{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1", "title": "Archive", "home_page_url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/", "feed_url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/archive/feed.json", "description": "Rhiannon's writing", "authors": [ { "name": "Rhiannon Walker", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com" } ], "language": "en", "items": [ { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2026-09-12-notes/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2026-09-12-notes/", "title": "2026-09-12 Notes", "content_html": "\u003ch2 id=\"final-set-weekend\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eFinal Set Weekend\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#final-set-weekend\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat a day. I woke up today with an extreme migraine and nauseous. Last Saturday before show week so I was nervous. Set build was going to be rough. Luckily Waylon ran to the store for me and picked up some Excedrin. I slept a little bit longer. Sure enough, when I woke up I felt so much better. By this time it was around 10:00 and I really wanted to get going to get down to the studio. I quickly gathered my items and loaded the car heading down for hopefully the second to last day of set build.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was really hoping other parents were going to be there today to help us just wrap everything up but unfortunately nobody else showed and it was just Brian and I. Nonetheless, we really knock some s*** out.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAttached all walls\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCut out and attached the Window\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBuilt the Handrails\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHung the Frames for Grandpa and Grandma\u0026rsquo;s photos ( We are using Brian\u0026rsquo;s actual Grandparents on the set ❤️)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFilled the Joints that got over Cut\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDissembled the extra wall piece by the window and made the set stop at the window\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLit the Window up for the first time. It looks AMAZING 😍\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat\u0026rsquo;s quite the accomplishments for one day! We will continue tomorrow and I really hope people show up to chip in. If they don\u0026rsquo;t I have confidence we will finish strong.\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n## Final Set Weekend\n\nWhat a day. I woke up today with an extreme migraine and nauseous. Last Saturday before show week so I was nervous. Set build was going to be rough. Luckily Waylon ran to the store for me and picked up some Excedrin. I slept a little bit longer. Sure enough, when I woke up I felt so much better. By this time it was around 10:00 and I really wanted to get going to get down to the studio. I quickly gathered my items and loaded the car heading down for hopefully the second to last day of set build. \n\nI was really hoping other parents were going to be there today to help us just wrap everything up but unfortunately nobody else showed and it was just Brian and I. Nonetheless, we really knock some s*** out.\n- Attached all walls\n- Cut out and attached the Window \n- Built the Handrails\n- Hung the Frames for Grandpa and Grandma's photos ( We are using Brian's actual Grandparents on the set ❤️)\n- Filled the Joints that got over Cut \n- Dissembled the extra wall piece by the window and made the set stop at the window \n- Lit the Window up for the first time. It looks AMAZING 😍 \n\nThat's quite the accomplishments for one day! We will continue tomorrow and I really hope people show up to chip in. If they don't I have confidence we will finish strong. \n\n", "summary": "notes for 2026-09-12", "date_published": "2026-09-12T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-12T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "daily-note" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2026-09-07-notes/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2026-09-07-notes/", "title": "2026-09-07 Notes", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eAnother day of set build in the books. Didn\u0026rsquo;t sleep well last night and was concerned about my energy today. However, everything worked out. I was able to help with set from 2 - 8:30pm. Knocking out quite a few random tasks. Sanding the window frame and Cutting it to size. We attached the dragon window the wooden frame. I cut the foam with the jig saw blade made for foam. Definitely doesn\u0026rsquo;t get old. I assisted with laying the pieces of foam around the room to figure out what we needed for more pieces to be melted down. A task I can\u0026rsquo;t do due to the fumes. I added and painted the details to the bottom of the hutch. As a list it doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem like a lot, but each task takes such a delicate amount of detail. I am learning so much with each show and a giant take away for this show in particular is no show is too small for a highly detailed set. I can\u0026rsquo;t wait to see the finished set. With the show in 2 weeks I really hope we can attach foam to the walls tomorrow and only have painting details left.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCrazy guy shouting as he walked towards Brian tonight made for an eventful time. We quickly gathered our stuff and darted inside. Looking back, we probably should have just went inside and left the items outside. They can be replaced, we can\u0026rsquo;t. I was just following instructions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI really enjoy getting to work on sets and really wish our kids cooperate better so Waylon could be there. I know he wishes he could be there too, but it gets so stressful with the kid\u0026rsquo;s attitudes. (I\u0026rsquo;m over the attitudes!)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m still impressed with the Pulsetto as I notice more and more benefits. Now I need to work on a better wind down routine to match the work the Pulsetto is doing. My workouts are helping with my confidence coming back. Now I just need for my mental fight to calm down. I don\u0026rsquo;t know why I feel like I\u0026rsquo;m battling myself all the time. I just want to be a more positive person. Easier said than done.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTomorrow\u0026rsquo;s a new week. Hopefully, lighter on the medical junk. I could use a break. I really hope PT helps and I can overcome the mental barrier. One day at a time. As long as I have Waylon and the kids, I will fight!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\nAnother day of set build in the books. Didn't sleep well last night and was concerned about my energy today. However, everything worked out. I was able to help with set from 2 - 8:30pm. Knocking out quite a few random tasks. Sanding the window frame and Cutting it to size. We attached the dragon window the wooden frame. I cut the foam with the jig saw blade made for foam. Definitely doesn't get old. I assisted with laying the pieces of foam around the room to figure out what we needed for more pieces to be melted down. A task I can't do due to the fumes. I added and painted the details to the bottom of the hutch. As a list it doesn't seem like a lot, but each task takes such a delicate amount of detail. I am learning so much with each show and a giant take away for this show in particular is no show is too small for a highly detailed set. I can't wait to see the finished set. With the show in 2 weeks I really hope we can attach foam to the walls tomorrow and only have painting details left. \n\nCrazy guy shouting as he walked towards Brian tonight made for an eventful time. We quickly gathered our stuff and darted inside. Looking back, we probably should have just went inside and left the items outside. They can be replaced, we can't. I was just following instructions. \n\nI really enjoy getting to work on sets and really wish our kids cooperate better so Waylon could be there. I know he wishes he could be there too, but it gets so stressful with the kid's attitudes. (I'm over the attitudes!)\n\nI'm still impressed with the Pulsetto as I notice more and more benefits. Now I need to work on a better wind down routine to match the work the Pulsetto is doing. My workouts are helping with my confidence coming back. Now I just need for my mental fight to calm down. I don't know why I feel like I'm battling myself all the time. I just want to be a more positive person. Easier said than done. \n\nTomorrow's a new week. Hopefully, lighter on the medical junk. I could use a break. I really hope PT helps and I can overcome the mental barrier. One day at a time. As long as I have Waylon and the kids, I will fight! ", "summary": "notes for 2026-09-07", "date_published": "2026-09-07T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-07T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "daily-note" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/shots/imagine-a-dragon-hutch/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/shots/imagine-a-dragon-hutch/", "title": "Imagine A Dragon - Hutch", "content_html": "\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.waylonwalker.com/file/5aa21cb9-db3d-42ed-8b12-ee98ce9ed728.webp\" alt=\"Imagine A Dragon - Hutch\"\u003e\n\u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003cp\u003eImagine a Dragon - Hutch\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n![Imagine A Dragon - Hutch](https://dropper.waylonwalker.com/file/5aa21cb9-db3d-42ed-8b12-ee98ce9ed728.webp)\nImagine a Dragon - Hutch \n", "summary": "Imagine a Dragon - Hutch", "image": "https://dropper.waylonwalker.com/file/5aa21cb9-db3d-42ed-8b12-ee98ce9ed728.webp", "date_published": "2026-09-06T20:05:42Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-06T20:05:42Z", "tags": [ "shots" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/shots/3d-printed-dragons-bar/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/shots/3d-printed-dragons-bar/", "title": "3d Printed Dragons (Bar)", "content_html": "\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.waylonwalker.com/file/a61f02d4-c546-4ed8-8e8b-495bd895a3a9.webp\" alt=\"3d Printed Dragons (Bar)\"\u003e\n\u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis dragon is used on the bar in Imagine a Dragon.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n![3d Printed Dragons (Bar)](https://dropper.waylonwalker.com/file/a61f02d4-c546-4ed8-8e8b-495bd895a3a9.webp)\nThis dragon is used on the bar in Imagine a Dragon. \n", "summary": "This dragon is used on the bar in Imagine a Dragon.", "image": "https://dropper.waylonwalker.com/file/a61f02d4-c546-4ed8-8e8b-495bd895a3a9.webp", "date_published": "2026-09-05T22:53:12Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-05T22:53:12Z", "tags": [ "shots" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/gratitude-1/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/gratitude-1/", "title": "Gratitude 1", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eMy journal\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"test\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003etest\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#test\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n\nMy journal\n\n## test", "summary": "My journal", "date_published": "2026-09-05T22:27:59Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-05T22:27:59Z", "tags": [ "gratitude" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2026-09-05-notes/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2026-09-05-notes/", "title": "2026-09-05 Notes", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u0026ndash; woke up from another night of sleep without needing medication. I can tell my body is get back into the rhythm to wake up early and get after the day.\nEven though I slept all night I did wake up with a migraine. Possible from not using my CPAP. Needless to say I used my Pulsetto (game changer) and the migraine and nausea calmed down.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI finally was able to get up and gather all my items to head down to the Studio. 2 weekends left before tech week. I really want to make sure all of my stuff is taken care of before my treatment this Wednesday.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe heat has been a beast and I was worried it was going to make helping today impossible. Luckily, Brian is such a sweetheart and made sure I remained in doors. Even inside I was drenched. It\u0026rsquo;s feels like temperature is 107°F with extreme Heat Advisory out. After working for 6 hrs we were able to knock a ton of little details on the list off. I truly think we will finish this set this weekend. Which would be a major relief!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m excited to see the finished set and exhausted at the same time. I am such a badass to even reach this point of volunteering and taking charge. Brian and I work great together! I can\u0026rsquo;t wait to continue creating and building sets along side him. He\u0026rsquo;s been doing this for so long that he has a beautiful vault of creativity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was such a difficult week, but knocking things off my todo list feels AMAZING! Forgot to take a picture, but I\u0026rsquo;ll get one tomorrow for sure. I wish Waylon could come down and help, but I know the kids would make it miserable for the both of us. I\u0026rsquo;ve already taken the co lead on set build and it makes sense for me to continue.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnough rambling, time to wind down for bed.\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "-- woke up from another night of sleep without needing medication. I can tell my body is get back into the rhythm to wake up early and get after the day. \nEven though I slept all night I did wake up with a migraine. Possible from not using my CPAP. Needless to say I used my Pulsetto (game changer) and the migraine and nausea calmed down. \n\nI finally was able to get up and gather all my items to head down to the Studio. 2 weekends left before tech week. I really want to make sure all of my stuff is taken care of before my treatment this Wednesday. \n\nThe heat has been a beast and I was worried it was going to make helping today impossible. Luckily, Brian is such a sweetheart and made sure I remained in doors. Even inside I was drenched. It's feels like temperature is 107°F with extreme Heat Advisory out. After working for 6 hrs we were able to knock a ton of little details on the list off. I truly think we will finish this set this weekend. Which would be a major relief! \n\nI'm excited to see the finished set and exhausted at the same time. I am such a badass to even reach this point of volunteering and taking charge. Brian and I work great together! I can't wait to continue creating and building sets along side him. He's been doing this for so long that he has a beautiful vault of creativity. \n\nIt was such a difficult week, but knocking things off my todo list feels AMAZING! Forgot to take a picture, but I'll get one tomorrow for sure. I wish Waylon could come down and help, but I know the kids would make it miserable for the both of us. I've already taken the co lead on set build and it makes sense for me to continue. \n\nEnough rambling, time to wind down for bed.\n\n\n\n", "summary": "notes for 2026-09-05", "date_published": "2026-09-05T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-05T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "daily-note" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/", "title": "Rhiannon Walker", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eWelcome to my corner of the internet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"recent-writing\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eRecent writing\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#recent-writing\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"feed h-feed\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"posts posts-list\"\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"it-s-just-the-carpet\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/carpet/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eIt’s just the Carpet…\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#it-s-just-the-carpet\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eEveryone knows when you do anything to a house, you start with a primary thought, such as, \u0026quot;I want to fix the pee-stained carpet.\u0026quot; Our kitchen and living room are nearly done a couple thousand dollars later.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2023-07-08T00:00:00Z\"\u003eJul 8, 2023\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e5 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"embracing-the-choas\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/embracing-the-chaos/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eEmbracing The Choas\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#embracing-the-choas\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eHow to Live Each Day with Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-10-11T04:18:15Z\"\u003eOct 11, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e2 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"embracing-the-choas-1\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2018-10-11-embracing-the-choas/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eEmbracing The Choas\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#embracing-the-choas-1\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eHow to Live Each Day with Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-10-11T04:18:15Z\"\u003eOct 11, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e2 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-boulder-and-me\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/the-boulder/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eThe Boulder and Me\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#the-boulder-and-me\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003e_\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-04-02T00:00:00Z\"\u003eApr 2, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e4 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"denied-for-disability\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/denied/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eDenied for Disability\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#denied-for-disability\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003e_\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-03-27T00:00:00Z\"\u003eMar 27, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e7 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"projects\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eProjects\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#projects\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"feed h-feed\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"posts posts-list\"\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"crown-bags-quilt\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2018-09-24-quilt-made-with-crown-bags/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eCrown Bags Quilt\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#crown-bags-quilt\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eRe-purposing Crown Royal Bags\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-24T17:19:39Z\"\u003eSep 24, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e3 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"woodland-applique\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2018-09-23-woodland-applique/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eWoodland Applique\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#woodland-applique\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eFirst Applique Project\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-24T02:57:59Z\"\u003eSep 24, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e3 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"waylon-s-wooden-quilt\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2020-09-22-test-project/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eWaylon’s Wooden Quilt\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#waylon-s-wooden-quilt\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eFirst Quilt I did on my own from start to finish.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-23T02:11:43Z\"\u003eSep 23, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e2 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"grandpa-s-cabin\" class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2019-09-22-test-project/\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eGrandpa’s Cabin\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e \u003ca href=\"#grandpa-s-cabin\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eReal Photo transformed into an Applique Wall Hanging\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-23T02:11:43Z\"\u003eSep 23, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e5 min\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n", "content_text": "\nWelcome to my corner of the internet.\n\n## Recent writing\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"feed h-feed\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"posts posts-list\"\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/carpet/\"\u003eIt’s just the Carpet…\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eEveryone knows when you do anything to a house, you start with a primary thought, such as, \u0026quot;I want to fix the pee-stained carpet.\u0026quot; Our kitchen and living room are nearly done a couple thousand dollars later.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2023-07-08T00:00:00Z\"\u003eJul 8, 2023\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e5 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/embracing-the-chaos/\"\u003eEmbracing The Choas\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eHow to Live Each Day with Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-10-11T04:18:15Z\"\u003eOct 11, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e2 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2018-10-11-embracing-the-choas/\"\u003eEmbracing The Choas\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eHow to Live Each Day with Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-10-11T04:18:15Z\"\u003eOct 11, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e2 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/the-boulder/\"\u003eThe Boulder and Me\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003e_\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-04-02T00:00:00Z\"\u003eApr 2, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e4 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/denied/\"\u003eDenied for Disability\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003e_\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-03-27T00:00:00Z\"\u003eMar 27, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e7 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n## Projects\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"feed h-feed\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"posts posts-list\"\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2018-09-24-quilt-made-with-crown-bags/\"\u003eCrown Bags Quilt\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eRe-purposing Crown Royal Bags\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-24T17:19:39Z\"\u003eSep 24, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e3 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2018-09-23-woodland-applique/\"\u003eWoodland Applique\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eFirst Applique Project\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-24T02:57:59Z\"\u003eSep 24, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e3 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2020-09-22-test-project/\"\u003eWaylon’s Wooden Quilt\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eFirst Quilt I did on my own from start to finish.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-23T02:11:43Z\"\u003eSep 23, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e2 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003carticle class=\"card card-default h-entry\"\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"card-header\"\u003e\n\u003ch2 class=\"card-title p-name\"\u003e\u003ca class=\"u-url\" href=\"/2019-09-22-test-project/\"\u003eGrandpa’s Cabin\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003c/header\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"card-body\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"card-description p-summary\"\u003eReal Photo transformed into an Applique Wall Hanging\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cfooter class=\"card-meta\"\u003e\n\n\u003ctime class=\"dt-published\" datetime=\"2018-09-23T02:11:43Z\"\u003eSep 23, 2018\u003c/time\u003e\n\n\u003cspan class=\"reading-time\"\u003e5 min\u003c/span\u003e\n\n\u003c/footer\u003e\n\u003c/article\u003e\n\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n", "summary": "One Breath at a Time", "date_published": "2026-09-04T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2026-09-04T00:00:00Z", "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/carpet/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/carpet/", "title": "It’s just the Carpet…", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eI had good intentions when I said I wanted to replace just the carpet. However, if you look at the path to replace the flooring, it continues with the floors. We should paint so we are not ruining the new flooring as it goes down. Plus, I am being honest; the maroon and tan that our home has EVERYWHERE is incredibly triggering to me (that\u0026rsquo;s a trauma issue). It\u0026rsquo;s time for the paint colors to go!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow that we have the floors and walls covered, have I mentioned how outdated our furniture is? This being our first home, it looked like six different apartments crammed together, with an assortment of storage and decor.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWaylon had already sprayed our brick fireplace black to test the new paint sprayer before using it on the front of our house. We love the way the black looks on the brick. Now it was time to cover up the maroon and tan. Waylon decided he could spray the walls. It went quickly but filled our home with paint fumes, leaving my lungs in distress.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI always balance my medical symptoms with my stubbornness to get things done. However, breathing is a deal breaker.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI stopped him from spraying, and we rolled the remaining wall. The intense release of emotion I felt covering up the maroon and tan was terrific! I will put the paint colors below if you are curious.