Zipping Thru 32!

Alan's such a little stinker.  Not only did he plan a surprise pre-birthday dinner for me on the eve of my birthday, complete with Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, but he also took the day of my birthday off of work and had a special surprise for me that afternoon!  We visited Onna Villiage here and did the Forest Adventure, which is a series of zip lines and an adventure course.  So.  Much.  FUN!!  Here I am, ready to go!

After about a five minute safety "brefing" by a kid who looked to be about 17, wearing a high school track ball cap (given in very broken english, I might add), we were tested with a baby zip.  Once we passed (which we both did on the first try), then we were sent on our way!  In the video below, after I pass, you can see the sign behind me that says "Try Again" for the people who don't pass.  We don't know who those people are, but if they can't pass that baby zip, I think the "Try Again" sign should be pointed toward their car.

This next video is, I believe, of the second zip that we did.  It was kind of down in the jungle, which was cool.  And it was a fast one, which was fun.  What wasn't cool was that there was a sign posted, saying "Front Confirmation!!"  What do you think that means?  We still don't know...but the two exclamation points lead me to believe it was important.  We lived.

Here is one of Alan showing off, along with a semi-decent view of this little slice of paradise.  Livin' the dream, people...

This next video is a little longer, but it's a multi-tasker!  Alan got video of me going across a long zip and then he held the camera while he went:

Here's another multi-tasker for you.  This one was a really fast one and just happened to be the final zip of the jungle course.

After the jungle zip course, there was an "Adventure Course."  There were a lot of fun, challenging components of this, but I had trouble uploading some of the other videos, so there will only be one video of this portion (I know you're super-bummed about not getting to watch more of this).  Here I am doing a really crazy thing called the Tarzan Swing.  It's kind of a mix between a bungee and a zip, swinging into a net.  Seriously, you are all lucky I'm here to type this.  Not because I could have died, but because I might still be standing there on that perch, scared to jump, two days later.  Alan wanted to do this one again.  I did not.

It was a great day and I so enjoyed my surprise.  A great, big "THANK YOU!!" to my darling husband for arranging it - although I know he was also stoked to do it, so it was like a little gift to himself as well.  Nonetheless, very fun.

My Cup Runneth Over

I'm working on a blog about my fantastic birthday surprise, but it's taking a while to get all the videos sorted out, so I'll post about this fantastic instead! 

A couple of Saturdays ago (June 4th), Susan G. Komen for the Cure held a Global Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C.  Nearly 40,000 participants traveled from all over the world to D.C. to participate, but teams were formed remotely all over the world, as well.  I decided that I did not like missing the Race for the Cure last year (a race I have only missed three times in the last 13 years), and since there wasn't one here, I would make one!  So, I formed a team to participate here, on Kadena AB, in the Global Race for the Cure.  The team was small in size (20 people, officially, although double that showed up), but HUGE in generosity and spirit.  Our little team raised $1840 to support breast cancer research and treatment!  That was enough to garner a #3 ranking in the "Armed Forces" division!  I was so proud to walk and run with all of those amazing people and even more proud to share the stage with two other survivors.  I can't wait to do this again next year and am so excited about striving to make it bigger and better.  Thank you to any of you reading this who came out to support the cause, or sent in a donation to support the cause.  YOU made all the difference in the world to me that day.  My cup runneth over.

Me Today

I'm supposed to post a recent picture of myself next.  I really don't have many pictures of just me.  After all, my life isn't just about me anymore (I tried to fight it, but it's no use).  Here is the most recent picture with me in it that there is, taken yesterday at our squadron Easter picnic:

Here's another recent one, on my Survivor Anniversary, with the cake that Adam and Alan made me :-) 

Make-up, Sailors and Running

I'm going to politely decline to post my pet peeves.  I am 100% sure that I would offend someone.  The truth is, I have a lot of pet peeves, but I tolerate them just to make life easier.

So, next on the list is a picture that is over 10 years old of me.  That would make me 21.  I don't think I have any digital pictures from when I was 21, so here are two scanned ones.  In the first one I was probably four years old, with my first powder compact.  Clearly I couldn't help myself from frequent touch-ups:

Here's another one, just because I know you'll get a laugh.  Robin and I used to love to dress up in Dad's old sailor uniforms.  I was probably about six because Robin looks about three:

Finally...and this one's the best...Here I am winning a race at a Hondo track meet.  My favorite memory of running at Hondo meets is this one: After a meet, I was watching the video of me running the 400m dash that Mom and Dad had taken.  Throughout the whole race, my Mom is saying, "Buster, I don't think she's gonna win.  RUN AMY!  She's not gonna catch her.  AMY!  RUN!!  I don't know if she's gonna win..." to which my Dad replied, "Janice she knows what she's doing.  She tells us all the time she knows everything."  I won.

