Claudia's Irish Eyes

2011-11-24T15:25:00.003-06:00

Sorry we haven't posted any updates lately so I am here to update everyone.
It has been a rough couple of weeks Claudia has been falling quite a bit and talked with the Drs. and they felt that it was the chemo meds doing it. With the meds she was on she lost all her hair and she told me with Halloween coming up she wanted to be Uncle Fester for her costume for Halloween,
The Thursday before Halloween she had a fight with a sidewalk and you will never guess who won so we took her to the hospital to get checked out, she broke her sunglasses bruised her cheek and eyebrow, cut her lip and knocked out one of her front teeth, everything checked out good and the dr. popped the tooth back in and we were good to go but I told Claudia that if she was trying to improve her costume that was not how to do it.
A week ago Sunday she fell and landed on the shower guide rails for the shower doors scraping a bunch of skin and 2 huge bruises on her head luckily not doing any more damage.
This last Wednesday Claudia woke up and could not feel her left arm or move it so we got her to hospital her arm got better but after scans we found that the cancer spread to her brain so they told us that we needed to talk to the drs. the next day.
We talked her dr. and are doing 23 treatments of radiation to shrink the tumors and steroids to reduce any swelling in the brain, got Thurs. and Friday treatments in and Friday night Claudia had 2 seizures if you have never seen one it's very scary esp. when you are telling the one you love that you love them and she can't respond to you. The Dr says that it is from the cancer in the brain, they put her on some anti seizure meds and meds to keep her blood sugar down because the steroids raise the blood sugar alot with high doses. They want to do scans after radiation to see if it is working, we hope and pray that it will.
The treatments like some chemo's make her very tired but we are going to keep fighting for as long as we can she is a strong woman!!!

Claudia wants to thank everyone for all the cards that we have gotten from everyone and she wishes she could respond more to everyone!

I will try and keep you all up to date the best I can.
I have a request for everyone for the week..... it isn't your typical request but I would like you to tell someone who has not heard it for a while even if you think they already know " I Love You" because you might never get that chance again.

Scott

We need your prayers please

2011-08-31T14:35:00.004-05:00

I had my PET scan and got bad news. It looks like more cancer grew and the chemo stopped working. My old Oncologist moved and I don't see my new guy until next Wednesday Sept, 7

I had go in and see Dr. Dingbat who doesn't know a persons nose from their foot and he read me the results which in themselves confusing because the radiologist who read them didn't even mention the tumor in my lung. So I will give Dr. Dingbat a point for the radiologists blindness but Dr. Dingbat looses 185 points for stupidity on understanding how to answer a simple question or tell you what you need to know.

Dingbat tells me there is new cancer in the spine, shoulder and right hip. He couldn't answer any questions about my lung tumor because of the above problem.

So I am seeing a new highly recommended Dr. next Wednesday and hopefully get more answers.
In the mean time I had a chemo treatment with a new drug today and what we will do from here is up to Dr. Niceguy.

Scott has his MRI tomorrow morning his leg. It's still hurts like he** , he's limping and needs a cane go get around.

Please, please remember our family in your prayers, we can use your help so badly.

We need your prayers please

2011-08-31T14:35:00.001-05:00

Prayers

2011-08-26T12:12:00.001-05:00

Scott and I both need your prayers. Me with the cancer and ulcers and Scott with a very sore lower leg. He can't walk on it, using a cane, taking pain pills. Seeing the bone doctor today. Please pray he has less pain.

I am NOT just a person with cancer

2011-08-02T12:40:00.003-05:00

I'm still myself, the short, heavy, weird woman you all know. I still wear sox inside out because I hate the seams on my toes, still don't like strawberries (even if I am allergic to them I can't stand them). I still love listening to the police scanner (oh what you can learn about your neighbors, lol).

I'm still myself only I'm myself with cancer. Want to know what it's like having cancer?

You have a lot of appointments with doctors.
You have a lot of appointments for PET and CT scans.
You have a lot of blood tests.
You take a lot of medicine.
In my case you use a lot of rash creams.
You pray almost constantly.
You are scared.
You get to know the chemo nurses by their first names.
You get a handicaped parking sticker because you can't walk long ways.
You are tired from the chemo.
You lose friends.
You gain friends.
Your relationship with God takes on a big change.
You miss the "old" you.
People treat you differently, some good, some bad, some ignore you.
You and your Doctor know each others voices on the phone without having to say who you are.
You realize people are scared of people with cancer.
You lose a lot in life.
People treat you as though your contagious.
Your relationships with your family members changes.
You and the Pharmacist are close friends.
You've paid out so much for prescriptions you could own the pharmacy now.
You almost live on the toilet.
You're lonely.
Your stomach can make noises you never knew it could.
A shot to help grow stronger bones can give you skin ulcers that are sore + take months to heal.
The only hair that you have growing is your eyebrows and a lovely new moustache.
You learn so much about cancer you can be an intern.
You are scared.

June 8, 2011 Good News!

2011-06-08T11:16:00.002-05:00

Family - Scott is on medication and will hopefully be feeling better soon. Collin has discovered how much fun it is to play with the hose outside. Everyone else is doing well.

Me - Had a good CT scan on Friday and then on Monday we got there for the PET scan and the machine was acting up. 3 month of waiting and there was a chance they couldn't do it. God stepped in and got the repair man to work his magic and we were off and running only 45 minutes late. It's an easy test, they inject you with a radio active sugar solution and wait 45 minutes and then do a 20 minute scan. The hard part is waiting for your doctors appointment to find out the results. By the way, you can't get on an airplane for 2 days after this test or you show up radio active. Finally saw the doctor and the lights at the clinic go out (just one of those days) but we found a room with light from a window and he told me that the test showed the areas of cancer in my spine are all shrinking and my lung tumor was much smaller. It glowed a bit brighter and he didn't know why but wasn't concerned. Cancer glows bright white on a PET scan. He is very pleased and feels that the Tarceva is working well and we won't change anything over the next 3 months. He also told me that if we ever needed to we can add some chemo to the tarceva to help augment it. He talked about how good things were going and I told him how sad I was that he was moving out of state next month, I'm going to miss him and his great bedside manner. He is amazingly smart and extremely caring about his patients. We go to the same church and he came up to me last Sunday and whispered to me that my CT scan looked great. Now how many doctors would do that! If you live in Indiana and are looking for an oncologist, let me know.

So the plan is to stay on the Tarceva which is a chemo pill, use the various ointments given to me for the rashes the Tarceva gives me, take the antibiotic he gave me to keep my scalp from getting infected. No more shots to regrow bone since they make me very sick, they will use the IV solution I used to get to do that, and blood tests every 4 weeks along with a port flush. The port in my chest has to be used at least once every 4 weeks and then get flushed.

No new areas of cancer found. I am so thankful to God, Scott, my kids, my friends, my family, my Pastor and all of you who have been praying for me and my family. I could not go through this without the support of all of you. May God Bless Each and Every One of You.
Claudia and Scott

May 27, 2011 Update

2011-05-27T12:51:00.003-05:00

Family: Everyone is healthy. We just took some family pictures on Monday and I'm anxious to get them developed. Collin was diagnosed with a heart problem, a vein that was supposed to close after birth didn't, so he will be having surgery in July at Milwaukee children's hospital to close it. Please pray for him. Little Mike is almost done with school for the year and then starts lots of hockey camps, he's a goalie. Missy fractured a bone in her ankle and is in a walking boot, she's sore but it's getting better.

Me: I continue to ask for your heartfelt prayers. The scan that will tell us if the new chemo is working is next Monday and I'm scared as can be. We are all praying that it will show improvement but that's in God's hands. The anxiety that goes along with an upcoming scan just can't be described. You have such intense feelings coming at you for days before the scan, during the scan and up until that doctor walks in the room to tell you what it shows. It's horrible to experience and I hope none of you ever has to go through it. This is the time that I need you the most. I'm asking for your intense prayers to God to let the chemo meds work and give me more time here on earth with my family and friends.

This is going to be a very hard week for me, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep me and my family in your prayers.

I'm thankful to have all of you in my life,
Claudia

Not a good week..........

2011-05-04T12:53:00.001-05:00

Scott, my hubby and Missy our daughter both have pneumonia. Could I ask for prayers for their healing please.

I'm Back...........

2011-04-26T12:57:00.002-05:00

Had to stop the Tarceva for two weeks to help me get rid of a terrible skin yeast infection. Back on the meds now and things are going well with it. I won't have a scan for several weeks yet so I don't know if they are working or not. So physically things are going good, mentally not so good.

I won't go into it because I have gotten the definate impression that people are just plain sick of hearing about it. Believe me when I say I would rather be writing about happy things all the time but this is the world I live in now. All my normal days have been taken away and replaced with scans, meds, chemo and doctors visits. This is my life, you can have it if you want...I'll trade with you free of charge.

I get that your sick of hearing me complain, I'm sorry that I have to. Right now my life is full of medical things, trying to stay alive, spending time with my dear family and being lonely. I've scared all of you off. I understand, who wants to hear day after day of someone's fight with cancer. If I'm sick of doing all this, I know you have to be sick of hearing about it.

I will say that this is the hardest, most scary thing anyone can go through so if you know anyone else going through a fight with cancer tell them Claudia is thinking of them.

Connect the dots..........

2011-03-16T13:39:00.003-05:00

Well I look like someone drew dots all over me and now we can play connect the dots, no permanent markers allowed.

I'm thrilled to get the medication rash, that means a better chance the meds are working. If someone doesn't know me and doesn't know whats going on and they see all these different rashes they will probably run away screaming something about me and quarantine and being from Mars, which is just silly because everyone knows I'm from Neptune.
Claudia

Day 6........

2011-03-13T14:16:00.002-05:00

Starting to get funny red dots on my skin but I don't know if it's the skin yeast infection I'm fighting or the Tarceva rash starting. Life would be a lot easier if I could keep a doctor in the closet.

My emotions are all over the place. Sometimes we get busy doing something and I forget I have cancer and life seems so normal and then suddenly I remember what's really going on and burst into tears. It feels like I've been betrayed.

At those times that I forget, I'm a healthy person again, doing things healthy people do, enjoying life but suddenly I'm not....not healthy, not normal, not "living" life and then I become the woman who needs to take medicines and make doctors appointments and have tests and scans and worry. No, my life isn't normal anymore.

I grieve it you know, my "old" life. When I could go through my day without a thought about cancer, an hour without tears. It's been a year since diagnosis and I haven't gone a day without tears, not one single day

Living with cancer has become my normal, wondering how long I'll be alive is a constant thought through out my day. Worrying about my husband, kids and grandkids takes up most of my thoughts, they are my priority and what keeps me going.

I thank God for them and my extended family and my friends, without all of you I don't know where I'd be right now.

It's not fair, cancer shouldn't be this hard......

Claudia

2011-03-10T13:52:00.002-06:00

Well I've taken 2 days of my new meds, so far no side effects. Having a very, very hard time mentally. Can't stop crying. Scott is my rock. Love him and the kids and grandkids so much.

Thank You my dear friends......

2011-03-08T11:49:00.003-06:00

I want to thank some very dear friends who belong to a group with me for lighting candles for me last night. I've never met you in person but your like best friends to me and I love you all.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love you show me each day, you all mean so much to me.

My chemo pills will be delivered to me today and I start taking them tonight. I'll admit I'm scared, there are more side effects that go with this chemo than directions about how to take it and what it does. There is only a chance that this stuff will work, which is what I'm the most nervous about. It's going to be hard waiting 3 months for my next PET scan to find out if it's working. I'm praying so hard that this works for me.

Every time a chemo doesn't work or stops working I feel like I'm letting my family down and my heart breaks for them. I know it's not my fault, but it sure feels like it. Scott is trying so hard to keep things positive for me but we do have our daily cry together, sometimes a lot more than once a day. Through it all he's working each day and trying to keep the house clean, doing laundry, cooking and taking care of me. He is an amazing man and I love him so much.

I love my kids and grandkids too, they are busy with their own lives as it should be but they always call or come over to check on us. My family is what is keeping me alive.

So if you could can you find time to say a prayer for our family, that I have more time with them.
Thanks, Claudia

A very scary time for me

2011-03-04T13:59:00.002-06:00

I went to the Doctor today to get the results of my PET scan and got bad news. The cancer in my bones is worse and there are some new spots in my back, shoulder and leg. I'm no longer in remission. The only good news I got was that the tumor in my lung is much smaller. Why one is smaller and the others have grown I don't know for sure, the Doctor said it had to do with cells cloning somehow but I really didn't understand the process.

What this means for me is that I'm stopping my current chemo and starting a new one. This one is a daily pill called Tarciva, it's make to invade the cell of cancer and kill it off. There is no guarantee that it will work in the first place so I can use many, many prayers. I won't find out if it's working until another PET scan in 3 months. This will be the longest 3 months in my life.

I'm extremely scared, worried about my family, confused and mad as hell at the cancer. I have a lot to learn about this new chemo drug, more side effects to put up with (some not pleasant), foods I can't eat while taking it, drugs I can't take, being weak and tired, little to no sun exposure and the list goes on.... I pray it's worth it.

I'm going to be honest with you, none of this is going to be easy on me or my family. My anxiety will try to get the best of me. I'll be a mess, my house will be a mess, my life will be a mess. I'm going to need support, prayers and words to keep my spirits up, so will my family. Scott and the kids need your love and support as much as I do, if not more, and prayers...we can use tons of prayers.
♥ Claudia

2011-02-16T15:58:00.002-06:00

I finally have answers to what is going on, I have 2 broken ribs. Went to the radiation oncologist today and he took xrays. Cancer has weakened the ribs and somehow just doing something normal they broke. They are already healing and should be better in about 3 to 4 weeks.