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/6f2e8a0a-0a0a-43eb-a3db-9997cab62c96.png\" alt=\"Spraying the Gray Paint\" style=\" margin-right: 1.5rem; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit:cover; width:300px;height:300px; float: left;\"\u003e --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/6f2e8a0a-0a0a-43eb-a3db-9997cab62c96.png\" alt=\"Spraying the Gray Paint\" title=\"Spraying the Gray Paint\" class=\"wide\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSO\u0026hellip; Off to Menards I went. I was trying to purchase the cheapest flooring to fix this carpet so our animals stopped shredding it and marking their territories.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI purchased this cheap flooring that was on sale. It would get the living room done in under $400; that way, when we want to eventually put the money towards the flooring, we can upgrade. I loaded the flooring and got it home.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- \u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/81257932-bd70-4803-9e2a-fad54ff86e34.png\" alt=\"Cheap Flooring Fail Price\" style=\"border-radius:100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit:cover;width:250px; float:right;\"/\u003e --\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/81257932-bd70-4803-9e2a-fad54ff86e34.png\" alt=\"Cheap Flooring\" title=\"Cheap Flooring Fail Price\" class=\"wide\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere, a solution was made. Until I had Waylon unload all the boxes into our living room, I started trying to lay down this \u0026ldquo;flooring.\u0026rdquo; I am convinced it is just fancy cardboard at this point. The planks were made from MDF and shredded as the boards went together. It looked horrible on our floor, and we only put one box down. This was not a good sign. We quickly realized why quality is so much more important than quantity. Back to the drawing boards we went. Or, in my case, back to Pinterest and YouTube.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"admonition note\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"admonition-title\"\u003eLesson 1:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre\u003e\u003ccode\u003eDo not be a cheap scape and figure out your desired final look. Buy quality products to start with.\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe took a step back; I watched many YouTube videos, automatically making me a professional in my tackling. I learned about the various types of floors and what underlayment is. I researched the three big box stores in our area and realized that HomeDepot was the place I was going with to get the LifeProof Flooring. I like how it looks, and its features of being suitable for pets and kids and somewhat waterproof were lyrics to my ears. The cost got me, though. Whew\u0026hellip;not what I wanted to spend, but I am thankful we did it. In the long run, this will make our home beautiful, eliminate the mismatched tile, and bring the cabinets only slightly off-color.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have future building plans for the cabinets, and worrying about painting them now is not worth the effort. We can survive with the lower cabinets for a little longer. The backsplash was a completely different story. Brown backsplash with modern blue-white countertops, um\u0026hellip;I think not.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we moved in, our upper cabinets were covered in a quarter inch of solid grease, pet hair, and food particles. Goodbye, upper cabinets, and hello, open shelves for now.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the record, I had already purchased ball jars and clear containers for dry goods. Making the decision to put open shelving easier. Looking back, I need to raise them a bit, change the layout to put in an oven hood later and eliminate the random junk covering every inch. I wanted the clean and organized look, not let\u0026rsquo;s be monkeys and throw our shit, hoping it stays in place.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe timeline I assumed this would take is a couple of weekends. Truthfully it took a good 6 months, and that isn\u0026rsquo;t counting the holiday session; we stopped working on the kitchen, and in its place was decorated for Santa. What more could you expect of holiday cheer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow our living room and kitchen are done until I decide something else needs to be changed, and I am the woman for the job. Nothing is ever permanent in my mind.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"admonition note\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"admonition-title\"\u003eTool List\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSafety Glasses\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCarpet Tack Puller\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBox Cutter with spare Blades\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrim Crowbar\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRegular Crowbar\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVynl Cutter\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRed Seam Tape\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSafety Gloves\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHearing Protection\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShop Vac with special attachments\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRubber Mallet\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVynl Floor Accessory Kits\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"admonition danger\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"admonition-title\"\u003eProducts We Used\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLife Proof Flooring (Oak Trail)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnderlayment\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrim Pieces\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRed Underlayment Tape\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003estick-on backsplash\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eConstruction Adhesive\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCaulk for counter and around the Floor\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"admonition warning\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"admonition-title\"\u003ePaint Colors Used\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre\u003e\u003ccode\u003eFirePlace Brick:\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirePLace Wall:\nLight Grey:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n", "content_text": "\nI had good intentions when I said I wanted to replace just the carpet. However, if you look at the path to replace the flooring, it continues with the floors. We should paint so we are not ruining the new flooring as it goes down. Plus, I am being honest; the maroon and tan that our home has EVERYWHERE is incredibly triggering to me (that's a trauma issue). It's time for the paint colors to go!\n\nNow that we have the floors and walls covered, have I mentioned how outdated our furniture is? This being our first home, it looked like six different apartments crammed together, with an assortment of storage and decor.\n\nWaylon had already sprayed our brick fireplace black to test the new paint sprayer before using it on the front of our house. We love the way the black looks on the brick. Now it was time to cover up the maroon and tan. Waylon decided he could spray the walls. It went quickly but filled our home with paint fumes, leaving my lungs in distress. \n\n\u003eI always balance my medical symptoms with my stubbornness to get things done. However, breathing is a deal breaker.\n\nI stopped him from spraying, and we rolled the remaining wall. The intense release of emotion I felt covering up the maroon and tan was terrific! I will put the paint colors below if you are curious.\n\n\u003c!-- \u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/6f2e8a0a-0a0a-43eb-a3db-9997cab62c96.png\" alt=\"Spraying the Gray Paint\" style=\" margin-right: 1.5rem; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit:cover; width:300px;height:300px; float: left;\"\u003e --\u003e\n\n![Spraying the Gray Paint](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/6f2e8a0a-0a0a-43eb-a3db-9997cab62c96.png 'Spraying the Gray Paint'){.wide}\n \nSO... Off to Menards I went. I was trying to purchase the cheapest flooring to fix this carpet so our animals stopped shredding it and marking their territories.\n\nI purchased this cheap flooring that was on sale. It would get the living room done in under $400; that way, when we want to eventually put the money towards the flooring, we can upgrade. I loaded the flooring and got it home. \n\n\u003c!-- \u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/81257932-bd70-4803-9e2a-fad54ff86e34.png\" alt=\"Cheap Flooring Fail Price\" style=\"border-radius:100%; aspect-ratio: 1; object-fit:cover;width:250px; float:right;\"/\u003e --\u003e\n\n![Cheap Flooring](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/81257932-bd70-4803-9e2a-fad54ff86e34.png 'Cheap Flooring Fail Price'){.wide}\n\nThere, a solution was made. Until I had Waylon unload all the boxes into our living room, I started trying to lay down this \"flooring.\" I am convinced it is just fancy cardboard at this point. The planks were made from MDF and shredded as the boards went together. It looked horrible on our floor, and we only put one box down. This was not a good sign. We quickly realized why quality is so much more important than quantity. Back to the drawing boards we went. Or, in my case, back to Pinterest and YouTube.\n\n!!! note \"Lesson 1:\"\n Do not be a cheap scape and figure out your desired final look. Buy quality products to start with.\n\nWe took a step back; I watched many YouTube videos, automatically making me a professional in my tackling. I learned about the various types of floors and what underlayment is. I researched the three big box stores in our area and realized that HomeDepot was the place I was going with to get the LifeProof Flooring. I like how it looks, and its features of being suitable for pets and kids and somewhat waterproof were lyrics to my ears. The cost got me, though. Whew...not what I wanted to spend, but I am thankful we did it. In the long run, this will make our home beautiful, eliminate the mismatched tile, and bring the cabinets only slightly off-color.\n\nI have future building plans for the cabinets, and worrying about painting them now is not worth the effort. We can survive with the lower cabinets for a little longer. The backsplash was a completely different story. Brown backsplash with modern blue-white countertops, um...I think not.\n\nWhen we moved in, our upper cabinets were covered in a quarter inch of solid grease, pet hair, and food particles. Goodbye, upper cabinets, and hello, open shelves for now.\n\nOn the record, I had already purchased ball jars and clear containers for dry goods. Making the decision to put open shelving easier. Looking back, I need to raise them a bit, change the layout to put in an oven hood later and eliminate the random junk covering every inch. I wanted the clean and organized look, not let's be monkeys and throw our shit, hoping it stays in place.\n\nThe timeline I assumed this would take is a couple of weekends. Truthfully it took a good 6 months, and that isn't counting the holiday session; we stopped working on the kitchen, and in its place was decorated for Santa. What more could you expect of holiday cheer.\n\nNow our living room and kitchen are done until I decide something else needs to be changed, and I am the woman for the job. Nothing is ever permanent in my mind.\n\n!!! note \"Tool List\"\n\n * Safety Glasses\n * Carpet Tack Puller\n * Box Cutter with spare Blades\n * Trim Crowbar\n * Regular Crowbar\n * Vynl Cutter\n * Red Seam Tape\n * Safety Gloves\n * Hearing Protection\n * Shop Vac with special attachments\n * Rubber Mallet\n * Vynl Floor Accessory Kits\n\n!!! danger \"Products We Used\"\n\n * Life Proof Flooring (Oak Trail)\n * Underlayment\n * Trim Pieces\n * Red Underlayment Tape\n * stick-on backsplash\n * Construction Adhesive\n * Caulk for counter and around the Floor\n\n!!! warning \"Paint Colors Used\"\n FirePlace Brick:\n FirePLace Wall:\n Light Grey:\n\n", "summary": "Everyone knows when you do anything to a house, you start with a primary thought, such as, \"I want to fix the pee-stained carpet.\" Our kitchen and living room are nearly done a couple thousand dollars later.", "date_published": "2023-07-08T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2023-07-08T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/embracing-the-chaos/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/embracing-the-chaos/", "title": "Embracing The Choas", "content_html": "\u003ch2 id=\"on-the-streets\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eOn The Streets\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#on-the-streets\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first words spoken to me when meeting a new person are usually, \u0026ldquo;Rhiannon? The Fleetwood Mac Song?\u0026rdquo; In the Song Rhiannon is refereed to as a goddess, and as much as I would like to admit that I am indeed a goddess over the course of my 28 years I have developed my own definition of my name. Rhiannon means to be unique and always against all odds. Rhiannon is an emotional warrior. Rhiannon is Brave. Rhiannon takes each day as it approaches and hops aboard each rocket as it rides the roller coaster that is her life. Do you want to name your unborn child after me? Or do you want to name them after the Fleetwood Mac song? I think the choice is pretty simple.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"coming-to-terms\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eComing to Terms\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#coming-to-terms\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the month of August, I hit rock bottom. I was having some of the worst Anxiety Attacks, to the point I was vomiting which means I couldn\u0026rsquo;t keep my anxiety medication down. I was shaking in my skin, literally. It was the worst. I didn\u0026rsquo;t sleep. I was vomiting 15-20 times a day, and not coping well. I was desperate to do anything to get past this anxiety, but felt like it was never ending. I tried essential oils, meditation, exercise, watching videos, and reading (which was horrible). I was willing to try ANYTHING! I don\u0026rsquo;t know what essentially stopped this horrible rampage, but I came up with a motto. During my rough times where I am in a ton of pain, I have a bad habit of staying in bed, in my pjs. I would lay in bed all day watching random videos. After this week called, HELL! I discovered some things that help with coping and living with anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"my-current-routine\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eMy Current Routine\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#my-current-routine\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTO BE CONTINUED\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "## On The Streets\n\nThe first words spoken to me when meeting a new person are usually, \"Rhiannon? The Fleetwood Mac Song?\" In the Song Rhiannon is refereed to as a goddess, and as much as I would like to admit that I am indeed a goddess over the course of my 28 years I have developed my own definition of my name. Rhiannon means to be unique and always against all odds. Rhiannon is an emotional warrior. Rhiannon is Brave. Rhiannon takes each day as it approaches and hops aboard each rocket as it rides the roller coaster that is her life. Do you want to name your unborn child after me? Or do you want to name them after the Fleetwood Mac song? I think the choice is pretty simple.\n\n## Coming to Terms\n\nDuring the month of August, I hit rock bottom. I was having some of the worst Anxiety Attacks, to the point I was vomiting which means I couldn't keep my anxiety medication down. I was shaking in my skin, literally. It was the worst. I didn't sleep. I was vomiting 15-20 times a day, and not coping well. I was desperate to do anything to get past this anxiety, but felt like it was never ending. I tried essential oils, meditation, exercise, watching videos, and reading (which was horrible). I was willing to try ANYTHING! I don't know what essentially stopped this horrible rampage, but I came up with a motto. During my rough times where I am in a ton of pain, I have a bad habit of staying in bed, in my pjs. I would lay in bed all day watching random videos. After this week called, HELL! I discovered some things that help with coping and living with anxiety.\n\n## My Current Routine\n\nTO BE CONTINUED\n", "summary": "How to Live Each Day with Anxiety", "date_published": "2018-10-11T04:18:15Z", "date_modified": "2018-10-11T04:18:15Z", "tags": [ "Anxiety", "Depression", "Routine" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2018-10-11-embracing-the-choas/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2018-10-11-embracing-the-choas/", "title": "Embracing The Choas", "content_html": "\u003ch2 id=\"on-the-streets\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eOn The Streets\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#on-the-streets\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first words spoken to me when meeting a new person are usually, \u0026ldquo;Rhiannon? The Fleetwood Mac Song?\u0026rdquo; In the Song Rhiannon is refereed to as a goddess, and as much as I would like to admit that I am indeed a goddess over the course of my 28 years I have developed my own definition of my name. Rhiannon means to be unique and always against all odds. Rhiannon is an emotional warrior. Rhiannon is Brave. Rhiannon takes each day as it approaches and hops aboard each rocket as it rides the roller coaster that is her life. Do you want to name your unborn child after me? Or do you want to name them after the Fleetwood Mac song? I think the choice is pretty simple.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"coming-to-terms\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eComing to Terms\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#coming-to-terms\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the month of August, I hit rock bottom. I was having some of the worst Anxiety Attacks, to the point I was vomiting which means I couldn\u0026rsquo;t keep my anxiety medication down. I was shaking in my skin, literally. It was the worst. I didn\u0026rsquo;t sleep. I was vomiting 15-20 times a day, and not coping well. I was desperate to do anything to get past this anxiety, but felt like it was never ending. I tried essential oils, meditation, exercise, watching videos, and reading (which was horrible). I was willing to try ANYTHING! I don\u0026rsquo;t know what essentially stopped this horrible rampage, but I came up with a motto. During my rough times where I am in a ton of pain, I have a bad habit of staying in bed, in my pjs. I would lay in bed all day watching random videos. After this week called, HELL! I discovered some things that help with coping and living with anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"my-current-routine\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eMy Current Routine\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#my-current-routine\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTO BE CONTINUED\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "## On The Streets\n\nThe first words spoken to me when meeting a new person are usually, \"Rhiannon? The Fleetwood Mac Song?\" In the Song Rhiannon is refereed to as a goddess, and as much as I would like to admit that I am indeed a goddess over the course of my 28 years I have developed my own definition of my name. Rhiannon means to be unique and always against all odds. Rhiannon is an emotional warrior. Rhiannon is Brave. Rhiannon takes each day as it approaches and hops aboard each rocket as it rides the roller coaster that is her life. Do you want to name your unborn child after me? Or do you want to name them after the Fleetwood Mac song? I think the choice is pretty simple.\n\n## Coming to Terms\n\nDuring the month of August, I hit rock bottom. I was having some of the worst Anxiety Attacks, to the point I was vomiting which means I couldn't keep my anxiety medication down. I was shaking in my skin, literally. It was the worst. I didn't sleep. I was vomiting 15-20 times a day, and not coping well. I was desperate to do anything to get past this anxiety, but felt like it was never ending. I tried essential oils, meditation, exercise, watching videos, and reading (which was horrible). I was willing to try ANYTHING! I don't know what essentially stopped this horrible rampage, but I came up with a motto. During my rough times where I am in a ton of pain, I have a bad habit of staying in bed, in my pjs. I would lay in bed all day watching random videos. After this week called, HELL! I discovered some things that help with coping and living with anxiety.\n\n## My Current Routine\n\nTO BE CONTINUED\n", "summary": "How to Live Each Day with Anxiety", "date_published": "2018-10-11T04:18:15Z", "date_modified": "2018-10-11T04:18:15Z", "tags": [ "Anxiety", "Depression", "Routine" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2018-09-24-quilt-made-with-crown-bags/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2018-09-24-quilt-made-with-crown-bags/", "title": "Crown Bags Quilt", "content_html": "\u003ch2 id=\"1st-and-only-hand-quilted-project\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003e1st and only hand quilted project\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#1st-and-only-hand-quilted-project\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis quilt was made over a three year period. The assembling of the top was done with the expert advice of Rosy, my step mom. The fabric for this quilt was purchased in La Claire, IA at the local quilt shop. When choosing the fabric for this quilt I wanted to make sure to keep it hunting/outdoor themed. I used fabric with: river rock, bricks, birch trees, turkeys, and of course the crown bags. This quilt went to my Father-in-law for Christmas. I may have given this present multiple years in a row, because it wasn’t done in time. Also, this was my first realization at how much it cost to make a complete quilt.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"using-crown-bags\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eUsing Crown Bags\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#using-crown-bags\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy Father-in-law had collected crown bags for an extended amount of time. He asked me to make him a quilt from them. I had no idea how difficult they were to work with. If I would go back and change anything it would be to add stabilizer on the back of those crown bags. I found that without the stabilizer the bags stretched when we were trying to sew them into the blocks. Also when hand quilting, the embroidery on the bags was difficult to work through.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"things-i-learned\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eThings I Learned\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#things-i-learned\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe already talked about the crown bags, and what I learned using those, but there were several other things that came up during the process. At one point I thought finishing the binding before finishing the hand quilting was going to be a good idea, definitely not. I also squared the quilt up with no knowledge as to what I was doing, and ended up taking way too much off of the borders. My last lesson on this quilt was that I pieced together the back, and found trying to go through all of those seams a challenge while hand quilting.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/8af75fdd-98f0-4d61-8c44-2aa47a65c992.jpg\" alt=\"Pieced Back of the Quilt\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-i-loved\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eWhat I Loved\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#what-i-loved\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can’t tell you how proud I am of this quilt. This was my baby for a long time. I am proud of myself for just finishing the project. I have informed my in-laws that it comes back to me in the will. I recommend anyone who is wanting to take a crack at hand quilting to give it a try. You will be pleased with the end results.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/2575bf8c-deef-48c5-8a78-5a886e25de82.jpg\" alt=\"Excitement of a job well done!\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy FIL loves it, and it sits on display in the bat cave!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat your in-laws don’t have a bat cave?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery time I am there I wrap myself up in it. It just makes me so warm and cuddly on the inside and out to know I made it, and finished it!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRosy taught me a quote that I keep in mind during any projects I complete: \u0026ldquo;If you can’t see it riding by on a fast horse, it doesn’t matter!\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell there you have it. The story about the time I spent \u003cstrong\u003e3 years\u003c/strong\u003e hand quilting my first ever quilt. Join the journey with me on the next project, where the road is never straight!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e_It’s time to clean up the scrap, and make way for the next project. Until Next Time!\n_\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n## 1st and only hand quilted project\n\nThis quilt was made over a three year period. The assembling of the top was done with the expert advice of Rosy, my step mom. The fabric for this quilt was purchased in La Claire, IA at the local quilt shop. When choosing the fabric for this quilt I wanted to make sure to keep it hunting/outdoor themed. I used fabric with: river rock, bricks, birch trees, turkeys, and of course the crown bags. This quilt went to my Father-in-law for Christmas. I may have given this present multiple years in a row, because it wasn’t done in time. Also, this was my first realization at how much it cost to make a complete quilt.\n\n## Using Crown Bags\n\nMy Father-in-law had collected crown bags for an extended amount of time. He asked me to make him a quilt from them. I had no idea how difficult they were to work with. If I would go back and change anything it would be to add stabilizer on the back of those crown bags. I found that without the stabilizer the bags stretched when we were trying to sew them into the blocks. Also when hand quilting, the embroidery on the bags was difficult to work through.