Kelli and Mike are bound for Turkey today!  I have another friend who is there right now and it looks like an amazing destination!  I think I'll add it to my list.  Geoff and Lindsey are also getting ready to take flight for a couple of weeks to Honduras!  Oh my adventurous children!  Wonder where they get it from!??  We all love to travel and especially love the opportunity to see different cultures and places where people live totally different lives than we have.  For me, these experiences definitely make me realize how fortunate we are living the lives we do but I also am struck by how happy many of these people are despite having absolutely nothing.  When we were in Nepal we got quite close to our porters  and our guide.  Each of them lived on a small plot of land which they farmed.  During the trekking season they would leave their wives and children to work as guides or porters as it was an opportunity to make some decent money.  They really weren't very curious about where we came from and I suspect they shook their heads sometimes when we spent money on trinkets.  I remember Geoff buying a couple of stones one day.  I forget what he paid for them but Davinder, our guide, later told me that he could have bought a rooster for that amount of money.  I found myself trying to buy thinks secretly because I was embarrassed that we could throw money away on such things.  There were no grocery stores there and we ate whatever was seasonal at the time.  When we returned home I remember walking into our house and shaking my head at the space we had, the running water, toilets etc.  These people had none of these things yet they were joyful and appreciative of what they did have.  Having just returned from Las Vegas I have certainly seen a huge contrast in the way people live around the world!

Today was a quiet day but I did get up to the club for a workout on the bike!  I am anxious to try riding my bike outside on real terrain.  This will be the true test but this weather is not cooperating.

The week ahead doesn't excite me much.  Appointments....appointments...appointments......I have loved my break away from doctors, the hospital, needle pokes and medicine!  Wednesday is looming but I keep telling myself that I will deal with whatever the doctor tells me.  The one thing I have learned on this journey is that doctors really don't know how your story is going to play out.  Kelli has a dear friend who I have mentionned before that has beaten cancer three times and she's not even 30 yet!  She is giving a talk at the Gala this week for the ACH.  She is sharing her story as a speaker at the event and emailed it to Kelli and I.  I was so blown away by her courage, her determination, her grit and her attitude.  She is a young woman any parent would love to call their daughter!  To put it simply....she is AMAZING! At one point she was given 6 months to live and she totally kicked that prediction out of the way!   She always addresses Kelli and I as her favourite "Warrior Women" when she sends us emails and truly she is one of my favourite "Warrior Women" too.  I have a few......Many of you praise me often on my attitude and approach to life but honestly I must tell you I am not alone.  There are many people out there who are inspiring to me.  Some of them just aren't as public about their journey as I have been.  I had to laugh the other day in my yoga class.  The instructor always asks if anyone has any injuries or problems that she should know about before commencing the class.  There are always those people who put up their hands and share a list a mile long about their various ailments and issues. I always sit there closed lipped, even though I know I could blow all their stories out of the water.  I was feeling quite smug about this and then it suddenly occurred to me....I'm no different at all....I just air my issues on this forum instead.

I am thrilled that many friends have stepped up and said they will come to the party/fundraiser/silent auction at Schanks.  Please know I do not expect my friends to buy a darn thing....I would just love to see you there and am hoping it will be a party to celebrate my "first" year post diagnosis.  There is a group of parents from my school coming, some teacher friends, some of my neighbours, my dear cousin Trish and her husband Gerry......They are all a lot of fun!  Believe me!  You will enjoy them!

For you single girls Geoff and Lindsey have been talking about auctionning off a paramedic, a firefighter and a policeman!!!  Ha.....just kidding....but they'll be there!

 I am blessed!  How 'bout you???