I'm so glad to have the answers to all this pain. Thank you everyone who said prayers, knowing I have so many people who care makes me feel so good.
♥Claudia

2011-02-14T13:11:00.001-06:00

Could I ask for many prayers please, I'm in a lot of pain and not getting a lot of answers.

Many thanks......

2011-02-01T12:03:00.004-06:00

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for good news for Missy. She heard from her doctor today and it's good news. They will watch her for a year and then do repeat tests. God has answered our prayers. Thank you God!

No snow storm here, but my thoughts and prayers are with all of you who are facing this mess this week. Stay safe and warm, we are all thinking of you.

♥ Claudia

2011-01-31T11:20:00.001-06:00

Anxiously awaiting Missy's biopsy results, please include her in your prayers.

My long wait is over.......

2011-01-24T12:19:00.003-06:00

My doctors office called this morning to tell me that the CT scan showed no new cancer growth, I'm still in remission. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me, I could feel your prayers when I was having a hard time holding it together and thought of each of you. You are all such a blessing to me.

Susan, your call came at a time when I needed to hear a friends voice and although I was in no mental shape to get together, just the fact that you were there for me meant so much.

Your prayers made such a difference for me during my long wait, thank you so much.

♥ Claudia

Sometimes things don't go as planned........

2011-01-22T11:50:00.003-06:00

Had my chemo yesterday and then went over for my CT scan. Test was at 3pm and Scott met me there, he's such a sweetheart, always there for me. If luck was going to go my way they would have time to do the test, get it read and a report sent to my doctor who would then call me before she left for the day. Nothing went as planned.

Got called on time and into the CT room where the poor tech tried to get an IV hooked up. All they need is an IV for 5 minutes. One hour, 3 different girls and 8 different tries and they finally get a vein...I'm serious. It doesn't help the CT room is cold for the machine to stay working right and the colder I got the more my veins sucked themselves into my arms. Now I look like an addict with all these marks on both arms.

Test takes all of 10 minutes and I'm done. By now our "plan" was over an hour off and things didn't get done in time for my doctor to get the results and call me. I was so disappointed.

Now I have to wait all weekend and I'm not a good waiter. My anxiety is not doing well, my mind is going a mile a minute on what if's and time is going too slow.

I did have one lovely thing happen yesterday, I was in chemo and one of my nurses and the receptionist came into my room carrying a delivery of flowers for me. Melissa (our daughter) sent a beautiful arrangement of flowers to me with a card saying "Think Positive". What a wonderful surprise and such a sweet gesture. She knows what I'm going through with anxiety disorder, she has it too.

So this crazy old lady, who is not a good waiter needs distraction. Can you send me some links to things on the internet? Funny stuff, interesting stuff, crafting stuff, anything.....please?
(We don't have TV so I can't channel surf) Scott is working today and tomorrow so I need all the help I can get on distraction. Thanks!

Your prayers would be as welcome as can be too,
♥ Claudia

Change of plans.....

2011-01-19T15:50:00.004-06:00

I talked with the nurse practitioner today, who in turn talked to my Doctor who agreed to move the date of my CT scan to this Friday. I explained to the nurse that I have anxiety disorder and waiting was making my disorder severe, which is why I wanted it moved ahead. Doctor already knows about it and is very understanding and helpful. Thank you God for letting things go well in setting up the earlier test. Please pray the test results come back with good news.

To those of you who suffer from anxiety: God Bless all of you! Life is hard enough without having this medical condition. My daughter and I both have it and some days it's hell to live with. Meds really help along with therapy and understanding people in your life.

♥ Claudia

Not my day.......

2011-01-18T11:43:00.005-06:00

Or this post could also be called Claudia's no good, crummy, rotten, bad mood day. You've be warned and are welcome to leave now. Run before I get started !

I was supposed to have a very anticipated, very much needed appointment with my cancer therapist this morning. I got up, got in the shower and the phone rings...she's sick and appointment canceled. I feel badly that she's sick, and hope she feels better soon.

Getting an appointment with her by telemed (tv to tv at the clinic) takes forever to get in and I've been waiting for such a long time. Going to see her isn't easy either, she's 2 1/2 hours away. I can use a prayer or two today for my mental health. I've had some back pain in the last couple days that's in the spot where I had pain before when my cancer was awake. My last test results were fine and show that I'm still in remission but I'm scared to death. The pain makes me wonder if the cancer in my spine is back and I won't know anything until the next CT scan scheduled in February. Which is why I so needed someone to talk to. Can I get some prayers, please?

♥ Claudia

Doing this for me......

2011-01-15T13:05:00.002-06:00

I thought about just closing this blog, I figured people were tired of hearing about my cancer fight and I wasn't in the mood to write often because my anti depressant had stopped working. Believe me when I say you would not have wanted to read what I would have written.

But things are better now, I have a good psychiatrist who found a drug that works for me and I have a wonderful psychologist who specializes in people with cancer who is helping me deal with the mental part of being a cancer patient.

I started this blog as a way to keep people who were interested informed, but now I'm also going to use it as a way for me to write down some thoughts I need get out. Your comments are more than welcome, I need a support system behind me for those days when things are hard both physically and mentally.

(And if you are tired of reading this blog you can just delete the address)

Physically, I'm in remission which means the cancer is asleep. I get a special chemo every week that keeps it asleep. I will have to be on this for the rest of my life, which I pray every day is a long time. There are no guarantees for how long this chemo will keep working. Each patient is different. Please pray I have a long time.

I also get an IV bag of magnesium each week because the special chemo sucks the magnesium out of me. You need magnesium for your heart to work correctly.

Weekly, the first thing they do is put in my IV through the port in my chest and then take blood for what ever blood tests my doctor has ordered that week, then they take me to a chemo room and give me an IV of benadryl, 50mg., it makes me very sleepy but it keeps me from having an allergic reaction to the special chemo. Then they give me the special chemo which takes about an hour, then the magnesium which takes another hour. Every 12 weeks I am given a bone strengthener by IV which takes 2 hours more.

The chemo rooms are all private, some share a bathroom with another room, some don't have a bathroom so you use the ones in the hallway. Each room has a nice recliner for the patient, an extra chair for visitors, a nice big window and a tv. They also have a sink and cupboards full of supplies for the nurses.. Speaking of nurses, they are wonderful ! They keep you informed and comfortable and are great listeners, knowing just what questions to ask. They are great at knowing just the right time to bring you a heated blanket...chemo makes you really cold. And they have huge hearts.

Just outside the chemo rooms is a beautiful deck the clinic built called the meditation garden. Built for the chemo patients to be able to go outside in the summer and sit in this beautiful garden. Made and taken care of by the local master gardeners club. Full of flowers, an overhead trellis, benches and a fountain, you feel so at ease there.

So great nurses, great rooms, great care. The bad side? Each week I go for chemo I see the same cancer patients who are also there for treatment. We don't really talk to each other because of the private rooms but we see each other in the waiting room and hallways and say hello, and it's a small area so you see and hear what's going on with everyone. Some get better and don't have to be there any more but some you see get worse each week and suddenly they aren't there anymore and you see their obituary in the paper.

I was having chemo one day when a man we had taken a cancer class with and saw once in a while having chemo was brought up by his wife in a wheelchair, he looked terrible and I knew he was one of the unlucky ones. He was there to say goodbye to everyone. Each nurse came up to him and gently talked to him, never saying goodbye but talking to him about things they knew he enjoyed in the past, all this happening right outside my door. I'll never forget how those nurses held themselves together for that man, never crying in front of him. But after he left there wasn't a dry eye in the place including mine. Those nurses are strong and kind and brave. Thank God for them.

Thank God for cancer research that finds new drugs to keep us alive, Thank God for wonderful doctors who know which drug may work for each person, Thank God for nurses with huge hearts, Thank God for quality medical care, medical insurance, meditation gardens and people with huge hearts willing to step up and be wonderful friends, families that love us and to God who is there for all of us.

♥Claudia

2011-01-02T20:16:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

Oct. 2010

2010-10-17T17:32:00.002-05:00

I got some wonderful news at the doctor on Friday.....I'm in remission !

(Remission: the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity.)

When I was diagnosed in February I would have never thought I'd ever be able to say that I was in remission, I didn't think I'd even be here by now. Thanks to an amazing doctor, great nurses, miracle chemo and God I'm able to say that there is no active cancer right now.

The doctor described it as the cancer is "sleeping" because of the chemo and if I was to go off of it the cancer would wake up. So I'll continue with chemo every week happily.

My doctor is thrilled with how well I'm doing and has given me the go ahead to drive again, go for walks and enjoy life within reason. I still have very damaged vertebra ( from cancer) in my back that need to be protected so no swinging from the light fixtures.

I feel so blessed!
Claudia♥

An update..............

2010-08-29T11:09:00.003-05:00

I saw my doctor on Friday and she's pleased with the way things are going. My bone numbers and my tumor markers continue to be in the normal range and things are looking good. Before I see her next I'll have a CT and that will show if the cancer is still quiet.

I had my last huge chemo, now I'll get the targeted lung cancer chemo only each week. Not getting the heavy duty chemo will help bring my blood work back up and hopefully I'll start feeling less tired. This last month of chemo really hit me hard, I'm tired just taking a shower and everything wears me out. My blood counts were low so I ended up getting 3 shots in the tummy to bring up my red and white blood cell counts.

Hopefully I'll start getting my energy back, I'm looking forward to it. There is so much I want or need to do and just don't have it in me to do it. Scott has been just amazing, he's so supportive and always willing to do what needs to be done. I'm so blessed.

I still have hair but it's really thinned out, I still have a face and head full of acne from the targeted chemo but I'm hanging in there. I'd love to get some emails from all of you. If you have any links to fun/interesting web sites, I'd love to get them too.
Claudia♥

More Good News.................

2010-08-07T11:33:00.002-05:00

Some good news from the doctor yesterday but first a small lesson ......

Tumor Markers: Each tumor secretes it's own "stuff" into the blood stream. By testing your blood and finding the "stuff" the tumor leaves (the tumor markers) the doctor can identify how strongly your tumor is growing, what it's signature is.

For some reason my lung tumor secretes tumor markers for breast cancer. I don't have breast cancer, I have lung cancer but this tumor has decided to take on the signature of breast cancer in my tumor markers on blood tests.

At the doctor yesterday she showed me a graph for my tumor markers and praise God it shows that they are down to the normal range. Which means that the tumor is getting smaller and not putting out any "stuff" to show that it's growing. That along with the tests showing very little bone cancer is really good news !!

Now as I've said, I'll never be cancer free, because it's in my spine (bones) the chemo just can't reach there easily and kill it and they can't kill it with radiation because it's much of the spine and ribs and they can't kill off all my bone marrow, but with the tumor markers and other tests being so good it means, with God's grace, I'll be living a longer life. Hopefully the cancer will just stay quiet and I can live for many more years.

I'm almost at the end of a 6 month cycle for chemo, I have it weekly. What chemo I'm getting will be changing, I have the "big guns as they put it" every two weeks and weekly I get the new targeted chemo for the lung cancer that is working so well and giving me a face full of pimples.

In two weeks will be the last time I have the "big guns" because my body can't handle it longer.
Tests are showing that my bone marrow and blood is taking a big hit from this strong stuff. This is normal and most people can only handle it 6 months. From then on it will be the targeted lung stuff weekly which does not cause a problem with your bone marrow.

I'm feeling so much more hopeful, and thanking God for good news. Thank you to everyone who is praying, sending cards, calling and giving us support....we love you !
Claudia♥

Dear Santa,

2010-07-21T20:50:00.002-05:00

Dear Santa Claus,
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the gas card you left at our door today. You have no idea how much we appreciate both it and you ! (Who ever you are) What a blessing.
Claudia and Scott

Finally some good news......

2010-07-10T12:47:00.005-05:00

A PET Scanner

What a normal PET scan shows (pic taken from internet)

I got the results of my PET scan yesterday and it's good news! The new chemo is working and the lung tumor has shrunk by 1/2 an inch. It also showed the level of cancer activity in my body went from a 20 to a 3 !! Thank God.

So here is what the doctor is thinking: continue chemo treatments for a total of 6 months then we can drop off 2 of the chemo drugs and just use the new one for treatment as long as we possibly can.

Since I have cancer in the bones, it will never go away, it's too hard for chemo to get to those points so we will be watching it closely and hope it just sits there and leaves the rest of my body alone. I'll have scans every so often to make sure things have not changed.

I'll be going on anemia protection, getting shots every 2 to 3 weeks to stimulate red blood cell growth to try to prevent needing more transfusions.

I want to thank every person go donates blood, without it I would not be here, I've had 3 times in my life where I've needed blood and I'm thankful to each of you who gives of yourself to help others. May God Bless you for your gift of life!!
Claudia♥

2010-07-05T19:54:00.002-05:00

This is Scott,
It's been a couple of weeks since last posting, Claudia has not been feeling real well the last few weeks. The chemo meds are really doing a 1 - 2 punch on her, her nausea has been pretty good but her counts are really dropping so she does not have much energy to do alot.

I took Claudia to get her blood transfusions Saturday at the hospital because her levels were too low she needed 2 units so with testing and waiting an hour after she was finished it took 8 hours to do. She did very well and no complications which was good but I have to admit seeing the blood hanging in a bag was weird. the Doctors and nurses say she needs to stay away from anyone who is sick and no playing in the dirt.

We still have 2 more months of chemo that we know of but we will do what it takes to get the job done! I don't know if Claudia has mentioned anything about the other targeted chemo drug she is on ( I call it her puberty juice ) because one of the reactions is acne all over your face, head and can be on your back and chest (Claudia just has it on her face and head) but this is a good thing because they say a reaction means you have a better chance of it working!