\n\n## Things I Learned\n\nWe already talked about the crown bags, and what I learned using those, but there were several other things that came up during the process. At one point I thought finishing the binding before finishing the hand quilting was going to be a good idea, definitely not. I also squared the quilt up with no knowledge as to what I was doing, and ended up taking way too much off of the borders. My last lesson on this quilt was that I pieced together the back, and found trying to go through all of those seams a challenge while hand quilting.\n\n![Pieced Back of the Quilt](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/8af75fdd-98f0-4d61-8c44-2aa47a65c992.jpg)\n\n## What I Loved\n\nI can’t tell you how proud I am of this quilt. This was my baby for a long time. I am proud of myself for just finishing the project. I have informed my in-laws that it comes back to me in the will. I recommend anyone who is wanting to take a crack at hand quilting to give it a try. You will be pleased with the end results. \n\n![Excitement of a job well done!](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/2575bf8c-deef-48c5-8a78-5a886e25de82.jpg)\n\nMy FIL loves it, and it sits on display in the bat cave!\n\n\u003e What your in-laws don’t have a bat cave?\n\n Every time I am there I wrap myself up in it. It just makes me so warm and cuddly on the inside and out to know I made it, and finished it!\n\nRosy taught me a quote that I keep in mind during any projects I complete: \"If you can’t see it riding by on a fast horse, it doesn’t matter!\"\n\nWell there you have it. The story about the time I spent **3 years** hand quilting my first ever quilt. Join the journey with me on the next project, where the road is never straight! \n\n_It’s time to clean up the scrap, and make way for the next project. Until Next Time!\n_\n ", "summary": "Re-purposing Crown Royal Bags", "date_published": "2018-09-24T17:19:39Z", "date_modified": "2018-09-24T17:19:39Z", "tags": [ "Hand-quilted", "Patchwork", "Crown Bags", "Re-purposing Fabric" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2018-09-23-woodland-applique/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2018-09-23-woodland-applique/", "title": "Woodland Applique", "content_html": "\u003ch2 id=\"always-learning-new-techniques\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eAlways Learning New Techniques\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#always-learning-new-techniques\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen news comes in that your Best Friend is having a baby, I knew right away that a quilt was the way to go. I was so excited to take on this task, but at the same time I was worried it would not be done in time. My previous project took me 3 years…seriously!!! That’s why I went on a search for an easy method to making a cute project. I came across this Craftsy class. This is not sponsored by the way, just what I used. The official title was \u0026ldquo;Fusible Applique Made Easy\u0026rdquo; by Wendi Gratz_\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"about-the-class\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eAbout the Class\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#about-the-class\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis class was really quite easy. The videos did a great job at breaking things down into steps. This was my very first time doing anything with applique or even quilting as I went. These will be steps that I hope to use in future quilts. Some of the things that challenged me quite a bit with this project were all the different curves of the animals. I finally figured out that if you used the hand turn on the machine you could achieve the right curves. That was surprisingly difficult for me to do. I don’t know what it is, but usually when I am sewing I want to go fast. Fast is not always the answer. I am working at this, and learning that I can’t sew when I have a million different things on my list.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"making-it-mine\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eMaking It Mine\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#making-it-mine\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOther fun qualities of this quilt was that I was able to personalize the pattern. I added arrow blocks, a skunk, and a hedgehog. To make the arrows I simply just drew what I was looking for on the fusible interfacing and ironed it on. One tip to make sure you pay attention to is the image on the interfacing needs to be mirrored. The skunk was made using the squirrel pattern and just adding a white stripe, and the hedgehog was a free coloring page I came across that I traced onto the fusible interfacing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"finishing-touches\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eFinishing Touches\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#finishing-touches\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI finished this quilt up by adding cuddle fleece to the back, and just stitched in the ditch to attach it. Next time I would probably use fleece on the back side, as I don’t care to work with cuddle fleece. I purchased biased tape to go around the border with. Everything I got to make was purchased from my local big box fabric store. I only have one quilt shop close by, 35 minutes away, so I don’t always get over there.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-big-reveal\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eThe Big Reveal\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#the-big-reveal\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy friend loves it. It turned out so cute, and really turned me onto wanting to do some more applique in the future. I got to go visit her after she had her baby and her little man looks adorable on all of those animal faces.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSorry there isn’t a ton of pictures of the construction. This project was made over a year ago, before Cuttin Scrap was in my mind. I can’t wait to bring you all on the journey of crafting with me. Where the road is never straight. It’s time to clean up the scrap, and make way for the next project. Until Next Time!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "## Always Learning New Techniques\n\nWhen news comes in that your Best Friend is having a baby, I knew right away that a quilt was the way to go. I was so excited to take on this task, but at the same time I was worried it would not be done in time. My previous project took me 3 years…seriously!!! That’s why I went on a search for an easy method to making a cute project. I came across this Craftsy class. This is not sponsored by the way, just what I used. The official title was \"Fusible Applique Made Easy\" by Wendi Gratz_\n\n## About the Class\n\nThis class was really quite easy. The videos did a great job at breaking things down into steps. This was my very first time doing anything with applique or even quilting as I went. These will be steps that I hope to use in future quilts. Some of the things that challenged me quite a bit with this project were all the different curves of the animals. I finally figured out that if you used the hand turn on the machine you could achieve the right curves. That was surprisingly difficult for me to do. I don’t know what it is, but usually when I am sewing I want to go fast. Fast is not always the answer. I am working at this, and learning that I can’t sew when I have a million different things on my list.\n\n## Making It Mine\n\nOther fun qualities of this quilt was that I was able to personalize the pattern. I added arrow blocks, a skunk, and a hedgehog. To make the arrows I simply just drew what I was looking for on the fusible interfacing and ironed it on. One tip to make sure you pay attention to is the image on the interfacing needs to be mirrored. The skunk was made using the squirrel pattern and just adding a white stripe, and the hedgehog was a free coloring page I came across that I traced onto the fusible interfacing.\n\n## Finishing Touches\n\nI finished this quilt up by adding cuddle fleece to the back, and just stitched in the ditch to attach it. Next time I would probably use fleece on the back side, as I don’t care to work with cuddle fleece. I purchased biased tape to go around the border with. Everything I got to make was purchased from my local big box fabric store. I only have one quilt shop close by, 35 minutes away, so I don’t always get over there. \n\n## The Big Reveal\n\nMy friend loves it. It turned out so cute, and really turned me onto wanting to do some more applique in the future. I got to go visit her after she had her baby and her little man looks adorable on all of those animal faces. \n\nSorry there isn’t a ton of pictures of the construction. This project was made over a year ago, before Cuttin Scrap was in my mind. I can’t wait to bring you all on the journey of crafting with me. Where the road is never straight. It’s time to clean up the scrap, and make way for the next project. Until Next Time!\n", "summary": "First Applique Project", "date_published": "2018-09-24T02:57:59Z", "date_modified": "2018-09-24T02:57:59Z", "tags": [ "applique", "woodland", "quilts", "babyshowergift", "hedgehogismyfavorite", "homemadegift", "beforecuttinscrap", "cuttinscrap", "cuttingscrap" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2020-09-22-test-project/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2020-09-22-test-project/", "title": "Waylon’s Wooden Quilt", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003eAs a beginning quilter, I decided, what’s the best quilt to start with? Ah ha…I know! I should design my own. I don’t know what I was thinking. This quilt took me a couple years to complete, and a down right new respect for learning to quilt.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"quilting-process\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eQuilting Process\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#quilting-process\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI finished it as I started it, being the first quilt I free motion quilted. It turned out better than I expected, and Waylon loves it!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/dadd10e9-9fd1-4a91-8ee1-89b17b901206.jpg\" alt=\"There is something sexy about a man and his quilt!\"\u003e\n\u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003cp\u003eLook at that hot man in his quilt. Proud wife.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what-i-learned\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eWhat I learned\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#what-i-learned\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wish I could tell you the step by step instructions to creating this piece, but all I can tell you is that the inside square was created by me cutting fabric, screwing up, and trying to salvage what I had just done, because hot damn fabric is expensive. So, if you learn anything from this pathetic tutorial is my name is Rhiannon, don’t be like Rhiannon. Well, at least the 2014 Rhiannon. Now, the 2018 me is half a lung down and has my shit together. That was fun, just to write. Enough shit to make a plan before starting the quilt.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/10af5915-aa45-47c0-a2d9-4a9fc5f91df1.jpg\" alt=\"up-close-of-wood-quilting.jpg\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, I did record the process of me trying to accomplish a wood grain quilting pattern. I sort of accomplished it. Not to bad for my first time.\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "As a beginning quilter, I decided, what’s the best quilt to start with? Ah ha…I know! I should design my own. I don’t know what I was thinking. This quilt took me a couple years to complete, and a down right new respect for learning to quilt.\n\n## Quilting Process\n\n I finished it as I started it, being the first quilt I free motion quilted. It turned out better than I expected, and Waylon loves it!\n\n![There is something sexy about a man and his quilt!](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/dadd10e9-9fd1-4a91-8ee1-89b17b901206.jpg)\n\n\u003e Look at that hot man in his quilt. Proud wife.\n\n## What I learned\n\nI wish I could tell you the step by step instructions to creating this piece, but all I can tell you is that the inside square was created by me cutting fabric, screwing up, and trying to salvage what I had just done, because hot damn fabric is expensive. So, if you learn anything from this pathetic tutorial is my name is Rhiannon, don’t be like Rhiannon. Well, at least the 2014 Rhiannon. Now, the 2018 me is half a lung down and has my shit together. That was fun, just to write. Enough shit to make a plan before starting the quilt.\n\n![up-close-of-wood-quilting.jpg](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/10af5915-aa45-47c0-a2d9-4a9fc5f91df1.jpg)\n\nHowever, I did record the process of me trying to accomplish a wood grain quilting pattern. I sort of accomplished it. Not to bad for my first time.\n", "summary": "First Quilt I did on my own from start to finish.", "date_published": "2018-09-23T02:11:43Z", "date_modified": "2018-09-23T02:11:43Z", "tags": [ "Husbandquilt", "freemotion", "mansewing", "designonmyown", "learning", "cuttinscrap", "cuttingscrap", "quilt", "sexyman", "legacyquilt1" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2019-09-22-test-project/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/2019-09-22-test-project/", "title": "Grandpa’s Cabin", "content_html": "\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Loving Memory of Grandpa Haight\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am a firm believer that there are things in life that remind us of our loved ones, and even help us feel their presence when they are gone. For my in-laws an Eagle is the representation that reminds us of Grandpa Haight. He was a great man and I am honored that I got to know him. I made this wall hanging to represent him flying above his cabin and forever flying in our hearts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"things-needed\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eThings Needed\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#things-needed\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/72623774-4919-4513-9570-1a1483b72ffb.jpg\" alt=\"grandpas_cabin.jpg\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI used this picture of the cabin and Photoshop to eliminate some of the detail to posterize the image. This gave me a rough outline of different shades and colors to use. Then I mirrored the image, to get the desired orientation for later on in the process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/60e90bc0-265c-4918-83ef-fae29d6ca624.jpg\" alt=\"posterized.jpg\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrinted it out at the final dimensions with a colored printer on regular paper to create template. To get the shapes used for the piecing, I took a sharpie and traced the main outlines of the different shades of color on the posterized design on the copy paper. I shot for large blocks of color, but made sure to leave the organic shapes so that you could recognize the objects later on. For the fabric I used fat quarters from a local big box fabric store. It is important to try and match the main background of the fabric to the appropriate shades on the image. However, patterns on the fabric are ok as long as the main color of the fabric is the right shade of color. To choose the proper colors I took my print out with me to the store. (Unless you are going for an artistic view of the image then you could mix up what colors you are going for.) Along with the fat-quarters I used Heat n’ Bond Featherlight iron- on backing. I found it easiest to purchase this by the yard.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"layout\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eLayout\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#layout\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen designing the layout it is important to pre-plan. I used a code that I wrote on my printed out design. Example: LB1: Light Blue 1, DG1: Dark Green 1. I then would give each section a two letter code and number. Multiple areas with the same color would get the same two letter code but a different number. By numbering the various colors this helped me when moving on to tracing the pieces on the Heat n’ Bond and provided a map to use during assembly. Make sure you transfer your numbers onto the Heat n’ Bond, so that you know the location of the pieces when you cut them out. When using the Heat n’ Bond you lay it on the image you printed out with the shiny side down and trace. Trace each shape one at a time, leaving cutting room around the shapes. When you are assembling you will want some overlap on some of the pieces so make sure to allow extra space during the tracing, but also in certain areas you will want clear crisp lines. Think ahead and plan how the assembly process will go, and what shapes will be in the foreground vs background.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"assembly\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eAssembly\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#assembly\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI used my backing for the entire wall hanging as my base to iron on the pieces to. Make sure that you lay it right side down and iron onto the wrong side. I also found it easiest to attach the Eagle all at once before attaching him fully to the image. By doing this I could play with his placement. Just be careful when ironing that you don’t peal too much of the backing off of the eagle, otherwise you might end up sticking him to your ironing board. Finally lay all your pieces down and adjust them till you are happy with the final look. This is a good time to make any extra trimmings if a shape isn’t coming out exactly how you had planned. When you are happy with the placement, grab your iron. Make sure not to drag your iron, but instead lift and place it, dragging your iron could scoot your pieces. Once everything is ironed on, you can begin sewing. This is where you bring detail and character to your image.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"learned\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eLearned\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#learned\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am not a Photoshop Pro, and I am not even sure I can walk you through the steps to achieve the posterized image above, but I am one that Google, and Youtube searches everything, until I am able to get the look I am going for. During the tracing aspect of this project it is important to trace each shape separately. I made the mistake to try and trace the entire image all at the the same time without gaps, and that doesn’t allow extra fabric to achieve the layered effect. I also learned that you have to be careful not to over iron spots with the Heat n’ Bond. I noticed that spots that were over ironed didn’t attach well. Just like with the quilt that I made using applique, sew slow to get the clean corners and curves, but this is abstract art so don’t be afraid if your lines aren’t perfect.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"loved\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eLoved\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#loved\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is something about completely designing a project from start to finish, and it turning out exactly how you have it pictured in your mind. This was a special project, and I really wanted to make sure to capture his cabin while incorporating the action of the eagle flying. I love how this turned out and it was recognized immediately when given as a gift. Now that is a win!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\u003e In Loving Memory of Grandpa Haight\n\u003e\n\u003e\n\nI am a firm believer that there are things in life that remind us of our loved ones, and even help us feel their presence when they are gone. For my in-laws an Eagle is the representation that reminds us of Grandpa Haight. He was a great man and I am honored that I got to know him. I made this wall hanging to represent him flying above his cabin and forever flying in our hearts.\n\n## Things Needed\n\n![grandpas_cabin.jpg](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/72623774-4919-4513-9570-1a1483b72ffb.jpg)\n\nI used this picture of the cabin and Photoshop to eliminate some of the detail to posterize the image. This gave me a rough outline of different shades and colors to use. Then I mirrored the image, to get the desired orientation for later on in the process.\n\n![posterized.jpg](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/60e90bc0-265c-4918-83ef-fae29d6ca624.jpg)\n\nPrinted it out at the final dimensions with a colored printer on regular paper to create template. To get the shapes used for the piecing, I took a sharpie and traced the main outlines of the different shades of color on the posterized design on the copy paper. I shot for large blocks of color, but made sure to leave the organic shapes so that you could recognize the objects later on. For the fabric I used fat quarters from a local big box fabric store. It is important to try and match the main background of the fabric to the appropriate shades on the image. However, patterns on the fabric are ok as long as the main color of the fabric is the right shade of color. To choose the proper colors I took my print out with me to the store. (Unless you are going for an artistic view of the image then you could mix up what colors you are going for.) Along with the fat-quarters I used Heat n’ Bond Featherlight iron- on backing. I found it easiest to purchase this by the yard.\n\n## Layout\n\nWhen designing the layout it is important to pre-plan. I used a code that I wrote on my printed out design. Example: LB1: Light Blue 1, DG1: Dark Green 1. I then would give each section a two letter code and number. Multiple areas with the same color would get the same two letter code but a different number. By numbering the various colors this helped me when moving on to tracing the pieces on the Heat n’ Bond and provided a map to use during assembly. Make sure you transfer your numbers onto the Heat n’ Bond, so that you know the location of the pieces when you cut them out. When using the Heat n’ Bond you lay it on the image you printed out with the shiny side down and trace. Trace each shape one at a time, leaving cutting room around the shapes. When you are assembling you will want some overlap on some of the pieces so make sure to allow extra space during the tracing, but also in certain areas you will want clear crisp lines. Think ahead and plan how the assembly process will go, and what shapes will be in the foreground vs background.\n\n## Assembly\n\nI used my backing for the entire wall hanging as my base to iron on the pieces to. Make sure that you lay it right side down and iron onto the wrong side. I also found it easiest to attach the Eagle all at once before attaching him fully to the image. By doing this I could play with his placement. Just be careful when ironing that you don’t peal too much of the backing off of the eagle, otherwise you might end up sticking him to your ironing board. Finally lay all your pieces down and adjust them till you are happy with the final look. This is a good time to make any extra trimmings if a shape isn’t coming out exactly how you had planned. When you are happy with the placement, grab your iron. Make sure not to drag your iron, but instead lift and place it, dragging your iron could scoot your pieces. Once everything is ironed on, you can begin sewing. This is where you bring detail and character to your image.\n\n## Learned\n\nI am not a Photoshop Pro, and I am not even sure I can walk you through the steps to achieve the posterized image above, but I am one that Google, and Youtube searches everything, until I am able to get the look I am going for. During the tracing aspect of this project it is important to trace each shape separately. I made the mistake to try and trace the entire image all at the the same time without gaps, and that doesn’t allow extra fabric to achieve the layered effect. I also learned that you have to be careful not to over iron spots with the Heat n’ Bond. I noticed that spots that were over ironed didn’t attach well. Just like with the quilt that I made using applique, sew slow to get the clean corners and curves, but this is abstract art so don’t be afraid if your lines aren’t perfect.\n\n## Loved\n\nThere is something about completely designing a project from start to finish, and it turning out exactly how you have it pictured in your mind. This was a special project, and I really wanted to make sure to capture his cabin while incorporating the action of the eagle flying. I love how this turned out and it was recognized immediately when given as a gift. Now that is a win!!!\n", "summary": "Real Photo transformed into an Applique Wall Hanging", "date_published": "2018-09-23T02:11:43Z", "date_modified": "2018-09-23T02:11:43Z", "tags": [ "carcinoid", "memorial", "photoshop", "eagle", "applique", "cuttinscrap", "cuttingscrap", "youtube", "" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/the-boulder/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/the-boulder/", "title": "The Boulder and Me", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eApril 2, 2018\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen life throws us challenges our minds go to their comfort zones. For some people that’s a religious factor and for others it could mean they reach to within, but for me, I seek the strength in those I love and hold dear to my heart. A year and half ago I was thrown the largest bolder I have ever had to handle, and I have handled a lot in my life.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA year and half ago I was thrown the largest bolder I have ever had to handle, and I have handled a lot in my life.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI handled a nontraditional childhood. Where I sought care from those around me. I handled my own mother battling a disability that tried to take her life once when I was eight, and would end up taking it when I was 13. I battled a move from the only town, friends, and family I had known. I battled anxiety and depression through my teen years. I battled a long distance relationship and learning what love truly meant. I battled three difficult pregnancies with one not surviving. I battled my daughter being born with medical needs and fighting for treatments. I battled financial difficulties.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think every battle builds. It starts with a little snowball and rolls down the hill. At first it is small. You can jump those small ones, but as you travel through life it begins to collect more snow and it becomes harder and harder to just jump, at some point you have to claw you way over. Right now I am still stuck on this last boulder and I am clawing. I am clawing with all of my might, but I just can’t get to the top.