Our 19th Wedding Anniversary - a tribute to our love

On 11/12/13 we celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary.  We started out as friends when we worked at the same law office and after 20 years together, we are still best friends.  Not to mention soulmates, life partners, connected at that hip... Mark is the love of my life and I can't imagine being without him.

So to celebrate this year, instead of gifts, I made this little video slide and included *our* song "Your Love Amazes Me" by John Berry.  We have many songs, but this was our first and is just as meaningful today.  Oh and just to mention that we got to meet John Berry in person (you'll see the photo in the video) and told him our little love story.  That was a moment we'll never forget.

I could have added a zillion more pictures, but then I would have had to add more songs - not to mention go through tons of shoe boxes, coffee cans... So I'll stop here and let the video do the rest of the talking. 

Peace,
Rocki

Day 2 in Sedona - part 1

Our first morning with a toast to the beautiful Sedona view

More photos of our Sedona celebration trip and once again I'll let the photos speak for themselves, along with a little explanation. 

Rocki and Mark waiting for the tour to begin

We started out the day with a trolley tour that took us into the Dry Creek Valley, further up the mountains to see the breathtaking vistas of Boynton and Long Canyon.

Sedona Arizona, Uptown

Just one of the breathtaking views of the red rocks from Uptown while waiting for the trolley to depart.

Sedona, Arizona

Another amazing view while on our tour.  One of many reasons we love Sedona.

Sedona, Arizona

The low clouds made for a gorgeous scenic photo op. 

Sedona, Arizona

Mark jokes around with me of my photo choices - like these "weeds" as he calls them.  I think the photo came out pretty cool myself.

Sedona, Arizona

I tried to get Mark to grab a couple of those rocks to take home.  He declined, darn it!

After all these years and we're still madly in love!

Scenic break over and back into the trolley to continue on our beautiful tour.

Sedona, Arizona

Sedona, Arizona

One of many vortex spots in Sedona - is this not gorgeous!

Sedona, Arizona

We're coming back here after lunch to hike that mountain - I'm feeling me some vortex vibes!

The trolley tour was relaxing, enjoyable, breathtaking and pure bliss.  From there we went to lunch at The ChocolaTree - that will be my next post.

Peace,
Rocki

FUNNY How Time Flies!

Fried eggs anyone?

It's hard to believe that in 12 days it will be exactly 1 year since my surgery, but more importantly... 1 year of being cancer free!  And we have a fun celebration planned.  Oh and for those that are new, I had a bilateral total mastectomy and sentinel node removal without reconstruction.  In other words, I'm flat as board.  More info in my Breast Cancer Survivor tab.

Before I go on, let me explain the pic above... and my humor for those who don't know me.  We went to Portland in June to visit my boys (awesome visit!).  There was a Goodwill store at the end of the street where we were staying.  I love and shop in second hand stores. Anyway, I spotted pink and when I pulled the shirt off the rack (rack... that's funny!)  I about doubled over with laughter!  Ha ha ha... fried eggs on the front!  Perfect!

There's more to this story.  It just so happened that the next day, Saturday June 29th, while we were enjoying Portland weather, everyone back home in Arizona was dealing with a toasty 119 degrees that day!  The hottest day I experienced was 122 back in 1990.  Fun day - not.  So I wore my pink shirt in honor of everyone frying eggs on the sidewalk that day and posted it on Facebook.

Get your melons!

Yes, I'll be getting back to my 1 year 'cancerversary' plans soon, but since I'm on the humor train...

True story.  I got me a pair of nice melons on sale for .48c at Sprouts!  Mark hasn't had melons in a long time so I figured I would give him a treat.

Ba-dum-bump. 

Perfect!  by Tales of a Broken Boobie

 

I'm guessing some of you may be thinking "OMG, breast cancer is not funny!" or "having your boobs removed is not funny!"...etc.  Trust me, I'm not making fun of breast cancer, any other cancer or anyone dealing with this ugly disease.  I'm also a melanoma survivor, among other life altering crud, so I know many roads of emotions.  Basically with all the crap I have been through in my life I have always used humor.  As cliché as this may sound, humor truly is good medicine.  Maybe not for everyone, but it certainly works for me.  Oh and no I'm not masking anything or hiding my 'true feelings'.  This is just a part of who I am. 

Me and Mark - my soul mate - the love of my life - my very best friend - my hubby

Okay now back to our big simple plans for our cancerversary trip.  I say "our" because Mark has been by my side from day one of our close to 20 years together and has never ever flinched.

