Sunday, December 28, 2008

follicular non-hodgkins lymphoma update

I had a scan done earlier this month and the day after Christmas I went to see my oncologist. The scan showed the cancer is growing. This was not a huge surprise to me since I have been feeling lymph nodes popping up in my neck and clavical.
I will be starting treatment Jan. 12th, right after we come home from a vacation that we have had planned for nearly a year now. I will be doing 4 more rounds of weekly Rituxan immunotherapy infusions. Since I am in a clinical trial this is the route we will go. I could pull out of the trial and go a different route but I feel pretty confident that this is a good way to go and I am a firm believer that clinical trials are important. However, if I felt there was definitely a better way to go then I would pull out and do that.
Unfortunately, there is no sure fire way to go with this cancer. No matter what you do, it will grow again. The treatments will knock it back only to grow again, as of now, there is no cure. So, this is the road I will continue down until Rituxan stops working at knocking it back for me, then it will be on to much harsher methods of chemo. Radiation and surgery are not an option for me since the cancer is through my whole lymph system.
I am hoping I will get more then 18 months with this round of treatments. So, please think of me and pray for me on the 12th of January. The first infusion is the roughest as I had some scary side effects last time. Hopefully it will go smoother this time.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas



Do not give to me



Twelve eggs cracking,

Eleven cans for recycling,

Ten ice cubes melting,
Nine papers crumpled,
Eight Care Bears baking,
Seven tater totters,
Six bananas rotting,
Five shoooooe strings,
Four doggy turds,
Three styrofoam heads,
Two tattered gloves,
and a scale so that you can weigh me!


I hope you enjoyed my silly song, 12 days of Christmas of things not to give to Jane. It was a fun little project to do.


I wish all my readers....friends, family, clients...all a wonderful holiday! Be blessed.



Tuesday, December 23, 2008

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Eleven cans for recycling,



Ten ice cubes melting,

Nine papers crumpled,

Eight Care Bears baking,

Seven tater totters,

Six bananas rotting,

Five shoooooe strings,

Four doggy turds,

Three styrofoam heads,

Two tattered gloves,

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Ten ice cubes melting,

Nine papers crumpled,

Eight Care Bears baking,
Seven tater totters,

Six bananas rotting,

Five shoooooe strings,
Four doggy turds,
Three styrofoam heads,
Two tattered gloves,
and a scale so that you can weigh me!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Nine papers crumpled,

Eight Care Bears baking,

Seven tater totters,

Six bananas rotting,

Five shoooooe strings,

Four doggy turds,

Three styrofoam heads,

Two tattered gloves,

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Eight Care Bears baking,

Seven tater totters,
Six bananas rotting,
Five shoooooe strings,
Four doggy turds,
Three styrofoam heads,
Two tattered gloves,
and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Saturday, December 20, 2008

On the Seventh Day of Christmas


On the seventh day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Seven tater totters,

Six bananas rotting,

Five shoooooe strings,

Four doggy turds,

Three styrofoam heads,

Two tattered gloves,

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Friday, December 19, 2008

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

On the sixth day of christmas
Do not give to me
Six bananas rotting,
Five shoe strings,
Four doggy turds,
Three styrofoam heads,
Two tattered gloves,
and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Five shoe strings,

Four doggy turds,

Three styrofoam heads,

Two tattered gloves,

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

Let me first appologize for what you are about to see. I admit to having a sick sense of humor!


On the fourth day of Christmas

Do not give to me

Four doggy turds,
*Doggy turd picture removed due to grossing myself out*

Three styrofoam heads,

Two tattered gloves,

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

On the Third Day of Christmas

I went a bit artsy fartsy with this one. I saw these in a store window of an old closed down hat store and had to stop to get a shot for my 12 Days of Christmas of things not to give Jane project.


On the third day of Christmas,


Do not give to me:


Three styrofoam heads,

Two tattered gloves,

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Monday, December 15, 2008

On the Second Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas,

Do not give to me

Two tattered gloves

and a scale so that you can weigh me!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Twelve Days of Christmas (of what not to buy Jane)

Just for laughs and giggles, I decided to do The 12 Days of Christmas song with my own twist and my own photography. Things not to buy Jane for Christmas. Sooooo on with Day 1...

