Yesterday I wore a dress I love. It's lavender, and once I put on my dress, my wig, and my watch, I thought, I need a bracelet. I used to wear bracelets every day, and I love them, and I have a large collection of different types. I opened my jewelry box to find one I could wear, and saw one that had dark blue and purple stones, and thought, "where did that come from?" Something about it made me think of my sister, but I didn't have any concrete memory of when I got the bracelet, or why. I put it on, because it went with my dress, and when Brent got home, asked him if he remembered when I got it. Well, of course he didn't.

Today I asked my mom if she knew anything about it. (Coincidentally, my present-of-the-day from my mom yesterday was a bracelet.) She said, "Didn't your sister make you a bracelet?" I said, "Yes, but that's not it." My sister made me a bracelet that has a repeat of the Aztec symbol for "warrior" when I first got sick. So, today I called my sister, and asked her if she gave me a bracelet, and she said, "The Aztec one?" I said no, and described the one I meant, and she said, "Yeah, that sounds kind of familiar." I asked if it was for my birthday, and she thinks it was a Christmas present. So I told her thank you for the bracelet, which she thought was really funny.

Then she and I spent over an hour on the phone, laughing at different cases from "The People's Court," and researching how much of "The Man in the Iron Mask" is fiction.

My nieces' new game is for the older one to crawl around the room, saying "You can't get me!" and the baby chases her, and they both giggle. This is apparently worth many hours of entertainment. I think it sounds like the cutest thing in the entire universe.

Look at me, with the two posts in one day!

I got my CT results today: No more cancer in my lymph nodes or the paratracheal region. "The mass" has shrunk from 3.5 centimeters to 2 centimeters. I don't have to go in for chemo on Monday, because my doctor is going to a lung cancer conference on Tuesday, and he's going to "present the case," and then all the smart lung cancer experts will decide all together what to do next. Surgery isn't an option because of the first surgery (once they've superglued your lung to your chest cavity, there's no going back), but radiation might be an option, or else just more chemo.

So, yay! Next week I won't be sick, and the fact that I'm a dingbat who signed myself up to take a class during the week after chemo no longer matters. I can just take the class as a normal person. My wig should be here by then, so I can be completely in disguise.

Ooh. Today I also learned that I should add "The Electoral College" to the list of things that make my dad rant and rave for 20 minutes.

I need two of me today. One to sleep.

Last night, I went to bed at a pretty decent time- 11 or so. I was reading, but knew I needed to try and get some sleep. My back hurt, too, so I thought I'd take some Vicodin and kill two birds with one stone. I took them, picked up my book, and figured I'd read until they kicked in. A little after midnight, I turned off my light. A little after 2, I decided I really wasn't going to fall asleep, and realized I was hungry, so I took my book downstairs, fixed something to eat, and read some more. Probably some time after 3, I fell asleep on the couch. (I am so glad we have a comfortable couch.)

I woke up just after 7, and all I could think about was garbage. For two weeks in a row, Brent has forgotten to put the garbage out at the curb, so it's crammed full, plus there was still trash in the house. So, I got up, put on shoes, and went outside to move the trash to the curb before the truck came by (last week, they came at 7:30. Today, 10:42). Then, I debated going back to sleep, but I heard Brent up and around upstairs, and decided I'd stay awake to talk to him. I had a hard time listening, though, so maybe sleep would have been a better idea.

My sister called to ask me a Bogie & Bacall question, and it took me a minute to realize she meant the movie stars, and not my cats. (Anne: What was their first movie together? Was it "To Have and Have Not?" My thoughts: They haven't been in any movies. What is she talking abou- Oh, them! Me: Yeah, that was their first movie together.) While talking to her, I realized that I was so tired I wanted to throw up, but thought maybe food would help. I made cranberry-orange muffins, and eating them did help, but I'm still really tired. I have a lot I need to do, though. Brent asked me to finish the laundry he started, so that he can pack tonight, and I need to turn the sewing room back into a guest room, since his mom is coming tomorrow. Then there are dishes to do, and I have an appointment to get my latest CT scan results in three hours. So, while I'm still contemplating a nap, I think instead I'll try and get things done, and then take a nap after I get home from the doctor's.