We are going to our Happy Place - Sedona that is.  Yes, we call it our happy place as that is where we used to go when we needed a break from the craziness of life and to rejuvenate.  In fact, we used to go there a couple times a year, then once a year and then crud/life happened.  We haven't been there for the past couple years or so for a variety of reasons, not just because of breast cancer.  So what better place to celebrate this first year of being cancer-free than beautiful, peaceful, and mesmerizing Sedona!  Our Happy Place.

I'll save the rest of our plans for another post before we go as for now I need to get into the kitchen and uncook our dinner. 

I can almost feel the happy vortex vibes now!

Peace,
Rocki

Bilateral Total Mastectomy Photos - 6 Month Post-Op

Bilateral Total Mastectomy Photos - Post Op

 

This is another update for my online open journal in hopes of helping others that have to, unfortunately, go through the same thing and looking for information - as I did. 

 

Below are three photos of my bare chest showing the healing process to date.  There is really nothing to it, no blood or gore, just my bare empty chest with scars.  Like last time, I just want to give a brief little warning for those who may be a little squeamish, etc.  The photos are of just my bare chest, but for my 12 month post-op, or before, it will be entirely of me as I'm comfortable in my own skin.  You can find more photos and/or info in the top tab: Breast Cancer Survivor 

 

Photo's start below:

 

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Bilateral Total Mastectomy - post-op 6 months

Let me start by saying everybody heals differently and I heal slow.  Most of the scaring is still an ugly mean red and wider, while the rest is a light to pale pink and thinner.  The 61 staple scars are barely visible now.  In fact, some are gone.  My left side is more caved in while the right is flat.  The right armpit area still has a poofy lump (not cancer lump, just a lump area) but has gone down some.  It gets sore if over used, but nothing like a few months ago.  I'll find out Monday at my appointment the status on this.

Right side

My right side is where the nodes were removed and that area is healing quite nicely.  I'm not having any problems with that area, other than the lumpy part.  The drainage tube scars on both sides are a pale pink and barely noticeable now. 

Left side

Up until over a week ago, it had been a couple months without any pain issues.  But in my left chest wall area I'm having odd pain that goes into my back and left shoulder blade area.  The shoulder part feels more like bone pain while the other pain is, well, pain.  I do have mild degenerative arthritis in my hands and wrists, so not sure if that affects the shoulder area too (?).  I tried to research this, but all I came up with was heart issues and I seriously doubt that's what it is.  As funny as this may sound, I'm healthy otherwise, plus I eat a vegan diet (raw vegan as 4 months ago).  As with the right lumpy area, I will find out if this is related to post-op issues or another issue.

For all my wonderful online pals, customers, friends and fellow Survivors that have contacted me and asked how I'm doing and when am I going to post more pics - thank you!  I've been back to my "normal" (whatever that is) self and activities for a while now.  The only limitations really is I can't have blood drawn or blood pressure taken from my right arm - ever.  To sum it up, I'm doing AWESOME!  Well, other than the issues mentioned above AND finally over the acute upper respiratory infection, but hey... I've been through worse. 

And yes, I'll have more pictures than the ones posted here as I'm going to have professional pictures taken in a few months.  I'm hoping sometime this summer - and some will include Mark.   I can hardly wait!

Thank you all for your continued love & support for not only me, but for everyone that has to deal with this horrid disease.

Peace & Love,
Rocki

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - taking off

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - scanning the back yard

So our little, well not so little actually, feathered friend has been visiting our yard just about daily.  Yesterday was perfect to get some good shots of him as it was a cloudy day with the sun peaking in and out.  Before he went into the tree, he was by my studio window again standing on our utility trailer - about 6 feet from the window.  So I stood there and watched him, like a hawk.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - still scanning

I got these shots from our bedroom patio.  Like last time, I just sat there watching him through the binoculars.  He is a large, gorgeous bird with beautiful markings.  He continued to scan the yard, which was full of birds.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - found something

Something caught his eye, so I decided to just keep clicking away.  Glad I did because I am really happy with how the photos turned out.  I'm no professional photographer by any means, but I think they are pretty cool!

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk - getting ready to take off!

This is my favorite of the day!  When I looked at the pictures I became REAL excited!  I just LOVE this shot.  I have another one in flight, but all you can see is tree...totally missed the hawk.  Oh and if you click on the pictures you get the larger view.

That's all for today.  Just had to share these awesome photos.  Now it's time for me to take off.

Peace,
Rocki

Haboob in Peoria, Arizona

 Last night we had the pleasure of watching a Haboob roll in (a HUGE dust storm).  They are quite amazing actually and my photos did not do this one justice.  I was taking them from our back yard with my Droid, as Mark kept telling me to get inside.  Above is a view to the left.

