Category Archives: Myeloma

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cancer, Gratitude, Myeloma, travel by

We just got back from Sacramento where it is all sunny and so pretty. When we hit Auburn the foothills were cloudy and we were starting to get some rain. I’m grateful B drove as I was on dex and had a bit of a headache probably due to higher blood pressure.

My doctor appt went well. All is pretty good and stable. My kappa light chains went back down to normal so I was very jazzed about that. I’m totally grateful to see those normal numbers. We’ll see what my next labs bring. I had my infusion yesterday so I’ll get labs next week. He’s on vacation so I may not get them till the following week. My blood pressure was way up due to dex but if it follows the same pattern as last month, it’ll go back to normal tomorrow so I’m grateful for that.

I’m grateful to the infusion nurses who are so kind and competent. They put up with a lot and have to deal with so many situations. I’m pretty sure it’s a very stressful job.

I’m grateful my budget is done for April. Overall, it looks good. We have property taxes and Allstate but I’ll put them on a card and pay as much as I can in April but it’ll definitely go into May.

I’m grateful B went to Costco for me yesterday. We got most of what we needed but there were a few things he forgot. Actually, not his fault because I didn’t check if we needed dishwasher pods and we did. So I added some other things on and we’ll do that next week.

I’m grateful we get to go to New Brighton in a few weeks but I did get a notice from them alerting us to the ground being saturated due to rain. Since all the pads are paved, It should be fine for us. Tent camping probably not. We have the whole week booked so that will be nice. Sometimes we leave early( like last time when the family with the monster children came in on Friday) and we left on Saturday. Too noisy, too many bikes and whatever street games they were playing:(

B bought some nice asparagus at Costco and I will pan grill them tonight with a quiche, I think. I have some mushrooms, spinach, and green onions to use.

Friday Things

Posted in cancer, cash envelopes, frugalism, Myeloma, swimming by

I plan to go down and swim today. I’m going to go about 45 minutes before the pool closes and try to do 15 minutes or so. I was going to go to the gym but decided that working out in the pool swimming would give me a ‘whole’ body workout.

Out internet is down. The modem stopped working yesterday( I think ATT was working on the lines and screwed it up). So this is courtesy of my hot spot. What a PITA and they won’t be here till Monday:(

I’m trying to work through being depressed about my Kappa numbers. It’s difficult to handle and even though I know ‘this too will pass’, it’s a bummer. There’s not much I can do until the next cycle and labs because we don’t know what they will do. But I will ask Dr.L to go every 2 weeks and see what that does. Still very disappointing.

Frugal wise, not much new. I need some new clothes but am holding off till I have more in my cash envelope. Probably in March, I’ll get what I need which is a new Polar fleece, 1 pair of Levi’s ( that’s pretty much all I wear besides my workout leggings), a new pair of Hokas, and a couple of T-shirts.

I went down to the Holiday and spent 60 on food. Mostly this was odd stuff like Bubbies pickles, rice noodles, greek yogurt, and a sourdough loaf from Truckee Sourdough. There must have been a few more things but I can’t remember now.

B got gas at Costco so that saved some money. We’ve been doing this regularly and it’s at least .50 a gallon cheaper there than Auburn.

Most all the money bills are done except water which is later in the month. So no extra spending overall. I used a gift card to get a coffee at Starbucks but that’s about it.

Here are the 2 books I got at the FOL Roseville.

This added up to $5 and I used personal spending money. The Linda McCarthy book was interesting to look through.

Well, I’m off to get ready for the day plus figure out what we’re doing for dinner.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in Blood test, books, California, cancer, Myeloma, Walking by

As always the library. I picked up my holds( more Tony Hillerman) and a new book. The new book is by a friend/author of my daughters. They met on Whatpad which is the platform my daughter writes on and sells her books on. The book is ‘A Bean to Die For” by Tara Lush. This is book 4in the series.

That PT is helping my torn ACL and I feel like my knee is improving. Whether it will ever be what it was, I don’t know but for now, I’m grateful to do small walks.

