I woke up this morning at 7am, blasted out of bed (Flora was quick on my heels), got dressed, and headed out to the beach. Today is Saturday and we were supposed to have heavy storms. Seeing no heavy storm I decided that Flora and I needed to breathe in the ocean air and see fantastic waves.

Our friend Mary showed us a dog friendly beach in Half Moon Bay a few weeks ago, so Flora and I decided to go back there. It was great! No rain, big white breakers, and a practically empty beach for a happy little beagle to run, and run and run.

Folks, I am BACK. It is me, Carolyn! I am happy and healthy and so thankful to be feeling so good.

This past week I started working four days a week (32 hours). For the past month or so I have worked ten hours a week. After all of that miserable fatigue during and after radiation I decided to go back to work slowly. While it was quite a shock to the system to wake up at 6:30am every day this week, I did it with gusto. My morning schedule is a bit different than it was pre-cancer because I have an eager beagle who has morning squirrel chasing on her agenda.

Many people have asked what Flora is going to do now that I am back to work. While I am not quite sure exactly what she does when I am gone, I suspect it is mostly sleep. She may also be reading my diary and trying on my expensive shoes, but if so, she is stealthy about it.

Two days a week I come home and have lunch with Flora. It is very pleasant to take a walk in the neighborhood in the middle of a work day and I get to see my baby. The other two days I have a teenage dog walker who comes at 3pm and takes Flora out for a half hour. Those days I go to the gym when I come home so it is quite a neat little schedule. I am dedicated to giving Flora a full hour of walks every day and this seems to keep her happy. Suffice to say that she would be happier living on a squirrel farm, but she probably likes sleeping in our warm condo and she gets a lot of love from me.

I will go to a full schedule at work in April, when my Herceptin treatments end. I still have enough doctor appointments and tests to keep one day a week occupied for the next few months.

What else can I say? I feel so happy, so lucky, so blessed. It has been a rough year but a good year. I am thankful for friends, for family, for a return to good health. All week long I kept feeling so happy to be working. I am so lucky to have a supportive manager and team at Stanford. Their generosity and support has been amazing.

Here is my "back to work" photo that a co-worker took a few weeks ago on my web site. Like a shepherd surrounded by sheep, I am thankful to be back among my beloved bikes.

Happy Holidays everyone!