Count down to Puerto Rico!!

Today Enrique got us tickets to go to Puerto Rico as my Birthday Gift! I am so excited! I’ve never been before and have always wanted to go.  My best friend Gretchen is Puertorican and if the locals are anything as crazy as her, then I am in for some fun!! We leave May 29th and come back June 3 in the wee-hours of the morning. I was hoping my cousin Sandy and her hubby could join us, but they are going in the middle of June. So, we will be the guinea pigs and go explore the island first. Check out the beautiful hotel where we will be staying: http://www.granmeliapuertorico.com/. It won me over when I read it has a casino inside! I may never leave the hotel! HA

 

2 weeks until we go, so time to work on my beach body & shop for outfits!

In the meantime, I am in the process of getting ready for my Colonscopy which is scheduled at 10am tomorrow. I will be up most of the night in the bathroom if you know what I mean! Wish me luck!

Good night, dont let the bed bugs bite! xoxo

 

Mother’s Day Weekend

This past weekend was Mother’s Day, and I hope all the moms enjoyed their special day.

Friday night, Enrique & I planned an early Mother’s Day dinner for our moms. Unbelieveably, his mom and my mom have never met over the past 3 years. So, we figured it was about time they finally got together. Enrique’s grandma from Monterrey happened to be in town so she came, as well as my aunt Mimi whom I consider to be my Mom #2. The 6 of us enjoyed a nice Italian dinner getting to know eachother. It went really well and we look forward to many more family dinners together!

After dinner, we went our seperate ways but Enrique and I met back up later. Even though we were very tired, we still found enough energy to go meet some friends at Catbirds for a Farewell Party. My old co-worker Yinay’s girlfriend Shelley was going to France for a month and had a BIG announcement to make. We stopped by for a few drinks and to hear the news that she will be moving to France indefinitely in August. This was fabulous to hear because her boyfriend had already moved back home to France a few months ago. I am looking forward to a “Happyily Ever After” for them! I will definitely have to plan a trip to visit them one day!

Saturday, I went to Schlitterbahn in Galveston with my cousin, her husband Emir, and Enrique. We had been wanting to go for awhile, and we were all so excited to finally get the chance to get together. We arrived early in the afternoon and I made sure to put on plenty of sunscreen. I learned from my mistake when I went to Miami and got fried like a plaintain and ended up in the emergency room when I got back! We went tubing down the slides, in the wave pool, in the river around the park, but Enrique was the only brave soul that went down the Gigantic slides by himself. I almost lost my voice screaming and laughing so much. And Sandy says I put on a “Circus Show” jumping inside and outside of the tube. LOL! After all the fun in the sun, we were starving so we had dinner at a Pizza Parlor off the Galveston Seawall. Then we each got a scoop of ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s, and headed home extremely exhausted. It was a perfect day, except that I missed my teacher Cecilia’s 30th birthday party that night because we got home so late.

Saturday, I tried to sleep in but I ended up waking up at 9am to go shopping and take my dogs to the dog park. It was a beautiful day and we met my cousin and her dog Toby at the dog park too. Afterwards I went to my mom’s to celebrate Mother’s Day. My mom has really been through so much over the past 2 years with her health, and she definitely deserves a special day to be pampered and shown how much we love her. It was a perfect day for her since she had her kids, her grandkids, and her sisters with her to celebrate. We had a nice dinner on the patio. Following dinner, we helped clean up and then played a few hands of poker.

I LOVE MY MOMMY!

I LOVE MY NIECE & NEPHEW! (Caelyn is almost 5 months now! She’s sticking her tongue out! LOL)

And I love my man who is so sweet and surprised my mom with gifts at the end of the evening!

Since the weekend, I’ve been working both jobs and going to bed early because I’ve been having headaches. That’s why I haven’t written in awhile. I can’t take any medication because I will be having tests done this Thursday and Friday and it could cause bleeding. So, I’ve been going to bed and waking up with headaches. Luckily the tests are almost here, and should be over fairly quickly. I am working on getting anesthesia done with my bone marrow biopsy. I can’t believe they would think that I could go through all that pain without being sedated. The first time I had it done without anesthesia and it did not go so well. The second one I had anesthesia and it went a whole lot better but still was very painful. The third one I had, I had it done bilateral with sedation, and I could barely walk for 2 weeks without being in pain. So, I am very familiar with the procedure and I do not want another one without sedation. I pray the doctor will agree with me.

