kntting like a crazy lady

Sorry, but I've stayed up wayyyyyyy too late tonight finishing some fingerless gloves that have languishing at the bottom of the knitting bag for months.....and I only did that because I was waiting for the sweater I am working on to finish drying while blocking mid-project (the pattern suggested blocking the sweater before picking up and knitting the shawl collar). I ended up getting antsy and working while the sweater was still a little damp (not so pleasant)....and I picked up all 230 stitches (*gah!*).

And now I cant see straight enough to type well.

And it's too dark to take photos of the mitts.

So more tomorrow!

first of many, i hope

We had our first little party at the new house today.


We invited KarenTheDancingLurker (my co-dance teacher), and her not-so-new (but new to me---I hadn't had the opportunity to meet him yet) boyfriend. Karen is artsy. She dances and paints. Her boyfriend is a chef and restaurant owner. Then we also invited Tracy, my hairdresser, who also artsy and paints, plus she used to be a guitar player and singer in a band with TheMostImportantGuy. With her was her hubby, who is a restauranteur.

Pretty good, eh? Party matchmaker, I am. I can be a bit of a yenta when it comes to putting together a guest list.

Anyhow, it worked out great. No odd gaps in conversation because there was just enough in common. It was also nice to show the house in progress to people who've been listening to us babble on about it for the last ten months.

As usual, I made way too much food.


Well, I didn't really make too much food.
I mean, just how much food can you make with no stove and only one electrical outlet, eh?
Let's just say I assembled way to many cheese and mezza platter-ish sorts of things. None of which I was able to eat, mind you....given the list of things I am allergic to. Not to mention the wheat, dairy and sugar that I am also staying off of for the time being.

So for me, I had some pistachios and gluten free crackers, and then I had also brought with me (made at the other house) a couple of sheet pans of roasted vegetables and some herbed quinoa. Of course I made enough for everyone (because I'm not the type to sit there eating something different from what I have offered my guests), but I figured everyone would go for the other goodies, ya' know? I mean, why would you go for roasted brussel sprouts and curried carrots and cauliflower, right? When you have olives and cheeses and hummus and marcona almonds and and chocolate....

Well. I have enough cheese left to feed an army, and zero roasted vegetables ("Oooo! Are those brussel sprouts?!! I looove brussel sprouts!"......"Ok, so are you going to tell me how you made these carrots, or what?!")

Ha.
So now I have a pile of leftovers I can't eat. Hahahaha.
Want to come over for a cheese platter?! Hahahaha.

Great little party. I hope the first of many. Most of which I believe will be after the kitchen renovation, so it may be awhile.

For those who were asking how Riley is, he sure seems great. He's healthy (except for really needing a teeth cleaning), and is recovered. His hair is growing long again finally, covering his scars (wish I could do that!!). He's been out to dog parks and such, and doesn't seem to be leery of other dogs.

The face he was making in yesterday's photo, was due to this (another photo also taken yesterday, same time):

Teeny wants t0 play with him.
All the time.


Sometimes Riley does not.

snaps on saturday

doggie close-up

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Sent from my iPad

things i learned today

I learned that....

1) The IKEA restaurant opens 30 minutes before the rest of the store, and the coffee is free until 10am (oooooo, I sinned!!! Decaf coffee with a splash of half & half and a dash of sugar---I've had none of those things in a month, but who can pass up free).

Who cares if I'm having a coffee. Sheesh. I'm amazed I was able to talk myself out of the lingonberry crepes, for crying out loud.

2) Why I woke up with a stiff neck and little headache: last night in dance class we were improvising, and I did this wonderful ever so graceful arch over the back of my wheelchair (while seated), when I completely flipped myself and the wheelchair right over. I landing flat on my back. My dance-mates were of course concerned, but one of them joked that I had also just invented the wheelchair version of a Turkish Drop.

I would have never even attempted that maneuver when I had two legs.

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Sent from my iPad

what made me laugh today

And I thought I was The Queen!


Guess I am not alone.

nice.

Perfect, perfect day for a day trip to the hot springs, lemme tell ya'. It was in the upper 70's, and just after a rainy weekend. I got off to a bit of a late start, because MyFavoriteKid informed me that morning band practice had been cancelled because the older kids are taking their PSAT's this morning. That meant he started school at 8:30am instead of 7:00am.

Oh well.

Short visit. But good visit.

I packed fruit and a thermos of hot oatmeal for the ride up, plus some hot tea. The drive through the valley was lovely. The leaves in the vineyards are just beginning to turn. I got past the valley and started to climb the windy mountain road up and over into the next valley, and the road was "smoooooth like buttah" because it had just been repaved. Nobody was behind me for the entire climb or descent, so I was able to drive like I do (like a grandma).

The hot springs was pretty quiet this morning, but it got a little crowded and chatty by the time I left (ie perfect timing), and I got to soak and hit the sauna, and sit on the redwood deck under the fig tree and eat....you guessed it....steamed vegetables.

Good day, all in all....except for arriving back home to a house that is covered in dog hair and a pile of laundry.

But I'm trying to ignore that!

preparing for a spa day

I got sent home from the NewDoc's office with the homework of doing something good for myself over the next couple of weeks, bonus points if I can do something healthful and detox-y for my body at the same time.

So tomorrow I'm headed up to one of my favorite places, Harbin Hot Springs. It's one of my favorite places to go, but I sadly have not been a really long time. It's got great warm spring water pools, plus a sauna. The place is rustic and relaxed, and nature abounds all around...but there's still all the amenities, even including a community kitchen so I can bring, you guessed it-- steamed vegetables. It's clothing optional around the pools (which squicks out some of my friends, but one I'm there and nekkid the bodies just sort of blend into the rest of the surroundings).

I'm going to drop MyFavoriteKid off at school, then head up. If I drop MyFK off at 7am and get right on the road, I should be happily soaking in a hot pool by 9am...then if I leave by 2, I'll even beat him home. The cool thing is that they have a mid-week rate of only twenty bucks for a 6-hour visit. It's the most affordable spa day I know of.

