Nacheska's Weblog

Sad Statistics do not get me down

nacheska — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:48:48 +0000

Right now, more than 600,000 people are living with a brain tumor diagnosis—and each day, another 500 people are diagnosed. these diagnoses can turn worlds upside down. I feel like I have the new job to heal and I am still there healing and feeling great…dancing and teaching, and helping my customers party by putting them in the best costumes ever.

I am enjoying my life more, learning more than ever before about nutrition and am healing one day at a time…Wow, where did this crazy brain tumor come from…even all my research has not come up with a clear answer but there is a lot I can do and you can do…..A great website for folks to understand this better is http://www.abta.org/
Cancer you have scary statistics but you don’t scare me and I am learning and growing and fighting….

So this little bunny is not dancing with you Cancer

Filed under: Cancer Battle

Beating you cancer and dancing through life…

nacheska — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:57:35 +0000

I am winning this battle day by day….thanks to alternative medicine gurus and strong women Dr. Gerson and Dr. Budwig….see www.budwigcenter.com or www.gerson.org

These ladies have the right idea….make your body unreceptive to cancer growing ….there you are…live healthy to dance another day….and I am dancing and dancing but not with you cancer….because you are going away…..woo hoo!

Filed under: Belly Dance, Cancer Battle, Uncategorized

No Cancer I will not dance with you, because I have Goddesses to dance with

nacheska — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:10:52 +0000

1500 Americans die every day from cancer. There is something wrong with that considering how much money and thought is given to this disease but watch out, because I know breakthroughs are happening every day and I have changed my life and body to be unreceptive to cancer.
I have been teaching lots of great belly dance classes at girls nights out and batcherlorette parties and the joy and thrill of sharing this amazing beautiful art with new folks keeps all evil away (just another benefit of dance and specifically belly dance) Dance is joyous and good….so dance if you are struggling or down and poof! …things get better….and of course the work out can do you no wrong….if you love dance….dance will love you back

Filed under: Belly Dance, Cancer Battle

No Cancer I will not dance with you because I am fighting you with hugs and prayers…

nacheska — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:59:10 +0000

Yesterday a very nice customer teacher friend came in just to rent something fun and she asked to speack to me to tell me how much she liked me and thought I was special….I had to share with her about the evil cancer in my brain so that she would know if I vanished what might have happened. The good thing about cancer (if there is any good thing) is that folks will tell you how much you mean to them and they will give you a hug, which I firmly believe squeezes cancer out of you. (so take that cancer!!) As a christian I go through my days not really knowing if this person or that person is a Christian (by their actions you will know them) but I highly suspected many of my friends and acquaintances were….woo hoo….THEY ARE and they send prayers to our God in heaven for me….and I send prayers grateful for them….so take that cancer….who likes you? NO ONE….so be gone!

Filed under: Cancer Battle

No Cancer, I am playing Hooky today Chapter 4

nacheska — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:35:54 +0000

On my 5th chemo and radiation, I played hookey and went to work, eating raw foods andadopting a more holistic approach….I feel great but know that I will have to make a decision whether I am going to stand and fight with the Wonder Women and the traditional fight and ugly mask or look for another champion….it is horrible with the treatments are worse than the disease….but are they? The trouble is, I will only know if I am here to realize…..it is what it is……mostly sad.

Filed under: Cancer Battle

Cancer let’s battle….setting up the battlefield Chapter 3

nacheska — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:54:44 +0000

Now the fun begins….what docs to trust because we sincerely do not keep cancer docs on call (known as oncologists) These doctors have to be warriors….I choose to call mine Wonder Women because that is the kind of strength it will take to help me do battle with the gross looking evil cells that have invaded my gray matter…So now we find a very nice doctor named Dr. Tomberlin and she knows another doctor who has been recommended to me by a friend ….Dr. Heidi Jordan and so the fight begins….Right now cancer treatments are fairly basic with a Star Trek twist….chemo therapy to help the radiation/lazer…..They made a mask of my head with a mesh substance and this is one of the weapons we are using in our first skirmish….next visit they applied the mask and take pictures (cat scan) of my brain trying to pinpoint exactly what evil cells are left then the radiation computer machine is set to attack just the evil cells, leaving the good healthy cells to exist as my brain. I am on a drug called TemodarTEMOZOLOMIDE (te moe ZOE loe mide) is a chemotherapy drug. It is used to treat some kinds of brain cancer.(generic description from the internet) My doc said it is the sheild to the sword of radiation so cross your fingers….War is Hell…..Now onto the internet to see other options…..and there are hundreds…and my wonderful oldest child is a voracious internet cancer warrior in her own right ferreting out many options.