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRight now I am still stuck on this last boulder and I am clawing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou see, when I was thrown this huge boulder I sought strength in those closest to me. I saw my mother battling with the disease, day in and day out. I saw a friend in high school dealing with some personal struggles that had been kept a secret, but was starting to let go. I saw school teacher reaching out and helping struggling students to make sure they knew how much they were loved. I saw strong women in my life. The strongest you could imagine. Showing love for their children that I didn’t know could be possible. Don’t get me wrong, I was loved as a child, but this love I saw from these particular women in my life, left me speechless. I saw strength from one of my close friends as he overcame a major brain surgery and rose up to teach, to build up, and strengthen hundreds of kids over the years. To take a devastating event in your life, conquer it in such a way that those around you feel the radiating strength, is at a whole different level. I saw all these people. People I love, and sit near and dear to my heart, achieve greatness. Here I was standing at the bottom of this boulder, about to embark on the largest climb my life has built up to be and I knew, because of these people in my life, I had strength.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI saw all these people. People I love, and sit near and dear to my heart, achieve greatness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, I may not have taken a religious approach to my battle, but I don’t think my approach is much different. I have been conflicted with religion for years. I am in a point of my life that I am unsure where I stand with the big man up top. I am not saying I don’t believe, and I am not saying I do. I’m floating somewhere in the middle. But when I am really struggling I talk to my mom, who is my angel, and she gives me strength.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am in a point of my life that I am unsure where I stand with the big man up top.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI feel like I am rambling. If you get nothing else out of this post, understand this. When you are thrown a boulder that is quite possibly the largest thing you have ever encountered. Don’t run, start to climb, because no matter how big the trek is, you are making progress. Even if you are clinging on for dear life, and you feel like you are going nowhere, you are. You are there, breathing, and as long as you are breathing you are the strength you sought elsewhere, you are everything and more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne Breath at a Time!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_April 2, 2018_\n\nWhen life throws us challenges our minds go to their comfort zones. For some people that’s a religious factor and for others it could mean they reach to within, but for me, I seek the strength in those I love and hold dear to my heart. A year and half ago I was thrown the largest bolder I have ever had to handle, and I have handled a lot in my life.\n\n\u003e A year and half ago I was thrown the largest bolder I have ever had to handle, and I have handled a lot in my life.\n\nI handled a nontraditional childhood. Where I sought care from those around me. I handled my own mother battling a disability that tried to take her life once when I was eight, and would end up taking it when I was 13. I battled a move from the only town, friends, and family I had known. I battled anxiety and depression through my teen years. I battled a long distance relationship and learning what love truly meant. I battled three difficult pregnancies with one not surviving. I battled my daughter being born with medical needs and fighting for treatments. I battled financial difficulties.\n\nI think every battle builds. It starts with a little snowball and rolls down the hill. At first it is small. You can jump those small ones, but as you travel through life it begins to collect more snow and it becomes harder and harder to just jump, at some point you have to claw you way over. Right now I am still stuck on this last boulder and I am clawing. I am clawing with all of my might, but I just can’t get to the top.\n\n\u003e Right now I am still stuck on this last boulder and I am clawing.\n\nYou see, when I was thrown this huge boulder I sought strength in those closest to me. I saw my mother battling with the disease, day in and day out. I saw a friend in high school dealing with some personal struggles that had been kept a secret, but was starting to let go. I saw school teacher reaching out and helping struggling students to make sure they knew how much they were loved. I saw strong women in my life. The strongest you could imagine. Showing love for their children that I didn’t know could be possible. Don’t get me wrong, I was loved as a child, but this love I saw from these particular women in my life, left me speechless. I saw strength from one of my close friends as he overcame a major brain surgery and rose up to teach, to build up, and strengthen hundreds of kids over the years. To take a devastating event in your life, conquer it in such a way that those around you feel the radiating strength, is at a whole different level. I saw all these people. People I love, and sit near and dear to my heart, achieve greatness. Here I was standing at the bottom of this boulder, about to embark on the largest climb my life has built up to be and I knew, because of these people in my life, I had strength. \n\n\u003e I saw all these people. People I love, and sit near and dear to my heart, achieve greatness.\n\nSo, I may not have taken a religious approach to my battle, but I don’t think my approach is much different. I have been conflicted with religion for years. I am in a point of my life that I am unsure where I stand with the big man up top. I am not saying I don’t believe, and I am not saying I do. I’m floating somewhere in the middle. But when I am really struggling I talk to my mom, who is my angel, and she gives me strength.\n\n\u003e I am in a point of my life that I am unsure where I stand with the big man up top. \n\nI feel like I am rambling. If you get nothing else out of this post, understand this. When you are thrown a boulder that is quite possibly the largest thing you have ever encountered. Don’t run, start to climb, because no matter how big the trek is, you are making progress. Even if you are clinging on for dear life, and you feel like you are going nowhere, you are. You are there, breathing, and as long as you are breathing you are the strength you sought elsewhere, you are everything and more. \n\n**One Breath at a Time!**\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2018-04-02T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2018-04-02T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/denied/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/denied/", "title": "Denied for Disability", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarch 27, 2018\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecently Waylon and I received some financial coaching to figure out how to handle my death when it comes. Unfortunately, I did not have life insurance before being diagnosed with Cancer. This is a pretty big issue. Waylon and I have embarked on the journey to getting out of debt. We are following Dave Ramsey, and his baby step program. In this program there are 7 baby steps to being debt free.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStep 1: Save $1000\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 2: Debt Snowball\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 3a: 3-6 Months of Expenses in Savings\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 3b: Down Payment on a house with 15-20% Down\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 4: 15% of Income in Retirement\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 5: Save for Kid’s College\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 6: Pay off Mortgage\u003cbr\u003e\nStep 7: Be Generous and wealthy\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe began this journey hardcore in August 2017. We hit rock bottom. We reached a point where it was difficult to pay for groceries at the end of the month and we were eating garlic noodles multiple times a week because that was all we could afford. We were paying minimums on all of our debts which was well over half our monthly income. We couldn’t afford to live and had no future. As a couple we were distant from each other. The stress from the money and medical problems had taken over our marriage and we were barely surviving. We knew something had to change.\nWe were offered some help and for the first time we said, yes. You see, Waylon and I had known the Dave Ramsey program for a couple of years at this point, and would off and on start and stop it. We had not hit desperate. We were in denial. We thought we were living a “normal” life. We were wrong.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/781457d4-7642-4e36-a642-085e2d1273bc.jpg\" alt=\"Waylon and Rhiannon\"\u003e\n\u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a couple we were distant from each other. The stress from the money and medical problems had taken over our marriage and we were barely surviving.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003c/figure\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo we packed up our stuff, and moved in with some friends. We decided to drastically change our lives. We decided to live like no one else so later we could LIVE like no one else. Everything has been going great. We have paid off $20,000 dollars in 5 months and cash flowed our ongoing medical bills, new tires, and other expensive murphy events (something is bound to go wrong when you are not prepared to handle it). Murphy lived with us for 6 years. We gave him a vacancy notice and changed the ending to our story.\nAlong with this process we have learned several grown up concepts. Debt is not normal. A credit score is a record of how much debt you are in, not a number to brag about. Anyone can be a millionaire and with any salary if you have no debt and handle your money correctly. Life insurance is vital to taking care of your loved ones and those that depend on you, but once you reach a certain age you only need enough to cover the costs of the funeral. Life insurance should be purchased outside of your work in case you get diagnosed with a life threatening illness and can’t get approved for life insurance after the diagnosis. Wait a minute. Let me stop right there. This sounds great, but I have Cancer. I can’t get approved for life insurance? I’m 28 and have 2 small children and a husband. Well, I learned about that one too late. What do I do now?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWell, we were honored with stopping at Dave’s office and got set up with his partner who started the business with him. The plan is to plan for the funeral now. We are pausing our snowball to save up $15,000 to pay for my funeral and cover Waylon’s loss of wages during his grieving period. Then we will jump right back into the snowball.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you plan for these events they appear less scary. I don’t fear the car needing maintenance. I don’t have a panic attack when the kids need new clothes or when we blow a tire on the side of the road, and on top of that, we own our vehicles, not the bank.\nGuess what happened when we got our finances in order? Our marriage got stronger. We looked at each other differently. Being frugal doesn’t mean you have no life. It means you have a written budget and you make your money behave on paper before you spend it. If something pops up in the middle of the month you adjust the budget and handle it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen we were meeting with the financial advisor he suggested that I apply for Disability since I am unable to work. Disability was originally designed for people like me who physically and mentally cannot work due to a medical condition. I struggled coming to terms with applying for Disability. I didn’t want to admit that I wouldn’t be re-entering the workforce. I have dreams of going back to school and becoming a doctor. Would those dreams never come true? The financial advisor pointed out that getting disability doesn’t mean you are abusing the system and not contributing to society. Society has ruined what disability is actually about. So, I cried a lot and began filling out the application. I got about half way through, and saved my work to finish it this week. I needed to stop and process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday I was woken up by a call from the Social Security Office. They asked if I had started the process to apply for Disability, and if I was planning on finishing to apply and submit my medical records. I replied: “yes.” This lady then proceeded to ask me lots of very difficult, personal questions. I answered all of them. I was extremely emotional, but luckily she couldn’t see my face. At the end of the phone call she informed me that of the two programs I haven’t worked enough in the workforce for one of them, and the other my husband makes too much money. I was crushed. I ended the phone call and lost it. It took me a couple of hours to process what had happened. You see, I handled the results of that conversation as the Rhiannon from July. The broke Rhiannon who was rooming with Murphy. I did not handle that conversation as the mature grown up who has her finances in order, and will be just fine without it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, March 27, 2018 I was denied for Disability as a Cancer Patient who will die someday from this disease, but I will be ok, because Dave has fully entered our lives and taught us values that are creating a stable foundation for us to live on. Does it suck that I am not able to get assistance with affording this disease? Yes. Will we be ok without it? Yes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf you live with Murphy and his friends Debt and Collection Agency. There is hope for you.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy hope for writing this blog, is that if you are like the Rhiannon from before August. If you live with Murphy and his friends Debt and Collection Agency. There is hope for you. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, you too can live securely, and lose the stress money problems bring. And you might even like your spouse more in the process.\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_March 27, 2018_\n\nRecently Waylon and I received some financial coaching to figure out how to handle my death when it comes. Unfortunately, I did not have life insurance before being diagnosed with Cancer. This is a pretty big issue. Waylon and I have embarked on the journey to getting out of debt. We are following Dave Ramsey, and his baby step program. In this program there are 7 baby steps to being debt free.\n\nStep 1: Save $1000 \nStep 2: Debt Snowball \nStep 3a: 3-6 Months of Expenses in Savings \nStep 3b: Down Payment on a house with 15-20% Down \nStep 4: 15% of Income in Retirement \nStep 5: Save for Kid’s College \nStep 6: Pay off Mortgage \nStep 7: Be Generous and wealthy \n\nWe began this journey hardcore in August 2017. We hit rock bottom. We reached a point where it was difficult to pay for groceries at the end of the month and we were eating garlic noodles multiple times a week because that was all we could afford. We were paying minimums on all of our debts which was well over half our monthly income. We couldn’t afford to live and had no future. As a couple we were distant from each other. The stress from the money and medical problems had taken over our marriage and we were barely surviving. We knew something had to change.\nWe were offered some help and for the first time we said, yes. You see, Waylon and I had known the Dave Ramsey program for a couple of years at this point, and would off and on start and stop it. We had not hit desperate. We were in denial. We thought we were living a “normal” life. We were wrong.\n\n![Waylon and Rhiannon](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/781457d4-7642-4e36-a642-085e2d1273bc.jpg)\n\n\u003e As a couple we were distant from each other. The stress from the money and medical problems had taken over our marriage and we were barely surviving.\n\nSo we packed up our stuff, and moved in with some friends. We decided to drastically change our lives. We decided to live like no one else so later we could LIVE like no one else. Everything has been going great. We have paid off $20,000 dollars in 5 months and cash flowed our ongoing medical bills, new tires, and other expensive murphy events (something is bound to go wrong when you are not prepared to handle it). Murphy lived with us for 6 years. We gave him a vacancy notice and changed the ending to our story.\nAlong with this process we have learned several grown up concepts. Debt is not normal. A credit score is a record of how much debt you are in, not a number to brag about. Anyone can be a millionaire and with any salary if you have no debt and handle your money correctly. Life insurance is vital to taking care of your loved ones and those that depend on you, but once you reach a certain age you only need enough to cover the costs of the funeral. Life insurance should be purchased outside of your work in case you get diagnosed with a life threatening illness and can’t get approved for life insurance after the diagnosis. Wait a minute. Let me stop right there. This sounds great, but I have Cancer. I can’t get approved for life insurance? I’m 28 and have 2 small children and a husband. Well, I learned about that one too late. What do I do now?\n\n Well, we were honored with stopping at Dave’s office and got set up with his partner who started the business with him. The plan is to plan for the funeral now. We are pausing our snowball to save up $15,000 to pay for my funeral and cover Waylon’s loss of wages during his grieving period. Then we will jump right back into the snowball.\n\nWhen you plan for these events they appear less scary. I don’t fear the car needing maintenance. I don’t have a panic attack when the kids need new clothes or when we blow a tire on the side of the road, and on top of that, we own our vehicles, not the bank.\nGuess what happened when we got our finances in order? Our marriage got stronger. We looked at each other differently. Being frugal doesn’t mean you have no life. It means you have a written budget and you make your money behave on paper before you spend it. If something pops up in the middle of the month you adjust the budget and handle it.\n\nWhen we were meeting with the financial advisor he suggested that I apply for Disability since I am unable to work. Disability was originally designed for people like me who physically and mentally cannot work due to a medical condition. I struggled coming to terms with applying for Disability. I didn’t want to admit that I wouldn’t be re-entering the workforce. I have dreams of going back to school and becoming a doctor. Would those dreams never come true? The financial advisor pointed out that getting disability doesn’t mean you are abusing the system and not contributing to society. Society has ruined what disability is actually about. So, I cried a lot and began filling out the application. I got about half way through, and saved my work to finish it this week. I needed to stop and process.\n\nToday I was woken up by a call from the Social Security Office. They asked if I had started the process to apply for Disability, and if I was planning on finishing to apply and submit my medical records. I replied: “yes.” This lady then proceeded to ask me lots of very difficult, personal questions. I answered all of them. I was extremely emotional, but luckily she couldn’t see my face. At the end of the phone call she informed me that of the two programs I haven’t worked enough in the workforce for one of them, and the other my husband makes too much money. I was crushed. I ended the phone call and lost it. It took me a couple of hours to process what had happened. You see, I handled the results of that conversation as the Rhiannon from July. The broke Rhiannon who was rooming with Murphy. I did not handle that conversation as the mature grown up who has her finances in order, and will be just fine without it.\n\nToday, March 27, 2018 I was denied for Disability as a Cancer Patient who will die someday from this disease, but I will be ok, because Dave has fully entered our lives and taught us values that are creating a stable foundation for us to live on. Does it suck that I am not able to get assistance with affording this disease? Yes. Will we be ok without it? Yes.\n\n\u003e If you live with Murphy and his friends Debt and Collection Agency. There is hope for you.\n\nMy hope for writing this blog, is that if you are like the Rhiannon from before August. If you live with Murphy and his friends Debt and Collection Agency. There is hope for you. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, you too can live securely, and lose the stress money problems bring. And you might even like your spouse more in the process.\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2018-03-27T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2018-03-27T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/bravery-within/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/bravery-within/", "title": "The Bravery Within", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarch 19, 2018 Rhiannon Walker\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday I picked up the kids for the first time in over 6 months. Today I watched as bravery took over my 5 year olds face and he held it together when his mom lost her strength. He held it together to figure out how to unbuckle his car seat, (which he has never done before), out of fear to help his mom. He held it together as he sprinted up the lane the length of a football field. He sprinted back to the van and assisted Ayla out of her car seat. He held her hand and walked paitently back up the lane. He stayed strong while I told him I was calling an ambulance. Today I watched as my baby turned into a boy. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be prouder of him. He is an outstanding, caring, and loving kid.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m ok. Still in the ER. There was a ditch fire that got out of hand and a traffic jam that stuck me right in the path. My lung couldn\u0026rsquo;t take it and instantly shot pain through my remaining left lung. I\u0026rsquo;ll be ok.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWyatt showed a level of bravery I would have never expected. I\u0026rsquo;m proud to know we are raising him right.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy heart is full. I love my little Bubby.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/9c6780e3-454a-440f-ba1e-6ffd55debcca.jpg\" alt=\"Wyatt\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_March 19, 2018 Rhiannon Walker_\n\nToday I picked up the kids for the first time in over 6 months. Today I watched as bravery took over my 5 year olds face and he held it together when his mom lost her strength. He held it together to figure out how to unbuckle his car seat, (which he has never done before), out of fear to help his mom. He held it together as he sprinted up the lane the length of a football field. He sprinted back to the van and assisted Ayla out of her car seat. He held her hand and walked paitently back up the lane. He stayed strong while I told him I was calling an ambulance. Today I watched as my baby turned into a boy. I couldn't be prouder of him. He is an outstanding, caring, and loving kid.\n\nI'm ok. Still in the ER. There was a ditch fire that got out of hand and a traffic jam that stuck me right in the path. My lung couldn't take it and instantly shot pain through my remaining left lung. I'll be ok.\n\nWyatt showed a level of bravery I would have never expected. I'm proud to know we are raising him right.\n\nMy heart is full. I love my little Bubby.\n\n![Wyatt](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/9c6780e3-454a-440f-ba1e-6ffd55debcca.jpg)\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2018-03-19T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2018-03-19T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/goodbye-dignity/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/goodbye-dignity/", "title": "Goodbye Dignity", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFebruary 8, 2018\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet’s talk about moods. Sometimes my mood is great and I am happy. Sometimes I feel productive. Sometimes I feel like I can conquer the world. Other times, I feel like 20 tons of bricks are crushing me, and I can’t push them off my chest. I feel like I am stuck in sinking mud and only sinking further. I feel like everyone is against me and I am just this obnoxious person stuck in bed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"where-is-this-coming-from\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eWhere is this coming from?\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#where-is-this-coming-from\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo weeks ago Thursday, I passed out during Physical Therapy 3 separate times. My blood pressure was dropping causing my body to lose consciousness. Black. Out cold. I chugged 3 bottles of water, called Waylon (ok, the office called Waylon), ate some snacks, and nothing made it better. I couldn’t stand up without passing out. I even passed out in the wheel chair, just sitting upright was causing my blood pressure to tank. This sucks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"blood-pressure-9265\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eBlood Pressure 92/65\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#blood-pressure-9265\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey called an ambulance to take me to the Emergency Room. I could not get up from a horizontal position.\nI was forced to use a bed pan, give up on any dignity I had left. Ask my husband to assist in care that should only have to be done at an old age. It hurt my mojo, big time. Good bye sex appeal. I was informed that I would be admitted to the hospital.\nAt first, I was told that I was going to have to share a room. I lost it. Do you know what it is like to be forced to use a bedpan for ALL bathroom activities at the age of 27. Do you know what it is like to have Carcinoid Syndrome where you have no control of your bowels and still have to use that bedpan? I will not share a room. This is bad enough to do this in front of my husband and nurse, but a stranger? HELL NO! I was in the hospital for 2.5 days. I ended up with a private room. They gave me no solution and just told to go home and rest. Limit the amount of getting up and walking. Don’t drive. Take away any independence you feel you should have.