celebrate!

OMG all, I am Super excited!!!!! this week I received my ATR and LPC certificates!!!! ( Art Therapist Registered and Licensed Professional Counselor.)  this means I can officially see clients privately, as opposed to going through a facility. I can also bill for services under LPC at facilities!  I have waited years to become "official" and now I am!!! I am in the process of creating a website for services to those interested. In the meantime, If I have not shared this before, I do have my Art Therapy Information station business page on facebook in which I list different articles on mental health and art therapy.  feel free to ask questions about what art therapy or topics you want me to find articles about and id be glad to  share!  if youd like to contact me personally either go through this blog or facebook :) 
https://www.facebook.com/shanson.ATPY/

fall is here! but it feels like winter...

my summer of adventures is behind me :(  I miss my #firstdescents group and my #campmakadream people!  it was scary but super exciting to travel across the country to hang out with complete strangers knowing wed have to talk about our histories of cancer in between fun new thrilling activities.  I have lost two of my new friends since camp in june, may they rest in peace pain free with no more oncology visits in their futures.  since starting these adventures I have found a bunch of new adventures!!! I will post my list of young adult cancer survivor groups when I complete it, otherwise www.stupidcancer.org has a nation wide list of camps for children, young adults, adults, and families sorted by state. 

For anyone interested in skincare, cosmetics, fragrances and more I will be hosting an in person / online open house the week before thanksgiving!  time to prepare for Christmas all :)  I have past limited edition products which I will have discounted, new limited edition and winter products!  its super exciting!!!!!  our new apple and pear lotion / lip balm combo smells amazing.  and our new cityscape perfume is super fine! 
https://www.facebook.com/events/448603838656875/


In November if you have heard of the Trees of Hope Wisconsin fundraiser, I am donating a MaryKay tree!  You could be the lucky winner if you go and bid on November 21st while enjoying the banquet and other activities being held to support the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. will post photos and more when I have them available!
https://www.facebook.com/TreesofHopeWI/?fref=ts

I am also considering starting jamberry. I was considering starting paparazzi ( 5$ jewelry) but then I realized I break out with jewelry and I would have to wear it to market / sell it as a consultant. which id love to do! except my sensiti e skin does not work .  Jamberry is a type of vinyl nail that sticks onto your nails with heat and pressure!  OMG amazing.  so addicted now. taking time to enjoy using them before I decide if I want to sell them ( but if youd be interested in buying from me, just let me know!)

kayaking, woot woot!

what can I say a bout my trip kayaking.  it was definitely worth the bruises! it was wonderful to meet the group of young adults, and then together get through our fears and anxieties to learn how to kayak. whitewater rapid kayaking that is.  I will post photos in another blog when im home :)
in this post I will copy paste my posts from Facebook, and then add to them like I did after the june trip to #campmakadream .   this trip was with #firstdescents kayaking in Jackson Wyoming!  I met people from californa, Minnesota, illinoise, iowa, Colorado, Connecticut, texas and even one from my area :) ( she needs prayers, thoughts, good vibes, whichever you wish to send as she unfortunately had to leave early and scans determined she has relapsed). I miss my #wolfpack  , as we learned kayaking one of our sounds was howling to each other to help get us geared up to go.  we all had nicknames!  mine was tiedye , then we had cobalt, shotgun, chcemosabe, token, smooves, boat drinks, lotus, bandit, hungry, doc, eye candy,our volunteers / camp moms and sisters were  jams, moose, cheese,pickles, patch, coach, jump,and our chefs were chamomile and aj and our kayaking instructors were wild thing, speed monkey ( who turned into sea monkey and kept adapting), brown claw and dubie.  #rendezvous in Jackson is the place to go! they were awesome. will include their links in my post with the pictures.

Ok: on with the post followed by more!

Met a guy here with my same exact cancer down to being in the bone!!!! (which is rare) he also happens to be the guy who wrote and performed ‪#‎stupidcancer‬ theme song. He gave us a small performance after dinner :) 
Day one, we got lunch and introduced ourselves(my nickname was down to tyedye or starburst and tyedye won) then we got to camp and got the chance to meet other campers as they arrived, hanging out all afternoon. We get our wetsuit gear tomorrow bright and early and learn how to kayak in a nearby lake. We were also told beware of bears and moose. Apparently bears are large dogs and will not attack if not threatrened, but moose will chase you down if are having a bad day and just got hit by a horsefly. So no wildlife selfies unless it's with a statue, which they have plenty of.

