My Two Blogs in One: My Three C's: Cancer, Chemo and Connie & Connie, Dating and Life as a Single Woman!

By Connie L. Valentine

Blog 1: A blog about my cancer journey the second time around. It speaks of feelings, fears, great and not-so-great days, too-many tests, good and bad results, frustrations, truths, embarrassing moments, happiness, sadness, anger and depression. Come take this hard, funny and sucessful journey with me!

Blog 2: A blog about my dating life. It first began in my 50s, but ended up including my early dating life. It is full of funny stories, love, romance, hurt, anger, deceit and a wonderful sense of humor. Come along for this romantic, funny ride through Connie's dating life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781491809310

Book preview

MY TWO

BLOGS IN

ONE

My Three C’s: Cancer, Chemo and Connie &

Connie, Dating and Life as a Single Woman!

By Connie L.

Valentine

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2013 by Connie L. Valentine. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

The information in this is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. This is a work of non-fiction written from the author’s experience, using her own perceptions and memories and by no means meant to hurt anyone. It is the author’s story about her journey with cancer as her companion and her dating experiences.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/12/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0930-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0931-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915269

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

BLOG 1

Abstract

Chapter 1:   Background Information

Chapter 2:   Connie V.’s first ‘ever’ blog

Chapter 3:   WOW, it is March already! Where does the time go?

Chapter 4:   My upcoming stay at the hospital

Chapter 5:   Surgery date scheduled, many good thoughts needed! LOVE, FAITH, and HOPE!

Chapter 6:   Surgery just around the corner

Chapter 7:   It is one week and one day after major surgery…

Chapter 8:   Two weeks after surgery—my checkup is today!

Chapter 9:   Almost one month since surgery… and I am still hangin’ in there!

Chapter 10:   Cancer & life with EDU-651

Chapter 11:   August 18, 2011 Update

Chapter 12:   August 26th, 2011, Friday, Update

Chapter 13:   This is my life with chemo and the final week of class!

Chapter 14:   September 3, 2011 Update

Chapter 15:   Health Update, September 16, 2011

Chapter 16:   September 24, 2011 Update

Chapter 17:   October 14, 2011 Health Update

Chapter 18:   November 1, 2011—Update

Chapter 19:   December 16, 2011 Health Update

Chapter 20:   December 28, 2011 Update

Chapter 21:   April 30, 2012 Health Update

Chapter 22:   May 1, 2012 Update

Chapter 23:   July 3, 2012 Health Update

Chapter 24:   July 31, 2012 Update

Chapter 25:   Check-up time again, August 4, 2012

Chapter 26:   September 3rd… good test results and getting my Master’s Degree accomplished!

Chapter 27:   October 28th… Update—back to work—at last!

Chapter 28:   December 9, 2012—Update

Chapter 29:   January 13, 2013—Update

Chapter 30:   August 13, 2013—Update

BLOG 2

Chapter 1:   Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong

Chapter 2:   Trying to Date

Chapter 3:   A History Lesson on Connie

Chapter 4:   The Dating Game

Chapter 5:   Dating, Matchmaking and the Internet

Chapter 6:   OMG, I have a date and I have nothing to wear!

Chapter 7:   Mr. Heart-of-Steel aka Mr. Tough Guy

Chapter 8:   Have you met Mr. Liar and a Cheat?

Chapter 9:   Mr. YUK or Mr. Please don’t TOUCH me!

Chapter 10:   More dating Stories… Mr. Foot Fetish, Mr. Blow Job for my Trouble…

Chapter 11:   Hey, if you do not like my picture… BUZZ OFF!