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"blood-pressure-8372\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eBlood Pressure 83/72\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#blood-pressure-8372\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDiagnosis: More than likely the Cancer is acting up and you will have to wait and see what the PET scan reveals. PET scan moved up to February 20, 2018.\n“More than likely” that’s reassuring isn’t it? I don’t get any answers. I feel like I never get answers to my issues. It’s always just guesses, because this disease is a jerk.\nFast Forward to Today, and I woke up this morning and the room was spinning. My chest hurt, but nothing new. I went downstairs to let the dog out and check on Ayla (someone else was watching her.) The pain got worse. The pain got horrible. It felt like I couldn’t take a deep breath. I called Waylon to give him a heads up and took pain meds. This is what my life has succumbed to. Taking meds and not moving from bed without the pain getting bad. I try to focus on Cuttin Scrap as my only form of distraction from this horrible disease. I wrote a project blog for most of the day and tried not to move. The pain got worse. I am in a horrible mood. I know I am snapping at those who are just trying to help. I can’t help it. I am in so much pain my filter has snapped. Everything is hitting me at such a high level I just can’t explain it. I am now going to tune into Netflix to turn my mind away from all of this. I hope tomorrow is better, but as for right now….I just can’t take it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"blood-pressure-9374\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"heading-wear-glyph\"\u003eBlood Pressure: 93/74\u003c/span\u003e \u003ca href=\"#blood-pressure-9374\" class=\"heading-anchor\"\u003e#\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_February 8, 2018_\n\nLet’s talk about moods. Sometimes my mood is great and I am happy. Sometimes I feel productive. Sometimes I feel like I can conquer the world. Other times, I feel like 20 tons of bricks are crushing me, and I can’t push them off my chest. I feel like I am stuck in sinking mud and only sinking further. I feel like everyone is against me and I am just this obnoxious person stuck in bed.\n\n## Where is this coming from?\n\nTwo weeks ago Thursday, I passed out during Physical Therapy 3 separate times. My blood pressure was dropping causing my body to lose consciousness. Black. Out cold. I chugged 3 bottles of water, called Waylon (ok, the office called Waylon), ate some snacks, and nothing made it better. I couldn’t stand up without passing out. I even passed out in the wheel chair, just sitting upright was causing my blood pressure to tank. This sucks.\n\n## Blood Pressure 92/65\n\nThey called an ambulance to take me to the Emergency Room. I could not get up from a horizontal position.\nI was forced to use a bed pan, give up on any dignity I had left. Ask my husband to assist in care that should only have to be done at an old age. It hurt my mojo, big time. Good bye sex appeal. I was informed that I would be admitted to the hospital.\nAt first, I was told that I was going to have to share a room. I lost it. Do you know what it is like to be forced to use a bedpan for ALL bathroom activities at the age of 27. Do you know what it is like to have Carcinoid Syndrome where you have no control of your bowels and still have to use that bedpan? I will not share a room. This is bad enough to do this in front of my husband and nurse, but a stranger? HELL NO! I was in the hospital for 2.5 days. I ended up with a private room. They gave me no solution and just told to go home and rest. Limit the amount of getting up and walking. Don’t drive. Take away any independence you feel you should have.\n\n## Blood Pressure 83/72\n\nDiagnosis: More than likely the Cancer is acting up and you will have to wait and see what the PET scan reveals. PET scan moved up to February 20, 2018.\n“More than likely” that’s reassuring isn’t it? I don’t get any answers. I feel like I never get answers to my issues. It’s always just guesses, because this disease is a jerk.\nFast Forward to Today, and I woke up this morning and the room was spinning. My chest hurt, but nothing new. I went downstairs to let the dog out and check on Ayla (someone else was watching her.) The pain got worse. The pain got horrible. It felt like I couldn’t take a deep breath. I called Waylon to give him a heads up and took pain meds. This is what my life has succumbed to. Taking meds and not moving from bed without the pain getting bad. I try to focus on Cuttin Scrap as my only form of distraction from this horrible disease. I wrote a project blog for most of the day and tried not to move. The pain got worse. I am in a horrible mood. I know I am snapping at those who are just trying to help. I can’t help it. I am in so much pain my filter has snapped. Everything is hitting me at such a high level I just can’t explain it. I am now going to tune into Netflix to turn my mind away from all of this. I hope tomorrow is better, but as for right now….I just can’t take it.\n\n## Blood Pressure: 93/74\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2018-02-08T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2018-02-08T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/sensory-processing-disorder/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/sensory-processing-disorder/", "title": "Sensory Processing Disorder", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJanuary 4, 2018\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSensory Processing Disorder. What does it mean? It means the the paitents brain takes what we usually can handle like touching different textures, feeling different temperatures, dealing with new situations, doing things out of order, and eating or drinking different substances and they catergorize them as a catastrophic event. Have you ever seen the movie Inside Out, and how Anger completely looses it. Well, that is what the brain does when it can\u0026rsquo;t handle a certain situation such as when it snows or the blankets are put on her out of order.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"width:50%;height:0;padding-bottom:25%;position:relative;margin:3rem auto;\"\u003e\n \u003ciframe class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https://giphy.com/embed/11tTNkNy1SdXGg\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"position:absolute; margin:auto;\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://giphy.com/gifs/disneypixar-disney-pixar-11tTNkNy1SdXGg\"\u003evia GIPHY\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWho is her? Let me introduce you to my badass, incredibly brave, strong daughter Ayla. She is 3. She has been through so much for a child her age, and we think because of what she has been through she developed Sensory Processing Disorder. Dealing with a child who goes through this is difficult to say the least. It takes a lot of breathing. A lot of Occupational Therapy. A lot of rocking in a chair to help her organize and calm down. When I know there are things happening at School or we are going to an event that is not the usual for Ayla I prepare my brain to be on alert for cues that she is struggling. We try to pay extra attention to Ayla in those situations, because we don\u0026rsquo;t want her to loose control of the situation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe breath, we monitor her for oral fixations such as sucking her thumb, be on the look out for her to just lay down in an inappropriate place, and try to find a quiet activity for her to do, even if it means watching annoying toy videos on YouTube. It is definitely hard and draining to be her parent sometimes, but she is completely worth it!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_January 4, 2018_\n\nSensory Processing Disorder. What does it mean? It means the the paitents brain takes what we usually can handle like touching different textures, feeling different temperatures, dealing with new situations, doing things out of order, and eating or drinking different substances and they catergorize them as a catastrophic event. Have you ever seen the movie Inside Out, and how Anger completely looses it. Well, that is what the brain does when it can't handle a certain situation such as when it snows or the blankets are put on her out of order.\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"width:50%;height:0;padding-bottom:25%;position:relative;margin:3rem auto;\"\u003e\n \u003ciframe class=\"giphy-embed\" src=\"https://giphy.com/embed/11tTNkNy1SdXGg\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"position:absolute; margin:auto;\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\u003e\u003c/iframe\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://giphy.com/gifs/disneypixar-disney-pixar-11tTNkNy1SdXGg\"\u003evia GIPHY\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\nWho is her? Let me introduce you to my badass, incredibly brave, strong daughter Ayla. She is 3. She has been through so much for a child her age, and we think because of what she has been through she developed Sensory Processing Disorder. Dealing with a child who goes through this is difficult to say the least. It takes a lot of breathing. A lot of Occupational Therapy. A lot of rocking in a chair to help her organize and calm down. When I know there are things happening at School or we are going to an event that is not the usual for Ayla I prepare my brain to be on alert for cues that she is struggling. We try to pay extra attention to Ayla in those situations, because we don't want her to loose control of the situation.\n\nWe breath, we monitor her for oral fixations such as sucking her thumb, be on the look out for her to just lay down in an inappropriate place, and try to find a quiet activity for her to do, even if it means watching annoying toy videos on YouTube. It is definitely hard and draining to be her parent sometimes, but she is completely worth it!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2018-01-04T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2018-01-04T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/pause-netflix/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/pause-netflix/", "title": "When to Pause Netflix", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJanuary 4, 2018\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere is something about being sick, that also makes you paranoid. I will start to wheeze or cough up blood and instantly feel the need to retreat into a spiral of Google. I\u0026rsquo;m not not a hypochondriac, but I am seriously ill.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLast year, I got what I thought was the flu. I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel that bad. When the fever lasted a few days, I called my doctor and was sent to the ER. At the time I was pissed I was getting sent to the ER instead of the doctor just seeing me. This all happened shortly after 8 AM. By 10 I was in the ER, and by 3:30 I was in septic shock. I was dying. I was sent by ambulance to St. Louis where I was kept in the ICU. 12 rounds of IV antibiotics later, and I was ok to be sent home. I was in the hospital for 4 days. I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel that bad and was dying.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow, when I feel like I\u0026rsquo;ve been ran over I think, \u0026ldquo;how bad is this?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;Can I wait it out?\u0026rdquo; And that\u0026rsquo;s usually what I google. I google how long before I absolutely have to go to the Doctor. I know, I am sick, I know I take forever to get over things, but do I really have to stop my Netflix binge?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMoral of the story, sometimes you have to suck it up and call the doctor. Sometimes you have to be polite when they tell you to go to the ER, and sometimes they know what they are talking about.\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_January 4, 2018_\n\nThere is something about being sick, that also makes you paranoid. I will start to wheeze or cough up blood and instantly feel the need to retreat into a spiral of Google. I'm not not a hypochondriac, but I am seriously ill.\n\nLast year, I got what I thought was the flu. I didn't feel that bad. When the fever lasted a few days, I called my doctor and was sent to the ER. At the time I was pissed I was getting sent to the ER instead of the doctor just seeing me. This all happened shortly after 8 AM. By 10 I was in the ER, and by 3:30 I was in septic shock. I was dying. I was sent by ambulance to St. Louis where I was kept in the ICU. 12 rounds of IV antibiotics later, and I was ok to be sent home. I was in the hospital for 4 days. I didn't feel that bad and was dying.\n\nNow, when I feel like I've been ran over I think, \"how bad is this?\" \"Can I wait it out?\" And that's usually what I google. I google how long before I absolutely have to go to the Doctor. I know, I am sick, I know I take forever to get over things, but do I really have to stop my Netflix binge?\n\nMoral of the story, sometimes you have to suck it up and call the doctor. Sometimes you have to be polite when they tell you to go to the ER, and sometimes they know what they are talking about. \n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2018-01-04T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2018-01-04T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/another-blow/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/another-blow/", "title": "Another Blow", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDecember 28, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2AM and Gizmo hops off the bed. I growl at the thought of going down stairs to let him out. Then I think of his poor choices to go potty inside. Shit. I decide to take on the responsibility and drag my tired butt out of bed. I take the first step down the stairs when all the sudden I am flung down. Head over heals and landing hard as can be on my left hip. Tumbling to the bottom I land like am avalanche crashing over the road. Tears roll down my face, as all I can utter is: \u0026ldquo;fuck.\u0026rdquo; The pain is setting in. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I can move, but all I see is Gizmo running around like a headless chicken. I crawl to the door to let him out. The pain shooting through me is like bullets ripping every muscle I have. I grab ahold of the couch and try to pull myself to a standing position. My legs shake and and I instantly know putting weight on my left leg isn\u0026rsquo;t going to happen. My hip is done for. Shit. Shit. Shit. What am I going to do. Everyone is sleeping. I let Gizmo back in. I make my way to the stairs as tears are streaking my face. The pain I am in is umbarable. I have no choice but to crawl back up the stairs to get to Waylon for some help. Yelling and waking kids is NOT an option. One step at a time, I drag my body up the stairs. I crawl to the side of the bed. At this point I am sobbing. Waylon wakes and turns on the light to figure out what happened. He assess the damage and helps me into bed. Getting pain meds on board I am finally able to calm down and coast back into an uncomfortable sleep. I wake the next morning with the feeling of being ran over. Every part of my hurts. I still can\u0026rsquo;t walk, my head is throbbing, I\u0026rsquo;m dizzy, I am bruised horribly. I\u0026rsquo;m staying in bed. I sleep most of the day. The next morning I wake up, today, and I still can\u0026rsquo;t walk. Shit. Ok. I guess I should go get checked out. I went to prompt care and cocky Dr. gave me a: \u0026ldquo;why the hell did you wait\u0026rdquo; look. Fuck off. She thought something for sure was broken in my hip. X-rays came back and she didn\u0026rsquo;t see anything. She said after a radiologist reviews it she would call if they see something, but it is highly unlikely. Ok. Good. No breaks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn hour later my phone rings. Apparently, I have a bone growth on my hip joint that has been there and I irritated it enough to cause pain. This also explains why I have struggled with my hip for some time now. Just fucking great right?!?! The radiologist said that I will need to see my PCP to get a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. If it isn\u0026rsquo;t fixed it can cause permanent damage which would lead to needing a total hip replacement. Holy fuck! Seriously? I can\u0026rsquo;t make this shit up! Why does all this stuff happen to me? Ahhhh. Merry FUCKING Christmas, again!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_December 28, 2017_\n\n2AM and Gizmo hops off the bed. I growl at the thought of going down stairs to let him out. Then I think of his poor choices to go potty inside. Shit. I decide to take on the responsibility and drag my tired butt out of bed. I take the first step down the stairs when all the sudden I am flung down. Head over heals and landing hard as can be on my left hip. Tumbling to the bottom I land like am avalanche crashing over the road. Tears roll down my face, as all I can utter is: \"fuck.\" The pain is setting in. I'm not sure I can move, but all I see is Gizmo running around like a headless chicken. I crawl to the door to let him out. The pain shooting through me is like bullets ripping every muscle I have. I grab ahold of the couch and try to pull myself to a standing position. My legs shake and and I instantly know putting weight on my left leg isn't going to happen. My hip is done for. Shit. Shit. Shit. What am I going to do. Everyone is sleeping. I let Gizmo back in. I make my way to the stairs as tears are streaking my face. The pain I am in is umbarable. I have no choice but to crawl back up the stairs to get to Waylon for some help. Yelling and waking kids is NOT an option. One step at a time, I drag my body up the stairs. I crawl to the side of the bed. At this point I am sobbing. Waylon wakes and turns on the light to figure out what happened. He assess the damage and helps me into bed. Getting pain meds on board I am finally able to calm down and coast back into an uncomfortable sleep. I wake the next morning with the feeling of being ran over. Every part of my hurts. I still can't walk, my head is throbbing, I'm dizzy, I am bruised horribly. I'm staying in bed. I sleep most of the day. The next morning I wake up, today, and I still can't walk. Shit. Ok. I guess I should go get checked out. I went to prompt care and cocky Dr. gave me a: \"why the hell did you wait\" look. Fuck off. She thought something for sure was broken in my hip. X-rays came back and she didn't see anything. She said after a radiologist reviews it she would call if they see something, but it is highly unlikely. Ok. Good. No breaks.\n\nAn hour later my phone rings. Apparently, I have a bone growth on my hip joint that has been there and I irritated it enough to cause pain. This also explains why I have struggled with my hip for some time now. Just fucking great right?!?! The radiologist said that I will need to see my PCP to get a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. If it isn't fixed it can cause permanent damage which would lead to needing a total hip replacement. Holy fuck! Seriously? I can't make this shit up! Why does all this stuff happen to me? Ahhhh. Merry FUCKING Christmas, again!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-12-28T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-12-28T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/another-crazy-month/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/another-crazy-month/", "title": "Just Another Crazy Month", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJuly 4, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLife is busy with two littles and a husband, but I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t change a minute of it. Everyone of our setbacks has been met with lessons and memories. I am a stronger because of what I have gone through. I don\u0026rsquo;t hold on to meaningless fights.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo, I\u0026rsquo;m not perfect. I may say or do things that bot everyone agrees with, but when push comes to shove I will do anything for those I love.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOk enough with the sappiness.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe month of June was busy. I had a last minute appointment in Iowa City to come up with a plan to evaluate my symptoms. Having the symptoms is the prime example the Cancer is still in my body. Confirmation of symptoms means I have Carcinoid Syndrome. The only way to confirm this is with injections, well blood work too. Dr. Dillion decided to put me on short acting Octreotide Injections 3X a day. The prescription was wrote June 8th. Insurance drug his feet and I was finally able to start the shots on June 17th.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trick is that I had a overnight 6 month check up in St. Louis with a CAT scan the 15th and Bronchoscopy 16th. I was checked in and prepped to go under anesthesia, but that all came to a screeching halt when the anesthesiologist brought up the point that I could have a Carcinoid Crisis if I go in with Carcinoid Syndrome. This could result in very serious situation, and potentially death. Bronchoscopy off.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike I said shots were started the next day. Coincidentally they were approved the same day I called and gave insurance a little nudge. Ok I hate waisting money, because insurance drug their feet to approve the med and let me start a med immediately.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShots are going good. They helped my symptoms immediately. My heart rate has decreased. They make me nauseous and tired, but help with everything else. Feels good to get it figured out. The shots would do nothing if I didn\u0026rsquo;t have Carcinoid Syndrome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMixed in with all the craziness, I have continued with physically therapy twice a week. The great news is they have added actual weight into my workouts, and are kicking my butt. Having a desease that adds weight no matter what is frustrating, and hard to handle most days. I refuse to let it take over. Waylon has committed to helping slap out diet into gear, and I am working out every other day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStepping away from medical life for a weekend. We met up with extended family and went camping in Northern Iowa. It was such and incredible get away. Waylon and I even had the chance to hop into kayaks. We needed time out of the walls of our house. It was a beautiful getaway. Best part is there is no cell signal up there. Hello electronic detox!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately, when we were literally a minute before loosing cell signal, I got the call that my Grandfather had passed away. It was unexpected, but he was struggling with some health issues for a few years. He\u0026rsquo;s reunited with his wife now.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJuly has started with a bang.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince confirmation of Carcinoid Syndrome, I have continued the injections. I will start monthly long lasting injections at Illinois Cancer Care on the 10th. These injections are technically a form of chemo. It is not curative, but it slows the growth down. I know confusing. I will have to continue the short acting shots for two weeks after the first long acting shot. From there I will always have to carry the short acting shots as a rescue injections.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy bronchoscopy that was stopped last month is rescheduled for Friday the 7th. Based in the results of the CT I am sure they won\u0026rsquo;t see anything. Just have to check how everything is healing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne minute at a time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;3 Rhiannon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 positives\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKayaks\u0026hellip;it felt so good to have some time in nature.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree books and Courses: trying to restore my mind and make progress towards my dream job. I\u0026rsquo;ve been studying Anatomy and Physiology lately. Loving it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeggings\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSupport and all the people that help take care of my kids while I am away.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExercise: the best cure to stress and anxiety\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_July 4, 2017_\n\nLife is busy with two littles and a husband, but I wouldn't change a minute of it. Everyone of our setbacks has been met with lessons and memories. I am a stronger because of what I have gone through. I don't hold on to meaningless fights.\n\nNo, I'm not perfect. I may say or do things that bot everyone agrees with, but when push comes to shove I will do anything for those I love.\n\nOk enough with the sappiness.\n\nThe month of June was busy. I had a last minute appointment in Iowa City to come up with a plan to evaluate my symptoms. Having the symptoms is the prime example the Cancer is still in my body. Confirmation of symptoms means I have Carcinoid Syndrome. The only way to confirm this is with injections, well blood work too. Dr. Dillion decided to put me on short acting Octreotide Injections 3X a day. The prescription was wrote June 8th. Insurance drug his feet and I was finally able to start the shots on June 17th.\n\nThe trick is that I had a overnight 6 month check up in St. Louis with a CAT scan the 15th and Bronchoscopy 16th. I was checked in and prepped to go under anesthesia, but that all came to a screeching halt when the anesthesiologist brought up the point that I could have a Carcinoid Crisis if I go in with Carcinoid Syndrome. This could result in very serious situation, and potentially death. Bronchoscopy off.\n\nLike I said shots were started the next day. Coincidentally they were approved the same day I called and gave insurance a little nudge. Ok I hate waisting money, because insurance drug their feet to approve the med and let me start a med immediately.\n\nShots are going good. They helped my symptoms immediately. My heart rate has decreased. They make me nauseous and tired, but help with everything else. Feels good to get it figured out. The shots would do nothing if I didn't have Carcinoid Syndrome.\n\nMixed in with all the craziness, I have continued with physically therapy twice a week. The great news is they have added actual weight into my workouts, and are kicking my butt. Having a desease that adds weight no matter what is frustrating, and hard to handle most days. I refuse to let it take over. Waylon has committed to helping slap out diet into gear, and I am working out every other day.\n\nStepping away from medical life for a weekend. We met up with extended family and went camping in Northern Iowa. It was such and incredible get away. Waylon and I even had the chance to hop into kayaks. We needed time out of the walls of our house. It was a beautiful getaway. Best part is there is no cell signal up there. Hello electronic detox!