(I say) I don't like cricket-a ...... oh no I love it-a yeah ........ I don't like cricket-a ............ no no I love it-a yeah .......

South Perth Cricket Club WACA Grand Final - Day 1
Richardson Park, South Perth.

2nd Grade - 5 for 91 chasing 105
3rd Grade - 3 for 67 chasing 131

OK so that's the cricket out of the way.... had a fab day with the wags... some nice champers, a few nibbles and lots of chat relaxing under the trees in the sun watching both games between to two pitches. Quite a lovely relaxing day.

My week this week has been a much better one (yay me) and so I've been able to throw myself into work and play catch up. Long days, early starts and late finishes earlier in the week slowing down slightly later in the week. The trip to the doc's on Wednesday was still positive. A slow down in the reduced blood test results, but they are still going down, and that's all that matters at the moment. I was also happy when Dr Ben said I could cut my Dexa's by half the amount. So now I've just been taking 5 pills instead of 10 !

Today was Cyclo day.... had a great morning catching up with some very special friends for morning tea. It was gorgeous just to sit on the deck chatting and laughing over a cup of 'rosie lee' The besty also came over with her gorgeous girls who were just beautiful this morning. Relaxed, funny and happy - I just love them when they're like that. My aunty skills improve no end !!! And I got pessies too :-) Not that that matters at all...... but we all like presses don't we ?? !! hee hee!!

The gorgeous Callie & Lil Miller

At around 4 ish the Cyclo effects started to kick in.... groan.... I'd kind of forgotten how they affect me after such a good week. But the memories soon came flooding back !! The first sign is the shakes..... they came on with a vengeance. Then the internal feeling of a silent jackhammer inside me started. There's no headaches (so not like a hangover) just the constant feeling that your blood all around your body is being shaken .... not stirred...... and then, after that the surging through my upper jaw. Like there's a bit of a vice like squeeze happening..... slowly and not painfully.... just a slight pull - it even stretches to the back of my eyes.



But one of the nicest things at the moment, is the compliments I keep getting. Everyone is telling me how healthy and well I look. It's hard taking compliments sometimes, but it really is very nice to hear. I feel OK most of the time. And I'm very happy with my weight progress (40kg's now !!) I wore my first pair of size 12 jeans to work yesterday !! wahoo !! It really is a fantastic feeling. If I could just get the last 3kg's off, I'd be at my goal weight. But at the moment, I'm not focussing on my weight loss so much as my health. So it's not a priority. If it happens, it will.


Tomorrow is back to the cricket to watch the final day.... and fingers crossed a couple of flags to bring home too. Then next week we're just not going to know what to do with ourselves. No cricket for 6 months !! sheeeeettttt !!! WTF !!! hahaha. I know there's a few girls that are going to be happy to see the end of this season. I won't lie that I'm not one of them. But at the same time, I know how important all these boys are to Dirk. I know how much they mean to each other and that their friendships and the club mean more to each other than us girls will ever understand. So what do you do.... let them play I suppose..... we have 6 months to get over it. We'll probably feel differently by October and be happy to see the back of them on weekends again !! lol !! At least we get to shop and they don't have a leg to stand on !!...... bwhahaha !!!

Tonight's sunset.....

Quick chinky take-away for tea.... some TV on the box and I'm ready for bed..... I have some champers in the fridge, chilling for us tomorrow, so will need a good night's sleep before I embark on another day... hopefully will be another good day .....

The sunset tonight was amazing.....

What's the first sign of madness?........ Suggs walking up your driveway........!!!

I've been very busy at work this week, and actually feeling relatively good too. I kind if wish I'd felt this good last week, but hey.... shouldn't complain. And so.... with feelings of normalcy has come 10 hour days at work. It's been just like the old days !!! .and I've kind of enjoyed it .. oh hello Suggs :-) !!

I had my Dr's appointment today, he's going away on Saturday to UK for 4 weeks so I'll be going it alone until he gets back. But the results from my bloods were going well still. This month I'm at Kappa 144 mg/l (down from 175mg/l last visit) So pretty good... still dropping. We asked him about what level it needs to be at before starting the stem cell replacement, he said that it didn't need to be at any particular level, just consistently dropping. Which it is. I think he forgot to send through the referral to the Stem Cell Dr as he didn't have a copy of it, and asked me to fax through the referral letter he gave to me so he could follow up.... Dr's !!! He is still thinking only a couple of months away until I start that. All our other questions were answered and I got my new scripts for more chemo and my next appointment booked for Zometa (eeuuww) I told him about my shakes and really bad chemically druggy feelings and he has told me to drop the amount of Dexamethsone that I'm taking. I was concerned that if I started taking less then the chemo won't be as effective, but he assured me that there have been good results from other people taking these amounts. So now I only have to have five Dexa's on the days I have it (which is days 1-4 & 12-15) I see him again on 24th April ......

I chatted to my bridesmaid in Dubai today - she put a big smile on my face, even though it was only a quick chat. Hopefully we'll be able to Skype later in the week and catch up. We may even discuss some wedding stuff !! I've been thinking that Dirk & I may have to start looking for wedding venues as that really is going to be the hardest thing to book. So a trip down to Margaret River may be in order :-)
Cricket finishes this weekend - and I won't lie to you, I am just a tiny bit happy about it !!! We get our weekends back and can do stuff....  like go down south for a weekend maybe. I've asked Nickers to look out for any dresses she might like. As I have absolutely no idea what bridesmaids might want to wear. Not even the colour scheme..... maybe a Skype call will be a good idea !!! Or maybe I should get a wedding planner... hmmm......

