Dancing Through October

We were on the dance floor last evening doing the Hustle to the count of four.  It proved to be a little more challenging than we thought.   It is really an easy step but,  if you are counting out loud your mind is focused on the count rather than just listening to the beat of the music. Our instructor said after we practice a lot the counting will stop and we will follow the beat of the music.  Hope he is right as I am hearing the sound of one and two and three and four while I sleep.   We really got mixed up as the instructor showed us a few turns.  I ended up getting the giggles as I fumbled around the dance floor with hubby trying to lead.  We looked like a couple that had lost their coordination.  Maybe we should stick to walking.  LOL!  I must remind myself never to give up.  It is fun to train the mind to do new things. 

Well I think Indian summer is here as we are having warm temperatures after last week's snow fall.  It is hard to believe we are almost through October.  November will be a busy month as we will be off to Texas and then celebrating Thanksgiving.  My daughter's favorite holiday.  It must be because of all the good food.   I am getting hungry just thinking about it.

 I bought a boutique of fall flowers for the table that are beautiful.  They are worth sharing.

 Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

Mental Telepathy

Sometimes when we think of someone we haven't seen for awhile they call out of the blue.  It is always like they can read our minds.  I wish sometimes people would call when I can't remember their phone number.  It is nice to hear from people we haven't talked to for awhile.  It makes me feel good to know they thought of me.  Catching up on the past with friends can be soothing to the mind.

The invention of the cell phone can keep us in touch with people everywhere any time.  It actually has saved people's lives when in emergency situations.  I remember growing up and searching for pay phones.  It seems funny now to think we put quarters in a phone to call.  Now we have access to the world right in our hands.  We can also text people when it is not feasible to speak to them.  Technology has come along way since my childhood.  I do wish people would learn cellphone etiquette and not ignore others by constantly answering their phones when socializing.  We also need to refrain from text messages while driving for our own safety and others.

Maybe today mental telepathy will work and I will get a call from a friend.  Life is always full of surprises.   Blessings to all those who are a part of my life.  A healthy mind resides in a healthy body....Roman poet Juvenal

Life is beautiful!!

Elizabeth

Surprises and New Adventures

We woke up to a surprise this morning.  We had our first snowfall of the season.  I had to look twice out the window to make sure I wasn't dreaming.  It was quite a surprise,  because less than 24 hours ago the sun was out and it was a pleasant day.  I can kiss my flowers goodbye tonight for sure, as the weather man is predicting a hard freeze.  The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a very cold winter and perhaps one of the worst we have had for awhile.  The furnace is on and so is the winter coat, as I have already ventured out today.  Oh how I do not like winter.

Hubby and I continue to dance, as we learned the Merengue this week.  The instructor laughed as he wanted to make sure everyone in class could count to eight.  Next week we learn the Hustle.  We only have to count to four.  He is a good instructor and he keeps us laughing.  I am also enjoying water aerobics and feeling the pain of some unused muscles.  I think my body is in shock from all the new exercise the last couple of weeks.  Swimming is enjoyable and very relaxing.  I have been sleeping like a baby. 

It is too cold to walk outside now, so we will probably have to visit the university track if we want to walk.  I am not sure I will be doing any walk-a-thons any time soon, as my feet still hurt.  A mile walk is about all I can tolerate.  Hubby will have to do walk-a-thons without me.

Laney is curled up in a ball today.  I think she is ready to hibernate for the winter.  I wish I could hibernate too, but life is calling me.  There are more new adventures in the forecast.  I just wish the adventures were always sunny.

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

The Gift of Life and New Memories

I am trying to keep busy these days and enjoy every minute.  My husband and I are reminded everyday of the gift of life.  As the days are passing quickly, it has been almost six months since we were at MD Anderson.  Hubby seems to be doing well and we are praying his up coming check up and CT scans will continue to show remission.  He has told me he does not remember a lot from the past four years.  I on the other hand remember too much.  It seems I have an internal tape recorder which I wish had an erase button.  I try to practice shifting my own thoughts to my favorite things when my mind gets bogged down with the past events.  It is very heart breaking to watch your loved one struggle with memory problems, personality changes and anxiety that cancer brings.  It never leaves us, but we do not allow it to stop us from living.

I wish I could write and tell my friends and family that I had a bad dream and the last 16 years of living with cancer never happened.  Although, when I say 16 years it makes me think of how incredibly lucky we are to still be living and in love.  We have told each other many times how blessed we are to have come back strong each time cancer has made its presence in our life.  We have not let it take our spirit for love, laughter, and happiness.  It has tested us many times, but we fought back.  We are hoping that with new research and drugs we can keep winning. 

Everyday is filled with new adventures like dancing to create new memories.  The Cha Cha proved to be a challenge as the instructor said it was the hardest dance step to learn.  We laughed as we practiced it.  I thought to myself all is possible with love and determination.  Next week we learn the Merengue dance.  The instructor is funny, as he told us all we needed to know was how to count to eight to Merengue.  I wonder if he meant in English or French.  LOL!  I think I'll stick to English.

Life is beautiful with you my husband!!

