Married Life Lesson #1

Alright folks. Mr. K and I are going on 19-some-odd weeks and marriage and let me tell you. It's not easy,  granted, we've had some big issues to deal with that most newlyweds don't; nevertheless, our marriage will always be worth it. So. Let's talk about an uncomfortable subject for a second. Something they didn't mention anything about in our marriage counseling sessions. 

Spanx. 

Yeah, Spanx, we woman have a love/hate relationship with those things. 

It's no secret that in the over-4 months since the wedding I've gained some weight. Between dropping my pre-wedding diet, the holidays, and my thyroid shenanigans, I've been eating a whole lot of stupid stuff and I'm not proud of how I've gone from feeling pretty good about myself and even wearing a bikini a few times last summer to feeling like a busted can of biscuits. That being said, it's also been a long time since I've worn my Spanx (probably since my rehearsal dinner, truth be told).

Ladies, I hope I have a chance to get this message to you before it's too late. But do not, I repeat DO NOT let your man see you in the act of PUTTING ON YOUR SPANX. 

He will not understand what's going on. 

He will be shocked and confused, he might even try recording the act on his cell phone. 

It's not a good situation, I promise. No one warned me about this. Obviously, the newlywed sites, like The Nest, encourage you to maintain certain boundaries like keeping the door closed when you go to the bathroom. But nope. No one's ever said that it could be dangerous to let your man see you squeeze your big ass into a teeny tiny nylon torture device from HELL. 

Of course that's not what yours truly looks like in them.

Now Mr. K is a nice guy, and might I add, not a small man himself. So he probably does not have any room to ask questions like, "Do you think that's going to work?" or "Have you worn those before?" or "Can you breathe, will you be able to eat in those?" Obviously in his studies to become an engineer, they did not cover the expansive properties of nylon and how it can grow to accommodate almost anything.

Halfway through the process, I realized his egging would be too much for me to endure just to get dressed, (as I'm hopping around, contorting my body into odd poses, sweating, trying to slide into these Spanx). So with the damn things still around my knees, I waddle into the bathroom to finish and hear Mr. K trying to comfort our pup Louie on what they'd just witnessed. 

So ladies, if you think your husband can handle the sight of putting on Spanx, I urge you to reconsider. Maybe there are just some things in marriage that are better left to the imagination. :)

P.S. If by chance you find yourself thinking, "Teehee, I don't have to wear Spanx," or if you've never even heard of them: do me a favor and go stand in the corner while you say those thoughts out loud.

Slipping Duvet Cover: Problem Solved!

So one of the things Mr. K was most adamant about for our wedding registry was he wanted a separate duvet and duvet cover. I'm more inclined towards quilts, myself, naturally, but I decided to let this be something that he got to "win." We were given a very comfy duvet by one of Mr. K's groomsmen and bought a beautiful duvet cover with our gift cards to Bed Bath and Beyond.

This was meant to be a 'before' pic for when
we refinish our bedroom furniture.

Anyway, so I love our duvet cover, but we have been having issues with the duvet sliding down and getting all bunched up at the bottom. Pretty much what we Southerners would call "CATTY WOMPUS." Yeah, I'll wait here while you look that one up, but have no fear, I've linked it for ya. You're welcome. :)

So I noticed, as many duvets do, that our comforter actually has these clever little loops on the corners. Our cover, however does not did not have the corresponding ties. Well. I fixed that right up in a hurry. This was a quick, 30 minute project I whipped up before going to the Garden Show with my mom Saturday morning. Very simple, just follow along with the pictures for directions.

Handy loops I mentioned above. Already on duvet.

I did a rectangle stitch with a zig-zag for extra strength
to attach this craft ribbon I had leftover from Jean's shower

Just like that! Just tie your ribbons around the loops and you're done! 

Quilted Doggie Placemat

My goodness, it's been so long since I, The Project Chick, have actually posted about a project and I have to say, it's felt really GOOD to be back at my sewing machine. When I'm pleased with the way it looks, I'll post pics of my little sewing nook in our spare bedroom of this rental house. With the medical issues I'm dealing with (I'll have an update on that this week), I'm finding that getting back to my hobbies is helping me to not just sit around and mope. Although I should probably work on picking up some more, ahem, active hobbies, considering my favorites are sewing and reading.

Now, back to the project. Ever since our sweet Louie has come into our lives, I've been itching to start making him things (since isn't that what you baby-having people do??), but have been hesitant while he is still in his destructive puppy phase. I whipped up this doggie placemat one night last week anyway to help out with his water-dish-splashing.

It's FAR from perfect and I plan to make a better, bigger one, but this one was kind of a sample/tester to see if he destroys it. He hasn't yet, though!