We have another scan this week so we could use a lot of prayers that the results are good.

Again we would like to say thank you for all your thoughts, prayers, cards and e-mails they mean a lot to all of us.

Scott and Claudia

Prayers needed.....

2010-06-14T16:42:00.001-05:00

Our finances have hit rock bottom, we need your prayers now more than we ever have.
Thanks.

Answers.........

2010-06-13T10:22:00.002-05:00

My last post I asked for your questions and I received this response.....

"If you could ask for one thing from someone that would help you get through and hopefully enjoy each day (other than, of course, to be cancer-free), what would it be? Would you prefer phone calls, no phone calls, visits, regular mail, email, a good book, or just what? Please tell us what little things we can do FOR YOU. It would be helpful for all of us when dealing with others with cancer, too...what is one thing you'd like to have us do that would give you a smile?"

This is a great question and I'm going to answer it for all cancer patients you may come into contact with.......

A smile is always welcome, try to treat us like normal the best you can.

Ask questions, "How are you doing" isn't a bad question to ask. When I'm asked I always answer as honestly as possible. The person will tell you what they are comfortable telling you but if you don't ask it comes across as you don't care.

Asking what you can do for someone is a great question too, but only ask if you really mean it and are willing to follow through with whatever it it.

Letting someone know you'll be praying for them is wonderful, but again, only if you really mean it. Then really do it.

Cards are always welcome, funny ones are a favorite and great for a smile. Emails are good too, keeping in touch means so much. Tell us about your day, a funny story, send us some links to some great web sites or funny stuff to look at. (I scrapbook and rubber stamp so links to things like that would be great), try to match it with the person's interests.

Visits are great, but always call ahead so you can find out if the person is up to it. Phone calls are also welcome.

Small gifts, flowers, etc. are always something anyone appreciates. (not said to hint for myself)
You would be surprised how much little things (like a book or whatever) means to someone.

Do you bake? How about taking over some banana bread or a cake or something (the family is also going through this and this would mean a lot to them too). How about a Stouffers lazagna dropped off (you don't have to cook it either). People with cancer who are on chemo have a hard time with food and this would really help the family.

Look the person in the eyes, be honest, tell them cancer sucks and cry with them if you need to.
Don't ignore the person thinking it's too hard to know what to do. Be yourself and let them know you care.
Claudia♥

I want your questions........

2010-06-08T09:57:00.005-05:00

Scott and I keep hearing things like "I wanted to ask you how things were going but I didn't know if I should". Yes, please ask ! Scott and I are both very open about how things are going and we don't mind your questions at all. So how about we do a question and answer thing.

See below were it says comments? If you click on that it will bring up the comment form, fill it out, ask us a question and we will put it in our next blog post with the answer.

If you can't get the comment form to work then email us the question at: scfranson@chibardun.net

Want to ask a specific question about something? Want to know about something I've written about? Here is the place to ask !

Claudia♥

June 1, 2010

2010-06-01T09:42:00.002-05:00

Well, here I sit...still covered in my chemo rash that looks like acne with my hair thinning every day. Soon I'll look like something from another planet. At least the rash is a good sign that the new chemo is working.

I talked about the cost of cancer a while back, let me tell you...I was shocked at some of the prices of the things I have to go through. Each weekly chemo treatment is over $12,000, tests like MRI's are $5000 and the cost of us driving 2 1/2 hours each way to Marshfield once or twice a week lately is really putting a burden on us. Fighting cancer is hard mentally, physically and financially.

The hardest is mentally, keeping my spirits up lately has been hard, of course I see how this is affecting my family and that brings me down more. I worry about Scott taking so much time off of his job to take me to and from appointments, will his boss be understanding? I worry about how Scott and the kids are taking all of this, not knowing from one minute to the next what kind of news we're going to get, I worry about money and so much else. It's really hard to have a positive spirit all the time when your going through something like cancer.

I do appreciate everyone's kindness and concern, your cards, phone calls and visits mean the world to me and help me in so many ways. I want you to know how much it helps me.
Claudia ♥

Thursday, May 27, 2010

2010-05-27T11:28:00.002-05:00

I'm 13 again, well......my face is. The doctor said this new chemo can give you an acne type rash and boy did it. I look like a pimply faced 13 year old. Yuck. But the upside is that there is a good chance the meds are working if you get the rash, so please God let the meds be working.

Chemo day again tomorrow, my red blood count is still low so I don't know what will happen, it may be postponed, depends upon the blood work they do first. I'm so darn tired with no energy to do anything.

My family is such a blessing, I'm so thankful for them and for good friends.
Claudia ♥

Saturday, May 22, 2010

2010-05-22T09:28:00.002-05:00

I'm back, spent 5 days in the hospital getting a problem with medication taken care of. I don't miss the hospital food...there is something really wrong when scrambled eggs bounce.

Had chemo last Friday, the 14th. The started me on a new chemo drug I will have every Friday now. It's specially made to target the protein in the tumor and shrink and kill the tumor. Please pray that it works.

Funny thing, the regular chemo threw me into menopause and this new chemo gives you acne....how fair is that?

My red blood count is way down so they started me on "anemia protocol" which means I get shots of a growth hormone that helps you make red blood cells. This explains why I'm so darn tired all the time.

Nick and Max, thank you so much for the beautiful flowers and photo...it really brightened my day ! Max you are so handsome!

Ruby, thanks for the card and the scrapbooking goodies inside, you're such a wonderful friend.

Claudia♥

CT scan today..........

2010-05-07T13:14:00.002-05:00

I had my first CT scan to see if chemo is working and the results showed that there is no new cancer growth and the cancer has not spread. The chemo is keeping things in a holding pattern.

The cancer is not as sensitive to the chemo as the doctor had hoped so she said when we see her next week she will change chemo up a bit to find something this damn cancer is sensitive to so we can kill it.

So no new growth and no spread of disease is good news, the fact that the doctor has other things to try is good news too. With luck the next CT scan will show the cancer shrinking.

Scott, thank you for being such a rock for me the past few days while my anxiety level was so bad. You are an amazing man and I love you so much !

Claudia♥

Chemo #4

2010-05-03T09:34:00.002-05:00

Honesty...........Friday was chemo #4, I wish I could say things are going great but truthfully they aren't. I'm an emotional mess.
Maybe it's anxiety about the CT scan coming up to see if chemo is working, maybe it's the chemo messing with my body, maybe it's my mind struggling to deal with everything going on...it's probably all of it put together, what ever it is, it sucks and I hate feeling this way.

As a friend said, "if I was going through all of that I'd be huddled in a fetal position sucking my thumb", and yes, that sounds good about now. Dealing with emotional things is as hard as dealing with the physical part of cancer treatment. I want it all to go away and I want to be normal again, but that's not to be and I need to learn how to deal with what life has thrown at me. So if you're reading this, can you say a prayer asking God to help me deal with the emotional side of this, I can use all the help I can get.

Hair: still there
Blood counts: good
Pain: controlled
Next test: CT scan
Anxiety level: RED

Thankfulness: Full Heart !
Thank you to everyone for support, love, etc. I appreciate it.
Claudia♥

So cute........

2010-05-02T09:06:00.001-05:00

Will update the blog a bit later today, until then...enjoy. We took these down at the lake yesterday. We counted 14 in one bunch and 12 in the other.

Hanging in there.....

2010-04-29T12:18:00.003-05:00

I'm hanging in there, my next chemo is tomorrow and then next week I have a CT scan to see if it's working. Prayers requested please !

Thank you to everyone who is helping us keep our spirits up with cards, calls, emails, visits, talking to Scott at work, etc. without that I don't know what we'd do. You ROCK !
Claudia♥

I graduated !

2010-04-24T09:25:00.004-05:00

I graduated from radiation !

Friday was my last day of radiation and when I was done the gals gave me a certificate of courage and a stuffed bear wearing a graduation cap and holding a diploma. How sweet was that?
20 spine treatments and 10 rib treatments have made such a difference in my pain, I'm so thankful. It's also good to know that the doctor said he can help me if I have more pain suddenly appear.

I've still had some issues with nausea that I'm dealing with and my white blood counts and hemoglobin are really low but that proves that chemo is doing what it's supposed to do. I can't be around large crowds for a while until my counts go back up. At least they weren't so low that I had to be on house arrest, that would drive me crazy.

Thank you Marsha ! Not only for the goodies but your visit made me feel normal for a while and that was a huge gift. For a while I forgot I was sick and felt normal, I can't thank you enough for that.

Claudia ♥

Chemo #3

2010-04-17T10:05:00.003-05:00

We drove to Marshfield Thursday night, spent the night at Hope Lodge and on Friday morning I had blood work, saw my Oncologist and had chemo #3.

Blood work: still anemic but not at the point where I need a transfusion. They are doing some blood work on my iron levels and I'll find out Monday if I need a shot of some kind to bring my iron level up.

Oncologist visit: The gene studies could not be done, the company in California that does them needs more samples and my doctor told them that having more surgery right now wouldn't be possible, she won't put me through that since I'm having chemo and radiation at the same time. Later we will do them, but not right now. I was a bit disappointed, I thought that during the last biopsy surgery they got enough samples.

More tests were run on the samples they did have and it showed that I test positive for a protein that will react to a new drug called Tarceva to treat lung cancer. The doctor told us that if she can get me into remission (meaning the cancer is dormant, I will never be "cured" or cancer free) with 4 to 6 months of chemotherapy, then she can give me this new drug which according to everything I've read on line and heard from other cancer patients works wonders in extending your life. Here is what the drug company says about Tarciva.....

"Tarceva is a targeted cancer treatment. Tarceva is designed to block tumor cell growth by targeting the protein in your body called the Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 1 (HER1/ EGFR). The way Tarceva works to treat cancer is not fully known."

It's good to know that I have another option, really good. I was feeling pretty down before we saw her, feeling a bit hopeless so hearing that she thinks she can get me into remission made such a difference in my attitude. Now I need a lot of prayers that the chemo works and gets me into remission. I'll have a CAT scan to find out how the chemo is working in the beginning of May.

Pain control: going much better, we found a drug that works and the radiation is taking so much of the pain away. Only 4 more rib treatments to go. The radiation oncologist tells me that if any more pain comes up to come in and he will help me. I have such a great team working with me.

Nausea: thank God for drugs !

Hair loss: slowly will happen says the doctor. I figured it would have fallen out by now so I stopped coloring and cutting it, it looks terrible but it's only hair. As I've said before with my luck after it falls out it will come back red and curly.

Scott and I are taking an "I can cope" class put out by the American Cancer Society, it's another tool in dealing with cancer. I've met some other cancer patients too and talking with them is really great, knowing your not alone in dealing with some of the things we are going through and getting great advice.

Hope Lodge was thrilled that the store Scott works at made a big donation of laundry soap, popcorn, paper towels, etc. Thank so much Todd and Marketplace ! We also gave them a donation we had gotten from a co-worker of Scott's, thanks Jenny !

Claudia ♥

Tuesday April 13, 2010

2010-04-13T09:24:00.003-05:00

Radiation on my spine is almost over, only 2 more treatments. It's helped so much with the pain in my back I can't believe it. Now if the radiation they are doing on my ribs helps as much I'll be a very happy person. I have 8 more rib treatments to go. The gals at radiation marked me with little tatoos of dots but each time I have radiation they need to mark other areas with paint pens so I look like a road map of downtown New York and since they had to add new marks for the rib radiation they have added letters to the marks, lol.

I've been struggling with a lot of nausea lately, very thankful for medication and Scott to help me through it. I don't know what I'd do without either one of them.

We got our bill from the clinic for the month, we are well over $100,000 between the clinic and the hospital. I'll have to do a post on the cost of cancer for you soon. The cost of my medications, travel to and from Marshfield, etc. isn't included in that figure above, this is really taking a toll on us, but we do what we have to do in order to fight the beast !

Thanks for everyone's continued support, we appreciate it.
Claudia ♥

Friday April 9, 2010

2010-04-09T10:56:00.002-05:00

Warning: Medical talk and body functions.........

Went in for blood work this morning and found out my magnesium was low so I had to have an IV of that. Seems like this will happen often throughout treatment. My hemoglobin was down to 9.7 so they are watching it. If it goes to 9 or lower I will have a blood transfusion. The other blood work was in the good range. I do however have a bladder infection so they put me on some strong antibiotics for that.

I've been fighting nausea all week, hopefully next week will be much better. Radiation on my ribs was tough, it took a long time to get the lasers set correctly so I had to lay on the table over an hour. Now that the lasers are set and I'm marked correctly it won't take as long for the treatments. I will be so glad when the rib pain starts getting better.

Susan, it was so good to see you !

I need a Grandson fix....Mike ? Eric ? Listen to your Mother and bring those kids over to see us.
Claudia ♥

Meet Brutis !

2010-04-08T09:23:00.004-05:00

This is Brutis, the machine that gives me radiation. He's a tall guy and strong as can be. What you see here is only his face....here is a picture of his heart.....

The gals at radiation gave Scott the grand tour yesterday, letting him watch everything from start to finish and take pictures. They even let him sit in the control room while they operated Brutis to give me my radiation. This is the building where everything takes place.....

This is the 6 ton lead door they close the room off with. I stay in the radiation room while they close the door and go to the control room out in the hallway.

This is how thick the door really is........

This is the ceiling in the room, it gives patients something nice to look at while we lay there.

Radiation is going well, it's taken the pain level in my back down quite a bit which is wonderful but now I have some ribs on the left side that are horribly painful so the radiation oncologist is having them add 10 radiation treatments to the ribs starting today. Hopefully it will take down some of the pain. I think rib pain is worse that the back pain, rib pain takes your breath away.

