When Cancer Found Its Way Into Our Family Again

In 2008, my sister Donna succumbed to leukemia. She died 11 months after she was diagnosed. This year, the dreaded C word hit closer to home. This time, it attacked someone very close to my heart.

The girl in the photo above is my daughter. Known and called by everyone close to her as Kibbie, her real name is Phoebe Danielle. Less than a week before her 18th birthday, she was diagnosed of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and was recommended to undergo total thyroidectomy as soon as possible. Based on her ultrasound, the mass found on her right thyroid was just 1cm shy from reaching the dreaded 4cm mark.

So, the day after her birthday last August 17, we admitted her to the hospital and on the 19th, she had her surgery.

This was Phoebe a couple of days after her surgery.

A lover of stuffed animals, she was very happy to get a stuffed bear from her boyfriend a day before she was discharged last August 24.

Then, just yesterday, we were told by her endocrinologist that she needs to undergo radioactive iodine treatment six weeks from now. This recommendation was based on the biopsy result gathered from the specimens taken during her total thyroidectomy operation. It turned out that the mass on her right thyroid had invaded her blood vessels and metastasized into other glands.

This was how Kibbie waited for her doctor…only to be told that she needs to undergo radioactive iodine treatment.

We love Kibbie and we want all cancer cells gone from her body. However, we don’t have enough funds to pay for her treatment and hospitalization. So, we are asking for help in raising funds for Kibbie to fight cancer and be on the road to remission.

Please click on the link below to know more about our fundraising campaign for Phoebe and to learn more about her. Thank you very much for the love.

https://gogetfunding.com/phoebes-treatment-fund/

Seafoods for My Valentine on Hearts Day

love is real.
it is all around.
it is in the air,
on the earth,
in the water.
it is what propels life.
it is what ignites
the fire in our hearts
and makes us listen
to the songs of our soul.
to live is love.

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, I came home to a bouquet of flowers from my husband. Like a teenager, I did not know how to react when I saw it, so I just smiled shyly and murmured my thanks to the man who has been by my side for almost twenty years.

Getting Sick, Going Healthy

Last week, when my hubby and I went to the drugstore, I noticed they were offering free blood pressure check. As it has been a while since I last monitored my BP, I decided to take advantage of the offer and was surprised to learn that I had an elevated reading of 160/110. I was diagnosed with hypertension in 2009, but I really thought that it has been controlled with the maintenance drugs I have been taking.

However, as my boss was out of town and I had a lot of things to do at work, I did not mind my elevated blood pressure and went to work every day. When the weekend came, I was already suffering from severe headaches, nape pain, weakness in my limbs and dizziness. Because of this, I was unable to work yesterday and decided to have myself checked.

Earlier today, during my visit to my cardiologist, I learned that my BP had spiked to 190/110 and I was already 145 pounds. I am aware that I’ve got elevated blood pressure and have gained weight, I just did not know it was this bad. So, I was started on a new course of medications and was strictly ordered to lose 40 pounds with the aim to get to the desired weight of 105 pounds to my height of an inch over 5 feet.

I was told that I must stay away from a whole lot of food I love like fresh bread and baked goodies from the bakery oven. My heart cried at the thought of not being able to inhale my favourite soft white breads, croissants, turnovers, pastries and cookies. I could not get to eat savoury and sweet tarts anymore. I should also stop eating processed food like Spam, bacon and hotdogs as well as junk food like burgers, pizza and French fries. And, as I should start on a low-carb, low-salt and low sugar diet, I was also asked to stay away from rice, pasta and all types of potatoes.

As a result, I started researching salad and veggie dish recipes and below are my favourites:

Martha Stewart’s Chopped Salad with Shrimp and Lime-Buttermilk Dressing

Who wouldn’t want anything from the world renowned Martha Stewart, right? Especially if it is a salad that comes with shrimp. Going healthy looks good right here.

My Love for Peanuts and My Craving for Shrimps

The first cartoon characters I was introduced to were Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and the rest of the gang. I grew up reading about the Peanuts comics and watching their cartoon clips. So, when I learned that a movie was soon to be released in theaters and that McDonald’s offered Peanut toys with their Happy Meals, I was transported to seventh heaven.

Collecting all 10 toys was not easy, considering that I have kids who also loved Peanuts as much as I do. So, when I finally got them all, you can just imagine how happy I was. My joy was similar to the eating the first spoonful of vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day, lying on a hammock while reading a book one cool afternoon or smelling bread fresh from the bakery oven before your first bite.

Below is how my new Peanuts Happy Meal toy collection progressed from three to ten:

My collection was completed over the past weekend, much to the enjoyment of the kids who devoured the spaghetti that we bought, so we could get the toys. And, along with this achievement, my craving was also satisfied when my husband bought some shrimps for me.

I started wanting to eat shrimps when I had my PMS early this month. I was not able to eat any though because it seemed like there was never a chance to either eat out or cook a shrimp dish. Little did I know that my hubby was just listening to my rants about wanting to eat what many jokingly call as the “cockroach of the sea”. So, when he came home after going to the market early Sunday morning, he already got a bagful of shrimps with him.

