Talk about an exciting day! On Sunday (September 28th) I participated in my fourth Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure. There were four of us this year. In the past, it was just my sister, Mary, and I. This year, my daughter, Erin and Mary’s neighbor, Bridget, joined us in the walk. We’ve nearly got a team together.

It started out cool at the lakefront, but quickly warmed up. The crowds grew with every minute until I’m sure there had to be over 13,000 people there. We had the die-hard racers, the one mile walkers and the 5K walkers (which is what we participated in). I have to admit, though, with the neuropathy in my feet, it was a bit of a struggle towards the end of that 5K. Still, I managed and enjoyed that sense of accomplishment when I hit the finish line.

Every one who signs up for the walk is given either a pink t-shirt (survivor), or a white t-shirt (as a participant). It was a little scary to see how many pink t-shirts there are in that sea of white. Still, it was fun to see the enthusiasm in everyone’s faces.

I’m only sorry to say that I didn’t gather as many donations as I could have. Because of the crummy economy I hesitated to bug family and cyber friends for donations, but y’know what? Any little bit helps. If I have a friend who has $5 to spare? More than enough, in my opinion. Next year I’ll make more of an effort.

Oh, and I gotta say … during our rummage sale last week? We put out a pink vase with a sign asking for donations for the walk. Would you believe that rummagers (who tend to be penny pinchers) came up with over $125 to donate to the cause? It was incredible and thank you for everyone who donated.

To me … Everyone Who Donated … “YOU ARE CANCER WARRIORS” and THANK YOU.

I’m afraid I haven’t been very productive this week. Yes, I’m still reading over “Dragon Magic” and yes, it does need some revising. Edie has read it over and says that my editor over at Samhain is - to quote - “wrong, wrong, wrong” about her opinion that the ending is contrived. Thanx, Edie, I needed to hear that.

Still, in reading it over, I do see areas where I can strengthen the action and tighten the plot. Edie did suggest a few revisions, which I plan to address and at the same time go over the entire book one last time to do that final tightening.

“Dragon Magic” is a good story and one that I think can go places. So, taking this time to read over and give it that last polish is well worth the time and effort.

Why is it that I find it absolutely impossible to throw out or just give away stuff/junk? Got some old clothes? Books? Knickknacks? Hey, let’s have a rummage sale.

So for much of the year, I’ll gather up all that useless stuff that I haven’t used in awhile (or not at all) and which has been gathering dust in my house, box it up and find a spot in the basement. Then I have to convince my mother to allow me to hold the rummage sale at her house because she lives on a far busier corner than I do.

Rummage sales tend to take quite a bit of prep time. You gotta decide how much you want to sell your stuff/junk for, sort it, find enough tables for display, set out your stuff/junk and then spend up to two days conducting the sale. Sad thing is … in those two days you’ll be lucky to clear $100 to $200.

Is that worth it in the long run? Probably not. Although we do donate half of any money made for the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure. So there is one good result of a rummage sale.

It would far easier to pack up all this stuff/junk and donate it to the local Goodwill Store. Do I? No. More fool me.

Well, last week I wrote ‘bout the possibility of going on Avastin in conjunction with Abraxane. That’s going to begin tomorrow.

Dr. D is sorta like me. A little impatient to see if the Abraxane was doin’ the trick and had ordered tumor markers last week. Late Friday he called with the results. I’m now dinging in at 589. No prizes for hitting high marks in this game.

Soooo, Avastin it is. I’m told that the combination might be a bit rough so we’ll see what this weekend brings. It tends to take a couple of days before I get any type of reaction. Something to look forward to since I have a busy weekend lined up. Still, I’ll take it easy and make sure I get a lot of rest.

I called the oncology nurse yesterday to get an idea on how long this going to take and she indicated that with the prep (15 minutes), Abraxine (which usually takes a half an hour), and my usual Zometa (15 minutes), the Avastin should take around 90 minutes. So I’ll be stuck there until around noon or so. Hope its only that long. Not only did I make an appointment to have an IT guy come in and check out and update my home computers, but the bossman has a brief he wants out. There’s no justice in the world. Bossman is on vacation, yet he’s able to remote the work in. So no real break time for me.

And Remember …“YOU ARE A CANCER WARRIOR”

Don’t know ‘bout you but there are times when you have to re-charge your batteries when it comes to writing.

For an author, its reading. You gotta justify the time taken from your writing by telling yourself you need to relax, take a break … or if it makes you feel better … researching the market.

All of the above are true. Sure there are authors under a tight deadline and who find it difficult to take the time to read. Ya gotta. You run the risk of going stale. There are books to read, authors to discover, new markets to discover. Publishers are forever looking for that “new concept”. Who knows … you might be the one to find it.

Reading is an adventure. I wish I could interest my little darlin’ in it more, but I’m hoping that’s going to come with age. As of right now, getting her to read is a struggle. For me? Hell, try to keep me from it.