I'm getting myself all packed up so I hit the road at 7am, and I've downloaded Rachel Herron's new book the kindle (yay!!!) so I can have something fun to read while I relax between soaks. I am off now to steam veggies for dinner (woo hoo!...not!!) plus enough extra to pack to bring along with me tomorrow.
Maybe my veggies will be more exciting poolside :-)

the whooooole month of october??

If I follow the "doctor's orders", I am to eat a piece of fruit in the morning, followed by a bowl of very simple grain (rice, quinoa, oats) for breakfast. Lunch and dinner are a bowl of steamed veggies with a little butter and olive oil, and I can add a little lean and clean protein to dinner if I feel I need it (which I usually do; so far I've had lentils and chicken, and tomorrow I'm going to have some fish).

I'm supposed to do this routine for the rest of the month to clean out my system and re-set the allergy button, so to speak.

It's Day 6, and I swear I might cry if I have to look at another steamed vegetable. I love them, they're tasty, and I'm switching it up to keep it interesting....


....but I'm bored to tears.
Already.

double duty

Spent a good chunk of today cleaning the new house....only to come back home to the old house and have to clean that up, too. *sigh*

One of the better part of the weekends was yesterday, when we had a preliminary meeting with the design/build contractors that we are hoping to use for our kitchen and bath remodel. It went well, and I cannot wait to see their proposal in a couple of weeks. If it's good, we're off and running towards a design process and finally....a place to cook over there that isn't a microwave.

I was going to say, "Phase Two, here we come..." but it sorta feels like Phase Forty-Seven.

snaps on saturday

Teeny burrows in the warm laundry when it comes out of the dryer and I plop it on the couch to sit and fold it.

And then she looks like she's going to cry as her nest gets smaller and smaller and becomes a stack of folded clothes.

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Sent from my iPad

i cannot believe i didnt think of this myself.

Thank you VERY much to Fuzzarelly for cracking me up when I needed it most (the last couple of days have been hectic and challenging).

Fuzz sent me a link to another amputee's Halloween Costume, inspired by the move A Christmas Story (and you haven't seen it, you can click here for the reference...."Frah-Jee-Lay! That must be Italian!" ..."I think that says FRAGILE, honey." hahaha)

Anyhow. Get this:

Edit post
see more WIN - Epic Win Photos and Videos

Leg lamp.
I almost died when I saw it.

And I totally cannot believe I didn't think of this myself. (I even own the same exact shoe she is wearing. What a trip.)

Although I think my hips are a bit to "hippy" to make a good harp for the lampshade ;-)

iSad.

(two posts in one day, sorry---but it feels necessary)
I had hoped to spend some time with my dad today (it's our normal day to go shopping), because my dad actually knew Steve Jobs and worked with him back in the day...but dad's busy....doing work. On the computer.

....continued from yesterday.

(This is Part 2. Part 1 was just yesterday. I am sooo sorry to have left a cliffhanger, peeps! Really! I only divided it up because the post was getting so long, and I knew that what was yet to be written was going to be even longer, and I also knew that it would need photos and links in order to be...well...bloggy LOL. So here you go: Suspense suspended. xo )

So I guess I do have one more thing to say about the past couple of weeks before I move on to talk about the doctor's appointment Tuesday, and it is basically this:
What a whooooole lotta effort, for very little return.

I mean, I stopped eating a whole bunch of everything, and for what. The rash returns. I actually see myself actually getting itchy a couple of hours after eating certain meals, but I can't figure out what component is causing it. My stomach is also bugging me after certain meals. I am left feeling fatigued. And so what happens is that I get a little defeatest-depressed about the whole thing. I suffer from the whole notion that no matter what I cut out, or take, or don't take...no matter what I do....it aint gonna work.
That's the pity-pot I tend to climb onto in my darker moments.

Well. It turns out I wasn't feeling so hot because what I cut out is not what I am sensitive to at all. Nope. Not even close. Even the NewDoc seems a little surprised.

I am highly sensitive to:
Green beans.
Kidney beans.
Eggs.

Hard to believe.
Here. See for yourself.




Green beans. Now, I like green beans. I am not going to feel deprived without them (there's enough other green veggies on the planet I like), but it sure is interesting to me that I roasted a huge sheet pan full of green beans for myself last week.

Kidney beans. I also really like kidney beans, although I usually only eat them if they're at a salad bar or something. I rarely buy them. However. It turns out that there are other beans in the same family, like the cannellini bean for example (which is a *ahem* white kidney bean) which I DO buy all the time, and in fact, over the past couple of weeks, I must have used 3 or 4 cans in soups and mixed in with sauteed veggies. I have to double check with NewDoc, because I see conflicting things online, but I think this also means I have trouble with pinto/refried beans or black beans, which I also eat fairly regularly....and possibly garbonzo and maybe even soy. And I have to say this: look at those test results! Kidney beans are all the way OFF THE CHART. I'd thought I had heard it all with food allergies, and I have never in my life heard anyone say they are allergic to kidney beans. Ever. I know some people say they have a hard time digesting them, but I always thought they were complaining about being gassy. But allergic? Sheesh.

Eggs. Now, Eggs are a whole little mess in and of itself, because eggs hide out in all sorts of weird places that I am now going to need to watch out for. Fortunately, in my 20's I was a vegan for long enough to know how to get around all the no-egg-nonsense and still be a happy camper. I know how to find products that use egg substitutes, and I know how to make them, too. I don't ever "jones" for a scrambled egg. But I what I am going to miss (and by miss, I mean mourn with occasional woeful sob) is my favorite poached egg breakfast. *sigh* I should also point out to you that I have eaten eggs every weekend these past three weeks, thank you very much. NewDoc said what was most interesting about my test results is that I am more sensitive to the white than the yolk. For most folks it's the other way around, and they can still have scrambled egg whites. Once again, I amaze the medical community LOLOL

So those three foods are in the "Avoid" category, but I had 4 other items show up in the "Moderate" category...and NewDoc says I should avoid them, too (at least for now). These are the ones that are Blowing. My. Mind.

I am moderately sensitive to:
Pineapple.
Brewer's Yeast.
Almonds.
Garlic.

Yah. I know.
You can blink, but it won't go away.
Let's discuss them individually. And yes.
Let us save the best for last.

