Happy Birthday, Neck Scar!!

Yesterday was my neck scar's 1st birthday.

Last year, I headed to OHSU to get some nodules removed.  I was TERRIFIED to have surgery.  Beyond scared.  And it ended up being fine.  I remember waking up from the surgery feeling ABSOLUTELY relieved.  Incredibly grateful.  And extremely happy.  Even if the nodules were cancerous, they were GONE, out of my body, and we were one our way to knowing for sure if it was cancer.

It was the beginning of a crazy year.  I am SO GLAD it is behind us.

And to celebrate the fact the fact that the neck scar has been with us for an entire year, Phil and I took it out for dinner (after a celebratory 6-month blood draw).

{I've got a thing for salads with beets}

We didn't get the neck scar any gifts or anything.  And I could get super deep about all of the things I have learned from the neck scar (or rather the cancer that came out of the neck scar), but I won't.  Ok maybe I will say one thing...

It is unfortunate that it takes big things happening to us for us to put things into perspective and realize how wonderful our lives really are.  Many people realize that fact too late.  If you're healthy, you need to stop stressing so much, let the small stuff go, take off your blinders and look around.  Love your life.  Hug your family.  Help those who are hurting.

There.  Those words are my neck scar's gift to you.

Happy Birthday, Neck Scar!  Stay healthy!

My war against sunburns

I'm allergic to the sun.  I don't just say that because I am whiter than white and can't tan to save my life.  I really am allergic to the sun.  If my skin get too hot and is exposed to the sun, I get a rash.  Not a sunburn, a rash.  If my skin is covered... no rash.

My ancestors are the epitome of white-ness.  I'm English, Irish, German, Russian and Norwegian.  Absolutely none of those areas are none for their caramel-colored complexion.

Since we are entering summer (and we are preparing for a weekend in the desert next week), it was time to stock-up on all things sun-protection related.  And my yearly skin-check (cause you have to have those when you are whiter than porcelain) is the week after our weekend-trip.  So I really can't get burnt.

Plus now I have this brand-new neck scar. I hear scars hurt REALLY bad when they get sunburned. Scar skin is supposed to be more sensitive than regular skin. I ask my mom the best way to protect my neck scar and she replied, "Cover it."  Yeah... we are going to be in 100 degree heat.  I'm not wearing a turtle-neck or a scarf.

But I figured it out...

{Look at my big hat! and not the woman wearing the pajama nightie}

I bought a REALLY big hat. 

And three bottles of sunscreen.

Plus I plan to wear maxi-dresses (cause then I don't have to worry about my legs).  I'm no amateur here.

Thyroid cancer was enough for me.  I certainly don't want skin cancer too.

Week Wrap-Up

This week had its fair share of funny/interesting moments.  Here's a recap:

1.  Wednesday morning, I came downstairs and noticed my pants were unzipped.  I thought, "Whoa.  So glad I noticed that now.  That could have been embarrassing."  Then later in the day, at about 3 in the afternoon, I went to the bathroom and noticed my pants were unzipped again.  And I have no idea how long they were like that.

2.  It's not everyday you hear one middle-aged man say to another middle-aged man, "No!  Don't touch me!  I'll cuss!!!" in the lunchroom.  No this isn't a sexual harrassment situation.  The touchy-feely guy's whole family has some kind of stomach virus and the other guy doesn't want to get sick.  Still... it was quite the strange  thing to hear.

Since my surgery is in 11 days, I informed touchy-feely man that if he gets me sick, I will cut him.  (I didn't really say that.)

3.  I was texting Joanna Thursday about her next crocheting project and auto-correct made me look like a yarn racist.

I don't think there is such a thing as asain yarn.  And even if there was, I have nothing against it.  Just so we are clear.

4.  In an effort to keep myself motivated and on-task for work, I made myself a schedule the other day:

I almost kept to it.  I was actually ahead of schedule most of the day.  But I didn't finish my report narrative.  DANG IT! 

5.  Normally, women get their hair chopped off when they go through a particularly nasty break-up.  Since I have no plans of getting dumped in the future AT ALL (thanks Phil!), I need different reasons for the big chop. 

After the dumping phase of life is over, comes the "mom haircut."  You know this one... Woman has a baby and then cuts all her hair off.  No baby for me.

So if you aren't getting dumped and aren't having a baby, why would you cut off 6 or 8 inches of hair?

The answer:  Cancer  (that rhymed)

{Before} 

{After}

Both pictures were taken in bathrooms, incase you were wondering.  The first, the bathroom at work.  The second, our main bathroom at home.  Since I am still slummin with the iPhone 3GS, I am reduced to taking pictures in the mirror.

I wanted my hair cut to "neck scar" level.  It is pretty close.

This is also the www debut of my neck scar.  Or my current neck scar, I should say.  Instagram made it harder to see than it really is.

So that as been my work week.  Hopefully our weekend will be filled with fun and relaxation (I am looking into progressive muscle relaxation techniques to help with my pre-surgery anxiety).  I hope yours is too!