Home Projects

So I got a LOT done over the past week or so (which is why I haven't written in a few days. I finished the railing project. This was going from a regular white railing in the house to a black-topped railing between the dining room and family room.

Also finally painted over the old mint green in the family room and kitchen and have it all this ivory color, which actually makes the white moldings all pop more. I am done with the "color fad" that burned through the decorating world a few years ago and want to go back to cleaner lines and brighter colors.

I love to use a lot of black accents and decor and so it also works better with the ivory color and white moldings.

I still have to paint the living room but might need to call in my friends Jhonny and Marcus from Color Time Painting to get the higher walls -- our entry way and living room ceilings go up about 20 feet high! I would need scaffolding in here and I'm not about to even attempt all that on my own.

Here's a peak at how this new wall color and railing look.

As I said, I'm really happy with this fresher and brighter scheme. Seems as I get older I am not as interested in busy decoration and more about simplicity and elegance. 

But....

New Nail Colors for Fall!

Hey I got my eyebrows waxed today (see pic)! And here's a quick note that didn't get posted last night because I was too wrapped up in the Huskies' win over USC! WOOF! 

Anyway, that was a HUGE HUGE HUGE win for the Huskies and we were all very excited. But I did some nail-polish shopping this week and have gotten some very cool colors for the fall. One is this groovy aqua I have on today pictured here.

Then there's a darker teal color also that I found that would work good on those Seahawks Sundays!

And here's some cheapo stuff I got for .99 cents a piece at Walgreens. Great colors for fall and also real good polish. This stuff is cheap but it goes on real nice and stays on without chipping. I usually follow up, however, with a top coat of Sally Hanson Insta-Dry clear coat for shine.

Tennis Shoe Thursday?

I'll hit up a "Throw Back Thursday" entry later, but for now I have been tennis shoe shopping. I have an obsession with accumulating great shoes, like any God-fearing woman ;-) This week it's been all about tenni-runners. Not the ones I run in or work out, but the kind that look awesome with a pair of jeans and colorful sweatshirts or tee's.

I ordered a pair of PF Flyers (to make me run faster and jump higher, as they used to say) and they haven't come yet. But they are here on PFFlyers.com 

And I don't know what these little shoes are but they were cute and they were at Ross and they were cheap so I had to have them!

I'm out of town and don't have access to my closet but I do love sporty little shoes like this -- they're a great alternative to flip flops or loafers when the weather starts changing. Also to flats.

Love.These.Products: Fighting Cancer

Tuesday is kind of a quiet day for me; especially this week when the UW Husky Football team travels to Los Angeles to play USC and it's a Thursday game. We had only a couple of days of media work and that's it. So, having said all that -- I will make this a "product post".

As I have talked about before, I am a cancer survivor. At this point, that is. It's a day-to-day deal and you never really are "cured" of cancer. Once a cancer patient, always a cancer patient. I had the unfortunate luck of getting a type of cancer that has one of the highest rates of recurrence. Now I'm shooting for that 18 month mark -- for bladder cancer, this is a huge deal to get that far without a recurrence.

Since I had surgery a year ago in July, I've had to see my urologist every three months for a cystoscopy and biopsy. I had intravesical BCG immunotherapy treatment for 6 weeks and then began the three-month checks. The treatment was rough -- made me sick and sent my immune system into overdrive so I was reacting to everything in an exaggerated way; allergies, etc. My skin was messed up and I had allergic reactions all over in the form of hives, bumps, cold symptoms, etc. But I managed. I have stayed cancer-free since the last treatment, which was a year  ago this month. Fortunately, they caught my cancer at an early stage, but it was a high grade (3) which means it was a very aggressive cancer and had the potential to be lethal had I not had it detected and treated.

So -- this has been quite a journey, but after awhile you just learn to accept it and it becomes the "new normal" for you. I will continue to have three-month checks until next year.

I changed everything when I began my adventure as a cancer patient; from what I ate to what I used on my skin to what kind of nail polish I used! At first, I was very panicked about everything and went a little overboard in the paranoia department! But after awhile you kind of settle in to the knowledge that everything you eat, breath, and touch has the potential to give you cancer and you just relax a little, knowing that you do have choices!

