Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

Where have I been? Well, to be honest, I've been in a turmoil, that's where I've been. On the one hand, I've been very grateful and inspired by the words and actions of fellow Americans, while at the same time I have been so confused, disappointed and frankly mad at the words and actions of fellow Americans. It's taken me a little time to get back my writing groove, but I am going to give it a try! Where do I start? I still have to do an update of my list of 50, which I will do in my next post most likely, but for now I wanted to give an  update on a bucket list item. Seems simple, but one of my bucket list items was having a vacation with my brother's family and mine. Just us. While the circumstances were sad (our father died), it did give us an opportunity to take that vacation together after all the commitments and ceremonies.  It gave us time to be together as a family and for the cousins to spend time together and share experiences. I also taught m...

My last update was in May , and I thought it would be good to give another update now that it is September, on how I've been doing on my list of 50 . It has been a very rough summer so my plans have been completely derailed (See my Father's Day post.)  Instead of recapping the entire list, I'll just highlight the ones I've done these past few months - Items 6-10. The various celebrations, and these were huge, so I thought I'd share some pictures. I wanted to celebrate my 5-year cancerversary. 5 years is a big number in cancer survivorship years and I am very grateful for these past 5 years that I've had with my family and friends. We had a celebration/thank you dinner for friends I've made through my husband's work. They supported us, but especially him during the rough first year of diagnosis and treatment...and waiting. These are just a few of the food pictures from Buenos Aires Cafe Este @BuenosAiresCafe I was too busy eating and ta...

Although there has been a bit of turmoil in my life the last few months, I wanted to give a quick update on my list of 50 things. My list of 50 has been derailed somewhat, and I expect to take the next few weeks to settle back down to my routine. Even so, I still do have an update. #27 on my list of 50 is "Open Kimono". What that really means is that while (I think), I am honest in my relationships, for sure there are some things I have chosen not to share. Now I've decided, well, maybe I should let my friends and family see and know a bit more about me. Hopefully you have already seen that in the posts that I've done, and in my social media presence as @AustinTrini . While I have resisted liking Facebook pages, because my FB page is me, I am loosening up on that too. Some of my blog posts include serious topics like issues of Race , my health like Chemo brain , and my latest trials   as well as what some may consider frivolous, like Strike Back and cussing...

It is now May and I wanted to give a short update on how I've been doing on my list of 50 things this year. I've been working on a few things, and I've completed a few. I am including the list of 50 in the original post: My list of 50 things to do this year (Partial) Completed In progress Not Started, Recent changes in red Visit Enchanted Rock. Climb Mt. Bonnell steps. Sunset while dining at Oasis. I hear the view is great. Watch Sound of Music with the family. High Tea. Celebrate with friends I've made through work. Celebrate with sister survivors. Celebrate with my mommy and neighbourhood friends. Celebrate with my Zanshin (karate) family. Celebrate with friends I've made through my husband's work. Get some fitness photos-  an exercise photo shoot! Go to a music festival/event for SXSW  or ACL or something (with or without kids). I live in Austin after all! My husband and I went to ReggaeFest 2016! Up my social profile. (I now have a twit...

This year marks 5 years since I was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer AND I have the opportunity to stay home with my kids for a bit. I am grateful to be alive and I have enjoyed making memories with my family and friends these past few years. I've decided that maybe I should get around to doing some of the things that I've been thinking about doing, and if you know me, you know it starts with a list. This year is about: Being purposeful Experimenting. Why 50? Well 100 seemed to be setting myself up for failure (I mean, there must be a reason I haven't gotten around to the list before, and now I want to put 100 of them together? In one year?), and 40 seemed to be a little wimpy. Hence, my list of 50. These are not really bucket list items. My bucket list items are bigger and longer term, but some on my 50-list represent a step towards a bucket list item. For example, writing a draft of a story this year is on my list of 50, and the bucket list item is...

At this time of Thanksgiving I am grateful for my family and the memories we have created together. It also is a good time for me to revisit my bucket list since many items involve my family. In 2011, my therapist (yes, I needed someone to help me get my head in order), recommended I do an activity called " 32 squares ". Take a blank letter-size sheet of paper Fold it in half and keep folding it  in half about 5 times Open it out, you should get 32 (not quite squares) Sit down and write every thing you would like to do/experience, every dream or goal you have They usually work out to be a mix of immediate, medium and long term, maybe even some things you may not ever get to. Welcome to your bucket list. The trick to this exercise, she said, was that the first 10-15 things were usually easy to write, but then by the time you get to 25-32 you really have to start thinking deeply about things you may have given up on doing many years ago. In writing your dreams down,...

I had read  a blog post by someone on one of the cancer blogs I follow who described the, "Now what?" much more eloquently than I could. I've been trying to find it, but can't, unfortunately. In it she described the time when the initial fuss is over  - the shock of the diagnosis, there is no chemo, no radiation, no surgery to speak of. But at the same time, as a survivor, it is still very much in the forefront of your mind, and you are still living with the effects of cancer and the treatment. While not whining or complaining, she accurately described how I feel, which is, even though I may not be in active treatment, I am still living with cancer. And how has that changed me? I find myself behaving a bit differently than I used to - I wear more makeup now, and nice clothes. I don't dress down as often as I used to - for some reason it is important I look good. Must be my way of saying, " You take that cancer!" I don't know if my brain chemistr...

But first a quick update. I have now completed 22 cycles of radiation (week 29) and I am thankfully on a break for Christmas. I have some issues I need to work through but nothing horrible. In the meantime, my hair is growing back, unfortunately it is also growing in places that I would prefer it NOT grow. (And I'd thank you for not mentioning my newly acquired fuzzy sideburns - yaay chemo!) I am also trying to improve my diet, not that I had very bad habits before, but I am increasing the amount of vegetables in my diet and have to deal with the attendant side effects that come with consuming copious quantities of highly gassy foods. But enough of that, on to joy. I was recently watching a movie, The Bucket List , and I thought I'd share the two questions that the characters (facing death) reflect on in the movie: Do you have joy in your life? Or, alternatively, look for the joy in your life. Did you bring joy to others? So over this holiday season those might be som...

When I started writing this post, I had no clue what age was referred to in the phrase "women of a certain age". My thinking was that if I began viewing myself as a woman of a certain age, then in all likelihood, that was what I was.  It amused me to put as the heading of my post the French phrase, although what I mean is the English version. (If you're confused but interested, read this: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/a-woman-of-a-certain-age ) So what has brought me to this sad but inevitable slide of time? My weight.  (Big shocker I'm sure.) There was a time when I ate pretty much what I wanted and stayed within a certain weight range.  That time is no more. It pains me to admit that in the last 4 years or so, my metabolism has slowed so the same food is causing somewhat unattractive results on my petite frame. Throughout my adult life I have resisted any semblance of dieting, trying to eat well, have junk in moderation and get exercise as best I can. Now, as of ...

And I'm not talking about the kinds of dreams where they wake up screaming at 2 in the morning and end up sleeping in your bed. All I know is that I hear reports of kids who are making bracelets to fund some project in their community or organizing care packages for the troops in Iraq or doing something to help reduce global warming.....Holy cow!! How did they get that way? When I was a child I was all "la..la..la.." in my brain, not much going on there. Why do some kids dream so big and others..well, not so big? I wish I knew what I could do to make my sons imagine the wild and wonderful things they could do in this world. The best Lucas might come up with would be being dropped in the middle of a "live" video game, I imagine. When I think of dreams I've had growing up, it's all about me. In no particular order, 1. Learn karate (or some other form of martial arts) 2. Speak a second language fluently (but by that I really mean a 2nd, 3rd and...