Tuesday

Hello friends and family, I hope all is well with you.  I'm doing well, just came home from a two mile walk with Buster.  I'm proud of the fact that I take him every day, we either walk two or three miles depending on our energy.  Today, it looked like it might rain so we kept it short.  He still got to see lots of dogs and surprisingly lots of kids, school started yesterday so I don't know what they were doing there.  We drove by the bus stops yesterday and there were mobs of kids and parents, Buster and I drove by and laughed at them.  Were silly that way.

Buster went to his first tail gate this weekend and he did awesome.  Our friends were going to the Phish  concert so Buster and I met them up at the parking lot for some beers.  Buster was really chill, he just laid down with us and took it all in.  Tons of people came to love on him which was cute.  I was really proud of him, he didn't even try to go after the other dogs that were nearby.  It makes me so happy to be able to bring him pretty much anywhere.

In health news, still doing great, no problems at all.  My medicines have been greatly reduced so that's awesome.  I'm starting to feel like a normal girl, not like a patient anymore.

Eric and I are getting ready to make another trip to Buffalo.  We'll drive down Friday night and spend a week there.  We are bringing Buster but we are going to board him in Buffalo.  Eric's parents have brand new hard wood floors so we don't want to scratch them up!  Plus, I think the kennel will let me visit him and take him out for a walk or two.  I was just glad to find a kennel that was reasonably priced and available.

Well there's not much else going on.  I'm getting ready to see the eye doctor today.  It's time to see if the damage caused by chemo has gone away.  I had a bubble of fluid on my left eye caused by the chemo so hopefully it has gone away now.  It doesn't effect my vision but it could, if I don't keep an eye on it, ha ha!

Well my brother is off to Mexico this week with friends.  Lucky son of a gun, makes me want to go on vacation.  Eric and I want to go to Hawaii, I've never been but he has.  We'll see if we can make that happen eventually.

Well that's it for me, have a great day.  Much love from 6119.

Hello Again

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been blogging as frequently.  Everything is fine, I'm not sick or anything.  I had my 6 month check up last week at Duke and I'm right on track.  The doctors are happy with my progress and they gave the okay on drinking wine!  Yippie!!  For those of you who don't know, I love my red wine and I've been missing it!  Funny enough I haven't even bought a bottle of my favorite wine, I'm not sure what my favorite is anymore!  Definitely some sort of blend, I'm looking forward to discovering my new favorite.  

The doctors will see me again next month and then I should be free until my 9 month appointment.  The doctors did warn me that I still have to be very careful with my immune system.  They just had a patient die after months of feeling great.  The patient went back to work early, got sick and died within two weeks.  How's that for a sad and scary story?!  I know they told me just to make the point of how important it is to stay away from germs but geeze, that's pretty rough.

Not much else is going on.  Buster is doing great, we still take walks every day.  Today we went for three miles, that really tires him out.  Even still he's always ready to play given the opportunity.  We got to visit our friends Keith, Beatriz and Keifer when we went up to Duke.  They watched Buster while I visited the doctor.  It was fun to reunite Keifer and Buster, they are both bigger now.  I think they had a fun time, I know Buster did he slept part of the way home.

Well, Buster keeps dropping his toy in my lap so it's time to go play!  I hope you all are happy, healthy and enjoying life.  Much love from 6119.

I'm back!

Hello all, I hope life has been treating you well.  It's been good to us so we just keep enjoying each day as it comes.  I just got home from a long walk with Buster, we went to the green way where there are lots of dogs, people and bikes.  It's a perfect place to practice commands and it doesn't have a pond so I don't have to worry about Buster going for a swim.  In our neighborhood he jumps in the pond and plays around chasing sticks and barking at geese.  It's so cute to see him splashing around, then he'll come out and do speed laps around the pond, until he jumps back in again.  The only problem is that I have to give him a bath every time he goes for a swim.  I'm starting to see that he has sensitive skin so I can't bathe him to much.

Buster really is the best dog, he's been my co pilot, riding around town with his head out that window.  Sometimes he puts his paw on my shoulder, which is adorable. I must say though, he isn't very big when you compare him to other boxers.  I guess he has some more growing to do, he needs to get broader, beefier.  He's still beautiful and adorable and people love him.