I stopped drinking tap water, for example. I've always known that it was bad around here, but we invested in reverse osmosis and now our water is as pure as we can humanly get it. It's also better to have this when we have a small puppy. We still buy tons of bottled water but also feel much better with our tap water now.

First and foremost, of course, was quitting smoking! People don't realize how this is a HUGE HUGE HUGE factor in bladder cancer.  And in a lot of cancers, for that matter. I had smoked for 37 years and was a very heavy smoker, at that. So this was quite a trial for me. I had never had any long-term success trying to quit. Not even when I was pregnant. I am not proud of that at all either. So for me, I began to take Chantix. It was a rough medication to take too -- made my stomach upset, made me depressed, but it made me quit, for GOOD!  I also got a good e-cigarette as well which helped a ton and I got the very low nicotine juice so I was able to wean myself off of that while still getting the "hit". Today I have not had a cigarette in almost two years and feel GREAT! My singing voice is back to what it was when I was a younger woman (in terms of clarity, breath control, and range) and I have way more endurance on walks, runs, and swimming. I had a great aunt who quit smoking when she was in her 50's and she finally died at age 94! So I think I just ensured a longer life span (if I continue to beat cancer's ass). And as you might have read in "My Story" I gave up all forms of alcohol. I had drank a LOT of red wine because my rationale was that it killed cancer cells, and it actually DOES -- if you're not a raging alcoholic! I truly believe that quitting smoking has had a LOT to do with why I have been beating this cancer!

NEXT I began juicing and blending. I grew to love my own creations

I went from this: 

 To this:

It makes you feel so much better and if you juice you get a lot of nutrients from the plants all at once, you don't get the fiber -- however -- so blending is good to mix into the routine. I did this for a couple of weeks and felt great. I bought the Breville Juice Fountain Multi-Speed  and the Montel Williams Healthmaster Blender. Both are excellent products. This was a good way to fight off the issues of weight-gain from quitting smoking.

A Note on Supplements:

My anti-cancer supplement cocktail consists of 2000 mg of Vitamin C. 2000 IU of Vitamin D. 125 m of Niacin. A multi-vitamin (I buy the vegetable based variety), and the most important supplement I use is Turmeric. It's a proven cancer-fighter. Vitamin C boosts your immune system, while D helps you absorb more nutrients from the sun. The Niacin is great for detoxing your body of addictive substances and putting your brain back into working order! While Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory that helps cancer patients by stopping the formation of tumors. The multi gives you all the B vitamins you need as well as the minerals.

When I stopped drinking I began to use Melatonin to help me sleep and I do to this day. Stuff is great!

Foods:

In addition to the juicing and blending of fresh (organic) fruits and veggies, you need to watch what you eat. Try to get free-range eggs, organic meats. Turkey is always way better than anything. I get turkey burger if I want a hamburger. Spelt bread is a great addition to a healthy diet if you have to have bread. My favorite brand is Dave's Killer Bread.

Also I switched from regular table salt to Himalayan Sea Salt. These are just the essentials to have around your kitchen if you are serious about trying to keep your diet as safe as you can humanly make it without growing your own food.

Look for non-GMO foods; Gluten-Free if possible, organic, and avoid MSG and High Fructose Corn Syrup. There's a lot more that could be written about this but this is just a primer.

Also, if you love chocolate but don't want the pounds, eat dark chocolate. WAY better for you.

In the past few months things have settled down a little bit for Joe and I -- we aren't as nutty about our diets as we were when I was still in the active part of the cancer fight. Now I am more focused on keeping off weight that was gained from quitting smoking! And Joe is all about cardiovascular health since his father died of a heart attack in his 60's. We drink protein shakes a few days a week (whey protein, lactose-free, non-dairy). Or we juice or blend. Eat a decent dinner, and then splurge on something naughty on the weekend like Pizza or a night at the Spaghetti Factory followed by Crispy Creme or Cinnabon. We stopped eating fast food a long time ago. If you try to eat right all week, you can afford a few carbs on the weekend. We also walk, run or swim regularly so exercise is key.

