First rule of nausea…you don’t talk about nausea

Perplexus Original

So I have been delinquent about posting for a bit, but I have been distracted by dad’s python programming class. He is taking a free online Python programming class through Rice University. So far I have “consulted” on a number of his homework assignments. He gets them to 90+% and I help him answer the unanswered. The projects have included a Paper, Rock, Scissors, Lizard, Spock game, a number guessing game, and a timer. Next we get to build an old school pong game. It has spurred me on to remembering what I actually went to college for…computer engineering. We have a Raspberry Pi coming, and dad is going to get an Arduino Uno to tinker with as well. To top off all of the hi-tech fun was a little low-tech. Pat and Teresa got us a Perplexus Original meant for 6 and up that apparently entertains adults as well.

Home Front

On the homefront we have been getting some nice compliments from passersby. I think it is mostly due to the bright pinkish-red flowers next to the porch being in full bloom, but, in the big picture, the garden is coming in, the grass is now full and green (with the help of a bit of fertilizer), and I put a nice edge on the lawn after mowing it. It definitely looks a bit tidier this way. If you look closely at the far right side of the house you will notice another one of our mini-projects, a 3′ X 3′ raised bed from 2 weeks ago.

This weekend Dad made a trip to Puyallup to hang out with Paul and Andrea. From what I hear, they kept him busy planting strawberries and raspberries, as well as, feeding him great homemade desserts. Here in Portland, Jen and I went for a walk Saturday morning and tried the new bagel place down the street. The bagels were great, and we found a nice free set of shelves on the way home. We also noticed a garage sale so we dropped off the shelves at home and took the truck out garage-saling. Normally garage sales have been pretty uneventful mixes of baby clothes and crappy plates, but we went to three close sales listed on Craigslist and made out like bandits at each one. It was awesome.

Wedding Invite Jig

Sunday we managed to get the bulk of wedding invites put together. Much to Jen’s surprise, my engineering skills came into use and surprised even her. With three pieces of blue masking tape stacked together and a metal square double taped down offset from the tape edge, I was able to create a jig to make all of the invites centered on the green background. All we had to do was slide the green sheet under the ruler and against the blue tape; the already double-sided-taped top sheet was then aligned with the ruler and pressed down in the center. With Jen’s very symmetrical eye she was excited with the results after the first eight were off a millimeter here and there making her insane. As all can imagine, it is a much better arrangement when the bride-to-be is happy.

Just a few days ago, while picking weeds, I noticed Tahoe has been listening very well about staying in the yard. She was on a long leash, but seemed to get staying in the grassy area. About a month ago Tahoe also revealed that she liked jumping to catch sticks and did well with short frisbee catches in the backyard. So, after weed picking I decided to give her a shot at playing frisbee in the front yard. It turns out that she is awesome at and really loves it. The only down side to this is that the grass may have reached its apex for the season last week since we will be doing a bit more than just admiring and cutting it from this point forward.

To get around to my Fight Club referenced title, I have been having much better luck with my nausea this cycle. At my last visit I mentioned that indigestion has been an issue, and that I was countering it with Zantac. The nurse practitioner indicated that, with chemo, heartburn can be an issue and that it can spur on nausea. She recommended that I take Prilosec daily and take my nausea meds regularly rather than as symptoms present since I have been getting regularly nauseous for the first 7-10 days. These two precautions should short cut the nausea and make things better. It seems to have worked, although, it has also made me realize that I have a general feeling of malaise that is masked by the nausea for the first week, but I will greatly take that over the nausea. With that said, I have realized that describing the smells of chemo and how they still make me nauseous the day of treatment seems to be the only thing that makes me really nauseous now. That said, I am going to stop talking about it since I am already getting queasy.

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