This is when it counts

Today I got my tenth treatment, which is ironic because my level was 10. Still going slow but closer and not rising! So please continue to pray that they will diminish. So I guess my goal to make November is no more but December is a great month! I was thinking about it today that that will be about the time last year we started trying. I was also reminded that this is the time that it counts. I say that in relation to the difficult times, this is when I really hear from God and know that he is what gets me through. It reminds me of working out, which I love to do-it counts the most when your muscles are burning, you're out of breath, you don't think you can go one more second... this is when you get the most results. This is how you get better. I do this one video by Jillian from the biggest loser and she always says at the end, "this is where it counts. Keep going!". I think there is something there, not to void everything else in life, but that the pain is where God adds to our character and relationship with him. So even though I want to completely ignore my emotions at this time, he wants me to press through the times I can't breathe... I can't go another step through this... my heart burns... He will bring me through and it will be worth it. 

I love this song from Rita Springer. Hope it encourages you through your struggles:

 I don't understand Your ways
Oh but I will give You my song
Give You all of my praise
You hold on to all my pain
With it You are pulling me closer
And pulling me into Your ways

Now around every corner
And up every mountain
I'm not looking for crowns
Or the water from fountains
I'm desperate in seeking, frantic believing
That the sight of Your face
Is all that I need
I will say to You

It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it
It's gonna be worth it all
I believe this

You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it
You're gonna be worth it all
I believe this

Cha Chah's is Nanahs

Cha Chah's is a tapas restaurant in Nashville, off of Belmont Blvd. Saturday night Jack and I ate there with our friends, Kim and Mike. I had wanted to go to this place because it has outdoor seating and I'm a huge fan of tapas, so I couldn't resist to suggest it when we were trying to figure out where to go for dinner. The outside is very modern and the front interior has garage type doors that open to the outside and then they also have tables outside on the front. We stepped up to the hostess (is that what fancy places call them? I bet they would be insulted) and she asked if we had a reservation, we said no, but they could still seat us. We asked to sit outside and she said "oh, you want to sit street level? no problem". We are so street level, yo. 

The ambiance was great, with sleek white tables and little chairs made of steel and wood. Mike suggested the backs of them needed to be taller. I said I would make sure and let the people know. The tap water came out in a wine bottle and suddenly felt like I was in Spain... oh and then I saw an old man chasing his dog's ball in the parking lot and quickly returned to reality, Nashville. The waiter was nice but didn't get one of our jokes all night. If he tried to joke, it was the kind of humor that none of us knew quite how to respond with but with awkward silence. I started to look over the drinks and decided I was in a cocktail mood. Fancy place, fancy cocktails, so I must try. My eye quickly caught a Rose Sangria, I love red sangria, so I had to jump on this one. Jack and Mike ordered a french beer, that we can't remember the name, and Kim ordered a Bliss Merlot. Everyone liked their drinks, as did I, refreshing, but not quite your typical sangria. It was a white sangria, which I favor red, and had only one slice of lemon, where normally there is a variety of fruits in sangria. Granted, this seemed more like a "cocktail" Sangria and I have to consider the place I ordered it from. The only draw back was the price and the amount. The glass was tall and skinny, so you didn't get much. 

Next, we ordered three tapas because we had already had appetizers at Urban Flats and felt somewhat full (except for Mike, which he explained to us in detail, with props, why he was not full). Side note-I have been to Urban Flats twice to get appetizers and I recommend it. It's in the bottom of the Icon, great bar area to sit and chat after work or before an event. The Berry Mojito is to die for and the hummus flat bread platter comes with 4 types of hummus-eggplant, chorizo, kalamata olive, and macadamia nut/honey. 4 stars. 

So back to chachas... As you open the menu, that looks like a wedding program, the first thing we saw was the cheese plate. Every time I see a cheese plate, I think "jackpot!". We also decided on the citrus zest and ginger crab fritters and Harissa Hot wings. The artisan cheese plate came out with 5 cheeses, 4 triangle wafers, a teaspoon of guava jelly, nuts, pear slices you could see through and honey. The wafers lasted all of 2 seconds and we found ourselves puzzled as to the fact that we would be eating this cheese straight up. It was strange. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I had never had a cheese plate without some kind of buffer. The guava jelly was fantastic but we only had enough to feed a tiny, tiny, grasshopper. I mean, I would have said a field mice, but I don't even think he would feel satisfied. Good, but 16$ for this?!

