And so it goes

 I still don't really want to talk about this and it might be because, as a bestie said recently, "I really just hate thinking about all of this stuff and putting in words makes it real."

I so get that.

However, or nevertheless, whether I talk about it or not isn't going to change the fact that I have lymphedema. That's just a scary word that means my lymph system isn't draining super efficiently and so I'm taking on fluid. It's only in my right arm down to midway between my elbow and wrist but that is aggravating because it is DESPITE:

-wearing the compression sleeve this summer, even on vacation.

-staying active

-doing my stretching and physical therapy exercises

-sleeping with it elevated

-still wearing my SECOND compression sleeve daily

Wah. I just want to wallow a bit, but then I remember that hey, my arm still works (mostly) and I can get the mobility back (I hope) and probably if I stop doing what I'm doing it'll get worse so staying busy and fighting through yoga is what I'll do until I'm told otherwise.

I knew but had forgotten that the main lymphedema risk window is up to two years out from surgery and since my lymph node removal surgery was last fall, I'm well within that range. I just had hoped- like I'd hoped the surgeon wouldn't HAVE to take them out in the first place- that lymphedema wouldn't happen to me, but here we are. 

It's not painful per se but it is frustrating that my right arm looks like a sausage and that I can't reach equally far with both arms and that it's exacerbating my right neck/shoulder tightness. I can still do an impressive amount of flexibility, but I can tell how much range of motion I've lost and it makes me furious. 

I don't know if the two months of no lifting/exercising while I recovered from the complete hysterectomy is what set me back or if it is simply that I'm in that two year window or if it's because of the radiation treatment for the second time. I suppose it could be the trifecta of all of that, and perhaps more I'm not thinking of. It stinks that it's my right arm, which is naturally my dominant arm. Of course it would be my "good" arm! Ugh. 

Whatever. I have two arms and two legs that work so I'm going to shut it and move on. If that means I have to go shopping because I can't fit a lot of my sleeves over my swollen arm and compression sleeve, then so be it. If it means I'll need friends and family to right my sleeves and seams when I get where I'm going, then that's what'll happen. If I get my arms stuck in a shirt over my head, well, I guess I'll cry and then laugh and then figure it out. 

Otherwise, and I hate to speak it into the universe but here goes, I'm on my 6th month of my 3 year meds and so far so good. I'm luckily avoiding school germs thus far, so here's hoping that continues! Drink lots of water, wash your hands, and stay warm, my friends!

Teas, continued

This one was last Thursday, so Day 8- Genmaicha Yama- "green tea and roasted rice." Not gonna lie; I did not have high hopes for this one. It tasted like green tea and smelled like cooked rice. Nuff said. I guess truth in advertising DOES exist!

As you have perhaps guessed, Day 9 was delightful. So much so that a friend joined me for tea. However, I did not swim in HIS drink. Oh well. Upon fishing out my unfortunate fruit fly friend, I finished my passionflower, valerian and chamomille tea. It was quite pleasant!

Day 10 was oolong, flowers, and lemon and I enjoyed it so much that I made a second cup. It's called Dreamy Tea by The Des Songes and you can check all of these out here if you're interested. I'll also confess to forgetting to have Day 10 ON Day 10 so I had it on Day 11.

Day 11 Hmm, my teabag scribble says "11 on 12" so I must have pushed this one back a day also. Oh, that's right. I thought about it before bed and didn't want to try it then. It was Jardin tropical so that translates to "tropical garden" and contained "exotic fruits." It smelled amazing and I'll probably make a second cup of that at some point. Tasted good too!

Day 12 was Earl Grey so I channeled my inner Captain Jean-Luc Picard and murmured, "tea, Earl Grey, hot" to nobody in particular, twice, and was relieved that it tasted less of bergamot than it smelled. It's not my favorite scent and I was a little alarmed at how strongly scented it was, but it settled down and was a cozy mug of tea.

Day 13 was another double cupper. It's Hammam Tea which was a green tea with flowers including roses and red fruit. So pretty in my mug and delightful to drink so I did it again.

