It's Cancer Girl!!!

Banjo Goes Medieval!!

2012-01-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone!!! Guess who it is??? It's SuperDog BanJo!!! Since CancerGirl types in Purple, and SuperDog types in red, I am going to type in BLUE!!! I told him he should type in pink and he tattled and told CancerGirl and she said to leave him be. He is such a tattletale!! Ok, back to my story!!! Today CancerGirl and SuperHubby (I call him dad, something that SuperDog always tells me is unprofessional, whatever!!) And that is why I still have to go to work every other day at school, because you still have a lot of growing up to do mister buster!! I am looking forward to my retirement of only going out for lunches with CancerGirl and my Aunt Lynne, so you need to be more professional in the field, and stop telling little kids that your a superhero, and that you have special powers, that is supposed to be a secret!!! You see the kind of nagging (she calls "training") that I put up with. This is supposed to be my Blog post, CG promised!! Well anyway, today Clarice, and Laurence (SuperHubby's undercover regular name) and I went to the Hoggetown Medieval Faire We had such a great time!! I am going to share some of the pictures and tell you guys all about it!! I had to work today, because CancerGirl had to do a lot of walking, so I wore my harness, but I still got to have a lot of fun!! CancerGirl had the camera for most of the time, and she spent most of her time taking pictures of the shows and such and then realised she hadn't taken any of SuperHubby, she apologized about it, she feels bad, I can tell.

This is a Picture of me and CancerGirl standing in front of the wall. See those guys up there, they yelled down to us "That's a beautiful Horse you have there!" and I was shocked, because I know I'm a dog, and I wondered to myself "hmm, CG and SH have real world aliases, SuperDog didn't say anything about us changing, but maybe I am a horse when I am not being a SuperDog!! That is soo cool!!" SO now I have it all figured out!!

They had the STRANGEST of people and things there!! This lady said to CG when she took her picture "Don't let the Queen see you taking my picture, she is already jealous of me as it is". She said that she was the most beautiful woman there of course. I thought she looked a little different.

CancerGirl thought this guy was from a horror movie, he said he wasn't scary, he was just an ogre and he was looking for some goblins. CG said that we would let him know he was looking for them if we saw them.

Then we ran into of all things a pair of PIRATES!!! I had never seen a pirate before!! They talked in some strange pirate language too!! A lot of people kept calling me a horse too, I think they were confused!!

I have NO IDEA what the heck these things were!!! They were REALLY big though!!

This is something that CancerGirl said was "chess", but I have seen people play chess and they never needed this many people and no one whipped out a sword!! I think everyone should play chess like this from now on!!

We saw these HUGE horses, I mean they were GIANT!! And they had these big metal things all over them. I am so glad that I only have to wear the harness and not a bunch of metal like that, it must be pretty heavy!!

I got to say hello to a LOT of people, and I got to get hugged by a lot of kids!! I love little kids!! Hey!! Are you whispering in that kids ear?? You better not be telling them you're a SuperDog!!

I saw a goat!!! I remembered right away what a goat was! There were goats where i lived before I joined the Hats For Happiness crew!!

As we were leaving, we ran into this HORSE!! I saw why those guys and the others had called me a horse, I am as big as he is!! I wonder what that is all about??

Tomorrow CG and I are going to Oveido to go to the Martha's Angels Fundraising Event to spread some happiness and tell everyone about Hats For Happiness!! CancerGirl has made a blanket or two to be raffled off and best of all you get to see meeee!!!

CG and SH New Life!!!!

2012-01-20T23:56:00.000-08:00

SuperHubby in his work uniform.

Monday starts a whole new life for SuperHubby and CancerGirl !!! For the last 20 years, SH has worked a very early morning shift and has gotten off work at 9am. He went to sleep very early every night, usually in bed by about 6PM. Most nights CG and Sh didn't sleep in the bed together, he took a short nap during the day, and then he went to bed early.

Monday, SH begins a new shift and job at work. He has recently (the past 8 months) been working both his morning shift and the afternoon shift most weeks. This has caused major tiredness on his part, (Exhaustion is more like it) (Yes SuperDog, he has been exhausted, and I have been worried, but he promised that he would fix it, and he did. I know you have missed him, I have missed him too.) Anyways.....starting Monday, SH will be only working the afternoon shift.

I am very proud of SH. He has worked very hard for many years. He has had knee surgery from stepping in and out of trucks all night long, he has back pain from bending over a belt scanning packages all night. This job will allow him to have a much less stressful life and a much steadier sleep schedule.


SuperDog BanJo wearing his harness at the event for the Debbie Turner Cancer Care Center!!

Another part of the beginning of our new life is that CancerGirl will be bringing SuperDog BanJo to school!! On Tuesday SuperDog BanJo has his first day of school!! CancerGirl has been holding off on taking SUperDog BanJo to school with her. A large part of that is that SuperDog does such an awesome job and already knows exactly what to do and when to do it, I know that SDBJ (SuperDog BanJo) will be awesome and he will learn very quickly what is expected of him.

I know he will love school and now that CancerGirl is walking from school to SH work after school, she needs SuperDog BanJo to start going with her because SD is too short for the harness that CG has and she cant really use it effectively. SDBJ is a much bigger dog and the harness fits him and I perfectly!! I will need him for balance and to help if I get tired or if my back starts to bother me when I am walking. I cant wait to take him now!!