And I am still waiting to hear back from the insurance company regarding my Lapband surgery. Please continue to keep me in your prayers! Thanks so much.

Good night to all. xoxo

More Dr. Appts and Tests…

Today I had an appointment to go over paperwork and guidelines for my LapBand procedure. I cannot believe its been exactly a year since I first went to the Weightloss Seminar for the other procedure.  I’ve waited so patiently, but now I am starting to get really anxious!! They have not heard back from my insurance company yet. They said the insurance has up to a month to approve/disapprove it. The insurance coordinator from my doctor’s office said that my insurance company wants to speak directly to my Oncologist about the procedure first. He’s a hard man to get a hold of, so I am sure that’s what’s taking awhile. We are still aiming for the first week of June for my surgery. If it does happen, I will probably be out about 2 weeks from work recovering. The procedure only lasts 30 minutes but the doctor recommends that I be kept overnight to be monitored. As well as monthly follow-up visits for the first 6-9 months and to get a “fill” which is when they insert saline to tighten the band and help me to lose more weight. It’s going to take a lot of work on my part, but I have faith! The name of the type of band I am getting is called “Realize”. Here’s the link for it if you’re intrested: http://www.realizeband.com/dtcf/pages/home.htm

Next week is going to be another hard week for me. I will have to undergo ALL my procedures again from MD Anderson. This will be my 3rd month follow-up since my last dose of Chemo/Radiation.

Here’s my schedule:
Thursday, May 15th - 6th or 7th (I lost count) EGD Procedure & 2nd Colonoscopy

Friday, May 16th - Bloodwork, Xray, CT Scan, CAT Scan, and the worst one of them all…drum roll…another BILATERAL BONE MARROW BIOPSY. Let’s just say, I am NOT looking forward to it, I could barely walk for 2 weeks after the last procedure. Also, the CT Scan is bad too because you have to drink 3 huge Sonic Sized cups of Barium Liquid…and right before the procedure they insert it through the other way too if you know what I mean!! But my favorite Boss JP gave me some words of inspiration, he told me “Atleast you are ALIVE to do it.” So, so true. But it doesn’t make it any easier!

Tuesday, May 20th - I will meet with my doctor at MD Anderson to go over all the test results.

Then I will be FREE from tests and doctors appts at MD Anderson for atleast 3 months!! Whoo Hoo!!!

My sleep study test results came back yesterday. I do NOT have Sleep Apnea! YEAH! So, I do not have to do Part 2 of the sleep study. That’s great news but I still do not know where my headaches are coming from! Probably just from stress from everything going on in the past few months and now.

My mom is going back to her doctor today. She’s been in A LOT of pain from her hand and knee. The pain pills are not even working for her. I feel so bad for all she’s been through. I will be visiting her tonight and helping her around the house. She’s a clean freak, and I know it’s driving her crazy that she cannot do anything right now. So, I need to help calm her nerves and help keep her house clean.

Also, this is my birthday month! Normally I would be celebrating already, but there’s so many other things going on right now. So, just mark your calendar for May 25th. I am not sure what I am going to do, either a cruise with Enrique to Mexico or a party or brunch with friends or ALL if I can work it out!

Take care! xoxo

 

Fiesta Time!

Today was such a gloomy day outside. One of those rainy days that you just want to stay curled up in bed. I somehow pushed myself out of bed to start my day. It’s Cinco de Mayo but I didn’t even get to enjoy it. I had to work both jobs. But I’m not complaining. It could be worse. There were two guys that were window washing on the 21st floor when it started pour down rain. I felt so bad for them. I tried to make a joke that atleast they would have the day off to go have some “tragitos” and celebrate Cinco de Mayo. They agreed!

I had another super busy weekend. I remember it was just 2 months ago that I felt that I didn’t have a social life. Now I can barely keep up with my schedule. I am just very thankful that I am able to do things again.