Pineapple. I like it, I often love it, but the best one I ever had was in Hawaii and it kinda ruined me for all pineapple after that anyhow, so...no big loss. I will not feel deprived. There's enough tangy tart sweet fruit in the world. I'm over it.

Brewer's Yeast, not to be confused with Baker's Yeast. This means no beer, no alcohol, and most importantly (for me), no wine. Now, I don't drink all that often, but I really do dig having a glass of wine from time to time (not to mention some bubbly), so this is gonna get interesting. It's not going to kill me to forgo it, but having just watched 6 hours of programming about Prohibition, I'm a little peeved about this one.

Almonds. Almonds???!!! Are you insane?! Well, it's also another thing I can live without. Like the greenbeans and the pineapple, there are plenty of other substitutions out there that I can eat and be satisfied with. But do you know how often I eat almonds?? Almost daily. I keep little bags of raw almonds in my glove box for a healthy snack on the run! I drink almond milk! I top hot cereal and salads with almonds! Because peanuts are typically more of an issue than almonds, I've been using almond butter instead of peanut butter! I even use soaps and lotions that have almond oil in them!! Smear my allergens all over my body---yay hoo!! woot!!
Sheesh.

But nothing compares to what is for me the real kicker.
Garlic.
WHO THE F#%& is allergic TO GARLIC?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Well, apparently AmpuTeeHee is, that's who).

Can I just get this out?????????
RAWWWRRRR!!!! MFTZER FIZTER FRANNA NANA NA!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

1) Do you know how much garlic I have had just in the last 3 weeks alone?? LOTS. Garlicky greens, garlic in dressings, garlic in vegetable juice smoothies. I even ate more garlic than usual because I was sick and garlic is supposedly good for a cold...NOT TO MENTION (yes, I am yelling, I know, sorry) that garlic is supposed to be one great natural anti-fungal, and I was told THAT MY RASH WAS A FUNGUS.
Lordy.

2) Garlic is awesome, and there is really no suitable replacement for it. None. And I went to culinary school, and got an "A" for creativity. There is no suitable replacement for garlic. Nothing compares. That being said, you are going to see me experimenting like a madwoman with things like raw horseradish and maybe some different peppers or wasabi, just to get that "nose heat" thing going in place of raw garlic...and maybe I'll be using shallots more often when it calls for cooked garlic. I'm open to suggestions on this one, if you have any. Please prove me and my belief system about there being no suitable replacement wrong.

3) Not only do I use garlic a lot, but it's also IN a lot of the things that I love and prefer to buy prepared because there are only just so many hours in the goshdanged day. Salsa? Hummus? Pesto? I could go on and on. It kinda makes me cry to think of what I will have to make from scratch if I want it. I know how to make all of those things, I just lack the time some days. Who doesn't. And eating out?? Ha! Garlic will lurk in everything, including stocks and sauces. By the way, do you know that when I go to a chinese restaurant, one of my favorite dishes is Dry Fried String Beans, which is green beans with garlic and ginger (I guess next time I just ask for the bowl of rash, yah??).

4) Garlic, sweet garlic. OH THE IRONY. Ok. I used to be a professional chef. I used to work for Whole Foods, and I used to work in a restaurant, and I used to work for several catering companies large and small, and let me tell you something about chefs. When we'd get a request for "no garlic please, I have an allergy" we would cover our mouths and cough, "Bullshit!" into our palms. We all knew that no one was EVER truly allergic to garlic (because who the fuck is allergic to garlic). Those people....those people...they don't have a garlic allergy, they just have a preference for no garlic.

That is what we all said.
Seriously.
All of us.
And we'd take the garlic out of the dish, and maybe curse you a bit if you were inconveniencing us during the evening rush.
And then we'd laugh at you.

Which is now: At me.
Yah, that's it. Curse me and laugh at me.
Because I am allergic garlic.

I cannot even tell you how long it is going to take me get over the fact that I have become exactly what I cannot stand about people. Hahahahahaha. And this aint the first time, lemme tell you. For every finger I have pointed, I have walked a mile in those shoes. For real. But to have it happen with the garlic is just truly unbelievable. I mean, I feel like I might need to carry around a copy of my test results with me so that if I go out to eat I can storm into the kitchen and prove that I really am ACardCarryingAllergicToGarlicFreak.




So where does this leave me.

Well, I cannot believe it, and NewDoc seemed like he kinda couldn't believe it either. Because, OH! The results of the stool test showed NO CANDIDA. A huge hooray for that, but he and I both think that refined sugar is probably not doing me any favors and I should avoid it. But where I thought I was going to have to stop all sugar, even natural sugars...nope. I can eat fruit and things like dates and agave, etc. He even says a little caffeine is fine. And I'm not allergic to dairy or wheat, "so bring me mah slab o' bread an hunk o' cheese, please!"

Well, okay. Not for awhile. He actually wants me to do another course (a stronger and longer course) of the diflucan, just to whack this out of my system. And meanwhile, he wants me to do a Detox Diet for 3 weeks to clean myself out and hit the reset button. Basically it's a fruit and a simple grain in the morning, then steamed veggies for lunch and dinner topped with a healthy oil.
I can do that.

red potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bok choy, bell pepper,
with a dab of a blend of some really good butter and olive oil

Hell, I can do just about anything for 3 weeks. After that, the goal is to eat healthier in general, avoid the foods I am sensitive to, eat more whole foods and less processed ones and even though I am not allergic to wheat or dairy, eat them less frequently than I used to. Eat more veggies, basically. Then on an ongoing basis, maybe do another round of simple detox-y type eating session as the seasons change. Just to hose myself out. He hasn't said this to me yet, but I have a hunch that some day, when my system calms down, I might be able to rotate those moderate allergens back in on the rare occasion. We'll see. But for now, I'll at least hold on to this thought, as it will bring me much happiness:


I'm not allergic to chocolate!

updates from the newdoc

So I went for the follow-up with the NewDoc yesterday, but before I tell you what it turns out I am allergic to, let me recap (because I feel the need to have this saga all in one place for some reason):

I have had an odd skin rash for almost 10 years. It started on the top of my foot. BigBoxMedicine first told me it was athlete's foot and to use a topical. When it spread to the inside of my calf near my knee, so BBM gave me an oral anti-fungal (diflucan) to clear it up. Which it did. Until it returned. This happened over and over again for a couple of years. BBM then sent me to the DermatologyDepartment, where I was told it was tinea. She gave me a new pill to pop and a new topical, but when that did nothing at all and I complained, she wrote me a prescription for the diflucan. Like, a huge prescription with a kajillion refills available to me, so I'd never come back and complain, I guess. For years, the rash would come, I would do a short course of the diflucan, the rash would go, and then eventually several months later, it would come back.