I can't wait to see how the new schedule and working with BanJo at school works out!! I can't wait to spend more time with SuperHubby!!! I can't wait for the lair to be paid off in less then 5 months from now!!!

SuperDog's First Day of the Last Semester

2012-01-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

CancerGirl and SuperDog went to school today!! Today is the first day of SuperDog's last semester. Our first class was Statistics which is in the Math building. (you can see me in the picture in front of the Math building here) Yes SuperDog, you were beautiful in your Backpack!! Lucky I got to wear it, I told you yesterday "I need my backpack washed" and you didn't put it in till night time when the pipes froze. Luckily they defrosted early enough to have it finish washing and get dried. I would never ask you to go to school NAKED!!

You certainly are complaining a lot in your older age SuperDog!! Anyways, back to the story!! This is the second time CancerGirl is taking statistics. She took it as an online class during the summer (a shorter semester) and she did fine right up until the last few chapters and she ended up getting a D in the class. This was very upsetting to CancerGirl as she had never gotten anything but A's and B's in every other class she has ever taken!! The professor asked "Who here is taking this class for a second time because they have failed it once?" and about 2/3 of the class raised their hands. CancerGirl felt much better about having failed the class before after this.

Her professor had everyone introduce themselves and tell a little about themselves. I happened to sit next to an older gentleman when I came in. He was before me in the introductions, and during his introduction he mentioned that he was a 8 year Cancer Survivor.

I immediately thought about how odd it was that of the over a dozen seats that were empty, I happened to choose the one that was right next to the other Cancer Survivor in the room. After class we talked for a while about both of our journeys. When I introduced myself I mentioned www.hatsforhappiness.org and he asked about my going to school during treatment. He said so many flattering things, about how strong I am for having done that, and how to have done school, and chemo and radiation, and then still want to help others and create a non profit organization, that he thought I was amazing.

I don't often think of myself like this. Mainly because I think that everyone is amazing in their own right, and there really isn't much about me that makes me any more amazing then anyone else!! I don't feel the same way. I am sorry, but there is no other dog as amazing as I am!!! Yes, yes SuperDog you are amazing!!

After that talk it was off to Environmental Science for us!! Yaaay Time for another picture of me!!!! I am in my second class here. CancerGirl will try and tell you that she is the one who "goes to school" but we all know I go and she just brings me. Yes, and I suppose you write all the papers and do all the homework too huh SuperDog?? Well anyway, here is the picture of SuperDog in OUR Enviromental Science class

My ES professor is very "lecture based" and very old school professor. He said the classes are lecture, he will lecture, we will take notes. This will be a hard class for CancerGirl to follow, since she reads lips even when she has her hearing aids in, so writing (or typing) while trying to look at the professors while they talk is hard for me!! I will get through I am sure, I will just have to make sure to read the chapters carefully in case I don't catch what he says in class.

After our ES class, CancerGirl and SuperDog had to wait a while for SuperHubby to come pick them up. While they waited, CancerGirl told SuperDog to go lay in the grass while she sat at a table (about 50 feet away) and read her textbook and studied. SuperDog laid down and relaxed after a hard first day back to school!! I am going to end the blog with the pictures of SuperDog relaxing. Classes let out while she was laying there and she stayed there while about 100 students walked between her and I. I picked up the camera to take some pictures.

CancerGirl is STILL Nervous???

2012-01-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

CancerGirl and SuperDog start another semester of school tomorrow!! We are both so very excited (I am much more excited then she is, even though I got a bath today!!) SuperDog got a bath today I just told them that!! Oops, sorry SuperDog!! Well anyway, as I was saying before I was RUDELY interrupted, CancerGirl starts school tomorrow. This is the last semester then she moves on to her next degree!! I have gone to school amny semesters now. I have been bald for some of them. I have been very sick for some of them. but for EVERY single one of them I get soo anxious and nervous just like it was the first class I ever sat in.

I have thought about why I am so nervous, and I have come to the conclusion that having a Service Dog has a lot to do with it. Hey now!! My behavior is impeccable, if there is anyones behavior you should worry about it is that BOY dog you got to take over for me, he is not nearly as serious about this school thing as I am!! I know SuperDog.. it's just that I worry about one of my professors not liking dogs, and what if they try and give me ahard time about you. I know that you belong, but I also know that sometimes even students have cultural issues with dogs being in buildings. I worry that I will end up not talking to anyone. Has that ever happened with me with you? People love me!! I know it usually doesn't happen, but there is always the what if.

I know that tomorrow will be another AWESOME day!!! It is always an awesome day here in paradise even if it did get VERY cold last night and is once again getting VERY COLD tonight. CancerGirl is all bundled up though so no worries about her freezing!!

Till the next blog post, please everyone have a wonderful time and ENJOY LIFE!!! Most of all remember Cancer isn't Contagious, but Happiness IS!!!!!

CancerGirl Hits One Year!!!

2011-12-02T13:35:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone!!! I can't believe it has been 1 year that I have been "Cancer Free" although I hate when people use the phrase because it leads one to think that there is such a thing as "Cancer Free". I guess in a way there is. If you look at it from a strictly physical standpoint, you can be "free of Cancer cells". So I will concede that there is a "Cancer Free".

