That’s Not Something You…

Ken and I held hands as we walked across the Fred Meyer parking lot. We planned to celebrate the happy news that, indeed, my cancer had not spread to my lungs by—you guessed it—getting some Häagen-Dazs ice cream. What can I say? I’m easily entertained. And fat, but that’s another whole story. “So, you’re stuck with […]

Went to  “Eddie the Eagle” and Red Robin last night with friends and family. It was nice to get my mind off coughing and my upcoming CT scan. When I got home, I checked Facebook before going to bed. A friend had emailed me about my latest blog post: “I’ve been praying for you every […]

While my older son has been obsessing about boobies, my younger son has been obsessing about Russian women. On February 28, I wrote the following update on Facebook: “Got to play “Cornerstone” (one of my favorites) at Bethany Covenant this morning and worship with the Slavic Gospel Church afterward during their dedication service. I met […]

It’s nice to know that my son is like every other red-blooded male out there: obsessed with boobies. (He also wrote about this same subject on the whiteboard in my hospital room during my breast reconstruction.) All those years ago, when all my parts were still intact, I took my body for granted. The day […]

Last weekend, I was in the middle of a rousing game of Euchre when the subject turned to mammograms. My game partner—we’ll call her Bertha—blurted out, “If I ever end up with a lump, I’ll have to start wearing a bra.”

This morning, I stumbled across a poem my son Jonathan wrote for Brit Lit back in 2013. I have misplaced this piece of paper so many times. (I’m more of a writer than a housekeeper; what can I say?) I thought I better post it before I misplaced it again. I especially like the title […]

  It was January 17, 2014. “Hey, Jonathan, come here.” I sat at my desk reading over the email I had received from Katrina Thompson (nee West) of Kat West Beads. He bounded over. “This woman,” I pointed at her picture, “was diagnosed with two different types of cancer, she loved my book, and now […]

It was January 15. I was on my way to meet my friend, Laurie, to continue my two-week long birthday celebration. We were going to see the movie, Saving Mr. Banks. First, I stopped off at Fred Meyer to visit the bulk Jelly Belly aisle. I had been staying away from sugar like the plague. […]

When I take thyroid medication, sometimes crazy things happen. I even wrote about this phenomenon in my book: A young man came in and introduced himself as Dr. West. “I’m the anesthesiologist. Maria Ann de Haan?” He looked down at his chart. “Yep, that’s me.” “Is your date of birth 1/9/1967?” Whenever a medical professional […]