I happened to be wearing a tye dye shirt, which I made in june at #makadream . and talking about my art therapy and helping others, it stuck. I was super excited to tell them about makadream as they hadn't heard of it!! it was also exciting to meet someone who had my diagnosis. granted his treatment was different, but we still had some similarities such as not being believed, having severe pain, etc.



Day 2! We stopped at an outfitters and were borrowed gear for the week, booties wet suit life vest boat skirt wind jacket helmet, you name it! Then we drove to a lake past the titen mountains and learned to kayak with whitewater kayaks :) they helped adjust each of us so we were comfy and then proceeded to dunk us under the water. We had to practice exiting the boat to be comfortable when we fell over on the rapids. We then learned how to steer and played water games :). Found out we have a horse and mule ranch Next door so had to go make friends. The one with me kept poking me with its head, biggest mule I've ever seen! Need to find me some local horsies to ride as physical therapy, losen these stuff joints. Next is bonfire and more bonding. Then sleep!

- seriously, largest mule I have ever seen!  bigger then the horses in its pen. and they weren't ponys.  the group was amazing though, they outfitted us in the gear and borrowed it and boats to each of us for the whole week, were with us every step of the way.  I had  a rough first day, we had to be dunked under water to practice water exits in the lake so we would know what to do when it happened on the river.  I freaked out and bawled for like 20 minutes because I couldn't breath ( didn't take the breath, was super anxious)  brought me back to the first day o f chemo when I couldn't breath and needed an epi pen. didn't know what was happening or where that nurse was , slow motion kind of thing. I was able to keep dunking though and figure out how to take that breath :)   we called it the hand of god technique, know that someone would be there to lift us up while we were waiting so we wouldn't have to exit and dump the boat. on the side of the river.


Day 3. Spent the day on the river going 9 miles! Had a picnic lunch half way through learning the curves of a beginner river, only tipped over once after a rough patch :). Whitewater kayaking is so much cooler then swimming or canoeing! We do have a participant who's also the photographer, so more pics will be available after camp from on the lake.
Scary situation last night. One of our ladies woke me up in severe pain so I left her with the others to go get a house mom, long story short she ended up going to the er for scans and flight lifted to a bigger hospital in Idaho falls because she has relapsed. Please keep her in your thoughts.

- that first day was amazing! we went on the snake river, deep and wide with small wavy areas and swirly areas.  the swirly areas were the ones to worry about. always lean in people! and don't stop paddling.   that night was when our fellow lady woke me  up with head pain, and after being examined went to the er for pain management and ended up flying out to a bigger hospital to meet her parents.  shes in rough shape, so again please send thoughts her way.


Day 4: Hiked a mountain today! Ate a picnic lunch by a waterfall. Was not the whole mountain, but a good half hours worth uphill.our photographer borrowed out his walking sticks so he could take photos instead(makes walking so much easier! Need one of my own now, who wants to hit up some hiking when I come home?). During lunch we used my marykay selfie stick to make some memories :). Afterwards went shopping and ate icecream in town before returning to camp to a random dance party before dinner. Bonfire time again and now sleep, back to kayaking tomorrow.

- yay mountain! was not prepared for that. thought it would be a flat hike, but nope up a mountain.  definitely needed that walking stick, made such a difference, going to have to buy my own pair! ( who wants to go hiking? or kayaking?).  bonfires were nice, we hung out together, answered questions about why we were there, what the river taught us, and how we handled situations such as relapse or bad news. our amazing chefs chamomile and aj brought us deserts and then sat with us to join the circle :)  all homemade non gmo organic food. mmmmmm.