To me, being Cancer Free would mean that you are forever now free from Cancer. That doesn't happen though. You walk away from that last PET scan being told that there is now no more Cancer Cells being able to be seen. If one was truly Cancer Free, then they would be free from Cancer in their life. This doesn't happen. It is much more likely that your first year Cancer Free will include these milestones of freedom:

      You will have a tiny little almost barely a symptom happen. This can be something from a fever (and after Cancer, 99.1 is now considered a reason for alarm bells to ring) to more then a few days of not going to the lair's "facilities" you will begin to swear that you have Cancer again, and that will lead to the next milestone

     You will call your Oncologist panicked. If you are lucky, this call will be made during the day, and not at 2AM when you still haven't been able to "go" or that itch on your breast hasn't gone away all day, you will call him and tell him (or her) that you need to see them as soon as possible. If it is during office hours, and you have a truly awesome SuperOncologist, he will fit you in to see him. If it is at 2AM, no matter how SUPER your Oncologist is, they do not like to be woken up to be told that you have a 99.1 fever and do they think you should go to the ER yet or not. The idea that "catching it early" is the best thing, will ring in your head, and you think over and over again "If I catch it soo early it is a speck on a PET scan, then I wont be caught off guard again!!! This brings us to the next milestone

     You will insist on ANOTHER scan. If you didn't wake your SuperOncologist at 2AM you will get an appointment, When your oncologist comes in, you will tell him your symptom, HE will tell you that yes, it is one symptom, but that you are only out of treatment 3 months, and I don't think a slight fever warrants another PET scan. He will then tell you how "normal it was" to be having fears. He will tell you that you don't have to worry, you are Cancer Free. You won't feel very Cancer Free, You will also feel like you are still waiting for it to come back. You will talk to friends and family, which brings us to the next milestone

     You will ask everyone in your friends and family what they think of the symptom. This especially applies if your family members are in the medical field. You will ask your husband over and over again if they think that you seem sick. You will ask your family members if they sometimes have a pain in their side that came for like 5 minutes then never happened again, and what they think it means. If your friends and family are as awesome as mine were, they will tell you not to worry. They will tell you that you need to go out and do things!!!! This brings us to the next milestone.

     You will be asked to walk in a number of different "walks".   I am not saying that you shouldn't do Cancer walks, I am saying that you will be asked to walk in a lot of them. I say if you are up to it, go for it. If you don't feel up to it, don't feel guilty that you don't walk. I don't mean just physically up to it, I mean mentally up to it as well. Walks are VERY intense emotional events. The survivors lap of a Cancer Walk alone is enough to make every single being able to cry shed tears. Some people want to be "done with Cancer" and they don't want to walk, they don't want to go to benefits, they want to put Cancer behind them, and that's ok. Every one's journey is their own, so if you don't want to walk, then don't let anyone make you feel like you have to!! The next milestone was probably the most surprising one

     You will have a lot of fear of that 1 year visit. You will spend the 2 months before your visit wondering if you are going to have something bad happen on that 1 year PET scan. You worry even more about the little tiny twinges of pain or you ask yourself (and others) "Do you think my glands feel swollen" and then ask them to touch your neck. The fact that you have touched your own neck so many times that you cant tell anymore if they were that big before. SuperFriend Lynne told me at lunch the day of my 1 year PET scan that there is a muscle that runs along side the neck that can get sore, and that many times it is mistaken for glands being swollen. CancerGirl amazingly didn't worry about her glands the rest of that day. You will have to cut some of the safety net away now, this was probably the hardest of the milestones.

     You will loose the safety net of your regular Oncologist visits.   During treatment many patients get very close to their Oncologist. They trust him, this man or woman has saved their life, literally! There was definitely a grieving process involved. I loved my Oncologist. He was AWESOME and I was very fortunate to have had him on my team. He was always positive but realistic. He called me lucky one time, and it caused me to spend countless hours venting to my therapist how I couldn't believe his AUDACITY to have used the word LUCKY to a cancer patient. It brought me around to truly realizing how truly lucky I am. I have a husband who loves me, even with my many faults. He loves me even though I have a Diet Coke and Mc Donalds addiction. I will work on those things.

I have become closer to my family, to my mother, my sister, my extended family who I hadnt talked to in many years. (Love you Cousin Laura!!!) I have the best BFF in the world, and I am alive and able to continue my mission of spreading the SuperPower of Happiness!!! I said goodbye to my Oncologist and cried a little on the way home. Then I saw my SuperHubby and the SuperDogs and I realized that I was actually kinda happy that I am not 100% "Cancer Free", having Cancer still be a big part of my life has brought many AWESOME things into my life. Tomorrow I will post about all those AWESOME things as they are too many and this post is long enough as it is!! Here is a picture of me and the SuperDogs, 1 year not so "Cancer Free"

Every Little Ache

2011-09-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

As a CancerSuperHero who is considered "in remission" (I hate that word, like we are waiting to once again take on a mission, and are resting between) but yet every single time I have even the slightest twinge anywhere in my abdomen, or if I am more tired for a few days in a row then I usually am, my mind goes to "If it is a recourrance, then I definately want to catch it in the earliest stages" and then I call SuperOncologist and schedule a appt with him and he says "I know you like seeing me, I am after all the most handsome of all Oncologists, but you need to develop some security in your wellness". I leave thinking "He needs to develop something of his own that I won't mention" :)

After some thought about this, I have decided that he is right. I need to be aware of changes and keep them in mind, but not be a slave to them.