Elizabeth

Dancing with the Leaves

For the last seven days, we have had sunshine everyday with the bluest sky.  The temperatures have been in the 70's for daytime highs.  It has been awesome weather for being outside.  Laney and I have been taking daily walks and soaking up as much sunshine as possible.  We are headed outdoors again to start pulling up some seasonal foliage that has started to wither due to the cool nights.  The weather forecast is for rain later this week.   I am enjoying looking at the fall colors as the leaves are falling now.

I read some of my blog postings from the previous October and saw we had frost earlier.  We are definitely running a little behind schedule for the cool daytime temperatures and a lot of my flowers are still blooming.   I wish it would stay this way forever.

Hubby and I were out on the bike path this weekend.  It will probably be the last ride of the season as the bike paths were covered with leaves.  It was fun to ride the bikes as the leaves were falling.  I ended up with some in my hair.  I told hubby they were hair ornaments.

It is off to dance lessons tonight.  We are learning the cha cha.  Looking forward to dancing the night away. I am going outside now to cha cha with Laney as we enjoy this beautiful fall day.  Maybe we will dance amongst the leaves.

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

Dancing the Night Away

We had a rainy weekend and yesterday the clouds departed and the sun returned once again.  We are now having some cool fall evenings and the trees are slowly starting to change colors.  We are having a late fall.  The forecast shows some beautiful sunny days ahead of us.  These beautiful fall days remind me of when I met my husband and the first date we had.  We went dancing and we danced our way through our college years.  Literally ever weekend we went dancing and we even won a dance contest. 

After this past year of walking a half marathon, a 10k, and a couple of 5k's, we decided to start another fun journey.  We traded our gym shoes for dancing shoes and we stepped out on the dance floor last evening.  We found a local dance studio and brought back some great memories as we practiced the Rumba.  We took ballroom dance lessons about 20 years ago and hopefully we can bring back some of those skills. 

We came home last evening and practiced our dance steps, while Laney sat perched on the couch watching us.  She even joined us a couple of times with a fancy four step.  She is always jealous and tries to cut in on hubby. 

It's back to the dance studio tonight to learn some more dance steps and more fun.  I am so glad a friend of mine recommended dancing.  It's a good cardio exercise, a way to strengthen our muscles and improve balance.  It also helps strengthen the mind as we are learning new skills.   But, the best thing about dancing is it is romantic and a lot of fun. 

Hope I can get everybody on the dance floor, as I plan on getting hubby to take me out on the town for some Rumba.  Watch out for Laney, she may do a solo.  Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth

A Miracle Evening For The Light The Night

I still can't believe what a beautiful evening we had yesterday for The Light The Night with LLS.   It rained all day and we even had some thunderstorms.  Then by miracle at 5 PM , the clouds departed and the sun came out.  The sky was a beautiful clear blue.  God sent the clouds and rain somewhere else.  What a fantastic evening to walk and lots of people came out for the event.  Preliminary count of the funds last night was 200,000 dollars.  I tried to capture a few pictures of the event.

My hero husband was carrying a white survivor balloon.  The gold balloon in the background were in memory of those who lost their battle with blood cancers.  The red balloons were for walkers supporting the LLS.

This was a picture about an hour before the walk. The walk started at the park, The Fraze Pavilion, and it was about a three mile walk around the surrounding community.

 I tried to capture a picture of the balloons lit after dark as we started to walk. You can barely make out the Light The Night Walk on the balloon.  It is always a
spectacular sight to see all the balloons lit.  Thank you again to all of our friends who supported us.  Your donations have blessed a lot of people.  Life Is Beautiful !!

Elizabeth

Walking for Research

This week is going by quickly and tomorrow is the Light The Night for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Looking forward to the walk, but we are concerned that it might be raining.  As many years as my husband and I have been participating in the event, it has never rained.  I hope the weather man is wrong and mother nature keeps the skies clear.  We are very happy with our donations that we collected.   We send gratitude and love to everyone who sent donations.  It brought a big smile to my husband's face.  We had fun racing to the mailbox in anticipation of those who mailed us checks and cards with words of encouragement.  We hope to have some pictures to share of the event.

The last couple of days have been warm and calm.  Laney and I were out enjoying time in the yard.  It's that time of the year to clean up the yard before the cold days descend upon us.  I had to pull up my impatiens flowers as they did not tolerate the cold nights we had a week ago.  I am hoping to enjoy more days of my geraniums as they are very hardy and tolerate the cool nights better.

My husband and I have been enjoying the evening walks around the neighborhood.  People have decorated their yards for fall and Halloween.  We better watch for ghost and goblins as darkness is coming sooner each evening.  Our walks will soon be in total darkness.  We will probably be chased back to the University indoor track before long if we want to walk.  Or, I may decide to take a rest period as my feet have been hurting.  Old Man Arthritis has taken up host with me and I need to find him a home somewhere else.   Perhaps if he doesn't make a donation to cancer research, I can evict him out of my life.  That would be nice if it was that easy.  I guess wishful thinking and Advil will have to suffice.

Pray for us that we have a clear and dry evening tomorrow for the walk.  I end this with loving thoughts and prays for all people that are fighting blood cancers.  My family members who passed away from lymphoma continue to give me strength from heaven to keep walking and asking for donations for research.   May the sun shine always in memory of them and flowers bloom eternally.

Life is beautiful !!

Elizabeth