If any of you crafty gals would like to make some cards for the patients at Hope Lodge (I'm making a box of hand made cards they can pick from and send out to their loved ones as needed since they can't get to a store while in treatment) please send them to me, they will be so appreciated.
Claudia♥

April 5, 2010

2010-04-05T09:33:00.003-05:00

Electric Shopping Cart

Before I step on my soapbox I want to say thank you to everyone who has reached out to touch our lives and give us support. It feels so good to know there are so many people out there who love us and are willing to be there for us through good and bad.

I wanted to talk to you today about something that has been bugging me for a while....the look people give you when you are using one of the electric shopping carts in the stores.

Because of the cancer in my spine I can't walk a long ways, so shopping at the grocery store or Walmart is out unless I'm in a wheelchair or the electric shopping cart. I appreciate that they are available because without them I would not be able to get out of the house and enjoy doing things like shopping.

But, the first thing I noticed when using these carts is the look people give you if you are using them and you are overweight. Yes, I am aware that some people call them "fatmobiles" and it's a shame. There are an awful lot of people who are handicapped who are also overweight so don't automatically think they are using the cart because they are fat and lazy.

The second thing I noticed was when Scott and I were in the grocery store shopping the other day and I was right behind him in an electric shopping cart, people would stop and say Hello to him and completely ignore me. Just because someone is handicapped does not make them invisible to you even if you don't know how to talk to them because YOU are uncomfortable.

Get a grip ! Learn some manners ! Be better than others !

Well, I had to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening to my rant and now I'm stepping off the soapbox.

We had a wonderful Easter, the kids and grandkids were here and we loved it all. Scott worked hard all day long and I want to say thanks honey, I love you !

Chemo was Friday and the meds are working to keep me comfortable and so far so good on not being ill. Radiation every day this week and blood work on Friday.
Claudia♥

Chemo Round 2

2010-04-03T10:12:00.003-05:00

4/2/2010

I had my second round of chemo yesterday, this time it was here in Rice Lake. Everything went well, now chemo drugs...it's time to kill this cancer !

I feel truly lucky in that I have such a wonderful caring team taking care of me, from my doctors to my nurses, my husband (God Bless that man !) and my family and friends. Everyone is so supportive and helpful. The nurses up in chemo are amazing (Hi Rita !) and so willing to answer any questions, get you anything you might need or call your doctor if they want to double check something for your care.

I ended up getting my pre chemo nausea drugs by IV instead of pill form so all together it was 5 seperate IV's yesterday once you include the 2 for chemo. They can't give them together, all have to be one at a time. I was in the bathroom all day yesterday, lol.

I take 2 nausea drugs now daily which are helping a lot. I don't have any appetite at all and haven't since I started chemo 2 weeks ago but I eat so that my medications don't make me sick.
Something that might have sounded good 2 days ago sounds horrible now so finding foods I am willing to force myself to eat is the hardest part.

I think we also solved the pain medication problem, anything they were giving me was making me sick and I think we found one that will work without the problem. Oh I hope so! It feels good to be in less pain and not sick to my stomach.

Am I getting too personal? Sorry but this is what cancer treatment is like and I'm going to be honest with all of you. Parts of all of this are horrible, it really sucks and parts like the support all of you are giving me are wonderful and make going through this easier.

Have a Happy Easter tomorrow....here is our little Easter Bunny.......

Claudia♥

Wed. 3/31/10

2010-03-31T21:27:00.005-05:00

I've had 10 radiation treatments so far, I'm half way through this course of radiation. I'm noticing a bit less pain in my back which is a huge relief. I can't wait to see how good I feel after I've had the 20 treatments.

I have another round of chemo at the end of the week, haven't lost any hair yet but I read in some of the literature that it starts around day 15 of the first chemo, which is Saturday. So if I wake up bald on Saturday morning, don't be shocked, lol.
(Hi Barry and Cathy)

If you're having trouble leaving me a comment here on the blog, just email me at the email address at the top. Hey, let me know you were here...ok?
Claudia ♥

Tuesday March 30, 2010

2010-03-30T10:18:00.005-05:00

My hospital bed was finally delivered

After sleeping in a recliner for over 6 weeks I'm thrilled to finally have my hospital bed.

Thank you, Health Partners Insurance for making us wait 3 extra weeks while you made your determination as to my being eligible to have one. :(
I wonder if your Mother's had spinal cancer if you would have expected them to sleep in a recliner 3 extra weeks while waiting for someone to decide if they could have a bed or not? Somehow, I think not.

Anyway, I'm glad to have the bed and to be able to sleep on a real mattress after all this time.

Today is radiation and then a visit to the radiation oncologist to see how things are going, well, we don't know yet how the radiation is affecting the cancer and we won't know until the next PET scan but we check in with the doctor once a week to make sure we don't have any bad side effects that might need to be treated, etc. So far I haven't noticed anything bad. They have me on medicine to prevent nausea from the radiation treatments and that's working fine, no problems there. I have noticed a bit less pain in the area they are treating and the numbness and tingling that I was having is happening much less often, so good stuff is happening from it.

Claudia♥

Sunday, March 28, 2010

2010-03-28T10:27:00.003-05:00

A very special thanks to everyone who has sent/delivered cards, emails, letters, packages and good thoughts and prayers. You really have no idea how much just getting an email means to me and lifts my spirits. The support all of you are giving me and my family is priceless and God Bless each of you for it.

Radiation went well this week, it's easy to just lie there and let the machine (who I have named Brutis) do his job killing the cancer.

I went for my blood work on Friday and my magnesium was low so I had to have an IV of that, took about an hour and made me late for radiation, but they work with each other...the radiation department and the oncology department and they fit me in when I was done with the IV.

My blood work was ok, the only thing that was off was my white blood cell count, it's about half of what it should be. This is to be expected though and it wasn't at a dangerous level.

I ended up catching a cold at the end of the week and they are watching it carefully to see if I'm getting any kind of infection, which they will treat if necessary.

We celebrated Scott's birthday last week, the kids were all here and we had a great time. Here's a picture of my two Vikings fans.........

Claudia ♥

Thursday, March 25, 2010

2010-03-25T09:25:00.002-05:00

I've had a rough couple of days, Monday and Tuesday spent not feeling well physically and Wednesday was a hard day mentally. I hope today is better.

I continue with radiation every day and then tomorrow is the first blood work since the chemo, it will tell me where all my blood counts are and if I need an IV of magnesium if it's low or an IV of who knows what if things are off. I'm thankful that they know what they're doing, keeping it all straight is hard unless it's written down.

Could you say a prayer for my mental well being please?

Claudia

Monday March 22, 2010

2010-03-22T09:10:00.006-05:00

I had a rough afternoon and evening yesterday but I'm hanging in there. Every time I didn't feel well I'd say to myself "the chemo's working !" and I'm killing cancer. I'M KILLING CANCER !

I want to tell you about a wonderful place in Marshfield, WI that the American Cancer Society runs. It's called Hope Lodge and it's a beautiful hotel/home just for cancer patients who need to travel long distances to see their doctors or have medical procedures. We can stay there at no cost. After traveling 2 1/2 hours one way it was nice to be able to stay the night and get rested up before having my bone biopsies and seeing the doctor, traveling in the car is hard on me with bone pain. This Lodge is a blessing !

It has a beautiful huge living room with a fire place, huge kitchens so that you can cook as much as you need to while you are there. (some cancer patients are there 2 months or longer)
A library full of books, computers, games, movies, etc. A free laundry room, exercise room, snack bar stocked with anything you could want, the bedrooms rooms are big and just like a hotel room. Elevators, wheel chairs, lifts, anything you might need. It's all run by volunteers and donations.

If you should you have any extra sample size toiletries, laundry soaps, etc. that you would be willing to donate you can give them to Scott and we will drop them off the next time we are in Marshfield. Here is their "wish list"..... http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/hopelodge/WI_Marshfield/mf_our_wish_list.asp

Here are a couple of pictures of the Medical Clinic in Marshfield, it's huge. They even have valet parking for patients who need it.

My First Chemo Treatment 3/19/2010

2010-03-20T10:56:00.004-05:00

My First Chemo Treatment

Things went really well but took quite a while, about 5 1/2 hours for the first treatment. I was scared but had Scott's support and really nice oncology nurses. I named my IV pump "Charlie".
First I'll show you some more pictures......

The IV's of the chemo drugs are put in through my port that is in my chest. I sit in a recliner so I'm as comfortable as can be.

My wonderful husband Scott ! My rock of strength.

They don't give you all of the drugs at one time, it's too hard on your system so treatments take a while depending upon how many drugs you're given and how big the IV bags are for each drug. Before I was given any chemo they gave me 3 steroid pills and 2 other kinds of pills to help with nausea, then they gave me an IV with a drug in it that will help make my bones harder so that we can help prevent fractures in my spine where the cancer has attacked it the worst.

They started the first chemo drug and I got flushed but that was the only thing I noticed. With the second chemo drug I didn't feel anything. They give you a lot of water to drink while you are being treated so between that and your IV's you get really friendly with the bathroom, lol.

The chemo rooms in Marshfield, WI are set up with you being in a private room and you and the room next door share a bathroom, so it was nice and close and private. Scott and I watched TV in recliners. They even have a list of movies you can ask to watch so you're not bored. Everyone was so nice and went over every step with us.

One of the things they give you is a huge 3 ring binder, in it is a long list of phone numbers of your doctors and nurses on your cancer team, emergency numbers and also places you can call for help with things, like the American Cancer Society and a Nurse Navigator who will help you with just about anything you need. Also in the binder is printed information of what the nurse went over of things you need to know while on chemo (I'll tell you more in a bit), a calendar so you can keep track of your appointments and a place to keep a record of all your blood work.

The blood work will be the most important thing everyone will need to know. They told us it's a binder for not only me but for my family, this way they can look and find the answers to any questions they have, find important number and see my appointments and check what my blood work was and what to do if I experience side effects or illness. They want the family as involved as they can be, cancer doesn't just attack me, it attacks the whole family and they want your family to be as informed as you are.

The chemo works by stopping your cells from reproducing, not just the cancer cells but all your cells, which is why the blood work is so important. The chemo stops you from making new red and white blood cells which makes you very susceptible to infections and anemia. Because of that there are quite a few guidelines we have to follow while I'm on chemo treatments.......

• No fresh fruit or vegetables. Too much of a risk for my catching all sorts of infections from it not being handled correctly. All meat and eggs must be cooked thoroughly, no pink meat after cooking. All dairy and juices must be pasturized.

• Drink 2 - 3 quarts of water or decaf fluids daily.

• Avoid crowds, too much risk of people being sick.

• Can not be around anyone who is sick. We also need to make sure anyone coming into the house is healthy. I have a special mask to wear if needed for times like going to the regular doctor clinic etc.

• Can not be around adults with shingles or children with chicken pox.

• Wash hands often, have people around me wash hands often.

• Wear gloves to wash dishes.

• Do not clean up after pets, do not clean litter boxes or handle feces from pets. Do not let pets lick you on mouth.

• Clean any sores with soap and apply antibiotic ointment.

• Do not cut or tear your cuticles.

• No tampons.

• Check my temperature often and if I feel chilled, hot, flushed or don't feel well.

• Call doctor immediately if temp is 100.5 or above, have shaking chills, any burning, new pain or blood in urine.

I will have to follow these guide lines the whole time I'm getting chemo treatments which could be a long time, but I'm ok with that...I want to stay healthy to kill this damn cancer. I will do what ever I have to do, endure what ever test I have to do and take what ever medications I have to in order to kill this cancer and give me a longer life.

So far, I feel good...no nausea and other than feeling a bit high from the codine I'm doing well.

So if you've stopped by and read this today would you leave a comment saying Hello ? I'd love that !

Claudia ♥

Thursday 3/18/10

2010-03-18T10:17:00.003-05:00

I'm blue........no, not sad....I'm blue ! A beautiful shade of turquoise. When you have surgery like mine and they need to use a fluoroscope they use a special wash on your skin and it's blue. So I came out of surgery with a blue chest, neck, ear lobes, shoulders, jaw and cheeks, they even got some in my hair. I was quite a sight. In recovery the nurses washed my face and ears and tried to get off what they could. But...little did I know that it didn't come off and when I was released from the hospital and after my radiation treatment I had to go to the clinic for blood work. I knew people were looking at me strangely but I had just had surgery, I had this huge white bandage sticking out on my chest and still had on my hospital tags so I figured that was what they were looking at.....um, no....they were looking at the short little smurf lady !

So surgery went great, my port is ready for it's first use tomorrow. I'm sore and bruised but it was worth it.

My radiation treatment was so quick, it's amazing what they can do in such a short burst of the machine. I'll have a total of 20 radiation treatments. I start chemo tomorrow and will have it every 3 weeks (at least thats the plan right now).

I can't begin to tell you how much your support means to me and my family, each one of you is special to us. Thank you so much. We couldn't go through this without the support of family and friends and you have no idea how much it means to me. When I'm going through a test that hurts or having a bad day with pain, it makes me feel so good to think about each of you and the love and support you're giving us.

I want to thank some very special friends for a gift we received yesterday. D &M, how can we ever thank you? What do you say when you're heart is so full and you feel that nothing you say can fully explain your gratitude? Your check for travel expenses to and from Marshfield for treatments and doctors visits is a blessing...you've taken away some of our worry and for that we can't thank you enough. May God give you twice the blessing you've given us. ♥

Claudia and Scott

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T16:36:00.003-05:00

Hi this is Scott again and I wanted to let you know that Claudia had a port put in this morning.