I'm drinking Day 14 right now- China Yunnan "Pu erh Imperial" on my teabag I guess translates to Imperial tea of some kind. The tag says, "dark tea ideal after a meal" so I'm enjoying it now that I've had my lunch. It reminds me of the Celestial Seasonings Morning Thunder black tea I have, "with energizing roasted mate" though that e should have an accent mark on it and I don't know how to add that. It's not thick but it FEELS dense like it could almost be a broth if it tried a little harder. 

What are YOU drinking to stay cozy? 

 

He did what?!

Wait just a minute, how'd Thing One get in there? This is supposed to be an update on Thing Two!

Thing Two has moved further East for the semester, at least, and has begun welding school in earnest, which has been going well so far as most of it has been safety videos in addition to learning how to drive in city traffic. The combination of welding + living with family who have a well instead of city water has led to a huge change..... all of his hairs got cut! Send him good vibes for learning everything and protection from Pepe the 2005 Pilot turning into a Flintstone vehicle that runs by using your own feet...

 I'll leave you with the before and after photos.

 

Wherein I discover that I'm no more organized in 2026 than before...

Here we are, a little over a week into 2026, and you've clearly discerned that one of my New Year's resolutions was NOT daily blogging, haha. I hope you all had terrific, fun-filled, peaceful, enjoyable holidays and have started off the year on the right foot. I have begun a jigsaw puzzle that we received for Christmas, but it is on the poker table in the basement and I'm rarely down there so I keep forgetting to work on it. Need to read more books and assemble more puzzles this year and play fewer games on my phone...

I've also, despite my hope and precautions, ended up with lymphedema, but that it not a story for today. We'll get there eventually. Right now, I'm just... I don't even know. But while I'm thinking about it, for whoever is taking notes, petite medium shirts aren't working. Some mediums also aren't working at all. I very much resemble a preschooler insisting on dressing myself, including getting arms stuck up over my head, because between the compression sleeve and the swelling in my arm sleeves are giving me fits. Please don't shop for me. It's going to be a case of me having to try stuff on to see what works. =/ Gah. Bah. Humbug!
 

On a better note, especially for those of you afraid to break a New Year's resolution, I have boldly gone there already. I possess a ridiculous amount of tea, including fun ones shared between my amazing sisters-in-law, below:

I decided I would have a cup of tea each day in 2026 since I have plenty. 

January 6, I forgot. 

So, you know, not even a week into the resolution. You're welcome. 

So far this is my run down:

Day 1- I admit, I was a little apprehensive to read "green tea, roasted buckwheat, and almond". However, it was delightful! I was not expecting to enjoy it.

Day 2- Grand Jasmin Chun Feng- green tea with jasmine flowers. Here's the thing. Had I not read it, I wouldn't have been consumed with giggles and probably would have liked it more, BUT because my Grammy had a jasmine air freshener in her tiny bathroom that my brother and I loved to hear "pssssst" when we pushed the button, my brain had a problem with the juxtaposition of that scent being in tea I was drinking. I let Dada try it and he thought it was fine, but I noticed he also didn't finish it.

Day 3- Detox- that word kinda scared me so I was apprehensive again but then I read, "rooibos, honeybush, moringa, and mango" and even though I don't know what honeybush or moringa are, I do like rooibos tea. This was no exception. Delicious! Bring on the detox!

Day 4- blend of Assam and Yunnan black teas, which was fine. Nothing stand-out-ish, but good.

Day 5- lemongrass, ginger, and carrot- didn't really expect much from this one but was pleasantly surprised about the delightful lightness of it!

Biggest letdown of the week was Day 6- long jing, "delicate and vegetal green tea". Probably fine if you're a green tea fan. I think vegetal was the right word and this one didn't get finished. I'm trying to drink them all straight and undoctored and this one didn't feel like much would improve it to where it wouldn't taste like honey or whatever versus the green tea taste itself.

