President Barack Obama...

All I can say is that I'm thrilled to bits.
I'm so proud of our country.
I'm looking forward to a country that might be making baby-steps towards a future that encompasses acceptance, health care reform, education reform, and a new acceptance by the rest of the world. I hope that we regain respect from the rest of the world. We ARE the greatest country in the world ... in my eyes. I hope we prove that.
We shall see ...
xoxo
Anna

Weekend...again ...

Well, the weekend was loverly. I had a wonderful time at my girlfriend Elizabeth's birthday party. She made a grand speech that had me blubbering like a baby the ENTIRE time. Normally, I'm pretty calm during those speeches. But, I was THAT person in the room that looked like I had just watched some horrible Lifetime Channel movie. Several of the Cancer-Club ladies were there, as well. We ALWAYS end up having a hysterical time. The pic is of the ladies that night.
On my way home, I noticed a woman in her car with her hazard lights on. She was by herself. So, I pulled up behind her to see if I could help. Her car stalled and wouldn't start. Nice BMW, nice lady. BUT ... she was freaked out. New to town. Apparently knew that she was in the "not so nice" area of Seattle. When a man drove by and asked if he could help, "Sure, it'd be great if you and I could push her car into this lot." As soon as he got outta the car she started acting weird and said, "no, no, no ... let's wait for AAA. I don't want anyone to get hit by oncoming traffic." He walked back to his car. I apologized and thanked him for his time. As soon as he left, she said, "couldn't you smell the alcohol on him. He was DRUNK!" I told her NO. He, honestly, wasn't drunk. HE WAS BLACK. It was so damned obvious why she was reacting the way she was. I wanted to say, "um, I've had a couple glasses of wine at my function. Why didn't you complain about me?!"
In any case, I stayed with her until the cops came. That's right, she got AAA to call the cops. So, they show up and I pull out the camera. Had to take pics that. At that point, I found it funny that I'm sitting on the side of the road with 2 men in "Gang Unit" attire. I'm sure, once she saw that, she was putting her new condo on the market and heading back to Oregon.
AAA came, I went home.
The other pics are of Silas going to the store. He decided, last night - when our pal Lisa was here, that he needed to go to 7-11. He got his back pack on and we acted like we would stay here and let him go. It was hysterical. He actually, as we hid in the bushes, said "burrrrr ... it's cold. I need my hoody." He came back inside and got a jacket. At that point we asked him if it was okay if we went with him. Thank God he said yes!
xoxo
Anna

Long night ...

Well, we had a great Halloween. Many folks didn't figure out what I was. I can tell you that the pics above, were after I had taken off the real Ghandi garb and glasses. I was rockin' out with my grannie-panties and wife beater-ish top. But, earlier in the evening the costume seemed to be a hit with the more cerebral crowd. Maybe I'm just getting old, but since when does a BABY have glasses and a mustache. Seriously.
Silas scored on the candy. He will now be the most hyper child this side of the Mississippi. We spent the evening at the Davis'. We all boogied until about 4:00am. We also drank too much wine and vodka. Of course, I woke up to Silas saying "Mama, I gotta go poo poo" this morning. So, I was up with the kids hanging out and trying my best to get all the bottles ready for the recycling. You've no idea how many there were. And, Sandi, as per her usual, made delectable treats that wowed us with their scary Halloween themes. So, I was picking up half-eaten spider webs and pulling corpses out of various dips.
It was a great night. Tonight, I go to my dear girlfriend Elizabeth's 40the b-day party. E is a breast cancer survivor and a wonderful woman. Sharp as a tack and pretty to boot. I'll try to remember to take pics. The party is gonna be in a funky art gallery in SODO. Many of our cancer-club girls will be there. I'm sure we'll end up getting into some sort of trouble ... as usual!
xoxo
Anna