A couple of years ago, I started noticing that I would crave sugar right before the rash flared up again. And by crave, I mean shove-your-face-full-of-cookies-and-skip-dinner crave. But right after taking a course of diflucan? No cravings. Oddly, no cravings. Like no desire for sugar at all. But as it would flare up, it literally felt like I had a monster inside me and, well...you put that together with too many episodes of daytime doctor television, and I "gave myself" parasites, and a kajillion other conditions. Now mind you, over these last few years, I've also developed migraines, joint issues, and I'd wake up just feeling like my gut was full of sludge. And a few other things. I've "given myself" all sorts of diseases...hahahaha.

Anyhow. I finally decided to switch docs (still within the BBM system), to one closer to home. I chose a doc who was an osteopath, who said she believed in alternative therapies such as acupuncture, and said she believed in food as medicine. She looked at my meds and said I had to stop the diflucan because it was really bad for my liver (thank goodness liver tested okay), and she had a guy with a special camera take a photo of the rash on my calf and send it to the dermatology department. It came back that I had psoriasis, and I was ordered a topical ointment that I put on twice and the rash flared even worse.

And this is where I flipped a little bit.

I didn't take the oral meds anymore, and I didn't use the topical, and my rash was ON FIRE. Dealing with my dad's and my dogs' medical issues all summer, happily kept me from dealing with my own issues (because to be honest, I was little freaked out to go get help. I just weird like that. It's like, I wanna know...but I don't wanna know...ya' know??).

I remembered purchasing and reading a book called Diet For All Seasons about 15 years ago, and it was written by a guy who was a doctor, but he really believed food and diet was a hugely ignored part of the deal. All summer, I looked and looked online to find a doc that would be like him nearby, and I always came up empty handed...or back on the NewDoc's webpage. I figured I could never afford to go see him (out of pocket) because it turned out he had written a bunch of books since that last one I got 15 years ago, but I finally just called the office, and to my surprise, his rates were reasonable.

So I saw the NewDoc 5 weeks ago, and he ordered bloodwork and the every so crazy stool sample, which took longer to complete thanks to missing parts. And he sent me home with two more of his books, and he told me to read through the chapters about detox and about sugar sensitivity. I of course, read more than just those chapters, and decided I was allergic to everything (because that is just my way, apparently), and the rash was the worst it had ever been....ever...because I had done nothing for it since the spring.

I wrote him asked if I could take a course of the diflucan, he said yes. So I took it as prescribed by BBM which is one tablet, then a second one a week later. The rash went away, as expected. And then I wrote NewDoc again and asked if I could make any dietary changes until I was to see him next, because I was getting antsy to DO something. He wrote back:

Dear one,
We can talk a few if you wish, and you can begin a diet off the big three of wheat, dairy and sugar--the white foods--and that will make you more colorful. It's a start.
And yes, you could do supplements, but it's not mandatory. Let me know. We can also wait until I see you.
Dr E

I love this guy.
Remove the white foods. Make me more colorful. Not to mention calling me dear! :-)

So. As you know, I did just that. And then some. I actually not only cut out wheat, but I cut out all gluten. I stopped dairy, except I had a couple of eggs, and I also had the occasional wee bit of butter mixed with olive oil. I stopped all refined sugar, and even most "healthy" unrefined sugars...but still ate a small amount of fruit, a wee bit of agave and stevia. I also quit caffeine and alcohol entirely.

And I sat. And I waited for follow-up with him. I got online and read everything I could tolerate about candida and the misery I was sure I was about to suffer diet-wise, because honestly, how could I not have candida. I ate brown rice with almonds, and I roasted green beans, and I made vegetable soups with hearty beans. I made sautes of garlicky greens, and....I just kept feeling like crap (but how crappy, I couldn't really tell, because I also had the head cold, which was probably intensified by detoxing off all the crap I had been eating). And then.....the rash came back.

*sigh*

Well, at least this now brings us to yesterday.



And since this post is already looooong, I'm going to stop here and post at least this much now....but then keep typing away....and then I will post Part 2 first thing tomorrow morning (sneaky blogger, but hey...tomorrow is a busy day. Shhh!)

;-)

overwhelm.

Tomorrow. A real post. I swear.

In terms of the cold, I am not 100%, but I am improved. And I have stories to tell. No doubt about that. But tonight I'm watching the last of the Prohibition thang, and then tucking in. I'm whooped. The whole day was spent running to three different doctor's appointments, and then researching what I have learned about my health (part of the stories).

Tomorrow on my calendar I got nothin'.
Except to get this all down on "paper" (the bloggy paperless paper, that is LOL).

Goodnight for now ;-)

i stink at this!

Horrible blogger these past couple weeks, am I. Sick. Tired. And sick and tired, too. LOL

Tonight I planned on watching part 2 of the Prohibition show (8-10) and then writing a post. Instead, I fell asleep on the couch around 8:45. Sheesh.
I'm still sick, I'm exhausted, and the rash is coming back. DAMN!

I'm going to bed. I'm recording the show on the dvr. I'll catch up when I catch up, and that's that.

I'm so glad the follow-up with TheDoc is tomorrow.

short list

Just a quick list of what I did this weekend, because I am quite sucked into the first episode of the Prohibition series on PBS tonight.

On Friday I felt like my cold was on the way out. On Saturday, I felt sicker than I had since mid-week. Today I ran a couple of errands, but I spent most of my time quietly and slowly fiddling around the craftroom at the new house. Quite pleasant.

I've managed to stay on track food-wise, and I haven't had any real cravings (to my great surprise). Until today. I wanted chocolate cake and a hot cup of coffee so badly I almost cried. I'm not even sure where that craving came from. It's not like it was being waved underneath my nose or anything. It wasn't anywhere to be seen! The craving came and went pretty quickly (also to my great surprise). Tuesday is finally my follow-up appointment with the NewDoc. I cant wait to see what the tests point to as being food sensitivities for me.


