Updates and Recent Photoshoot

Hello there beautiful people! 

A lot has happened since my last post and I am finally in the zone to share my updates. 

In my last post I mentioned that I was struggling with my thyroid medication. Although both myself and my GP tried to contact the hospital numerous times, we never got anywhere with them. I find that quite disappointing as thyroid medication can make or break your quality of life. Without the gland I depend on the meds to feel normal. Luckily my GP was excellent and has been working on tweaking my dosage. After being too low and then too high, we have found a nice balance and I have been told to stay on it for the foreseeable future. I couldn't be happier with how it has worked out overall. It is a reminder for me that solutions can always be found. 

I am slowly getting my mojo back and feeling energized. I am also carefully reintroducing weight training back into my routine now that I have the energy and motivation to do so. On days where I am super tired though I do try to take it easy. My body is pretty quick about telling me 'no' these days and I feel it best to respect the message instead of powering through. I miss the days of being on top of my diet and training but life just doesn't care about these things sometimes. 

Quarantine has been strange, I have LOVED the time to work on hobbies and get connected to myself and my thoughts again. On the other hand I miss the ease of going places and being around the hustle and bustle of busy towns. It's not the quite the same with masks and social distancing but that is just how it is. Overall 2020 has been... unbelievable! 

On a fun and positive note I have been doing some photoshoots recently. Below are some images from a recent one! 

What about you guys? How have you found the time indoors with quarantine? What have you been up to? 

I'd love to hear from everyone! 

Until next time,
Rebecca. 

Miaow. 

My Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

 Hello gorgeous readers!

I hope you are all staying safe and well these days all things considered.  2020 has been quite the year so far, here is my update.

To start with I had surgery to have a cyst removed from my neck in January. I was excited to finally have this lump gone and although nervous, I was keen to have a less lumpy neck! It was thought to be a harmless branchial cyst but upon further inspection the surgeon noticed something was amiss. A 30 minute surgery became a 95 minute surgery and I was sore quite far up under my chin. I found that strange since the cyst was nowhere near my chin. I also discovered my body doesn't like anesthetic very much, the night after the surgery I woke up at 3am and fainted in the bathroom and threw up. What a night! The next day I was discharged and with a stiff neck, home I went. In the weeks that followed I had a lingering feeling that I wasn't finished yet. 

Three weeks after surgery I was told that it was not a branchial cyst as they had previously diagnosed but that it was not a tumor...which was true. True but not the whole story. One week after that I was asked to come back into the hospital, the doctor said 'it's not what we thought it was, come back and we will have a plan for you'... hmm. I was on the alert at this stage and sure enough when I went to the hospital I was told that I have thyroid cancer. Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. The cyst was caused by a lymph node that was infected with the cancer and so the node was removed along with the cyst, hence the chin pain.  I knew going to the hospital that I was probably going to be told I have cancer but it was still a surreal experience. The room suddenly felt far away for a few seconds and then I launched into info gathering mode, asking every question I could think of. I was told that even with lymph node spread it's still a curable cancer which was great news but still, the big C is a scary club to be in.  

A week and a half later I had my thyroid fully removed and I had some more lymph nodes removed from my neck. I had a total thyroidectomy and neck dissection. Surgery was about 4 hours and I woke up to the nurses in the recovery room worried because my leg had swollen up and my neck was also quite swollen. I was too drugged up to do much but hearing that was scary. The surgeon came to shake my hand and I managed to babble a thank you to him!  After some poking and prodding I was cleared to be wheeled back up to my ward and within a few hours I was walking around. I felt surprisingly great at first. The pain was limited but emotionally everything hit me in the next few days, I was overwhelmed. My voice was weak after surgery and I struggled to achieve volume but I could breathe and swallow just fine. Having an organ removed is not something you can fully prepare for, it's major surgery and it definitely took me down for a while.

I am now 7 weeks post surgery and adjusting to life without a thyroid! My voice is slowwwwly returning although singing is still a no go. I am hopeful my singing voice will return, it can take 6-12 moths after this surgery.  My moods and energy levels have been concerning me and it's been difficult to get a hold of my endocrinologist with the Covid 19 crisis. I had success reaching the office last week and I am awaiting a call back at this point. My fatigue is starting to interfere with my daily routine and I am noticing things like dry skin and foggy thinking. These are potentially signs of hypothyroidism so I will be sure to emphasize these developments when I speak to my specialist as I may need my medication reviewed. Without a thyroid I am dependent on medication and getting the correct dose can take some fine tuning. I am also due a radiation treatment which has been delayed for the foreseeable future so I am halfway through my treatment. I feel stuck in limbo in that regard but I am happy I got surgery before all elective surgeries were cancelled.

Looking at the big picture I feel positive and I am confident I will achieve long term improvements.

When things are in swing and a new normal has been found I am looking forward to two things:

1) Finishing my cancer treatment 
2) Coffee and cake with the husband in a local cafe 

How have things been in your neck of the woods? I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time! 

Rebeca 

New YouTube Video

Hello beautiful reader,

Welcome back to another blog post! I hope you are well and that you are having a nice weekend.

For today's post I wanted to share a music cover. I learned this one for my singing class a few months ago and since I bought myself a ukulele, I decided to try and combine the two! I am happy with how it turned out. I found this quite a challenging undertaking!

I hope you enjoy!

Until next time,
Rebecca

The Hook Lighthouse Adventure

Hey guys,

Welcome to a new blog post. Myself and my husband went on a little holiday to Co. Wexford this week and I got some photos of our trip to the Hook Lighthouse. The last two photos are from a previous trip a few years back but since they show the lighthouse a little differently, I wanted to include them.

