The Fabulous B@ker Blog

Together again, for eternity This has certainly been a week of ups and downs that I am happy to put behind me. On Saturday of last week I got a call that Mom was not doing well and steadily going downhill, and that I should come if I could. Well, it turns out that Cam's trip to NYC, while successful, ended on not great note when he discovered, upon his arrival at the Albany Amtrack station, that he had left his car/apartment keys at Shaina's. That meant an addition train ride to Rochester on Friday night, followed by a day of crew obligations, after which, on Sunday, we would drive back down the thruway to pick up the car in Albany.  Seriously?!  So, when it was clear Mom had taken a turn for the worse, I decided I needed to take care of the Sunday trip and go into work for at least a little while on Monday to get some things in order, having been out for college stuff the week before. We all communicated on Monday, and decided that Nic and I would leave on Tuesday and...

Whew! Another move-in day completed and both birds are out of the nest again. Let's just say it was a good thing we brought a load to Syracuse on Saturday because we had another carload for yesterdays trip - during which there was a downpour and lightening strikes as we were unloading (totally soaked...). We spent a bit of time putting the finishing touches on Annalisse's bedroom and arranging the kitchen stuff, and she is really pleased with her apartment (seriously, who wouldn't be?). After getting settled, we had some lunch at a vegan/gluten free restaurant near campus (I had an amazing blueberry/rosemary smoothie that I will definitely be making at home), then we walked "up the hill" to pick up her books and do some other running around before her transfer meeting at 3pm. SU was bustling and full of energy; it was a very exciting and fun day. In the beautiful quad we ran into a tent with the men's/women's crew teams (I think they were recruitin...

The Bakers are set to disperse again. There have been very few times this year when we have all been together, and after this week two out of the four Bakers will be gone again. On Thursday, we head to SU for Annalisse to begin her sophomore year. We took a load up to her apartment on Saturday so Mark and Alex could help out with some of the heavier stuff since Mark will be away in Denver for two weeks. Annalisse also wanted Alex to see where she would be living, and we took a nice walk around campus before having lunch at Chipotle (one of the few places Annalisse feels comfortable eating with all her dietary issues). Her apartment is really nice, and I know she is getting super excited about her new (academic) adventure. Cam moved into his new apartment last week, also very, very nice (nicer than Annalisse's). Tomorrow he is taking his first solo trip to NYC to spend a couple of days with Shaina as she moves into her new place to begin the fall term at Hunter College. He is ta...

"Of course they're fake, the real ones tried to kill me!"  -Author unknown, although sometimes attributed to Erma Bombeck In 20 days, on August 29, I will receive my new boobs (actually Fake Boobs, or FOOBS). My skin has been making way for their new silicone occupants since their first "fill" on my surgery date of June 4, and every week after until this past Thursday, during which I completed the LAST of my fills after accelerating the process to have my "exchange" surgery quicker (and get this over with!!!). There have been some weeks which were extremely uncomfortable (muscle soreness), but all in all it's been a nuisance more than anything else. How unpleasant it's been to have large, hard, foreign objects at the front of my body (the process requires that the expanders are filled to the size they will actually be, then to go 50% beyond that...so...bigger breasts than I am used to). While I'm glad I am cancer free, I do someti...

Who's glad this week is mostly over?  -----> This girl. What a stressful week it's been. It all started with an email from Buff State on Monday night which stated that, due to overcrowding and dorm renovation, Annalisse would be housed at nearby Canisius College (run down, dangerous part of town) and shuttled over to Buff State for classes.  Um, what? No, I don't think so. I guess you could call this proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. After a tense month of monitoring the required Chem class she needed (or she would be behind a year in her studies), with all sections closed pending freshmen enrollment, then a waiting list even when they did open, plus the fact that Buff State did not take all her credits, and finally the housing situation, we called "uncle" on Buff State.  It's been difficult for Annalisse as she is away all week at camp and unable to really work through this situation. All she knew was that she didn't wan...