Pink Carpet Premier

We had a fantastic time at the Pink Carpet Premier of Sex and The City 2!! Sold out event with a lot of women rockin' some fantastic outfits. And the shoes!! There were even some men there. 6 brave men showed their love for their women by showing up at this event--and 3 of them even stayed for the movie. Now the after party? 350+ women partying at Citrus City Grille, cosmos and "pink ribbon" martinis in hand---yeah, more guys showed up for that. Party went on until nearly 2a.m. Here are a few highlights of a glamorous, fun, heartfelt evening where over $16,000 was raised for the Pink Ribbon Place breast cancer resource center.

The top photo is Chris playing the role of Ryan Seacrest ("Who are you wearing? Which Sex & The City character are you most like?"). Above is Steve Holquin...the man, the myth, the legend...this event was his idea and without him, working together with Chris, there's no way this event could have happened let alone been the success it was.

 Four was the magic number. Ladies in groups of 4 stormed the pink carpet in their most fashionable ensembles. Work that step & repeat banner, ladies!

  Sheena Meder in her awesome party dress. I can't believe I missed photographing her shoes. She was wearing the shoes Samantha wore in the famous sushi scene in SATC 1!!

 And check out all those sponsors! (Note: Forgotten Grapes!!)

  IE Style magazine's sexy photog captured the glamorous gals and fancy footwear all evening long.

 Holly and Rory Gunnette. He was one of the brave men...and he stayed for the movie. He declines to state whether he enjoyed the movie (but he loved the event!)

  The Ladies of Best, Best & Kreiger. Rumor has it there were pre-party cosmos. Nice work, ladies!

 A full house!

 Stuffed Swag Bags on every seat!! Over 30 sponsors donated items (Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf $5 gift cards; Karen Allen Salon Aveda shampoos; UCLA hand sanitizers and band-aid purse kits; perfume samples; tableside purse holders; Organize.com items; martini glasses from Vantage Oncology; Bobby's coffee drink coupons; free appetizer at Salted Pig; Chic-fil-a, CPK, MI Tortilla food coupons, nail files and lip gloss from Avon, key chains, Lavish Day Spa gift certificates, Mary Kay products, IE Style magazine, etc....!!etc...!! etc....!!!)

 Over 25 volunteers worked tirelessly to get the theater set up, food tables out, drinks out, and 400 swag bags on all the seats (people, that's a lot of stairs!) in under 15 minutes! This U-Haul backed up to the theater back door and off we ran! Some of us...in very high heels.

And finally--showtime!! But not for us volunteers....we headed over to Citrus City Grille to set up for the after party.

 Which was also a huge success and lasted until after 2a.m. Phew. We were tired.

(And by the way...that's the violet BR08 dress I did not wear to the wedding in this blog post.)

 Let's do it again next year!! For now though...I need a nap!

It's All So Casual Now

Today I go into UCLA for my one year post-chemo check-up. My final chemo treatment was April 30, 2009. In many ways, it's hard to believe it's already a year in the past and in other ways it seems almost like it never happened. I seemed to have moved far away--emotionally/ mentally--from being "Cancer Girl."

Here are some ways in which I know I have moved on:

* I'm driving into UCLA today by myself. In the last year and a half of doctor's appointments, this will be the first one I've gone to without Chris. He's really busy these days with a lot of wonderful things and there is no reason he has to give up an afternoon to be my health escort anymore. Besides, the good and great Dr. Karam will be there.

* I like my hair now. (See photo; Okay, I was on my own...self photos are darned hard to do!).

* I had a phone conversation with a business associate the other day wherein he told me he had moved from "sympathetic" to "empathetic" with my "recent difficulties." I struggled to figure out what he meant and assumed he meant "divorce" (yeah, even though mine was over 6 years ago) and was trying to tell me his wife left him or some such. But no, he meant he'd been diagnosed with cancer recently. I had a moment of "I don't have cancer; what does he mean?" And had to actually remember that I did indeed have cancer last year!