Day 5. More kayaking! We started at the camps river entrance, very shallow water, lots of rocks! Was a challenge but after tipping once I was flyin over those rocks and ledges! Arms are ready to fall off but that's ok. We stopped on a large Rocky area/beach for lunch and those rocks were perfect for laying on, nice and warm. And I found a vertebrae bone!!! Yay for souvenir hehe. On the final stretch a bunch of us wrapped together and floated down the river until we came upon... a hot spring! So of course I Sat in the hot spring (which smells like sulfur but felt amazing) thendunked in the cold fresh water to try clearing the smell. Once back at the camp we went swimming in our pool ( a salt water pool instead of chlorine) and then our instructors taught us how to self flip in the pool and showed off their awesome skills! Our chefs then rang the dinner bell and showed us the 37 homemade pizzas for dinner! Along with salad and homemade dressing. We have eaten very well this week. During bonfire chats I recieved the offwater award! ( pink flower necklace) for being helpful with paddles today , helping out lady in crisis the other night and always smiling and keeping track of this trip on Facebook, (list goes on and I have to give it away to another tomorrow night). Tomorrow's sad as it's the last day of kayaking frown emoticon but my arms are happy, and my new friends and I are connecting on fb to keep in touch. Tomorrow's river is a canyon, fingers crossed for me and the group through those rapids!

- was not to excited about those rocks, and now I have the bruises as proof I did it .  first big crashing wave I was down for the count. but I learned quickly! don't stop paddling and lean into the scariness.



Day 6. Final day, was awesome but sad. Started out bright and early to the big or level 3 rapids. I got squashed at the first turn. But I was then given the option to stay in my kayak or sit in one of the ducky boats(big inflatable kayak) with a camp mom or myself or a fellow participant, or the big giant Cleopatra float. I chose to sit with a fellow participant, and after a few minor communication issues we had it down! Was awesome riding the waves, still got hit cause the...y were 6 footers, but not near like when I was in the tiny kayak. We lunched on a giant rock /Sandy area in between rapids, and then continued on through the big kahhuna and the graduation rapid. We each went one by one down our own rapid with no assistance (but the guides were about every 20 feet alongside it just in case) and we all rocked it! (including us in the double, which those big ones are not easy to maneuver, can't use our hip power, it's all upper body strength. I now have arms of steel). After rafting we had to hike up a partial mountain to the vans, had a dance party in the lot and came back to camp for relax time. We wrote Thankyou cards to anonymous donors, packed up and added each other on Facebook. During bonfire time we gave away our awards and did some traditions. One was tying a string around each others wrist to help keep the good spirits with us during our travels and give kind words from our week to the one receiving the string. Then we went across camp to a kayak next to candles in cups and each put a candle in the kayak filled with water for ones we have lost. We said good byes to each other after moments of silence and then went back to lodge for a slideshow from our photographer, whom is amazing! We celebrated a few birthdays happening this week for dessert and then headed to bed to finish packing and sleep. Flight out is early afternoon tomorrow, arrive sometime at night.

this week was amazing. made a new family with my wolfpack, delivered luggage to our local friend and will be visiting her later this week, and learned to kayak in Wyoming!!!!! how awesome is that?  if your in the Milwaukee area / Midwest, and kayak comment here :)  I heard kayakers are a rare breed.

as for my health. im sick of docs . I saw a specialist last week before I left and have a probe test this Tuesday to check my acid reflux. little probe down my nose and throat for 24 hours >.<  ick. if this cough wasn't so nasty with flem and vomiting I would say screw it. but its been going on for months :(.   will keep you updated!

dislike going to the doctor

ahhhh. so I  have had this cough, which after I went to Montana and after my Minnesota national art therapy conference, got really bad. like OMG im throwing up a throat bad ( not lung, my throat) which really started to creep me out.  I took the first available doctor I could get, she listened to my lungs, checked my nose and ears, and on my request took a lung xray ( side and back view). besides the cough I felt ok, and the cough itself wasn't all flemy like im used to, over all dry. the doctor stated that the xray was clear and she was 99 % sure it was acid reflux ( which made sense with my history, have had scope tests done for an irritated stomach and during chemo I obviously had a lot of vomiting which affected my throat not so good). she prescribed antibiotics just in case it was bronchitis because I did have a bought of that during school out east ( and apparently once you start getting it your susceptible ). 

the antibiotics helped a bit, cough wasn't so bad but still consistently throughout the day and worse after meals. after that ended I started on my infamous ant acid pills, which over the course of the week did not seem to make a difference so I got back into the doctor this week ( my own doc / physicians assistant because the initial one was on vacation )  my lady asked me what I was told. I repeated the above and she went into the xray notes / radiologist and said no, you were diagnosed with pneumonia!  she ordered a new set of xrays, listened and so on so forth.  sure enough she showed me the before and after xrays and I had a hazy spot on the upper right lung.  get this , there was even a bright red oval around the hazy spot on the initial xray stating there was something there!  ( was told it was clear)  the new xray was less hazy, much smaller area, but I was obviously still having issues.  was given new antibiotics, a new ant acid pill and prednisone to help with the coughing because all the normal over the counter stuff did not help.  