\n\nUnfortunately, when we were literally a minute before loosing cell signal, I got the call that my Grandfather had passed away. It was unexpected, but he was struggling with some health issues for a few years. He's reunited with his wife now.\n\nJuly has started with a bang.\n\nSince confirmation of Carcinoid Syndrome, I have continued the injections. I will start monthly long lasting injections at Illinois Cancer Care on the 10th. These injections are technically a form of chemo. It is not curative, but it slows the growth down. I know confusing. I will have to continue the short acting shots for two weeks after the first long acting shot. From there I will always have to carry the short acting shots as a rescue injections.\n\nMy bronchoscopy that was stopped last month is rescheduled for Friday the 7th. Based in the results of the CT I am sure they won't see anything. Just have to check how everything is healing.\n\nOne minute at a time.\n\n\u003c3 Rhiannon\n\n5 positives\n\n1. Kayaks...it felt so good to have some time in nature.\n2. Free books and Courses: trying to restore my mind and make progress towards my dream job. I've been studying Anatomy and Physiology lately. Loving it.\n3. Leggings\n4. Support and all the people that help take care of my kids while I am away.\n5. Exercise: the best cure to stress and anxiety\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-06-04T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-06-04T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/dear-doc/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/dear-doc/", "title": "I am surviving with Cancer, is breathing really so much to ask?", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMay 5, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDear Doctor Joining My Team,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou don\u0026rsquo;t know me. You don\u0026rsquo;t know what I have fought through to get to this point. You have read the charts and you compare me to other patients you may have seen today. I am NOT like others. I don\u0026rsquo;t just sit on the side line in my case, and want to be treated just as much as a partner as a patient. If it is knowledge I need, recommend a book. I want to know everything. I want you to be blunt and honest with me at a times, even if it gets difficult.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am a fighter, and since my diagnosis I have learned a lot about myself. First and foremost my 2 small children, Wyatt and Ayla, will pull me through anything. Cancer is not my future, but it is my current and I am surviving. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be looked down upon because I\u0026rsquo;m young. I want to be trusted for my words.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese past few months have been hell. The pain isn\u0026rsquo;t letting up, and more problems are arriving. There is something else wrong and I need your help in figuring it out because no is not an answer. I need to get better. I will get better!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wrote this letter to Dr Dillon in Iowa City. I logged on to Blogger today to write about my frustrations, but reading through that letter reminded me of all I have accomplished so far. I am a fighter and I have learned this more and more about myself. However, I also have a ton of anger. I HATE when I am having good weeks, and a single smoker brings me down. I am a 27 year old mother of 2, and I will be a active part of their everyday, but I need to breathe to do this.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI won\u0026rsquo;t stop fighting, I won\u0026rsquo;t stop advocating to stores the importance of making areas safe for me to enter. I know I am not the only one who feels this way when coming in contact with smoke, but I know I am the most vocal, and for this I am NOT sorry. Example of the most recent fight:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was picking up my prescription at the pharmacy (Insurance only covers Kroger and Walmart). There is only one drive thru pharmacy in the Peoria area, and due to my immune system I don\u0026rsquo;t go into busy places if possible. I rolled down my window to pick up the medication when an employee sitting in the designated smokers area lit up. This isn\u0026rsquo;t the first time this has happened, and I needed a breathing treatment immediately. I won\u0026rsquo;t stay quiet. I have contacted the store multiple times, and they have done nothing, so I contacted corporate. This is ridiculous. Why a smokers bench was placed next to the pharmacy is beyond me. JUST MOVE THE BENCH!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI know you are probably sick of me ranting about cigarettes, I get it. I am sick of my recovery getting set back due to a cigarette or weed (worst then cigarettes). All I want to do is enjoy the nice weather, go to parks with my kids, and be able to drive with my windows down and music up. All I want to do is get better.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am surviving with Cancer, is breathing really so much to ask?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 positives:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNebulizer\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeggings\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePT\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGreat support system\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWaylon - he stays strong and helps me get through these breathing attacks.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_May 5, 2017_\n\nDear Doctor Joining My Team,\n\nYou don't know me. You don't know what I have fought through to get to this point. You have read the charts and you compare me to other patients you may have seen today. I am NOT like others. I don't just sit on the side line in my case, and want to be treated just as much as a partner as a patient. If it is knowledge I need, recommend a book. I want to know everything. I want you to be blunt and honest with me at a times, even if it gets difficult.\n\nI am a fighter, and since my diagnosis I have learned a lot about myself. First and foremost my 2 small children, Wyatt and Ayla, will pull me through anything. Cancer is not my future, but it is my current and I am surviving. I don't want to be looked down upon because I'm young. I want to be trusted for my words.\n\nThese past few months have been hell. The pain isn't letting up, and more problems are arriving. There is something else wrong and I need your help in figuring it out because no is not an answer. I need to get better. I will get better!\n\nI wrote this letter to Dr Dillon in Iowa City. I logged on to Blogger today to write about my frustrations, but reading through that letter reminded me of all I have accomplished so far. I am a fighter and I have learned this more and more about myself. However, I also have a ton of anger. I HATE when I am having good weeks, and a single smoker brings me down. I am a 27 year old mother of 2, and I will be a active part of their everyday, but I need to breathe to do this.\n\nI won't stop fighting, I won't stop advocating to stores the importance of making areas safe for me to enter. I know I am not the only one who feels this way when coming in contact with smoke, but I know I am the most vocal, and for this I am NOT sorry. Example of the most recent fight:\n\nI was picking up my prescription at the pharmacy (Insurance only covers Kroger and Walmart). There is only one drive thru pharmacy in the Peoria area, and due to my immune system I don't go into busy places if possible. I rolled down my window to pick up the medication when an employee sitting in the designated smokers area lit up. This isn't the first time this has happened, and I needed a breathing treatment immediately. I won't stay quiet. I have contacted the store multiple times, and they have done nothing, so I contacted corporate. This is ridiculous. Why a smokers bench was placed next to the pharmacy is beyond me. JUST MOVE THE BENCH!!\n\nI know you are probably sick of me ranting about cigarettes, I get it. I am sick of my recovery getting set back due to a cigarette or weed (worst then cigarettes). All I want to do is enjoy the nice weather, go to parks with my kids, and be able to drive with my windows down and music up. All I want to do is get better. \n\nI am surviving with Cancer, is breathing really so much to ask?\n\n5 positives:\n\n1. Nebulizer\n2. Leggings\n3. PT\n4. Great support system\n5. Waylon - he stays strong and helps me get through these breathing attacks.\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-05-05T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-05-05T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/one-step/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/one-step/", "title": "2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMay 26, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat a few weeks it has been. I have been making huge strides in physical therapy. We have added weights to the workouts and I was allowed to start adding leg and core workouts at home.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGreat huh?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou see one of the problems with living with an incurable illness is knowing that sometimes setbacks are going to happen, and this is just a part of the rest of my life. I have learned to be ok with setbacks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis week I had my third set of injections, they injected five locations. I\u0026rsquo;ve been having increased symptoms before the injection, and the injection caused some issues in themselves. My 6th rib has been swollen immensely and isn\u0026rsquo;t healing like it is supposed to. During my injection I asked to see the x-ray of my rib, and it will never line up on it\u0026rsquo;s own. It is completely broken still with a good inch of misalignment. I have contacted my surgeon and they will analyze the issue during my 6th month check up in June. Most likely it will require a surgery to put a plate in to screw my bones back together.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith this discovery my PT has been reduced. The complications that having a fully broken rib puts is pretty great. I have been told that most ribs are supposed to heal themselves within 3 months. I am 5 months post op. I am at a high risk if I fall to causing a punctured lung, bad time to be clumsy. I slipped when installing Ayls\u0026rsquo;s carseat and landed hard, definitely caused some extra damage and my pain has increased.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother surgery is nerve racking and frustrating. It will have to be a full open surgery which is what starts my recovery over. Also, my lungs have been super sensitive, and carcinoid syndrome symptoms are increasing. I am struggling with contact to any sort of pollutions such as smoke or exhaust, but also just fine dust caused when cooking or just allergens in the air. Waylon has discovered a mask that is high filter level that isn\u0026rsquo;t a full on gas mask. I am going to try wearing that all the time when outside or cooking.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFun huh?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot all superheros wear capes but some do wear masks! Superhero level upped!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have been thinking about how I can make a difference, and have started getting into baking. I have wanted to pay it forward for all the help we have recieved. I have decided to bake cakes and give them away. I made my first one to give away last night, a chocolate carmel cake. I gave it away today. Sometimes, just being able to put a smile on someone else\u0026rsquo;s face makes fighting for my life just a little bit easier.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ll update you all with a picture in my new mask when it arrives from the great and powerful AMAZON!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;3 Rhiannon\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e5 Positives\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMy Kids. They are so sweet and caring, but have the biggest personalities. I think they have the best mixture of both Waylon and I.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMy Organization skills. We live in a smaller sized house, and I love the challenge of coming up with unique, stylish organization.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmazon with Prime Shipping :)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScientist that are studying Carcinoid Cancer and making advances everyday. I have high hopes that at some point in my life I will be able to reap the benefits of those discoveries.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYoutube - Love watching Cake tutorials!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_May 26, 2017_\n\nWhat a few weeks it has been. I have been making huge strides in physical therapy. We have added weights to the workouts and I was allowed to start adding leg and core workouts at home.\n\nGreat huh?\n\nYou see one of the problems with living with an incurable illness is knowing that sometimes setbacks are going to happen, and this is just a part of the rest of my life. I have learned to be ok with setbacks.\n\nThis week I had my third set of injections, they injected five locations. I've been having increased symptoms before the injection, and the injection caused some issues in themselves. My 6th rib has been swollen immensely and isn't healing like it is supposed to. During my injection I asked to see the x-ray of my rib, and it will never line up on it's own. It is completely broken still with a good inch of misalignment. I have contacted my surgeon and they will analyze the issue during my 6th month check up in June. Most likely it will require a surgery to put a plate in to screw my bones back together.\n\nWith this discovery my PT has been reduced. The complications that having a fully broken rib puts is pretty great. I have been told that most ribs are supposed to heal themselves within 3 months. I am 5 months post op. I am at a high risk if I fall to causing a punctured lung, bad time to be clumsy. I slipped when installing Ayls's carseat and landed hard, definitely caused some extra damage and my pain has increased.\n\nAnother surgery is nerve racking and frustrating. It will have to be a full open surgery which is what starts my recovery over. Also, my lungs have been super sensitive, and carcinoid syndrome symptoms are increasing. I am struggling with contact to any sort of pollutions such as smoke or exhaust, but also just fine dust caused when cooking or just allergens in the air. Waylon has discovered a mask that is high filter level that isn't a full on gas mask. I am going to try wearing that all the time when outside or cooking.\n\nFun huh?\n\nNot all superheros wear capes but some do wear masks! Superhero level upped!!!\n\nI have been thinking about how I can make a difference, and have started getting into baking. I have wanted to pay it forward for all the help we have recieved. I have decided to bake cakes and give them away. I made my first one to give away last night, a chocolate carmel cake. I gave it away today. Sometimes, just being able to put a smile on someone else's face makes fighting for my life just a little bit easier.\n\nI'll update you all with a picture in my new mask when it arrives from the great and powerful AMAZON! \n\n\u003c3 Rhiannon\n\n5 Positives\n\n1. My Kids. They are so sweet and caring, but have the biggest personalities. I think they have the best mixture of both Waylon and I.\n2. My Organization skills. We live in a smaller sized house, and I love the challenge of coming up with unique, stylish organization.\n3. Amazon with Prime Shipping :)\n4. Scientist that are studying Carcinoid Cancer and making advances everyday. I have high hopes that at some point in my life I will be able to reap the benefits of those discoveries.\n5. Youtube - Love watching Cake tutorials!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-04-26T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-04-26T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/i-need-a-break/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/i-need-a-break/", "title": "Universe I am in need of a BREAK!!", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarch 24, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst of all, I want to start out and say thank you to everyone who came out last weekend. It was an amazing weekend and I am very honored to have been the recipient of such support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, since last weekend it has been a challenge. I spent a night in the ER for pain, the following night was up all night puking, followed by last night where my muscles surrounding my lobectomy decided to wake up resulting in a tremendous amount of pain that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t feel before.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis worn out body is tired. The fight is real. The fight is tough. Where is my break? Just a couple days would be nice.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSigned,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeriously?!?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePS. 10 positives sounds exhausting right now. Let\u0026rsquo;s cut it to 5.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI got an appointment for next week with a top Carcinoid Clinic, and was chosen to be part of a clinical trial. Let\u0026rsquo;s hope United healthcare cooperates.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAll the love.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeggings..Did I mention I won a pair last weekend!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSprite and Saltines\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNetflix and Hulu\u0026hellip;Yes, I now have both, don\u0026rsquo;t judge.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eP.P.S - \u0026ldquo;This is Us\u0026rdquo; is such a deep rollercoaster of emotions!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_March 24, 2017_\n\nFirst of all, I want to start out and say thank you to everyone who came out last weekend. It was an amazing weekend and I am very honored to have been the recipient of such support.\n\nHowever, since last weekend it has been a challenge. I spent a night in the ER for pain, the following night was up all night puking, followed by last night where my muscles surrounding my lobectomy decided to wake up resulting in a tremendous amount of pain that I couldn't feel before.\n\nThis worn out body is tired. The fight is real. The fight is tough. Where is my break? Just a couple days would be nice.\n\nSigned,\n\nSeriously?!?\n\nPS. 10 positives sounds exhausting right now. Let's cut it to 5.\n\n1. I got an appointment for next week with a top Carcinoid Clinic, and was chosen to be part of a clinical trial. Let's hope United healthcare cooperates.\n2. All the love.\n3. Leggings..Did I mention I won a pair last weekend!\n4. Sprite and Saltines\n5. Netflix and Hulu...Yes, I now have both, don't judge.\n\nP.P.S - \"This is Us\" is such a deep rollercoaster of emotions!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-03-24T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-03-24T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/what-a-day/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/what-a-day/", "title": "What a day/week", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarch 15, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the last week I have been dealing with the after effects of the asthma attack. I have had horrible pain associated with it along side of extreme exhasution. I dont know what is going on with my body. I dont know why it has to happen now, but I do know it sucks. Today, I called my doctor to give them an update and they sent me to the ER, so frustrating. ER docs just think my Cancer may be causing negative side effects. I need to contact my regular doctor to work on pain control. I just don\u0026rsquo;t know anymore.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the flip side, this weekend is my benefit in Wapello. I am extremely grateful and honored that our family was choosen. My speech is prepared, and I am in the process of making shirts. If only my body agreeded with the process.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, I want to talk a little of Wyatt. I don\u0026rsquo;t know what is going on with him, but it breaks my heart. He is constantly coming home with yellow and red lights. He tells me he doesn\u0026rsquo;t like getting in trouble at school. We talk about it with him. I do see some bad behavior at home and we definitely see the agression, but i just want to swaddle him up and hold on to his innocence. I want to know what the right answer is. We meet with his pediatrition today. Let\u0026rsquo;s hope he has some answers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday is also the 14th anniversary of losing my mom. I miss her so much, and just want her to know fighting this battle is so hard, but I\u0026rsquo;m not done with my time with my kids.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis week I am thankful for the inventor of silhouette, my speaking skills, leggings, my kids, fast ER visits, oreos, friends, Waylon, music, and surprise gifts in the mail.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaking everything one minute at a time\u0026hellip;\n\u0026lt;3 Rhiannon\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_March 15, 2017_\n\nFor the last week I have been dealing with the after effects of the asthma attack. I have had horrible pain associated with it along side of extreme exhasution. I dont know what is going on with my body. I dont know why it has to happen now, but I do know it sucks. Today, I called my doctor to give them an update and they sent me to the ER, so frustrating. ER docs just think my Cancer may be causing negative side effects. I need to contact my regular doctor to work on pain control. I just don't know anymore.\n\nOn the flip side, this weekend is my benefit in Wapello. I am extremely grateful and honored that our family was choosen. My speech is prepared, and I am in the process of making shirts. If only my body agreeded with the process.\n\nFinally, I want to talk a little of Wyatt. I don't know what is going on with him, but it breaks my heart. He is constantly coming home with yellow and red lights. He tells me he doesn't like getting in trouble at school. We talk about it with him. I do see some bad behavior at home and we definitely see the agression, but i just want to swaddle him up and hold on to his innocence. I want to know what the right answer is. We meet with his pediatrition today. Let's hope he has some answers.\n\nToday is also the 14th anniversary of losing my mom. I miss her so much, and just want her to know fighting this battle is so hard, but I'm not done with my time with my kids.\n\nThis week I am thankful for the inventor of silhouette, my speaking skills, leggings, my kids, fast ER visits, oreos, friends, Waylon, music, and surprise gifts in the mail.\n\nTaking everything one minute at a time...\n\u003c3 Rhiannon\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-03-15T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-03-15T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/one-year/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/one-year/", "title": "Surviving one year at a time…", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMarch 3, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was a part of me who didn\u0026rsquo;t think I would make it to see today. I heard the diagnosis and my tired, very worn out, overwhelmed body thought it would not happen. There was NO way I was going to make it to see 27. I was fairly certain I was not going to survive surgery. I was fairly certain that I was going to let cancer win.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI never told anyone. I never said the words out loud, until now.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI fought,\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI fought for every tear.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI fought for every scar.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI fought for my family.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI fought for my friends.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBut most of all, I fought for ME!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, here I am. I made it. I survived another day. On this day it\u0026rsquo;s not just another day, it\u0026rsquo;s MY DAY!!! I AM SURVIVING ONE YEAR AT A TIME!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t know what tomorrow will bring, I don\u0026rsquo;t know what this year will look like, but I do know I WILL be present the ENTIRE year.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 positives: ME, ALL ME, and some leggings! ;)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;3 Rhiannon\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_March 3, 2017_\n\nThere was a part of me who didn't think I would make it to see today. I heard the diagnosis and my tired, very worn out, overwhelmed body thought it would not happen. There was NO way I was going to make it to see 27. I was fairly certain I was not going to survive surgery. I was fairly certain that I was going to let cancer win.\n\nI never told anyone. I never said the words out loud, until now.\n\n* I fought,\n* I fought for every tear.\n* I fought for every scar.\n* I fought for my family.\n* I fought for my friends.\n* But most of all, I fought for ME!\n\nSo, here I am. I made it. I survived another day. On this day it's not just another day, it's MY DAY!!! I AM SURVIVING ONE YEAR AT A TIME!\n\nI don't know what tomorrow will bring, I don't know what this year will look like, but I do know I WILL be present the ENTIRE year.\n\n10 positives: ME, ALL ME, and some leggings! ;)\n\n\u003c3 Rhiannon\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-03-03T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-03-03T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/a-letter-to-my-mom/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/a-letter-to-my-mom/", "title": "A Letter to my Mom…", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFebruary 10, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHi Mom,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere do I start, I miss you. You already know that. This has been a rollercoaster, this has all been a rollercoaster and I know your protecting me with the chest straps, but it\u0026rsquo;s time to down grade to the little kid Dragon and not the Tornado. It would give your arms a break, you wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have to hold on quite so hard.