* The first blogs I read on my blog list are no longer the cancer blogs. I still check them, because I feel oddly that I've gotten to know these virtual "friends" and I want to know how they are doing, but I no longer read for information or cancer camaraderie (I am occasionally reminded that I indeed had "cancer-lite" when I read what others have gone through and are still going through). I read the funny, single-chick blogs, the writing blogs, and the food and wine blogs first now.

* I forget to blog. There was a time when this blog was a daily sort of lifeline for me. Now, a week goes by and I realize I haven't blogged at all. Thanks for hanging in there those two of you who might still be reading the blog at all.

I haven't completely moved away from "the whole cancer thing." Chris and I both are still very much involved in The Pink Ribbon Place and in fact this Saturday is the sold-out Pink Carpet Premier event. 400 folks bought tickets at $50 a piece to an exclusive showing of Sex and the City 2 at a local theater. Guests will walk the Pink Carpet in front of a step and repeat banner of sponsor logos, while the local paparazzi snap photos and Chris plays the "what are you wearing" Ryan Seacrest role (I'll be playing Joan Rivers, I'm sure), then they'll head into the theater to enjoy a fruit and chocolate and other goodies food spread, a "swag bag" (absolutely stuffed with wonderful things from our many sponsors) and get a raffle ticket for "Samantha's Super Swag bag" (which has a designer purse, perfume, the use of an S type Jaguar for a weekend, dinner certificates, make-up, hair products, a fresh-water pearl bracelet, and allllllllll sorts of great stuff!). After the movie, there's an exclusive after-party at a local restaurant and bar. Another sponsor is putting on a tequila tasting and the bar will have SATC2 themed drinks (I'm guessing that means Cosmos!). But I have to say, this has been mostly Chris's thing. He and his friend Steve Holquin have done an amazing job of putting this whole thing together--that part of the reason Chris can't go with me to UCLA today. Too much work to do!

I'm no longer Cancer Girl and I'm happy to say I don't think about it much at all anymore. Breast cancer is now just a part of my history. I am glad to be involved in things like the Pink Ribbon Place and I'm looking forward to this event--just as me. Not as Cancer Girl. I think it's kind of a great way to celebrate my one-year post-chemo anniversary, don't you?

 (Is this one any better? I'm kinda smirking here--please don't take it personally--again, it's that self photo thing.)

Still in Love

So yeah, second date with Paso Robles was as good as the first date. I'm still in love and wanting to marry it (metaphorically speaking of course). We had a fabulous trip. For the inaugural Forgotten Grapes Paso Robles trip, we couldn't have asked for a better group of folks or a better bunch of winemakers/ vineyard owners, or better weather or anything better. Okay, well, I could have had better hair...but I'm trying to just be thankful that I have hair again.

I was so proud of Chris and truly amazed at the trip he put together for this group. Really, really outstanding. So allow me to share some highlights:

On the first night, Mike Barreto of Barreto wines (that's him standing next to Chris) came to our house (well, the one we rented in PR) and whipped up a fabulous batch of paella that perfectly paired with his Spanish varietal wines. Fabulous food, wine and company.

And that's our group, left to right: Wendy, Michael, Becky, Mike, Chris, Pam and Peter. Yep, you got it. We were Peter, Pam, Michael and Wendy...were were missing John and Tinkerbell. So Becky played the part of Tinker Beck all weekend. Chris was more Captain Hook. And there was an evening of Lost Boys...but I get ahead of myself.

On Friday we toured DuBost vineyard and winery with Kate DuBost. Lovely people, a fabulous lunch, an "insider's tour" and hey, more great wine!

Judy Starr, grape grower extraordinaire and proprietress of Starr Vineyards gave us a tour of her pristine vineyards in her white chariot (aka pick-up truck). Oh right, some of us (those in dresses) were in the truck and some of us (those in jeans or khakis) in the truck bed. Beautiful from every vantage point.

Next up: Barrel tasting with Augie Hug at Hug Cellars. So much fun. And again, the wine was incredible (I cannot tell a lie; I bought 3 cases of his 2007 Viognier. It's a favorite of mine and that was pretty much all he had left. Mine. All Mine!!!).

The day ended (well, um, actually it went well into the night) with Ted & Lisa Plemons at Cass Winery again. OMG--the food!! The wine!! The hilarious stories!!!

