Packing

I somehow need to organize and pack three suitcases tonight. Mine, Matias', and party stuff... you thought I was going to say Xhevat's, didn't you? Nope. He is more than capable of packing his own suitcase.

This week Xhevat and I will celebrate our seventh anniversary. It's hard to believe all that has happened in these last seven years. It hasn't been an easy first seven years of marriage but I am honoured that he chose me and I have the privilege of being called his wife. To celebrate, we will be dropping off our boy with family and getting a little vacation with just the two of us... I am already so thankful for our time we will have together.

And then later this week, we'll be celebrating mom's and dad's 70th birthday with their friends! One of my parents has already turned 70 and the other one will turn 70 next month (I won't divulge who is older/younger). So far including our family, we have just over fifty people coming. It's in our genes to love celebrating and hosting. So the baking has begun! The aromas coming from the oven are delicious! Inside our house is 28.5 degrees Celsius (that's 83 degrees Fahrenheit) from all of the baking... and every window is open! It's a small price to pay for home baking.

Other than that, not much new on this end. Chemo continues (I'm half way through the chemo part of cycle 2). I'm doing decently well with the side effects so far. The top two side effects of this chemo are diarrhea (you know you wanted to know that) and troubles with the skin of your hands and feet (redness, pain, dryness, cracking, etc). The dryness also affects the rest of my skin and so I use 15 pumps of a heavy duty lotion when I get out of the shower to maintain some sort of skin hydration. And then I add additional lotion as needed to hands and feet throughout the day. Sometimes I even need to wear socks or flip flops inside to soften the impact of normal walking in the house. But I'm doing well (I think). The side effects from radiation have gone ok as well. I've had some site tenderness and discomfort but generally all has been well. No increased pain, no skin reactions/burns, maybe a little bit of extra fatigue, but doing well overall. I'm feeling stronger overall but still try and get a daily nap.

I'll be purposefully out of touch for the next few days. I want to engage as fully as possible with my husband and family. Enjoy the break from my blog and I'll enjoy making memories with my husband and family!

P.S. Just to add a little humour to this entry... Xhevat tried to tickle my foot while I was lying down on the couch. Haha! The joke's on him. I don't have feeling on that part of my foot! 

Seven years ago. If I knew then all that we would have gone through these last seven years, I'd still say "I do." I can't imagine life without you Xhevat.