Filed under: Cancer Battle

Cancer I will not dance with you even if I know your name…Chapter two

nacheska — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:19:33 +0000

So December was a month of fun holiday events but there was this odd feeling and rushing in my head so when January 2012 came, I called Dr. Chaudhari’s office and they said he would call back…oops….that did not happen and a week later, I called his answering service to ask the real question “how do I get a very busy doc to see me”….their magic answer worked ” go to the ER and he will come”….woo hoo it worked and in the meanwhile, a very compassionate hospitalist (kewl name for the doc they assign to you when you walk in) said words the made me cry for the first time in this odd experience “let’s find out what wrong with you…..” I was totally on board with that and after an MRI it was found that I had a tumor (later called gliosarcoma) and Dr. Chaudhari came in and removed most of that sucker…..but tumors are evil and they leave evil cancer cells so now the fight begins….redheaded dancer against gliosarcoma…..stay tuned for more episodes….

nacheska and her honey who helps her fight

Filed under: Uncategorized

Cancer I will not dance with you….chapter one

nacheska — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:07:51 +0000

On Saturday August 13th,2011 we had a busy day at my Costume Shoppe….Luaus, Disco parties and just plain end of the summer fun. After I closed I went to a oddly fun play with my husband “Jeckll and Hyde” set in a coffee shoppe wherein the barrista made concoctions that turned his personality from light to dark (no coffee pun intened…hee, hee) It was cute. We returned home and shortly after falling asleep I experienced the WORST pain in my head and had to get up to throw up and be sick, sick, sick….ok, ladies…this was labor pain quality, just to give you a heads up. I woke my honey (my husband) and told him I needed to go to the emergency room and I was not making any weird joke. He was great and asked if he should call 911. I did not want to deal with waiting for an ambulance so he took me to our local Baylor. They did a CAT scan on my head, saw my brain was bleeding but they had no neurologist at 3 a.m. (go figure) but they found that Harris hospital did….so off I was sent, totally out of it, in a careflight ambulance to Harris Hospital downtown Ft. Worth. Into surgery I went under the care of their neurologist on call Dr. Alok M. Chaudhari and boy was that a blessing. This young doc really knows his stuff…he removed a small clot …..I was kept under (sleeping with drug help) until Thursday but once I woke up ….kaboom….I was shocked to know what day it was…..get me out of here…..they have the greatest sgns in the rooms at Harris….they say “my goal today is: Of course my goal was to get out and start my life again….belly dance, hula, teaching and creating…..so I had all external stuff removed…ports catheters and starting walking….not so bad…..then boom Thursday to a regular room and Friday I was released on good behavior and health…..I felt pretty darn good after that except for the removal of half my hair (necessary to do brain surgery) and the loss of my eyelash extensions (hey I am a girl….I still want to be pretty) The rest of my hair covered the bald half of my head (whew) and so I proceeded to go on with my life.I taught belly dance the morning after my hospital release and felt sane, normal and ecstatic. On the medical front, I saw Dr. Chaudhari again a week later for a follow up MRI which showed I was ok and the clot did not show cancer…..and so my life continued …..until I started hearing the oddest sounds in my head in December….and so I moved to Chapter two of Cancer wanting to dance with me…..and my refusal and finally battle.

no partner named cancer

Filed under: Uncategorized

Just what does a Costume Shoppe do when it is not Halloween?

nacheska — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:36:12 +0000

A common question that is asked of me everyday is what do you do when it is not Halloween. My shoppe is filled to the brim with masquerade masks, corsets, dancewear, hanging costumes, wigs, hats, stockings, shoes, boots, glasses, toy weapons and novelty items such as beards, bang guns, magic kits, noses, ears, fangs, makeup and so much more. Just looking at the plethora of goodies, I wonder how someone could ask, but I get this question once a day during the “returning Halloween costume” frenzy and several times a week outside of theHalloween season by browsers. Well right now I am costuming a Madrigal, a British style feasting from the Medieval period for a local school choir, getting my Santas, Dickens characters, elves, snowmen, and reindeer ready to go out to the many events held by local cities and organizations. (ever heard of breakfast with Santa?) Well the big guy gets his costumes somewhere…we are the place! Where do shepherds find their crooks? Where do the 3 wiseman find their crowns…the angels find their halos? Well we are the ones….not to mention how hard it is to find a pilgrim hat these days.

So now we have covered thanksgiving and Christmas. The rest of the year we costume and accessorize pep rallys, school projects, store and business promos, 60′s parties, anime and sci fi cosplay events, 70′s parties, 50′s parties, 80′s parties and a plethora of fun events in between. We help with parades, birthday novelties, pranks, theatrical productions, bridal parties, fun award items, Luau items and so much more…. Then there are other holidays for fun costumes….Mardi Gras, Easter, Valentines, St. Patricks day, 4th of July and everything in between…so there it is…that is what we do….make your life a little more fun….because your fun in our business….

Happy Make Believe!

Filed under: Costumes

You don’[t know me

nacheska — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:35:47 +0000

Today a young man left my costume Shoppe at an extremely busy time while yelling over his shoulder…”I hope you go out of business”…Let me set this scene, we are family owned, loved and operated and my immensely busy and kind friends help out this season of Halloween costuming out of kindness and enjoyment. It is one week before Halloween… They love waiting on folks, helping them with their costume and the general feeling of merriment. We had a great day with lots of wonderful customers that were pleased and delighted…but this day brought someone that was a little demented and dissatisfied with their life and ability to find a costume to yell out something mean on his way out of my little shoppe. Well I want to say this to this coward…”You don’t know me” In fact, you do not know my staff or the hours and love we put into every costume and accessory. You do not know that I am a mother, grandmother, pet owner, dancer, teacher, business owner, sister, aunt, …you only know that your selfish needs were not met and all the frustration had to come out of you in an ugly way.

So if you are not satisfied with anyone or any business at any time and you have any class at all….just leave….that is enough of a statement. Really no one wants to see your bad side and “You don’t know me” or my family or friends but I know you are someone I do not wish to know or visit my Shoppe again. So do me a favor, pretend I am out of business, because “You don’t know me”….and gratefully I don’t know you.

Happy Make Believe,

Nacheska

Filed under: Life lessons, Women in Business