I decided to do this project because while I'm not a neat freak by any means, 

this messiness was really getting to me:

I started by finding these super fun doggie prints at Hancock Fabrics:

I cut and pieced the fabrics and then sandwiched them with some red canvas I had leftover from 

last year's corn hole board project and some batting to do some quilting.

After the quilting was done, I just had to do some binding and oh boy, did I not realize how hard it is to bind using canvas! Never again! As a result of the bulky canvas and being rusty on binding, my corners are TERRIBLE. Please do not judge me, and if you are a fellow quilter, consider me shamed. 

Had this project been for a person who would criticize me, I would've started over,

but: 1) I know my sweet Louie doesn't care if the corners are perfect and 

2) I know that it won't matter anyway if he tears this thing to pieces.

So without further ado, VOILA, finished product!

(Yes, I realize it's a little too small, I'll eventually make a bigger one)

Low-Iodine Diet, Here I Come!

Hello long lost followers! It’s Ash Wednesday and I figured no better time to rekindle my blogorama than now at the beginning of Lent. Considering my last post was nearly a month ago, I have a little catching up to do.

Kevin and I have enjoyed his first Mardi Gras season on the Gulf Coast. We wish we could’ve gotten over to New Orleans at some point, but I’ve been too tired or grumpy to go and we’re also trying to save money to buy a house… Sooooo New Orleans will have to wait until next year.

Louie is growing so quickly and he’s finally catching on to some of the simple commands I’ve been teaching him: sit, shake, high five… And we’re working on SHUT THE HELL UP! Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but homeboy goes absolutely crazy with barking whenever I get on the phone. He seriously does not bark until I get on the phone, he really is like a bad kid!

Okay, now for the latest with my Thyroid saga. My Endocrinologist had to push back my treatment 1 week because he was going out of the country. While I was disappointed to have to prolong it a week, I was glad because if I should have to go back into surgery or if there are any complications I need him to be available. I began the low-iodine diet on Monday and man… I now can see why everyone complains about it. I’M STARVING. It would probably be easier to give you a list of what I actually CAN eat, but instead I’ll give you a quick rundown of what the major NOs are on the low-iodine diet.

•  All dairy. Yes, no cheese. This is seriously the longest I’ll have ever been without cheese in my life.
• Egg yolks. The whites are okay.
• Obviously, ANY salt. Although kosher, non-iodized salt is fine.
• Leafy green veggies like spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.
• ANYTHING from the sea: seafood (yes, right here in the middle of crawfish season), seaweed
• Nothing processed or preserved at all really, bread, cakes, etc.
• Any processed meats like deli meats, pepperoni, salami, ham, etc.
• Canned vegetables

So yeah, I’ve had to ditch my vegetarian lifestyle after only a month and a half so that I can actually have something to eat. But I’m keeping it at fresh meats like venison or turkey that I know where it came from. We’re also, obviously, eating a lot of fresh veggies and I’ve even gotten Mr. K into liking quinoa.

Did I mention this diet lasts 3 weeks? I'm hoping I can shed some of these post-wedding/Christmas/thyroid surgery pounds, I have a sneaky suspicion that my recent weight gain is to partially blame for this depression I've been feeling. 

Anyway, if you happen to have been through this low-iodine diet before and have some creative recipes, leave me a comment and share!

One Month Post-Op

Scar covered in glitter. See it? :)

This will probably be my last post in the series of "post-op" entries. I celebrated being 1 month thyroid-less by dancing with my girls in the annual Southernette's Mardi Gras Ball. Now, those not from around here may not realize this, but Mardi Gras is a season here and we take it very seriously. We practice half the year, get all dolled up, stock up on our favorite snacks and drinks and get ready to have a good time. I am glad I felt well enough to go to practice after surgery and I had a great time at the ball.

Louie loved my pink poodle tutu

I'm feeling okay for the most part. My TSH and T4 levels are all kinds of wacky and I feel it. I've had a small anxiety attack, am always tired, and am still dealing with some depression. Don't feel bad for me, though. I'm being doted on by lots of loving family and friends. If you want to feel bad for anyone, feel bad for my sweet husband (of almost 3 months), he's the one that gets to deal with my drama day-in and day-out. I've been trying to do more wifely things like cook dinner every night to make him feel special. haha I think it works!

I do have a couple things that continue to trouble me. As any newlywed can tell you, as soon as people find out you've recently tied the knot, they have no problem asking, "So... When are you going to start a family?" Maybe it's cause we're 26 years old and in South Mississippi that makes us super old to be childless or maybe people just really love to ask this question, but I never know how to respond. Do I just tell them it'll be a little while? Or do I be the complete Debbie Downer and tell them that yeah, we had planned to just let God decide, but now we have to wait a year because of my radiation next month? The whole cancer story happens after that... And then the person feels bad for asking and I feel bad for making them feel bad. Sigh.

