A working woman again

I am working full-time again, the first time since 2010. Granted this is another contract position, meaning I don't know when it will end but it most likely will in the not too distant future. In any case, boy has it been hard to join the rat race again, waking up at 5:30am to get ready, working all day and dealing with Austin traffic! By the time I get home from my 45 minute commute, I have about 3 hours left to get stuff done before my weary body gives out completely and I head to bed. The problem is that I'm so pooped at night that I don't want to do anything but veg out in front of the television. Now I hate to complain because it's great to get a paycheck and I've been job searching for a long time, but after all that I've been through physically over the years, my body/mind just doesn't bounce back like it used to. Unlike my sister who works an insane amount of hours and has been known to stay up until midnight paying her bills, I need at least a solid eight hours of sleep to feel okay the next morning. I honestly don't know how all you women out there work full-time and raise children. What I'm finding is that since working, my social life, my hobbies, and my never-ending quest for a PERMANENT job, has all gone down the tubes. I'm sure that my working friends and family can completely relate many times over. I don't remember when the last time I painted something. And I sorely miss going to my monthly Pink Ribbon Cowgirl luncheons. In fact, I shouldn't even be wasting my time right now writing this blog post and instead I should be reading my emails and checking the job boards. Ugh.....

Raising money

This past Saturday the Pink Cowgirls held a massive garage & bake sale to raise money for the family of one of our own, a woman who recently lost her fight with breast cancer. By 6am a group of us were assembled to unload, organize and put out for display the bazillions of items that people had generously donated. Most of us helping out at the sale were wearing our Pink Ribbon Cowgirl t-shirts. The doors opened officially at 8am as we were still trying to put stuff out, and it seemed like every few minutes people were arriving to drop off even more items. Meanwhile we were swamped with customers! It got pretty crazy for awhile. One of the Cowgirls made homemade ice cream to sell, while others brought brownies, cookies and cakes. We even sold homemade dog biscuits!

The day was long and tiring but also a ton of fun, made even better by knowing it was for a great cause. And I loved the sense of community that was felt by all, but especially among the Pink Cowgirls. We're still calculating the total amount we raised but I know that there was almost $4000 in checks and cash, not counting the credit card sales.

Funny stories about my new "girls."

So far my new "girls" have provided me with some funny moments that I'd like to share. About a week ago, I was having lunch with some of my Pink Ribbon Cowgirls. I was sitting next to a friend when I stood up to talk to an other gal next to her. All of the sudden, my friend cleared her throat and said to me quietly, "Um Romy, your boob is resting on my shoulder." Well, I had no idea that it was, because I have no sensation what-so-ever (and probably never will) in my new breasts! Fortunately, we both started cracking up as she completely understood, as only a fellow breast cancer survivor could.
Then a few minutes later I was leaning over my cappuccino talking to an other friend, when that friend pointed down and said, "Romy, watch out. You're about to dunk your boob in your coffee." Laughs all around again. Boy, I'm going to really have to watch my "girls." They seem to get in the way all the time and since I can't feel them, it would be very easy to have a serious mishap!

On a different note, the "girls" are healing nicely. The horrible pain I was feeling underneath my left breast every time I bent down is gone thankfully. I thought the pain might be due to an infection but the surgeon checked it and said that everything looked good so far. He also removed the rest of the stitches. Overall, I must say that I am pleased with the way they look although sometimes the right breast looks like it's deflating in one small area. I'm not sure what that is all about but I hope that it doesn't get worse.

In the event of an accident

When I came home from the hospital, along with my discharge instructions, were two ID cards with some of my information imprinted on them. The cards also have the name of the company that makes my new boobies. I asked Mr. Pincushion what the cards were for. Do you know what he said? He said they were my new ID cards for the implants and something about how I have to go online to register them! Isn't that crazy? I've heard of registering appliances like the stove or refrigerator for the warranty but my boobs? I thought maybe the cards were for me to keep in my purse so that in the event of an accident or if I lost one or both of my new boobs, the doctors/police would know what type and size they were! But no, my plastic surgeon said I don't need to carry the cards on me. Apparently, they give them to patients in the event of a catastrophic event where the hospital or doctors' medical records are destroyed and you need to know what size/type you have. However, I think I will keep a card in my purse in case the former does happen.

Polly has a new trick!

So far, all is well with my new boobs. Yesterday I took the bra off for the first time since the surgery. I have to say that they look pretty darn good! Today the surgeon will remove the drain on my left side. I wasn't supposed to have a drain but he had to do more extensive work on the left breast due to the radiation so it became necessary to put a drain in.

Not only are my new boobies pretty but the one on the left side can do a trick. My left boob farts! I know this sounds crazy but it's true. Every once in awhile, if I move a certain way, my left boob makes a sound that can best be described at a "wet fart." It's happened about 4 or 5 times now and at first I thought this surely can't be a good thing. Maybe the implant is leaking? However, I spoke to the nurse this morning about it and she said that the sound is actually caused by a trapped air bubble. She said that the body will eventually absorb the air bubble/pocket but for now I will have a "farting breast." I bet that most people can't say that their boob farts!