I was warned the prednisone would make me shaky and all energetic wooooo!  and that the antibiotics should help.  I did not agree that it would but I was willing to try anything at this point.  ( work with very anxious young ladies who do not like seeing sick staff around every day) .  OMG  by that afternoon yes I noticed I had the shakes, but I have never had more energy!!!!!!! I didn't yawn once!!!!!!  I also noticed I didn't cough more then maybe 5 times all afternoon.  I felt almost human. granted my memory was like sucking so horribly it reminded me of chemo brain but thankfully my coworkers did not give up on me and were helpful with that part even though I asked one like 15 times about medication questions and she had to keep repeating she wasn't med certified and so on so forth. and then I completely blanked out as to where one resident was for 3 hours until same staff helped prompted my memory and it came back to me. luckily today im a swing shift so I don't have to be in control of the medication keys, just kinda have to hang out and help keep things going smooth. ( residential unit for mood disorder).

but don't u just love when one doctor tells you one thing, completely disregarding the big red oval marking the hazy area?  yay for paying for double the xrays.

summer times

super excited yall!  I received my travel information the other day for my first descents kayaking trip in Wyoming!    ( FD is another young adult survivor program- adventure program, they have surfing, rock climbing, ice climbing and kayaking throughout the country and some international for young adults and adults over 40 - free to cancer survivors, first timers like me can get full travel scholarships based on need) 

I am super excited for this kayaking trip, granted Montana was amazing on itself. I met many wonderful people and I feel like their motto " come to camp, it could change your life" is true on many levels.  knowing that I can do things like rock climb again and be active is amazing!  I was feeling so worthless because my exhaustion was getting to me and I felt no one understood.  Montana was a week of self care, and realizing that its ok to take my nap and to take a day in between. Other people don't understand because they haven't experienced (and I hope you never have to go through chemo or radiation ) and being around others who have really opened my eyes. I don't feel alone anymore. I know I wasn't before, but to have met people who had a similar situation and to see the side effects and hear their stories made it seem real.  made me feel not different. ive always felt different because I was " a sick child" , and "different sense of humor " - the list goes on. and then I went through chemo. - like really, what next???  lol.  I can laugh now.  but now ive seen what ive felt in others and knowing we can commiserate together makes things easier, and easier to like myself on days when im totally exhausted I can't get off the couch to do more then change the channel and use the restroom. 

kayaking though - WOW I never thought id make it back to Wyoming ( family trip to yellow stone when I was like 7)  but to go kayaking?? and with fellow cancer survivors?  im excited to meet this new group of individuals, but also to learn kayaking. they said they treat everyone as if they have never seen a kayak outside of the tv. ( they do have more advanced groups that people can join after their first year or if they have experience prior to the first camp).

 I was very nervous about going to the first group though.  "will it put ideas in my head? " - it did sort of but in a good way- made me aware of follow up tests I should consider from the chemo / side effects. like I am freakin nervous about the idea of relapse even though my doc said I have a very very very small chance. but I never thought about getting chest xrays or heart stress tests and some of the chemo side effects could be damaging those areas and that's one way to monitor.

will it be sad the entire time? - it had its moments. we had "campfire chats" like twice in the week where we specifically talked about something that we needed to vent about or to share stories from the "older survivors" to the "young survivors "  - or like 5 year remission compared to 1 year remission.  other times, we talked about it freelance. like while waiting for rock climbing some of us talked about being exhausted and not sure if we could do it and the tiredness, we shared experiences of that and how it sucks and what we do to bypass it. ( positive talk),  the first night a couple of us sat around the hot tub and talked about what type we had and how long our treatment was and how we all need to start working out again because weve gotten exhausted and too tired to exersize.  plans for the future and where we want to be next summer when we meet again.   there was a ceremony that celebrated life of those who passed between camp due to relapsing.  it brought up the idea of who chooses for me.  who chooses who lives and who dies?  I was able to bring this up to others and find out what they thought.  some go off of , when its there time its there time. ( but again who chooses?) others didn't want to think of "who chooses " and stated, it just happens. sucks but it happens.  luck of the draw?  idk, I think its something im going to have to ignore and move on, because I don't even want to think that there is someone or something that says, ok this father of 3 is going to die and this girl of 18 is going to live . next!

