Our newest family member........Jessey!

We got her from the flea market. There was a guy there, GIVING kittens away, since he had too many. There is nothing wrong with the kittens, he just had too many. I got to name PJ, so Pete named this little girl, Jessey (after his daughter). PJ and Jessey have been trying for the last hour or so, to get to know each other. Clearly, this is going to take time.
They have both been hissing and growling at each other, but I'm sure that soon enough, they will be friends....they just need some time :)

For Halloween this year, we decided to "stay in". Which meant, going over to the neighbors, for food and fun!

Pete, about to try some of Rob's drink
Mmmmmm......the food!Laughing SO hard, I was crying...I hadn't laughed THAT hard, in a long time! Cindy, laughing so hard, she almost spit out her food! LOL! If one is good, then two is better???

Yesterday I had a headache all day. I thought, no big deal. Around 5pm. I started feeling nauseated, and got the hot/cold chills, and body aches. It felt like post chemo pains, but I knew it wasn't. I took my pre-chemo med cocktail, hoping that it would do the trick, and then took a hot bath. After a hot bath, I felt even worse!!! I then started getting an upset stomach! I asked Pete to take me to the hospital. We got there, and at the front desk, I told the gal my symptoms, and right away she asked Pete and I to put masks on. She told us we could not go back into the waiting room, and told us, we would be segregated to a different area, behind closed doors. We had to sit in theses chairs. It was at this point we found out that it would be FOUR HOURS before I would see a doctor!!!!!!! I kept getting worse, and then the diarrhea kicked it! I ALWAYS have meds with me in my pill container, and thank goodness for that. I was popping Imodium like it was candy, and it was NOT working! I knew I was in trouble. We sat there for an hour and a half while medical staff walked by and ignored us. It wasn't until I threw up ALL over, that they rushed me to a bed to lay down, and they hooked me up to I.V. right away. I had two bags of fluids, in one hour! They said I was severely dehydrated! After blood, urine and stool samples, they concluded it WASN'T N1H1, like they had originally thought, just the REALLY bad flu. Finally we got home at 2am. The doctor said LOTS of Gatorade and rest for the next couple of days. He said I am highly contagious and to avoid people.

I was feeling really rotten still at this point
Pete had worked all day and was exhausted. He caught a few winks, sitting up. Poor guy. I was exhausted!!!!! Tired, beyond tired. Pete was such a trooper!!! He tried to make me laugh, rubbed my back for me, grabbed me warm blankets, helped me to the bathroom a million times.


I still feel pretty rotten today, but not as weak as yesterday. Thank you for all your prayers.

Tomorrow, bright and early, we're off to Victoria, for a little get-away/second honeymoon! Will take pictures and blog about it when we get home! :)

It's been a while since I have blogged. Things have been moving along here. I have been told I am only 45% blocked in my head, so no surgery for me!!!!!!!!!!! Over a week ago, Pete started a new job. He's doing sales for Eclipse Logistics. Basically he sells transport. His boss has given him a new cell phone, laptop, gas card etc. So far, he likes the job. He drives pretty much all day, recruiting new clients. It's a 9-5 Monday-Friday job. He gets ALL weekends off :) I am hoping to go back to work a couple of days a week. I'd like to find one or two clients, or one client who may need me twice a week. If you know of anyone who needs a care aide/senior companion, let me know :)

Today, we applied for a service dog for me! He is trained to detect when I will have a stroke! It's SO amazing what they can do with animals these days. There is a place in Burnaby that trains dogs for all sorts of things, and we just sent in our application this morning. We are not allowed dogs where we live, but if it's a service dog, I don't think our landlord would mind. I am SO excited at the prospect of getting a service dog. It's a LONG and sometimes expensive process, but we know that if God wants us to get a service dog, He will open up all the doors that need to be opened. They can range from 100-$1000. It's something to look forward to :) Will keep you posted, as we hear more :)

