Gulp…am I wise?

I’m not, and never will be, a “go to your room” kind of parent. I feel very strongly about bedrooms (MTAE, mind out of the gutter PLEASE)- they should be a place you can retreat when you need some peace and don’t want to be around others. I want my kids to not associate being in their bedrooms with some kind of punishment, so I’m always happy for Ricky to tootle off and play in his room for a while. Robbie is still too little to be left unsupervised, but it will come. 🙂

It’s a momentous day in our house- Robbie is graduating from cot to single bed. My mother in law Phyllis gave us the bed and we bought the mattress and bedding earlier.

Robbie is the kind of child who loves books. His first instinct today upon seeing his new layout was to want to sit on his bed and read- I hope he’ll always enjoy doing that. I think love of books is one of the biggest gifts you can give your child- something they’ll always love and use.

So- on the cusp of a new year- here’s to my little guy. I hope he will always love spending time in his room (on HIS terms!) and that I MIGHT GET A LITTLE BIT OF SLEEP TONIGHT!!!! 😛

OHHHH a good storyline…

Ding dong, the PICC line’s GONE!!!!

OH I am SO HAPPY!!!

When I went to get my picc line dressings changed earlier, they found it had moved yet again, by a distance of 3cm (HOW! The bloody thing was taped down!) and they were going to have to change it- yet again.

However they have decided to simply find a vein for my last treatment, so they took it out! You have no idea the relief!

I had bought a bottle of Moet & Chandon to celebrate the New Year, but instead, I will be having a bath for the first time in months (don’t worry I have been showering with cling wrap over the dressings!) and plan to crack open that bad boy and enjoy my newly-freed arm! 😀

That bloody thing has been the bane of my life since it went in. I will NOT lament its departure!!!

I feel like my treatment is suddenly much closer to being done now. YAY!!!!!

Low fat mackerel pate

So, this has possibly got to be the only tasty recipe involving cottage cheese that I have ever tried. Seriously, you won’t regret it. And this is coming from someone who resolutely loathes anything with cottage cheese in it. 😛

The mackerel is great for Omega 3- fatty acids that your body needs for immunity for things like cancer. 🙂 This recipe makes a LOT, but don’t worry, it keeps well in the fridge for several days and tastes so good you’ll be scoffing it down. It’s a health food, honest guvnor!

Mackerel Pate- serves 4-6

2-3 medium smoked mackerel, bones and skin removed ( I used 280g from Sainsbury’s!)

1 lemon, skin and pips removed

1 small carton cottage cheese with chives (or whatever you fancy)

few squirts lime juice or half a fresh lime

black pepper

1. Put everything into a blender and blend for around a minute, until well combined and of desired consistency.

2. Serve with oat cakes or crackers (ryvita would work well), or in the hull of an avocado for luxury! 🙂

Total calories per person- 200 assuming you get 4 portions from the above! Enjoy!

Hats!

I’m so fortunate to have been knitted and given lots of hats by my many friends in the States!

One of my friends, Niki, knitted me three hats, which have been amazingly versatile over the winter and which I have worn to death! She has an Etsy shop, so check it out if you have time. 🙂 I can certainly vouch for the quality of what she makes!

Robbie has taken THE most massive shine to one of the hats. Do you think it suits him? He puts it on himself (repeatedly) on a daily basis! 😀

Well that’s Christmas for another year!

Ian has taken the boys out for a bit so I thought I’d quickly jump on and post!

We had a lovely restful Christmas at my Dad’s. The meal was gorgeous, the kids really enjoyed their day and got spoiled rotten. I’ve been very tired from my chemo but apart from that am doing fine, so all things considered, it was a great Christmas!

I am SO bloated from the chemo- it’s horrendous. Even my face is all puffy. I kept having dreams the other night that everyone was calling me “Pig Woman” behind my back- this may have some basis in truth… 😛

I am very excited to have my last round of chemo on 13th January. I so want to put it behind me. The water weight should come off pretty quickly from what they are telling me, maybe six weeks or so, and I’m going to start a new regime after that. We’ll see!

I have a month of radiotherapy still to do as well, but hopefully by Easter will be able to put this madness behind me.

