6/29
Had acupuncture this morning and a blood draw.  Both went well.  My white blood cell count was 4.3 and my panel looked like a healthy person's blood work, except for a low hemoglobin count.  A normal count should be between 12.3 - 15.3.  Before starting chemo, my count was 13.3, after the first round it was 11.3, and today it was 10.4.  Nothing alarming, but I picked up an iron supplement to help give it a boost.  With a low red blood cell count I need to watch for any of the following symptoms:  fatigue, weak, short of breath, increase in my heart rate, dizzy or lightheaded.  I'll try to monitor my activity level - I've got several good books to read, so this is a good excuse.

I've been enjoying feeling good this week and have been doing a few things on my "to do" list.  One goal this week was to make a new recipe each day.  Yesterday I made pretzels - they were delicious.  I also made maple glazed salmon with pineapple salsa.  Yum! 

 Last night and today I made some vitamin waters.  They are delicious, although I might be the only person to drink them. The strawberry, watermelon, rosemary water is "stressless"; the pineapple, ginger, mint water is "digestion"; and the grapefruit, lemon, lime, and orange water is "power C".  Great to mix half and half with mineral water to make the pitcher last longer.  After the water is gone, I think I'll use the remains to make a smoothie.

I've got chicken caesar salad with homemade croutons and grilled avocado with melted cheese and hot sauce on the menu for tonight.  I love cooking!  That would be my second career if I could make it happen.  I put together this menu board to help plan meals for the week.  It was super easy to make and the boys will love helping plan meals.  We used to have a night a month where they chose the meal, cooked it for James and I, AND cleaned up.  We haven't done it for awhile and they are quite anxious to start it up.  Jared loves to choose involved recipes; Caleb loves Hamburger Helper.

My next plan of action - I'm going to scan all of Jared and Caleb's tons of school work and saved stuff by year.  Then I'm going to make an Apple iPhoto book for each year and pitch all of the paper work.  Maybe save a few cute projects to frame and add to the collection in my office.