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWho am I kidding, I don\u0026rsquo;t ever want you to let me go. I only had you for half my life and in a few days I turn 27 meaning I officially will have spend more days without you than with you.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYa, I know you never left me, but the physical touch, the warmth of your hug, the smell of your lotion, the feel of your body being close to me. I could just feel the love radiate. A feeling I only now understand as a Mother.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI guess what I want to say most has already been said a million times. Protect me, give me the strength. I need the strength, but most of all the humor, the sarcastic tone. That\u0026rsquo;s who I am at my core, the person that directly reflects you. If I can\u0026rsquo;t have my humor then I don\u0026rsquo;t have the strength to be me. I need humor to get through this. Maybe I should start packing bendable straws in my hospital bags. :)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI love you so much, I know you are the one giving my that guiding hand when stuff gets hard. Pulling me just to the left of the right side to give me the motivation to get the rest of the way right on my own. For all that I appreciate you. I will see you one day, but that day better not be soon, because I\u0026rsquo;m not ready to give up all this.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo let\u0026rsquo;s crank up some Pink Floyd and jam out the Mom Mobile! We will rock this!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLove,\nYour Baby\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_February 10, 2017_\n\nHi Mom,\n\nWhere do I start, I miss you. You already know that. This has been a rollercoaster, this has all been a rollercoaster and I know your protecting me with the chest straps, but it's time to down grade to the little kid Dragon and not the Tornado. It would give your arms a break, you wouldn't have to hold on quite so hard.\n\nWho am I kidding, I don't ever want you to let me go. I only had you for half my life and in a few days I turn 27 meaning I officially will have spend more days without you than with you.\n\nYa, I know you never left me, but the physical touch, the warmth of your hug, the smell of your lotion, the feel of your body being close to me. I could just feel the love radiate. A feeling I only now understand as a Mother.\n\nI guess what I want to say most has already been said a million times. Protect me, give me the strength. I need the strength, but most of all the humor, the sarcastic tone. That's who I am at my core, the person that directly reflects you. If I can't have my humor then I don't have the strength to be me. I need humor to get through this. Maybe I should start packing bendable straws in my hospital bags. :)\n\nI love you so much, I know you are the one giving my that guiding hand when stuff gets hard. Pulling me just to the left of the right side to give me the motivation to get the rest of the way right on my own. For all that I appreciate you. I will see you one day, but that day better not be soon, because I'm not ready to give up all this.\n\nSo let's crank up some Pink Floyd and jam out the Mom Mobile! We will rock this!!!\n\nLove,\nYour Baby\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-02-10T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-02-10T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/becoming-an-allstar/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/becoming-an-allstar/", "title": "Becoming an All-star!", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJanuary 30, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen your life gets put into risk and dying becomes closer than living, everything changes. The hugs mean just that much more. The \u0026ldquo;I love yous\u0026rdquo; stick. What goes in your body or surrounds your body now means the world! When your body fails you and medicine revives you, you are not yet a super hero.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI feel like Deadpool in the hyperbaric chamber. My body is going through all these chemical changes so that I can become an all-star! Make no mistake all-star qualities are arriving by the minute. Little things don\u0026rsquo;t mean as much to me, like getting the laundry done. Instead I would rather spend the extra time reading one more book at bedtime to my kids. I now think eating dessert should come first, because you NEVER know.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat happened you ask that forced this change? Tuesday happened, and by Tuesday night I was taken by ambulance to Barnes hospital. It took 12 rounds of IV antibiotics to save me. I\u0026rsquo;m not going to go into the details, because they are not important to the general public, but what is important is that I survived. I am still here for my kids, family, and friends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo how do you change your life for the positive? How do you hang on with everything to see the next day? It\u0026rsquo;s a feeling. It\u0026rsquo;s putting on a new pair of glasses with the correct prescription strength. It\u0026rsquo;s putting faith in your medical team, and trusting your gut.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMostly what got me through that night was saying over, and over again, \u0026ldquo;Wyatt and Ayla need their Mommy!\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTake care of your body. Take care of those you love. It\u0026rsquo;s not worth the risk of what you\u0026rsquo;d leave behind.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 positives as promised:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedicine - truly did save my life\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy Children\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWaylon - Man I love him, that was a lot to put on him, and a scare drive alone down to St. Louis.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy age - I am confident that with my age, I will prevail and kick Cancer\u0026rsquo;s behind.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNetflix and Puzzles - there is only so much you can do in a hospital bed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy Guardian Angel - because of her I believe I am here. Miss you Mom.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeggings\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFamily and Friend\u0026rsquo;s love and support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExcedrin - these migraines have been horrendous lately.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur shower - man it felt great to take a shower once I got home!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith Love,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRhiannon\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_January 30, 2017_\n\nWhen your life gets put into risk and dying becomes closer than living, everything changes. The hugs mean just that much more. The \"I love yous\" stick. What goes in your body or surrounds your body now means the world! When your body fails you and medicine revives you, you are not yet a super hero.\n\nI feel like Deadpool in the hyperbaric chamber. My body is going through all these chemical changes so that I can become an all-star! Make no mistake all-star qualities are arriving by the minute. Little things don't mean as much to me, like getting the laundry done. Instead I would rather spend the extra time reading one more book at bedtime to my kids. I now think eating dessert should come first, because you NEVER know.\n\nWhat happened you ask that forced this change? Tuesday happened, and by Tuesday night I was taken by ambulance to Barnes hospital. It took 12 rounds of IV antibiotics to save me. I'm not going to go into the details, because they are not important to the general public, but what is important is that I survived. I am still here for my kids, family, and friends.\n\nSo how do you change your life for the positive? How do you hang on with everything to see the next day? It's a feeling. It's putting on a new pair of glasses with the correct prescription strength. It's putting faith in your medical team, and trusting your gut.\n\nMostly what got me through that night was saying over, and over again, \"Wyatt and Ayla need their Mommy!\"\n\nTake care of your body. Take care of those you love. It's not worth the risk of what you'd leave behind.\n\n10 positives as promised:\n\n1. Medicine - truly did save my life\n\n2. My Children\n\n3. Waylon - Man I love him, that was a lot to put on him, and a scare drive alone down to St. Louis.\n\n4. My age - I am confident that with my age, I will prevail and kick Cancer's behind.\n\n5. Netflix and Puzzles - there is only so much you can do in a hospital bed.\n\n6. My Guardian Angel - because of her I believe I am here. Miss you Mom.\n\n7. Leggings\n\n8. Family and Friend's love and support.\n\n9. Excedrin - these migraines have been horrendous lately.\n\n10. Our shower - man it felt great to take a shower once I got home!\n\nWith Love,\n\nRhiannon\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-01-30T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-01-30T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/when-it-hits/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/when-it-hits/", "title": "When it Hits, IT HITS!!!", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJanuary 2, 2017\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m a 26 year old with cancer. I know you know this, but it is important that this is heard more than once. You see it didn\u0026rsquo;t hit me till over a month past my diagnosis. In other words, just now. I am a 26 year old mother with cancer. The tumor has been removed and I see the Oncologist February 1st.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecovery has not been easy from surgery and I don\u0026rsquo;t think that I even talked to you guys in depth about it. I was told going into my hospital stay that it would be a 4-5 day stay. Once I actually completed the surgery I was told there was no way in hell I was getting out that early and I would for sure be there at least a week. What\u0026rsquo;s two more days right? Two more days is Christmas Eve, and Christmas, two more days is suffering through the chest tube hell. Two more days is two days. This is the point in my recovery that the anger kicked in. I was told I\u0026rsquo;d be home for Christmas, but had a feeling in my gut that I was wrong. There it is, that gut feeling again. The gut feeling that is usually right. I\u0026rsquo;m a 26 year old mother of two with cancer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI made it through the holidays in the hospital, I watched my kids open their first presents on hangouts before my internet connection cut out. On Monday I had a Bronchoscopy where they were checking to see if they found a air bubble in my lung, then they were going to remove the chest tube while I was under and I was possibly going home Monday night. I woke up with a chest tube still in place. I knew I was not going home. Something about the Doctor caring or something like that. :) They saw 1 air bubble, but they didn\u0026rsquo;t want my chest to fill with air on the way home and me die. Okay I\u0026rsquo;m thankful they care and are looking out for my safety, but damn was I ready to go home.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m a 26 year old college graduate and I have cancer. I came home on Tuesday after what felt like the longest discharge and car ride possible. Once I got home I noticed that my right leg kept falling asleep. A Dopler test was done Saturday, and an enlarged lymph node was found in my groin. They are leaning towards believing it\u0026rsquo;s cancerous but won\u0026rsquo;t do anything right now because I can\u0026rsquo;t go through any further treatments until I recover further. Are you keeping track? I had a Carcinoid tumor removed along with my bottom left lobe in my lung, a liver that lit up the PET Scan, and an enlarged lymph node in my groin.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI am a 26 year old who ate whole foods, exercised frequently, never smoked, never did drugs, never even had the desire to. Over came the death of my mother at 13. Went through bed rest twice with my kids, had a hysterectomy last year an I have Cancer! I dealt with everything life threw at me. I just don\u0026rsquo;t know how to deal with this. Everyone has their positive comments towards me, the love, the prayers, the energy and as I am thankful for all of it. SOMETIMES. THIS. SUCKS!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn preparation for meeting the Oncologist I have been warned that I most likely with go threw one round of chemotherapy at least! You no what is silly? I am most afraid of losing my hair. It\u0026rsquo;s not the physical losing of the hair, it is the fact that strangers will know. Random people will know. It will now not be left to me to tell them. I\u0026rsquo;m thinking I need to get an awesome henna design tattooed on my bald head at some point, I mean how many times in your life are you bald without it being correlated to a mid life crises?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, I may have cancer, but it will just be another step in my life. Hey, I may not be able to climb a physical mountain anymore, but I am getting really great at climbing emotional ones. I plan to summit Mount Cancer in 2017, plant my flag, and climb down!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOk I made a deal, 10 positives:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeggings - I wasn\u0026rsquo;t kidding I really love leggings!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMy caring 4 year old\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdorable smiles from Ayla, and her new annunciation of the word: \u0026ldquo;Yes.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eToast to keep down the nausea, thanks for the suggestion Grandma :)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eComputers to vent on.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLove and support from family and friends through everything.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAll of the people who drove down and visited, really helped Waylon and I deal emotionally through the difficult hospital stay.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHaving the surgery over the holiday, which gave me the room to have a private room at the hospital, which meant Waylon could stay with me.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExcedrin and Doctors who were able to listen to me to understand that is all that I needed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe removal of Chest Tubes!! Have I mentioned that it was horrible to have in?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_January 2, 2017_\n\nI'm a 26 year old with cancer. I know you know this, but it is important that this is heard more than once. You see it didn't hit me till over a month past my diagnosis. In other words, just now. I am a 26 year old mother with cancer. The tumor has been removed and I see the Oncologist February 1st. \n\nRecovery has not been easy from surgery and I don't think that I even talked to you guys in depth about it. I was told going into my hospital stay that it would be a 4-5 day stay. Once I actually completed the surgery I was told there was no way in hell I was getting out that early and I would for sure be there at least a week. What's two more days right? Two more days is Christmas Eve, and Christmas, two more days is suffering through the chest tube hell. Two more days is two days. This is the point in my recovery that the anger kicked in. I was told I'd be home for Christmas, but had a feeling in my gut that I was wrong. There it is, that gut feeling again. The gut feeling that is usually right. I'm a 26 year old mother of two with cancer. \n\nI made it through the holidays in the hospital, I watched my kids open their first presents on hangouts before my internet connection cut out. On Monday I had a Bronchoscopy where they were checking to see if they found a air bubble in my lung, then they were going to remove the chest tube while I was under and I was possibly going home Monday night. I woke up with a chest tube still in place. I knew I was not going home. Something about the Doctor caring or something like that. :) They saw 1 air bubble, but they didn't want my chest to fill with air on the way home and me die. Okay I'm thankful they care and are looking out for my safety, but damn was I ready to go home.\n\nI'm a 26 year old college graduate and I have cancer. I came home on Tuesday after what felt like the longest discharge and car ride possible. Once I got home I noticed that my right leg kept falling asleep. A Dopler test was done Saturday, and an enlarged lymph node was found in my groin. They are leaning towards believing it's cancerous but won't do anything right now because I can't go through any further treatments until I recover further. Are you keeping track? I had a Carcinoid tumor removed along with my bottom left lobe in my lung, a liver that lit up the PET Scan, and an enlarged lymph node in my groin. \n\nI am a 26 year old who ate whole foods, exercised frequently, never smoked, never did drugs, never even had the desire to. Over came the death of my mother at 13. Went through bed rest twice with my kids, had a hysterectomy last year an I have Cancer! I dealt with everything life threw at me. I just don't know how to deal with this. Everyone has their positive comments towards me, the love, the prayers, the energy and as I am thankful for all of it. SOMETIMES. THIS. SUCKS! \n\nIn preparation for meeting the Oncologist I have been warned that I most likely with go threw one round of chemotherapy at least! You no what is silly? I am most afraid of losing my hair. It's not the physical losing of the hair, it is the fact that strangers will know. Random people will know. It will now not be left to me to tell them. I'm thinking I need to get an awesome henna design tattooed on my bald head at some point, I mean how many times in your life are you bald without it being correlated to a mid life crises?\n\nFinally, I may have cancer, but it will just be another step in my life. Hey, I may not be able to climb a physical mountain anymore, but I am getting really great at climbing emotional ones. I plan to summit Mount Cancer in 2017, plant my flag, and climb down!\n\nOk I made a deal, 10 positives:\n\n1. Leggings - I wasn't kidding I really love leggings!\n2. My caring 4 year old\n3. Adorable smiles from Ayla, and her new annunciation of the word: \"Yes.\"\n4. Toast to keep down the nausea, thanks for the suggestion Grandma :)\n5. Computers to vent on.\n6. Love and support from family and friends through everything.\n7. All of the people who drove down and visited, really helped Waylon and I deal emotionally through the difficult hospital stay.\n8. Having the surgery over the holiday, which gave me the room to have a private room at the hospital, which meant Waylon could stay with me.\n9. Excedrin and Doctors who were able to listen to me to understand that is all that I needed.\n10. The removal of Chest Tubes!! Have I mentioned that it was horrible to have in?\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2017-01-02T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2017-01-02T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/recovery/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/recovery/", "title": "Recovery", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDecember 23, 2016\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting from the beginning of post surgery recovery, Monday.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026hellip;..hmmm, I don\u0026rsquo;t remember much from Monday, I was told I was joking with my Dad nice to hear my sense of humor survived the surgery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTuesday-Thursday.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI woke up on Tuesday with the worst headache. Every time someone came in to ask how I was feeling I kept repeating: \u0026ldquo;you know my incision isn\u0026rsquo;t bad, but this migraine it\u0026rsquo;s a 10!\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryday they kept adding a different narcotic to the list and hoping it would solve the issue by the end of the day, and everyday I said the same thing!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThursday it was like a light went off in my head. I knew they were giving me a blood thinner shot in my stomach, so why exactly could I not have Excedrin? When I asked my nurse she simply told me that she wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure on that and was going to ask the doctor, because she understood what it felt like to have a migraine and it truly is the worst! We were told that the hospital doesn\u0026rsquo;t carry Excedrin, but if someone went and bought it then a pharmacist could verify it and they could give it to me!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026quot; Say What? Why am I just now finding out?\u0026quot;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI sent Waylon on a journey, but while he was gone we had another revelation. The hospital actually carries Excedrin and the doctors have put in the order so as soon as the floor receives it I can have it! Holy Moly was I mad, it took 4 days for them to figure this out!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3 hours later I have the Excedrin in had and within a hour I was migraine free. AMAZING!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was able to make huge strides in my recovery process also. I could eat and not be nauseous, I could walk in the hall without sunglasses, I could actually talk to people without wanting to hurt someone, because their voice was killing my head!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFriday = Today.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWoke up feeling decent. My incision site has become sore, but that is expected. I have a chest tube in place which hurts quite a bit, but the pain meds, at least there are some that don\u0026rsquo;t cause migraines, are helping with getting me out of bed without help. I walked a decent length of the unit before becoming winded. I have ate a normal amount of breakfast and lunch, and got to chat with my brothers and post on social media for the first time. This has been a big change since B.E. (Before Excedrin).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI did find out that I will be in the hospital till at least Monday or Tuesday, and I find this a difficult discovery. I\u0026rsquo;m starting to come to terms with not being with the kids through Christmas, and will look forward to hold my babies again. I can\u0026rsquo;t thank all of our caretakers enough! I know both kids have been sick, and Gizmo is a pain, but everyone has been extremely amazing!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the end, I will have one big scar and a story to tell, but I am strong enough to fight the recovery of a left sleeve lobectomey and survive! Bring it on, I can take it!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_December 23, 2016_\n\nStarting from the beginning of post surgery recovery, Monday.\n\n.....hmmm, I don't remember much from Monday, I was told I was joking with my Dad nice to hear my sense of humor survived the surgery.\n\nTuesday-Thursday.\n\nI woke up on Tuesday with the worst headache. Every time someone came in to ask how I was feeling I kept repeating: \"you know my incision isn't bad, but this migraine it's a 10!\"\n\nEveryday they kept adding a different narcotic to the list and hoping it would solve the issue by the end of the day, and everyday I said the same thing!\n\nThursday it was like a light went off in my head. I knew they were giving me a blood thinner shot in my stomach, so why exactly could I not have Excedrin? When I asked my nurse she simply told me that she wasn't sure on that and was going to ask the doctor, because she understood what it felt like to have a migraine and it truly is the worst! We were told that the hospital doesn't carry Excedrin, but if someone went and bought it then a pharmacist could verify it and they could give it to me!\n\n\" Say What? Why am I just now finding out?\"\n\nI sent Waylon on a journey, but while he was gone we had another revelation. The hospital actually carries Excedrin and the doctors have put in the order so as soon as the floor receives it I can have it! Holy Moly was I mad, it took 4 days for them to figure this out!!\n\n3 hours later I have the Excedrin in had and within a hour I was migraine free. AMAZING!!!\n\nI was able to make huge strides in my recovery process also. I could eat and not be nauseous, I could walk in the hall without sunglasses, I could actually talk to people without wanting to hurt someone, because their voice was killing my head!\n\nFriday = Today.\n\nWoke up feeling decent. My incision site has become sore, but that is expected. I have a chest tube in place which hurts quite a bit, but the pain meds, at least there are some that don't cause migraines, are helping with getting me out of bed without help. I walked a decent length of the unit before becoming winded. I have ate a normal amount of breakfast and lunch, and got to chat with my brothers and post on social media for the first time. This has been a big change since B.E. (Before Excedrin).\n\nI did find out that I will be in the hospital till at least Monday or Tuesday, and I find this a difficult discovery. I'm starting to come to terms with not being with the kids through Christmas, and will look forward to hold my babies again. I can't thank all of our caretakers enough! I know both kids have been sick, and Gizmo is a pain, but everyone has been extremely amazing!\n\nIn the end, I will have one big scar and a story to tell, but I am strong enough to fight the recovery of a left sleeve lobectomey and survive! Bring it on, I can take it!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2016-12-23T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2016-12-23T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/the-date/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/the-date/", "title": "The Date has Been Set", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDecember 17, 2016\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThings have been flying since we met with the surgeon in St Louis. The surgeon needs a clear picture to decide the right direction during surgery, so they decided to do another repeat bronchoscopy right before surgery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSurgery is Monday!!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can\u0026rsquo;t believe I\u0026rsquo;m saying that but we leave tomorrow to head down to St. Louis. I have the kid\u0026rsquo;s bags packed and will pack ours in the Morning. It\u0026rsquo;s happening. I will be tumor free by Tuesday!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m nervous about the pain, the hospital food, and possibly ending up with a roommate (meaning Waylon can\u0026rsquo;t stay in the room with me).