22 Accomplishments: May Update

May seems to have passed by faster than the rest of the months this year.  I can't believe it is over.  This month I did the following:
-I cleaned out my closet!  Maybe not quite to the degree I originally planned, but I did clean out that one corner that junk gets tossed to.  And I reorganized my shoes.  How in the world did I accumulate all of those?!?  Oh, and I also organized my clothes by color.  Is that strange?

-Read The Child Called It by David Pelzer.  I know this book is for middle aged kids, but I had never read it before.  It was truly heartbreaking.  I have no idea how someone could do that kind of harm to a child--their child.  If you haven't read it, you should.  
-I had a fried pickle...actually a few.  They are surprisingly good.  This means I've officially checked this item off the list.  We have only made it 5 months into the year and I've already tried 5 different foods.  I'm on a roll!
-52 week project is still going...and it is awesome!  I get so many comments about it on facebook.  So far we are at 21 weeks!
Checking more movies off the list!
-Rebecca

-Grand Hotel
-Gentleman's Agreement

-My Fair Lady.  I had seen this movie so many times when I was little.  But, I was little so I thought I'd need a refresher.  Guess not.  I remembered a lot more than I thought!

-The Broadway Melody.  This movie was pretty good.  If you want a good laugh, rent this movie and watch all the dancing.  So glad those moves aren't popular today! 

*Note: I didn't have any birthday cards to mail out in April or May so I'm still on top of that to-do.

This is what my list looks like now:

1.  Make dinner for a family who is going through a tough time. (January 22, 2011)
2.  Get back to my ideal weight.
3.  Finish college.
4.  Get a 'big girl' job.
5.  Go a day without getting on the computer (or getting on the internet via iPhone.)
6.  Send birthday cards to all my good friends. (January, February, March)
7.  Make a Christmas advent tree like this one.
8.  Fix and paint my desk chair in my room.
9.  Try 5 new foods. (Soy beans, raspberries, Apple dumpling, mango, fried pickle)
10.  Create (and do) a cleaning schedule to keep my room better organized.
11.  Take a family photo each month for a year. (January, February, March, April)
12.  Do a 52 week portrait challenge. (Have completed 21 weeks so far)
13.  Feel more comfortable cooking, especially meats. 
14.  Plant tulips in mom's garden. 
15.  Do a painting.
16.  Clean out my closet.
17.  Finish the quilt I started 4 or 5 years ago.
18.  Learn to make French Toast.
19.  Reach $2100 PCV  in my Silpada sales for 3 2 months. (February)
20.  Go on a family trip.
21.  Read 20 books.
  Here is the list I've read so far:

1.  Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin (I love this author!  She is one of my favorites.  I've read every single book by her.)

2. Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah (Good, but wasn't expecting the last twist.  Hit a little close to home.)

3.  Marrying Daisy Bellamy by Susan Wiggs. So good!  One of my favorite out of the Lakeshore Chronicle series.  It has been really hard to not spoil the book before mom read it.  So far, so good!

4.  Borrowed Bride by Susan Wiggs
5.  The Child Called It by David Pelzer.

22.  Watch every movie that made 'Best Picture' in the Oscars.
 Here is the list: I've marked off the ones I've already seen.  There are a few that I've already seen, but I need a refresher before I check them off the list.  (Too bad, I could cross off another 6 movies...)

*Note: The ones that are marked out but don't have a date by them are movies I've already seen in the years past.

1928 Wing (April)
1929  The Broadway Melody
1930  All the Quiet on the Western Front
1931  Cimarron
1932  Grand Hotel (May)
1933  Cavalcade

