Chemo Session 7 of 8, and bits and pieces

7 of 8 down. It is taking a mighty act of willpower not to lose the contents of my stomach upon entering Dr. E's office. I have to remind myself: that's just the bathroom soap you're smelling - it doesn't cause nausea; that's just the alcohol swab you're smelling - that doesn' t cause nausea; that's just the anti-nausea meds being hooked up to the IV - they don't cause nausea...and so on, until I get to things which do actually cause nausea, then I just try and hang on.

Dr. E actually brought up scheduling the post-chemo scan for 3 weeks in the future. That scan will tell us whether I'm done with treatment, whether I should have 2 more sessions of chemo, or whether I should have radiation. Your prayers for the first option are much, much appreciated.

How does God handle it, knowing what sadnesses his children will face? It is good that we don't know, or else we'd be dreading the sad thing up until the day it happened. But God knows, and he watches over us, and he even watches over us the day before the sad thing happens, when we are still blissfully unaware, and he watches over us when the sad thing comes to pass, blindsiding us. But He knows.

All that aside, I can't believe I still have some hair! Maybe I won't have to go naked head after all, which will be a pleasant surprise.

Bits and Pieces

1.   Best free download on Kindle thus far: 'The Complete Father Brown' by G.K. Chesterton. Short mystery/detective stories starring the hulking criminal Flambeau and his nemisis, the short, round, simple Father Brown. Tip: look up the dead guys on Kindle - their books are usually free downloads.

2.   Where to find footed onesies beyond the size 9 mo. at Target and Walmart: Carters.com (and they're having a 50% off sale on Labor Day! (Thanks, Becky!)).

3.   Where you wouldn't think to find rockin' clothes for half the price: Stein Mart. I walked there from work during lunch last week and groaned inwardly to push through the doors into sea of gray permed heads shifting amongst the racks (while their husbands - with the patience of old age - were lounging on whatever they could sit on around the periphery). 'There's nothing for me here,' I thought, and proceeded to pick out the two most favoritest pants I have: skinny-style ones in two different colors that AREN'T flipping low rise! They come up to my belly button! And at $30 bucks rather than $60, well, I just had to get two different colors, you see.

4.   Where to find CHEAP flights: 'Name your own price' feature on the homepage of Priceline.com. I found 3 roundtrip tickets to London for $214 each. That is correct. The catch is that your flights can be at anytime on your travel day and up to 2am the next day, I think. BUT there's a one-stop guarantee, and you get yourself to Europe for under $220 bucks. NOT BAD.