lizardbeth

I miss Live Journal

lizardbeth — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 02:00:42 GMT

I miss being able to share my thoughts and feelings with a group of strangers who have become friends.

On a scale of 1 to 10 being sucky, this Christmas is a fat five.

My siblings and I have quit getting along since my dad passed and they moved my mom to Salina, Kansas into a nursing home. I told them it was a bad idea to move her near my brother (three hours away) and I was right. She hates it.

Greg and I visited her yesterday for Christmas and her dementia has gotten so bad. The visit was depressing. She kept insisting we take her to her grandma's house and couldn't ever relax because that's where she wanted to go.

Today Greg and I didn't do much. We took the dogs to the dog park and then just lazed the day away. I miss the old days before my dad died. : (

lizardbeth — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 19:57:03 GMT

How come my archives only go back to 2007 now? Anyone know? Is it because I don't have a paid account, or are those old posts just gone?

lizardbeth — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:35:23 GMT

So. What a crappy year was 2011. In May, Greg and I bought a couple of bicycles and pledged to get our lazy butts back in shape. Not two weeks later, I'm being diagnosed with breast cancer and sleep walking through endless imaging appointments. Surgery was at the end of June, a double mastectomy and I spent two drugged weeks on the lazy boy in the living room and seven months with a plastic tissue expander that had been shoved under my pec muscles during surgery. It's a special kind of torture to not be able to sleep on your side for seven months without pain. So a month after surgery, I began six months of chemo, specifically, the red devil, cytoxin, and then taxol. Of course all my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes fell out. The first set of chemos were the sick kind along with this awful stung feeling in the brain. The last three months was taxol, a tree bark, that makes your bones ache to the core.

That said, I believe I shouldered it well. After a month of no hair, I gave up the scarves and walked bald. I received a lot of kindness along the way. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people around me and a saint of a husband who never flinched in his care for me.

Please tell anyone with fibrocystic breasts to insist on a sonogram along with a mammogram. My mammogram came back A Okay and had my OBGyn doc not felt the lump, we never would have known. And the thing is, this is an epidemic, woman younger and younger are getting this cancer and the younger a person is, the lower the survival rates as it's most likely a fast growing, aggressive tumor.

So that's where I am. I had 'exchange surgery' on Tuesday where they took out the tissue expanders and put in the silicone implants. And we leave for Jamaica in thirteen days. So, I guess I can say, that things are looking up for 2012. If you have an extra prayer, please throw one out there for me that the cancer won't return. I'd appreciate it.

XXOO
Elizabeth

lizardbeth — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:37:44 GMT

It was beautiful today. I think it hit the 80's which was record breaking for March. I had a senior shoot late this afternoon and the weather couldn't have been better! I had on a pair of canvas rocket dogs and before the session I took off my socks since it was so hot. BIG MISTAKE. I totally rubbed a blister on my big toe. Bah.

Just checking in...

lizardbeth — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:50:42 GMT

I do read from time to time, but after so long it's hard to know what to say and if anyone really cares. LOL.

But life is good. Greg and I did our annual Jamaica trip in February and had a great time. I brought my best girlfriend along for part of the trip and it was great introducing Jamaica to a newbie. Here we are on the beach:

Other than that, staying busy. I mostly go to work, read (LOVE my Kindle), and work on my photography business. I made the terrible mistake of reloading The Sims on my computer and that's pretty much eaten up my weekend. Bah. ; )

lizardbeth — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:50:36 GMT

I was supposed to have a high school senior session tonight but had to cancel. I don't think the suns been out for the last week. Plus it would be too wet to be sitting in dirty alleys.

So.... unexpected vacation! My g.f. Kristi is coming over and we're going to hit Coaches for my newest addiction, Buck Hunter (Hunter Hero). OMG. It's SO much fun. I've totally never hunted, never would, but this is just a game folks. And with all the bonus rounds, it's a blast. Two people can play for five bucks for about 35 minutes. Woot!

lizardbeth — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 00:04:13 GMT

Lots and lots of tornados around tonight. One briefly touched down less than half a mile from our house. I stepped outside to look at the clouds and counted 16 people out mingling and talking in driveways.

So I grabbed a beer and joined them. : )

Eddie... you out there?

lizardbeth — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:43:35 GMT

I am so pissed at Best Buy. We wanted an inexpensive flat screen for the bedroom so went and purchased an off brand model and brought it home and it sounded like bloody hell. So we went back to the store and listened to the display one and it was obvious that ours was defective somehow. So they had an open box Sanyo for 799 and I asked the manager if we could have 100 dollars off that and he agreed.

Well open box really means NO box. And after it was brought up to the front we noticed it had a small crack in the case on the top. And then the remote control had no back. Since we had 30 day return policy and we'd just gotten a 900 dollar tv for 699 we brought it home.

First the remote control isn't the one that goes through it so we spent a while trying to use the four or five buttons available to us on the tv to program the thing. Got it switched to cable and started auto program and the thing went wonky. Now none of the buttons work. We can't turn it off. It switches back and forth between the DVD player, the cable box and something else. So now tomorrow we have to make a third trip back there.

So what's a good tactic tomorrow to get them to take 200 off a new Sanyo. I know they can do it because I got nearly 400 off my Canon 5D. Any advise would be great!

Gone Baby Gone

lizardbeth — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:00:43 GMT

Rented a great movie last night. It was directed by Ben Affleck and the ending will blow your mind. I thought about it all night long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f99Ep0koG84

lizardbeth — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:45:18 GMT

Our trip to Jamaica this February was awesome as usual. We brought some newbie friends along with us and they definitely have the bug now. Sadly, Greg started getting sick half way through. I knew he wasn't feeling well when he wasn't having his evening cigar on our porch.