Of course SuperDog says "Listen CG, if that Evil MelanomaMan was back anywhere around here, I would be soo on it!!" and I remember that I have the best group of CancerSuperHeroes and CanineSikeKicks out there fighting on our side, so that Evil MelanomaMan doesn't have a chance anymore!!

Here is a Picture of SuperDog showing how unconcerned she is about the Evil MelanomaMan coming back around!!

Why does it have to be a Bucket List?????

2011-06-02T16:18:00.000-07:00

CancerGirl was spending time with her BFF Lynne and CG told her about something that CG did when she was first turned into CancerGirl, she wrote a SuperPowerOfHappiness tool list!!

The EvilMelanomaMan has many weapons in his arsenal, he has the EvilPowerOfUnhappiness, the EvilPowerOfPain, The EvilPowerOfChemoTherapy, the most powerful of his tool belt is often the worst of his weapons at his disposal. When he uses this power it can cause a CancerSuperHero to not be able to find any of the SuperPowerOfHappiness. By using the SPOH Tool List you can find that SuperPower easily.

You may be asking yourself "How do I get my own SuperPowerOfHappiness Tool List?, I bet it is very expensive isn't it??"!! Well the answer is so very simple and ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!! In fact, you can make your very own Tool List!! I am including the easy to follow steps below:

1. First get yourself a CancerSuperHero Official Notebook!! You can help Hats For Happiness
by purchasing a CancerGirl Journal by following this link to www.cafepress.com. Of course you can just get yourself a regular notebook, or even a few pieces of paper, but in this CancerSuperHero's unbiased opinion the CancerGirl Journal is much nicer then any other notebook on the market, after all it has CancerGirl right on the cover!!!

2: The second step is to number that paper from 1 to 100. Don't skimp on this step and think "ahh who wants to number all the way to 100, I will just number them as I go!!" but don't give into the urge to do that. A big part of this special tool is that you have the motivation to finish it, and it is much harder to leave something unfinished that is numbered and not filled out.

3: The third step is the most fun out of all of them. Do something that puts you in a good mood. Something that makes you happy!! If you can't think of something to do that makes you happy, then think of a time in your life that makes you happy to think about. Maybe it was that time you got the only thing you wanted for Christmas that year. Maybe it was the day that you got married. Now think of that thing or do that thing, then write it on the list.

4: The fourth through 103rd step is to repeat that process until you have completely filled up your list of 100 things that make you happy to do or think about. It is important to completely fill this list out and to do it when you are happy already.

I will now explain a little of where this idea came from (SuperOncologist calls it the "happy list" and he now has all his new patients do this because he was so impressed by it) and why it is important to follow these instructions as they are laid out.

I thought of the "happy list" after watching The Bucket List. Although I thought the movie was well done, and I found it to be very entertaining, I was left with a feeling of dread about the idea of even thinking of making a bucket list. Considering it is a movie, and taking literary licence and all it was still a very sad movie. I got done watching it and thought "I think if I had a bucket list, when I did anything on the list I would think that I was that much closer to dying. Once I got everything done, what is left? Why does it have to be a bucket list of things to check off before you die? Why cant it be a happy list?

I decided that I would write a list of things that make me happy. I hadn't started numbering them or anything, I just started writing them. I put the list aside for a while, I had begun chemo, I had school, many other more important things, I thought.

I was having a horrible day, I was in the middle of chemo, I was trying to study for school, things were not going well. I came across my list of happy things I had made with about 15 or 20 items on it. I read the first few and tried doing a few of them. I crocheted, I played with SuperDog for a while (I loved that part!!!), I thought back to a funny experience that SH and I had a few years back. These things brought me happiness and before I even realized it I felt better and I was happy.

The reason this happened is something I was yet to learn in school. When you are having negative thoughts, and are unhappy, it is extremely hard to find things that bring you happiness. It is not uncommon in those with depression (a vary common occurrence with the EvilPowerOfCancer) to bring up "unhappy" on the mental Rolodex and suddenly all the other things filed under that come up. By making a list of things that make you happy, if you use that list when you are having problems finding happiness it will begin to put your mind in a more happy forward thinking mood.

I now have my happy list on my iPad, on my desktop and as a hard copy for when I need it. If I do the first thing and that doesn't change my mood, then I go onto the next. This is why I suggest that there be 100 things. Most people think they can't find 100 things, but I have yet to find a person who at the end couldn't get to 100 and then have another 50 in their minds they could add.

By having this as a physical list, you don't have to remember them. After a while you will find that you don't need your list anymore because when you find yourself being attacked by the EvilPowerOfUnhappiness you can instantly bring up your Happy List and begin to get yourself happy!!!!

CancerGirl and SuperDog Spread Some Happiness!!!

2011-04-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!!

Today, SH (SuperHubby), SD (SuperDog) and I, along with our good friend and Hats For Happiness SuperVolunteer Tasha went to the Chick Fil A in Apopka Florida for their "family Fun Day". There we met Debbie Turner and her daughter Brenda from the Debbie Turner Cancer Care Center in Apopka.

The Family Fun Day is hosted by the Chick Fil A in Apopka. The Manager is named Margie and she is a great supporter of the Cancer Care Center.

SH, CG, SD and Tasha went to a flea market before the Family Fun Day and we found a very old framed magazine with photos of The Beetles and their girlfriends, they also have a photo of John Lennon and his 2 1/2 year old son John Jullian Lennon. The man we purchased it from said that it is dated 1965, but SH and I do not want to remove it from the frame and risk it getting messed up as it has been framed for quite some time.