Off to lay flat in bed with more tissues and boobtube.

snaps on saturday

Lots o' graffiti on the side of a little truck.

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Sent from my iPad

improved.

Think I've almost nipped this damn cold in the bud! I'm still not 100%, but I actually got outside in the fresh air for a bit with the dogs at a dog park.

I don't know how I managed to stick to the no wheat, no dairy, no sugar thing during all of this (did I mention I put down the caffeine, too??)....but I did.

Hardly can say I'm feeling better, though *bwahahaha*. I've been so sick, I'd never notice!



Going to bed early. I'm going to try going to the zen center tomorrow.

improving.

Better than yesterday, but not by much.

Still sick. Would probably be feeling better, but I had to venture out today and get some fresh produce before MyFavoriteKid (and me!) gets scurvy. It really wore me out.

I cancelled teaching knitting at the senior center, and I let my co-dance teacher take care of class tonight.

Off to bed in hopes tomorrow is even better!

deathbed

This cold is kicking. My. Ass. !

I was so sure I'd gone over the hump, but woke up thismorning feeling even worse.
Happily, I was able to be flat most of the day, and TheMostImportantGuy showedup tonight with some homeopathic cold medicine that seems to be working better than anything else I have tried.

This cold has me feeling more gimped-out than my disability does!

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Sent from my iPad

trainwreck.

I'm a mess. I was so stuffed up last night, then when I tried to get horizontal, my head almost exploded. I took one of the pseudoephedrine tablets TheMostImportantGuy had picked up over the weekend for himself, and that turned out to be the worst idea ever. I haven't taken that stuff in well over 10 years, and I knew it did something else besides unblock my sinuses....I knew it either wired me out or put me to sleep.

I was aiming for put me to sleep.

Well, I was wrong. I was up almost the entire night clenching my teeth.

At least I could breathe through my nose.



As an added bonus today, I needed to replace a tire on my wheelchair that completely blew apart. It took a 45-minute drive each way, plus a 90-minute wait in the shop because they usually only work by appointment. They squeezed me in.


Sorry so whiny.
Just tired and sick and cranky :-(

I failed to dodge TheMostImportantGuy's nose-blowing stream o' germs, and now today, I have his cold. Seems all the lysol-ing of the remote controls and TheBagOfDeath (a paper sack we use to deposit used and deadly facial tissue) was all for naught.

*pout*

Serious pout, actually....because unlike him, it's not the weekend, it's Monday, and where he was able to veg-out all weekend in bed, I have TheDrill to contend with. Also unlike him, I have no one bringing me steaming hot bowls of soup (in fact, I had fed him all of the homemade soup I had left in the house, too!)

Since I had to be out of the house today, I made a stop at the market, and I just whacked out a huge pot of organic chicken soup. I have to say, I make a mean chicken soup. Almost as mean as my mom's, except it's missing matzo balls (even if I could make them, they have wheat *more pouting*).

So off I go, sipping my version of chicken soup, sipping some herbal tea, and hopefully getting to relax into an early bedtime.

weekend successes & failures

A couple big hits this weekend. And one giant flop.

In the hit side of the score box....


Red pepper-potato dip with crudites. I can't find a link for to recipe for you because it's from the brand spankin' new Sunset Magazine (Oct 2011). Super yummy. The first time we ate it, it was still warm, because the potatoes were still warm from boiling. The second time we ate it, it was chilled. Loved it both ways. My only adjustment would be to use less garlic. I believe the recipe was spot on, but my garlic cloves were huge, and I didn't adjust down to the average sized clove. I kind of figured why not though. TheMostImportantGuy was battling a cold, so I figured the more garlic the better...partially because it's good for you, and partially because he was so stuffed up, he could barely taste things!

Next super yummy thing I whipped up was Grilled Herbed Tofu with Avocado Cream, and hey look...there's even a link to it.

If you ever need to make something for a vegetarian, this was super delicious and fast. If you aren't vegetarian, make the sauce anyhow. It would be awesome on fish or chicken, or even as a dip.
The leftovers even held up well overnight (which is what you are seeing in the photo, actually). The trick with storing an avocado sauce overnight is to make sure no air gets to it. I just threw the tofu into a container, spooned the sauce on top, but instead of topping it with a lid, I used plastic wrap pressed into the container, right on top of the sauce. A bit of the sauce sticks to the wrap when you remove it, but whatever...that sauce stays green.

***By the way, thanks to all who are posting or emailing me links to websites that can help me with the food stuff! I am so thankful!!! Keep 'em coming! Please!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now for the big fail this weekend.

I haven't been knitting much, but this weekend I pulled out my fall sweater project...because I'd really like to wear it while it is fall, for crying out loud.

I got it out, refreshed myself as to where I was in the pattern, and between Saturday and Sunday (and all the cooking, laundry, and helping out sick Boyfriend)....the sweater doubled in length.



And I was getting so excited, and then I saw a big fat mistake (which actually ended up being two mistakes, upon closer inspection).

And all my progress became this:



*sigh*

Well, I'm going to get back to it and see if I can catch myself up to where I was.

snapless saturday

MyFavoriteKid is off with his dad for the weekend.

TheMostImportantGuy has been in bed with a horrible cold all day.

I went to the zen center this morning.
Then I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen cooking up some awesome goodness so I could stuff my fridge with yummy foods that I can eat right now. I made some amazing rock star goodies, and...

I didn't take a pic of anything I plated, because I was so excited that I tasted everything before I thought to grab a camera! DUH


Wellp, I made enough of everything to last a couple of days, so I will try again tomorrow.

ohhh, but that aint the half of it!

In addition to kicking the caffeine, I also am not eating wheat, dairy, or sugar.



Which basically has me eating AIR.



More on all this soon. Right now I just have to go de-crabbify my attitude. LOL
aye aye aye

because i'm just to tired today

All I have worth sharing. There it is.

I went sans caffeine today, and I'm exhausted.
And a little crabby.