On The First Day of Christmas

Do not give to me

A scale so that you can weigh me!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Food Friday - Quick Tip

Just a quick tip today. You know how when you open a can, you often have to scrape the contents out of the can, trying to get every last drop? It was recently shared with me that if you open the bottom of the can instead of the top....flooop everything just slides right out! This might not be news to some of you but it was news to me. I tried, sure enough...no more scraping out the beans in the can, they just slide right on out. Try it with spaghetti Oh's.
This tip came curtesy of my 18 year old son who taught me it.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

No More Bookings for 2008

No more available bookings for 2008. Jane's next available session dates are in mid January.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Winter Giveaway Announcement

The Winter Giveaway category is........... a Deserving Doggy.

What am I looking for in nominations?
I am looking for a special dog. What makes that dog special can be many things. I am specifically looking for a very special story. Has this dog been mistreated and is now in a good home? Does this dog have a very special connection with it's owner? Does this dog not have much more time on the earth and you want to have special portraits made to celebrate it's life? It could be many different things that make a dog special.

Please do not simply write that your dog is special. I want to know WHY your dog is special.
Every dog is special but I am looking specifically for an extremely special dog or a dog who has an extremely special connection to it's owner. Or has a very interesting story that makes him/her special.

What does the winner get?
The winner will have portraits of the special dog by itself and with it's owner captured in a free session with photographer, Jane Bingham. 10 fully edited digital files will be provided to the winner with print release.
Professional prints and products may be purchased at a discounted rate through Jane Bingham if the winner so desires but it is not neccessary nor required.

What's the catch?
There is no catch. The photo shoot will be free and so will 10 digital files for you to print where ever you want.
I love what I do! I love being a photographer. This is my chance to give and be a blessing to others.

Are there restrictions or special considerations?
Yes, normally you can not nominate yourself but for this season's giveaway you CAN nominate yourself and your own dog or you can someone else and their dog.

Other professional photographers and their families do not qualify.

The winner must have their shoot during the month of February 2009. If they can not manage the shoot in February 2009 then another winner will have to be chosen.

The chosen individual(s) must sign a model release and allow their story and images from their portrait session to be posted on my blog, website and portfolio for others to be touched, educated and/or inspired by their story.

To make a nomination you must...
email the following to JaneBingham@gmail.com

*your name, email address and phone number
*Nominees name, email address and phone number (dog's name and owner's name)
*The reason the nominee is deserving. Be specific!
*Subject line of the email should state "Winter Giveaway"

Now get those nominations in! Deadline for nominations for the Winter Giveaway is Jan. 30th 2009.
Good Luck!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Food Friday - What did I eat instead of Turkey?

I have had so many people ask me what did I make for Thanksgiving instead of turkey. So I am going to share what I made here, including the recipe. And no, not a tofurkey!


Ever since I became a vegetarian I have become a recipe manipulator. I come up with my own recipes, I take recipes I have had before or seen and change them around to make them vegetarian and I scour old and new vegetarian cookbooks.


Often times I will look in my pantry and try and find something that needs to be used and turn it into a recipe. That is how this recipe came about. I have made cottage loafs a few times and we like them. I have made them with oats and with Grapenuts before. I was trying to come up with something just a touch different for Thanksgiving.


Looking in my cabinets I saw a box of cereal that had been sitting there for a while that nobody really wanted to try. It had cranberries and nuts in it. My kids are not big on nuts unless I hide them in a meal. So I took that box and included it into my recipe, perfect for Thanksgiving with cranberries in it.


It turned out great! This sort of turns out a little bit like a stuffing in texture and flavor but it is packed full of protein with the cottage cheese, eggs and nuts. The cranberries gave it just a touch of sweetness.


Jane's Cranberry Nut Cottage Loaf


*1/2 cup butter or margarine


*1 packet of Onion Soup Mix


*2 Tablespoons of vegetable stock (not neccessary)


*4 Beaten Eggs


*1 large size container of Cottage Cheese


*1 13oz box of Millville Breakfast Harvest Cranberries and Nuts cereal. I get this cereal from Aldi market. You could use 5 - 6 Cups of any kind of corn/bran flake type of cereal.


*3/4 cup of ground fine almonds or Walnuts. I buy it ground already but you can just put some in a ziplock bag and smash them to pieces. Great for getting out some frustrations.


Preheat oven to 350 F
Spray two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray
Get a large mixing bowl and simply mix everything together well. I smash the cereal in the bag a little before adding it in.
Press into your greased baking pan
Cover with foil and bake on the top rack for 1 hour.
Remove foil, turn off the heat to oven and let sit in oven for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
Leftovers freeze well and reheat well.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Holiday Shows

It is time for all those great holiday specials on TV. Classics and new alike...Here is a handy link to a listing of all the Christmas movies coming up, what date and the network it is showing on. TV Holiday Movies.