Monthly Archives: October 2013

It’s Halloween Time! (or Another Disneyland Outing)

Posted on October 3, 2013 | Comments Off on It’s Halloween Time! (or Another Disneyland Outing)

While I am looking for a new job while I’m unemployed right now, I’m also trying to make sure that I have fun before I either get a new job or go back to working 6 days a week at my old one.

So yesterday since I didn’t have much I had to do, I decided to go to Disneyland to check out the Halloween decorations and rides.

The last time I was at Disneyland was when I went with Lindsey Kelk, so it has been a while. And I love seeing all the Halloween decorations and flowers in the park.

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I didn’t really plan on going on a bunch of rides (I’m going back on Sunday with some other people), but I wanted to focus on riding the things that I love and want to do while it’s in Halloween mode.

My first stop was the Haunted Mansion. For Halloween through Christmas, it is decorated in “The Nightmare Before Christmas” mode.

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This was the 13th year that they have done this holiday overlay, so there were some new features on the ride.

I love how they decorated the outside of the ride and put bows on all the headstones in the line area. I especially liked the bow on the top of this squirrel.

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I really liked the new things on the ride. There were a bunch of changes to the elevator portion as well as the hallway you walk through to get to the ride. I’m sure I’ll be going on this again because it is this overlay through Christmas.

But one overlay that is only there for Halloween is at Space Mountain. They turn this ride into Ghost Galaxy and I’ve only gone on it a few times this way (I’m normally not able to make it to the park at Halloween). I got to sit in the last row of the coaster (my favorite!) and I took a quick selfie before the ride started.

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This overlay is pretty fun. I liked the ghost projections throughout the ride and it really does feel different from the typical Space Mountain.

After those two rides, I took a roundtrip on the Monorail. I love going on the Monorail as it gives a nice look at a majority of the park. It also allowed me to take this amazing picture of the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and the Matterhorn.

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After the roundtrip and coming back to Tomorrowland, I headed over to the Disneyland Railroad. This is another thing I love! When you ride the railroad between Tomorrowland and Main Street, you get to go through the Grand Canyon Diorama. The diorama has been a part of Disneyland since 1958 and it’s something that my mom remembers from when she was young. I love getting to see this almost-original part of Disneyland and it is a way to get around the park.

After exiting the railroad at Main Street, I decided to head home. The after-school crowd was starting to come into the park and I had gone on the rides that I really wanted to go on. But going to Disneyland is a nice way to spend an afternoon (and get a lot of walking in!).

I’m excited to be back at the park in a couple of days!

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Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff

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Cancer Questions (or Hopefully This Will Help Someone Else)

Posted on October 2, 2013 | 2 comments

Ever since I posted on here about my mom having breast cancer, I’ve gotten a ton of support. This is so appreciated because my family is going through uncharted waters here. Nobody in our family has had breast cancer before and even though most of my family is in the medical field, there is still a lot of unknown for us.

I’ve also gotten questions from people who want to know more information about what is going on. Some of the things are private, but I want to share a bunch of stuff on here. When my mom was diagnosed, I did a lot of searching online for support and what to expect. I had to be careful where I looked because there is a lot of crazy scary information and I don’t need to become obsessed with what’s out there.

So here are a couple of questions that people have asked me and that I hope will help anyone else going through what my family is going through.

What is my mom’s treatment plan?

My mom had her mastectomy during the summer and is pretty much healed from that. She believes (and I agree with her) that the surgery probably got all of the cancer out of her body. But as a precaution, she is now having chemo. My dad goes with her and since our family dog is a therapy dog, he can go too (I don’t think he has gone yet). She will have a few months of chemo and then finish with some radiation to get rid of any cancer that may be left. I’m so optimistic that this treatment will result in her being 100% cancer free in the end.

Has my mom lost her hair?

As I am typing this, she has not lost her hair. With the type of chemo drugs that she’s getting, she will probably lose it. But she already has an amazing wig and will be wearing that. She actually wore it to my brother’s wedding and I think it looks amazing (she thinks it even looks better than her real hair).