will I be able to do anything??? what if im too tired?  - I was so scared of this, I even asked on the phone to the kayaking place what would happen if I couldn't participate.   I ended up being so energized from people around me, that I did not need too many naps.  eventualy I did pick and choose which workshops / activities I wanted to do and did take afternoon naps ( the week felt longer then a week)  but I was able to participate in almost everything I wanted to do mostly because the energy was addicting! 

before kayking though, im going to Canada with dad for our yearly fishing trip. yaaay!  then 3 or 4 dayslater I fly out to Wyoming :) ( have it in my date book so I wont mistake that lol)

many makadream photos!

kindness shared is heavens art, that soften the soul and warms the heart - stamped just for ewe

made 106 warm fuzzies total, enough for campers, counselors, office and kitchen staff.

camp makadream! - "i couldn't make a wish, so i made a dream instead" - counselor

camp, was awesome!  i was nervous about going to "cancer camp", its one reason i didn't want to go to "cancer-con" when i first heard about it this spring. i thought it would be all crying, people hooked up to iv bags, people in pain, everything that i didn't want to remember.

was almost completely opposite!

yes we did cry. but it was during a "cabin chat" and our camp leader asked if there was anything anyone wanted to discuss as we had equal amount new comers, and seasoned campers / survivors staying together and technically the camp was about moving forward, survivor-ship and working through the emotional difficulties. that day was difficult for everyone i think, it was about 4 days in and we had been through many  physical challenges with activities slowing down, and in a crowded living space ( cabin was very nice, but becomes crowded with everyone and their bags) and of course with side effects of exhaustion ( not the only one!) that wears down on a person to by the end of an extremely busy week.  that morning during a "mindfulness" session we experimented with being in the moment while walking and i had a flashback, so of course to me it was a negative experience and i shared that with the group . first time ive had that type of flashback , i basically had to relearn to walk after chemo and i remember holding on to the treadmill while pacing my steps to make sure i didn't fall. yes the severe bone pain was gone, but i was still sick from the chemo and all those smells and feelings rushed back at me.  i felt safe to share it though, and i didn't feel different because other people mentioned similar experiences throughout the week.

  being 5 years remission and suddenly having this urge to talk to others about all this, it was nice to finally be with people who didn't tear up at the word cancer, who understand the ickyness of the prednisone and the small pet scan injections ( which i had a nurse tell me did not exist one time. i let her have it and she did not return at the end of my pet. hmm) who gave me a hug after a crying session not because of pity but because they understood the experience.

here are my posts from facebook ( plus a little extra from throughout the week)

Thursday - arrived in missoula montana! was bussed to gold creek to "camp makadream"  greeted outside of the bus by the camp counselors and a goody bin to start the week, i got a purple frisbee. we went to our cabins and received green tote bags, a blue water bottle and our itinerary. was in camp beartooth! learned quickly that they were going to "dote on " us this whole week by the staff bringing our bags to the bus, and to the cabin and serving us in the dining hall.  not used to that type of treatment! but i got used to it quickly, it was nice having someone else take care of me , and taking that time for myself when normally im all about helping others.