And did I mention there was a camera crew following Ted around? Right. And us. And um....let's just say we now know just how it is that those idiots on reality TV can forget there is a camera following them around.  It involves wine. And we are those idiots. (Incriminating video soon to follow, no doubt).

The chef at Cass Vineyards, Jacob, was amazing. The absolute best braised short ribs. So tender and tasty you could hear everyone at the table moaning in gastronomic ecstasy.

and  the evening turned into night, and there was wine, and there was laughter, and there was more wine, more laughter, more wine, music, more wine, dancing....and um...that's all I remember. Or at least it's all I'm willing to tell....until the next posting.

Cheers to you!

I'm Off

Off schedule with the blogging.
Off schedule for my follow-up oncologist appointment (it'll happen...just not for a couple of weeks).
Off to Paso Robles for a lovely, much-needed, much anticipated long weekend. 

I will post photos, tell stories, exaggerate, blog, and of course share the dirt on how my second date with Paso Robles goes. Since as we all know, I fell madly in love and was talking marriage after the first date.

In the meantime, check out the next Pink Ribbon Place fundraiser...A "Pink Carpet Premiere" of Sex and the City 2. Chris and his friend Steve Holquin have been the main guys putting this whole event together! It's going to be fantastic and they've already sold over 200 tickets!!

Click here:  The Pink Carpet Premiere.

(and you thought that poster was about my trip to Paso Robles...)

More on Hair (an update)

As an update...so AOL (yeah, okay, i'm still on AOL...I'm living in the 90's) had a link to this article on what your natural hair color might mean about your health. Well, how could I not click through to that article?? I read it and now I'm doubly confused. So do I read the part about my natural hair color for my first 45 years of life (blonde...in case I need to remind you), or the "new" hair that I have?? How do I know what to worry about????!!!


Hair and Health...as brought to you by AOL. (Go ahead, click on the Hair and Health title...then get back to me with your thoughts. Oh, and it doesn't say "blondes are prone to breast cancer." Phew.)

Also...my sister informs me that when reading my last blog post her youngest daughter (age 3; so only 18 months old when I was a blonde) was looking at the screen with her and did not recognize the photo of me as a blonde...but did know that the photo of me as a brunette was Aunt Teresa. So there you have it. I'm a brunette.    Wow.

And also again, for the first time today someone actually noticed that my drivers license photo looks very, very different than I look now. I was at the bank, so that's a good thing she's so observant with ID. But let the record reflect that it took over a year for anyone to make a comment about my drivers license photo not looking at all like me now. Thank god no one commented on the difference between my obvious "real" weight....and what my drivers license says. (She also said that I was very "sunshiney". Yep. I'm still laughing about that too.)

How do you know me?

It would be easy to have an identity crisis these days. That's not happening but I have been acutely aware of how others view me. I look different than I've ever looked in my life and you'd think that wouldn't matter too much, but it does. I wonder how those women who are constantly changing their hair color and style can do it. Do they just get new lives each time? Oh, wait...maybe that's why they do it!  At any rate, it's not just what one looks like, but I suppose we all get to know each other as a specific type or for certain reasons-- a friend from work, a writer friend, a fellow breast cancer survivor, a dog person--all sorts of labels and categories. Maybe that helps our brain remember people. At any rate, I think I've messed up people's categories. So here's what's been going on--in no particular order.

Situation 1:  I ran into a female attorney that I used to work with.  We actually started work at the same firm on the same day long ago (April 1, 1987). It was my very first day as a lawyer. We worked together for 4 years and since we were both tall, both blonde and both working in the same department, we were constantly confused for each other, even though she is 10 years older than me and we looked absolutely nothing alike. (After a year,  a third tall, blonde female lawyer joined our ranks, just to add to the confusion--but that's not actually relevant here.)  I haven't seen her in probably 2 or 3 years. Then last Wednesday night Chris and I were at a wine dinner and so was this attorney. I was actually talking with her husband (not the one she was married to when I knew her previously; she had traded up) and eventually figured out that his wife was someone I knew. So he taps her on the shoulder, she turns around, I say hello, how are you, all that and it becomes very obvious she doesn't recognize me. Even though her husband is saying "so you two used to work together at Best, Best & Krieger." She's nodding and politely smiling but obviously hasn't a clue who I am. Then her husband says "And I thought they only hired blondes there." And now I'm confused, because of course, in my head (but not on my head) I am still a blonde. So now we're all confused. Eventually I snap out of it and say "Oh, right, well, I used to be a blonde...." And instantly she gets it. "OH!! Teresa!! OH my gosh! You're a brunette!!"