Surgery went well and took a little more than an hour. She was in recovery after surgery about an hour, then after she was discharged we rushed over to the clinic for her first radiation treatment.

Claudia said the radiation treatment was quick and easy.

Although she is having some discomfort from the surgery she is doing well.

She will be having her first chemo treatment on Friday!

It feels good that we are finally starting to kick this cancers butt!

I want to thank you very much for everyone's support and prayers it means alot to us.

We think we have the problem with leaving comments here fixed so please try again!

Scott

Tuesday 3/16/10

2010-03-16T19:46:00.006-05:00

Update: Yesterday I Met with the Doctor who does radiation, it's all set up and we are good to go for the first treatment tomorrow. I'll have 20 radiation treatments on my spine in the areas of T6 to T11.

I called my son's and told them I had tattoos too ! Ok, lol, 3 little dots are now tattooed on my sides and tummy to help them place me in the machine correctly each time. The placement is what takes the longest, the machine is only on minutes. I was told that the treatments will give me a lot of fatigue and as the treatments progress I may develop some nausea and some sores low in my esophagus that they will treat with medication.

I also got measured for a hard plastic back brace that I will have to wear except for sleeping and bathing. It will protect the area of my spine that the cancer has completely eaten away. The brace will be ready at the end of this week.

I also got my repeat chest xray and my lung is going back to normal.

Today in Marshfield.... I had biopsies of the cancer in my spine. They did CT guided bone biopsies and it was so much easier than the lung biopsies were. It took about an hour and 45 minutes and they used lots of numbing medications so I hardly had any pain during the procedure. I was kept in recovery for a couple hours and then we went to see the Oncologist who said that the PET scan showed NO OTHER AREAS OF CANCER, other than those we know about !! Very, very good news! Thank you God !

Pain has been a problem so she has adjusted and added medications to keep me comfortable.
The oncologist and the radiology oncologist have also decided to put me on a strong medication for nausea, that way I'm covered for the nausea from both radiation and chemo. It's expensive...over $500 dollars...yes, I said over $500 and I think that's for a months supply.

Tomorrow, I will have my chemo port put in my chest. This way they don't have to keep looking for veins for each treatment. It's done at the local hospital and I was told it's a 20 minute procedure. I have a radiation treatment and some lab work too.

My first chemo treatment should be Thursday or Friday. Time to kick the cancer's butt !!!!!

Monday 3/15/2010

2010-03-15T09:40:00.004-05:00

Radiation is in my future

I got a bit of good news this morning, my oncologist talked to the neurosurgeon and since the cancer is NOT growing into my spinal cord I will not need any surgery on my spine. What they are going to do is start radiation on that area of my spine that is in danger and fit me with a hard back brace that will keep my spine stable.

Ok, not looking forward to the brace but it's a lot, a LOT better than surgery ! I meet with the radiation doctor today and hopefully we can get started ASAP.

I also have a chest xray today to see if my lung is going back to normal, if not it means they will put in a chest tube (doctor didn't say when or where they would do that).

So this week is a CT guided bone biopsy of the cancer and then talking with the oncologist about starting chemo. I'm ready to fight...having chemo is part of that fight against cancer so I'm anxious to get started, I can't wait to kill every cell of this beast and take back my life!

It gets to the point where you feel like the cancer has taken everything from you, it becomes the only thing you think about and talk about. I will not let cancer become my life, I may be a person with cancer but I'm also a wife and mother, grandmother and friend. I have a life to lead, stuff to do and none of it involves letting cancer take over. I refuse to let it have that kind of power.
Love, Claudia

Saturday 3/13

2010-03-13T09:57:00.004-06:00

My oncologist called last night, she had just gotten the results of my MRI that was done a few hours before. It seems that the cancer has completely replaced one of the vertebrae in my spine which is very dangerous.

She is consulting with a neurosurgeon to see if they can come up with some way to stabilize my spine, the problem being there is cancer in the bones both above and below this one.

She said I am at a very high risk of spinal fracture which can be very dangerous or even deadly. She told me I was to stay at home, don't go anywhere, don't lift anything, don't push anything, don't do anything but sit in a chair. I have to go to the emergency room immediately if I notice any increased numbness, pain, cracking, crunching, etc.

She will get a hold of me and tell me the next step after she consults with this neurosurgeon.

She also said that they will be doing the biopsy of the cancer in the bones to help them identify the type of cancer and that so far with all of the tests they have done on my last biopsies and blood work they are leaning toward this possibly being a type of breast cancer. But all that could change once again when more tests are done.

I've gotten regular breast exams and mammograms for years and years, I just had another mammogram and 3 breast exams in the last 2 weeks and no one can find anything.....
I don't understand it but I'm glad I have a doctor that is highly skilled and doing everything possible for me.

She also told me that my lung that partially collapsed when I had the lung biopsy is STILL partially collapsed and they may need to put in a chest tube if it doesn't come back up on it's own.

I know things have to get worse before they can get better so I'm looking at this as just part of that and then when everything is figured out and ready I can have chemo and fight like hell against this enemy called cancer.

I know it's hard to know what to say to me but I sure can use your support, so can my family.
I'd love for you to leave me a comment here and let me know you stopped by to visit, or if you want send me an email saying Hello ! the email address is at the top right of this page.
We don't have to talk about the cancer, how about a joke? some gossip? a funny picture?
Tell me what's going on in your life........but let me know you're there ok?

So many of you are reading my blog.....I'd love to hear from you.
Claudia ♥

* Caution Radioactive Mommy *

2010-03-12T09:18:00.005-06:00

PET Scanner

I had my PET scan yesterday and when I came back out to the waiting room Scott showed me a text message Missy had sent me saying ***Caution Radioactive Mommy*** She's decided I need a bumper sticker with this saying, lol.

PET scan was easy although the precautions they take with the radioactive tracer they put in your veins can make you freak out a bit thinking it's going in your body. I was told not to try crossing the borders into Canada or Mexico for a couple days because I'd set off the alarms. That happened to a friend of mine ! Seriously, she set off the radiation alarms at the Canadian border. Hi Ruby !

So here's where we stand.... (are you bored yet?)

PET scan √

MRI √ (today) to check spine to make sure cancer isn't close to spinal cord.

Chest xray √ (Monday) to see if my lung is going back to normal after collapsing.

Blood work √ (today) to make sure I will clot correctly for the biopsy next week.

CT guided bone biopsy from one of the bones in my spine that has cancer - next week (they need more material for tests) I was hoping they wouldn't have to do this one :(
I just now feel recovered from the lung biopsies.... oh well, I'll do what ever needs to be done to fight this.

Meet back with the oncologist next week and with luck she's got this narrowed down and we can start treatment.

Because of the cancer in my ribs and spine I can't sleep laying down, too much pain, so I've been sleeping in a recliner. Hopefully next week the hospital bed will be delivered and I can sleep in a real bed again. This hospital bed will go into a position kind of like a recliner so I'll be able to sleep without pain.

A lot of my posts here will be medical stuff, that's what my life is about right now. Hopefully they are a bit educating and informative. If you want more details of how any of the tests are done, email me. I hope you don't have to have them done, but if you do it's nice to know ahead of time what happens.

I've had a lot less pain in the past 2 days (what a blessing) and I hope that continues. I had a bit of trouble with the codeine in the pain killers but the doctor gave me some anti nausea pills and they work wonders.

We celebrated MJ's (our oldest Grandson) birthday, he's 13 now ! Happy Birthday MJ !!
Got some great pictures with him and Collin....Collin was just fascinated with MJ.

I'm a woman of mystery..........

2010-03-10T08:31:00.006-06:00

We met with my oncologist yesterday, she is a really nice woman who really impressed us.

It seems I'm a woman of mystery, the biopsy samples they took from my lung came back as a kind of cancer they see in someone who is a very heavy smoker. Since I've never smoked a day in my life this has the doctor thinking that more work needs to be done to truly identify the cancer before she knows exactly which kind of chemo I will be given. She said that I don't present with a profile of this kind of cancer and that perhaps there is another source of the cancer they haven't found yet.

Which means more tests....

1 - they are doing a lot more tests on the biopsies, if they don't have enough tissue to use they will have me come in and they will take biopsies from a cancer site in my bones rather than my lung so we don't risk another lung collapse.

2 - they took 11 tubes of blood to do tests called tumor markers, hoping to help the doctor identify possible cancer sites that have been missed.

3 - I'll be having a PET scan, which will show all the areas of cancer present in my body.

4 - I'll be having an MRI on my spine so that they can make sure that the cancer in my spine is not a danger to my spinal cord. If any of it is getting too close they will use radiation to kill that little area of cancer. They can not use radiation on my whole spine because it would kill my bone marrow.

We will meet with her again next week and hopefully have some more answers.

Here is what she told us yesterday.....

I am a stage 4 cancer patient, cancer is present in my right lung and in multiple areas of my spine and ribs.

I will never be cured of cancer, at some time cancer will take my life. But...I can be treated and with luck and a lot of prayers and God's grace the cancer can be held at bay for some time, giving me a longer life. Treatment will be chemotherapy and perhaps some radiation.

She would like me to get a detailed history of the cancer in my family. This won't be easy at all. (Those of you who know my history understand this) Long story short, I don't really know if my parents are my biological parents. Add to that the fact that my "father" is dead and didn't keep in close contact with his own family and my "mother" has dementia. I'm hoping some Great Aunts can help a bit.

I have cancer in my bones, which is a very painful cancer. She wants me to take pain killers as often as I need them. * I'm enjoying having less pain, these pills are my friends, lol

I will not die tomorrow, she said to go and enjoy life and be happy, active and stay positive. A positive attitude helps cancer patients live longer.

Staying positive..... All of your cards, emails, phone calls and visits are so appreciated and really help me stay positive knowing how much all of you care. The jokes, pictures and web sites you send me help me keep my mind off the bad stuff and we all know that laughter is the best medicine. I would appreciate anything that would help me keep my mind off the negative and help me stay positive.

Helping my family... your support of Scott and the kids would be appreciated. Scott had a hard time hearing what the doctor had to say yesterday, he took it pretty hard. So helping to keep him and the kids positive would be really appreciated.

Please, please don't tell them any stories of your relative or friend who had cancer that ended badly....help them stay positive thinking. (if you have a good story with a happy outcome please share that with all of us).

Claudia

Monday 3/8/10

2010-03-08T12:00:00.002-06:00

No, not mine
(This is a normal chest xray taken from Google Images)

Today's chest xray showed that my lung is starting to behave and re-inflate, the doctor said it should be back to normal in a few days. I could tell this morning things were getting better because I wasn't so out of breath doing things like showering and getting dressed.

You know, all this started because I thought I had pulled a muscle so I'm asking all of you to be extra careful with your health. If you think something has changed, if something hurts or looks strange.... go get it checked out. If a doctor won't take your complaint seriously find a new doctor. Be proactive, take care of yourself with regular exams and tests, you're worth it !

A sweet little visitor.....

2010-03-06T09:11:00.004-06:00

Collin came over last night to visit, isn't he sweet?

He's one strong baby, wanting to stand up all the time and move. He's a lot like his Dad in looks and in personality. We just love being with him.

I have a lot of people reading my blog but not a lot of comments.....is it because you don't know what to say to me? I know it's hard to figure out what to say to someone fighting cancer so let me tell you how I feel about this......

Waking up in the morning is the hardest time of my day, you go from sleep and dreams to suddenly having everything come back to you, hitting you in the face. It's the time of day that I'm at my lowest mentally. Having an email or a comment here on the blog would really help me and brighten my spirits. Just say hello, tell me a joke, talk about what's going on in your life, give me the latest gossip....you don't have to talk about my being a cancer patient if you don't want to. But, if you do want to give me some words of encouragement I'd love to hear them.
I'll talk to you about anything ! Don't be afraid to talk to me please.

On a medical note: I feel so much better. Not in a lot of pain, biopsy site healing well, hopefully the lung is going back to normal. I haven't taken anything but tylenol for pain.

Friday 3/5

2010-03-05T11:06:00.005-06:00

I'm back at home after going in for a repeat chest xray this am, bummer is there was no change, the lung is still partially collapsed but they let me come home with orders to go immediately to ER is anything changes in my breathing. The good thing is that the doctor said the more time that goes by after the biopsy the less chance I have of that lung completely collapsing.
They want me back in Monday for one more xray, and hopefully this darn lung will be behaving by then.

Orders are that I can't do anything but just sit here, little do the doctors know that I can still make trouble just sitting !! I'm going to be on the computer a lot, so how about you giving me some great web sites to check out. They can be about anything.

Yesterday was not a piece of cake as Scott told you, it was hell....but I got through it. I kept imagining the doctors stabbing the enemy each time they took a biopsy. Stab, stab, stab....kill the damn thing. We find out what kind of lung cancer it is on Tuesday, they do all sorts of tests on the biopsies..even gene identification. That's pretty cool, this way they can tailor make the treatment plan to kill it all. Gosh, I sound like a serial killer......LOL, I guess in a way I am, I'm going after all of it and killing it....every last cell of it.

Scott and the kids were just amazing yesterday, I didn't want Scott left alone sitting there waiting so they kept him company. Collin gave everyone a lot of smiles and the nurses all loved seeing him. I loved seeing him too, he's the best medicine. ♥

I had a lot of company in the CT room for the biopsy, well in reality it was me, the doctor and 2 ct techs but in my mind all of you were there cheering me on ! Thank you for your support, we all appreciate it. (Sheila, thank you for the beautiful flowers !)

Hey, did you know you can leave me a note right here in the comments section? I'd love to hear from all of you. Just click on comments below ↓

Love, Claudia

Finally Home

2010-03-04T19:09:00.002-06:00

This is Scott, We got home from the hospital a little while ago. Things did not go according to plan today, more like Claudia's lung did not want to cooperate.