I really feel like the coming year is full of hope for a better future. I have big plans to score some of my items off my “to do before I die” list- we’re already planning a family trip to Rathlin Island on the north coast for early summer. I plan to live it large in 2009.

Pig Woman can feck off- she isn’t me. 😀

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Here’s to wonderful things for all of us in 2009!

Friday Fortune (early!!)

Posting this a little early because of Christmas- I am not sure when I’ll be around again!

Please note that this is JUST FOR FUN and is not to be taken seriously.

This week’s reading is for my lovely friend Heather. Again, I am trying hard to not let any preconceptions of you influence what I write here!

I can’t get your hand pics to upload into Photobucket for some reason- will try again when I get home! 🙂

What your hand says about you-

• WOW- confidence and independence from every bit of your hand! You are one strong woman. You’re not afraid to show your emotions.
• You make an excellent manager and demonstrate strong leadership skills. You’re full of energy and enthusiasm. People in work think of you as a real go-getter and admire your confidence.
• You connect money to security and feel anxious if you perceive that you don’t have enough! 😀
• You have a lot of ambition, and get frustrated easily if you feel that others are restricting you or impeding you in some way.
• You have amazing willpower and there is nothing that can deflect you if you make your mind up about something- others sometimes perceive this as stubborness… 😛
• You know what you want in love, and you’re not willing to compromise in this area. However, your expectations are realistic and balanced.
• You’ve always been very independent, even at an early age.
• You don’t really believe in fate, or in letting it control your life.

What your future may (or may not) hold-

• You will have two long term relationships, the second of which won’t begin until quite late in life. The first ends very definitely- either death of the partner or a breakup after which you really don’t speak. There are numerous indications on your palm that the second relationship will be the true “love of your life”, that he’ll make you feel wonderful about yourself, and the relationship will be long lasting and extremely happy and positive.
• You have MANY lines relating to children (like more than ten) but these may not necessarily mean your own children- it could relate to pets that you particularly love, or even the children of friends or family. Both your long term partners will support this.
• Later in life, you’re going to be less independent, but this will be something you will actively seek out, rather than lose due to illness or something else.
• Your middle years are going to be a little frustrating as you feel your life is sometimes out of control. In your later years, you are firmly back in the driving seat, have good health and lots of energy!
• There is a very definite turning point in your middle years, something will happen which will make you say NO MORE, and this is the key to your future happiness. Once you’ve made this (very momentous) decision, there’s evidence of great resilience, you will easily shrug off several attempts to make you revert to the previous situation but you will be having none of it, no doubt demonstrating that immense personal strength and willpower mentioned above! 😀
• The above decision can be seen in two very clear parts of your hand! There is evidence of a lot of feelings of disappointment on your part.
• You’re going to have money, and it’s going to be business related. Have you considered inventing something? Your hand says you could come up with some seriously good money spinning ideas!
• Travel doesn’t feature massively on your hand- could be that you’re a bit of a homebody! 😀

I hope you enjoyed it, Heather! I’m so keen to know which bits you think are accurate (if any, ha ha) and which aren’t.

Happy Christmas everyone! 🙂

Thanks to everyone who has emailed me their hands- next week, it’s Phil‘s turn!

Anyone who would like a reading done should email a clear picture of the front and back of their writing hand to copingwithchaosblog@gmail.com

I am aiming to do one a week on a first come first served basis. Once again, it’s for fun, so please do not take it seriously, even though I try and do my best I am not a professional, in fact I am a complete beginner! 😀

Bone scan results

Just a quick message to let you all know that my bone scan results came back clear for cancer! YAY!!!! There is some degeneration in the bones of my pelvis, which can apparently be attributed to me hulking around Ricky and Robbie, who were both big at birth, Ricky exceptionally so (10lb 14oz), but I will deal with any arthritis later!

I am SO relieved. Hopefully this means that in three week’s time I will have my last chemo treatment. The best Christmas present I could have had this year!

The chemo went well today and I am glad to be home. Now I have to try and get organised for Christmas!

Thanks so much for all of your support. It means so much to me!

Monday Music

OK, so it has occured to me today that Christmas is on Thursday, I have chemo tomorrow and am therefore going to be fit for nothing for the rest of the week, and I have got NOTHING done and am therefore buggered. 😀

Also I need to motivate myself for a trip to the hospital this afternoon to get my picc line replaced- AGAIN- which is never pleasant.