This last time around I have lost 13 to 14 lbs. and have more to go, but I have a whole drawer of size 3 jeans that I haven't been able to get into for awhile and that's my goal! I was never meant to be round. I am very petite and small boned, and usually it goes right to the middle! I didn't ever have any weight issues at all until later in life and it came as a total shock after spending close to 45 years wearing size 1 and 2 jeans and weighing barely 105 to 115. So my little build just can't take a lot of weight! Even after gaining 50 lbs of pregnancy weight, once I had Chrissy I lost it all and went right back to my old butterfly weight. I need to get down to around 120 to really be able to feel remotely close to my old self again!

So in summary -- the main things I advocate are not smoking, drinking, or eating non-organic, GMO foods. Also drink plenty of water and if possible get a filtering system for your home OR just get the bottled water at the store and make sure it isn't the fortified kind -- meaning the kind that says it includes minerals. You want pure, natural water. I always say that if you can TASTE water then there's something wrong with it.

Crystal Geyser is my pick.

Have a great Tuesday!!

-- RR

A Quick Song

Here's a recording of me singing "Marry Me" by Train.

Ruth Robbins -- Marry Me by Train

Monday Monday...

Today I am painfully reminded that I am getting older! Not "old" but oldER. That's how I rationalize it to myself :-)

I have arthritis in my left hip and, dang, it sometimes hurts like a mo-fo just trying to get out of bed in the morning. I'm about to start water aerobics Liberty Lake Athletic Club, which is literally right down the street, so that should help!

It's all that wear & tear during the younger years of playing sports, dancing, etc. But -- oh well. Could be worse...

So it's Puppy Pre-School day! My little Wiggle Butt doggy loves Mondays more than I do! Have to admit though, those puppy classes are the cutest thing you could ever witness. Especially the bigger pups like Otis the Rottie and Deisel the Pit Bull; they are big dogs -- with these little tiny baby teeth! Very cute. There are mostly labs, spaniels, and herding dogs in there, though. Biscuit is the only Aussie, but there are a couple of shelties and a border collie pup who reminds me of a Cody.

Here's a couple weeks ago; Biscuit and his friends Emmie the spaniel and Otis the Rottweiler!

While I'm not a big Natural Balance dog food fan, I do like their training treats. These are helpful to a point and then I pull them. I did this with both my dogs in the past, they serve a purpose but ultimately we want our dogs to do the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing! It's easier to accomplish that with the herding dogs because they are so intelligent and also so eager to work and please.

So it's all about the Dogs and Dawgs today! The Huskies get ready to play USC on Thursday and we already posted the press luncheon notes and videos on Realdawg.com earlier.





Psalm 25:6,7 NIV

Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

My Story

Couple of Notes: Real fun day today. Took Biscuit on his longest car ride yet; across town to see my mom. The Toyota rocks though -- what a great driving experience. Of course, going from a 5-speed to an automatic is kind of a relief. Smoother drive, and the fact that this car is a 2015 and not a 2001 VW Beetle is pretty obvious.

Mom is doing well -- thank God she got her hair cut and permed because she was beginning to look like Anthony Hopkins in Legends of the Fall! I know it's hard for her because she is a shut in, but yikes! If she lived closer I could do more but she's so dang far away. We've asked her to move in with us and have plenty of room but she still thinks she's able to live on her own.

So let's look at today's numbers:

Cancer Free: 15 months
Smoke Free: 18 months
Sober: 104 days.

Now, for my Story

I haven't really told my story yet in this forum -- and don't know how or where to start, but I as Elvis sang "I used to drink...I used to smoke". I smoked a LOT and drank even more. I quit smoking the day I found out I had Grade 3 Bladder Cancer. After surgery and 2 months of treatments, I have continued to keep it from recurring. But I still drank a LOT of wine and a LOT of beer and a LOT of anything else I could my hands on. The stress of dealing with cancer and all the fear that came with it didn't help -- and once I found out that red wine had ingredients that killed cancer cells, well -- that's all she wrote. I quit about four times over the past few years but it never stuck. Now I was drinking every day; two liters of wine on most days. I would start at about 4 or 5 and go until about 4 or 5 in the morning. Sometimes I'd run out just as I was getting my buzz on and would have to wait up until 6 am to get to the store once it opened. I'd top it off and go to bed. This was the most depressing period of my life. You don't ASK to become an addict, it just happens. You don't know why at this point -- you just know that you can't quit because that would mean withdrawing and the misery of losing the buzz. It took a LOT to get me buzzed and so I was entering the late stages of alcoholism.