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Sent from my iPad

the kind of clean no one else sees

With all the work going on at the new house, the existing house (where I still happen to live most the time) has suffered.

I am doing a spring cleaning. In fall.

The kind of cleaning that you work at real hard, but no one else sees. Like going into cupboards and getting rid of all the expired foods or medicines. Or getting rid of those undies with the not-so-elastic-elastic. Or tossing out that shampoo that I didn't really like, but couldn't seem to toss out the day I decided I didn't like it (stupid LOL).

So it's the sort of cleaning you can spend all day doing, and you get a real sense of accomplishment, but then you close the doors to the cupboards and it doesn't look like you've done a damn thing, or like you've spent the day lounging on the couch eating bonbons or something.

I guess I could just go running around the house opening and closing things to make myself feel better!!

many parts a-smilin'

I'm not sure which part of me finds this video so pleasing...
the dancer in me?
the renovating/remodeling chick in me?
or is it that it touches the gal in me that sees herself growing old with her guy...?

Whatever.
It really tickles my fancy :-)



(sometimes blogger in certain browsers cuts off a portion of the screen, so here's a link to the video instead)

the blog is 6

Hard to believe....


....that I've been blah-blah-blah-ing for 6 years!

done done and done

We had one last box o' magnet. MyFK wanted to replace it with a desk. He wanted to be able to sit at an actual desk, in his own bedroom, rather than going into the den to study.

Fair enough.

And easy enough....because even though I helped with the classic IKEA cartoon directions, MyFK did most of the handiwork required for the assembly. He even played around with my power screwdriver/drill tool.

But.
With all of the IKEA cabinets I had put together at the new house, I have now officially had it with assembling IKEA furniture. For awhile, anyhow.

Probably a good long while, though!

snaps on saturday

Dressing the windows in the craftroom.











The old cotton & lace curtains were a find online.
The glass panels were made by a lady who turns old glass dishes into "stained glass". What's cool about them is that because they are dishes, they aren't flat. They have depth to them, too.
LOVE!

another football game

This time I remembered my knitting (and I got I spent time before going to the game figuring out where I'd left of the last time I set it down).

Except it's really hard to shake pom-poms and knit.

First sings of fall....




First signs of warm soup....



Was totally winging it, and also using up stuff from the fridge.
(all organic--woohoo!) Olive Oil ~ Yellow onion ~ Leeks ~ Celery ~ Carrot ~ Thyme ~ Garlic ~ Vegetable Broth ~ Water ~ San Marzano Tomatoes/Crushed ~ Butternut Squash ~ Northern White Beans ~ Broccolini ~ Lacinato Kale ~ S & P....topped with a smidge of parmesean cheese.

Mmmmmmmmm.

layers, baby...layers

Ok, so here's a revisit of what the bedroom at the new house looked like the last time I showed you.

We're still not done...there's a different lamp going on the other side of the bedroom that is still in it's box, and I am just throwing the finishing stitches on a green throw pillow for the bed made out of a sweater I felted, too.
But we've added a couple of touches, and here it is, as of today...


Here's a close-up of that old lamp I found. I love it because the base lights up separately (or together) with the actual lamp itself.

I dragged it with me to the store in all it's rickety glory, and I tried shade after shade on it. The very last shade in the store is the one I ended up liking. It's a chocolate brown with some gold streaks on it, and it looked ridiculously gawdy on the shelf. It looks great, and even better when it's lit.

And I love the texture on the glass of the lamp....which is somewhat mirrored in the bedding.

I wanted the bed to look like a business suit, but with some "girly" to it. Sort of like when a chick wears her man's business shirt around the house like nightshirt the next morning.
That feeling ;-)

With the shape of the lamp and the stitching on the white bedding, I was really trying to bring in some round curvy details to contrast against the squareness of the bed, not to mention the pinstripes on the navy duvet cover. Same idea with the wall mirror, which has a round beveled detail on it.

Here's the green glass I've been collecting for the other side of the room. It's on dresser that came from TheMostImportantGuy's family.

We actually are the type of folks that light candles and burn incense in the bedroom, so this isn't just a decoration for us. It's all functional. I think I might change out the sand I put inside of the glasses, though. There were lots of shades of sand to choose from at the big box craft store, and I went with the white...but I think it might need something darker. The white is kinda taking away from the glass, I think. The craft store also sold bags full of little green chips of tumbled glass. I might go that route instead.

That little dresser scarf there we actually found for $5 at Walgreens. It's an actual scarf. For around your neck. Not for your dresser. But whatever. Hahaha.




The nightstand was a splurge, but I adore it. It's sturdy as all get out and should last a lifetime. It's a modern spin on an old travel trunk, but they really focused on the details. The trim on the trunk is leather and wood and they used really nice upholstery tacks. The drawers are lined with some sort of fabric, and they open and close whisper quiet. Even though the thing is new, it just feels timeless to me, and that's why I don't mind dropping a wad on something like this. I also feel like it could work in other places around the house if we ever felt like mixing things up.

The flowers on it are fake, believe it or not. I prefer real flowers, but being that I'm only at this house on the weekends at this point, I couldn't be bothered....and how sad to always come for the weekend and arrive to last week's dead flowers?! Besides, these look deceptively real! They were also on the clearance rack ;-) Under six bucks.

The little books on the nightstand are actually fake little boxes that look like books, and they are there so that I have a place to toss my rings and watch into at night. Also scored at 60% off at the same big box craft store.

The chair was another splurge and not only do I have a mad hot crush on that chair, but I also have a funny story that goes with it...so I'll do another post about that sometime soon. The throw on it was also a sale find (I think ten bucks?)....and I love that it also has some round shapes to it, not to mention it is very soft and cozy. It will be used as a blanket, not just as decor.

So mission accomplished so far....we saved on some things so we could splurge on others, we've mixed old and new, mixed businessman with girly-girl...and so far it's feeling like a calming sexy little corner of the house.


There's a few more things going on in the room....like the whole other side of it, for example, but that's still "under construction".
One wall at a time!! LOL.

f student

Ya' know, I went and saw that new doc that I'm so excited about working with on August 30th, and I booked the follow-up to see him 3 weeks later (Sep 20) to discuss the results of that "very special" lab test kit he sent me home with.