Situation 2: I'm in a meeting at City Hall (and no, you can't fight it but that doesn't stop me) with about 15 people, only some of whom know each other. I'm seated next to a woman with a perky blond bob. A woman at the other end of the table says, "I don't know people's names, but I take issue with something someone said about the property taxes." And she points down to my end of the table and very disdainfully says, "I think it was that blonde woman." And of course, I get my hackles up because I didn't say what she was quoting. Then, slowly, slowly....it dawns on me. She doesn't mean me. She has no idea and nor is it remotely relevant that I used to be blonde. She's not talking to me. She's talking to blondie next to me. Thank god I didn't respond. She would have just looked at me like the crazy person I am.

Situation 3: I got to meet one of my blog buddies. Sara in Vermont left Vermont long enough to visit the LA Times Festival of Books two weekends ago. Since Chris and I were going too, Sara and I decided to meet in person. I thought it would be so easy to recognize the "live" versions of each other from all the blog posts and pictures. Nope. Not so easy. If it weren't for Sara's friend (and mystery author extraordinare) Reed Farrel Coleman pointing me out to her (based solely on her description of me--he was not matching it to a photo) we may have missed each other. Sara was expecting my hair to be really short. I guess I haven't posted a picture lately (see above wherein I rectify that), and I was expecting Sara to be alone so wasn't looking our for 2 people. Categories. My brain needs categories. At any rate we found each other and a good time (and a drink or two) was had by all (see photo; Sara on left, me on right---in case you are confused). Later Sara mentioned that she hadn't really realized that Chris and I were writers. Well, we're not writers like Sara and Reed are (meaning the published, hard-working, people who keep their butts in the chairs and actually write daily type writers), but yeah, we write. She knows me through my blog--so most of what she knows of me is "breast cancer survivor/ chronicler/ with a snarky attitude."  Oh, right. Yep. I'm that too.

So it occurs to me...I now know people  who only know me as a brunette cancer survivor. They never knew me when, a mere 18 months ago, I was neither of those things. Meanwhile, I personally  have a hard time remembering that I'm either of those things. I'm still "blonde" in the way I'm still "Catholic" (if you asked me what religion I was that's what I would answer....but um...yeah, it's been awhile since I've set foot in church and I don't have any of the beliefs of Catholics, but it's like being Caucasian...you just are). And the cancer survivor part? Um, what? Who, me? Oh, right. But see, April 30th was the one-year anniversary of my last chemo treatment. So that cancer thing? It's so last year. 

I suppose I'll adjust to this new me. I'll remember that "cancer survivor" is part of me now, just like "lawyer" and "wanna-be writer" and eventually I'll remember that I'm not a blonde and I no longer have to be offended at blonde jokes.
Yep, I'll eventually realize all of that. Right about when I change my hairstyle and add blonde highlights.
PS. In the top photo, I think I look a lot like my mom. And that's new too; I've never really looked much like my mom (I look like her mom...but I guess it's all a circle isn't it?). And by the way, Happy Birthday Mom!

Super Beagle

Seamus had his check-up and...huge sigh of relief...he's all good. Whatever lump was felt by his regular doctor was gone by the time the oncologist examined him. He's coming up on 4 years from finishing up chemo with no recurrence of the cancer. He is indeed Super Beagle, as his original diagnosis was one year to live even with the surgery and chemo. We're so proud of him beating all the odds.

The picture is Seamus with his oncologist, the good and great Dr. Autumn Duetelle. She's been so fabulous with Seamus all through his treatment we cannot say enough good things about her. And our visit with her this time was bittersweet. We learned she is leaving the Veterinary Cancer Group in Tustin and moving to (of all places!) Minneapolis! We are so, so sad to see her go. Seamus was her third patient after she became a fully licensed, certified, all those many years and requirements completed, veterinarian oncologist, and they have a special bond. Much like I was the good and great Dr. Karam's fifth patient (and oh yeah, who looks younger, Seamus's doctor or mine? See picture below).

