the amount of love, encouragement and support I have received over the last week has been overwhelming (in a good way). I can’t put into words the feeling I get from having some many people pulling for me and it makes me so appreciative of the community I have around me. It means a lot to my hubby, Tyler, and family to see all the love and support out there and all the offers we have received as we start this journey.

the night of and days following my first chemotherapy session I felt very queasy, run down and tired. I didn’t take any of my medications they provided for nausea just because I didn’t want to keep adding new things into my system that is already overloaded with meds. But I managed. And each day seems to be a little better. I like to measure by the “Jen Margarita” scale – if you know me and Jen, we like them strong! So the day after chemotherapy I felt like I was hungover from five Jen margaritas…but each day it has gone down by one. I also have had a hard time sleeping. Not because my mind is racing, thankfully, but I think because of the steroids. One of the side-effects is insomnia. I’ve tried Melatonin at night and it’s seemed to help a little.

a few days after my first infusion I started breaking out all over my face. It looks like I have a chicken pox outbreak on my forehead. Nice! I also have an itchy rash on my chest and up my neck. I read that having this reaction to the chemotherapy is a sign that it is working….

Beyond the good, the bad and the ugly, I have been continuing to live my life the best way I know how. Playing barbies with Lucy, doing hair and makeup with Maile, going on daily walks with Cali and taking a quick trip to Santa Cruz with Tyler, his parents and the girls. Besides traveling with a feisty four-year-old, it was a nice trip. Lucy loved the log ride and Maile was addicted to trying to win the carnival games. I made sure everyone was appropriately sprayed with hand sanitizer! I’ve also been able to keep my mind and outlook positive and have been dabbling into some meditations and breathing exercises during my walks – shout out to my meditation guru Tyler for sending me my daily meditation reminders.

Eating the first few days was a bit of a challenge, but I am starting my morning out with a nice glass of celery juice and getting in lots of protein and vegetables throughout the day. Still staying away from sugars and most carbs. And a big thank you to everyone that donated to Munchery to make sure our family stays fed. We enjoyed our first meal last night and it was good!