The 100th Post!

I'm a little shocked...and possibly embarrassed...that this is my 100th post! Kinda talking your ears off aren't I? (Or is it typing your eyes out...no, that can't be right....)Well, thanks for hanging in there with me. And in other milestones...with the help of reader comments, I have come to the conclusion that it isn't wine that is causing hives (more on how I know this in a moment). Clearly what's causing the hives is the chemo. Therefore, I'm giving up chemo. After Thursday there will be no more chemo in my life. Ever. It's a brilliant solution. Also, I understand that giving up chemo cures baldness. This is going to be awesome. I'm so glad I thought of it.

So how do I know it wasn't the wine? The weekend of course! I've been so tired (um, yeah, that might also be the weekend) I forgot to tell you all about the fun-filled busy weekend. Saturday night was our dinner with Dr. Karam at Omakase...so basically blog Break-out stars #1, #2 and #4 (sadly, Seamus aka Blogbos #3 was not able to join us; he's still howling about that) were all together in one place. Yes, the place had to be cordoned off with red velvet ropes and the paparazzi was barely kept at bay. And just to arrive, poor Dr. Karam spent nearly 3 hours in his car (a Prius!! ) to get out to Riverside. No, he doesn't live in Santa Barbara, he just got caught in some awful traffic on the 60 freeway. And yet he didn't give up and turn around. What a guy. Luckily the dinner at Omakase was more than worth it. He said he couldn't decide which was better the food or the wine. I suggested maybe it would be the company but he said no, definitely the food or the wine. (We kid. We kid.)

Dinner was fabulous and chef Brien does some just incredible wine pairings so there's no way I could not have a glass of wine. And maybe a sip or two of some of the pairings that went with Chris's dinner. No bad reactions. No hives. This may only mean that in the third week after chemo I can have wine, but hey, that's a start. We finished our evening with a nightcap at Mario's listening to some jazz. We had to make sure his visit was at least as long as the drive out. Oh, and I was a brunette for the evening (photo above). Dr. Karam claims he has emailed friends about the fabulous dinner he had in Riverside (that echo you hear is his friends collectively shouting "In Riverside????" Yes people. In Riverside, California. Omakase. Don't forget it.

We made it to the Festival of Books in time to see and hear TC Boyle (a favorite author) at 11. We also saw a panel on Fiction and Humor, which sadly was nearly ruined by a really crappy moderator who thought she was funny (and she was so, so wrong). But at any rate, Chris and I got to see our old writing instructor, Tod Goldberg, who is basically responsible for our meeting. We even met up with Dr. Karam again (so now we can probably call him Amer; until he puts that white coat on again) to roam the aisles of booths of books and books and books. Yep, two days of hanging with the good doctor and I never had to take my top off! I must be getting to the end of this cancer thing.

I only rested a little at Chris's sister Kati's very cute Beverly Hills apartment (there was Real Housewives of New York to watch!) before we headed out to meet the rest of his family for dinner. Great dinner (gnocchi gorgonzola...mmmmmm) and again I tested the "wine does not cause hives" theory to great success (albeit in moderation). But in hindsight, I can see that schedule was perhaps a bit much. I've been pretty tired these past two days. I think I may have now gotten enough rest.

Which is a good thing, since I had the blood test today which is the official start of chemo week. Tomorrow is the steroids. Then of course Thursday is the last, the final, the never to be experienced again chemo. Fingers crossed it goes as well as this last one. A little queasiness, a little weight gain (okay, 3 maybe 4 pounds...see gorgonzola gnocchi above)--that much I can handle. And speaking of weight gain, we're headed to Pizzaioli tomorrow night for a pre-chemo wine dinner. I won't be having wine (the night before chemo, even I can figure out that's a bad idea!) but I will be carb-loading in preparation! Chris will handle the wine portion of the evening. Look, if you ever have to go through chemo....I highly recommend eaiting and drinking well throughout. It's getting me through.

(PS...Seamus is feeling better. As anticipated, the hard part is keeping him from running around like a maniac and re-injuring himself.)