Wow-- It's REALLY Been A Long Time

Okay, so it's been almost a whole year since my last post. I bet all of you loyal readers are jealous because my life is so exciting that I don't even have time to post a few entries here and there. But have no fear, I'm here to throw you a bone and give you some updates on the craziness that's happened in my life in the last 11 or so months (or what I can remember of it!).


Over the summer I participated in the 2008 Boston 3-Day and faced the biggest challenge of my life-- successfully! Walking those 60 miles were fantastic... so much so, that I even signed up for this year's walk. So... if you're interested in donating, please visit http://www.the3day.org/goto/emilyharper2009 for this year's fundraising site and give all that you can. The funds that you give help with breast cancer research, treatment and education and the whole thing is tax deductible. If you can't donate online, there's a link on that page to print out the paper donation form to mail in. Please help!

Hmmm... what else has happened lately. Well, in August, my mom had a spine surgery that was unsuccessful, and now she's in even more back pain than she was before. I stayed with her the entire time she was an inpatient, which I think was three days. She had the surgery at NY Presbyterian, Weil-Cornell campus, and I think the very best part of the whole event was the room she got after leaving PACU. She had a private corner room on the 14th floor (I think) overlooking the East River and the 59th Street Bridge, and from one of the many floor-to-ceiling windows, I think I remember seeing the Empire State Building. It was like living in an airy $8000/month studio apartment in a luxury building with room service, except my roommate was constantly screaming in pain and needed to be helped frequently to the bathroom to pee.


Then in September I went to the Dominican Republic with one of my friends and stayed with her and her family in a tiny three bedroom house in a *very* small village outside of Azua about an hour or so away from Santo Domingo. It was a great trip but ended with an unintentional weight loss of about 15 pounds, which normally wouldn't be such a bad thing. But when you consider traveling internationally with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and your period as a bonus, it doesn't sound so hot. But other than that, the trip was great. Also in September was Kate's bridal shower weekend which included two (not one!) bridal showers in Rochester and Auburn and a visit I did up to Buffalo to see Melissa. It was such a nice visit, so nice to see everyone!

In October my dad was diagnosed with cancer, so that month was filled with attempting to figure out the big "what's next?" as far as his plan of care. He started an aggressive plan of chemotherapy and radiation, had a feeding tube surgically placed in the operating room, and began his healing process which is still going on as he's still unable to swallow (thank God for the feeding tube!). Though his recovery seems slow, I know he's doing a lot better, and we're all pretty much just passing time until his follow up diagnostic scans, which I hope will take place early in April.

Also in October was Kate and Ryan's wedding. Yay! I was the Maid of Honor (yes, I know this is the third wedding I've been in...), Matt was one of the Groomsmen, and the coolest parts of the whole day were sharing in the ceremony that Kate's dad performed at the Downtown Rochester Public Library (gorgeous!), and having me and Matt as the witnesses to sign the marriage license. Aw! The reception was a blast and the whole weekend was a big success and a lot of fun... except for the speeding ticket that I got on the way up to Rochester (which, I have to say, was completely devastating and undeserved-- I was attempting to avoid hitting another state trooper whose ass was hanging out into the highway as well as trying not to get rear-ended/rear-end the people in front of me-- but alas, I pleaded not guilty, was charged with a lesser offense, and mailed my $285.00 in like a good citizen afraid of losing my license!). Wow... that was a big digression. :)



November held another vacation-- this time my very first cruise, as well as my very first vacation with someone other than Susan. Her friend, Mike, attended with us and made the whole thing an interesting experience with an odd number of people. The trip was great though-- the boat was beautiful, seeing the Florida Keys, Cozumel, Mexico and Belize City, Belize was great... as were all of the excursions we took in each port of call. In Key West we took a historic train ride around the island, which was fantastic, then spent the rest of the early afternoon walking around and shopping in souvenier places. In Cozumel the three of us took a catamaran ride to a place where we got off and went snorkelling in the open water, then back on the boat to a private island/beach where we got stung by tiny jellyfish while playing in the warm clear water! In Belize, Mike and Susan and I split up and I went on a trip zip-lining through the tropical rain forest and then tubing through a crazy system of caves. They were all such fantastic extra little trips! On the boat I did everything from resting poolside in comfy chairs to rockwall climbing, to going to the gym (ok, only once, but I went!), to doing karoke TWICE! It was such a fabulous time-- I'd definitely do it again!

I don't remember what happened in December, but January was ok. I stayed home for New Year's and went up to Boston for the six days afterwards, which had been the longest trip I'd taken to Massachusetts since the Boston 3-Day last August. Also during the December/January period was a brief visit with Laura who had come home from Alaska for a Christmas visit. Her dad had driven down from the Albany area to pick her up from La Guardia Airport, spent the day with her and another friend in NYC, and then stopped by me where the three of us had a snack and a warm mug of apple cider at a coffee shop in Pleasantville and caught up for awhile before heading back up to north of Albany. Aw, how much I miss her!

Now it's February, and I just came back from a visit to see Matt for Valentine's Day. This was most likely one of the last regular trips I'll be taking to Boston, except for the odd visit to see friends here and there, and it makes me really sad. Matt lost his job, so he's moving back home to the Finger Lakes region of NY State. Sigh. I like it up there, and I enjoy spending time with his family, but I thought that having to drive 3+ hours to see one another was bad. Now it's going to be about a 5 hour drive. I wonder when we'll ever live in the same city and cut it out with this long-distance crap. It's so frustrating!

Anyway, that's pretty much it. Surprisingly I condensed most of my life and I think I got pretty much all of the exciting stuff in. If I think of more, I'll do updates/edits. I also REALLY hope to continue writing here more regularly, so keep checking back... because noodles really *are* yummy. Enjoy, everyone!