Chapter 12:   Mr. Nice Guy vs. Mr. Bad Boy, Mr. Nerd and Mr. Couch Potato

Chapter 13:   Mr. Friend with Benefits

Chapter 14:   Mr. TOO-Good-to-be-True

Chapter 15:   Mr. BS Man

Chapter 16:   Let’s not forget the Decent Men in my Life

Chapter 17:   Cupid and his Technical hitches

Chapter 18:   Another Valentine’s Day 2013

Chapter 19:   Hindsight and Dating at my Age

Footnotes

Endnotes

BLOG 1

My Three C’s—Cancer,

Chemo and Connie

Abstract

This is a blog about my cancer journey the second time around. It speaks about feelings, fears, good days, bad days, too-many tests, good/bad results, frustrations, truths, embarrassing moments, happiness, sadness, anger, and depression!

This blog started out as a way for me to vent and get feelings out in the open and to get on with life. Then it became something more—a part of my blogging experience—a part of my love for writing.

I want to thank all those who helped me write this blog by sharing their experiences and mine, helping me to stay strong, sane and especially for staying in my life to fight this battle with me. I love you all! Thanks so much for all your support!

Chapter 1

Background Information

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When I first began my blogging experience, it was for an online classroom project. I have always loved to write, and that will probably never change. I am a student at on online university in Iowa. I am going full-time as a student working on my Master’s Degree in Online Technology and Teaching.

I previously completed my Bachelor’s Degree in teaching just prior to beginning my Master’s Degree. It has been a fun, tough, and a wonderful experience so far.

Other than being off for a few weeks here and there when I was going through my surgeries, treatments and recovery, I was also attending my online classes.

Doing so has helped to keep me busy and at the same time gave me a certain focus besides what I was going through at the time.

We all need something to focus on, even in the bad times and this was mine! Getting our (in this case) my feelings out in a written manner is only one-way of dealing with them, and for me this works. At the same time, I get to do something that I love to do, which is write!

Getting everything out in the open so that I could deal with it was all a part of the process, dealing with cancer—again! It was a wonderful way for me to express my feelings, fears and worries about what I was going through in my fight against the BIG C.

While writing and getting my feelings on paper, I could (and needed very much) to get these emotions out on paper so that I could deal with them. Bottling them up inside of me would have been just as detrimental as the cancer that was presently invading my body. I had to do something to help get myself in survival mode.

I needed to be able to deal with it all, and in my own way. I am a stubborn redhead, which I will never deny. In writing this blog, it gives me a way of fighting back! Now, I am finding that I need blogging once again. When I found out that cancer was once again in my life as a certainty, my blog became a way of dealing with it, placing it in words, and beginning to understand how I felt about it all. Writing is not only my passion; it is my therapy as well!

If some of the information within these pages seems unusual for a health blog, it is just a part of the process. It was my life at the time. My second time around the cancer-go-round began almost a year ago. Before cancer arrived in my life again, I started a blog for a classroom assignment.

Take this journey with me!

Chapter 2

Connie V.’s first ‘ever’ blog

This is my first blog—ever! I am doing it as a classroom assignment for my Master’s Degree Program. I am new to this type of computer escapade.

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Since I love to write (and design I have recently realized); I am sure that it will be an enjoyable experience.

I love to read, plan, and write letters whenever I can; I guess you could say that reading and writing are in my blood. Since the rest of my family is not into writing at all other than signing papers or checks, I am not sure where I got these interests.

Furthermore, none of them (brothers, uncles, aunts, etc.) has the love of reading as I have had since my teen years. I guess I belong to the milkman, as my Mom always said!

One of the things that I have found with going to classes online is that if you do not love to write, it is not a good choice for you as a student. I have written countless papers since I began my classes in February 2008.

Recently (January), I received my BASS (Bachelor’s in Arts and Social Sciences) in Education. I loved doing the research, writing, and editing of the papers, etc. for my classroom assignments.

Now, I am learning to use PowerPoint, which is another new experience. I did one for a previous class about the life of myself named, Autobiography of a Redhead. I enjoyed creating that one immensely, it was fun and quite entertaining. I have recently updated the material to add in the new classes, changes in my life, etc.

In