I had a stroke last week. My mind is still not working right, and my right hand feels like it doesn't belong on my body. I had to quit my job, and I am feeling REALLY overwhelmed still. I am scared to be alone now, and have been very clingy to Pete. I never want him to leave the house. In two weeks, we will see if the blood thinners are working, or if I will have surgery on my , well, in my brain. This has taken me a half an hour to type, since my right hand has a mind of it's own, and I have to think really carefully to form the words and thoughts in my head, to type out here. I just want to cry. They say that God doesn't give us more than we can handle, but I'm past my limit, at this point. The doctors keep saying to go on a vacation......with what money? I just had to quit my job and hubby is on E.I. I would love to get away, especially if I find out I don't need surgery, double bonus. My mind is slow, words come out wrong, and I feel like a total reject. I'm on a bunch of new meds, that are making me sleepy all the time, and have dumb side effects. I feel so defeated. I love my husband, but he's so private, he won't share he's feelings with me about what happened with my stroke. I hope the next stroke is a big one, and God just takes me.

Life is really overwhelming right now. I am having a really hard time coping. I am going thru some personal things, and will not be blogging for a while. I have excellent meds, awesome friends and family to help me thru this difficult time. Please pray for God's peace, wisdom and guidance, as I look to Him for answers and clarity.

To celebrate, it being exactly two years to the day, that Pete and I went on our first date, we decided to go to Queen Elizabeth park, in Vancouver. Pete's dad was one of the origional men to help plan out the park and work, planting the trees and such!

This is what we normally look like and below, is what the sketch artist in the park, THOUGHT we looked like! LOL!


I think I look "ok", but I think Pete looks mostly like my ex (Chris Murray Driver(Pete pointed that out), or like my cousin Allen. Anyhow, this guy did the sketches for $10.00 each. I guess you get what you pay for. Next it was off to dinner at Mongolian BBQ! YUMMY!

We finished off the evening, with a trip to White Rock for ice cream and the sunset.

Man, my hubby cleans up well :)

Ahhhhh....the sunset......beautiful! What a perfect day!

Why I don't exercise...LOL!

Please keep this family http://http://andyman-sdg.blogspot.com/ in your prayers in the days, weeks, and months to come. Tomorrow they say good bye to their remarkable little boy. He overcame so many obstacles, and inspired me to keep fighting my own fight.

I've been at my new job for a week now, and I LOVE it! The people at the facility are so wonderful and the job is so rewarding!!!!

Starting on Thursday, I will be working at Hallmark On The Lake! It's a retirement residence for folks who are still independent. I have been hired by one of the senior ladies who lives there. She had surgery a week ago, and will need someone to assist her for the next few months. I am really excited about this opportunity. I'm not sure how this will all work, with my chemo, but I'm sure that if I just do a single dose every week, I "should" be okay to go to work. I wasn't planning to go back to work, while on chemo, but we can't afford to both not be working. So, hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go.............

Last night, I went to see Dog The Bounty Hunter, with my best bud, Joan!!!!

Before the show.....I had butterflies in my tummy, in this picture!
Here's my best buddy, Joan, posing with the Blues Brothers. Here he is............... DOG! The show was amazing! He gave his testimony, and told us he is a born again Christian, Pentecostal. He has an amazing testimony! "Dog" Duane Chapman is truly an inspiration!

We've been married exactly 1.5 years, today! This picture is from our wedding day, Jan 4th. 2008.

Here we are at our summer reception/vow renewal, last July 6th.
This picture was taken about a month ago......

Yesterday, there was a birthday party for my beautiful step-daughter Jessica, and her half sister. Jessica's birthday is actually in July, but her half sister had a birthday yesterday, and a joint party was thrown for them.

Here is our ALMOST 13 year old!!!!

My niece Shelby and Jessica
The joint birthday cake :)

Yesterday was my friends Gayle's wedding!

She was a beautiful bride!
Here is her hubby to be (yellow rose) with his brother, before the wedding.

