August 4 - Nothing huge to report but I know some peeps get anxious if I don't post regularly so just some random blurbs about stuff:

My radiation appointments have been changed to 11:45. I am much happier with that timeslot. I can now consider these appointments my lunch break.

The scabbing on my arm is almost completely gone. There is just one small spot left where the large rub spot from the tendon was trying to escape. Otherwise, there is pink, healthy skin everywhere and it looks less of an eyesore with each passing day! I made the executive decision to stop wearing the splint this past Thursday. I had been wearing it for 2 weeks longer than expected so I'm pretty sure Chrysa would approve. I am now wearing just bulky bandaging and an Ace wrap so that I don't bump the graft against anything and shear my poor, newly formed, baby skin. It feels good to be moving my wrist again (and typing with 2 hands instead of the dreaded hunt and peck method!). I also turned my Wii back on yesterday. Thank goodness. I am tired of reading, watching movies, and cleaning which is pretty much all I've been doing for weeks on end. It's nice to throw a new activity back into the mix!

I thought it would be a good idea to go outside and week whack some of the jungle that was taking over my back yard. Turns out this wasn't such a bright idea. One of the tree size weeds caused the whacker to kick back and hit me in the spot where they took skin off my thigh. Turns out this spot is a little delicate. So, there's a little scrape there now that has scabbed over. Meanwhile, no more power tools for me.

I hired a handyman/part-time housekeeper. He has already fixed my printer which has me super psyched. He now has a list of 50 more things that need to be taken care of around the homestead. I was bummed to hear his vehicle broke down yesterday though. Guess he won't be coming over to clean up my life until he gets that fixed. I'll be sitting over here patiently waiting in the meantime.....

Broke down and bought a bottle of wine on Thursday. Had a glass on that night and a glass last night. I would like the record to show that I went almost 5 full weeks without alcohol. I know my poker buds will be impressed with that (or else telling me how lame I am for waiting that long!).

If anything is going to need to be rehabilitated, it's going to be my jaw. I poked myself in the lip the other day with a fork because I couldn't get my mouth open wide enough for the bite of scrambled egg I was trying to eat. I don't know if my jaw is stiffening up from not chewing for so long, or if something got strained when they propped me open to do the surgery, or if my bite is going out of whack because this wad of flesh in my mouth is shoving things off to one side....whatever the reason, if I try to open my mouth too far, the jawbone pops and it bleeping hurts! Maybe the rehab for this will be to chew lots of gum once I'm finally able to chew. Chewing gum sounds like a fun way to get things moving again!

So, since I have the uber cute sleeves to cover my arm, Patilda and I were discussing the neck incisions. She was thinking some tattoos of lightning and big metal bolts. Or possibly some pretty scarves. She can be realistic when she puts her mind to it. ;-P

I've been experimenting all over the place with foods that I can eat. Stuffed clams, ravioli, stuffed shells, pierogies, cinnamon buns, doughnuts, scallops, pumpkin pie, raw brownie batter, italian ice....

It's a bummer that there are a lot more sweet soft foods than there are salty soft foods. I am so not a sweet person (and I'm actually sick of ice cream at this point, can you believe it??). I broke down the other day and started sucking on potato chips because I was so desperate for something salty. I have also stocked up on split pea soup and have bought some cans of sardines and anchovies. Bring on the salt!

I'm still down the original 18 pounds but I've been holding steady at that weight which has been a relief. I'm a little worried about what type of nutrition I'm getting with the weird assortment of foods I'm eating though. What food group would you classify raw brownie batter in?? I should probably pick up a multi vitamin the next time I'm at the story.

Those are all the updates I have for now. This coming week I get fitted with the fluoride trays, Sam and the kids will be visiting, Chrysa will hopefully give me the thumb's up to move forward in life, Freedom gets his nails clipped, Lis and Kunkel are stopping in, and JT will be picking me up Friday night to whisk me away to a hot poker game because Mr. Price is actually going to be in town. Woo hoo!