Friday was so much fun. I met up with Deanna, Vanessa C, and Mathieu to go to the Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., and Lupe Fiasco concert. We packed up Deanna’s Big Bouty TaHOE and jammed out to their music all the way to the Woodlands. We got there early so we could go eat at PF Changs. We had yummy Martinis and appetizers. When we finally stumbled out of the restaurant, we ended up getting to the concert alittle bit late. We missed the first two acts, but atleast made it for the best parts! We met up with Deanna’s sister, cousins, neice, and nephew. We had so much fun, up until some loser behind us was drunk and abnoxious. He was yelling at his girlfriend in front of everyone, and the girl kept crying. It was really horrible, so we left it up to Dee-Ski to regulate and she got two police officers to handle the situation. Then we partied on. lol.

Saturday was Charlie’s May Flowers Fiesta for his 10th B-day. If you don’t know who Charlitos is, well he’s my aunt Mimi’s dog…but more like a son. He’s 70 years old now, so he was a bit grumpy. He only ended up biting about 5 guests, so I’d say he behaved himself! LOL. We all celebrated for him & had a blast!

Sunday was a little bit more calmer. Enrique and I went to Lakewood Church together. We met his cousin Pedro and his wife Nena after church. I also met my friend Micaela there, whom I had not seen in 4 months and she’s 7 months pregnant now. She looks so adorable pregnant! I ended up going to lunch with Micaela to my favorite Mexican restaurant Lupe Tortilla. Their beef fajitas are the bomb!! I love lemon and they taste like they’ve been marinated in limon for a week! After lunch, I went back to my apt to relax for alittle bit before I headed to my mom’s to help around the house. My mom is still wheelchair bound, and unable to do anything without help. I am very thankful that my brother Boo and my sister in law Venessa are there to assist her. We are all working as a team to make sure she gets the best care possible. Today she had two more doctors’ visits. Please continue to keep her in your prayers for healing and a speedy recovery. Thanks!

Good night and God Bless!

xoxo

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

What up everyone! Its been one of those weeks!! I don’t even know where to begin…let me me start by going in order.

Thursday, April 24th I went to my sleep study. Boy was I in for a real treat. I had my hair freshly washed, blow dried, and flat ironed so I would be ready for my trip the following morning. They failed to mention to me that I would have thick gooey glue put in my hair to hold all the wires. I had a total of 18 wires all over my body from head to toe. It was impossible for me to sleep comfortably that way. I think I managed to get about 3 hours of sleep. I also wanted to scream when the sleep tech came in my room in the middle of the night to turn something off, and it was pitch black. I am sure the monitor showed my heart rate jump up! Then I couldn’t get the thought of the “Sleep Study Ghost” out of my head. So, it was an eventful evening. I woke up at 5am exhausted and went straight to my mom’s to get a few hours of sleep in before my trip.

Friday, April 25th - My friend Michelle Robles’ brother Steve died. He found out he had Leukemia about a year ago and had to undergo a transplant. He died from complications following the transplant. He was only 39 years old, and leaves behind a wife and 3 kids. He was a good man, and will be missed by many.

 

 

 

 

Our trip to New Orleans was fabulous. We were so lucky to have a beautiful place to stay right off Bourbon Street! We had so much fun regardless if it poured down rain on us or not, we made the best of our trip. We hit up Bourbon Street every night, ate at cute little restaurants/cafes, went shopping, drinking, and we just enjoyed having GIRL TIME and living it up over there! I am so glad everything worked out perfectly!

Sunday, April 27th - We headed back from New Orleans. While we were on the way home, I got very bad news about my mom. She was on her way to the iFest downtown, and fell inside a parking garage face first onto the cement. She was rushed to the emergency room and ended up with a busted lip, loose tooth, fractured wrist, and hematoma on her knee. They sent her home from the emergency room the same day, and asked her to follow-up with a specialist. She has been through so much over the past year, recovering from a car accident which she broke her ankle and injured her knee. So to see her in pain again, and going through almost the same situation has been very difficult for all of us. This time its her right arm and right knee, so its even harder for her. But she’s a strong woman, and has all of us to help her each step of the way.

