It's done! I've finished the Breast Cancer Triathlon as of yesterday, April 22nd, 2015! I completed the 33 rounds of radiation, and I am now officially a cancer survivor, not a cancer patient!! ...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/04/triathlon-complete.html
Today marked the halfway point of my radiation treatments! 17 down, 16 to go! Side effects are still manageable. I have to moisturize the skin all the time but it's not too bad. I'm finding it ...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/03/radiation-update-halfway-home.html
While attempting to photograph the ongoing floral display from my Christmas/Easter cactus this morning, my phone somehow someway changed exposure and I got this... ...a greenish image on St....
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/03/radiation-update.html
It's that time of year again! The sun is shining, days are longer, temperatures have been extremely mild in Chicagoland, and we're about eight weeks away from the "last frost" date for zone 5. Al...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/03/seed-starting-2015_13.html
Touted as the most easy-going, low-maintenance plants, cacti and succulents continually stymie my attempts to grow them. I think it's my watering habits—when I'm busy with gardening outdoors, I...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/03/i-suck-at-succulents.html
Next week I begin Leg 3 of what my sister has affectionately dubbed "The Iron Woman," or basically the treatment triathlon of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Radiation consists of treatment...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-breast-cancer-triathlon-part-3.html
Mid-February means outdoor blooms are nowhere near in my garden. Despite relatively warm temperatures over the last couple weeks (until another recent Arctic blast), we're still under a blanket o...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/02/garden-bloggers-bloom-dayfebruary-2015.html
Here is me telling my final dose of chemo what I really think of it: Yesterday was my last chemo treatment! I'm about to slip into the depths of the side effects by tomorrow, but I hardly ev...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/02/chemotherapy-done.html
That's what I envision one of those cheesy brochures would say. Many years ago I was actually handed a brochure that read "So You've Got Mono" therefore I know they really exist! Here's another o...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/01/so-youre-going-through-chemotherapy.html
Ahh houseplants, a northern gardener's best friend in winter.... And this is without a doubt the best January bloom day for me yet, thanks to my Christmas cactus in full bloom... ...p...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/01/garden-bloggers-bloom-dayjanuary-2015.html
Native bee balm (Mondarda fistulosa) is like the all-American success story in my garden. I planted them about five years ago, and they languished without flowers, showing off nothing but powdery...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/01/plant-this-bee-balm.html
I was all excited to write about the snow today and show pretty snow pictures, but then something amazing happened! So I finally remembered that I have houseplants, and that those plants haven'...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2015/01/its-christmas-cactus-miracle.html
Yesterday I had my second chemo infusion, so I am officially halfway done with this phase of treatment! Yay! The side effects so far haven't been as bad as last time, although I'm kind of waiti...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/12/chemo50-done.html
It's not even Christmas, there's no snow on the ground, but I know spring will be here because I've already received my first 2015 seed catalog! And what a beauty it is...Baker Creek Heirloom See...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/12/spring-is-coming.html
Since it's the middle of December, there is, unsurprisingly, nothing blooming in my Chicago-area zone 5 garden. However, indoors I have this lovely flower arrangement sent by a family friend: ...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/12/garden-bloggers-bloom-daydecember-2014.html
Well, now that the immediate effects of the chemo infusion are wearing off, I wanted to share some pictures and recap of our amazing trip to Dominican Holidaze! (For those of you not familiar wit...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/12/dominican-holidaze-recap.html
Here is what I looked like this past Friday, November 28th, 2014: Me & Bryce at Trey show, Aragon Ballroom And here is what I looked like the very next day... Notice anything different? ...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-big-reveal.html
Going through cancer treatment is a lot like being pregnant, except that everything is turned on its head—bizarro pregnancy, if you will. How so? Let me count the ways: LIKE PREGNANCY, everyo...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/11/bizarro-pregnancy.html
Today we met with Dr. William Gradishar at Northwestern Memorial to get a second opinion on my course of treatment. By all accounts, he's the leading breast cancer specialist in the Chicago area ...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/11/getting-second-opinion.html
OK, so this is a way for me to keep everyone up to date on the latest cancer news. Please feel free to comment (I get notifications), but if you'd rather text, call, send a carrier pigeon, whatev...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/11/cancer-update.html
I am of the gardening school of thought that advocates leaving spent perennial foliage through the winter and cutting it back in the early spring. There are number of reasons for this—providing...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/10/fall-clean-up-annual-debate.html
Forgive me garden, for I have sinned. It has been two years since my last blog post. Garden Blogger's Bloom Day seemed like an auspicious day to get back to it, so here I am! Although admittedl...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2014/10/forgive-me-garden-for-i-have-sinned.html
Every fall I say never again, and a year later I'm right back in the same place. Every spring I swear I won't put myself through the heartbreak, and seven months later I've convinced myself it wi...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2012/10/when-will-i-learn.html
So far it's been a rather dismal year for cool-season edibles. We went from winter straight to mid-80s summer conditions (which was tough on my seedlings), back to rain and cold (which they survi...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2012/06/so-far-its-been-rather-dismal-year-for.html
Traveling caused me to miss the official Garden Blogger's Bloom Day for May, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens . But like gardeners all across America, I am enjoying the explosion of spring b...
http://rambleonrose-rr.blogspot.com/2012/05/belated-bloom-day.html