#8: What I'm Craving

I'm craving a lot, to be honest.  Some Mexican food, some new shoes, some of those Pillsbury Sweet Moments Brownie Bites...but I think what I'm craving the most right now is a visit with my sister.  She's finally pregnant and I really wish I could be closer to her during this amazing time.  It's just not the same over Skype.  So ahead of food and shoes, I'm craving some sister time.

 

And the Winner is...ME!!

I've been struggling trying to come up with the next item on the list - a favorite photo.  It's tough to pick just one!  How fitting that yesterday Adam provided me with this:

Sorry, Friends!  I know you were all gunning for the title.  BUT I'M THE WINNER! 

#6 - Aaaand...Back to Me

I thought we'd talk about me again.  The next item on the list is a "fun fact about me."  This one is actually tough for me, which is why there has been a delay in postings.  I don't know what other people would consider a "fun" fact.  I'll go with this little fact and you can categorize it as you see fit.  It is something that not many people know, though, so I hope you at least categorize it as "interesting."

When I was a freshman at The University of Texas, I decided to walk on the track team.  Not as a runner - I knew my place there would be last - but as a long and triple jumper.  I was pretty good in high school and I enjoyed it and they had a try-out, so I figured I'd give it a shot.  For six weeks I worked out with the team, but never saw a jump pit.  Despite my frequent request to just jump, the coach never let me.  She had me running miles upon MILES with the runners (while the field event competitors were practicing their respective events).  At the time, I didn't do miles upon miles.  The most I ever did was a quarter mile.  I did it fast, but that was it.  I didn't keep going.  So I was miserable.  It became evident to me that they had a "try-out" because they were supposed to and she thought she had all the jumpers she needed, so she was just going to run me to death.  Until I quit.  So after six weeks, I walked right back off the team.  And that season, I watched those jumpers.  And a lot of times I could have beat them with what I jumped in high school.  Her loss.

Truthfully, though, I never looked back.  I got a job that I loved and kept that job for the next seven years, which I would not have been able to do with being on the track team.  And I had a lot of fun ;-)

Who is the Weak One?

Four years ago, Alan and I sat in my doctor's office, waiting for her to come in.  About a month before that, I had gone in for a visit because I felt a lump in my right breast.  I was still breast-feeding a then-six-month-old Adam, so it was tough for them to tell anything.  They asked if I would feel comfortable stopping the breastfeeding so they could get a better image.  So I went back two weeks later and the lump was gone - determined to be a clogged milk duct.  Two weeks after that, I felt another lump.  This time on the left.  A lump that made my heart stop for a beat.  So back I went.  My doctor saw me, hesitantly, noting that my chart was marked "paranoid" (this wasn't the first time I'd been in for a lump...or second...or eighth).  As she got ready to examine me, she said, "You know it's not cancer.  Cancer's so far down on the list."  Nevertheless, she thought it was something, so she ordered an ultrasound.  At the ultrasound, the radiologist thought it was something, so he ordered a biopsy.  I had the biopsy done and was told my doctor would call me to talk about the results.

Tuesday morning, March 20, 2007, I got a call from General Surgery.  They wanted to know when I would like to come in and speak with the surgeon.  "For what?" I replied.  "Oh. (pause)  Has your doctor not called you?"  "No.  Is this about the biopsy?  What's going on?"  "Ma'am, we're going to need to schedule you for a consultation with the surgeon.  Your doctor should be calling you soon to give you more information."  WHAT?!?  Big oops going on here.  But I wasn't getting anything out of this girl, so I scheduled the appointment and hung up.  Thirty seconds later, my doctor calls and needs to schedule an appointment ASAP.  So Alan met me there later that day and here's how it went:

My doctor walked in to the room, sat down on her little spin-y stool, and said, "Well, it's not good.  It's cancer."  I know she said some other stuff after that, but she lost me at "cancer."  All I could think about was what she said to me when she examined me.  How totally wrong she had been.  Not a little wrong.  Totally.  I remember she seemed to know absolutely nothing and was no help to us in answering any of the immediate questions we had.  She left me with a piece of paper that she had printed out after no doubt Google-ing "breast cancer".  I was so disappointed.  And scared.  But oddly enough, not totally shocked.