(friday) Survived climbing the "butte"! (small mountain, bigger then a hill that plateus on top) took several breaks but I did it! And on my second try completed the rock climbing wall!!  
(insert: super empowering to know that I could do it! being super tired and exhausted all the time has made me feel horrible, like i am just lazy (or feel like thats what people think of me since, obviously im out of treatment and i looook fine - long term unseen side effects suck) i had tried climbing the wall once, we had one that started slanted and one that was straight up and down . the slanted one, i got half way and then i couldn't lift my legs high enough and go from leaning forward to backward.  after a while i stretched real good and went up the straight up and down / no slanted and got it with only 1 30 second brake with 6 feet to go to the top.  woohooo!!!!!. after that i went to the "art barn", and realised they had an entire studio for people to work in throughout the week. made my warm fuzzy to hang in the hall.  warm fuzzy bags were hung up for people to put notes in throughout the week, and candy :).   after art barn we had a cabin chat , ice breaker to get to know eachother, then dinner and then 9 square.  a bunch of us stood in this 9 squares and hit a volleyball to eachother to get someone out ( whoever missed the ball or didn't get it in someone elses square).  it stayed light till ilke 10 pm!! ( 11 pm central time back home)  We then went and dipped our legs in the hot tub with some other campers and counselors.  found out my skin is very sensitive to the chemicals because my feet immediately began burning and peeling after leaving the hottub. we went back to the cabin before 1 am, it was a good day )

(saturday) Yesterday, went to Missoula farmers market, had amazing ice cream and walked around some awesome shops, came back for a pool party, movie, inspirational speaking and cabin chats. (sunday) Today rode a horse, climbed the rock wall, archery, super hero party trivia and games, and did some "warm fuzzy" making. (we each put up bags with our name for people to put notes aka "warm fuzzy" into). Time to go to sleep early. More fun tomorrow!

(insert: just realized i may have mixed up thursday and friday evenings but that's ok
( Saturdays and sundays insert:  farmers market was huge, bought amazing fudge from neldas marvelous fudge stand, salted caramel chocolates and honey lemonade. mmmm.   alot of people recognized our camp shirts because the area is big on fundraising to sponsor peoples travel out to the camp and to keep the camp free for patients and survivors.  we watched the movie duff.   i hate being the duff!  anywhoo.  was a pretty awesome weekend regardless of mixing up the days activities)

(monday )Today, did a high ropes course with zipline, attended two mindfulness workshops, look good feel better work shop, a deep cabin chat discussing some of our emotional challenges, dance party after dinner and finished my warm fuzzies! And even though I was frozen with fear at being 35 ft in the air balancing on a wire holding a rope, one of the awesome counselors came over and helped me through it. Finished the rest like a champ! Plenty of photos to come , tomorrow's last day, flight home early Wednesday.

(insert:  my negative experience was during the am mindfulness, it was negative but positive at the same time. part of processing and moving forward is to experience and feel and accept. still a long journey as the moments appear but thats ok. doing my collage and other art projects help, and now i have peers to talk to and share with as well.  i did need help on the high ropes. being 35 feet in the air balancing on a wire holding a rope made me frozen, but a counselor walked out from his end and helped me by taking my hand and making me look at him and avoid looking down lol.  went really quick at that point !  throughout this week i kept saying, if my nephew whos 10 wants to do this, and the kids i work with who are 10 and above can, i can to!  was facing fears and shedding that self doubt,. working on it anyway. now that i know i survived the high ropes, i can have fun next time!)


final dayTuesday : finished mindfulness work shop/research participation, prepared for talent show, sketched portraits at said talent show!, then received "grandma tyedye" reward (each of us in the old lady cabin got a reward) at the fancy banquet they held for us, then stayed up signing each others pillows while waiting to head to airport. A local grandma quilting group donates the pillow covers for camp participants throughout the summer. Such an awesome week, and will miss these people and the mountains, but I'm looking forward to coming back home 

i will add a new post with images :)  i met such amazing people at this camp, or "young adult conference / YAC"  some who are still on chemo, recently off chemo, in studies to keep track of mutated genes, people in remission.  everyone was full of life and energy in their own way, smiles and greetings from seasoned and newbies alike. the counselors have all been touched in someway by cancer, either as a sibling, a friend or a surivor. They also had volunteers in each cabin, who have somehow been touched by cancer either through work (ours was a radiation technician intern), or survivors or siblings.  Some of the ladies in our cabin were staying for the next weeks camp or had stayed in the previous weeks camp.  We shared bits and pieces of what treatment was like, learned about other treatments and what different diagnoses meant.  one young breast cancer survivor showed me her scars, and the volunteer was able to describe where her radiation treatments were .  Shell be getting her new boobies in october :) .   this camps motto was " come to camp, could change your life".   so fortunate i was able to get a travel scholarship and meet these amazing people, but also to take the time for myself and relax in between outdoor activity.  i can do things, i am still me! just a different me, my new normal.  But now i know that in my new normal, i can still do what i used to enjoy and that makes all the difference. im not alone anymore :)

