The Hobbit & Doctor Visits

I decided to kick off my summer reading of the classics with you guessed it The Hobbit.  This was not my first choice, but last summer my brother read my favorite book The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck which happens to be a classic.  He in return wanted me to read his favorite book The Hobbit, which in my luck is a classic as well.

After reading this tale of a little hobbit who travels with 13 dwarves in search of treasure I have come to one conclusion and I have a confession to make.

I don't like books with wizards and magic.

You have no idea how bad I want to be on the Harry Potter fan bus, but no matter how hard I try and read I can't get into it.  This same feeling goes along with The Hobbit.  People love this book and cherish it as one of their favorites, but I however can not muster up those feelings.  I have no idea why! :(

Is this a great story?  Yes

Will I go see the movie?  Yes

Is this book now on my favorites list?  No--Sorry Hobbit lovers.

On a more serious note please keep me in your prayers throughout the month of June.  I have three doctor visits coming up.  These appointments are for running test, blood work, and sonograms to make sure there is no activity around where my thyroid used to be, so cancer cells will not have the chance of returning.

Books, Books, Books

I have reached a monumental goal in my life.  It may not be much of an accomplishment to most, but I have always wanted to read Gone With the Wind. 

I did it!  Granted it took me quite awhile with 1,000+ pages.  Never the less, I DID IT!!!

       

I love the movie, and have watched it MANY times.  Like always with books and movies, the book is better.  

After accomplishing this mini goal in my life and tackling one of the greatest classics, I have decided to dedicate my summer reading list to the classics.

I have taken master classes for the past two summers, and this summer I am not taking ANY!  I get to read what I want.  I am so excited.  

I am going to try my hardest to read, read, read, and not sit around all summer and watch reruns of True Life and Teen Wolf (don't judge) on MTV.

I printed a list of classic books, and highlighted the ones that I have read.  Looking back I am proud that my english teacher, who was the best, made me read quite a few on the list.

What are some of your favorites?

Boy Meets World

We are big T.V. junkies at my house. We love to watch T.V., and record our favorite shows. We seriously have a problem, but it something we both enjoy. We are always looking and seeing which shows are award winning, what type of new shows are coming out, and which ones receive the best reviews.

For the last couple of Saturdays we have been at home during the afternoon. Zac has discovered that the old but loved show of Boys Meets World comes on channel MTV2. We have really enjoyed watching these reruns because it takes us back to when we were younger. I mean, who didn't watch Boys Meets World? Everyone from our generation loved it.

Watching this show made me think back to a lot of old shows we watched growing up. Friday night would come and we would all sit down in front of the T.V. and watch TGIF. Does anyone remember that, or is it just me? Family Matters, Step By Step, Full House, Growing Pains, and many others were all shows we could sit down and watch together as a family.

While sitting there and watching Boy Meets World it struck me. What on Earth has happened to the T.V. shows we watch today? I tried to think of one family oriented show that a family could sit down and watch during prime time, and I couldn't think of one! Even the family sitcoms that come on today are not for the whole family. We love to watch Modern Family, but it is not a show for the whole family to watch. What has become of television? Now all shows are about is: Who killed who? Who slept with who? Who cheated on who? Who is going to get revenge? Not to mention how trashy reality T.V. has brought cameras into homes and shown how sick and twisted people can be. It is all about you kids watch Disney in the other room, while we watch our adult prime time shows in the other. No longer can watching prime time T.V. be a family event.

What has happened? Were those old T.V. shows cheesy? I would say YES. Did we love them anyway? I would have to say YES. What will T.V. look like in another 10 years? I have no idea, but it is a scary thing to think about.

What a Year!