 (That photo by the way, was taken just about a year ago..at my surgery check-up).

After we left Dr. Duetelle, I felt great that Seamus was all-clear and as healthy as could be. But I was also sad that Dr. Duetelle was leaving. And then suddenly I had this feeling of....hmmm....closure maybe? That Seamus's cancer battle and treatments really were all over. After all,  4 years with no recurrence is like 28 years for we humans. And with Dr. Duetelle gone...I don't know. It sort of feels like we're all done with veterinarian oncology.

My check-up with my oncologist is May 12th. Once again though, I think Seamus has led the way and my check-up will go just as well as his did. Because, yeah, life works like that.

Bark for Life

This was a monumental weekend. An event of huge proportions. Life-changing. Well, no, not quite. Maybe more evidence of life possibly changing. Are you sitting down?

I had two entire days at home.

I know!! Shut-up!!!

And here's the thing...there is really something to be said for two day weekends. I didn't have a single event to attend. I didn't feel compelled to go into the office. Nobody needed anything from me. And,  it bears mentioning again, there was no non-profit fundraiser/ fund-raising/ committee meeting/ M.C. gig anything. At all. Two days. I can hardly believe it. Chris and I had dinner and a movie (Date Night...how appropriate) and a stroll through a bookstore Friday night, went to the Farmer's market and lunch downtown on Saturday, then I did a few house projects, cleaned out part of my closet (yeah, I'm not going to see that size again, so why have the reminder?), read a book, watched another movie at home (Up in the Air-- very good!). So far Sunday has meant french toast and trash television in bed (a la Chef Chris), perusing a stack of magazines, a little laundry and now blogging. If I'm lucky, I'll also write a little on the memoir too. Then we're off to Brein and Roryann's for a BBQ. That's about a perfect weekend right there.

I still have some volunteer stuff coming up. But they are events I'm looking forward to and I'm doing a much better job of "boundary-setting" with my time and commitments. Well, sort of.

Friday afternoon I had a committee meeting for The Pink Ribbon Place--after all we do have our 2nd Professionals Panel coming up on the 26th. The good and great Dr. Karam will make another appearance and he's bringing reinforcements--breast reconstruction specialist and plastic surgeon Dr. Jaco Festekjian. All the way in from west L.A. We can't ever thank them enough. Also we have the Pink Carpet Premiere of Sex & the City 2 coming up on May 29th. Details Here. Chris has been majorly involved in this particular fundraiser and already they've sold 92 tickets--at $50 a piece! And the donations to the swag bags are rolling in. My sole contribution at this point has been the idea for a "Super swag bag" that one lucky attendee wins. Since donating 400 items for each swag bag can't be done by all sponsors, we decided that we'd also gather items for a super swag bag (gift certificates, jewelry, a purse, a t-shirt, perfume,use of a Jaguar vehicle for a weekend, a massage/spa package etc...) and each individual swag bag would have a raffle ticket in it for the Super Swag raffle. It's working out great. I did get two clients to donate items on Friday afternoon too. Hey, they own retail shops and I was standing right there with the flyers!

I also did--as you knew I would--agree to participate in the American Cancer Society's local "Bark for Life" walk event on June 12th. And I'm proud to say, Seamus and I will be the Grand Marshalls!! Dog & Human Survivor team is just too good to pass up, I suppose. Seamus thinks it's his diabolical cuteness that got the invitation, and he's probably right. So I'm forming a team called, wait for it....The Dog Lived.(I think you can click the title to get to the page about our team; and you can donate! Doesn't that make you happy?!)  Chris has joined the team, of course (there is no The Dog Lived team without Chris) and I'm ever so hopeful I'll be able to convince Brein and Roryann Clements and their dog Harold  to join the team and just possibly, Sheena Meder and Ronaldo Fierro and their boys Max and Bobby,  even though Ronaldo claims to "hate cancer people" (he's totally kidding; he's 25 years old--I'm the only "cancer person" he's ever met). We'll need sponsors of course and hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to put a badge/link on the blog soon so if you want to sponsor use you'll be able too (and we'll be eternally grateful...as will the American Cancer Society. The walk is June 12th--which is Chris and my 6 year anniversary. Awwww. Isn't that just perfect? What better way to celebrate?