I love this part of the country, it's also where Loftus Hall is situated and not too far from Tintern Abby which I featured in a previous post here.

The lighthouse is one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world, if not the oldest. Built 800 years ago it is perched on the coast of the Hook peninsula and it's still rocking out as maritime guide today. I hope you enjoy the photos I took of the day!

Quick photo before donning more layers for the adventure 

So much natural beauty around the lighthouse 

It's so rugged and gorgeous here 

Waves!

Gorgeous artwork 

These next two photos are from my previous trip in 2016. There was a storm a few weeks before we went and the sea was quite choppy and dramatic. I remember that the mood of the area was quite intense and I loved it.

Sleepy and misty vibes 

So majestic 

So there you have it! We had some coffee overlooking the sea in the cafe and we spent about an hour watching the waves. It was the most relaxing part of the whole trip for me and I am so happy I got to go back to this place.

What are some of your favorite destinations for a day trip like this? 

Outfit Post

Hey everyone,

Welcome back to another blog post! This post is centered around yesterday's outfit which I wore when I went out with my husband for a few hours. I love love love these jeans, they are a gorgeous color and extremely comfortable. The clothes are all items that I haven't worn in a while and they worked together nicely. I am trying to make use of all the clothing I already have instead of buying more in an effort to be less wasteful. Wish me luck!

I love how everything came together with this. 

Studded belts complete every look!

These boots are so comfortable 

The detail on my black top. 

Leaf earrings to match the slightly more earthy theme of the look

Growing out my bleach blonde hair! 

I did a smoky brown and gold look for a change 

My Rosetta Stone bag from my recent trip to the British Museum 

A goal I have set myself is to be less wasteful in life. I don't want to waste my time, energy or money on things that I don't need or things that aren't really useful for me. I want to use my resources more wisely. I realized recently that I was giving away my energy by worrying about things and people when I didn't need to be. It's a hard habit to break but its worth making the change.

What are some goals that you have set yourself? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time,
Rebecca

Here Comes the Summer Sun

Hi beautiful folks of the internet! 

I hope you are doing well and having a great 2019 so far. Mine has been eventful to say the least, I'm just back from a work trip to Las Vegas. 

Crazy inspiring views 

Unfortunately I was sick with some kind of flu for the whole thing, I'm still unwell in fact. Being so sick and so far from home was difficult for me but I'm proud of how I handled it. I even managed to get out for a small bit of sight-seeing on my free day before collapsing into bed ahead of my impending travel. I enjoyed the time in my hotel room doing nothing, I watched a lot of YouTube videos. I also got myself a new black wallet in my second hotel.

Been looking for a cat wallet for a while now.

I can't say that I am a fan of Las Vegas in all honesty, not my scene. I'm not much of a gambler but I loved the scenery of the surrounding desert. Barren, desolate and in need of exploring!  

I read Stephen King's Pet Semetary during my trip. What a fascinating and disturbing book! It made me laugh, cry and most of all it gave me the absolute creeps. The book goes places that shouldn't really be explored and it reels you in for the most horrifying ride that you can imagine. It left me with an unsettled sensation in the pit of my stomach and has reignited my love of Stephen King. Next on my list is Cell.

I have arrived back to beautiful sunshine in Ireland which is a nice surprise. Below are some photos of my summer look today. It is a fairly simple look with classic striped shorts and a big sun hat. 

My sketchers sandals. So comfy. So sparkly 

Thank you Tesco for this awesome sun hat! 

What has your 2019 been like so far? And whats the weather like where you are? I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time,
Phantom Cat

Snow Kitty Blogs from the Arctic Isle

Greetings from a very cold kitty in a very snowy Ireland!

As you may or may not be aware, Ireland has been experiencing some insane weather the last few days. From what I understand, two storms met and the result was the worst snow we have had since the 80's. The entire country has been more or less snowed in the last few days with no public transport working. On Thursday there was a status red warning issued and the public was urged to stay indoors after 4pm until 12pm Friday.  This warning was then extended until 9am Saturday (today), the snow fell non stop for at least 24 hours. In Ireland. In March.

Needless to say, this is the craziest weather I have ever experienced! Lennart was in his element, he was born during a blizzard so maybe that's why! I enjoyed it but it made me super tired for some reason. I was so drowsy during the worst of it. It has started to thaw out today so normality is slowly creeping in. I spent my snow days sleeping in, drawing, singing and taking pictures. It was.... needed. I feel fresher and lighter again. 

During our trek out. Lennart made a massive snowball! We went to tesco before it closed and bought crisps and chocolate. Also how pretty is my white ski jacket? I love this thing. Knee high docs proved a winner too. 

In terms of life updates, things have been interesting for me recently. I took a new job that ended up not being right for me... at all. I have been so stressed the last few months and after weighing it up, I chose to find something new. I will be starting the new role soon. I am extremely excited about my new job but sad that the current one didn't work out. 

I have also finally started singing lessons along with belly dancing classes. My body is very rigid at the moment so I think the dancing will be good for me! I have also found myself drawing more and doing more photography so I have definitely gotten in touch with my creative side again lately. My confidence is growing finally and I am bouncing back from a few things that knocked me back. I feel new somehow, it's nice.  

Sometimes we have to go sideways or even backwards to know the path that we really want to take. 

Totally random blog post but life has been a bit random and mad lately! :)

Until next time pretty kitties,
Rebecca.