This weekend is going to be all about cricket finals. Hopefully there'll be a few of the wags down at the club. And hopefully there'll be some champers organised for us all. It goes over Saturday & Sunday so I'm thinking Sunday will be the day for me. Saturday I'm hoping to go for a facial / massage / pedicure somewhere.... if I can get in at late notice. I'll have to see if I can find somewhere nice. And then I think a little lie in the sun will be in order. It's definitely beginning to cool down now. When I tell you the temp... you people in the colder climates are going to scoff at me..... but Perth people know what I'm saying !! Today was only 26C !! thats cooling down. Sat & Sun are looking to only be 24C & 25C - that's almost jeans and jumper weather !! brrrrrr........

I found my old diary the other day - written every day from 1987 to 1989..... this day in '87 my best friend had to have her dog put down :-( very sad (Ser that was Copper) and on this day in '88 I was on a beauty therapy trip to Blackpool !! We all went there to watch hair competitions (yep I really did) but afterwards when it was time to leave, we had to leave without two of the girls as they didn't come back to the bus.... (Sam & Sioban) haha .... for those of you that know Sammy, no surprises there !!! Hilarious. I think they might have nipped for a quick drink and then got lost trying to find the bus !! They got the last train back and got in at 2:30am !!! those were the days...... there is some VERY juicy stuff in this diary.... I might share some more..... but then I may have to kill you !! <joke>

Well seeing as it is now 1:50am, I think I might try and get some shut eye..... we got our new chairs today for the new table - I think they look fab....

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction........

and so to remember everything I'd just written over the past two days..... I was clicking "save" but it obviously wasn't saving !!! grrrrr.... I lost the lot !!

I started with the birthday - Thursday - I went to work and managed to get through morning tea of sausage rolls, tim tams and cake.... then went out for a nice quiet lunch with my friend, caught up on a little more work then made it home where I crashed out on the couch and slept. Dirk was at cricket but came home early with a pizza for tea. He chose a beautiful pancetta & blue cheese one, which ordinarily I would have found yummy, but at the time all I could think of was salt & heartburn !! So what did he do? He went straight back to the pizza shop and bought me a different one.... even knowing I'd only have one slice !! bless him :-) ...... a little while later, birthday was over and I went to bed.... It hadn't been the best day, but not much you can do about that. 

Friday was slightly better (feeling wise) I trundled off to work again. Mornings these days are a real struggle. I am so totally wiped out in the mornings. It takes me a good hour to fully wake up. My eyes are puffy and my body feels sluggish as well as my back aching and tight. But I managed it in by about 9:30am and got straight into the day. I was determined not to feel crap. I had dinner to look forward to in the evening. I figure that sometimes you can fool your body into believing that you feel great.... if you keep telling yourself enough you start to believe it !!

Balthazar

Balthazar was fabulous.... great company, great food and great evening. I have to rave about the food as it was absolutely exquisite.... Dirk had fillet steak that cut like soft butter, Bec & Ben had the Duck and I had Pork with black pudding and scallops.... just divine !! Ben & I shared a beautiful bottle of Gaja - Sito Moresco Langhe which was just a fab as the food.... mmmmm.... 

If anyone is looking for somewhere special to go to I would highly recommend Balthazar - we loved it. 

The Pork

The Duck

The Steak

Saturday was Day8 of Cycle 3 which means drug day <groan>.... 10 X Cycloblastin. (as well as the daily normal + daily vitamins) I did what I usually do on a drug day... hit the shops !! It's easier than sitting at home waiting for the effects to kick in. If I'm mindlessly wandering around I don't tend to feel quite as much intensity as they take hold. And I can forget about everything and just meander around without having to talk or think about anything. I managed to find some bargains for Dirk from FCUK & Country Road which were very well received, and found a couple of bargains for myself. But.... I have one problem that I'd like to share with you all...... WHY do girls wear racer back tops and normal bra's?? Hello.... has anyone told them?  The bra straps look ridiculous !! If you are wearing a racer back, then get a bra that has the same straps or wear a strapless bra.... I saw so many girls with this look - and it looks crap !! Now I realise that I am not the worlds biggest fashionista .... BUT even I know that you need to glance at your rear view before you leave the house. I cannot believe how many girls don't know this rookie rule. There are exceptions to the rule  - like in the gym - BUT not in a shopping centre when clearly you have not been near a gym in decades..... I had a second issue yesterday too, but cannot remember what it was now.... I've been wracking my brain, but it escapes me..... I'll let you know when I remember!! 

The rest of my Saturday was once again spent sleeping before Dirk & I hit the kitchen and whipped up a little Goulash and Nockerl (Hungarian dumplings) in the Thermomix.... delicious !! I also baked a apricot and apple crumble and custard for dessert as Dirk had been harping on about one (well had asked once... heh heh).

And so to Sunday..... 11am I woke up this morning !! Sleep really is my best friend at the moment. The nightly Thalidomide really wipes me out. It takes about an hour to take hold (after taking it) and approx 15-20 hours before I feel like I'm awake. Which doesn't leave too many hours in between.... 

We went to watch South Perth at the cricket today - three teams were in the semi's and now there are two in the finals next week. Hopefully at least one of them will win a flag.... they have to !!

I have bloods and Dr Ben this week. Last appointment until May as he's going away for April. Hopefully we'll see more good results. I have more Zometa to look forward to this month (Not!) and an appointment with a Dr from Royal Perth Hospital about the stem cell replacement. I can't wait until all this is over. I'm sure my mum feels the same..... her chemo looks like being bought forward as there's been some changes for her. I just hope it all goes ok.... I'm here mum for any questions or just to offload or chat :-)