Crab balls were AMAZING, with a spicy/honey dipping sauce, but yet again, only 4 balls the size of nickels. The wings were also great, which our waiter said is not your normal "goo" of wings but with Indian spices and a blue cheese dipping sauce. These were amazing, also. So overall, I really did like Cha Chahs but not enough bang for your buck. Yes, I appreciate gourmet food and agree that you have to splurge at times and LOVE to try new foods, but there's no way you would get anywhere here without throwing down some serious cash. Small portions, lots of flavor, big bucks. 3 out of 5 stars. 

A couple of area Happy Hours: I always love to save money! Woop woop. (a word of caution-you might want to double check on some of these because I did show up at Urban Flat on Saturday night expecting a happy hour because it was advertised as daily, but it wasn't!)

Saffire-Tues-Sun 3-6:30

Buffalo Billards- Daily 2-8

Criallo's- Daily 3-6, 9-close

Urban Flats- Sunday-Friday 4-7-Wine Tastings Wednesdays 5-8, $25

Wild Ginger-Daily 4-7

Flyte-Tu-Sat 4:30-7

Los Rosales-M, Tues, Th, F 2-7

Finezza-M-F 5-7

12th South Tap Room-Daily 4-7

Mellow Mushroom- M-Th 3-8, all day sunday

Valentino's-Daily 5-10

Gold Rush- Tu-F 3-8, S 12-8, Sun 11-8

Finales and more finales!

So this week the American Idol and DWTS finales were on, so it was a pretty exciting week. Much to my enjoyment, Shawn won DWTS with shock all over her face. She is so cute and I've been rooting for her the whole time. Yes, that show drives me crazy with the slutty costumes, slowly stretching the show with useless information, the worst interviewer in the world, and the husband-stealer, Edeta, but somehow I have to watch. I used to watch with my DVR, but now that we got rid of it, I either watch while doing something else or watch on youtube. If I have my DVR, I can fast-forward through the horrible people, if not, I cringe and put my fingers over my eyes. I'm just glad Gilles didn't win. I'm not sure why I didn't like him, maybe it was the close-up butt shots or the women swooning over him (come on, he's not that hot. Kind of icky!). I guess I also hold a grudge against him in Sex in the City. Gross. 

American Idol also came to an end this week and it was a great finale show. I was in between Adam and Kris, yes Adam was an amazing performer, but when he hit those high notes, it kind of freaked me out. I liked Kris because I would buy his album out of the two (I already have downloaded one of his songs). I also liked Gokey and Matt, but they both got the ax. The finale was full of excitement and jack and I would try to guess each famous singer to come out next. I really like the Keith/Kris song, Cyndi Lauper/Allison, and Nick/Norman. Every time I see that clip of Norman Gentle saying "Seacrest!", I die laughing. The bikini girl, of course, was disgusting and disturbing when Ryan said "he knew what was new" but Kara coming out was great. For a hysterical blog on the whole thing, check out this link-

Two other exciting things happened this week-all for a VERY exciting week-I found an internship and the Bachelorette premiered. Now I know you might have thought I'd say my levels, while they were lower-16!!, they weren't zero. I have been super stressed about finding an internship (towards my license, I know you are thinking, "didn't she graduate?"). I kind of put it off because of everything going on-this whole pregnancy/non-pregnancy thing, treatments, new clients, graduation, studying, etc. and now I'm not finding a lot of options. BUT, God provided for me on Wednesday with an internship at Hope Clinic for Women, which is where I volunteer, too. I'll be counseling unplanned pregnancies/postpartum depression/women's issues/couples, etc., starting in August.

As I mentioned earlier, the Bachelorette. Pretty much a stupid show, but I like it. I marvel at these women who have the worst self-esteem issues, but this one, she is a good one. Jillian is confident and cute, I think it will be a good one if she gets rid of foot boy. Again, a great blog about this show is on Entertainment Weekly's website (my all source for entertainment!) and Chris Harrison blogs on there as well. Check it out!