Although I wish my kappa light chains stayed in the normal range, they at least didn’t do a huge jump. But still, I’m now out of range which means the once a month Velcade is not going to cut it. Disappointing for sure. So I have my next Velcade at the end of the month. I’ll get labs soon after and if it goes up again, I’ll message my doctor and suggest we try twice a month. I think he will want to wait till after this next infusion.

We’ve had some breaks in the rain and it lets things dry out. More rain is due later and tomorrow. We didn’t go to Napa because of the weather so maybe in March.

Friday things

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, frugalism, home stuff, Myeloma, Pantry, Uncategorized by

I met up with two friends from the old FOA library for coffee yesterday. One of the women just lost her husband to Myeloma so she’s adjusting her life. He was just recently diagnosed but wasn’t in good health and I think his body just couldn’t take it. Another friend just had her husband diagnosed with Myeloma too. How weird is that? He’ll be starting Revlimid, dex, and Darzalex fastpro. I think he should do fine but he’s also in his late 70’s so there’s that.

I finished the pressure canned beans and so now I have 3 garbanzos and 3 black beans ready to go. Beans are really easy it’s just the time involved while the pressure canner is going.

I’m not going to the gym today but I might go tomorrow. It just depends on how I feel. Today I’ll do the PT exercises and then just potter around. It feels like I have lots of areas in the house that need some attention. The kitchen pantry shelves need to be sorted and a place for the chip bags. It’s interesting how these little things just are minor irritations and I tend to just look past them until they really bug me and then I do something.

Today is National Pizza Day so either we’ll get a pizza or I’ll make one. It’s a cloudy day with some sunshine coming through. Next week we’re tentatively going to Napa. Hopefully, it’ll be at least sunny. I have 2 weeks till my next Velcade so we could go the following week if that looks better.

Frugal-wise, we haven’t done any lunch dates or coffee for that matter. ( except my coffee with friends). If we do pizza tonight that’ll be takeout. B did go to Costco and got coffee, eggs, etc. I think we’ve been able to keep our grocery bill down because of TJ’s, Costco, and Winco. I haven’t shopped at Safeway in like forever. I have shopped at Holiday simply because it is 2 minutes away and if I need something then the cost of gas has to be figured in too.

I paid for Turbo Tax too. I probably could have found a free platform I like how turbo tax asks the right questions and then it’s all done. It’s worth the $89 for federal taxes.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in California, cancer, Gratitude, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

Gratitude is essential to feeling content and satisfied with what you have. I see it as a way to reinforce that I have everything I need. Maybe not everything I want( that second bathroom, haha) but at least I have one bathroom that is efficient and well organized albeit small.

things I’m grateful for this week:

PT went well and I’m doing the exercises at home. I’m hopeful to try and get to the pool next week. That is if California hasn’t been swept into the ocean with all the rain we’re having.

My appt with Dr. L went well and so did infusion. DR. L said everything looks good and I don’t need to see him till March. So that’s good news. He was happy to see my new LV as he was aware of the smash and go with my old LV and right after that his wife’s car also had a smash and go and a very expensive purse was taken too.

Today is a dex day and although it’s tough to be on I’m grateful for the drugs that have helped me to combat cancer. It’s not fun but it’s also not the worst. I’m so grateful my Kapp light chains are in the normal range and VEcade and Dex were the reason for that.

Today is February 1st( feels good to start a new month) and tomorrow February 2nd is Imbolc or cross quarter on the Celtic cross. I can always feel the change in the earth even though the Spring equinox isn’t till March 21st. Also, we’re having huge rains so not yet the springy feeling.

I’m grateful that my daughter’s tests were all good since she does have autoimmune issues and Hasimoto’s. The allergist she saw was super helpful she said and he told her she didn’t need to do any of the allergy tests as her face swelling and hives were an autoimmune reaction. All in all good news and she just needs not to get overly stressed. She said she feels better off gluten/wheat so I think she’ll keep doing that for a while.