It is obvious from the photos though that it is certainly as old as the date he gave.

After the Flea Market CG, SH and SVTasha went to the Family Fun Day at the Chick Fil A. We brought a huge bin of hats to donate to the Care Center. CG was also so very excited about meeting Debbie and her daughter Brenda. They are both tireless adovcates for those affected by the EvilPowerofCancer!! Debbie is herself a CancerSuperHero having battled and beaten the EvilPower of Cancer!! Her daughter was and continues to be an awesome CancerSuperCaregiver and also works with her mom at the Care Center. They are always in need of items to help CancerSuperHeroes so please check out their site and help them in any way you can!!

Here is a picture of CG and Debbie Turner and SVTasha

CancerGirl and Brenda

SuperDog here!! Hey CG as usual is forgetting to mention that I myself was furthering my mission of spreading the SuperPower of Happiness!! It is very hard to meet me and walk away not being happy!!

SD at the booth for the Debbie Turner Caner Resource Center. She spent a while hanging out and spreading happiness to those who came along to say hi!

SuperDog!! If you had given me a minute I would have told them about how you made tons of people happy today! Check out a few photos from the display that Debbie and Brenda worked all day long furthering their cause.

CG and SD at the Cancer Resource Center booth.

SuperDog and CancerGirl also saw some really cool vehicles and even a train!! SFLynne and her husband Burt both are huge train fans so SD had to make sure that CG got a picture of us in front of the train with the conductor!

Don't forget to show them some pictures of the cool tank and old time police car that we saw CancerGirl!! Your always leavin stuff out!!! Here are a few pictures of them too!

SuperDog checks out the inside of the Tank

SuperDog and CancerGirl with the conductor for the train.

CancerGirl and SuperDog with the tank and the old police car.

You can see more photos from today on Facebook in the Alblum titled Chick Fil A Family Fun Day

Also a Huge thanks to SuperHubby for helping out and also taking all the photos.

BanJo and the Chickens

2011-04-05T12:03:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!! I know I haven't written a blog post in a while, and I apologize for that. I have been so busy with school, traveling, and adding the newest addition to the The Lair!! SuperDog and I both have had to do some major adjustments in the past few months and I think we are finally starting to have everything settle down.

BanJo is doing well. He is falling right into place as being the next SuperDog SideKick!! He also has a number of friends in the neighborhood that he has play dates with. Jackie Wood of Tanimara Pyrs truly breeds for excellent temperament.

Here is a pic of CancerGirl and BanJo (SuperDog Too) about 3 days after he arrived here.

BanJo has been going over to a friends house to have play dates with his doggie friends in the neighborhood. CancerGirl and he were at their friends house when she was telling CG about how out of the 30 baby chickens that she had purchased, she had lost 11 of them. She said she suspected that it was her own dog who was killing them during the night. CG friend has children and the kids let the door to the chicken coop open while we were there. About 6 chickens came running out the door. BanJo's dog friend ran over and grabbed one of the chickens which squawked and screamed for dear life. BanJo's friend ran off chomping on the chicken obviously not being nice to Mr Chicken!! BanJo ran after his friend and jumped on her and in the only act of aggression I have ever seen him display there was about 2 seconds of BanJo being firm with his friend, who let go of the chicken. The dog ran after the chicken again and BanJo body blocked the dog from touching the chicken till the chickens mom could run over and grab the chicken and put it back in the coop. CG friend was absolutely amazed and offered her a large amount of money for BanJo, CancerGirl of course explained that it would take 20 times what was offered to get BanJo from her.

CancerGirl is so very proud of BanJo and the fact that he is truly turning into a SuperDog!!!

This video is just a short example of how much he dotes after any kids that are around. While the kids are on the trampoline, he spends all his time walking around it keeping an eye on the kids, and then he lays near it so he can be right there if he is needed. It is amazing to me to see him just walk up to a crying child, have the kid give him a big hug around his neck, then toddle off not crying anymore and happy again because BanJo gave them a hug and made them feel better.

SuperDog is still a little upset about the new addition. Luckily there are a number of motnhs to go till BanJo is trained well enough to go out as CancerGirls SuperDog. Being a SuperHero takes a lot of training and a lot of learning how to fight the EvilPower of Unhappiness is no small task!!!

CancerGirl Flys Solo (well one way)

2011-01-24T19:43:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone, As some of you may know from my past posts, there is a new addition coming to the Lair. BanJo is coming to join our team. CG has a very exciting next 4 days coming up.

On Wednesday morning at 4:00 AM SuperHubby is bringing CancerGirl to the drop off place for the shuttle to the airport. CancerGirl's flight leaves at 8am, so she is needing to get there before SuperHubby gets out of work, so she is taking the shuttle. The shuttle will get CG to the airport at 6:00AM and since CG has her SuperControlPaneliPad she can post updates and talk about her trip on her facebook page at CancerGirl Clarice Kentwood so definitely send me a friend request and I will approve you and you can keep up with the travels of CancerGirl.

The first flight that CancerGirl is taking is a flight from Orlando to Atlanta GA. She then has a 40 minute layover, which doesn't give her much time to get to the next plane (hope it's close!!) and then she will take that plane from Atlanta to Branson Missouri.