1934  It Happened One Night (April)
1935  Mutiny on the Bounty (April)
1936  The Great Ziegfeld
1937  The Life of Emile Zola
1938  You Can't Take It With You
1939  Gone With the Wind
1940  Rebecca (May)
1941  How Green Was My Valley
1942  Mrs. Miniver
1943  Casablanca
1944  Going My Way
1945  The Lost Weekend
1946  The Best Years of Our Lives
1947  Gentleman's Agreement (May)
1948  Hamlet
1949  All The King's Men
1950  All About Eve (March)
1951  An American in Paris
1952  The Greatest Show on Earth
1953  From Here to Eternity
1954  On the Waterfront
1955  Marty
1956  Around the World in 80 Days
1957  The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958  Gigi (March)
1959  Ben-Hur
1960  The Apartment
1961  West Side Story
1962  Lawrence of Arabia
1963  Tom Jones
1964  My Fair Lady (May)
1965  The Sound of Music
1966  A Man for All Seasons
1967  In the Heat of the Night
1968  Oliver
1969  Midnight Cowboy
1970  Patton
1971  The French Connection (March)
1972  The Godfather
1973  The Sting
1974  The Godfather Part II
1975  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976  Rocky
1977  Annie Hall
1978  The Deer Hunter
1979  Kramer vs. Kramer
1980  Ordinary People
1981  Chariots of Fire
1982  Gandhi
1983  Terms of Endearment
1984  Amadeus
1985  Out of Aftrica
1986  Platoon
1987  The Last Emperor
1988  Rain Man
1989  Driving Miss Daisy
1990  Dances With Wolves
1991  The Silence of the Lambs (February)
1992  Unforgiven
1993  Schindler's List
1994  Forrest Gump
1995  Braveheart
1996  The English Patient
1997  Titanic
1998  Shakespeare in Love (March)
1999  American Beauty
2000  Gladiator
2001  A Beautiful Mind
2002  Chicago

2003  The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

2004  Million Dollar Baby

2005  Crash

2006  The Departed

2007  No Country for Old Men

2008  Slumdog Millionaire

2009  The Hurt Locker

2010  The King's Speech

May Twenty-Eighth

1 year

365 days

8766 hours

525949 minutes

31556926 seconds

May 28, 2010.

One year ago today my life flipped upside down. One year ago today everything I knew changed. One year ago today my dad was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer.

The Background:
In December of 2009, my dad graduated from nursing school. Throughout school, he kept saying he wanted to work in the OR, ER, or critical care unit. He enjoyed the blood and guts of the operating room.  But once he graduated he didn't go out looking for a job.  Mom and I became concerned.  We later learned that he wanted to work on his nursing skills before he specialized in anything.  In March of 2010 he finally went to the hospital and he got a job on the spot, which they never do.

Problems:
Everything started off great. Dad had awesome mentors and he enjoyed the work. But after a few weeks he started to get pain in his legs and back. We figured it was from working 14 hours days nights, standing on his feet, lifting people, etc. It got so bad that dad wouldn't leave his bed unless it was a day he worked. After his 8th week of orientation mom told him he couldn't go back to work until he went to the doctor.  We knew something was wrong and we knew he needed to be looked at.

On May 27, 2010 dad finally went to see our regular family doctor. Dad couldn't hold up his own leg. The doctor knew something was up so he did some blood work and scheduled an MRI for June. 3 hours later mom got a phone call from the doctor's office saying my dad was in acute kidney failure and had to get to the hospital right away. So they packed up and headed to the hospital not knowing the worst was still to come.

During this, I was in Kansas City, where I go to school. I was planning on staying there for the summer with hope of getting a job. When I heard my dad was in the hospital I decided to drive home the next morning.

That Morning:
May 28, 2010
I remember I woke up kinda early. I wasn't feeling to well with my allergies and just wanted to go home and be with my family during this rough time.  The entire hour ride home I played different scenarios in my head.  If this happens, then I move back home.  If he is ok, I will go back to KC, etc. The next thing I knew I was arriving at the hospital. As I pulled into the parking lot I got this horrible sickening feeling in my stomach. Something was wrong and my mom wasn't telling me everything. I even told her that as I picked her up from the parking lot to go run a few errands. She didn't say anything to my comment and it was soon forgotten.

It's bad.  I have cancer.:
When we got back to the hospital dad was in a prep room for surgery to have a central line put in.  Once we did all the normal greetings, things changed and got a little more serious.  I remember dad put his hand on my arm and told me the news was bad. He had cancer. They found out early this morning. I immediately started crying. My dad cried with me. I was 21 years old, and it was the first time I saw my dad cry.

The next few hours were a blur...literally.  Everything happened through rounds of tears.  We didn't know what he had.  We didn't know what the life span was.  We didn't know if he would fight.  We didn't know anything.