Camp

On way to camp makeadream!  Day started out a little scary, accident right in front of me and dad on freeway. Here's to hoping for a smooth flight!  Wont have Wi-Fi so I'll post images and journal entries next week!

random mummblings of a night shifter

I was looking at my stats tonight, because with Google blogger it tells you where your viewers are from!  im international people :) 


United States        75
Singapore             13
United Kingdom   9
Estonia                   8
Switzerland            4
Australia                1
Canada                   1
Hungary                 1
New Zealand          1
Poland                    1

Out of those countries, I live in the US, have visited the UK ( England and Scotland), and gone fishing in Canada! Have also visited Italy.  Australia is on my list  ( if you have any sites to see please comment below for my future travel plans!)  And if id get the chance id love to back pack through Europe see all the others! ( when I say Europe, at this stage of tiredness I tend to chunk that entire part of the world together, I apologize for not recognizing the differences at this time)

I received an email about a week ago for my state department licensing application. I finally got a chance to check out my "checklist" tonight and I'm not sure what's left except gathering my hours? will be working on that list tonight.  super excited!!! I passed the NCE (national counselor examination) which states im competent on a national level to become a state licensed professional counselor! ( again I apologize for not recognizing the differences in the individual countries within the continents, my multicultural class memories are screaming at me inside as I write this)

im on night two of three of night shifts. I suppose I will find out tomorrow if I will be doing a third night or if it was picked up before I requested. ( pool employee, I pick up as needed and would love to pick up in advance but unfortunately it doesn't always work that way)  I am officially interviewing for other part time jobs ( love my marykay, but im not at the point yet where I can do it full time, but im always willing to send out togo kits ( home made kits of samples with instructions) and meet with you on Skype/facetime to give you your facial! certain countries have their own Marykay and can not go through US marykay, but nationwide your clear to contact me, I believe this includes the islands but id have to double check) one part I love about Marykay, its sharing the product and building relationships.  We want to know about you, what you want, what will help you feel good. Coffee and a chat, a new shade of lip-gloss, I know some consultants who go to the zoo with their clients (if they have kids or just want to hang out).  I have yet to get a zoo initiation, but someday :) until then coffee or cocoa and a chat is nice :) (my treat!)  our new shades of lipgloss are pretty awesome though. we have two special ones that proceeds are given toward cancer research with their purchase.  Our @ play ones are fun, a cheek and lip stick, jazzy berry coloring? and our new cream eye shadow / eye liner combo sticks. ahhh!!! the life of a beauty consultant, must hold back... lol when I finish up a lipstick, one of the many in my makeup bag / purse, work bag etc then I will allow myself to buy a new one. if these awesome ones are still available, it was meant to be. (did I mention as an active consultant you get a half off discount?) www.marykay.com/shanson for more info (success stories of longtime consultants , can give you a phone line to listen to as well (free), we have virtual makeover(free) , skincare quizzes to help find your skin type (also free) , and I believe you can choose your own samples with your purchase (also free!) 

anywhoo. sleeping during the day is not near as filling as sleeping at night.  I have my cloth eye mask from my plane travels during school, I darken the room, I have a nice cuddly comforter, the fan on , but its more of a long nap.  only 7 more hours to go! (staying late today, switched shifts with someone so they are coming in a little later and im staying a little later, kind of a partial mini shadow for am shift that's not really a shadow but im calling it one because Friday ill be doing a half am shift all on my own and soooo anxious, but at the same time not.  think once I get sleep again I will feel better about it) will be in an adult aoda unit, so technically they will be in groups the whole time , but its the filling orders from doctors and therapists im worried about as I haven't done that since orientation back in December. (my home unit im on weekends, orders are usually put in weekdays)  I was reassured by other staff though that if I can survive the challenges of my home unit, Friday will be a piece of cake.(home unit is adolescent females with severe depression )

well, I have a list of things I need to do, outside of the work ive completed already, going to start filling out my marykay business quarterly forms and organize my receipts up until now. (determined to be prepared by January for taxes this year instead of the last week allotted to get info in! whoops...but between the tax forms that marykay provides and +TurboTax I was set in no time! received my refunds very quickly as well . I did have to do an Identity confirmation quiz, but it was like 4 questions and took 30 seconds. luckily with my marykay website, if you enter your payment information its confidential and secure. I try not to enter my information on many websites because you just never know, but weve even received awards for having such a successful website!

