Debi

Pam, The PET actually scans from somewhere just below your knee I believe, up to just under your jawline. At least that's what they had told me. Now Pam, I'm willing to bet that your shoulder pain is well..lets see... ummmmm.... your rotor cup or whatever it is??!!! Either that, or maybe old age. You know that I know how you feel- but I think you can take a vacation from worry for a bit after the Pet scan. In any case, let the doctor know your shoulder is bothering you if you haven't already.. Good to see you anyway...

Had to take a minute to vent, and hope this doesn't sound petty. As always, add the disclaimer that in no way do I mean to minimize breast cancer or any other cancer... I was in a meeting today at work, and one of the companies we own has a product that they are offering for Mother's Day which is "blankety blank for the cure", a product specially designed for breast cancer awareness. For every box sold, 10% of the profit goes to research for breast cancer. I had to sit there and listen to employees (mine no less!)ooh and ahh about it and how they push it to all their customers because it is such a good cause. And how the company is so wonderful, blah blah ad nauseum for saving women's lives, etc. The spokesman visiting from this company said that they not only plan to continue offering it but expand the selection. It was really hard to listen to. I wanted to speak up and say.. ummm.. what about the leading cause of women's cancer deaths?? But of course this was not the forum for that discussion... Battles have to be fought on the right battlefield. Again, I do not mean to take importance away from other cancers. But it hurts that I always feel like a second class citizen in the cancer society. I know that every cancer is terrible, and scary, etc etc.. but why is our cancer never considered worthy enough a cause to corporate business... why is it never 'trendy' enough? Why is our pain never recognized? Just needed to vent, I know it's been said before, but it was really, really hard sitting through that part of the meeting today..

First I was going with bottled water or coffee but it has to be gasoline that stresses me out the most- when the needle gets low, I keep looking at the gauge every 2 seconds and just know that I'm going to run out before I can get more...God forbid if the "add more fuel" light comes on-

Cherry Vanilla, Mint Chocolate Chip and Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.

You're making me homesick Randy especially with #21! I miss those good times!!

Tina, My deepest sympathies to you and your family..

Wow, I actually made it in time!!!! Happy Birthday Cindi!!!

I haven't been there recently but I love Disneyworld, have been there 3 times and would love to live there if I could!! Before I went, I had gone to the bookstore and gotten the latest edition of "Birnbaums Guide to Disneyworld". It was the best money I spent because it outlines all the rides, parks, etc and you can figure out what is a 'must see' for you. I was so anal the last time that I mapped out my whole vacation on index cards, which park to go to on what day, what order to go to the rides for minimum wait times on line, where to eat on what day and what time (I had all the places reserved 6 months in advance). It was like vacation boot camp but it worked!! Anyway, I'm with you with the fear of flying! It really annoys me the things in life I have missed, because flying freaks me out. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and do it!!!

How hilarious is that!! So it's not just us??

I'm sorry to hear about Schmaydee. I always smiled when I read his posts, if the avitar didn't get me, his words did. I am sorry not only for your loss, but our loss as well. Thank you for letting us know.

I have no time recently to do anything but this post struck a nerve.. When I was about 8, I was sitting at the kitchen table one evening, it was dark out. My dad was at his night job, and my mom was in her bedroom. My dog was sitting on the floor next to me and all of a sudden, she started whining, whimpering almost, really soft. I looked ahead of me at the back door where she was looking, and the door knob was slowly turning, left, stop a second and then right, stop a second, and then repeat. The door was locked and it was as if someone was testing it, I remember just being frozen, and watching it turn, really really slowly for what seemed an eternity. That was the only time in my life that I remember being SO afraid that I couldn't move, I couldn't scream, I tried to find a voice but didn't have one.. the hair just stood up on the back of my neck and I sat there, terrified. There was a sense that there was something, someone evil on the other side of that door, the dog even sensed it, she never even barked, just sat there whining. When the twisting of the doorknob finally stopped, somehow I got out of my chair and ran back to my mother- I still remember the effort it took to get out of my frozen state. It still scares me to this day when I mention it, I get that hair raising feeling. It was the early 60s and alot of people didn't lock their doors back then. I can't and don't want to even imagine what might have been if we were one of those people.

In answer to the questions..no, I haven't gotten one yet, I'm still waiting for Frank Lamb to tell me where to put it . Seriously, November to May is the really busy time at work and on the infrequent 'down time', I'm just too tired to drive to Dallas and get one. My intentions are always there but in reality, there are always a million things to do when I finally have a day off. If I don't get one soon, I am definitely getting one for my 50th birthday in August. I still have no idea what I'll get, with all the awesome ideas on this post, I'm now more confused than ever! It's worth hearing all the tattoo stories though, they are all so neat!