Thankful Thursday, a day late, and Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cash envelopes, cooking, frugalism, meal planning, Myeloma, simple foods by

I’m thankful I thought to call the ortho’s office since I hadn’t heard from them. It seemed like I wouldn’t get a call at least for a while:( So I have an appt to meet the doctor’s PA next week. I’d rather meet with the doctor but I guess it’s better than nothing.

I’m thankful I could go to the gym and even though I have the brace on I can do some upper body weights.

As always, grateful for the library where I got a bunch of old Tony Hillerman.

I’m grateful for LLS helping with insurance. I guess funding has been closed since I got my award and that’s over 6 months.

We’ve had a break from the rain and that’s always nice.

Frugal Friday Stuff:

We went to Trader Joe’s after the gym and I spent only $95 which included some wine. So that should get us through till the next budget starts.

We had another few meals from the freezer: mac and cheese, some breaded shrimp with veggies, grilled chicken/ tofu with rice. This coming week I’ll try and use at least 3 more freezer/pantry meals. I took out a frozen pizza dough to make pizza tonight. I have some extra red lentils that need using so I’ll probably do a curry with that.

Gas usage was low again as I’m not driving to the pool 2-3 times a week. I might start a cash envelope with gas money I think I’m saving for when I will be able to get back in the water. 

Today is a home day and I plan on doing more pantry consolidation. I have 3 bags ready to go to the food bank of stuff I probably won’t use so I’ll pass it on. I emptied one bin under the bed and the second one needs to be gone through. That one has foil, wrap, dried beans, and some oatmeal. I think some of the oatmeal ( Bob’s) is dated so I may need to use that in something or toss. I also have way too many boxes of pasta so I’ll throw a few of them in too.

Simplifying meals and food prep is a goal for this year. We basically eat the same thing week after week with just a few new recipes added in. But overall, that works best for us. I do love cooking so there’s that.

Friday Things

Posted in California, cancer, cooking, freezer cooking, Myeloma by

I’ve put away all the Hanukkha stuff and cleared the table. I still need to clean the menorah of some beeswax that dripped. I actually had enough candles for all 8 nights.

I didn’t walk this morning because I woke up at 2 am and never went back to sleep and that’s after taking an Ativan at 9pm. So I feel pretty wiped out.

Yesterday’s appt went well and we decided after this cycle I’ll go to once-a-month maintenance. Because I’m having such an immediate response he feels once a month should keep my numbers in the normal range. I felt he was looking more at taking a break from it but I feel I’m past that now and don’t want to have to start and stop again if I can help it. I don’t know how long Velcade will work but I think once a month is the best option right now.

After that, B and I went to the new Paris Bakery in Roseville and had yummy croissants and coffee. It’s very noisy in there and next time I think we’d take our stuff to go. It’s the acoustics I guess.

Frugal-wise, the only shopping was Costco for those vitamins for my daughter. She needs to supplement her vitamin D intake. She’s also had an auto-immune flare-up with a pretty bad rash so the doctor has her on prednisone and is testing if she is gluten intolerant. So far, 2 weeks now, she hasn’t had gluten but I haven’t seen that much change in her rash But the doctor said it did look like a gluten rash on one arm. So, better to know than not. Fortunately, this is her month’s break from the library so she has time to adjust.

Saturday, after swimming, I do plan to go to Winco for the lasagna stuff. I looked up a lasagna recipe using zucchini strips so I’ll do that too. Pretty easy overall to swap stuff out to replace wheat.

Today, I plan on prepping mushroom spinach crepes, and a spinach mushroom frittata. The crepes I plan on freezing and I’ll serve the frittata tonight. No pizza night tonight.

Thankful Thursday

Posted in cancer, cooking, Gratitude, Myeloma, Walking by

I was grateful to get to the gym on Monday and the library. I truly appreciate both facilities and that they are right next to each other. I picked up 3 cookbooks none of which had any recipes I was interested in.

I’m always thankful to be able to walk even if it is half of what I was doing since my knee mishap. 🙁 We’ve mostly had the park to ourselves and yesterday and today the 2 nice ladies that used to walk were there again.