We'd brought down a laptop for our friend Selina. Greg found a used Dell in awesome shape from a friend that we could sell to her for 200 dollars. Would you beleive one month later it's already stolen? GAH! The kids had been on it in the resturant area that night while Selina was in their quarters helping her cat have kittens. The staff left w/o telling her and she forgot about it. Also, their guard dog Chopper, was in the backyard tied up as his collar they use in the resturant was broken. So someone saw the opportunity and snuck in and stole it. Just like that.

HOWEVER, this gives us the opportunity to make another trip down in July. It'll be a quickie, just four full days over the fourth, but until then we'll be trying to track down another computer for Selina.

lizardbeth — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:18:30 GMT

Had a blast yesterday afternoon. The four of us took a half day off work and went back to my house and played darts, pool and guitar hero all day. I'm pretty sure this pic is after I'd tried to repair my hair after opening a beer that I dropped on the floor. They were like, 'Don't open it, don't open it', ha! Don't tell me what to do, oh wait.

Greg's been oot in Germany all week. Really looking forward for him to come home tomorrow night.

lizardbeth — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 04:05:06 GMT

And I really liked this book:

http://www.amazon.com/True-Story-Hansel-Gretel/dp/0142003077/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199592264&sr=8-1

lizardbeth — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 04:03:51 GMT

I really liked the movie Once:

http://www.foxsearchlight.com/once/

blue collar tv on gymnastics

lizardbeth — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 00:27:33 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrD0GyFYuxc

Gotta love it!!

lizardbeth — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:04:24 GMT

Greg gave me my enbrel injection tonight. I think the boys been watching too much pulp fiction. He didn't slide the needle in, he frickin' jammed it in to the hilt. I cussed at him, and then he started pushing the plunger to push the medicine in. That shit BURNS! I'm like, 'Hurry, get it in there!' Then finally it was done. No harm, no foul but I told him next time SLIDE the needle in please.

Sheesh!

lizardbeth — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 01:17:32 GMT

I have to say I'm loving the Garmin Forerunner. It's more for cyclists and runners, but it's so cool knowing what pace I'm keeping, how far I've walked and how many minutes I've gone. I've started walking this week. My hips haven't been bothering me at all! The only think hurting is my left ankle that was badly sprained in college. Hopefully it will get stronger. I'm shooting for 12 miles this week. So far I've gone 3.5. Go me!

lizardbeth — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 01:36:17 GMT

Ewww Ewwww EWWWW! I always lie on the porch in the evening and smoke a last cigg before bed. I'll lie down with my book and then scramble up, remembering to check the porch for spiders. (Ewww!)

So this morning, I go outside to check the weather and there on the porch is a gigantic dead spider. Gah! What if it was there last night? What if it has FRIENDS???

lizardbeth — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:15:03 GMT

I finally got my fake floor setup in place. Pretty cute, huh? The doll was pissing me off though. She doesn't know how to sit up straight at all and I got her hoping I could work on my catchlights. Not with her slumping like this. Maybe I'll go beat her. ; )

Enbrel

lizardbeth — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 14:49:21 GMT

I started a new arthritis drug last tuesday. I have to inject it into my leg or stomach once a week. The nurse who taught me how to inject it really pissed me off. She was like, 'Okay, stick it in.' 'Further, 'further'. So now I've got it in and I'm thinking, holy shit I put a needle in my leg. She starts yelling at me, 'Push it, push it, PUSH IT!' and I yelled back at her, 'Jesus Christ can you just give me a minute?'

She paused and I paused and we both started cracking up. I said, 'I REALLY hope you're nicer to the elderly patients who come in here'. She paused again and said that yeah she was.

Gah!

So anyway, these shots are $1600 dollars each. May cause Hodkins, Non Hodkins, demlyination disorders, MS, cancer, blindness, death. Nice huh?

But, approaching one week later, I can now close my fist again. This morning, I learned I can snap my fingers. I can sit on the floor indian style again. And this is only one week in!

While that all rocks, I still haven't decided what to think of all the potential side effects. But while I think it through, closing my hands is pretty cool. My sister has been on this drug for several years, so she had Greg watch her give herself a shot yesterday morning. I'd rather Greg give it to me so I can squeeze my eyes shut and whine if it hurts.

Samson

lizardbeth — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 01:21:49 GMT

Woot! I just bought tickets to the Regina Spektor show on November 10th. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait! Thanks so much to Picturian for telling me about her!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p62rfWxs6a8

Dude

lizardbeth — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:44:31 GMT

A little too much strength training, you think?

Way to go Shawn!

lizardbeth — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:46:14 GMT

Shawn Johnson of Des Moines Iowa is the new gymnastics WORLD Champion! Woot! I had a great time today. I stayed home from work and watched live streaming of the competition with a gym chat going at the same time. Went through a handful of beers due to sheer nervousness and then had to sleep it off. Not bad for a work day!

lizardbeth — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 02:40:46 GMT

I can't believe my nephew is going to be a senior next year! I took him and his friend out tonight for a photo shoot. Isn't he a cutie?

lizardbeth — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 21:56:06 GMT

Another perfect day; the 3rd time six of us rented a pontoon at Jacomo and spent the day floating in 85 degree water. If I can't have Jamaica, I'll take that.

lizardbeth — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 23:06:57 GMT

My mom and I are going to see Killer of Sheep on sunday. Has anyone seen it? It's supposed to be amazing!

http://www.killerofsheep.com/