Jackie Wood of Tanimara Great Pyrenees is picking me up from the airport. We will probably stop and get lunch and get CG some supplies for the hotel room. Something to drink, and maybe some snacks. We are then going to the hotel and going to spend some time together int he hotel talking about BanJo I am sure!!

Jackie will be leaving Wednesday afternoon/evening (she can stay as long as she likes though hint hint Jackie LOL) and then CG and BanJo are on their own till Friday morning when she takes a shuttle back to the airport to fly home.

SuperDog will be with SuperHubby when he comes to pick us up from the airport. I have a crate for Banjo to ride home in the Van and JeZ will be loose so this way she will get used to his smell and he hers and they will get the idea that they are boy and girl and such. When we get home CG is going to introduce them to each other. CG is thinking of getting a hotel room in Orlando for the night since it is Friday and this way she and SH and the two dogs can hang out in the hotel room and get to know each other some more on neutral territory.

Jackie posted another YouTube video with Banjo in it and I wanted to show it to you guys. I will be blogging from the hotel and uploading pictures while I am there so you will get to see everything. Till then Be safe, keep happy and LAUGH!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of me and my endeavors!!!

CancerGirl and SuperDog Go Back To School

2011-01-09T21:47:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I know there haven't been any posts since SuperDog wrote and introduced you all to her new trainee. I just wanted to write you all and give you a little bit of an update on what has been going on.

Well, Hats For Happiness is building strength. We have been sending out hats for a while now, and we are at the Route 75 Flea Market every Sunday spreading the word and selling donated items to fund raise for Hats For Happiness.

We were this past week written up on the www.1UpOnCancer.com website. Check it out below

CancerGirl also went and had lunch with SuperFriendLynne and was finally able to get her Christmas gift to her. She absolutely LOVED the pillow and as you can see from the picture below it truly put a smile on her face!! You can click on the picture for a link to the pillow on the www.cafepress.com store
This pillow makes a great gift and can be purchased through CafePress.com. It is perfect to give to your favorite CancerSuperHero or CancerSuperCaregiver. It could even be given to your SuperOncologist as a gift. This pillow is soo much softer then I ever thought it would be. SuperFriendLynne also told me last night that it has a removable cover that removes easily for washing, so it is great as a pillow to be used because you don't have to worry about not being able to clean it. I myself am going to get myself a SuperFriendPillow!!!

CancerGirl also started school again for this semester. She is taking Counseling the Culturally Diverse which is a 2 hour and 40 minute once a week class.

Counseling the Culturally Diverse 1-6-11
brought to you by Livescribe

You can see my notes and listen to the lecture by clicking the video above. I love my Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen and use it to take my notes. It is great for all different types of applications. Meetings for business people. Taking notes and recording sessions for those int he psychology field. Definitely check out this pen it is well worth it.

I am also taking a class in Personal Growth and Development which is an online class. I am really looking forward to this class as well as they both seem like they will push me to the limits of exploring more and more about myself and who I am. I love those types of challenges.

Well. SuperHubby will be getting up to go to work at the UnitedPayingSquadron (where SH goes to work to make money to keep the lights on at the lair) so I better go and make sure his SuperHero Uniform is clean and ready to go!!

Till the next installment!!

CancerGirl CLarice Kentwood (And SuperDog, don't forget SuperDog, Geeez she always forgets me)

SuperDog Finds Trainee!!!

2010-12-07T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hey there everyone!! SuperDog here, I wanted to let you all know about an exciting thing that is happening here at the Lair come January. I am now getting to an age where I am going to be retiring as a SuperHeroSideKick, I plan on spending my retirement living the life of luxury. Because my job is so hard, it will take me about a year to train a new SuperDog. Since CancerGirl needs to add some more Happiness to her life, I suggested that she show the trainee in Obedience (Cg says he is pretty well behaved, but well, he has pretty big shoes to fill so can probably use the training!) and since CancerGirl LOVES showing dogs, she is also going to show him in Confirmation. Before I introduce him to you, I want to tell you a little bit about his background. CancerGirl does a great job as a CancerSuperHero, but well lets face it, she needs a lot of looking after. Sometimes she forgets that she needs to sit down sometimes when she has been standing up and walking around too much, she needs a SideKick to help her battle the EvilMelanomaMan, and most importantly, this dog has to be the acting Mascot of Hats For Happiness!!! Because of these things, this dog has to be special, and it has to come from a special place. That special place is from the Kennel of Tanimara Great Pyrenees!!
Jackie Wood of Tanimara Pyrs has Owned Great Pyrenees for the last 24 years. Her kennel is located in the heart of the Mark Twain National Forest and she raises livestock as well as Great Pyrenees. Because she breeds her dogs for temperament, working ability, and their strong attributes in the show ring, she produces dogs that are great all around dogs with very stable temperaments. She also provides training of Livestock Guardian Dogs using her own dogs to train. Her dogs are well established Livestock Guardians who are such good working dogs that scenes like this are often seen in her pastures.

Here you can see a female Great Pyrenees with a recent litter of puppies nursing a baby goat. This is a common and wanted scene in any pasture and dogs trained by Jackie's dogs are taught these type of skills.

Since the next SuperDog needs to come from great lineage, it is very important that his parents be of the highest quality. CancerGirl and I are both honored to be getting a son of "Beren" BISS GCh Ch Beren's Hope of Thorn Hill HOF. Below are a few pictures of Beren and a few of his numerous wins.