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Well, dear readers, it's been a long day at the Warren-Schumacher household. We woke up early, as I was scheduled to go in to Swedish and get my Herceptin infusion. But, as we all know, Anna's world works differently than your average gal's. Got showered and was drying off when suddenly the top of my nose, that harbored a tiny blood blister thingy (for years) started gushing blood. I'm talking, I could have been a "stand in" for Sissy Spacek in Carrie. It wasn't stopping. So, Kevin is freaking out and I was laughing ... a bit. It was like a faucet. So, we try to get Silas out of the bathroom so he doesn't see Mama "dying."
I sent the boys off ... I was supposed to get Silas to daycare, but it wasn't gonna work out that way. Kevin told me I HAD to go the ER. So, I off I went, in my pajamas and my cozy little slippers that my brother Josh bought for me when I was pregnant. Half way there, the bleeding slowed. So, I turned around and came back to the house to get clothes ... thinking I would rush over to Dr. Fer and the infusion center to make it in time for my Herceptin. NO GO. As I was leaving the house, the faucet began to leak again ... I mean, it poured!!!
Off to the ER I went again.
Once there, I ended up with the funniest group of male nurses, save one dear lady. My Doctor was so dry, that, at first, I thought he was an ass-hole. But, he ended up being cool. He asked me if I wanted my nose numbed while he tried to get the bleeding to stop. I told him that I had demanded that I get no anesthesia whilst getting my mastectomies, as I have a REALLY high tolerance for pain. Finally, a smile!
In any case, They finally, after a frickin' hour, got the damned thing to stop bleeding. They had pulled out the cauterization cart just in case. I told them I wanted it to be cauterized. But, the doctor said that it would take a long time to heal afterwards and the scaring might be bad. So, the male nurse, basically, laid on my nose for 20 minutes with all this shit that they had put on there. The first round of treatments didn't work. So, they moved onto another powder thing that I think they use for athletes. It worked.
I'm now getting a bit of a black eye ... I'm assuming it's from the pressure of the nurse who use to be a Marine. Enough said.
Who in the hell was I in a past life that has led me to such dramatic stuffs? Thank God I have a good sense of humor.
I'm planning on going as Ghandi for Halloween (the bald head lent itself to this). I'm gonna really have to work in the black eye and the "nasal stigmata" as I've termed this latest snafu.
xoxo
anna

More Yakima pics...

So, here are the photos from Grammie. The pics are of Silas and Grammie, Silas and Uncle Levi, and Uncle Levi and his adorable girlfriend before Homecoming. Regan was a homecoming princess, thus the crown. She's a hoot. Fits in with the family like gang-busters.
Again, we had a wonderful time. Next time we go to Yakima, we'll probably be able to share pictures of snow. It's great there in the winter. Getting over the pass is the problem.
I had a really busy day today. THAT IS GOOD. The salon has been quiet this month, as folks are gearing up for the holidays. They wait to get their hair done before the religious holidays. There are too many to mention ... and spell.
I'm starting my countdown to my last big reconstructive surgery. I am "booked" for December 22nd. That's right. The week of Christmas, I will get these big-ass expanders out of my poor chest and will, FINALLY, get my implants. I miss having squishy boobs and laying on my stomach to sleep at night. Once I heal (a week), we fly to South Carolina. We'll fly out on New Years Eve. I'm soooooo looking forward to being home and spending time with everyone. It'll be wonderful to get home.
Off like a prom dress. We're eating jambalaya tonight.
xoxo
Anna

Back to the Emu ... and his/her name:

So ... back to the random emu on my farm.
After looking at this regal little being, I'm gonna operate under the assumption that the emu is a male. He's all tufted and fluffy and gorgeous. Male animals are like male (human) drag queens. They show-boat and are much more beautiful than the female members of their species. We know that male animals end up looking more colorful and brilliant because they need to attract mates.
So, as I think this little enigma is a male, AND because I think that he thinks that he still belongs amongst the cows even though they see him as a drag queen, I'm gonna name him "Sparkles Emo McQueen."
He's gonna peck my eyeballs out when I go home in January and call him that.
xoxo
Anna

Weekend in Yakima ...

Well, we're back home from a wonderful trip to Yakima. The pics here are from my camera. Debbi's (my mother-in-law) wouldn't download. So, I'll work on them and post 'em later.
We spent Friday night with Kevin's dad and step-Mama. Got to visit with his step brother and his wife. They've got a gorgeous son - Mason. They also have an adorable new baby girl named Madeleine. To say she's adorable is an understatement. I wanted to kiss her sweet little face off. Needless to say, I had her in my arms at any chance I could get. Knowing that I'll not be able to have anymore babies, biologically, makes it so much more precious to hold the babies of my family and friends. They are just so precious. In any case, we had such a wonderful night with the Schumachers. Lots of laughter and love and great conversation.
Saturday was spent at Kevin's mama and step-dad's house. Silas loves it there. He got to play on Uncle Levi's drum-set and with all the great toys they have there for him. We got to meet Uncle Levi's girlfriend Regan. It was homecoming night. So, we got to see them off in their pretty attire. Regan was a homecoming princess. Such a cutie. We also got to spend time with Granddad (Gailon's father). He's the most spry and funny guy. Kevin's step sister just got married. Danielle and Chris are the funniest newlyweds I've ever met. What fun we had with them.
It was such a great weekend. I'll post more pics as soon as I can figure out how to download them properly.
xoxo
Anna