It took the Dr. 5 tries to get a good biopsy and during the fourth try her lung started to collapse, so they tried one more time and got a good sample.

They took an x-ray and found that her lung was partially collapsed, they sent us down to recovery for a couple of hours and back up to take another x-ray, after second x-ray it showed it being worse than before so they consulted the surgeon who wanted Claudia monitored a couple of more hours.

The third x-ray showed no change but they said she was stable enough to go home as long as someone is there to monitor her all night, and if anything came up we were to go to the E.R. A.S.A.P!!

We head back to the hospital tomorrow morning for another x-ray to hopefully see improvement if not we will have to talk to surgeon for next plan of action.

Claudia is in alot of pain not only from the biopsy but the cancer too.

Our kids were there for us today including our Grandson Collin! their support helped us get through the day.

Claudia would like to thank everyone who has sent her cards and words of encouragement. ( And me too!)

Biopsy day.....

2010-03-04T07:51:00.000-06:00

We will be leaving in a little while for the hospital for the biopsy....some prayers of strength for me would be very welcome right now. Will update later today.

Test results today 3/3/10

2010-03-03T14:32:00.003-06:00

This morning I went in for a CT of my lower half and I'm happy to say they didn't find any new tumors. They think the lung tumor is the primary tumor and the sites on my spine and ribs are metastasis of that tumor. Metastasis (click here to read what they are)

I also had blood work today which shows we are good to go on the biopsy tomorrow at the hospital. They will do a CT guided needle biopsy of the lung tumor. This is how we will identify the enemy so we know what we are fighting.

I also had a Gyno exam today and that went smoothly, Doctor said everything felt normal with no alarming growths, etc. I've been so preoccupied that I forgot to shave my legs and was mortified when I looked down and saw them, but luckily my Gyno is a friend of mine and when we were talking he said that looking to see if a gal shaves her legs is the last thing he pays attention to. On our way out the door I stopped and made an appointment for a year from now....and I intend to keep it !!

Finally, something went good for a change.

I've been so overwhelmed with all the prayers and support you are giving all of us, we appreciate it more than you will ever know. Right now is when we need our friends and family the most.

Scott is incredible, he's trying so hard to stay strong for me and yet I can tell he's having a hard time of it. If you see him or talk to him could you give him a bit extra support. Thanks !

The best way to keep you informed......

2010-03-02T13:17:00.007-06:00

I thought that the best way to keep everyone informed of what is going on in my journey is here at my blog, I'll post as often as possible. Scott and the kids might also post once in a while when I need them to. If you bookmark this page link you'll be able to find it easily when you want to.

Don't let this blog be our only contact...please ! I need your support and a lot of help in keeping positive through all of this.

My journey started weeks ago, with back and muscle pain in my ribs. After a couple weeks I went to the doctor who thought I had torn rib cartilage and muscle. After 4 more weeks of pain I went back to see him on February 25, 2010 at 8:40 am. That day and time will stay with me forever.

That day the doctor decided to do a chest Xray to check my spine and there was a growth in the lower lobe of my right lung. (I'm a non smoker) The doctor ordered a lot of tests including a CT scan with contrast to be done right there and then. It showed a 4mm mass with suspicious spots on my spine. The doctor sat us down and told us that things didn't look good and his and the radiologist suspicion was cancer.

I can't explain to you how I felt at that moment, I know I cried, Scott cried and the doctor tried hard not to cry. A state of shock came over me and I felt numb.

The doctor wanted a biopsy done ASAP but because I'm on aspirin therapy they had to take me off of it for a week before they could do it. In the mean time I was scheduled for more tests for this week. Starting with a bone scan yesterday.

The results weren't great, they see spots of change in the bone (that can indicate cancer) in many places on my spine and also in my ribs. My family doctor was going to call my oncologist (whom I haven't even met yet) and ask what other tests they can do until I go to see her on Tuesday the 9th.

As it stands now I have a lower body CT scan with contrast tomorrow and then on Thursday I go to the hospital for a CT guided needle biposy of the mass in my lung. At that point, when the results of the biopsy are back we will know what kind of cancer I have and how to deal with it.

I want to keep upbeat, as you can imagine it's not that easy. So I'm asking all of you to do what ever you think you can do to help me stay positive, upbeat and strong. I just ask that you don't tell me any sad stories of how your Aunt had cancer 15 years ago and died.

I am going to fight this (I'm going to swear now) frickin cancer again* and WIN. I will not allow it to take over my life....it has no right to be there and I want it gone. ( I'm angry at the cancer)

I also ask all of you to support Scott and the kids, they are being so wonderful to me and yet I know they are suffering with all of this. Scott puts on a good act but he is taking this so hard. Please support them, they are a part of this too.

I will admit that I am in pain, some days are better than others and I'm thankful that there are medications for me to take to help some. Because the bones in my spine and ribs are acting up I can't lay down on the bed easily anymore so until we kill this damn enemy I will sleep in the recliner which I'm asking Scott to put in the bedroom.

I'm so thankful for my family and friends, all of you mean the world to me and I want you to know how much I appreciate your support in this journey.

And wouldn't you know it, the contrast liquid I have to drink tonight and tomorrow morning is strawberry flavored ! It just figures.

I love and appreciate all of you,
Claudia

If you want to leave me a comment just click the post a comment button below.

* I had cervical cancer in 1978, had a conezation of the cervix and have been clear since.

Ice and Fungus....

2009-11-19T11:26:00.003-06:00

Ok, I know that's a really weird title for a post....lol. Wanted to show you some pictures taken this week. The first one is a picture of some really weird fungus/mushroom type things growing on a birch tree we found in the woods, pretty cool looking aren't they?

The second picture we took yesterday, we don't have any snow on the ground yet and the ice is starting to form on the lake, liked the look of these ice sheets.

More blog candy

2009-11-19T11:12:00.004-06:00

Here are more blogs with a great big giveaways ! Check them out.....

http://crystalkbk.blogspot.com/2009/11/25000-hit-blog-candy.html

http://cherisheachpreciousday.blogspot.com/2009/11/celebrating-with-candy.html

http://fosterdesignhouse.blogspot.com/

http://thecrafttable.blogspot.com/

http://clairebsd.blogspot.com/

A wonderful blog candy contest.....

2009-10-03T12:43:00.001-05:00

This awesome blogger is having one heck of a blog candy contest in honor of her birthday, check out what you can win....Go to: http://twinklesglow-glowbug.blogspot.com/2009/09/birthday-blog-candy.html

Just read the most amazing book !

2009-08-11T11:17:00.005-05:00

I just finished this book and all I can say is WOW, it's wonderful. Here is the Amazon.com page to check out the reviews: http://www.amazon.com/House-at-Riverton-Novel/dp/1416550534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250007413&sr=1-1

At first I thought it was going to be good but then I realized after I kept reading... it was going to be GREAT. If you've read it, tell me what you thought of it.

Another great read was.....

We go to the library once or twice a week. We also take advantage of the on line system our library group has and reserve books on line from home when ever we can. I check Amazon and Good Reads for book recommendations and of course check out blogs/discussion groups to check out what other people are reading.

Another great book I just finished was....
Filled with great recipes, beautiful photos and great stories giving insight into the Amish life.

I'd love to hear what you're reading or get some great book recommendations.

What A Mess !!

2009-08-10T10:39:00.004-05:00

As you can see by my long absence the computer problems we thought we had fixed came back ten fold and we had a heck of a time trying to get this darn thing fixed. Hopefully things are going to keep working (or this computer may be thrown out a window), we still can't get our scanner to hook up and work correctly no matter what we try. At least we can use the computer again...I thought I was going to lose my mind when it was down....obviously I'm addicted.

So what have we been doing? We've been going to a lot of garage sales, our son and his girlfriend are having a baby in December so we've been looking for baby stuff. They were hoping to find out that they were having at the appointment last week but the baby was turned funny and had the cord between it's legs so they couldn't tell. They were so disappointed. It's not easy to find yellow or green neutral clothes (or anything else) in the stores now days, it's all pink or blue. Luckily we were able to find some at the garage sales. They are doing the nursery in a Winnie The Pooh theme, it's going to be darling ! Here is the white ceiling fan our son picked up and decorated with stickers, he's really good at coming up with things like this.

As always we keep a close eye out for deals in the stores, I love getting things free or close to free using coupons. Kmart will be having double coupons in some stores next week and I'm collecting and planning my "attack". Walgreens has some great deals going this week, be sure to look for the special back to school flyer filled with store coupons available in the stores. You can combine those coupons with manufacturer coupons and get some great buys on things like Huggies baby wipes. They also have several items each week that come out to be free after the register reward and they have a clearance going on now of 75% off the summer toys/pool gear.

If you go to Arby's, be sure and save the receipt and do the survey on the back, you'll get a code for a free beef and cheddar or regular roast beef.

You should check out this wonderful Etsy store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5066832

Jenn makes the most adorable bags out of retro pillowcases ! She sent me one to try and I just love it
Isn't this cute ! It's so strong too, we've been lugging a ton of books to and from the library with it without a problem and I like that it's got one strap so it's easier to hang on to. She's got a lot of other patterns in her store and gives measurements for each one, you should see the pink one !!
Visit Jenn and say Hi !

Finally back !!

2009-06-29T13:21:00.008-05:00

No, it wasn't this bad but this is what I wanted to do to it !!

Having a broken computer really sucks, we knew it was acting funny but suddenly it became quite obvious that something was really wrong. We ended up having to purge everything off the hard drive and start over...all over...as in everything from the beginning.

We bought an external hard drive and moved what we needed to there and then hubby went to work killing, I mean fixing the hard drive on the main computer. When all was said and done we had to load every program all over again, put our bookmarks back in by going to each web site, put all email address's back in the email program...I hope we got everything.

On the bright side, the computer is working great, it's faster

and I haven't wanted to throw it out the window once yet.

So I'm back, and anxious to share with you again...I only hope you want me to.

I heard Kmart is having double coupons again the week after the 4th of July, start saving those high value coupons. You can get so many things free with double coupons, it's a blast.

They grow up so fast........

2009-06-06T10:54:00.008-05:00

Remember how little these guys were?

Look at them now.....

This is after only a month, it's amazing how fast they grow. I feel the same way about our children, it seems like only yesterday they were little and now they are grown up and having kids of their own. Where does the time go?

I love the Library ! I really do, since I was a child I've loved the feeling I get walking into a library, seeing all the books and getting excited at all of the choices I have. Even the smell of the library is exciting. Using the library has changed over the years, gone is the card catalog, it's computers now and bar codes and scanning and printing out your list of books and due dates and even beeping if you walk out the door and the book wasn't scanned correctly.

Now they carry DVD's, have computers for you to surf the internet and have a wonderful system of letting you order books on line from other libraries in their system. More opportunities for all of us.....and it's FREE !!! How can you go wrong?

I love reading and have really varied taste in books. Frequently you will find me checking out a huge pile of books that have everything from the Amish to UFOs to a Nora Roberts romance novel. Anything that catches my eye will end up in my book bag. Oh, I've found some wonderful books and then I've found some that I just could not get into no matter how good the reviews were.

This past couple weeks found me reading...

"We Bought A Zoo" (great)
Debbie Macombers's "Promise Texas" (wonderful)
"The Tightwad Gazette #3" (disappointing)
"When Ghosts Speak" (great)
"In The Woods" (could not get into it at all)
Nora Roberts "Falling For Rachel" (good)
"The Rhino with Glued-on Shoes" (good)
"Dewey, the Library Cat" (great)

I would love for you to leave a comment with what you're reading and list some of your favorite books I should check out in the future.....please?

A RANT......

2009-06-01T10:30:00.006-05:00

On Saturday hubby and I went to Target, I was thrilled because some of the dollar spot merchandise was on clearance at 75% off. Gotta love buying things for a quarter!

Anyway, we were walking the store looking around and went by the girls clothing department and what do I see? A PADDED BRA TOP BIKINI for little girls. What little girl needs a padded bra bikini top? For a 6 year old? It really pissed me off ! Anyone who dressed their young daughter in a padded bra bikini should be put in jail for sheer stupidity. What is this world coming to? This is totally inappropriate.

Web image because I forgot to take a picture in Target

It's bad enough that most of the teenage girls I see walk around with their thongs showing, wearing jeans many sizes too small for them and showing off things that should remain covered. I've often wondered if I offered to take a picture of them from behind and show it to them would they be proud of what they saw? Some of their jeans are so tight they look painted on, how do they get into them? Vaseline?

Yuck !

I've listened to some of the comments people make when a girl walks by wearing something like this, they aren't nice comments that's for sure. You should hear what the teen age boys say !! They don't think of these girls as someone they want to date (unless it's the kind of "date" a man has to pay for and they pick her up on a street corner).

Now dressing way too old is being pushed on really young girls too, no daughter of mine would ever be allowed to dress like this !

Thanks for listening to my rant....sometimes you just gotta say something !

A walk in the woods in Wisconsin.......

2009-05-26T10:44:00.002-05:00

Trillium

Honeysuckle

I don't know what this one is but it's pretty

I don't know this one either

Wild Geraniums

Violets

Holes in tree made by woodpeckers

Found some great deals.....

2009-05-22T10:45:00.007-05:00

While at Walgreens the other day I checked out the end cap where they keep all the clearance items and found a great deal on coated asprin, which I have to take every day. Can't go wrong for .70 and it doesn't expire for a year and a half. We were lucky enough to find 4 boxes. They have a lot of items on clearance, it's worth checking every couple of days. Last week we found a cat toy for .58 and a dog toy (tug of war rope with rubber chew thing) for 1.23, some gals are reporting they have found some great markdowns on food items too.