Beren Group 1 Crab Orchard Kennel Club Aug 2010

Beren Group 2 win at Crab Orchard Kennel Club Aug 2010 - back to back wins

Left to right 2008 Great Pyrenees Nationals 1st Place Stud Dog Beren's sire and his half brother Ken Savage from the UK Judge Susan Tucker and "Bowyer" Ch TipN'Chip's Spirit of Thorn Hill CDX RAE HOF HOF Beren's sire Paul Clas Handler with "Beren" BISS GCh Ch Beren's Hope of Thorn Hill HOF Pat Ramapuram breeder/handler "Tug" Ch Patorama Tug of War

There is some other AWESOME news that just recently came down the line. Beren will be entered in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in February 2011!! Check out the confirmation info below!!!

BREED  : Gr Pyrenees  Dog
DOG: WS  GCH Ch Beren's Hope Of Thorn Hill 07-22-06
SIRE: Ch Tip'N Chip's Spirit Of ThornHill CDX RAE
DAM: Ch Patorama Glimmer Of Hope
BREEDER: Pat Ramapuram & Susan Tucker
OWNER: Jacqueline K/Wood/

Another very important trait that my successor should have is the ability to model and show off hats without showing any signs of embarrassment. As the "Official Spokesdog of Hats For Happiness" he will need to be able to put up with whatever silly or what I may see as stupid thing that CancerGirl may ask him to do. Here are some pictures of Beren wearing different hats, which as I said is a important aspect of being CancerGirl's SideKick!!

Ok, I have kept you in suspense quite long enough now!!! I am pleased, and proud to announce, the newest addition to our family, the next SuperDog, and son of the Great Beren!!!

Drum Roll Please.......

Banjo!!!!! Banjo, is the soon to be newest addition to the Lair. Banjo will be taking over for me and performing all of my duties once I am ready to retire. He will be getting groomed by me to be the next SuperDog and not until I am sure he is completely ready to take over those duties will I be retiring. At that point I plan on living a life of luxury here at the lair, watching the security and survailance videos, researching what MelanomaMan's next move is going to be, all the behind the scenes stuff that no one sees. Here is a pic of Banjo at 10 months old and a short little video of him also for you to check out.

I hope that you enjoyed this little introduction, and I am sure that there will be many pictures of me and my Trainees here on the blog and on the Hats For Happiness website so stay tuned.

Purple Shoes!!

2010-11-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! CancerGirl is gearing up for her and SuperHubby's favorite day after Thanksgiving activity, SHOPPING!!!!! CancerGirl loves shopping on Black Friday, but she knows that there are many who may not feel the same way, so she figured she would let you all know about a really cool site that is having a CyberMonday sale where you can still get great deals from the comfort of your home

I am sure you all know by now that CancerGirl's FAVORITE color is PURPLE!!! Purple, Passionate, Perky, Pleasant, Positive Purple!!! One of the other things that CancerGirl loves is SHOES!! I love shopping online also, it is easy, doesn't involve my having to get dressed to go out and do it (something that is important for CancerSuperHeroes since often they are immune comprised and going to the mall can be downright dangerous and one of CancerGirls favorite places to shop online for shoes is Zappos.com.

CancerGirl lives in Paradise, where it is always warm and cozy!! She knows that there are many who are not so fortunate, so she wanted to let you all know that you can get these AWESOME Tundra Boots for kids. They are a cool purple color and will make any little girl happy to wear such pretty purple boots. They are very very warm also!!

CancerGirl is getting herself a pair of sandals to wear to the water park. She needs a pair that are able to get wet, are comfortable, stylish (because after all what SuperHero isn't stylish beyond measure??) and above all, will hold up over the long term. She was looking for sandals and came across these Purple Plastic Sandals that are soo cute and she loves that they have a back to them, since flip flops tend to be too loose fitting, with these sandals she will be able to keep her shoes on her feet!!

Well, thanks for following me everyone, and once again, I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!!

CancerGirl :)

My _____ died of Cancer.....

2010-11-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

CancerGirl wants to talk to everyone about something that I am certain many (myself included) do when a CancerSUperHero tells them that they have Cancer.

I have spent hundreds of hours and spoken to literally hundreds of people about Cancer, its effects, living with it, most of the time these "interactions" are on a one or two people at a time basis.

Because CancerGirl is soo passionate about Hats For Happiness, (and also because she was bald for some time, so the question would come up, am I a huge fan of Sinead Oconor? Do I have a loved one who I shaved my head for?) but when it comes up the first thing that many people say is "Oh I am so sorry, my (enter family member here) died of cancer" they then go on many times to tell you the details of the loved ones illness and such. CancerGirl knows and understands why people do this. She herself has done it before she was a CancerSUperHero!!

As a cancer patient, no matter how happy I was that morning, no matter how positive I am being, after an interaction like that, all I would be able to think about all day was that story. The story of the other person who told me about their mother, and that other story about that nice mans poor wife, how sad he was about having lost her.