Yes, that's me on top of my
new craft table in the Corolla

Anyway - our sweet Louie is definitely keeping us on our toes and is a great practice round before we actually reproduce human offspring. :) Louie. Is. BAD! haha I never knew puppies could be so mischievous, he's lucky he's so darn cute!

SO. I am the project chick after all and I've FINALLY got a craft table in our spare room and I am just days away from being ready to get back into sewing and quilting. Look for that post soon!

Three Weeks Post-Op

Returning to Work

Betrayal.

Mr. K and I returned to work Monday from our company's two week holiday shutdown and as much as I hate to admit it, I am somewhat glad to be returning to a routine. I've been extremely exhausted every night this week, though, when we get home. And of course, our sweet Louie who's adjusting to crate training, is extremely energetic when we get home; thus, the reason this post is just now being written on Friday night (not to mention the fact that we've watched two seasons of Downton Abbey this week... ADDICTED).

Thyroid Cancer: Ain't Nobody Got Time for That
I went to my endocrinologist for the first time since surgery on Wednesday. This appointment was to go over everything from the pathology reports to the nitty gritty of my radiation treatments to life after thyroid cancer. Dr. Frieze is very thorough and in some ways that's awesome and in some ways it's terrifying. He tells everything that could possibly happen. Best case scenario and worst case... Now up until now, everything that he'd warned was "worst case" has been what's happened... SO I hope I've had the last of that and this radioactive iodine will be the end of my cancer story. I ain't got time for cancer, y'all!

Thyroid Cancer: Ain't Nobody
Got Time for That!

Everything I told in my post-op blog was still the truth, the cancer in the lymph nodes and everything. I'll begin the RAI treatment prep on February 18 with a shot, another shot the next day as well as a mini radioactive pill and full body scan. On the 20th of February I'll receive the RAI pill and head home where I'll be in isolation for 3 days. Following this, life should return to normal. Praying that the full body scan I have after treatment comes back perfect. If you're a friend or family member of mine and you're pregnant, younger than 15 or have kids under 15 or are elderly, then don't be offended but I'll be staying away from you for 2 weeks following my treatment. Seriously. I will be radioactive and could harm you. It's pretty intense. I'm beginning to stow away good reads and projects for my isolation time.

Moving Forward
As I mentioned before, this radioactive treatment means no pregnancy for Mr. K and I for 1 year following. And according to Dr. Frieze, our story won't end there. He told me pretty much as soon as I do get pregnant when the time comes that I tell 3 people in this order: 1) Kevin 2) Our parents 3) My endocrinologist. In addition to taking the Synthroid I'll probably be monitored for the rest of my life to make sure the cancer doesn't return. He said my prognosis is very good and that I'm considered low-risk when it comes to mortality (dying), but that I'm high-risk in terms of morbidity (cancer reoccuring). Good thing I got rid of my cheapo insurance this past summer after the blood clots!

Hopefully I'll have some more positive posts in the near future. And more importantly, I hope to have some more PROJECT oriented posts considering I'm the freaking Project Chick. :)

If you're reading this, thanks for supporting me through this tough time in my life. My mom is ordering bracelets and we are going to have a team in the Relay for Life this spring, comment and let me know if you'd be interested in playing with us that night!

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about when I say, "Ain't nobody got time for that," feast your eyes on this little gem.

Two Weeks Post-Op

Happy New Year, everyone! 

Today marks two weeks since my surgery and physically I'm wonderful! Most of the swelling has gone down and my scar is barely noticeable. It pretty much looks like a scratch at this point. 

I am, however, experiencing some mental/emotional side effects from the surgery, new medication, etc. Oddly enough I often find myself feeling around on my neck, though, searching for the mass. I guess I'd gotten so used to feeling for it throughout the day that it's strange to not feel it there anymore. I'm also having some wild mood swings and depression. I'm not sure if it's because I was immediately thrown into hypothyroidism, anxiety over my upcoming treatments, or if I've just always been this way (mom  & dad, no smart responses)!

I sit and wonder if the crazy tantrums I had during wedding planning could have partially been attributed to having a whack-o thyroid or if they were just bridezilla moments. I guess I spend too much time thinking? 

I don't know how people dealt with issues back before the days of the internet and social media. It must've been so much harder! I have found such comfort and solace by the fellow thyroid cancer fighters I've found via blogs, Twitter, even Pinterest. It's like having a support group without awkwardly sitting around in a circle exchanging pleasantries. 

Mr. K and I are working on formulating our new lifestyle including a very limited meat diet, since much of my cancer fighting research points to plant based diets. Stay tuned for a post on that in the next week.