Wow. I always wondered whether they wore underwear under those kilts. Mystery solved!

a friggin gorilla.... now I have to worry about poachers....

I got this in my email today and had to share..This is SOOOOOO me...and I'm sure there are others out there.. Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder. This is how it manifests itself: I decide to water my lawn. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage I notice that there are letters on the verandah table which I had brought up from the letter box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I place my car keys on the table, the junk mail in the recycle box under the table, and notice that the rubbish bin is full. So I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first. But then I think, since I am going to be near the letter box when I take out the rubbish anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my cheque book off the table and see that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. As I'm looking for my cheques, I put the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. Noticing that the Coke is getting warm, I decide to put it in the fridge to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the bench catches my eye - they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the bench and discover the reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I put the reading glasses back down on the bench, fill a container with water and then I spot the TV remote control. Someone had left it on the kitchen table. I realise that when we go to watch TV tonight, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table so I decide to put it back in the living room where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water on the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So I put the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day : the lawn isn't watered, the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the bench, the flowers don't have enough water, There is still only one cheque in my cheque book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, I don't remember what I did with the car keys and my neighbour calls to tell me he turned off the hose that was flooding the driveway. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long and I'm really tired. I realise this is a serious problem and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll go online! Don't laugh - if this isn't you yet, your day is coming! GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC

What I hope that I contribute is humour, and the ability to laugh even when it feels like there's no laughter left. I hope that I am proof that lung cancer is survivable (knock on wood everyone), and the recognition that especially if lung cancer is found early, you can make it through. I have gained alot of knowledge through this board and support when I have needed it. I have also felt alot of heartache here, and struggle constantly with whether to stay or leave. Staying here keeps my cancer consistently at the forefront of my mind and in a way keeps me from 'moving' on. But then I think of the others who weren't given a choice to move on or not, and I feel like I can't not come back. There needs to be people who carry on, it just sometimes feels like too much of a burden with everything else in life going on. And then I feel guilty, because I feel like I'm ungrateful and have forgotten the ones who have died. So I come here, and post when I'm able but more than not, I just come here. I think that's more a reply than you wanted, but I'm having a hard time here recently and this post got me going !

1/4 Irish here also. My mom always made us wear green to school in honor of her dad. AT 17 I started yearly taking the bus into Manhattan for the St. Patricks Day parade (and bar hop) with the local chapter of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians. People don't celebrate St.Patricks Day here like up north. First year I was here, I was at work talking about making Corned Beef and Cabbage for St.Patricks Day and people were looking at me strangely. Hardly anyone had heard of making that on St. Patricks Day and nobody ever heard of Irish Soda Bread. Strange how customs and traditions vary. When you grow up in one place, you just assume that it is like that everywhere.

Jeesh Ry --- 5,000 posts!!! Its' a good thing they don't add PMs to that count!! You know I am glad that you and John are here. You answered my first post AND were in my first chat. I have always so appreciated you. That said, are you taking pay-offs from Frank to keep the Fryer Specials from showing up on his doorstep? It's bad enough you've gone soft on the fines...

Shelly, You have had such a rough, rough time these past few years. I hope that what the medium told you brings you the peace that you so deserve and helps ease your sadness at least a little bit.

Muriel, I tried to help, really I did, my eyes are burning in my head but I haven't been able to find either. I've found every other joke posted at least 3 times but not that one! Sorry!!

Well, I'm not a single guy but I'm actually looking for an internet dating/mail order 25-35 year old Swedish man type of thing. Please let me know if you encounter any Swedes in your travels that are looking for Western women. English not necessary. This would be for a friend of course.

Well, my day is not glamourous at all. Days like today actually make work look enticing.. I only have today off this week so I have to power clean, power grocery shop for the week, wash my filthy car and dye my hair since I'm starting to look like I'm about 85. I always dye my hair my natural colour (black) but am doing sort of a plum today. When I finish all that, I rented the new Harry Potter DVD to watch with my son hopefully.

Becky, How appropriate!!! We ARE the champions, aren't we?

Lisa, I am sorry that you don't live closer to your mother, and that you have to think like this after you visit her. My wishes that the chemo is working hard, and that her scans will be encouraging when its time for the tests. Keep holding on to hope and thank you again for all the time you put into the tribute website.

Teri, I'm sure with each passing day, you will grow stronger. Thinking of you.