I am not posing this blog because I want anyone to feel bad about themselves ever having done this. Like I said, even the AMAZING CancerGirl did it before she realized she was a CancerSuperHero!!! What I do ask is that you show every single one fo your friends this blog post. That you tell them about it, ask them to please, the next time the talk to someone who is going through Cancer, instead of telling them about one of MelanomaMan's FEW success (did you hear that Mr Melanoma Man!!! I said FEW, we aren't scared of you, you will not win!!!)s, tell them about a CancerSuperHero in your life!!! Tell them about your mother, that battled and fought and did her darndest to battle that EVILMelanomaMan and WON!!! Make that CancerSuperHero think the rest of the day about a strong, positive survivor!! Of course, remember the loved ones who have passed, but please, please try to help CancerGirl spread the SuperPowerOfHappiness to the world!!! If you show one person my Blog post here, and they show one person this blog post, we can change the day of a CancerSuperHero, and through that CHANGE THE WORLD!!!!! Talk about Change!!! because well, when you hear cancer, you tend to think of those you loved and lost. I understand that, and I am very very sorry that you lost someone to the

As promised...

2010-11-12T04:49:00.001-08:00

Here are some more pics from yesterday.

CancerGirl and SuperDog do Hats For Happiness Presentation.

2010-11-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Today CancerGirl and SuperDog were escorted in the SuperHappyMobile by SuperHubbyto give a presentation to the Retired Federal Workers local chapter. They were met there by SuperFriend Stella pictured below who was kind enough to set up the display of hats for us. Stellamae is a very dedicated volunteer and she has been extremely influential in Hats For Happiness' recent success and getting the word spread about us. She also helped us to get our first business location dropoff for Hats!!!
CancerGirl gave a short presentation, and SuperDog once again lazily napped at her feet. You can see from the following pic that SuperDog is great at sleeping. Here is a picture of the beautiful display Stella set up, and if you look you can see SuperDog laying down on the job!! That silly SuperDog!!! I think she may have been sulking because everyone else was eating ICE CREAM!!!

We had some technical issues so we didn't get as many pictures as we had wanted to, but we got a few and Stella also took pictures and she will be giving CancerGirl them, so there will be more pictures posted.

Here are a few of the other pictures that were taken today. I would like to thank the Retired Federal Employees for having me speak, and a great big thanks to Stellamae who set the tables up with such beautiful hats and who also sets up a display every Sunday at the I75 Flea Market!!! Thank you very much!!

Thanks everyone

In Love and Happiness

CancerGirl Clarice :)

Happiness Can Be Found In Your Uniqueness! | Happy Maker Now

2010-11-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

Happiness Can Be Found In Your Uniqueness! | Happy Maker Now

You May be Happier Than You Think | Authspot

2010-11-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

You May be Happier Than You Think | Authspot

Do You Want to be Happier at Your Job? - Happiness Inside

2010-11-08T20:47:00.000-08:00

Do You Want to be Happier at Your Job? - Happiness Inside

Glowing Jellyfish Detect Cancer: Process called... | Gather

2010-11-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

Glowing Jellyfish Detect Cancer: Process called... | Gather

Soooo coool!!! Check it out!!

Red Meat Consumption May Be Linked To Esophageal And Gastric Cancer Risk

2010-11-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

Red Meat Consumption May Be Linked To Esophageal And Gastric Cancer Risk

Winding Down for the Night!! With Laughter!

2010-10-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

CancerGirl LOVES the King Of Queens. She has every Season on DVD and watches it very often. Tonight she is watching it on The CW. It is important to get joy in small silly things that do not take a lot of time or focus when you are going through chemo. Watching things like the News and even soap operas can be hard because of the focus and concentration issues that the chemo causes. Shows such as sitcoms and stand up are much easier to watch because if you miss a little while because you are sick, when you come back you can still know what is going on and you can still laugh because the jokes are short and sweet.

Stand Up Comedy works in the same way. You can miss 15 minutes of a Stand Up Comedy and come back and still laugh because there are still jokes and punchlines. I may not have laughed for hours, but I laughed for minutes, and if you can get even a few laughs when you are battling the Mean Ole MelanomaMan you need all of the SuperPower of Happiness and Laughter you can get!!! Make sure to get your does today!!!

Facebook

2010-10-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Your life is like a river. And if you're aiming for a goal that isn't your destiny, ...you'll always gonna be swimming against the current. Find out what your destiny is and the river will carry you. Sometimes events in life... ...give an individual clues as to where their destiny lies. ...the Universe gives you clues like that, you don't ignore it

Clarice Kentwood (ItsCancerGirl) on Twitter

2010-10-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

CancerGirl is on Twitter!!!!!

Yuppers, you heard me right!!! You can now follow the minuteu of CancerGirl and SuperDogs life.

You can see tweets such as:

ItsCancerGirl

SuperDog just saved her Momma #dogs life!!

and the popular:

ItsCancerGirl Clarice Kentwood

#frasier "I had a hard day, why doesnt anyone ever bring me tranquilizers" "Three little maids from school are we" #happy #funny #quotes

You too can follow CancerGirl and see what she has to say!!

See who she Retweets

See who she is Following

Clarice Kentwood (ItsCancerGirl) on Twitter

A Blog About a Blog

2010-10-23T13:41:00.001-07:00

CancerGirl and SuperDog are sooo very happy and excited!! A blog has been written about Hats For Happiness!!! A friend of Hats For Happiness has a blog that she writes about local events, and excitement, and apparently she is EXCITED ABOUT HFH!!!! Well, who wouldn't be I mean really!!!

The blog is titled New World For Us and it is written by Stellamae.

Stellamae has been helping out Hats For Happiness ever snce we met each other at the Ocala Networking Meeting on the 20th of this month. You can see Stella Mae on the left and Deanna the presenter on the right. It was very informative and CancerGirl learned a lot and met a lot of great people!! Thank you everyone that was there!!