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Am I going to get tested for BRCA (the breast cancer gene)?

This was one of the first things I asked my mom once I stopped crying when she told me she had cancer. I wanted to know if I needed to be tested. As of right now, I’m not being tested. It doesn’t really work like that. First my mom and I are going to take an online class about what it means if you get tested and test positive for the mutation. Then my mom has to meet with a geneticist. After that, my mom gets tested. If she tests positive for the mutation, then she will share that with me and I can decided if I want to get tested (I think that if it comes to this, I will). With my family background being Ashkenazi Jew, I already have a 1 in 4 chance of having this mutation. But if my mom tests negative for the mutation, the chances of me having it are extremely slim so I would not get tested.

Is there anything that people can do to help my family?

This is one of the most common questions people have asked me, and it is one of the most wonderful things that people could ask. As of right now, no, there is nothing that my family needs. My mom is doing amazing and my dad is there to help with anything she needs. If anyone would like to do anything, I ask that you donate to weSPARK. They support people with cancer and their families, and donations help to keep all their programs free of charge. I’m trying to raise $100 before the 5K in November and would love any help you would be willing to give to help me reach that goal.

I hope the answers I’ve given help you understand more of what my mom is going through and see that despite a cancer diagnosis, my mom is kicking as much butt as usual. And if you have a parent with breast cancer and want to chat, feel free to reach out to me. I’m more than happy to connect with people who are in the same boat.

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Posted in Family, Health, Tough Stuff

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One Of My Most Hated Things (or At Least I Didn’t Faint)

Posted on October 1, 2013 | Comments Off on One Of My Most Hated Things (or At Least I Didn’t Faint)

Yesterday, I had to get some blood work done. When I went in for my annual doctor visit in August, my doctor realized that it had been a few years since I had a comprehensive blood workup done. So she placed an order for everything to be checked out.

I’ve mentioned my issue with needles before, and getting blood work done is one of the things that worries me the most. At least shots are quick. Blood draws take time. And for this blood draw, they had to take 9 vials of blood! That’s a lot (at least to me).

I knew I needed to get this done, but it didn’t make it any easier in the morning. My original plan was to go first thing in the morning to get it done, but I chickened out. I remembered that you should drink a bunch of water before having blood drawn so I told myself I needed to stay home and do that.

I finally left my house around noon and when I got to the hospital, there was a long line. You have to take a number and wait your turn, and when I arrived they were on 31 and I had 64. So I spent about an hour trying to read my book.

When it was finally my turn, I explained to the guy drawing my blood that I’m a faint risk. They reclined the chair so I wouldn’t fall off (it’s happened before). As soon as I put my arm out I started crying pretty hard. I wasn’t scared of the needle as much as I was scared of fainting. But somehow, I made it through the entire thing without passing out!

I was having trouble staying conscious. My vision was getting fuzzy and dark and I know that’s how it gets before I faint. But I was able to stay awake. I have to say that the lab guys there were extremely nice to me as well. The guy who was taking my blood kept counting down the vials (that was so helpful!) and there was another guy talking to me the whole time and fanning my face (I don’t know if that helped but it was a distraction).

After I was done, they actually told me that I did well for a person who has issues with needles. A lot of the time with people like me, they have to hold down their arm because they want to move it. At least I kept still.

I’ve gotten the results back already from 6 of the vials and everything is good! I know that with my weight there are concerns about diabetes but my blood sugar was on the low side of normal. I’m still waiting on my cholesterol but that has historically been low (and if it isn’t this time, I just will have to work on adjusting my diet).

While I’m proud of myself for not fainting, I’m still a little embarrassed that I have such a tough time with needles. While I was getting blood work done in LA, my badass mom had to get blood work done in Northern CA (they had to make sure she was ok for her next chemo treatment and she is). I talked with my mom after we both were done and I know that she didn’t even flinch at the needle. She’s always been tough like that. I wish some of that would have been passed down to me.

But for now, I’m just glad that I didn’t have to tell you all about how I fainted at the blood lab (or how I fell off the chair like I did the last time).

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