Another big thank you goes to Kraft and Pace, just look at these great deals we got last night at Walmart.....

Pace Picante $2.98, got them free ! (after using printable internet coupons )

Kraft 40 oz. BBQ sauce, on special for $1.50 - $1.00 kraft coupon = .50 each !

Kraft dressings, $1.58 - $1.00 kraft coupon = .58 each !

Tricsuit, $2.00 - $1.00 kraft coupon = $1.00 !

Velveeta shells and cheese, $1.50 - $1.00 kraft coupon = .50 each !

(Not pictured were 4 lint roller trial size we got free with coupons)

You can find Kraft coupons at the Kraft foods web site and at coupons.com

Today is Mega Swagbucks day! That means you can win 10, 20, 50 or 100 Swagbucks for doing a search. Swagbucks has a great search engine, powered by Google and Ask. When you do a web search you can win Swagbucks which you can exchange for gift cards or merchandise. Why not get something great in exchange for something you're doing anyway? Go here Swagbucks
To sign up and get started today !!

This and that and a new use......

2009-05-19T10:20:00.005-05:00

With the awesome Kraft coupons you can print I've gotten quite a few great deals. You can go to the Kraft web site or coupons.com to print them out and usually you can print two of each.

At Walmart we found the extra large size (40 ounce) of Kraft BBQ sauce on special for $1.50, take off the $1 coupon and you get it for .50. Kraft dressing was $1.58, take off the $1 coupon and we paid .58 per bottle. Velveeta shells and cheese was $1.50, take off the buck and we paid .50 a box. Take a look at the coupons available and have fun printing them. The store sales should make for some great prices on these items.

Remember how I was talking about wanting the fancy hanging clothes dryer a couple post back? Well I showed Hubby the picture of it and he came up with a great solution.....and it's reusing something we already had....take a look at this picture.....
Can you guess what this is? It's one of the side rails to the crib our kids used to sleep in !
Pretty smart thinking on his part isn't it? One end rests on the windowsill and the other on the back of a chair. To keep it from slipping off the back of the chair I use a velcro "thing" to attach the rail and the back of the chair together. Hubby got some over the door hooks and we hang it on the back of the bedroom door out of sight when it's not in use. The chair goes back where it belongs and everything is put away. I love it ! It works great, no clothes pins necessary, easy to use and it's reusing something we already had.

SnakSaks !

2009-05-17T09:38:00.006-05:00

This is a great product! It's called a SnakSak. It's a sandwich and snack bag that is washable so you can use it again and again. The inside is lined with a washable nylon material which makes it really versatile, you can put anything in them. The opening of the bag is large so that you can fit any size sandwich inside easily and the velcro closure really keeps it closed tightly so there is no spilling. Where was something like this years ago when we were bringing snacks with us for the baby, how perfect is this for holding Cheerios?
I've been using my bag all week and I love it. Being diabetic I have to have planned snacks and this is perfect for taking with when I'm on the go. It washes so easily too.

Lola makes these great bags, she has a shop on Etsy at Snaksaks.etsy.com
There are so many different designs that it won't be hard to find one perfect for you or your child. Oh, these would be great for the kids to take to school . I just love that they are good for the environment, no more ziplocks in the landfills !!

Whats that saying?......

2009-05-13T10:47:00.008-05:00

Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without..... I'm sure all of us have heard this saying in our lifetime. When I hear this saying my mind sees a woman who is living during the great depression, struggling with every day living in a time where things were so much harder than we have them now. But these women can teach us so much ! We can learn to use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without....these things not only save us money but in turn help keep our earth greener.

I've been patching hubby's pants, patching the patches as a matter of fact !

I really would love one of those fancy hang your clothes to dry hangers, but at $60? NO WAY....so I hang clothes to dry on hangers on the door jams, door knobs, over chairs, etc. (can't have a clothes line where we live).

I freeze left overs, they are great for lunches or quick dinners...not enough of something for a meal? Save it all and make fried rice or soup or stew.

We needed more recycling containers, but rather than buy some big plastic tubs hubby got some great tall cardboard boxes at work that are perfect for holding our recycling.

I don't iron to save electricity, ok, maybe that's stretching it a little, LOL but seriously I have found I really don't need to iron anything anymore. Today's clothes are pretty good about coming out of the dryer wearable and there is no need to iron like our Mom's and Grandmother's used to. Me...iron sheets? Where did they find the time to do that?

I would love to know some of the things all of you do to use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. Please share with us what you do or have done, what's worked for you?

Great Mother's Day, Kmart and Walgreens Freebies

2009-05-11T09:35:00.006-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day yesterday. I sure did, Hubby made my favorite...turkey. The kids came over and we had a great evening.

While the turkey was cooking Hubby and I went down to the lake and look what we saw.....

Saturday night we made another run to Walgreens and got the Right Guard deodorant deal. Then we went to Kmart for the last double coupon run for the week. Here is a picture of everything we got that was completely FREE.....

I heard rumors that Kmart will double coupons the first week of every month but I haven't found any solid word on that yet. I do know that I'm already starting to hoard my high value coupons for the next time. I love getting a good deal and free is even better.

Here is another link to an Etsy store that sells beautiful hand made grocery totes, please check them out.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6730035

Time goes so fast....

2009-05-07T09:55:00.008-05:00

Our baby turned 25 today ..... Happy Birthday Re-run !!

He can't be 25, he just can't be....isn't he still that little boy running around with skinned knees and a rock in his pocket? Now our baby is going to be a Father, they are having a baby in December. Time goes way too fast.

Look what we saw yesterday at the lake ! I love it when the babies hatch and the parents show off their new family.

I found some more great links to buy beautiful handmade grocery bags
on Etsy. You can look stylish and keep the earth green.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=61245

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5703887

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6405010

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7143722

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=17763

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5893873

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6334349

I couldn't believe it.....

2009-05-05T09:20:00.019-05:00

Yesterday Hubby took a vacation day from work, but he had to go in for a short meeting. I rode along because we had other errands to run afterwards. I waited in the car people watching....I love people watching. Hubby works at a grocery store so I saw quite a lot of people ...his "short" meeting turned out to be a hour, lol.

I could not believe the amount of people I saw in that hour walking out of the store with plastic grocery bags. Hundreds of plastic grocery bags came out those doors in a hour...imagine how many in a day? A week? A year? And I got to wondering what all those people do with those bags....do they recycle them? Use them again for anything? Throw them away? The thought of it made me sick. It was really shocking !

Almost every store now sells reusable cloth bags, and they're cheap.....less than a buck for something that will last a long time. Why don't more people use them? How can we get more people to use them? You can even buy beautifully designed hand made bags from sellers on Ebay or Etsy, and there are offers to get them free all over the internet. There really isn't an excuse not to use them.

Think of all the plastic bags that end up in the landfills, they take hundreds of years to decompose and then leach the chemicals used to make them into the ground.

We have cloth bags and keep them in the car so we don't forget them. I love them, they hold so much and are easier on your hands (compared to plastic) to carry if they are heavily packed.

If you don't already use cloth bags maybe you'll consider buying some and trying them out. The world is worth it !

Links to beautiful handmade tote bags:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5076639

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5258575

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6260314

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6280346

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7020101

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7149706

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=18313

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6818310

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5774812

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5392109

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5049949

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5066832

This flu thing.....

2009-05-01T11:39:00.005-05:00

I'll admit it, this flu thing has me worried. I'm not panicked but worried...something is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up enough that I felt the need to do something.

I read a great blog article here and felt the need to do a little stocking up of my own last night.

We normally keep some things stocked, like toilet paper and lots of health and beauty products that we get free/cheap with coupons but we've been lacking on a good stock of grocery items for "just in case". We went to the store last night and picked up things like dried beans, rice, canned tuna, fake spam, powdered milk, elbow macaroni, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, cat food, cat litter, batteries and some other misc. items.

We wanted some things that would keep well and would work in a time of emergency. Now, I'm not saying that there will be an emergency with this flu but in case we are quarantined for any length of time I wasn't about to let the cats go hungry.

We live in a tornado area, we frequently have severe storms in the summer and lose power at the drop of a hat so we keep a lot of things on hand for an emergency anyway....lots of batteries, a weather alert radio, police scanner and an emergency kit with first aid and things like that. Now I feel we have a bit of groceries for just in case too.

The only thing I read up on and don't quite know how to go about is that they recommend you have 2 weeks of medication for emergencies. Our insurance company will only pay for 30 days at a time and will not let you refill your prescription ahead of time. How would you go about this? I could get the doctor to write new prescriptions but then the insurance company wouldn't let you fill 2 prescriptions for the same medication. Anyone have any ideas? Out of pocket would be really expensive for some of our medication.

You can go here to the CDC to read up on the latest information on this flu and get some ideas on how you can protect yourself and your family.

Store brands, generics, etc.

2009-04-30T09:43:00.008-05:00

I would love to hear from you what store brands, dollar store type or generics you've found that work just as well or even better than the name brands....please leave a comment ! I think we've all found some items that we like, so lets share.

For example...I would like to hear about a generic/store brand dishwasher soap. I really like Cascade but in order to save some money I've tried some other name brands that I had coupons for and was not happy. A gal on another blog said she got some dw soap at ? Dollar Tree (sorry can't remember the exact place) but it was $1 a box and so far she likes it. Have you found one you like?

We like the store brand spaghetti sauce much better than name brand. We get the Our Family brand at our grocery store and have gotten spaghetti sauce at Aldi that I thought was really good.

I've heard nothing but raves for Aldi's brand of cake mix.

I use Slimfast and have tried the Target version and didn't like it as well. I've tried a lot of generic/ store brand items and found them to be just as good, you just have to try them out or hear someone else's experiences.

I just went to Dollar Tree yesterday and got more hand sanitizer. They didn't have the one I usually buy and I had to smell a couple different brands to make sure I liked the smell, (one brand smelled like dirty socks, yuck), but I found one I liked. I've had no problems with the hand sanitizer I've gotten there over the years. With this flu going around you can bet we'll be using a lot more of it.

A lot of the store brands are made by the name brand manufacturers, they are just packaged with the store brand labels. They are not necessarily the same recipe as the name brand though so taste or how well they work may be different. When we use coupons we can get name brand quite cheap but using store brand/generics is also a great way to save money.

Great New Forum.....

2009-04-27T10:38:00.002-05:00

There is a great new forum that I'd love for you to check out.
It's full of great information and wonderful people !

Deal Seeking Mom Forum

Small Changes = Greener World

2009-04-25T13:42:00.009-05:00

I've seen a huge increase in the green movement lately, sure, some of it was from us just celebrating Earth Day but a lot of it is coming from people like you and me making some small changes. With enough small changes we can make a huge impact !

Some of the small things we do each day are:

Recycling of anything we can. Sadly there are so many plastics that our little recycling center can't take so we try to avoid buying them.

We stopped buying bottled water. We are using our own containers to take something to drink with us and at home using glasses. Look for my review of reusable water bottles in the near future .

We stopped buying paper plates, plastic eating utensils and plastic or foam cups. I am reminded of how simply my Grandmother lived using her china and glassware at each meal.

We won't be buying a lot of paper towels, one roll lasts us months and we are trying to use cloth rags instead.

Egg crates are saved for a friend who raises chickens and she uses them for the eggs she sells.

Using less that recommended of things like dishwasher soap and laundry soap. You don't need to fill both cups of the dishwasher and you sure don't need to fill the one cup all the way. We fill ours up 1/3. You don't need a rinse agent in the dishwasher, ours are fine without it. Laundry soap is the same way, experiment and find the amount that works for you. The companies give you a recommended amount to make you use it faster and buy more often. I have very sensitive skin and we we don't use a fabric softener but if you need to use one..use plain vinegar, it works just as well and leaves no smell.

Baking soda, vinegar, rubbing alcohol all make great cleaners, no need to buy one with a lot of chemicals in them. You'll be breathing healthier air.

Doing all your errands in one trip instead of multiple trips, saves a lot of gas. Ask family or neighbors if they want to go with you or if they need anything...less cars on the street and you're doing something nice for someone.

Freecycle anything you don't need or have a garage sale. You know the saying about someone's trash being someone else's treasure.

We use cloth reusable grocery bags, take them with to all kinds of stores. Most Europeans do this and always have ! If you have them, plastic grocery bags can be used as trash can liners, dog poop pickup bags, etc. Please recycle them if you're not using them, many stores have bins you can just put them in when you walk into the stores.

I would love for you to comment here about what little changes you've made or want to make. I'll enter every comment into a drawing for something...haven't figured out what yet, but it'll be good.

I love this one.....

2009-04-24T09:24:00.002-05:00

Wild Fires.....

2009-04-23T10:34:00.004-05:00

It's been really dry in our area, we haven't gotten much in the way of spring rains and so our grass and fields are really dry and brown. Today the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for our county for wild fires. We are supposed to have 25 - 35 mph winds this afternoon with warm weather.

This is a picture of the field across the street from our house, see how brown it is?

I'll be keeping a close eye on it today, the winds are already blowing hard. I only pray that the smokers realize how dangerous it is to throw cig. butts on the ground.

Stockpiles...have you ever seen some pictures of some families stockpiles they have from frugal shopping? If you go to www.weusecoupons.com and join
(free and you get tons of information)
You can view some amazing photos of stockpiles and get some creative ideas on how to organize your own.

Clean out the fridge or freezer dinner.....

2009-04-21T10:30:00.003-05:00

(Photo courtesy of the internet)

Fried Rice is a really inexpensive meal that can be made with left overs from your fridge or freezer. I made a big batch last night with enough left over for 2 lunches today.