In health news, I'm coming up on my 6 month anniversary for the bone marrow transplant.  I go to Duke on Thursday for my check up.  I'm thinking of bringing Buster so he can visit our friends Keifer, Keith and Beatriz.  They are the ones who took care of him while I was in the hospital.  I'm sure Buster would love to see them, they'll be surprised at how big he is now.

I've been feeling really good, no puking just some canker sores.  I never had canker sores before so I think they are a gift from my donor.  They suck, but it's not as bad as being sick.  My hair is coming in more, Eric can't see my scalp in the back but I still see it up top.  It seems to be a little lighter color, unless it's just more gray.  We'll see, I'm looking forward to having enough hair to put a cute barrette or head band in.

In closing, I would like to give a Happy Birthday wish to my niece Stephanie.  She turned 10 last week, they grow up so fast.  She's growing into a beautiful young lady, we look forward to seeing her and her brothers and sisters when we visit Buffalo.  It looks like we'll be there for labor day, which will be nice.

Well that's it from Charlotte.  I hope you have a fantastic day.

Rainy Tuesday

Hello everyone, I'm alive!  Sorry, I haven't written in so long.  I've been doing my own thing.  So let's see what's happened.  My Mom had a birthday, Happy late Birthday Mom!  Her day was Sunday, I got her a present but it happens to be the same Pandora charm she already bought herself.  It's a double-decker bus with the British flag on the top.  It's perfect for her, but I know she'll find another charm she'll like, they have so many good ones.

I would like to give a big THANK YOU to Diane and Henry in Florida!  They bought us the most wonderful delicious chocolates!  Eric and I have been enjoying each one immensely.  Diane and Henry our like family to us, we met them when Eric and Henry worked together through Epson & Tech Data.  I wish I could have seen them, but I will eventually.  So thank you, we love the chocolates and we miss you!

It's rainy and cool here, the cool is refreshing but the rain, I could do without.  Plus, I want to take Buster on the green way for a nice long walk.  If it would stop raining I would do it, I mean we won't melt but I don't really feel like getting all wet.  Buster is doing well, he's eating like a normal dog now. For awhile he wouldn't eat his food, we were bribing him with carrots on top just to get him to eat.  Now he eats three bowls a day of Blue Buffalo chicken and rice.  The first time he ate it you could see the boost of energy just rush through him.  He's like a new dog, more puppy energy than he's had in awhile.

Eric and I are doing well, just enjoying each day as it comes.  We've been busy enjoying Buster and the summer.  Eric's been traveling so we kind of got back into our groove just like we used to do before I got sick.  It's nice to just live our daily lives, doing normal things and appreciating each other.  Every once in awhile he'll look at me and say, "my little miracle".  It makes me feel special and loved.  It's hard to believe that less than six months ago I was living in a hospital.  Crazy.

Well that's all I got for today.  It's good to write again, I missed you guys, if you know what I mean.  Have a beautiful day.  Much love from 6119.

Wednesday

Good morning friends and family, I hope you are feeling good and your day is off to a great start.  I'm feeling wonderful which is good cause I wasn't feeling so hot for awhile.  I think two days of IV fluids did the trick.  It's nice that I can go to Dr. Miller when I need a little boost.  Today it's just me and Buster, Eric is in Florida for a show.  We miss him but he'll be home Friday.

Not much else is going on. Today I'm working on house hold stuff and studying.  It's cooler out today so Buster and I should be able to go for a nice walk.  It's good for the both of us to get some exercise and fresh air.  Oh and I should mention, Buster is still an amazing dog he still obeys all his commands and I think the Dog Wizard did an excellent job.  I know I may have complained about him but he's just a puppy and he's the best behaved puppy I know.  Okay, I'm done defending my baby now, sorry for making him sound like a terror.

We have our first quiet weekend ahead of us.  Not sure what we'll do but for once we don't have any plans.  It's nice to have those free weekends.  We better enjoy the summer before fall comes.  I love this time of year the nice summer nights and hot days.  Good times no matter what you do, if the weather is right.

Well that's all I got, happy first day of August!  Much love from 6119.