As time went on we learned dad had stage 3 Multiple Myeloma.  There is no stage 4 in this type of cancer.  But the important thing was to fix dad's kidneys first, then we would work on fixing the cancer. For those who don't know, kidneys functioning level is determined by a protein called creatine. Normal is around 1.0, 12.0 is critical. Dad was at 11.98. According to his doctors there wasn't much hope that dad's kidneys would come back and if they did it most likely wouldn't be to normal level.  In fact, he had less than a 5% chance.  We were told he would need to have dialysis 3 times a week for the rest of his life. As far as the cancer, he needed to have a transplant once the cancer came down to a certain point and when his kidneys got a little bit better. Our oncologist said he hoped dad's creatine would be around 3 or 3.5 when the transplant would take place, but we wouldn't worry too much about that right now.  So they started dad on dialysis right away for about 6-7 hours every day. By the third day they stopped because his kidneys responded so well and they wanted to see if his kidneys could hold their own.  They did.  After a few weeks, his kidneys came to a normal range. Daddy never had dialysis again.

Dad had bone scans done and we found out he had some fractures in his legs, back, and skull.  This happened because all the protein and calcium was leaking out of his bones and going into his blood.  This is part of the reason he was in kidney failure, because your kidneys filter your blood.  These fractures were also part of the reason he was in so much pain back when he was working.

Fighting Cancer:
Once dad's kidneys came back we were able to fight the cancer full force. He started chemotherapy a few days after he was admitted into the hospital and by October he was able to have a bone morrow stem cell transplant.  I won't go into much details of the transplant process, but it was the roughest thing I have ever seen.  Basically the transplant process kills your entire immune system.  Dad had to go into isolation (from other people-mom and I were able to be around him).  Daddy lost all of his hair and became incredibly weak.  For about a month the only way he could get from one place to the other was in a wheelchair.  Dad finally got a little bit stronger and was able to make it out of his room by Christmas time.

Follow Up:
In February, he hit his 100 day mark (after the transplant) and his cancer progression was reassigned.  They found a little bit of the cancer left in his body so his prognosis was 'pretty good' remission, not complete remission.  He went back on a low dose of chemo, which they do even if the patient is in complete remission--studies have shown that it prolongs life.  In May of 2011 he began is inoculation again (he has to get all the basic shots a baby gets).  And just a few days ago they found that there is only a teeny tiny line of cancer still in his body.

After:
It has been exactly one year.  My little family has been through so much.  We experienced numerous trials and triumphs.  And most importantly we experienced many, many miracles.  I moved home immediately after dad was diagnosed and spent many evenings watching movies with him through his recovery time. We have become great friends with our doctors.  They have experienced all the hardships and joys right along with us.  But most importantly we are all still here, fighting together as a team.  A friend of mine once told me that God doesn't play by numbers.  She couldn't have been more right.  We have overcome what science has told us.  Because according to science, my dad wouldn't be here today.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: May 29, 2011

Classic Still Life

Self Portrait

Family photo at one of my best friend's wedding and celebrating 1 year of fighting cancer!

On The Floor

Me and Abby getting some cuddle time in.

Lines

Abby has been having a hard time wanting to go to bed lately.  She is not a fan of the gate.

Fresh

Friday Five

1.  Last night I went with some girlfriends to get our nails done.  I almost never go to a nail salon.  I mean the last time I got my finger nails done was about 7 years ago!  But this time I got a thing called gel nails.  It is a special nail polish that stays on for about 2 weeks and doesn't chip!  How cool is that?!  I'm in love with it...so far.  Going to the nail salon might become a little more regular.

2.  Earlier this month I noticed I have a wisdom tooth coming in.  I was a little shocked because I didn't even know it was coming in.  It went from having nothing there to a little tooth pushing its way through.  And I think I have 2 more working their way in.  It doesn't really hurt, but I can tell my gums are a little swollen so it's not too fun.