Holy Cow

So no, my levels aren't zero, but they are 43! Still great and I've decided if they continue to half then I should be done after 3 or 4 more rounds. This is my goal and if I make it before then, I will be presently surprised. I also seem to be stopping life each time I hear a level that isn't zero and that will stop because life has gone on; I feel great, God has blessed me beyond my imagination, I'm doing what God inspired me to do, he's raised my spirits. So life will not come to halt, but continues to move forward. It's weird and I'm not sure I'm describing it correctly, but at that moment I hear that I'm still not done with this stuff, it's like I still can't cross it off my "list". I have to keep on my to do list and I hope today I put a end to that list and continue to live life to the full as I do in other areas of my life. Also, God has already allowed me to share my experience of this loss with a friend who went through a miscarriage with his wife and it just felt so great to tell him honestly, "I've been there" and truly mean it. 

Side note: I just finished watching the Lost finale and I am just floored. I have all these theories running wild in my head, while at the same time I can't believe all the stuff that I just saw! I mean, come on, it was AWESOME! Oh, dear. I could talk about all the packs of complexity of this show for hours. 

Restaurant Reviews

One of Jack and I's favorite things to do is try new restaurants. I love trying new foods and I found two gems, here in Nashville. 

The first is Los Arcos, located off of Nolensville Road. The place itself is very nice and clean. Jack commented that he loved the chairs, they were big wooden chairs that looked hand made. There was no wait (which could be bad or good) on a Saturday night at 6:30. We had to get out within 45 minutes because we were on our way to see Star Trek, which may I add, amazing. We both ordered margaritas on the rocks and were both pleased. Not too much tequila, but not short changing either. I also don't like it when there is a strong taste of the triple sec. It was perfect. The salsa and chips were your basic chips and salsa, such as Las Palmas, and we also got queso. I personally prefer Rosepepper's Salsa the best because they give you hot, mild, and tomatillo salsa, but it was still great. 

We shared the fajitas of chicken and steak and they were fabulous. It came with corn or flour tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and onions. The menu had lots of your typical Mexican options, but had lots of seafood options. It had all the feel of yummy cheap mexican food, but with a fancier atmosphere feel. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Athens Greek Family Restaurant is the next place that I discovered a couple of weeks ago. I had been dying to go here for a while, but Jack thought it was sketchy because it is in a old Captain D's off of 8th. It is open 24 hours except on Sundays where it closes at 2 pm. It has a small patio with outdoor seating, which is where we sat with our friends, Richard and Katie.

This place is fantastic. If you want authentic Greek food, this is your place! We went with two other friends and shared a couple of appetizers, the hummus plate and spanakopita. The hummus plate comes with pita bread, so light and warm. I could have eaten two baskets full of that stuff! We even ran out and they refilled for no charge. The hummus was perfect with two olives on top and we even asked for more olives so everyone could have one and they brought us a bowl full. The spanakopita was perfect and I highly recommend it.

For our entree, we each split a gyro platter, which came with beef meat, pitas, Tzatziki, and a side salad or fries. Tzatziki is a classic Greek spread made with sour cream, cucumbers, and garlic and Athen's was delicious and fresh. They have a pretty large menu and even have breakfast, which we returned for the next day! Yes, it was that good. For breakfast, I had pancakes and jack had a skillet with potatoes, ham, cheese, and eggs. 

At the end of the meal, the chef came out to check on us and he was super friendly. The waitress was on top of the service and never left us lacking for anything. They do not serve alcohol, but you can bring wine or beer with no corking fee. Here is the website to see their menu: www.athensfamilyrestaurant.com 

I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Double Digits

I'm now in double digits and I am so thankful! My level was 86 yesterday and I had my 7th dose of chemo. My doctor said everything is going the right way and he is happy with everything. My nurse says it will probably be 3 more doses and then I only have to go to the doctor once a week for blood draws! God has been so gracious to me. This morning he reminded me of how much he loves me through this verse "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" Ephesians 3:17-19. It hit me that God truly loves me so much that has dimensions of width, length, and depth! To know this love and SURPASS knowledge! If this is true, even that God does have the power to fill me to the measure of the fullness of God, why am I worried?! He reminded me that no one loves me more than him and the best part is that he is in control. He has put peace in my heart today. Over my trophoblastic tumor, my internship, my future... all the things that are uncertain and certain. I just praise him today for showing me insight, giving me more faith, peace, and love. 

Prayer: Continue to pray for zero!