Day 7- "blue mountain"- black tea, strawberry and flowers. Yum! Yes, please! Made up for the Day 6 even though I drank both of these on Day 7 to catch back up. 

Should probably mention I'm working my way through an Advent tea calendar that didn't get opened at Advent so I'm kicking off the new year with it before I work my way through all the other stuff I have. I'm also drinking all of these as hot teas, in case anyone wondered.

I don't know what today's will be, so I'll let you know later!

Have a wonderful week!

Christmas shots

 Let it be recorded that I got all our Christmas cards mailed by 9:30 PM on Christmas Eve, my parents made it to and from our home safely, and Thing Three is ginormous!

Snippets of preK holiday mania

 

Goofball

 Thing Three has been swiping my phone and taking fun selfies, so here are a minuscule fraction of the ones on my phone. You’d think I would learn to not leave it unattended, but here we are.

No, that isn’t a little egg on my face…

 This is the only benefit of this dog. Epic egg disaster? Cleanup on Aisle 9!

Yes, please.

 Some people are pumpkin-spice obsessed. Not it. But am I over here, seizing absolutely every opportunity to use peppermint mocha creamer? Yes, I am!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

 Wishing all of you all the best! Merry Christmas!

Deck the halls or hang it all?

 I know. You guys, I’m so behind that last night we watched Frankenstein. I am two holidays behind, and tomorrow is Christmas! 

I do have stories to tell, but right now I must finish our Christmas cards. I’ll leave you with a photo of how I’m “being bad” and having a decadent chocolate muffin with my morning meds. Happy Christmas Eve Day!

Baby, it’s cold outside

Check out the crazy icicle outside our laundry room. Look out below when that baby goes!

 

Thank you and merry early Christmas

This poor guy I married has had a YEAR. A month ago today he had hernia surgery on both his right and left side. He's healed really well, but during what was supposed to be his recovery time I decided to have a medical misadventure. That's a couple posts after this one. He managed to take it in stride and is an excellent caretaker, far better than I am, and is doing very well. Yesterday he experienced his first sneeze in almost a month that didn't hurt, so hooray for progress!

Since he likes surprises, and I don't, I figured it would be fun to plan a secret with a friend who quilts. No, I will not give out her number. She's mine. You can't have her. 😉 She graciously accepted all my bins and boxes of old jeans and Tshirts and a certain pink ("LIGHT RED!") Ohio State sweatshirt and turned them into magic. 

While he may have known a quilt was coming, none of us knew the timeline, nor how incredible it would turn out. Look at his delight:

She asked what our favorite colors are and I told her green for me and purple for him. She said it turned into truly a reversible quilt and was almost as excited by the back, above, as she was about the real thing, below:

For those of you late to knowing us, I am a Nittany Lion from Penn State whilst he is an Ohio State Buckeye. We met at a church camp in Pennsylvania- hence all the camp staff shirts bearing CAPNWP- the Camping Association of the Presbyteries of Northwestern Pennsylvania. Talk about getting a new lease on life. Some of those shirts are from high school, many from camp and college when we were dating and engaged, and a few from our married life together. 

Thank you, sweet friend, for a most outstanding legacy gift that we are loving snuggling under at night. Thanks for using your gifts and talents on our behalf, and for you and your hubby's friendship to the two of us. We really appreciate you! 

And for my sweet, most elite of husbands, thanks for being you, for covering everything and then some with your vows, and for loving me beyond my ability to imagine. What a wild ride! Love you!

 

Of course the photos loaded backwards *facepalm*

 Morning of Nov 10. Neither Thing Three nor I were quite pleased to be hanging out at the bus stop in the first snow of the season. I had JUST gotten the snow sticks inserted down the driveway because it was still warm enough to do it comfortably and the ground wasn't frozen and uncooperative yet. Whether it would have snowed had I not stuck them in is a mystery we shall never unravel.

Morning of Nov 9

November 8. I love that red bush of our neighbors'. It just blazes away cheerfully amidst everything else.

Both of these were Nov 7. I thought about how pretty the colors were and how many oak leaves we still have.