If you recall, the test involved taking samples of things created when performing "very special" bodily functions. The test was set up to involve taking samples for 3 days, and then shipping it off to the lab in a pre-paid Fed-Ex box. The instructions said that the kit had to be returned within 4 days of the last sample.

Simple. No???

No.

I was given the kit on that Tuesday (in the afternoon, and my ship had already sailed that day, if ya' know what I mean). I suppose I could have done the test Wed-Thu-Fri...but I wasn't entirely sure if Fed-Ex would do a pick up Saturday, and then there was the Labor Day weekend involved, and well....there's yer 4-days. By my math, if I did Wed-Thu-Fri, that meant that I would have done the last sample on a Friday, Fed-Ex would pick up on Tuesday, and if all went well, it's 4-days....but if there is any delay with the package or Fed-Ex, it's a waste (pardon the pun)....and I'd have to the whole test over again.

So I decide to the the test Sun-Mon-Tue to go out Wed and get to the lab on Thu. Makes sense. Simple. No???

No.


I do the test on Sunday, but on Monday, I open up my little zip lockbaggy o' hazardous goodies for the day, including that lovely little paper french-fry boat, and everything in the bag is soaked. Apparently, the lid on the vial where I was supposed to deposit my "very special" bodily goop had not been seated properly, and the vial was leaking.

The kit's included instructions state that if any amount of liquid from the vial is spilled, discontinue the test immediately---the results will be incorrect. It says to call the 800 number for the company who makes the kits and they will send out another vial.

I call. They are closed. Of course they are. It's Monday, and it's Labor Day weekend. I leave a message, they of course, they do not return my call Tuesday morning....because they are probably dealing with an extra day's worth of backed up samples (another pun). I call the lab a second time Tuesday afternoon and they tell me it would be faster if I just went back to the doctor's office. Which I do. Even though it's a 45 minute drive. Each direction.

I get the kit home, and look it over so I can be prepared for the next day's events (I'd already missed Tuesday's boat entirely)....and that is when I realize that I have the wrong kit. This new kit comes with extra special things like medicine droppers and instructions to take the medicine I was prescribed (?) on the morning of the first test.

I call the doctor's office, but now it's so late in the day, they are closed. They call me back Wednesday morning, but only after I have now missed Wednesday's ship as well.

*sigh*

The MistressOfTheKits at the doctor's office says I can use the kit I was given, because it actually IS the correct one...THAT THEY HAD GIVEN ME THE WRONG KIT IN THE FIRST PLACE (??!!!) because it was all they had on hand. This new kit is does more extensive testing, but this new kit involves taking a laxative on the first day (yay me), which of course, I don't have AND...

...with all of these delays....the test results will now not be back in time for my follow-up appointment! My appointment is now moved out to October 4th.

*sigh* (again)

On Thursday, I go buy the laxative crap (I know, I'm so punny), after Thursday's ship has now sailed, of course. I decide I dont want to do a test involving a laxative on Friday because I'm going to be at a football game, nor do I want to do it on Saturday when I will be driving an hour and a half each way to get to the niece's birthday party. I'm already having to bump the damn follow-up appointment out anyhow, so I decide to take the test Sun-Mon-Tue (ie today) and I have Fed-Ex pick it up upon completion.

Which I do.
*phew*

Meanwhile, the stupid rash is driving me nuts because I had to stop the medication I normally take to tame the symptoms, because they couldn't be in my system for the test or they would skew results.
AND...I've also been reading all of the material the doctor sent me home with, and I have so many questions (that I can't really ask until October now), that it's making me a little jumpy.


The point of this story, is that I managed to get an F on my poo test.
Incomplete. Late. Poor work habits. All that.
And bad citizenship, too.

Leave it to me to pull that off LOLOL

hitchhiker

I stopped by an art gallery this morning to pick up the prints that we ordered at that show we went to a few weeks ago. The show ended yesterday, so all three artists were there this morning collecting their wares, including our friend (and handyman) who makes the wooden robot sculptures.

He sent me home with one as a housewarming gift :-)

saturation.

I've watched a little bit too much tv this afternoon....

...all 9/11 10th year stuff, and primarily a couple of shows on the history channel that were either compilations of amateur video taken that day, or shows focused on listening to audio files of first responders or phone calls made by people that were trapped in the towers that had left on voicemail messages on answering machines.

Really amazing to watch.
Wasn't exactly tummy settling tv viewing either, though.

So I'm capping off my evening by watching/listening to the Mahler/Symphony No.2 Resurrection concert being broadcast tonight on PBS...

....also in honor of 9/11. But on a more digestible note.

snaps on saturday

Niece's birthday party today...

where the hell did the week go???!

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Didn't we just do this???



Game number two. Very exciting. Right down to the end. Nail-biter.
But we lost :-(

The jumping jack lady was there, though!


I did bring a hat and a blanket, and I did have a warmer jacket this time (I bought a team hoodie).

I did bring my knitting this time, too....except I brought the sweater I haven't touched in 3+ weeks, and I couldn't figure out where the hell I was in the pattern, so I ate a hot dog instead.

Another home game next Friday, so I'm going to need to get back on track by then and get jamming on this thing. It's a fall sweater. And I should probably try to finish the damn thing before spring!

things i find funny

Found on the greeting card aisle....

vintage me.

Have I shown this one yet??


I do believe this is a photo of me earning my way into (or proving my worth within) the "Whole Lobster Club" (a family tradition).

I definitely know how to handle a whole lobster ;-)
I remember in culinary school watching my classmates struggle to get the meat out in one piece in order to make a fancy presentation, and I was like, "noooooooooo problemmmmm. I have me some madz lobstah skillz."
;-)

I'm not entirely sure that I am correct on this, but I believe this photo was taken on a trip to visit my mom's family on the east coast (Boston area), and I think we might even be sitting on an outdoor patio of one my mom's favorite restaurants.

the green glass cometh

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been on the hunt for a few more pieces made of green glass to put into the bedroom at the new house. This one arrived in today's mail.