3.  Abby has a new thing where she doesn't want to go to bed.  I have to stay up with her till at least 11:30 (where she sleeps laying next to me--or on me).  When I'm ready to go to bed, I put her away in her room and she barks.  She NEVER used to do this.  I don't know what is going on with her, but it is starting to get a little old.  And now she barks in the morning, trying to get into my room.  I don't know what to do with her.  She is one crazy dog!

4.  I had the dog walk last weekend and it went great!  I am so thankful it didn't get stormed out--I was really worried.  I'm till working on editing the photos, I hope it I will have them all done by this weekend.  I'll post them soon!

5.  I can't believe this weather we have had recently.  Last weekend there was a horrible tornado in Joplin, Missouri.  I have friends that live in Joplin, or live close to there.  I am so glad the people I know down there are safe, but I still feel so bad for all those who live there and lost everything.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: May 22, 2011

My Passion

is photography.

Sound of Music

...or the sound of spring.

Inner Beauty

This is me.  Late at night.  Straight out of the camera.

Etheral

Sharp

Friday Five...On My Mind

1. Lately I have been missing living in the Washington DC area. I don't know what has brought this on, but it has been bad case of longing. I'm hoping to plan a DC day when I go to Virginia, but then again I've been trying to plan a DC day every other time I've gone back and it never happened.  Oh how I hope it happens this time!

2. A very close family friend lost their dog yesterday to a brain tumor. We have been puppy heart-broken over here. Abby was good friends with Lassie, they spent many summer nights running around in the bushes in our front yard when they were just pups. Lassie will be missed. She was a very sweet girl.

Lassie 2007

3. The dog walk is THIS Saturday! Yikes! And I still have a lot more to do in preparation. (But haven't had any motivation to do so...)

4. It is the middle of May and it is freezing. Seriously. Yesterday I wore jeans, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes. Yes, it was cold enough that I didn't want to leave my toes bare for the cold wind. That is pretty major.  And yet I am still having horrible allergies.  I am sneezing all day long.  I was hoping it might pass over since it is cold.  Guess I was wrong.

5.  Last night I was doing a portrait for my 52 week project.  Of course in the middle of it Abby decided she wanted to join.  I think she secretly likes being in photos!

I am currently re-reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.  I really wanted to finish it before the movie came out, but that didn't happen.  Oh well.  It is still good, even the second time around.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: May 15, 2011

Give Me Flowers

Visual Contrast

The old brick street, that has been there over a century, that has new, delicate plant growth popping through.  

Friendship

This one is from the archives from last summer.  This is me with my best friend, Brandi.  We grew up together.  We used to be next door neighbors when I lived in Virginia.  When I moved away we made a deal that we would visit each other every year.  This summer is my year to go visit her.  I have booked my flight and the countdown has begun!  I cannot wait!  

Before and After

                        

This is the sprout from last week on the left (before) and the sprouts on the right (after). 

Dark

This photo was a complete surprise for me.  To get the dark background, I took the picture in the dark and used my flash to create the light on the plant.  Since it was dark, I couldn't see to focus on the plant.  My camera automatically focused on this part of the plant, a part that originally went unnoticed.

If you would like to link up or see the prompts for next week, go here.

12 of 12 May

01.   New flowers we bought last night.

02.   Good Morning!

03.   One of the pots we planted seeds in last month.

04.   Lunch.

05.   Miss Abby taking a snooze.

06.   Leaf with water droplets.

07.   12 months of fighting.

08.   Road.

09.   I picked Erin up from theater class.

10.   Note to self…Love Yourself.

11.   Crane catching dinner.  He picked an orange goldfish.

12.   Me and dad, so glad to still have him!

Standing Still

My favorite hiding spot is behind the camera lens.  It is where I go when I'm not feeling myself.  It heals me when I know I get that one great shot.  The shot where when I'm trying to hide, I end up blossoming instead.

When something is bothering me I tend to retract.  I hide.  I tend to pretend everything is fine when inside it really isn't.  And then when I can't take it anymore it comes tumbling out.

I feel as if I'm standing still while the entire world around me is moving forward.  It seems as if everyone around me is experiencing all kinds of changes and I'm just stuck here with nothing exciting to announce or celebrate.  The majority of my friends have all graduated, some starting new and fun jobs.  Another six are getting married this summer and starting new families.  And others are embracing new beginnings with moves to other states and new adventures.