Although I just wanted my hubby to cook the shrimps simply in garlic and butter, I found out he had something else in mind. He sauteed the shrimps in minced garlic, onions, ginger and jalapenos with a splash of lemonsito juice and orange soda. And, you can see the result in the image below.

I bet you are drooling right about now. Am I right or am I right? LOL! I know how you are feeling…the sad thing with you is, you won’t be able to sample this tasty dish, while I got to eat it to my heart’s delight.

Believe me, my resolution to eat less carbs with every meal flew out the window. I ate with my hands and savored every bite, licked off orange sauce from my fingers and belched like a truck driver. It was probably my first ever totally satisfying meal for the year.

This weekend, my hubby promised he will cook shrimps for me again and to top that off, my aunt said she’d be taking out her baking equipment to cook up some of her delectable pineapple-carrot cake. If that isn’t the perfect way to cap off a hectic work week, I don’t know what is.

So, what are your plans for the weekend? Let me know what you had on your table lately that had you completely satisfied. I’d be glad to know your story.

 

Overdose on Pasta Love Before the New Year

It’s almost 2016! And, before the year ends, let me share how I went overboard with my love for pasta recently. As I mentioned in previous posts, I love pasta so much, I cook it for almost every occasion, especially for my kids, who absolutely adore my spaghetti.

However, for Christmas Eve, which we, just my kids, my hubby and I, spent together for the first time in our li’l home, I decided to cook seafood pasta with my own version of a marinara sauce.  I used diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, a dash of oregano, scallops, squid rolls, olive oil and lots of Parmesan cheese for my sauce and penne for the pasta. Instead of pouring my sauce over the cooked pasta, as is my usual process, I mixed it with the sauce, while it was still bubbling merrily away in the pan.

Of course, I didn’t  cook the pasta all the way through, so it would still be firm and sumptuous when I mixed it in with the sauce. Once everything was cooked, I topped it with more Parmesan. The result? My family loved it! Paired with newly toasted garlic bread from the bakery oven, it was perfection. Even my baby Elle loved it and asked for seconds and thirds. And, that for me, is the best validation any mom could ask for, especially coming from my kids, who are becoming food critics in their own ways.

Riding on Yummy Dreams of Food

 

Have you had a really bad case of PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome) when you got really, really sick with migraine, body aches and cramps and thought of nothing but all types of yummy food? I had one such episode just this past week.

It was like there was nothing in my mind but food. There was a parade of cheesy bacon burgers, pizza, chocolates, pasta, fried chicken, French fries and what not dancing through my every thought that I would have ended up eating my hand during my reverie if I was not able to stop myself in time.

Of Lovely Mornings, Hilltop Homes and Omelettes

Nothing beats an omelette for breakfast, especially when it is cooked with love. Just recently, I spent some days with my aunt. Remember the one who cooked me and my office mates some really scrumptious packed lunches? Yes, the very one.

Well, Auntie Elsa’s house is located on top of a hill and they get really good pocket Wifi connection. So, during the time when I didn’t have broadband connection at home yet, I went to her home every day to take advantage of the strong Wifi signal there. However, it was not just the Wifi that had me going back there every day. It was also my aunt’s cooking.

The Siblinghood of the World Award

Having resigned from my office job has its perks and downfalls. The major disadvantage of not having a job is the boredom. As I have been working for almost three years straight, I have gotten used to being with people five days a week, which is the exact opposite when you’re at home, staring at the four walls of your room when your kids go off to school or to play with their friends.

However, this gets outweighed by being able to spend more time with the same kids, by being able to play with them when they’re around, by seeing them when you wake up and when you go to sleep at night and just being able to be home when there are no work-related pressure or managers you don’t see eye to eye with.

Yes, I may have my down days at home when I get depressed about not having a job, but I also have my really good days, like when I see my kids’ happy faces while eating the food I cooked for them or while devouring an entire loaf of bread fresh from the bakery oven smeared with dollops of peanut butter and then licking off their fingers clean afterwards. You can just imagine the idyllic days I have been having lately.

And, I happened to come upon another thing that made me smile today. Meg of missourigirl14.wordpress.com nominated me for the “Siblinghood of the World Award” last November 7. She informed me about it on her comment to my previous blog post and it really warmed my heart. Meg, you can’t believe how much you’ve made me happy today. Thank you so much.

New House, New Beginnings, New Life

as we start
this new chapter
of our lives,
in this new place
we can call our own,
we clasp our hands,
bow our heads
and fervently wish
for new beginnings
and fresh tomorrows.

As if the universe aligned all the planets and the stars to help usher a great morning for us, October 18 dawned with clear blue skies and the warmest sunshine this part of the earth could bestow. It was the day scheduled for our move.

In My Depression…I Crave Food and Devour Them

i can feel the dead silence of my soul.
it blocks out all ambient noise,
rendering them irrelevant,
flinging them into oblivion.
i can hear the keening of my heart.
its mournful wails echo within
these bleak prison walls,
sending me reeling deeper
into the quagmire i’m in,
pulling me closer
into its murky depths, from which
there is no escape.