 And this is a view from the right...

Okay, so now it is above us and after this pic I went inside, closed the arcadia door and the Haboob said hello in a big way.  After it left, we were blessed with an awesome loud, rolling thunderstorm with the works. At least it washed the dust away.

In light of the storm, we decided to watch the movie Twister.

Peace,

Rocki

Awesome Florida Bird...

These pictures are from our Florida trip last December. We visited again just this past August and I took more pictures. I have many cool shots that I would like to post - when I have time.

Anyway, just a real quickie here... I took these pictures when we were boating through the channel where my brother lives. I'm no photographer by any means. I took the above pic and then a couple moments later clicked again...

and got this AWESOME shot! It may be just me, but I really love how this picture came out- so cool!

Have great day!

Peace,

Rocki

Daughtry - VIP Part 2

The concert! I do apologize for the quality of the pics, but as mentioned previously I forgot my camera (too much excitement!) So these are all taken with my Droid - and shaking, er...rocking hands.

On the catwalk. We had floor seats and were in row 21 - AWEsome seats. Seats? Funny, but I don't recall ever sitting!

My man Steely! Totally rocks the guitar :)

Daughtry gettin' down and the crowd was screaming big time! I woke up the next morning with a very raspy voice. Not sure why exactly ;)

Throughout the concert there was some pretty cool & colorful flashing light effects that I wish I could have picked up more, but you get the idea.

Far part of the stage with more cool lights.

I did take a few pics of Cavo & Lifehouse when they were on, but they didn't turn out so well. Both of those bands rocked the house! Daughtry put on an EXCELLENT concert all around. Performance, singing, sound, looks... everything was right on!

Well, that's it. Concert is over. We had a total blast and yes, still smiling from meeting the guys and getting hugs! I have a TON of pics, but don't worry, this will be the last Daughtry post... for now ;)

Thanks Daughtry, you guys rock!

♥Rocki

Name That Cloud

I've been meaning to post some pictures from our Florida trip in December, but... So I'll be posting a few of my favorites here and there.

Yep, that goofy gal is me driving my brothers boat while he co-captains. We had a total blast on that trip! It was the middle of December and we experienced rain, cold, sunshine and beautiful warm days. We'll be heading back there again in August for a whole week and I get to drive a BIGGER boat then!!

Okay, so now to the Name That Cloud. I love clouds, especially ones that resemble real life. Take a good look at the below picture and DO NOT scroll down yet. Can you make out what it looks like? Give it a few minutes and it will hit you.

So while we were visiting, we pretty much stayed in and on the water. So many beautiful places and beaches. Now that Chris has a bigger boat with cabin (and the all important bathroom!) we can travel even further into the ocean! Oh and he's going to teach me to drive that boat as well, that we have nick-named after me. He didn't actually name the boat "Rocki", but just for fun he did.

Oh yes... the cloud. Any clues yet? I have a couple other fun cloud pictures that I took on our trip, but will only post one of them because the other one is... well... let's just say it's on the nasty side! But we all got a good laugh out of THAT one!

As mentioned in my previous post, we're pondering moving to Florida. This is no joke, we are seriously looking into it as Mark & I are ready for a change. However, there are many factors right now that we have to consider first.

Cloud? Well? Any thoughts? I would love to say that the winner gets a pot of gold or "one meeeeeelion dollars" or a free shopping spree in my shop, but how would I know that you didn't cheat and take a peak at the below picture, hmmmm? ;) Okay... the moment of truth. Last chance before I disclose what it is! I'll give hints along the way as you slowly scroll down:

- animal

- large

- mammal

- hates mice

- loves peanuts

- grey (or gray, whichever you prefer ;)

- trunk

- zoo

Got it now?

Yep, it's an elephant! Come on, you can see it too, it's not pink! I'll post the other one next week - the clean one that is!

Happy Day!

Rocki

Noodle Noggins - Monday's Featured Artist

Okay... is this not the cutest pic ever?!! Wait a second here...

No, this one! Yes, this is the cutest pic ever! Wait... there's more! It was so hard to select photos from Kristy's amazing Noodle Noggins Etsy shop for this blog feature, but it sure was a lot of fun!

I *met* Kristy recently via Link Love on Facebook and must admit that I fell in love with the picture up top - it makes me smile! That led me to Kristy's handmade crochet Etsy shop - which I can't seem to keep out of!

Kristy started out crocheting baby blankets for her girls when she was pregnant and as she states: "the rest is history!"

In her shop you will find a variety of ADORABLE and beautifully handmade hats, scarves, headbands and more. Not just for little ones, but us adults as well.

