Chemo #5

On Wednesday night, September 17, 2008, The Wellness Community sponsored a special event to see a musical called, "Bye Bye Birdie," at the Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities. It was a fun event. I enjoyed seeing many familiar faces from our support groups too. During intermission, I stayed behind to warm up with my hot cup of coffee. Another lady was doing the same thing. We started talking with each other, and with the hostess from the opera house. As it turns out, we were going through breast cancer treatments. We had a such wonderful time chatting, I almost forgot about the show. Thanks to Sammi's text messages, we forced ourselves to cut our conversations short. Our family also ran into Auntie Margie and Uncle Bill, who had their season tickets. What a great treat that was!!! What could I say, God is good, all the time!!!!!


CHEMO #5


Yikes! Here we go again. September 18, 2008 was my second treatment with the red stuff. It's sure looks innocent enough, huh? Too bad this stuff is NOT just sugar water!!! Since this red chemo drug is really hard on the heart, I was tested this week, and passed my Echo Cardiogram test. Thank God for Dr. Ghodsi Madani, my new allergist!!! After weeks and weeks of suffering, my hives are now finally under control. I'm glad she's going to continue to monitor me until I finish all of these treatments. I get a bit nauseous still, sore muscles, endless dry cough, and very low on energy, but I really can't complain. Things are looking brighter for me now, I'm more than half way through. I'll just take things slowly, one hour at a time.



It was really nice of Susie and May to come visit me before going to their class reunion in Long Beach. And thank you for the pretty roses too.











Ambassador Church has now made our 5 year mark. Our church has really grown with many young families. Just look at how precious our babies are in our nursery. Doesn't this make you want to hug them, kiss them, smooch them? If these are too young for you, we've got even more that are a tad bit older too! So sign up and help out in the CM! They need you, and they want you, all of you, you and your big huge Godly heart!!!









On Sunday, September 21, 2008 - Ambassador Church had our official "Welcome to Brea" service. I'm so glad Dave and Kathy came to visit our church today. I hope they'll come to service again soon. We were really blessed with a gorgeous day, just perfect for a picnic!!! So, off to the park we went... all of us!!! We really had the perfect weather... perfect for playground fun, volleyball games, football games, walks with the doggie, lounging around doing nothing, and of course, lots of FOOD!!! Yummy, L&L Hawaiian food!!! Thank you to everyone who made this event special. By the way, Pastor Josh... (growlll)... I think you gave my son a football booboo!!! What can I say, I'm a momma first!!! hee hee hee



To the Chongs: Thank you so much for coming to visit!!! Can you tell that our kids really missed each other?!?!? We need to get together more often, just like the good ol' days!!!

The Momma Soo-Hoo Project

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
September 13-14, 2008

On Sunday morning, my friends from North High School JROTC really, really, REALLY, surprised me!!!!! They all wore special hand-designed pink T-shirts that read, "The Momma Soo-Hoo Project", accessorized with crowns, hats, wands, and posters!!!!! They did all of this, and joined the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Long Beach on my behalf!!! The official route started at El Dorado Park and ended at the Queen Mary. That's a very longggggg walk! And it's an even longer walk back to the car! Did anyone make it to the end, 5K or 10K?!?!? I'd be lucky if I can make it around the block! Thanks for helping and for walking everyone!

With the help of organizations like Avon, your support will be felt by many people, especially when they find a cure for cancer! I am sooooo proud of you, and I am sooooo happy to be a part of the NHS JROTC!!! Your support has moved me beyond words of expression. You've actually left me speechless!!! For those of you who know me, that's a really big accomplishment in itself!!! All I can say is, "YOU ROCK MY WORLD!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!"


NHS JRTOC, all pretty in pink! By the way, I didn't get that memo!!!








They appear to have the same figure and same skin tone, but only from their neck to their knees... Interesting, very interesting...




I want this decal for my car!!! Super Soo-Hoo!!!!!
I really like the sound of that!!! hee hee hee




Is that a pink bra on this van? Hmmm. No comment.