Anyway, back to working on my personal todo list. goodnight! or is it good morning?

oh my

hello all!  I just checked my views and I had like 58 views in the last week!   :) yay  it probably helped that I did post this on a few Facebook pages of mine.  feel free to comment , like, share, whatnot!  I am glad I can help reach out to others with my experiences to share that were not alone, even if it feels like it sometimes. ( were all allowed to have pity parties. check out kris carr author of crazy sexy cancer for some of her experiences )
- my favorite one ( not word for word)  but she had been in a dark house for days, her mom finally came to find her, saw all the shades drawn, Chinese food cartons everywhere and her sitting in the dark. they packed her up , the cat in its box and went on their way.  while stuck in a traffic jam outside  the big tunnel in new York with the cat screaming in the backseat she finally turns around and grabs the cage shaking it and screaming back at the cat.  the cat of course stopped, looked at her and started screaming again ( no harm done). 


my family used humor during treatment, because we preferred to laugh instead of cry.  we still cry when we think about it though, one reason why my parents don't want to think about these relays I want to attend, or people I want to meet or conferences ( although next year im totally doing #cancercon, cryathon or not I heard it was awesome). 


Speaking of relay!  I don't have photos at this time, but I will get them up in a following post.   a new friend from one of those said groups met me and kept me company in between laps. (I was doing a marykay booth offering facial demos).  hanging out with her was awesome! she let me test some of my product on her, we both talked about direct sales we've done / tried in the past, talked about our experiences with our doctors, had some good laughs and even ate cake she won during the cake walk!


but OMG it was so hot in there, we thought we were #melting.  I was wearing a dress k, a dress! no nylons, no sweater over it, was freak in melting!!!!!!!! one of the massage ladies in my corner went home to get a fan and we were still melting. I felt so bad for them because they had to massage people for 4 hours in the dying heat of the building.  why would a building not turn on their air, especially for this population??? according to the school kids, the air had not been on during the day either. ( its been raining a lot in our area, not that cold but who knows how they run their system?)


me and my new friend did do the survivor walk ( me in my red dress and black heels) , but I had my survivor shirt hanging at my table, wore it after the booth closed for a few laps before deciding to leave because of the heat, and being a boring adult who likes to sleep at night lol.  ( friend had to get up early and her dog needed to be let out so she left to).  I was able to get a picture with the culvers cone walking around, yay for celebrating life! (and promoting my business).  One lady did comment that I was over dressed, she was only wearing a dress because she got out of work and came straight in, and here I was in red dress and heals.  I commented that this was my professional work clothes as a consultant and she just wiggled her fingers at me while i was talking and waved herself with one of my catalogs. I stopped talking and just nodded and smiled at that point .  Another woman said she had switched to arbonne and lbri and needed to switch back to Marykay, so who knows! :)


At the end of the booth time was the #luminaria ceremony. people wrote remembrances on bags and they were filled with glow sticks and at a certain time the lights went out so people could walk around and take time to remember.  In the beginning us #survivors had to cut a piece of ribbon and tye it to a wire bracket ( for flowers)  so at the end we had a tulip gate full of ribbons and colors. mine was #lime green for #lymphoma . 


anywhoo, I made it home, took forever to fall asleep because of the heat ( should have jumped in a cold shower, but the fan helped), slept on and off all day because of a pounding headache and the need to work night shift ( here I am typing at 4 30 am).  my next post will be about the constant battle between fatigue, exhaustion and insomnia!  maybe tomorrow night , as I work night shift again and its soo much easier to type on a regular keyboard then the ipad. ( also doesn't accidently erase as easily)

Blast prom the past, photos.

We like to think we accidently flipped off the neighborhood with our lights that winter. We needed something to laugh about

.

!Me and my baby nephew

First night with wig after chopping hair off, was still in shock of it finally being real

My assortment of wigs from www.bartzpartystore.com

Gotta keep them clean!