Don't just take my word for it, you MUST see her shop for yourself. You'll not only enjoy her handmade crochet items, but the beautiful, fun and heartwarming photos will make you smile ear to ear all day long!

Click on the links below to see where can you find Kristy:

Noodle Noggins

Facebook Fan Page

Whats on a Name

Have a smiley Monday!
Rocki

Pretty Pink Flowers!

Okay. Yes, I like pink. I used to dislike pink actually, but as you can see that is now not the case.

Mark surprised me with these pretty pink flowers for my birthday! Maybe because they matched the pink in my hair perhaps? I just LOVE them! I mean, they are the prettiest pink flowers I've seen in a long time and I just had to take pictures of them.

Jeremy & Jason will just love me for taking this shot of the flowers - those are one of their high school pictures. I have TONS of pictures, as you could imagine. I also keep cards I receive, especially from my boys - Mark too of course! The ones on my dresser mirror from my boys are quite funny - they are such the comedians :) Oh and yes, that is "Rocky & Bullwinkle" in the background. Their hands are bound together as they are life partners... no, not in a kinky way - sheesh!

I know, this isn't about my pretty pink flowers, but my princess Sasha's tongue is pink! LOL! She likes to be on our bed when I do the laundry, to take naps, and watches me when I take pictures of my work. I don't know why, but whenever I get the camera and she hears the sound it makes when I turn it on, she's RIGHT THERE! This shot cracked me up - a total surprise because she was sitting still and as soon as I took the pic she yawned! Or maybe she's trying to tell me something?

That's it for today. I'm trying to get back into the blog world, but work is keeping me pretty busy. Speaking of, I need to head into the studio now.

Happy day everyone!
Rocki

Little Rocki

Yep. This is me - little Rocki in my favorite get-up, as so I'm told. I was a little tomboy through and through. Okay I still am, but I don't dress like that anymore - I don't wear diapers (no Depends jokes Laura! ;)

Before I go on, I planned on blogging yesterday, but due to a major cut in the Cox Cable fiber optic line, we had no Internet service for a very loooooong time. Needless to say when it came back up, many hours later, I was pretty busy elsewhere. Funny how much we depend on Internet now days (again Laura, try to control yourself ;)

So, today I thought I would just share some pictures of me a 'few' years ago. I love looking at the old picture albums - so many emotions from happy to sad are in those books. The black and white photos are so classic, they crack me up sometimes.



As you can tell I've never been much into fashion - I sort of make my own statement. Actually, I sort of look like Boy George here. Hmm, I do remember wearing a dress at this occasion. (Laura -*shakes finger*)

Awe there, see? I clean up nice now don't I? I truly remember the day of this picture. I wasn't much for dresses, but back then all little girls wore dresses, especially in school. In fact, I remember when we were FINally allowed to wear pants to school - I was SO happy. However, no jeans - they had to be a matching pant suit. Anyway, this dress was terribly itchy and I could hardly wait to take it off!

My dad! My buddy ol pal! Handsome little devil isn't he! This was taken at my grandmas house - I loved that front porch! Mom used to tell me that if I kept my hands inside that furry little thing that I would find a surprise inside. I never found anything. I wonder if that was her way of keeping me busy?

Wow - I SO remember this day! We moved from California to Arizona in July (we had lost our home in the big Sylmar quake the previous year, 1971, so guess it was time to move). Yes, we moved in the middle of 110 + degree weather, in 2 big U-Hall trucks pulling our other vehicles & no a/c. My brothers, David and Chris (doesn't he look happy?) rode with dad and we followed with little Laura (yep, that would be my little sis in mom's arms) screaming practically the entire way. Fun times. We lived in the motel for about 2 months before dad found a little house for us - the one on Seldon Lane, Laura.

Well that's it. Just a few memories to share with all my buddies. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

Rocki

Rocki's Make-Over

Yes folks, this is me. This was taken by Laura on Saturday at my Dad's birthday party.

Laura... my sweet and "innocent" (cough cough) sister - so very talented with Paint Shop Pro.

So why did she give me a new make-over? We were razzing each other back and forth yesterday and she said that she would pay me back. Well, looks like she did. Oh, and this isn't the first time she has attacked me like this. I have MANY more pictures that she has either drawn herself or altered in some shape or form. Like when I fell over the dishwasher and scored a big fat bruise and such. She gave a play by play of the event. Yes, I said dishwasher.

Um... excuse me... you can all stop laughing now ;)

Hmm. I've always wondered what I would look like as a Platnium blonde.

Happy day everyone!
Rocki