(not it's final resting place....that's my bathroom at the current house)

I'm not entirely sure this thing was intended to hold a candle. It sort of seems like it would make an awesome presentation for a giant shrimp cocktail or somethign LOL.....but at our house, it will be a candle holder. Until we get bored and do something else with it. For now it will go on the family dresser that TheMostImportantGuy inherited a couple of weekends ago. I have also scored a lovely tall green glass vase and a short little green glass dansko jar that is sort of in the shape of an ink-well. Next time I get over there and artfully arrange things I will take a nice photo.

Because our weekends have been so busy working on the house, I haven't had as much time to go to flea markets or garage sales as I would like to for these sorts of things. I have been popping into the occasional thrift shop and have also stopped a few times at a local consignment shop that has some rockbottom deals, but this particular piece you see above (as well as several others I have scored recently), I found trolling while trolling etsy.....one of my favorite, and most dangerous, places on the internet ;-)

best and worst

worst: not finishing up all of our painting projects at the new house this weekend

best: we didn't finish because we took a break from all the hard work to finally go see a movie (it's been months. months and months. (so long, actually, that TheMostImportantGuy have put our heads together and we still can't even remember what it was was we last saw LOL)



We did get quite a bit of stuff done around the new house this weekend, though....and it's feeling more "lived in" and cozy.

What did you do this weekend?

before and after

Not the best shots, but it's late, and I was just heading off to bed when I realized I hadn't posted yet tonight. I hope I haven't shown these before, because it seems like I may have!

Here's a before and after shot of "the carriage house" (the in-law apartment upstairs from the detached garage behind the hew house). They aren't taken from the same perspective, unfortunately. The "before" was taken from about where the kitchen is, looking towards the entry...while the "after" was taken from the entry looking into the apartment.

The floors are the original wood, refinished...amazing.

-----
Sent from my iPad

snaps on saturday

progress in the craftroom (smelllllll the possibilities!)

Pardon the black splotch in the bottom right corner. seems I need a new camera :-(

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Sent from my iPad

Even though I'm a baseball fan, I've never been much into football. That's probably going to have to shift some, as tonight was the first (of what will be many, I suppose) High School Football games for me.
Not because MyFavoriteKid plays football.
Because he's in the marching band.



By the way....first home game of the season, and our team won 72-0 ( wha?!!!)

My favorite part of the night (besides MyFK in the half-time band thang, of course) was what happened every time the home team scored. There was this sprite older lady (70's? 80's?), who was a volunteer for the team, providing water and supplies for the team. Every time the team scored, she we go over to the cheerleading squad and make them participate with her in doing jumping jacks to match the score. She had no problem doing round after round after round, and even the cheerleaders were having a hard time keeping up with her. The audience participated (myself included....seated, though...arms only), and my arms will probably hurt tomorrow.

I learned a few things about football tonight (none of them having to do with the actual rules of the game, though LOL):

* don't forget a jacket next time.
* maybe even a blanket.
* don't forget the knitting next time, either.
* bring a thermos of hot liquid while yer at it, ding-dong

performing tonight

I'm doing a little dance performance tonight at the studio. We are wrapping up a 10 week series of classes that were designed to be "an incubator" or sorts so that each of us that make up class (students and teachers both) could create solos.

And of course, here we are, at the end of the 10 week series and I am just now blogging about it...
because I am just that sort of blogger. LOL *sigh*

Here's what I've been up to:

Several years ago, when I was working with Dandelion Dancetheater, Eric Kupers, the director and choreographer, created this very long movement phrase that he wanted us all to learn as he believed it was to be inserted into an evening long piece somewhere. He choreographed for a very specific piece of music by Sweet Honey And The Rock, and that's what we listed to when we learned it, but as rehearsal progressed, every week he'd spring new music on us. Sometimes it worked for me, a lot of times it didn't....and he actually preferred the more abstract music where, to me, the music didn't seem to match the movements. I often had to tune out the music to just keep the movement phrase moving.

And it drove me nuts.

At the time.

(it also never ended up in that show, after all that work...hahahaha)


As the years have gone by however, I've become enchanted with the idea of experimenting with this again. I don't remember all of the movement phrase, but I've cobbled together enough of what I do remember to make it work.....and then I have danced.....as an experiment only....and these are just a few of the many questions that have come up for me:

* When I am supposed to be doing something (in this case, repeating a movement phrase...but in life....say, folding the laundry or paying the bills) what pulls me off center?
* How do I do what I am supposed to do while the background and scenery change?
* How much do I let external forces shape or shift what it is I am supposed to be focused on doing?

It's been quite a fun experiment. What I've done, over the last couple of months of class, is to show up every week with different music that I have never danced to before, and then apply the movement phrase to it. I've done everything from TheSmiths and Smashing Pumpkins, to Diana Krall and KD Lang. I've danced to chanting from the zen center and to music I have never even heard at all because it came off of a free cd I picked up in a coffee shop.

A few unexpected things came up as I watched myself play with this, the big one being how interesting I can get embellishing things when I get bored with something repetitive. Even if I try real hard to keep it simple and basic and just doing what I'm supposed to be doing, once I get bored I want to fluff things up LOL. It's also interesting to note that the only times I have every gotten lost in the phrase and forgotten what came next (it's about 2 minutes long), it's always been to the music I would have expected to be the easiest to work with.

edited to add: One of the other things I discovered to be true for myself at this time (who knows, it might shift as I work long), is that one of the reasons its hard for me to do the repetitive "thing I am supposed to be doing" without allowing the outside influences to affect me, is because it sort of seems ridiculous to me to NOT to be allowed it to be affected. I feel like maybe the lesson learned here is that I can still do whatever it is that I am supposed to be doing without denying the reality the world is perhaps dancing to a different drummer ;-) And that it would be somewhat robotic and even outright ignorant to not allow my surroundings to affect how I am doing something.

Tonight, we are having an open house, and I am "performing" this in front of whoever shows up, but it's still not quite a performance. Once again, I will be dancing to music tonight that I've never worked with before this way (although it's music I love: Paranoid Android by Radiohead--I chose it for tonight because I really only have time for one track and it has a lot of radical shifts of mood to it). Some day I'd like to perform this again with an ipod full of who knows what and let the audience shuffle it around on me, and then see what happens LOL.

I'm totally not done exploring this.
I am pretty sure this is only phase one of...I dont know what....