I suppose as I began this endeavor to share my so called "cancer journey," I should start with that report. As always, earlier this month, I received the A-OK from my breast surgeon. That means no scheduled poking and prodding until September.
On other fronts, Rachel is out of school. And when I say out of school, I mean it! She finished 6th grade in the private school that she has attended from the ripe old age of 3. The school is for preK-12, but Rachel will no longer be attending. As of this month, she is a homeschooler. She won't officially begin until August, after her ballet summer intensive program is complete. We've chosen to start with what is actually an on-line school, complete with teachers (as opposed to what people typically think of for homeschooling, with Mommy as the main instructor). It will certainly be an adventure!
Last year, I had a few entries on my return to the bar... the ballet barre that is! That has continued. I'm still taking anywhere from two to four 90 minute to 2 hr classes each week. On the non-ballet days, I usually slip in a 60 minute BalletPhysique class. The latter is not dance at all. It's a whole body fitness class and definitely the most intense hour of cardio I've ever done in my life! While I cannot brag about a large weight loss, I can brag about losing inches. I'm a good 4 inches smaller in diameter, pretty much everywhere. I'm now very deep back into the single digit sizes. And even bigger news, my lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides) were completely normal for the first time in ages.. since my ovaries were removed nearly 3 years ago. :D
Back to the reason I brought ballet up in the first place. I once again faced fear head on and did something I NEVER imagined I would do again in this lifetime. On May 31, I threw caution to the wind and not only appeared on stage again for the first time in over 20 years, I did so in a leotard and tights (and a cute black skirt)! I know what the next question is. And the answer is NO! There are no photos. No, there is no video. Well, I suppose that someone somewhere might have photographic evidence, but I do not. I am actually quite positive that such evidence exists as I could hear someone snapping pictures with an SLR camera. But, I don't have them and have no idea if I ever will. Seriously. Honestly. I don't even have a photo of Rachel in either of her numbers (ballet and jazz).
On the scrapbooking front, I was fortunate to be a guest designer for a wonderful little kit club, Scrapperie, back in May. The kit was called "Spring into Summer" and was obviously very summery. I always like to do something a little unexpected, hence the birthday page and the fall page below. I have to admit that as much as I loved working with the bright summer colors, my favorite layout of the bunch is "Serenity." The papers in this one are all from Sassafrass Lass. My scrapper friends out there may be surprised because this layout just does not look like typical Sassafrass Lass at all. It's also proof that I actually do use my sewing machine now and then. :) It feels like I rarely do any scrapbooking at all these days. It's like school.. I seem to need a deadline to get anything done!
At the rate I'm going, this will be it until July or August. And that's OK. It's a good thing, right Martha?