Today, April 30th, she had surgery done on her hand and knee. They had to put 2 pins in her hand to help her fingers get put back in place. They also opened up her knee to drain all the blood and prevent her from further swelling and to prevent infection. She did really well during surgery. The only problem she faced was getting her breathing up to the right level, so we ended up staying at the hospital a lot longer than we expected. They even had a woman come play a harp to relax her. She was awesome and my mom sure did relax…she fell asleep & started snoring! LOL. After she got her breathing back to normal, we went out to eat and then we all went home and passed out from exhaustion. Please keep my mom in your prayers for a speedy recovery. She’s a diabetic, which may cause the healing process to take a bit longer than normal.

Tomorrow is my first day back to work in a week, so I need to get to bed early. Good night, & God Bless!

xoxo

 

New Orleans or BUST!!

Today my boss JP treated us to Fogo de Chao. It was for a belated Administrative Assistant’s Day. We stuffed ourselves until we couldn’t breath. The Caipirinhas were so strong, I barely finished one! It reminded me of Rio de Janeiro!! I miss that place, definitely will have to go back.

Tomorrow we head out to New Orleans and I am barely starting to pack. It wouldn’t be a big deal,  but I have a Sleep Study at 9pm tonight and don’t get out until 5am tomorrow morning. Oh well, I work best under pressure. Although I am a little nervous about the test! But like Rosie told me today “If you’ve been through cancer then you can get through anything!!” I just don’t like sleeping in strange places by myself (and all wired up), PLUS they turn out the lights…and I am used to sleeping with a night light!! Ha, yes I am 30 years old and don’t like sleeping in the dark. Plus, check out this link for a sleep study ghost!!???http://z.about.com/d/paranormal/1/0/y/P/1/sleep-study-ghost.gif

This doesn’t look very comfortable…

Well, its only one night and then I will be on my way to celebrate!! Here’s the Roll Call for the trip: ME, Dee, Victoria, Vanessa (not my sis-in-law), Yvonne, and Sherry. Two are flying, and the rest of us are taking the scenic route and driving. It should be fun, I love road trips!! We’re going to be staying in the French Quarters, so I am sure we’ll hit up some bars and go to the big Jazz Fest that’s going on over there. http://www.nojazzfest.com/

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I will check in with you after I recover from the weekend festivities…

xoxo

Mi Amor

Today I received a BIG surprise! My babe, Enrique, had a dozen red roses delivered to me at work. They are so beautiful. The first thing everyone said to me was “What did he do?” HA! Actually, the roses were sent “just because”. He is a very thoughtful person, and he knows I require A LOT of attention!!!

 

Today has been a more positive, productive day. I spoke with my insurance company, and with the benefits specialist at my doctor’s office about my Lapband being approved. So far, things are going in the right direction for me.

xoxo, Chrissy

 

The ball is rolling…

The past week has been extremely busy for me. I’ve been so caught up with both jobs, and trying to get prepared for Gigi’s 4th birthday party. I also have had a few doctor’s appts in between. Let me catch you up…

Thursday I went to go see a new doctor for the Lapband surgery. He specializes in High Risk Surgeries which mine would be considered, since I had stomach cancer. He has over 20 years experience doing these type of surgeries, so I really think I found the perfect doctor for me. While I was there, I spoke with someone that handles the insurance approvals. I was worried that my surgery would not be covered with my new insurance company, but they verified that the benefit is there and they would have to get the ball rolling to try and get it approved. They said this process can take up to a month to do, which is fine with me. I’ve waited almost a year for this surgery, plus my cancer doctor told me that I would have to wait atleast 3 months from my last chemo/radiation treatment (Feb. 26th). I am trying to not get too excited just yet, but my tentative date for the Lapband surgery is set for the first week of June. I will celebrate after I have the insurance approval in writing. I want this more than anything, so please say a little prayer for me that I get it approved.

Friday I spent shopping with my friend Prisma. We were buying stuff for my little dog Gigi’s birthday party. Then we decided to just chill and rented the movie Juno. It’s a pretty funny movie. Check it out at Redbox.

Saturday was a GORGEOUS day, OMG! I did more shopping for Gigi’s party, got my car detailed, and had lunch and a yummy Strawberry Margarita at Sam’s Boat with Enrique. It was an absolutely perfect day.