More to come on that. And probably there will be a hair update soon--because it's at a really, really awkward stage. There may need to be a poll on what the heck to do next.

I hope you all had a good weekend too.

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News

Fun day yesterday. I worked at home. Which means that while I'm hyper productive with a lawyer's favorite love (billable hours), I'm also able to accomplish major feats like five loads of laundry and 1,236 phone calls to a variety of doctors' offices.

That's right folks, it's time for my next 3 month check-up. Good news is April 30th is the 1 year  anniversary of my last chemo treatment. Hard to believe isn't it? It would be harder to believe if it weren't for the fact that my eyelashes still haven't recovered. They fall out about every 2 or 3 months. I'm guessing that since losing eyelashes is normal, my problem now is that all of my eyelashes (having all jumped ship together due to the chemo) are now on the same fall-out schedule--they no longer take turns. Well, wait.. 2 or 3 on each eyelid resolutely hang on. I know this because one day I will apply mascara and suddenly realize that I have a mini pitchfork on my eye. Go ahead, picture it. Two eyelashes. Not close together. Heavy with mascara.It's not attractive. But it is a very good sign that another group of eyelashes have headed to Florida for early retirement.

I digress.

Right, so the good news is that it's time for my check-up. The bad news is that I have to see 2 doctors at UCLA. One is Dr. Glaspy, my oncologist. But the other is mostly new to me--a new primary care physician. I saw her last time but as we were running so late from the mammogram scare, I only got my flu and tetanus shot. I didn't get the annual  "lady" exam. One of the few (okay, wait...only?) medical joys of chemo is that you get to skip the annual pap smear. Apparently the results will come up crazy no matter what so why bother. (This makes so much sense but was still surprising to hear.) So now I'm at 2 years and it's time (probably TMI, but I've already typed it so there it is). I've had lots of luck scheduling 2 and even 3 doctors appointments in one day at UCLA but my luck has run out. I couldn't get both appointments on one day for anything. Not surprisingly, the oncologists office wasn't at all moved by my "but I'm a cancer patient" wail. I will be heading into UCLA on April 29th and then again on May 12th--on my way back up to Paso Robles!! (Gosh I hope the check-up goes well.)

That was complicated enough...but not to be outdone, Seamus needs an appointment with his oncologist too. Chris took Seamus to the vet this week because we'd noticed that he was eating a lot, but then also seeming to be off and on sick to his stomach and throwing up a bit. Turns out he had some parasite thingy going on (the vet said "sort of like if you drank the water in Mexico." Oh. Ugh.). Seamus is now on medication for that and obviously already feeling much better. But during the exam the doctor felt a "mass" on Seamus's rear end. The other side from where his cancer was. And the vet wants us to go back to the oncologist to get it aspirated. And well, Seamus was due for his annual oncology check-up anyway. Off we shall go.

Seamus's appointment was not easy to schedule either. His doctor is about a 45 minute drive if we aren't in traffic. Which means we have a narrow window of an appointment somewhere after 10 and before 3. Before 2 if possible. I really want to take him myself so my work schedule had to be considered and darn it his doctor (Dr. Duetelle, who we love) doesn't work on Fridays. So Seamus goes in on April 20th (when he's done with the tummy meds).

That's a lot of doctor appointments coming up. All I can say is...it had better all be good news.

Girls Having Fun

I'm busy recovering from the Omakase Farewell dinner last night (5 hours, hundreds of courses of food; then I lost count). While I recover--

Check out this You Tube video: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Stephanie, a fierce breast cancer butt-kicker and blog buddy (Bah! to Cancer) , is featured in this Race for Life video. She's one of the ones with pink and purple dealy-bobbers....but that may not help you pick her out.  Still, you'll have fun trying.

Happy Friday everyone.