Oooh! I can really use that pink wig for this winter!!!








Gaby (on the left), God blessed you with so much talent! Thank you for sharing your it with all of us!!!


Macho men wear pink too!!! You're looking GOOD, Sergeant Major Duran!!! Hey, what ever happened to your matching CSM princess dome hat?






Nice smiles, and very nice beads!!!




This was a great hair idea! I'll have to remember this one, maybe for next year, eh???

For more details about this worthy event, please click on this website: http://walk.avonfoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=losa_home_2k8.

I thank our Lord God Almighty for surrounding me with so many loving people in my life. I am sooooooo touched, soooooo moved, and I feel soooooo loved!!! My God, my family, my friends, NHS JROTC, my church, my neighbors, my support groups, I thank you ALL for everything!!! Your love, support, and friendship truly mean the world to me!!!

I was unable to join our group in the Avon walk this year. But, with the ultimate healing hands of God, my body will be whole again. When I finish my treatments, I'll have to start training for next year's Avon walk. Does anyone want to join me?!?!? This offer goes out to anyone reading this blog, plus anyone and everyone you're connected with! (hint hint hint) Let me know, so we can make some plans! Have your peeps call my peeps, eh?!?!?!? Together, we can make a difference, and have fun doing it!!! God bless you!!!

Busy weekends... Aren't they great?

Yippee! It's time for another weekend! My family and I went to a chili cook-off. It was a fund raiser for the 3rd graders in one of our Torrance schools, held at the Elks Club. We tasted lots of chili; some were so hot that they can bring tears to your eyes and burn holes in your stomach; some were medium, but full of yummy flavor; and some were mild and sweet, perfect for wimpy folks like me! Just in case you had too much chili, they also had hot dogs and homemade tacos for sale. It was a family event with a live band for atmosphere and dancing, games and bouncer for the kids, raffle tickets for donated prizes, a bar for adult drinks, and many other booths. The radio station, K-Earth 101, also had a booth. Hank was a little disappointed that he didn't win any of their free give-away prizes. I guess, he will have to save himself to win those bigger prizes, eh?


One of the booths had face painting. Since I've lost all of my hair, I've been wanting get a tattoo on the back of my head. If I got a permanent one, it will get covered up when my hair grows back out. So for fun, I guess a temporary one will do. I think Sammi is voting against it. What do you think?


Saturday evening, we went to North Hollywood to support Angel's cousin, Angel Abcede, and his crew from Chicago (Nuns on the Run), in a comedy called, "Nunsense 2: The Second Coming." We had a fun evening, and I met a lot of great people too.


Angel, myself, James, and Joshua. Hey look! We have matching heads!!!


Celia and Jim are proud supporters too. Too bad Wonton couldn't come.


Cousin Angel with a few of his family and friends.


Sister Mary Leo and Sister Amnesia


The cast with Me, the cardboard Nun.


Valerie with her fantastic "pigs can fly" hat!!!


Sunday, September 14, 2008 - Ambassador Church celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We were treated with a walk through memory lane. It was great to see so many familiar faces, some were there in person, and some we had seen though the slide show presentation. Of course, we had to "force" ourselves to eat cake and other sweet treats on that day too!


We were able to meet our newest addition to Ambassador Church. He's only three weeks young, but he's a very big and strong boy. I'm sooooo proud to be the first person at church to steal him from his mommy. Oh, I meant to say "carry" him! hee hee hee... In case you haven't heard, I love to smooch clean babies!!!


The Wongs, the Lais, the SooHoos, and the Takaos were able to meet up for lunch. Unfortunately, with everyone's busy schedules, a few of our kids couldn't make it this time. I guess we'll have to force ourselves to get together again another time, right? Soon, I hope!