So I've had my two first REALLY harsh experiences with chemo brain. Last week, I was at a local produce market, when this elderly gent, said hi to me and asked me how the chemo was going. I looked at him, and I knew that I KNEW him, but I couldn't figure out where from. I told him I didn't remember his name, to which he replied, was Mike. Still, no clue. THEN he tells me he's from our church. Our church has 8 people, on a GOOD day...LOL! I eventually remembered who he was, but it really threw me for a loop, that I couldn't remember him. Then tonight, Pete and I went out for dinner. When I went to pay, I totally forgot my PIN number! I used my debit card several times today, and I use it on a regular basis. When I went up to pay, my mind would NOT process my PIN number. I stood at the til for a good 5 minutes trying to remember my PIN. This has NEVER happened to me before, and it was rather embarrassing! LOL! I can laugh about it, thanks goodness, and I didn't stress about either situation. LOL!

I am a sensitive person. Everyone who knows me, know this about me. It is often a gift, but sometimes it's my downfall. I am sensitive, in that, I care about people and their feelings, I am compassionate, and in tune with how people are feeling. The downfall side of being sensitive, is that sometimes my feelings are hurt by others. I have been banned from a couple of people's blogs, due to this. One of the blogs I am banned from, is my sister's blog. She feels that I should not know what's going on in her life and the lives of her family, because I am too sensitive, and may get my feelings hurt, by reading her blog. This really hurts, as I can't keep up with what's going on with my beautiful nieces, since my sister often writes about them on her blog. Another blog I am banned from is Rachel Dyck's. She has told me that she finds it too stressful, knowing that I read her blog. Rachel and I went to high school together, and we know many of the same people, most of whom have blogs themselves. I don't read those blogs any longer, I haven't, since January. I am saddened to know that people feel they need to shut me out, because they feel I can't handle knowing what's going on in their lives. Again, some would say I'm being overly sensitive, but I truly believe that my feelings are legitimate. I don't set my blogs to private, because I have nothing to hide, and if someone reads my blog and is offended, they don't need to keep reading it, it's THEIR choice, I would never make that choice for them. I like people knowing what's going on in our lives, good or bad.

A CAT scan has shown, that 3 arteries in my brain have burst. The CAT scan technician said I should be dead. Not surprising...LOL! I've had several episodes, where I am woken up from a dead sleep at night, with excruciating pain in my lower left side of my head. My cancer doctor set up the CAT scan for me, bcuz she figured one of the arteries in my brain had burst, due to a blockage, from my PV. Three have burst. So, when I see her next Wednesday, we will discuss possible surgery, to make sure there are no "bleeders." The CAT scan shows I have no bleeding of the brain, but Dr. L is concerned bcuz I have had a really bad headache EVERY day, since the last artery burst. The brain surgery would be at St. Paul's Hospital, probably within the month, and would require them to shave part of my head, and take off part of my skull, to check for bleeders that did not appear on the CAT scan. I am totally at peace about this, and welcome a "holiday", and some great meds! LOL! So, next Wednesday will be "the day" we'll figure out this whole brain thing :)

The nice thing about Pete being laid off right now, is that we go on LOTS of day outings :) We venture out to White Rock, Harrison, Cultas, Fort Langley, and in a couple of weeks we're going up to 100 Mile House to visit Pete's parents for a few days!

Beth is one of my dearest friends!

We have been friends since we were teens! We went to different high schools, but attended the same youth group at church. Last week, Beth and her boys were here visiting her parents for spring break, and we were able to go out and have a fun afternoon of shopping, and then accidentally setting off her parents house alarm! LOL! Beth, and her family moved to Quesnel, a few years ago, so I don't get to see her often, only when she comes out at holidays, to see her parents. I DID promise her that I would come up and visit her this spring/summer :)

My Obsession/Collection: I collect ANYTHING and EVERYTHING Piglet!

In my collection I have LOTS of stuffies, PEZ dispensers, key chains, stickers, figurines, pens,a cookie, cookie cutter,earmuffs, gloves, snow globe, socks, a sucker, a balloon, magnets, tissue paper, pins, a cup, etc. At last count, I have over 100 pieces in my collection!!!

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