I had always felt some sort of special connection to my Nanny (my Dad's Mom).  She was girly and liked Estee Lauder lipstick and shopping - so that connection was obvious, but that wasn't it.  My Nanny was a breast cancer survivor and a recurrence of the disease is what ultimately took her from us.  That was it.  There was something about her battle with that disease that felt incredibly personal to me.  I knew I would fight that battle.  I know it sounds weird and creepy and scary, but I just knew.  I just didn't know I would be so young when I fought.  So my shock at being diagnosed was more because of my age.  Only about 5% of all breast cancers occur in women under the age of 40.  How special am I, right?

Over the next three weeks I had two surgeries to remove the lump.  Then, over the next three months I had four rounds of chemotherapy.  And over the next 7 weeks, I had daily radiation treatments.  By the end of October, I was finished with the intensive treatment. 

Cancer did a lot of ugly things to me.  It made me sick.  It made me bald.  It made me skinny.  It made me scared.  It stole my innocence.  It made me look weak.  But you know what?  Cancer did a lot of good things to me, too.  Cancer really is so limited.  I might even say that Cancer is the one who is weak.  It made me realize that I might have looked weak, but I was STRONG.  It made me savour my loves, friendships, hopes, and memories.  It did not conquer my spirit or my Faith.  In fact, it restored my Faith to a new level.  It did not shatter my dreams.  It made me realize that bald is beautiful...and that summer, I really enjoyed not having to shave my legs or armpits!  It made me thankful for Adam, since we might not be able to have any more children.  It made me thankful for Alan and how strong and dependable and loving he is.  It made me skinny (because while this was considered a "negative" side effect, let's be honest...).  It gave me Anaya and Audie.  This one's a long story about the pain I have endured as a result of the chemo, which I ultimately believe resulted in twins...Or, maybe cancer was God's test for me and He found out I was tough enough for twins.  Sort of his way of saying, "Okay, now if you thought that was tough..."  Amazing.  If I had to have cancer to get everything I have today, then I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Four years.  Just like that.  

The day Alan took Command of Rebeleven...Also the day my hair fell out

Alan and me after shaving our heads that night

Pennie's wedding...in a wig

High School Reunion...in a wig

My last chemo treatment!

2007 Race for the Cure, which Mom and Robin came and surprised me for

My 2007 RFTC Team - the Commandant of Cadets ran with me, along with a few of Rebeleven's cadets and some great friends

2008 RFTC, where I finished THIRD among Survivors!  Those are a bunch of Alan's cadets running with me.

2008 RFTC Team - what a difference a year makes!  About 100 cadets also volunteered on race day.

2009 RFTC in Omaha (while pregnant with the twins)

I missed the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 2010, which broke my heart.  Komen had a direct influence on my cancer treatment and I appreciate this organization.  So, I couldn't sit idly by in 2011.  I have started a team for the 2011 Global Race for the Cure, June 4th.  Although we can't get to Washington, D.C. for the race, we are going to run it here in Oki.  So, feel free to be a part of our Warriors on the Rock team.  Donate if you can.  You can also register and be a part of my team!  And on June 4th, put your shirt on and go out in your town and run a 5K.  I would be honored to have you.

I'm participating in the 2011 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure.  Feel free to join me or donate by clicking here.

Naughty or Nice?

Christmas Eve was a rough day for Adam.  He just couldn't stay out of trouble.  So we had to play the Santa card and tell him that he was probably on the naughty list and Santa probably wasn't going to come.  We would just have to wait and see in the morning.  Sure, we felt bad, but it did make him think...Fast forward to Christmas morning: Adam comes in to our room at about 7:15 a.m.  He asked if he could go check to see if Santa came.  I was actually surprised that he hadn't done that before he woke me up, but I think he really was a little bit scared that Santa may not have come.  I told him to go check and then come back and let me know.  A minute later, he came running back down the hallway, yelling, "SANTA CAME!!  AND HE BROUGHT STUFF FOR ME!!  HE MUST HAVE CHANGED HIS MIND ABOUT ME!!"

What can I say?  Santa changes his mind sometimes ;-)

Later, talking to Robin on Skype, he told her that Santa brought him this workbench, even though it wasn't on his list.  "Santa took some liberties," he said.  Yeah, Santa will do that, too. ;-)