Yikes, we're running out of weekend! I guess we'll have to face those Monday morning blues together. That's a blessing in itself! We've been told many times not to take things for granted, to live life to it's fullest each and every day! We tend to forget, as we fly through our busy lives. Often we hear of losses or illnesses. It's human nature to think that won't happen to us, that somehow we're stronger than that, or we can be immune from that if we just keep going at light speed. Unfortunately, God lets us know who is in control. It will happen to us, eventually!!! As the saying goes, we need to stop and smell the roses. I thank God for each and every breath I take, and for each day I can be here with my family. Celebrate!!! We are alive!!! And we have access to the Internet!!! Yeah!!! ;-)

Chemo #4

On September 4, 2008, I was happy to have my hubby, Hank, with me for the first time during chemo. He was finally able to get some time off this month. Dr. David Chan changed my chemo to a new drug, in hopes to get rid of my rash and heartburn. It was great that this session only took 2 hours this time. I had 3 large syringes of bright red clear liquid shot into my IV! It looked like red Kool-Aid. It's a really strong drug called, Ellence or Epirubicin. It was so strong that I got sick to the stomach this time. Ugh!!! With the help of more steroids, I had semi-clear skin for about a week. Unfortunately, when the drugs ran out, my rash came back. I really don't have "good days" and "bad days". It seems to change from hour to hour for me. Fortunately, I've managed to have some kookoo fun when I can, in between those blah moments.


Uncle Angel surprised us with a special pork chop dinner. A very yummy home cooked meal! He even cleaned my kitchen! Wow, Angel, you'll be a great catch someday for one lucky lady!!!


Auntie June came over with a delicious pot of her homemade beef stew. We've been eating some really great food lately! Thank you!!!



On Saturday, September 6, our family celebrated Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. Sadly, Dad is still in the hospital, and wasn't able to make it to dinner. Their actual wedding day is on September 8, which happens to be my birthday too! Did they plan that perfect, or what?!?!?! We also celebrated Ken and Baldwin's birthdays this evening.







On Sunday night, Derrick, Kathy, Traci, Darren, Kristen, Angel, James, and my family took me out to dinner at King's Hawaiian Restaurant. King's is known for their special island style foods and desserts. After a huge dinner, with appetizers, can you believe we had two cakes too? They didn't have to twist my arm very hard at all. We had Paradise and Strawberry Guava cakes. Yummy!!! I still can't believe we went though 3 full pitchers of fruit punch refills! Wanda, Lauren, and Ryann surprised us with their company too. I love getting all of those holy hugs and kisses from everyone! Yeah me!!! xoxoxoxoxo


On Monday morning of September 8, the American Cancer Society sponsored a special event for cancer patients called, "Look Good...Feel Better." A few of my friends from the Wellness Community went with me. Here I am with Lourdes, Joann, and Jill. We learned a few tips from them, like how to avoid infections with manicures/pedicures, or how to tie scarves on our heads, or how to convert an ordinary T-shirt into a comfortable turban wrap. Each of us received free make up kits with lessons on how to apply it too. We look pretty good, don't you think?


Here I am with Kristin, Joneth, and Sammi. Ada and Mom came over with a ton of groceries. My cupboards are overflowing now! Thanks for helping me clean up a bit around here. We really needed it.




This week, our women's group picked up our dinners from Wholesome Choice in Irvine, and went over to Donna's house to enjoy it together. Brady, Tanner, and I got to celebrate our birthdays again! In support of cancer, everyone surprised me by wearing their special hats this evening. Brady, myself, Tiffany (behind me), Donna, Kathy, Karen, Grace, and Lori (not pictured). I'm so moved by their love and support! Brady, I really love your Ying and Yang hat!!!


Sammi, Mimoe, and myself relaxing after our delicious homemade enchiladas with Spanish rice dinner. Thank you so much, Auntie Donna!!!

Thursday, September 11, 2008 - Seven years ago today, our world changed forever. Over 3,000 innocent lives were lost in the hands of terrorists. We pray to our Lord to make sense of the devastation. He has a plan, but we may not understand it until we are in His presence. Something good arises from the darkest of times, our nation unites together in reflection and remembrance, year after year! There is strength and comfort in numbers. Our freedom reigns! I'm proud to be an American. God bless the USA!!!!!