And me?

I'm just here.

But when I think about it, that is how the story of my life goes.  My life never follows the cliched timeline. My life never follows what is expected.  These are never things I purposely planned, this is just how they happened for me.  Some of them are small petty things, while others weigh much heavier.  But when you add them all together, sometimes I wonder when will I get a break.

I didn't have my first boyfriend till I was a sophomore in high school and I didn't have my first kiss till two weeks before I left for college.  I have never had a long term boyfriend, and the ones that I did date weren't so great, I went through many trials and battles with them.  Some battles I wish I never allowed myself to go through.  Some trails that I blame myself for believing when I know I am much stronger than that.

I didn't get my drivers license until September-seven months after I turned sixteen.  When I turned sixteen, I was living in Virginia.  In Virginia, new drivers are not allowed to get their drivers license till sixteen and three months, which put me to May.  I thought, why bother?  It seemed pointless to get a drivers license that I would only have for a few months since we were getting ready to move to Missouri.

And speaking of the move...it was between my sophomore and junior years of high school.  I had to make all new friends and it was much harder than anyone would ever think.  The school I moved into had kids that have been together since kindergarten.  Kinda hard to break the pact when it has been going strong for eleven years.  Not to mention that my first six months is Missouri, my mom and I lived with my grandparents while my dad was still in Virginia trying to sell our house.

However, senior year turned around.  I did go to prom, with a date, and I graduated on time.  That summer was the best summer ever.  All of my friends (don't worry-I eventually made some) were still here and we wanted everything to last as long as possible.  Our nights would start around eight and we would be out till four in the morning, just having a good time.

I started college on time as well, but I never had that best friend or group of friends that you do anything and everything with.  Don't get me wrong-I do have friends that I'm super close with, we just weren't given the opportunity.  Then after my junior year of college, I moved back home to be closer with my family because my dad was diagnosed with cancer.  That was the biggest shocker of all.  He was healthy and strong and wasn't suppose to get sick.  Of all the things that didn't go according to plan-that one was the biggest.  The one with the most impact.  It has been almost a year since the diagnosis and my family is still adjusting to the new normal.  Sometimes I wonder if we will find it.

And here I am.  Four years of college.  Almost all of my friends that are my age graduated this past weekend. And I am still here...stuck.  I have six more classes to go and won't be done till December.  Once again, I will be starting that next step a little late.  Not following the expected normal.

Don't get me wrong--I am in no means sad or bitter about all these un-normal events in my life.  Everyone goes through trials and these are mine.  I have no idea why I've been dealt these particular ones or why it seems like there are so many that didn't go according to plan.  But I do know that they have happened for a reason.  They are all part of a greater plan.  And I'm just now uncovering the top.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday: May 8, 2011

This is my very first Scavenger Hunt Sunday and I loved it!  By participating in this I hope it will broaden my photography even further, giving me prompts that I wouldn't normally attempt.  So here we go!

Straight Out of the Camera

Sprouting

Isn't It Ironic

I had a hard time trying to figure out what I would take for the prompt.  But then I saw this...  This lily had a drop of water on it and I have no idea where it came from.  The lily was inside and it was not watered recently.  Ironic indeed!

Lazy

It's a little blurry and the coloring isn't great---but isn't she a cutie?!

Smells Like Spring

This one is from the archives, but when I read the prompt, I knew I could not NOT share this photo.  

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I intended to be."

~Douglas Adams

Tuesday Tunes: Just a Kiss by Lady Antebellum

                             Lady A is back! 

Fare Well April

April started of with a lot of rain and thunderstorms.  I was so lucky to get these shots!  I look forward to the next thunderstorm to get more practice in photographing lightning.  

I tried my hand a bokeh photography.  It didn't turn out quite how I hoped, but I do like this one.

Abby enjoyed a late night snooze on the big comfy chair.

I love this picture of my dad...even with his new curly hair (which he hates)!  He was taking a break from mowing the lawn.  I think it is glad to be able to do things like that again.

My uncle and aunt's new kitten--I think this one was Sally?

Kittens Sarah and Sally

Family photo taken on Easter Sunday

Abby's new pillow?!?

Week 17