will have many more tomorrows to celebrate milestones with my friends and family. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, spend time with those you love and tell them you love them often, that is what I will be doing this season. Cheers!!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Long Overdue

So I just realized it has almost been 2 months since my last post. I am slacking here! So first off, I had another scan 6 weeks after starting my new treatment and things are stable so we will continue with this treatment for another 8 weeks and then scan again. It's pretty bad that not only do the people at the cancer center know me but the people who do the scans at the hospital now know me, i don't even have to give them my name. When I come in it's, "Oh, hi Mrs. Garcia" Never thought my face would be known in these places but on the other hand I suppose it's a good thing that I am still here frequenting those "facilities".

The girls have started back to school and are adjusting well. Shelby is in middle school and in the beginning it was a little rough because "all of her friends" had a different lunch period than her but she has since made new friends and I think she is enjoying it now. She was pretty bummed that her best friend from elementary school and her did not get one single class together.

We just got back from a weekend camping trip which was very nice and relaxing. I am really starting to believe that our little trailer purchase last year was well worth the money as it gives us time as a family to get away from a few days here and there but also gives us the luxury of not feeling like we are "really" camping. Sydney celebrated her 7th birthday and one of the gifts we got her was a butterfly garden. So if you have never heard of this it is so cool. You order it online, they ship you a butterfly habitat and live caterpillars. The caterpillars are in a cup with all the food they will need, well after so many days they form into their cocoons and then you have to transfer them into the habitat, thank goodness Vince was home the day the transfer needed to happen because it freaked me out a bit. Turns out when they are in their cocoons they will shake which is a defense mechanism, so when we were trying to transfer them the cocoons were shaking everywhere and I was just praying one did not detach from it's tiny little silk string that it was hanging from the top of the cup by and fall on my hand....Eweeeee...anyways, the transfer went smooth but they did not hatch into butterflies before we left so there we were, bags all packed, trailer hooked up, and butterfly habitat secure in the car on our way to Pine Grove. On our last day there the butterflies hatched out of their cocoons which I find so fascinating. It's crazy how they are completely transformed. So we have toted them back home and now Sydney is deciding when she wants to let them free. I am hoping it is sooner vs. later as it says the life span of a butterfly is only 2-4 weeks. We need to let them free before their short lives end cause I don't want to have an upset 7 year old on my hands.

That's it for now. Thanks for checking in!

Monday, August 02, 2010

This and That

First off I just realized I never updated after my wonderful Mother's Day Daughtry Concert gift. As you can see from the picture of the girls and I with the band, we had a BLAST!! Yes, after 5 years, I am still a very dedicated fan (some may say stalker but I like calling myself a dedicated fan better...Haaa).

It's been hard for me to keep up with our blog lately as we have been busy and I always forget to update but here I am today, finally posting. We recently went on another family camping trip which was lots of fun, Sydney has been taking swim lessons this summer and she is doing great, Shelby took tennis lessons with one of her friends and enjoyed that very much. So we have been making the most of our summer days.

I can't believe my 5 year "anniversary" since my cancer diagnosis is next week. I feel blessed to be here and feeling well after 5 years of battling this disease. Last week I received the results of my most recent scan and I guess the cancer decided to surprise me with a not so desirable anniversary gift. We found out that the areas in my liver that had gone "dormant" or were in remission are back again. The areas in my bones that have never completely disappeared are also looking worse so I will be celebrating my 5 years with another change in treatment. I feel lucky that I was able to get a year and a half out of the last treatment and it was pretty easy to tolerate. My Dr. gave me the option of trying one more anti hormonal or going back to chemo, I decided to try one more anti-hormonal. I wasn't feeling ready to go back to chemo quite yet. I will have another scan in 6 weeks and if things are stable or better then we will continue on the anti hormonal, if things are not stable or better then I guess it will be back to chemo for me. I am happy that there are still many options of various chemos that we have not tried yet. I was naturally feeling down after my appointment last week but I have sense grabbed the reigns again, picked myself up (with the help of encouragement from friends and family) and I am again feeling strong and ready to fight and beat this. So that's what has been going on around here. Thanks for checking in. I hope everyone is enjoying their families this summer as much as I am enjoying mine.

I will keep you posted on the results of my next scan but I am praying and believing for nothing but good news.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Summertime Fun

It's been awhile and we have had so much going on. Shelby has promoted from 6th grade and now she is on to middle school. The promotion ceremony that was put on by her class was so good, I mean I hate to admit it but come on, graduations are usually pretty boring but this one was actually very entertaining, so we were very happy for her and very impressed. The best part was that Vince was able to get the day off and surprise Shelby, he usually has to miss the girls school functions as they are never on Mondays when he is home so this was very special to Shelby and she was quite surprised. The girls had their final school activity for the 09/10 school year last week. They both performed in the school choir performance/play of The Jungle Book and it was soooo cute!! I am going to really miss having them both together at the same school, it's fun to watch both of my girls together in a play.

We are gearing up now for a fun filled summer. Sydney will be starting her swim lessons next week, Shelby will be starting tennis lessons, we still have dance lessons, and I will be doing sanity checks on a daily basis....Haaaa..We are hoping to also squeeze in some camping time but so far we have not been able to schedule anything as our weekends are pretty much booked through June already.

Speaking of busy weekends. This weekend my mom, sister, and I will be going to see Wicked. I have seen it once before and it was sooo good, I can't wait to see it again. I am anxious to see what my mom thinks as she has not see nit yet, I think she will love it too.

Well sorry it has been awhile, just been busy with life but I am doing well and feeling good and happy to be busy and having fun with my family.

Friday, April 30, 2010

Tough Decisions and Good News

Well its been awhile....Lots going on in the Garcia household. First of all, I made a very tough decision and that decision was to skip the Komen Race For The Cure this year. There were so many factors that played into my decision and it was a very tough decision to make but the Boobie Troopers will be sitting this year out. We will resume next year and look forward to everyone participating again. On another note, I received very good news from my most recent scan. My Dr. was so pleased to see that I am still responding to my current treatment. I was very excited to see him so excited. I have been on this treatment a little over a year now and aside from the hot flashes, some pain in my foot, weight gain, and maybe a case of the grumpies every now and then (those that live with me probably think it's more often than that...Haaa) I am doing good.

Sydney had her hair cut again and I just think she looks so cute with her little bob. They cut about 8-10 inches off and it looks adorable (see photos).

Shelby is growing up right before our eyes and it scares me. She has 1 month left of elementary school and then it's on to middle school. Ohhhh the fun is already beginning.

For Mother's Day the girls and I will be going to a Daughtry concert which we, yes WE are very excited about. Amazing how that worked out that Daughtry is here on Mother's Day weekend, he must have known I would have thought that was the perfect gift. Haha!!

I will report back in after the concert with pics and a review. Hope everyone is doing well!!