I can't believe the past year is coming to a close, and the new year is upon us. What a crazy year we have had! This Christmas to me is one of the most special and meaningful. After the events of the past year, I now know that if you have your health you have a lot. For those of us that are in good health we should be forever grateful, and sensitive to those who are not. Christmas time always stirs up so many emotions within us, but I think the emotion that mostly fills my heart is an overwhelming sense of being thankful. I am so thankful for what God has done in my life this past year with His divine intervention. In celebration of the Christmas season I have a renewal of the amazing event of our Savior's birth. I know so many who have lost loved ones or are going through tremendous amounts of suffering, sickness, and pain. The Christmas season can be so painful for some. However great our suffering may be I truly believe our suffering has purpose and it is not meaningless. If the Savior of the world left His throne to be born in a barn, lived a life full of suffering and pain, and ultimately was murdered on a cross to bring salvation to the world, then what we are faced with to endure here on earth has to have some type of purpose and meaning. If God himself experienced great suffering, why should we expect anything different? No matter how cheesy the saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season," may sound after the rough year I have experienced I know this is true!

Summer Blockbusters Make Me Crazy!

If you are a fan of things exploding and kid movies you probably are not going to like my post. However, I have to say that the list of movies that have come out this summer are driving me over the edge. If it doesn't have explosions, robots, aliens, little blue people, talking animals, or cars then it is just not a summer hit. Right? Think about it, Cowboys & Aliens, Cars, Smurfs, Caption America, Green Lantern, Transformers, Super 8, Harry Potter and lets not forget this weeks release Planet of the Apes. Now I know most summer movies are like this, and lets face it if the movie doesn't have these elements then it is not coming to a theatre near me. So those of you that have more options you better embrace it!

The other night we watched A Streetcar Named Desire, it stars Marlon Brando a.k.a. the Godfather, and Vivien Leigh a.k.a Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind, who won an Oscar for both of these performances. I sat there through the whole movie and was glued to the T.V. This movie is 60 years old, and it has been the best movie I have seen all summer. Now, I am warning you it is not a fuzzy good feeling movie. However, it is going on my favorite movie list. So, if you are in need of a break from all the explosions and aliens rent it!

Doctor Visits, Radioactive Pill, & Body Scan

I have to admit that before this whole issue of thyroid cancer I had no idea where your thyroid was or what it did. I now know a lot. Thyroid cancer is treated differently than other forms of cancer. When the biopsy shows cancer, they take your whole thyroid and some lymph nodes. Because our thyroid is in such a sensitive area, it lays right over our windpipe doctors can not take all the tissue. So after you have surgery you take a radioactive iodine pill, and it sends radiation throughout your whole body. It also kills any remaining part of your thyroid in case there is any cancer cells left, and also to make sure the cancer never comes back. Crazy? Weird? Yes! My thoughts exactly.

I took my radioactive iodine pill on July 20th, and had to be secluded in our back guest room for two days because I was putting off radiation. Crazy I know. What the pill is doing is basically nuking the remaining tissue of your thyroid. I told people I might as well have stuck my head in a microwave.

After about a week you have to have a body scan, and the scan will show where the radiation went in your body. If it goes somewhere else besides your neck, like say a big part of it goes to the lungs there is a good chance you have cancer cells in your lungs.

I got my body scan on Tuesday, and I got a good report. All my radiation was in my neck and no where else. I don't have to go back to the doctor until October. I was so excited!

True Heroes Are Victims

My little upset with cancer has given me a huge dose of reality. For the past three months I have set in waiting rooms among other cancer patients. My situation is not near as devastating as most cases. I have had older family members fall to cancer and even some members in our small community have battled and some have even lost, but I have never understood the true effects until now.

Victims of this earth shattering disease are true heroes. These are the people who stare death in the face and fight back with all they got. They are the ones who make numerous trips to the doctor and sit and wait for a biopsy, blood test, diagnosis, and a game plan. They are the ones who go under the knife and are left with scars or battle wounds to remind them of their illness. They are the ones who undergo putting poison a.k.a. chemo into their bodies, only to face vomiting, hair loss, and a tremendous amount of weightless. Women have their breast removed and reconstructed. Men and women both undergo having their head shaved. People undergo having their skull sawed into to remove brain tumors.

Some undergo all of this and are left with no hope and still no cure. They go home to live the rest of their life that is left. They are the ones who in their last days know that once they crawl into bed, chances are they are not ever going to get out of it.

I have sat among the most courageous, brave, and inspirational people I have ever come in contact with. How do they do it? They don't have a choice. They fight and they fight hard. So if you ever need a good dose of reality visit a cancer center and watch the people who come in, go out, and fight.