Oh, and my laptop is being fixed and I won’t get it back until 5th January, so blogging is going to be very intermittent for the next couple of weeks. If I seem quiet, that’s all it is- hope everyone has a great Christmas if I am not blogging again before.

So- in the interests of getting me off my backside and running about like the lunatic I clearly am, here’s a “get up and shake your booty” song to make me get on with it!

Vampire Weekend- A-Punk

Friday Fortune

The Taoist Biker has very graciously agreed to be my first subject for my free palm readings! 😛

Once again- THIS IS ONLY FOR FUN! Please do NOT take this seriously.

Here are TB’s lovely hands- I am still looking for my Identical Hand Twin. 😀

OK, so here is your reading. We’ll pretend you have sent me some silver to cross my palm with. Please also note that I am trying not to let my preconceptions of you interfere with this! 😀

The lines on your palm are not all that clear in the picture, so this won’t be as detailed as I would like, but…

What your hand says about you-

• You’re a very creative person. Sometimes you lack self confidence, and you tend to be fairly serious and intense. You like to feel independent from others, but you may not be as independent as you think you are! You want to please others, and occasionally “go with the flow” to meet this end, rather than saying what you really think.    
• You’re generally a pretty healthy person, and this will stick with you through your life. Your immune system tends to work fairly well.
• You’re very academically able- maybe more so than you give yourself credit for.
• You WAY overanalyse your love life, and should let the little things go! 😀
• You’re a practical and logical person, have solid values and good levels of personal energy.
• You don’t like big public displays of emotion, but conversely, you need very high levels of emotional connection with someone before you will have a relationship with them. You take the mental side of a relationship very seriously and it’s much more important to you than the physical side of the relationship.
• You can be quite a cautious person and sometimes this can be perceived by others as shyness!

What the future may (or may not!!) hold-

• You’re only down for one marriage, lol! 😀 There is an indication of a break in the marriage, and then a reconciliation. After this, there are no indications of any further major issues.     
• You will have one child.      
• You will have an academic achievement at some point in your life.
• You’re going to see more of the world than you currently have- and this travel won’t be in your old age- within the next few years, you’ll be boarding a plane! There is one trip in particular on your palm which has particular significance- it will be a real holiday of a lifetime and will be a wonderful experience.
• Your focus varies greatly at different points in your life. In your middle years, you may find yourself bored and looking for a new challenge. This may continue for around ten years or so. However later in life you find renewed focus and become a stronger person for it.
• You’ll have to work hard to earn a lot of money, but you will be rewarded in the end.
• There will come a point in your life when you’ll have to put your own interests aside to look after someone else. This isn’t going to last a long time, but it will be hard emotionally.      
• You’re going to live to a ripe old age, and have greater health through your old age than most people.
                                                                                                                

So, that’s my first palm reading done! I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Anyone who would like a reading done, please send as clear pictures as possible of the front and back of the hand you write with to copingwithchaosblog@gmail.com. I am aiming to do one per week. Once again, this is ONLY FOR FUN and should NOT be taken seriously. I will do the readings on a first come, first served basis.  Next up- Heather!

Quick hits

Arghhh, no time this morning!

Firstly, I wanted to wish Ian a very happy birthday. He really deserves it- the past year must have been very hard on him, but he’s (mostly) kept a smile on his face through everything. I’m very lucky to have someone who not only provides me with endless support, but is also very hands on with the kids, a great cook, and who makes me laugh. He doesn’t read my blog, although he knows I write it, but I hope he knows how much I love him. 🙂

Also, a classic from Ricky yesterday at his school concert. The kids were singing various Christmas rhymes, and it was my first school concert as a parent, so of course I thought it was brilliant! 😀 Ricky’s attention span is approximately the same as that of a gnat, so he got restless pretty quickly. After about ten minutes, in a break between songs, he pipes up, “Mrs Black! Mrs Black! I am BORED!” which of course brought the house down! We have it on DVD too, so will be able to use it against him for many years to come!

Finally, I have completed the first of the palm readings, so look out for that tomorrow! Thanks to everyone who has sent me pictures so far!

Better get some work done… 😀 Have a lovely day!