Honoring those who served our country, paying for freedom with their lives.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
So About That Porch....
Okay, I think I have kept you in suspense with the porch long enough. Remember where we left off?
Yup, that's it! My construction zone! It got a little quiet in the "zone". I am sure that the neighbors thought we had given up on it! We were secretly working on a little pizzazz for the old girl. A little "jewelry" so to speak.
We used store bought spindles and custom crafted the handrails and footrails for them to be framed on! It may have taken a bit of time to do, but in the long run it was so worth it!
I liked my old door. It was old and just fit the look. I wanted to strip it and stain it though to match the new look. In the end....
....we opted to get a new door. Love this one! We also changed the way that the door swings open to go with the rest of the remodel also.
We also widened out the steps too. Before we had these very narrow steps. These are a full 6 feet wide.
We also had to make a statement at the end of them too. Love these newels that my husband created! So nice to be married to someone so talented!
My turn now! Paint. Lots and lots of paint! I was seriously starting to wonder if I would ever get it all done. I did have help from a certain teenaged girl who loves to paint though. There was so much that by the time we were done, even she was tired of painting! We of course had to make it a little challenging too. We added yellow and red touches to it.
A little gingerbreading....
....a new light....
....and I do think that the old girl is starting to smile again!
We started to do some landscaping, but shortly after this it got COLD! I couldn't believe the winter we had! I do have to say though.....
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Cancer Sucks!
Sorry I have been a little MIA, okay maybe alot. I don't know if anyone is following this blog since it has been dead. If you have, this is for you!
I have a good reason to be missing! I swear! Last year I started working, the kids went back to school, this is my daughter's senior year, the little one started first grade and life got HECTIC! I found a little "bump" in my breast during the summer. I kept putting it off thinking it was just a cyst and would go away. By the time that the holidays rolled around I started to notice some changes in that breast. I scheduled my annual slap and tickle exam with my OB/GYN a few weeks early. He looked at it and scheduled a mammogram immediately. I was starting to get a little nervous. He said it could be nothing, but better safe than sorry. I had the mammogram done and got the results on New Year's Eve, also the little one's birthday. I have cancer.
Now for the big freakout! Cancer?! Seriously?! Thankfully I chose the best person to be married to! He is truly my rock! He called and got me an appointment at Cancer Treatments Center. We left to have all my testing done and the results in 3 days which turned into 2 weeks. I did find out it was definitely cancer. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the breast. The "little bump" was 3.8 cm, which staged it as Stage 2 almost Stage 3. It was recommended that I have a double masectomy. Talk about being crushed! I didn't want this! Why is this happening to me? It's not fair!
We went back home to think things over. I had scheduled surgery for end of January. It was all just happening too fast! Thankfully, I have an awesome support system in my friends! I talked to some who went through breast cancer, some going through it and some who had found out they had the BRCA gene mutation and opted for a double masectomy. They are all gorgeous! They look great! I can do this! In talking to them though, I decided I wanted to have the surgery closer to home for recovery reasons. CTCA is an 8 hour drive from our house. My OB/GYN was wonderful in putting me in touch with a friend of his who is also the director of women's breast health in the state of Michigan.
Enter Dr Stull! Love love love this woman! Yes I could have a lumpectomy. Yes I could have a single masectomy. No there was no reason for a double. The lumpectomy would remove about half of the breast, which would mean a reduction on the other side. A single masectomy would mean I could keep my breast size. The vain part of me chose the masectomy. The plastic surgeon recommended I go a little bigger though so they could do a lift on the other side to make them match. Woohoo! A booby prize! Finally!
The surgery is done now. The decision to go with the masectomy was the right one. When they did the pathology on the tissue they removed, they found a second cancer forming. If I had gone with a lumpectomy, I would of had to have had chemo and more than likely been back next year for a masectomy anyways. My test scores weren't high enough to warrant having chemo, but I do have to be on estrogen/progesterone blockers for 7 years to attempt to keep the cancer from coming back.
So, now that I am "on the mend" I will have lots of time to post the little projects we have going on around the farmhouse here. I still have yet to finish all the posts about the porch, which I LOVE! Wait til you see the final product! Of course, that sparked my husband to remodel the ENTIRE house now! Future posts will be about living in a house while you are remodeling it. Talk about a juggling act! Yeesh.....
I have a good reason to be missing! I swear! Last year I started working, the kids went back to school, this is my daughter's senior year, the little one started first grade and life got HECTIC! I found a little "bump" in my breast during the summer. I kept putting it off thinking it was just a cyst and would go away. By the time that the holidays rolled around I started to notice some changes in that breast. I scheduled my annual slap and tickle exam with my OB/GYN a few weeks early. He looked at it and scheduled a mammogram immediately. I was starting to get a little nervous. He said it could be nothing, but better safe than sorry. I had the mammogram done and got the results on New Year's Eve, also the little one's birthday. I have cancer.
Now for the big freakout! Cancer?! Seriously?! Thankfully I chose the best person to be married to! He is truly my rock! He called and got me an appointment at Cancer Treatments Center. We left to have all my testing done and the results in 3 days which turned into 2 weeks. I did find out it was definitely cancer. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the breast. The "little bump" was 3.8 cm, which staged it as Stage 2 almost Stage 3. It was recommended that I have a double masectomy. Talk about being crushed! I didn't want this! Why is this happening to me? It's not fair!
We went back home to think things over. I had scheduled surgery for end of January. It was all just happening too fast! Thankfully, I have an awesome support system in my friends! I talked to some who went through breast cancer, some going through it and some who had found out they had the BRCA gene mutation and opted for a double masectomy. They are all gorgeous! They look great! I can do this! In talking to them though, I decided I wanted to have the surgery closer to home for recovery reasons. CTCA is an 8 hour drive from our house. My OB/GYN was wonderful in putting me in touch with a friend of his who is also the director of women's breast health in the state of Michigan.
Enter Dr Stull! Love love love this woman! Yes I could have a lumpectomy. Yes I could have a single masectomy. No there was no reason for a double. The lumpectomy would remove about half of the breast, which would mean a reduction on the other side. A single masectomy would mean I could keep my breast size. The vain part of me chose the masectomy. The plastic surgeon recommended I go a little bigger though so they could do a lift on the other side to make them match. Woohoo! A booby prize! Finally!
The surgery is done now. The decision to go with the masectomy was the right one. When they did the pathology on the tissue they removed, they found a second cancer forming. If I had gone with a lumpectomy, I would of had to have had chemo and more than likely been back next year for a masectomy anyways. My test scores weren't high enough to warrant having chemo, but I do have to be on estrogen/progesterone blockers for 7 years to attempt to keep the cancer from coming back.
So, now that I am "on the mend" I will have lots of time to post the little projects we have going on around the farmhouse here. I still have yet to finish all the posts about the porch, which I LOVE! Wait til you see the final product! Of course, that sparked my husband to remodel the ENTIRE house now! Future posts will be about living in a house while you are remodeling it. Talk about a juggling act! Yeesh.....
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