Friday, March 18, 2011

Gas

This morning we had yet another blood draw appointment.  The weather is nasty (at least for the Bay Area - rainy, windy, and under 50 degrees), so gave myself an extra few minutes to drive across the bridge.  On the way, I got coffee from Chris' Starbucks (everyone in town wants to see her when we are there!) and got gas.

I knew gas was expensive, but SHEESH!  For out-of-towners: gas is very expensive here.  I paid $3.89 for regular gas, and that is the cheapest off-brand station in town - I checked.   It cost $75 to fill my car.  I drive about 50 miles a week for her appointments alone, and my handed-down 1999 Explorer is not the most economical to drive.  We decided that we are going to switch cars for appointments, since Chris' Civic does a lot better on gas mileage.  

We also are trying out the Google Ads function of Blogger.  People have been suggesting this for months, and we were staunchly against it.  However, we thought we could try it out just to see if we can help offset our gas expenses.  I am not sure if it will do much, but I hope the ads are not too annoying or intrusive.  We're going to try it out for a while and see what happens.

Anyway, once we got to the hospital, she was an awesome little patient and didn't even cry when they poked into her port to draw the blood (numbing cream helps, but she usually flinches at the pressure).  It's sad to see her adapt to these procedures, but I am glad she is taking it so easily.  Her labs show that the transfusion worked, and she is no longer neutropenic.  Yea!  The next hurdle is to get her immune system strong enough to be able to stop the shots.

Round 2 of chemo is set to begin next week, if all goes as scheduled (which it never does.) 


Have a great weekend everyone!

21 comments:

Unknown said...

You guys are always in my prayers :)

Anonymous said...

go, scarlett, go!!!!!!!!!

Irene K said...

thinking of y'all and hoping you have a great weekend! put those ads in, no bother here I will even click on a few ;) Love from Austin, TX

Anonymous said...

I say - anything that helps a little bit is worth it! I know I won't stop following you guys and praying for your family because of a silly little ad!
Lots of love being sent your way from Brooklyn!

Courtney said...

I try to follow your blog daily, I pray daily for Miss Scarlett.....I pray for your strength through this all!! I am Courtney from NC. I know you and Scarlett from the October boards...we found out we were preggers on the same day!!! Continuing to pray for you!!

Tiffany said...

I check your blog all the time, so the advertisers will get a lot of support from me. I also live in CA, and have pretty much stopped driving out of the city since gas went way up. That is an option for me, but clearly not for you so you have to come up with something else to make ends meet. I am glad you are giving us another way to help! We all want to help as much as we possibly can.

Mama K said...

If you do a lot of travelling, see if your insurance will cover some of your mileage. Even a little bit would help. I know my own insurance covers me to a certain amount if I have to do a lot of driving to and from the hospital (of course this is the one that is outside of our town in the bigger centre). It also covers any stays in hotels and dinners.

I hope the chemo goes as plans and she does as well as she did with the first round.

Amedeo said...

I've been following your story since December! I hope things continue to improve for you, your husband and little Scarlett!

Your blog redesign is difficult for navigate, however. Is there a way you could put back the post history on the right side of the screen? I used to see quickly what posts were new, what were old, and click on them each in turn in the proper order. Now, I have to do a lot of scrolling to find where I left off and get back to the newer post after reading the one before it. It's cumbersome and, sadly, makes me not way to sift through it all to read.

Thanks for sharing your story with everyone!

2Moms2B said...

Hey! I wanted to remind people here cuz I know you wont. Google ads pays Brandi, Chris and Miss Scarlett every time you CLICK on an ad. So after you've caught up on Scarlett's latest developments, click on a couple ads. With as many of us that read this site it should make a difference!

Also, yeah, please add the post history back it makes it easy for me to catch up on progress :)

Go Baby Go!

snowbird said...

So glad that things went well today. Gas is 3.29 in my area of NJ. Your family remains in my thoughts and prayers

Christa said...

I like your new design! Gas is ridiculously expensive here too...filled up our Explorer for $73! Yikes! Your family continues to be in our daily prayers!
--christa (October 2010 mom)

The Chung Family said...

SkiKidd - Thanks for letting me know! I thought the ads would give money to the family just for people going to this page, but now I will definitely be clicking any and all adds I see!!!

And to Chris & Brandi - please keep the adds on! I am not in a position that I can send you any money. I can pray for your family. And I can also click on these adds so at least a little money gets to you. As silly as it sounds, it helps me so much to think that I might be helping in some little way by clicking on the ads!

Hugs to you & yours!

Brandi Wecks said...

I fixed the archives. It's crazy to think people are trying to read what I wrote today, let alone last week...thanks for helping me make it better!

Amedeo said...

Woo! Thank you so much for the archive return!

Anonymous said...

And I hope that you and Miss Butterfly Scarlett have a good weekend also :)
You are all in my prayers here in Boston, MA
(Still lighting candles for your little love bug)

Katie said...

Hey guys, hope things are going well. I think about you and Scarlett everyday. Lots of light your way. I watched your about Brandi and Chris video and I cried so hard. You guys are so strong, and so is your little girl. You are such an inspiration.
P.S. I will click on some ads, didn't know that was how it worked!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I have been reading your blog for a couple months and always think about Scarlett. Be strong and brave! You guys are always in my thoughts. I live in SF Bay Area and have a 9 months baby girl. I always want to send Scarlett some gifts. Please let me know what's the best way to send it. Address?!

Michelle said...

The address to send gifts is posted under the "contact us" tab.

I am clicking ads like crazy. :o)

Bonnie said...

Glad to see that Scarlett's blood counts are up! She's so amazing! We continue to pray for her and your family. Hoping this week's chemo goes well. Gonna go click on some ads now for you :) -Bonnie (BBC August 2010 mama)

Anonymous said...

Try an amazon associate ad, way more profitable!

Anonymous said...

You are your family continue to be in my family's prayers. Almost nightly at family dinner, my 6 year old prays for "Baby Scarlett." This story (your life) is so touching, and I am so proud of your family for handling everything so well!!!! I'll definitely keep reading, and enjoying watching your butterfly soar through her treatments!