When I made rice I use 1/2 white rice and 1/2 brown rice (slowly adding more brown each time I make it, shhhh) and I always make enough so that I can freeze a large container of it for another meal.

You can add anything to the rice, last night I added some cooked onion, left over broccoli, left over chicken, frozen peas, a bit of left over turkey, some sesame oil, garlic and teriyaki sauce. Then I scramble some eggs and add them to the rice and there you have it...fried rice. In the past I've added left over beef, pork or even some baby shrimp and all kinds of vegetables.

There is no right or wrong, you can make it as fancy or as plain as you like. When you only have a few vegetables or a bit of meat left over from a meal, freeze them for a big pan of Fried Rice !

Great Shopping Trip

2009-04-20T09:39:00.004-05:00

We went to Kmart yesterday morning and everywhere we went in the store we ran into people with a fist full of coupons, lol.

It was nice to see that everyone was being polite and really helpful to each other. One woman was showing another woman where she found a certain item, another asked me if I had found the spring coupon booklet that the store had all over the Health and Beauty Department. (Be sure to look for it, it's full of coupons!)

We got all of this FREE after using coupons (or in the case of the Kelloggs cereal after we get back the $5 gift card). Not included in the photo are the 2 V8 Fusion we got free and I sent home with our daughter.

We also found some items that were quite cheap after using coupons:
Goodlife cat food was $4.99 and after coupon was doubled was .99
Gillette post shave lotion was $2.49 and after coupon was doubled was .49
V8 juice was $2.67 and after coupon was doubled was .67

Our Kmart had some of their office supplies on clearance and hubby found post it photo papers for $1.24 and document cases, pretty pink and brown with ribbon for .99 each.

Check out went smoothly, our cashier had us put the coupon next to the item as she rang things up so that she knew which button to push to match item with coupon as the register asked.

So I'll be checking out my coupons again, and looking for more coupons on line. If you know of any let me know and I'll post them here for everyone.

Kmart Doubles....

2009-04-18T10:55:00.003-05:00

I was asked to post a list of things I'm going to check out at Kmart tomorrow when double coupons start but first I wanted to show you a post from Abundant Food Savings, they have a wonderful list made out.
http://www.abundantfoodsavings.com/Weekly-Deals/kmart-double-coupons-419-425.html

I sat down with my coupon file and pulled out all the high value coupons (up to $2) that I want to use or check out the price of the product on. It also made me clean out expired coupons from my file, lol. I'm going to make a list so that it's easier to get around the store without holding a hand full of coupons and so that I know what to check out and don't forget anything.

Deodorant, shampoo, lotion, pads, tampons, tylenol, purell, razors.....I have a lot of assorted coupons that I'll check prices on.

Makeup: I have a Jane coupon but I don't know if they carry that brand so I'll scope it out.

Slim fast: I wrote to the company and asked for coupons and they are so good about sending them. I have one for breakfast every day, I hate eating in the morning and since I'm diabetic I have to eat something so they work out perfectly for me. Can't afford to do it every day but having the coupon doubled really helps.

Seventh Generation Baby Wipes: I have not been able to find them at our Walmart but so many others have (our Walmart sucks) so I'll check to see if they have them.

Toilet paper, foil, liquid hand soap: hope to find some good deals on those.

Pet food and treats: Have some Goodlife coupons for cat treats, Pedigree coupons for dog bones (for our Grand dog) and a cat litter coupon.

Food: I'll take advantage of the free Post Trail Mix cereal, the Kelloggs cereal deal, the free V8 fusion, the Turtles candy and check out the prices of misc. food items I have coupons for like Emerald Almonds, Life cereal, granola bars, etc.

I think my best advice is to just look at your coupons, make a list and just spend some time walking the store and comparing prices against coupons.

Remember there is a limit of how many coupons you can use, check the fine print of the ad. You can always go back another day or every day, lol.

Look for a cashier who seems to know what they are doing and watch closely as they ring you up and take off coupons. I'm seriously thinking about giving the cashier the item to scan then giving her the coupon, giving her the item, coupon, etc. because some of them are not trained well and I don't want it to get messed up.

I'll let you know how it goes ! Now tell me what kind of deals you're going to look for at Kmart this coming week..........

Two post again today.........

2009-04-17T12:05:00.002-05:00

I just came across this amazing You Tube video about helping to save the planet and helping yourself to save money by not using disposable things.....It's really well done and I'd love for you to watch it.

Free Chocolate and more.....

2009-04-17T10:17:00.002-05:00

There is nothing I like more than getting something free. Cheap is good but free is oh so much better!

Last night we stopped at Walgreens and they had all of their Easter candy 75% off so I took a look at what was left and found some packages of Hershey Bliss Eggs for $1.00. I had $1.00 off coupons I printed on-line so I got 2 packages of them FREE.

Then we went to Walmart and I had 5 more Kotex $1.00 off coupons so I got 5 packs of Kotex liners FREE. We also had a coupon for a FREE Cascade Rinse Agent that came in a coupon book. It was a nice little haul !

I'm really getting anxious about the double coupons at Kmart next week, I've got some good coupons (they are doubling up to $2 coupons) so I've got to sit down and make up a list of items I want to check the prices on and compare coupons. They also have a deal next week where if you buy 4 Kellogs cereals for $10 you get a $5 gift card. If you use coupons to buy the cereal you'll be able to get it cheaper and get the $5 gift card.

It's Friday, that means it's Youdata payday. You can read about it in my post here
http://claudiafranson.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-money-making-ideas.html
It's so easy to make a bit of money each week (put into your paypal account every friday)!

More ways to make some extra money......

2009-04-16T10:51:00.005-05:00

Kmart is having double coupons again starting 4/19, not all of them are participating so check with your local store. You can get a lot of stuff cheap or free ! I even heard some Ohio stores are having triple coupons.

So I told you how I make some extra money in these posts http://claudiafranson.blogspot.com/2009/04/do-you-ever-feel.html
and
http://claudiafranson.blogspot.com/2009/04/more-money-making-ideas.html
and wanted to give you some more ideas....

I just listed some rubber stamps on Ebay and plan on listing more today. Do some research first before you jump in but you can make some good money selling things you don't want anymore. Listing is really easy, they have templates that so most of the work is done for you.

There is also a place called Etsy where you can sell hand made items. Craigslist is also a good place to advertise something you want to sell.

Have a garage sale. We are planning one for the end of May (have to wait for warmer weather here) and we usually do quite well in sales. I have a lot of garage sale tips I'll list for you soon. We get a lot of compliments during our sale about how organized and clean it is which helps us sell more.

Offer your services, if you are available to do some child care let people know. Do you know how to play the piano or an instrument? Offer to give classes. You can type term papers for college students, weed someone's garden, clean houses...think about what you have to offer !

Printable coupons

2009-04-15T09:01:00.005-05:00

Hubby is off today and we have a lot of errands to run, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't make lists. I'd be really lost some days without a list, being forgetful happens easier now with menopause looming. I spent 20 minutes the other day looking for my cell phone....all the while talking on said cell phone while looking for it. And my doctor thinks being forgetful isn't a symptom of menopause...ha! Just ask any woman going through it. (Don't even get me started about trying to fall asleep at night.)

Here are some great links to printable coupons.....Usually you can hit the back button and print two of them.

Muir Glen http://bricks.coupons.com/Start.asp?tqnm=qdmjccn84955390&bt=wi&o=56044&ci=1&c=GM&p=Otf3SV

http://www.tryv8.com/

Save money by networking.....

2009-04-14T09:29:00.007-05:00

Before I tell you about how networking can save you money I wanted to say Thank You to everyone who has visited my blog. I just hit 1000 visits. I hope you continue to enjoy this blog and it helps you in some way.

Networking....There is nothing like word of mouth to help you find great deals and money saving offers. I visit 3 web site forums daily and always find some great ideas, tips on current sales, printable coupons and so much more.

Someone is always shopping, when they find a great deal, coupon or idea they go to these forums and share the information with all of us. Want to find out what someone found on clearance at Walmart last night? Does Kmart have double coupons coming up? These are the places to find out. People helping people, my favorite thing to see!

Within these forums are sub forums, so if you are looking for a special store you can easily find it. They have sections on freebies you can send for, places to trade coupons, ideas for low cost holiday shopping, surveys, a place to vent about a store and lots of advice on couponing, saving money and finding the best deal.

Want to see some amazing deal people have found? Check out their photo sections on the stockpiling forums...they leave my jaw dropping!

They are also wonderful places to get your questions answered, everyone is willing to help find you the answer your looking for.

These forums and web sites are a wealth of information, take some time to check them out. Look in the nooks and crannies and then come back and tell me what you found that will help you the most.

Here are the 3 that I check daily.....

http://www.hotcouponworld.com

http://www.twistedbranches.com

http://www.weusecoupons.com

Two posts today !

2009-04-13T11:39:00.005-05:00

Yup, 2 posts in one day. I wanted to get in on the Mailbox Monday posts over on http://afrugalfriend.blogspot.com/

Here is a picture of what I got in the mail just today !
Samples of Kotex pads and Flexitol medicated food cream, a Woman's Day magazine (free subscription) and coupons from companies just for writing to them and asking.

Check my other post for today for great sites to print money saving coupons !

Money Saving Coupons

2009-04-13T10:08:00.010-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday yesterday. We had a great day with family, had a lot of food and watched a couple good movies.

On a recent shopping trip we got all of these items, except the mascara, free using money off coupons. The mascara was free with a free coupon in the
All You Magazine.

Coupons... I love coupons ! They save us so much money each shopping trip. Coupons are a great way to save money, why pay full price for something when you can pay less using a coupon. Sometimes using a coupon will let you get an item free. I'm not talking about a coupon that says the item is free (those are wonderful but hard to come by) I'm talking about using a cents off coupon and getting the product free because of it.

For example: Walmart has Kotex pads/liners for $1.00, Kotex frequently has coupons in the Sunday newspaper for $1.00 off one package of their pads/liners which means you get that product FREE after using the coupon. You should see the stockpile of Kotex pads I've gotten free using coupons.

Coupons can be found in a lot of places. The Sunday newspapers usually have coupons inserts in them. You can check at: http://taylortownpreview.com/ to see what inserts will be in the paper that week. Depending upon how many inserts and what coupons are coming out I know how many newspapers to buy. On good coupon weeks we buy at least 3 newspapers.

Coupons can also be found in magazines, on hang tags right on the product and on line.

You can go to so many sites on line and print off the coupons you want. Many of the web sites for your favorite brands will have coupons you can print, so be sure to go to their web sites and check.

There are also some web sites which offer you a variety of coupons from many different companies. Here are some of the places on line I go to print coupons.....

http://print.coupons.com/CouponWeb/Offers.aspx?pid=14212&nid=10&zid=kd92

http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/coupons/

http://www.homesolutionsnews.us/offers.shtml

http://www.malt-o-meal.com/special-offers/special-offers.php

http://www.redplum.com/

http://coupons.smartsource.com//index.aspx?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO

http://www.unileverexclusives.com/coupons/index.aspx?source=

http://www.johnsonsbaby.com/special-offers-expanded.jsp

http://armandhammer.com/

http://www.healthzone365.com/page.jhtml?id=/healthzone365/include/2_0.inc

Usually you can hit the back button on your browser and it will let you print 2 of each coupon. I have trouble printing some coupons when I'm using Firefox so when I encounter a problem I just open MSN Explorer, copy and paste the link from Firefox and I can print them.

Walmart, Target and Kmart all accept internet printed coupons as do many grocery and drug stores. You can always give your favorite store a call to find out if they accept them.

Tomorrow I'll give you some more great ways to save money!

I have a question that I'd love for all of you to answer, just leave me a comment....
Because of the economy what have you eliminated from your budget that you don't miss?

Happy Easter

2009-04-11T22:50:00.003-05:00

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Spring !

Tomorrow: find out where to print money saving coupons on line.

Claudia's Irish Eyes

We need your prayers please

We need your prayers please

Prayers

I am NOT just a person with cancer

June 8, 2011 Good News!

May 27, 2011 Update

Not a good week..........

I'm Back...........

Connect the dots..........

Day 6........

Thank You my dear friends......

A very scary time for me

Many thanks......

My long wait is over.......

Sometimes things don't go as planned........

Change of plans.....

Not my day.......

Doing this for me......

Oct. 2010

An update..............

More Good News.................

Dear Santa,

Finally some good news......

Prayers needed.....

Answers.........

I want your questions........

June 1, 2010

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Saturday, May 22, 2010

CT scan today..........

Chemo #4

So cute........

Hanging in there.....

I graduated !

Chemo #3

Tuesday April 13, 2010

Friday April 9, 2010

Meet Brutis !

April 5, 2010

Chemo Round 2

Wed. 3/31/10

Tuesday March 30, 2010

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Monday March 22, 2010

My First Chemo Treatment 3/19/2010

Thursday 3/18/10

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tuesday 3/16/10

Monday 3/15/2010

Saturday 3/13

*** Caution Radioactive Mommy ***

I'm a woman of mystery..........

Monday 3/8/10

A sweet little visitor.....

Friday 3/5

Finally Home

Biopsy day.....

Test results today 3/3/10

The best way to keep you informed......

Ice and Fungus....

More blog candy

A wonderful blog candy contest.....

Just read the most amazing book !

What A Mess !!

Finally back !!

They grow up so fast........

A RANT......

A walk in the woods in Wisconsin.......

Found some great deals.....

This and that and a new use......

SnakSaks !

Whats that saying?......

Great Mother's Day, Kmart and Walgreens Freebies

Time goes so fast....

I couldn't believe it.....

This flu thing.....

Store brands, generics, etc.

Great New Forum.....

* Caution Radioactive Mommy *