I’m grateful my Velcad shot went easy and I’m on shot 1 cycle 3. Today I see Dr. L so it’ll be interesting to get his take on when we will go to maintenance. Barclay is driving as I never drive on Dex. Some people have wondered why. It’s because on Dex your sense of judgment( like car distances) etc is off. Plus you’re very hyped up on Dex for the first few days and jittery too.

I had to go into Costco to return an online order and get some vitamins for my daughter. I was in and out very quickly. I used the self-checkout for the first time, which was easy and quick.

Tomorrow is a home day and I’ll probably just do some tidying and read.

Friday things

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, budgets, California, cancer, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

Overall, it was a low-spend week. Yesterday, I went into Target( the first time in quite a while) as I was looking for extra lights. They had zip. All sold out. I did pick up a few ugly ornaments to add to the ugly ornament tree. I picked up a few kitchen items to give as a Christmas gift for my son’s friend. They like to cook so I thought a few kitchen items would be nice.

Then, before I met my friends for coffee, I went into Safeway as I needed a couple more russets for the latkes. Also, I wanted to get our garbage guy a bottle of wine to add to his gift bag. We don’t do many gifts but I feel he works all year in rain, snow, etc, and deserves a little appreciation. Other than that, Christmas is done.

Today, I’m making a big batch of pizza dough to freeze and then use one for dinner tonight. The recipe I have makes 4 balls of dough and it’s been working out well this way.

I’ll be continuing the low spend into next week too and just do the one Winco shop for the Christmas lasagna ingredients. I’ve stayed off Amazon and that’s saying something!!!

I certainly am feeling better each day but next week starts Cycle 3. The great news is though, my numbers just hit normal. 19.0 . High normal is 19.4. My ratio between kappa and lambda is still a little high but that will eventually drop. In spite of some aspects being harder than I thought it would be( or maybe I just forgot from last time), it’s worth it if Velcade/Dex is doing the work.

Today, we’re going to go out for a while and maybe get lunch out. We’ll see:)

Happy Hanukkah! Thankful Thursday and Pearl Harbor Day.

Posted in budgeting, California, cancer, cooking, Gratitude, home stuff, husband, minimalism, Myeloma, Political things, simplicity by

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and we shall light the menorah. I am making laktes and we will have homemade applesauce and sour cream too. I’m not sure what main dish I’ll serve. I grilled some chicken yesterday so I may do something with that. This year I’m not doing the small gift /money exchanges. I think I just need to move on from that at least this year.

In remembrance of Pearl Harbor too and the men and women who died in the attack and of course, entering World War II. It doesn’t seem we’re that much farther ahead at least globally with war, killing, bombings, etc. sigh:(

On the Thankful note,

It was a busy but nice week. Busy for me is more than one appt. I had my dental appt and since we’re paying OOP, I rescheduled films till next time. I’m grateful that my dental hygienist is competent and funny too! She’s been through a lot as her daughter died around 2 years ago at age 25 from some undiagnosed illness. What a thing to go through.

I’m thankful our house is warm and cozy. B does all the firewood and keeps it going. Next year, we will need to buy wood for now we have all we need.

The poang chair is the ‘cat chair’, hence the fuzzy orange blanket. Plus their cat beds in front of the wood stove. 🙂

I’m grateful my daughter decorated a second tree( live potted) with the ugly ornaments and it looks cute. I wasn’t going to bother so she did it. The

I am so grateful for this week off from chemo. I am feeling better every day and that probably means the chemo is kicking my ass more than I thought. I’m sleeping better overall.

I’m grateful that I chose a minimalist Christmas and it keeps it simple and doesn’t stress me out. I still need to go over to Winco and get the stuff for our traditional Christmas lasagna and plan a salad, garlic bread and maybe a small ham. I usually have one extra thing besides the lasagna. We’ll see. We’re not big dessert people so I’ll have to think about that or not.

I’m grateful our 23 yo VW bug is still going strong and just keeps on keeping on. That’s our around town car and it suits us. As long as nothing mechanical goes wrong, we’ll keep buggie!!! This was the car we bought our daughter at 18.