Sunday was dedicated to throwing my baby girl Gigi the best birthday party ever. I was so happy that so many people came to celebrate the Divalicious Event. I had about 20 adults, 13 kids, & 10 dogs to entertain. The dogs had fun just running around sniffing eachother, the kids had fun playing at the mini Daycare Center Playground my mom has set up in the backyard, and the rest of us enjoyed just watching all of it. We had a cake, pinata, treat bags for the kids and dogs, and Pappa John’s pizza. It was just as stressful as a young kid’s birthday party since we had kids, dogs, AND kids all in the mix!! But it was well worth it, we all passed out from exhaustion by the end of the night!

 Here’s the poster Venessa made:

Gigi’s Pinata

The Material Girls

Gigi & her lover JoJo taking a water break

Party Poopers

Today I went for my 2 month (since Chemo/Radiation) follow up visit at MD Anderson. It took about an hour and a half to see the doctor, but it didn’t bother me since I got what I wanted…my release letter to have my Lapband surgery in another month. I have to have more tests done at MD Anderson in May, then I will have the green light for surgery. YEAH! I am looking forward to finishing my first 3 months Post-Chemo follow-up visits because after this…I will have alittle break then I will go back for the 6th month, 9th month, 1 year, then twice a year for 4 years. Then I AM DONE with the Clinical Trial. I cannot wait to put this behind me.

This week I have a few things going on….Enrique joined my brother’s soccer team! So, their first practice game is Wednesday. I went last Wednesday after work to see a little bit of the game. My bro is the goalie.

Then I am going to attend a sleep study on Thursday. The doctors believe I may have Sleep Apnea which could be the root of my daily headaches. Friday, I head out to my Girls Gone Wild in New Orleans Trip!!! I am really looking forward to hanging out with the girls and having some fun. I will be going with my friend Deanna, Victoria, Vanessa, & Yvonne. We will be staying in the French Quarters and there’s a Jazz Fest going on while we are there, so TIME TO CELEBRATE!! I will be sure to take lots of pics & update u.

Take care! xoxo, Chrissy

Dîner Fabuleux

Last night after work, I had a fabulous post-cancer dinner with my French teacher Cecilia.  She invited me to an  exquisite French restaurant called Brasserie Max & Julie. The restaurant is very cute & cozy which makes you feel as if you were dining in a cafe in Paris. Of course, I had to make a grand entrance and almost fell down! Luckily I caught myself before hitting the floor and regained my dignity. The food was so delicious! I had the warm French Onion Soup and juicy Rib Eye Steak. I couldn’t believe how big the steak was! I thought most French restaurants serve in small portions…but then again, this is a French restaurant in TEXAS! And we all know everything is BIGGER in TEXAS! I could not finish the steak, although I tried a few times.  And I can’t give my opinion of the desserts because I left no room in my belly to try them.  But if the desserts are as good as the food, then you are in for a treat! Overall, I really enjoyed the food, the company, and the ambiance. And I highly recommend that you go try it out! Here’s their website: www.maxandjulie.net

 

 

1,143

Wow! I am really impressed. As of today, I’ve had  1,143 hits on my blog! It really gives me great pleasure to know that someone is taking the time to read about my life & what I have to say…or maybe they’re just bored at work!

The past two days I have been waking up with really bad headaches. I am not sure what is the cause of it. Could be the weather change, not sleeping right, stress (it’s registration time at my night job!), or still could be some after effects of the chemo/radiation. I will talk to my doctor about it next week.

Anyhoo, I am super excited that on May 17th my favorite Spanish Pop singer BELANOVA is coming to Houston. Tickets go on sale at 5pm today through Ticketmaster. I am going to try my hardest to get Prisma and me some good seats. Its at the Arena Theatre which isnt the best for concerts, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to see her. She puts on a fabulous performance!

I am also in the process of planning my baby girl Gigi’s Bday party! I cannot believe that it was just 4 years ago that I got her as a gift from Grechten. I don’t know what I’d do without her! Her party is going to be “Material Girl” themed and she’s ready to flaunt her new party dress and sing “Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think theyre o.k., If they dont give me proper credit
I just walk away…” LOL!

xoxo, Chris