I battled this back during the decade of the 80's, but got sober in 1989 and stayed that way until 2008. I always knew I was just one drink away from a full relapse, but thought I would still handle that one drink. But I'd never really worked an actual program. When I quit in the 80's I was still young and resilient, this time around -- however -- I wasn't so resilient anymore. The problems with my daughter, plus several losses of people just added up. My best friend Jackie died of cancer, this was horrible watching her go through this. Then the final blow was learning that I had cancer as well. My daughter took off and went to California and I hear from her about once a week, she's doing okay.

The deeper I got into addiction the less I believed God cared one iota about me, so I carried around this weight of guilt and self-hatred. Why NOT drink? What else was there? My husband was sick of having a drunk for a wife. I didn't even want to work anymore. Cancer really kicked my ass in the depression department and drinking just made it worse. I had back-slid completely from my faith, I didn't trust God at this point. Things just....SUCKED. My councilors told me I was considered a "functioning alcoholic" because most people on the outside had no idea I was the female version of Kid Chalene from the movie"Cat Ballou. My poor, long-suffering husband was beginning to take on the role of Andy Garcia from "When a Man Loves a Woman".

"We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable" 

Finally, I found a great Nar Anon group where I could spend time with other mothers and fathers of drug addicts. This began my road to recovery in terms of the issues with my daughter. I was continuing to beat cancer, and in April I checked myself into a 3-day treatment program and then continued on in out-patient treatment for my own addiction. Again, I had quit numerous times and couldn't stay sober more than a couple of weeks. I relapsed again in June. And that's the last time I've had a drink. Now I'm over 100 days sober, which is a true miracle. I go to meetings twice a week (MRT and Relapse Prevention), and both have brought so much clarity into my life. I love my groups. This is an ongoing program at New Horizons Care Center in tne Valley and the staff is awesome. I'm living proof that you CAN teach an old dog NEW tricks! I continue to work my Steps, and everything in my life has improved 100-fold.

I have lost 13 pounds. I am healthier than ever right now. My marriage is so much better, my relationships are better. I have way thicker skin with work than I used to. My whole life is so much more organized and of course, my dealings with my daughter have more clarity and patience. I have been able to "let go and let God". But that's the biggest improvement -- my relationship with my Lord and Savior is the way it was when I was younger -- and better! Not to mention the fact that, after all the years of smoking, I now have regained three octaves back in my vocal chords and can sing just about anything again.

I've been slowly, but surely, getting back to work on a full time basis, whereas my reporter Lars had done just about all the work for many months while I was having my alcohol and cancer meltdown! He's been great.

As I said before -- I've learned that it is to no avail to sit around and worry about things we just cannot change, God's Grace IS sufficient! Just knowing we are forgiven, and redeemed despite our worst days and unspeakable behaviors is enough. And if you can just rest in that -- the rest comes easy!

Since I've gotten sober everything has changed for the better; I seem to always have money now. I'm never worrying about bills. We've done so well we were able to go out and buy a fantastic new car. We also were able to afford a beautiful dog from one of the most reputable Aussie breeders in the Pacific Northwest. Joe and I went through a lot when our kitty passed away in July, but I got through that loss without anything to drink, and that was a huge accomplishment for me because I LOVED that cat! So things aren't perfect, and life still throws its challenges our way, but it's how we react to and deal with those challenges that defines what we're made of.

What I am made of is a soft heart, but tough spirit, I am strong -- yet I am tender and will extend a hand to anyone who needs to feel that tenderness at any given moment. I am a child of God. Now I know on the internet there's "haters" and "trolls", I get that -- these folks are living rather boring lives in which it makes them feel better about themselves if they can bully others. But to them I say, take your best shot -- as the Bible says "No weapon formed against me shall prosper". And so if someone wants to be a bully, then they will have to deal with their own misery down the road -- I truly feel sorry for people like that and pray for them daily as they are in serious trouble with their moral compass

-- as for me and MY house, we will serve the Lord!

-- Ruth Robbins, October 4, 2015