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs the nerves build, so does the excitement to have surgery over and be on the upside of recovery.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen positives:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFriends to watch the kids and dog\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLeggings\u0026hellip;no really I just love leggings\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYouTube..we got the wheel barring on our van fixed. Now it\u0026rsquo;s a lot quieter on road noise.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChocolate\u0026hellip;enough said\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNetflix to keep me busy with no commercials.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA washer to clean our sheets after our kind 4 year old climbs into bed and proceeds to pee.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChristmas lights\u0026hellip;they are pretty!!!!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeds to help relax and sleep\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuickness in scheduling of the surgery.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInsurance. As much as we gripe about it, we would be paying so much more without it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurgery time is 10:30am and will post an update as soon as I am able to. It will take 4-6 hours. Stay tuned!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith much LOVE,\nRhiannon\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_December 17, 2016_\n\nThings have been flying since we met with the surgeon in St Louis. The surgeon needs a clear picture to decide the right direction during surgery, so they decided to do another repeat bronchoscopy right before surgery.\n\n**Surgery is Monday!!**\n\nI can't believe I'm saying that but we leave tomorrow to head down to St. Louis. I have the kid's bags packed and will pack ours in the Morning. It's happening. I will be tumor free by Tuesday!\n\nI'm nervous about the pain, the hospital food, and possibly ending up with a roommate (meaning Waylon can't stay in the room with me).\n\nAs the nerves build, so does the excitement to have surgery over and be on the upside of recovery.\n\nTen positives:\n\n1. Friends to watch the kids and dog\n2. Leggings...no really I just love leggings\n3. YouTube..we got the wheel barring on our van fixed. Now it's a lot quieter on road noise.\n4. Chocolate...enough said\n5. Netflix to keep me busy with no commercials.\n6. A washer to clean our sheets after our kind 4 year old climbs into bed and proceeds to pee.\n7. Christmas lights...they are pretty!!!!\n8. Meds to help relax and sleep\n9. Quickness in scheduling of the surgery.\n10. Insurance. As much as we gripe about it, we would be paying so much more without it.\n\nSurgery time is 10:30am and will post an update as soon as I am able to. It will take 4-6 hours. Stay tuned!!!\n\nWith much LOVE,\nRhiannon\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2016-12-17T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2016-12-17T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/christmas-time-ehhh/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/christmas-time-ehhh/", "title": "Christmas Time ehhh", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDecember 11, 2016\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChristmas is two weeks away and traffic is insane in Peoria. I am struggling to find the cheer that the holiday season usually brings.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe found out last week that I am getting sent to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis since my lung resection requires a specialist to operate. We get to meet with the surgeon on Wednesday to discuss how the surgery is going to go, along with a possible date for surgery. \u003cstrong\u003eIf I have ever had any Christmas wish that meant more to me it would be to have the surgery this year!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow have I been feeling? Not so hot. I have been very exhausted and feel out of breath constantly. I was hospitalized towards the end of last week due to a pain in my lower right lung area. We came to the conclusion that the breathing exercises during the MRI last week put my right lung in stress that it caused a muscle strain. Never thought that could happen, but I also never thought that a 26 year old non smoking adult would be diagnosed with lung cancer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe support that we have received in the last couple of weeks has been overwhelming. From texts to check in, donations to our Go Fund Me, and physical help with the kids and around the house I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be more grateful. However, as much as we have loved the help I think we are going to need a lot of it in the coming weeks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve been told I need a little attitude adjustment towards this diagnoses. :) Ok I admit I am a little bit of a \u003cstrong\u003eNegative Nancy.\u003c/strong\u003e I know enough to know that I am going through the stages of grief just receiving the diagnosis, let alone dealing with the symptoms that come along with it. So, I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to start to end each blog with the top 10 positives since the last blog. I might need all of your help to keep me on my word as time goes on. Think you can do that? Thanks!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePositives:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy Children\u0026rsquo;s Literature class in college: I picked up a book to read to Wyatt, \u0026ldquo;Mom has Cancer,\u0026rdquo; and he seams to be really drawn to it. He is at that age that he understands enough, and yet he doesn\u0026rsquo;t. He likes to start each day with asking, \u0026ldquo;Mom do you still have Cancer?\u0026rdquo; I think hearing those words out of his little mouth has actually helped me accept it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChristmas Lights: As much of a grump and scrooge I have been this season there is one thing I always find magical: the sparkling of Christmas lights all over town. Well that and the crazy ones who go a little too far decorating, but I appreciate the laugh.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeggings: Lets face it, this might make everyone of my lists. ;)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAwesome understanding Nurses: I was put in a room with a roommate during my stay, and had a little anxiety knowing Waylon couldn\u0026rsquo;t stay with me. My nurse jumped into action and informed me my roommate was getting discharged and she would put a block on my room to prevent anyone else being added.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNon Christmas Music Stations on the Radio\u0026hellip;Let us face it when you are not in the mood for Christmas nothing makes is worse than those 24/7 Christmas music being blasted everywhere!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVisitors\u0026hellip;I have appreciated those that have taken the time out of their day to visit me during this difficult time. Just those few hours here and there have made me forget for even just a little bit what is going on.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChocolate, enough said.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpecial packages in the mail\u0026hellip;.I feel like a small child again when I check the mail and there is a surprise package waiting for me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy kids, again enough said.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWaylon, he really has done a tremendous amount for me during this time, and I know it is only going to get worse. I am really a needy patient when I don\u0026rsquo;t feel good, but the love and care definitely doesn\u0026rsquo;t go unnoticed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere, I did it, see\u0026hellip; 10 things I can be positive about during this time!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUntil next time, thanks for all the love!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eIf you want a way to help us out here are some ideas:\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e~My \u003cstrong\u003eAWESOME\u003c/strong\u003e friend, started up an Adopt a Family Amazon Christmas list: \u003ca href=\"http://a.co/eupN2e3\"\u003ehttp://a.co/eupN2e3\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e~Our GoFundMe Account: \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/Aylasmedicalfund\"\u003ehttps://www.gofundme.com/Aylasmedicalfund\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e~ OR COME VISIT!!!P\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_December 11, 2016_\n\nChristmas is two weeks away and traffic is insane in Peoria. I am struggling to find the cheer that the holiday season usually brings.\n\n We found out last week that I am getting sent to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis since my lung resection requires a specialist to operate. We get to meet with the surgeon on Wednesday to discuss how the surgery is going to go, along with a possible date for surgery. **If I have ever had any Christmas wish that meant more to me it would be to have the surgery this year!**\n\nHow have I been feeling? Not so hot. I have been very exhausted and feel out of breath constantly. I was hospitalized towards the end of last week due to a pain in my lower right lung area. We came to the conclusion that the breathing exercises during the MRI last week put my right lung in stress that it caused a muscle strain. Never thought that could happen, but I also never thought that a 26 year old non smoking adult would be diagnosed with lung cancer.\n\nThe support that we have received in the last couple of weeks has been overwhelming. From texts to check in, donations to our Go Fund Me, and physical help with the kids and around the house I couldn't be more grateful. However, as much as we have loved the help I think we are going to need a lot of it in the coming weeks.\n\nI've been told I need a little attitude adjustment towards this diagnoses. :) Ok I admit I am a little bit of a **Negative Nancy.** I know enough to know that I am going through the stages of grief just receiving the diagnosis, let alone dealing with the symptoms that come along with it. So, I've decided to start to end each blog with the top 10 positives since the last blog. I might need all of your help to keep me on my word as time goes on. Think you can do that? Thanks!\n\nPositives:\n\n1. My Children's Literature class in college: I picked up a book to read to Wyatt, \"Mom has Cancer,\" and he seams to be really drawn to it. He is at that age that he understands enough, and yet he doesn't. He likes to start each day with asking, \"Mom do you still have Cancer?\" I think hearing those words out of his little mouth has actually helped me accept it.\n\n2. Christmas Lights: As much of a grump and scrooge I have been this season there is one thing I always find magical: the sparkling of Christmas lights all over town. Well that and the crazy ones who go a little too far decorating, but I appreciate the laugh.\n\n3. Leggings: Lets face it, this might make everyone of my lists. ;)\n\n4. Awesome understanding Nurses: I was put in a room with a roommate during my stay, and had a little anxiety knowing Waylon couldn't stay with me. My nurse jumped into action and informed me my roommate was getting discharged and she would put a block on my room to prevent anyone else being added.\n\n5. Non Christmas Music Stations on the Radio...Let us face it when you are not in the mood for Christmas nothing makes is worse than those 24/7 Christmas music being blasted everywhere!\n\n6. Visitors...I have appreciated those that have taken the time out of their day to visit me during this difficult time. Just those few hours here and there have made me forget for even just a little bit what is going on.\n\n7. Chocolate, enough said.\n\n8. Special packages in the mail....I feel like a small child again when I check the mail and there is a surprise package waiting for me.\n\n9. My kids, again enough said.\n\n10. Waylon, he really has done a tremendous amount for me during this time, and I know it is only going to get worse. I am really a needy patient when I don't feel good, but the love and care definitely doesn't go unnoticed.\n\nThere, I did it, see... 10 things I can be positive about during this time!\n\nUntil next time, thanks for all the love!\n\n_If you want a way to help us out here are some ideas:_\n\n~My **AWESOME** friend, started up an Adopt a Family Amazon Christmas list: \u003chttp://a.co/eupN2e3\u003e\n\n~Our GoFundMe Account: \u003chttps://www.gofundme.com/Aylasmedicalfund\u003e\n\n~ OR COME VISIT!!!P\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2016-12-11T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2016-12-11T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/hard-days/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/hard-days/", "title": "The Hard Days Have Begun", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDecember 5, 2016\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThings are starting to line up, and tomorrow is the day I meet with the surgeon. Wyatt is going to start all day preschool to try and help him get things under control. I\u0026rsquo;m feeling very overwhelmed. I don\u0026rsquo;t even knowing which way to think. All I can do is curl up in a ball and melt. Not feeling an ounce of that strength everyone keeps talking about. Right now all I feel is a frightening thought of the days ahead. My baby going to school, the MRI, the surgery, the recovery, the fear of pain. I don\u0026rsquo;t have strength. Right now I am a puddle, and a hundreds of people are splashing me in every direction, but my tears replenish the puddle faster than people can take them away. I\u0026rsquo;m hurting physically, and emotionally.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Hard Days have BEGUN!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_December 5, 2016_\n\nThings are starting to line up, and tomorrow is the day I meet with the surgeon. Wyatt is going to start all day preschool to try and help him get things under control. I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I don't even knowing which way to think. All I can do is curl up in a ball and melt. Not feeling an ounce of that strength everyone keeps talking about. Right now all I feel is a frightening thought of the days ahead. My baby going to school, the MRI, the surgery, the recovery, the fear of pain. I don't have strength. Right now I am a puddle, and a hundreds of people are splashing me in every direction, but my tears replenish the puddle faster than people can take them away. I'm hurting physically, and emotionally.\n\nThe Hard Days have BEGUN!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2016-12-05T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2016-12-05T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/waiting/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/waiting/", "title": "Waiting", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNovember 30, 2016\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve always struggled with patience. I like to seek immediate results. I can\u0026rsquo;t even wait to give presents. So you can see how waiting for a life changing result would affect me. My heart is racing, and I can barely sit still, let alone sleep. I just want answers!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have been told countless times to stay positive. Let me tell you a little secret\u0026hellip;I\u0026rsquo;m NOT a positive person. You don\u0026rsquo;t become a fighter by staying positive. If I was always positive I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t catch signs of trouble. These are things I have learned through my last two years fighting for Ayla.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI ALWAYS FOLLOW MY GUT!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy gut hasn\u0026rsquo;t been wrong yet. However, in this particular case I what it to be wrong. I want this to all be solved through surgery. I want to be able to put this nightmare behind me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI need to be wrong for my kids. Time will tell, I guess. For now I\u0026rsquo;ll aim for neutral.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack to waiting, and my NCIS Netflix binge. Please let the minutes fly by!!!\u003c/p\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_November 30, 2016_\n\nI've always struggled with patience. I like to seek immediate results. I can't even wait to give presents. So you can see how waiting for a life changing result would affect me. My heart is racing, and I can barely sit still, let alone sleep. I just want answers!\n\nI have been told countless times to stay positive. Let me tell you a little secret...I'm NOT a positive person. You don't become a fighter by staying positive. If I was always positive I wouldn't catch signs of trouble. These are things I have learned through my last two years fighting for Ayla.\n\nI ALWAYS FOLLOW MY GUT!!!\n\nMy gut hasn't been wrong yet. However, in this particular case I what it to be wrong. I want this to all be solved through surgery. I want to be able to put this nightmare behind me.\n\nI need to be wrong for my kids. Time will tell, I guess. For now I'll aim for neutral.\n\nBack to waiting, and my NCIS Netflix binge. Please let the minutes fly by!!!\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2016-11-30T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2016-11-30T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" }, { "id": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/the-moment-life-stops/", "url": "https://rhiannonwalker.com/the-moment-life-stops/", "title": "The Moment Life stops", "content_html": "\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNovember 25, 2016\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;You have cancer, a carcinoid tumor in your left lung.\u0026ldquo;These were the words I heard Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 12:20pm. This is the exact moment in time, when I started questioning my future.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI left the office, briskly walked to my car and sobbed. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe the words I just heard. I am 26 years old. I have two small children. How can I have cancer? How will I tell my family, my friends, and what does this mean for my future?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDriving home from the appointment was a blur. I parked in front of my house and got out of the car, as I walked up the driveway Waylon opened the door and two small faces came bursting out from behind him. I looked into his eyes and shook my head. With a shake of my head I just changed his life. I lost it again, I laid my head on his shoulders and began to wonder would this be the start of counting down hugs?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs I\u0026rsquo;m sobbing, Wyatt senses something isn\u0026rsquo;t right and jumps into the couch and curls into his knees. Ayla let\u0026rsquo;s out a whimper and hugs my legs. I kneel down and hold her, and Wyatt springs into action wrapping his arms around me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn that exact moment, I decided to fight.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHolding those kids, my kids, is the most important thing to me, and I don\u0026rsquo;t want to loose that privilege.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rest of the day is a blur, packing to leave to go to Iowa for Thanksgiving, calling family, and texting friends. Breaking the news to those closest to me. Physically saying the words, but feeling nothing. Numb to lightening that just stuck me, but feeling the effects with every wheeze that escapes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI continue to remain numb, completing the actions and ignoring the emotions. I make it through most of Thanksgiving until my Grandpa calls me. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t know yet. My Dad didn\u0026rsquo;t get a chance to call him yet. I ignore the call. Take a couple minutes to realize I can\u0026rsquo;t ignore this call. This man is sitting at home alone worried about his Granddaughter. I pick up the phone and call him back. The first part of the call I remain numb, I give him the details regarding my cancer, everything I know up until this point. Then it happens. He breaks down, sobs are echoing through the phone. Tears pool in my eyes. He tells me this has been the hardest year. He tells me how scared he is for me, how scared he is for something to happen to me. I tell him the good thing is I\u0026rsquo;m young and fairly healthy, I have a good chance. We hang up, and I immediately dart upstairs away from the packed house and into an empty room. I sit on the bed and sob uncontrollably. What do I possibly have to be thankful for. Why do I need to put on a face for all these people? I have every right to be angry. I\u0026rsquo;m done putting on the show. This is me and I have cancer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe decided to head back to Waylon\u0026rsquo;s parents house. I gather all our stuff, ask for assistance loading it, and within the hour I have packed our stuff and children into the van.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGetting to Waylon\u0026rsquo;s parents my lungs are hurting, but I am open with my emotions and everyone is understanding. The empathy is flowing in a raging river, and I have nothing to say but \u0026ldquo;Thank you.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow, where do we go from here? I\u0026rsquo;m told things move at a fast pace from this point forward. I\u0026rsquo;m told to be strong. I\u0026rsquo;m told to fight like hell. I\u0026rsquo;m told to breathe.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat I Feel is: This Fucking Sucks! I\u0026rsquo;d apologize for my language, but cussing releases endorphins, and I could use all the endorphins I can get.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI will fight, I will be strong for my kids, and I will hold them a little tighter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Blog just took a turn for war and the first shot has been fired.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUpcoming Dates:\n*PET Scan - Wednesday, November 30\n*Meet with the Surgeon - December 6\n(Surgery will follow a couple days after. I will be in the hospital for 5-7 days following surgery.)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIs December over yet?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure\u003e\n\u003cimg src=\"https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/f6ecf434-4204-4740-a211-328f74d1861f.jpg\" alt=\"hug\"\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e\n", "content_text": "\n_November 25, 2016_\n\n\"You have cancer, a carcinoid tumor in your left lung.\"These were the words I heard Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 12:20pm. This is the exact moment in time, when I started questioning my future.\n\nI left the office, briskly walked to my car and sobbed. I couldn't believe the words I just heard. I am 26 years old. I have two small children. How can I have cancer? How will I tell my family, my friends, and what does this mean for my future?\n\nDriving home from the appointment was a blur. I parked in front of my house and got out of the car, as I walked up the driveway Waylon opened the door and two small faces came bursting out from behind him. I looked into his eyes and shook my head. With a shake of my head I just changed his life. I lost it again, I laid my head on his shoulders and began to wonder would this be the start of counting down hugs?\n\nAs I'm sobbing, Wyatt senses something isn't right and jumps into the couch and curls into his knees. Ayla let's out a whimper and hugs my legs. I kneel down and hold her, and Wyatt springs into action wrapping his arms around me.\n\n**In that exact moment, I decided to fight.**\n\nHolding those kids, my kids, is the most important thing to me, and I don't want to loose that privilege.\n\nThe rest of the day is a blur, packing to leave to go to Iowa for Thanksgiving, calling family, and texting friends. Breaking the news to those closest to me. Physically saying the words, but feeling nothing. Numb to lightening that just stuck me, but feeling the effects with every wheeze that escapes.\n\nI continue to remain numb, completing the actions and ignoring the emotions. I make it through most of Thanksgiving until my Grandpa calls me. He doesn't know yet. My Dad didn't get a chance to call him yet. I ignore the call. Take a couple minutes to realize I can't ignore this call. This man is sitting at home alone worried about his Granddaughter. I pick up the phone and call him back. The first part of the call I remain numb, I give him the details regarding my cancer, everything I know up until this point. Then it happens. He breaks down, sobs are echoing through the phone. Tears pool in my eyes. He tells me this has been the hardest year. He tells me how scared he is for me, how scared he is for something to happen to me. I tell him the good thing is I'm young and fairly healthy, I have a good chance. We hang up, and I immediately dart upstairs away from the packed house and into an empty room. I sit on the bed and sob uncontrollably. What do I possibly have to be thankful for. Why do I need to put on a face for all these people? I have every right to be angry. I'm done putting on the show. This is me and I have cancer.\n\nWe decided to head back to Waylon's parents house. I gather all our stuff, ask for assistance loading it, and within the hour I have packed our stuff and children into the van.\n\nGetting to Waylon's parents my lungs are hurting, but I am open with my emotions and everyone is understanding. The empathy is flowing in a raging river, and I have nothing to say but \"Thank you.\"\n\nNow, where do we go from here? I'm told things move at a fast pace from this point forward. I'm told to be strong. I'm told to fight like hell. I'm told to breathe.\n\nWhat I Feel is: This Fucking Sucks! I'd apologize for my language, but cussing releases endorphins, and I could use all the endorphins I can get.\n\nI will fight, I will be strong for my kids, and I will hold them a little tighter.\n\nThis Blog just took a turn for war and the first shot has been fired.\n\nUpcoming Dates:\n*PET Scan - Wednesday, November 30\n*Meet with the Surgeon - December 6\n(Surgery will follow a couple days after. I will be in the hospital for 5-7 days following surgery.)\n\nIs December over yet?\n\n![hug](https://dropper.wayl.one/api/file/f6ecf434-4204-4740-a211-328f74d1861f.jpg)\n", "summary": "_", "date_published": "2016-11-25T00:00:00Z", "date_modified": "2016-11-25T00:00:00Z", "tags": [ "blog" ], "language": "en" } ] }