Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Taking it on Tuesday: Sewing
I bought this yesterday.
I have only used one of these one other time in my life: middle school Life Management class (fancy name for home economics). That didn't go so well. I got strep throat the entire week we learned how to use a sewing machine and when I came back, it was time to sew our chosen pillow patterns. I, thinking it would be so easy--I mean, my mom knew how to sew, so surely I could pick it right up--had chosen one of the hardest patterns to sew before I got sick. That result was not so pretty (however, my two youngest brothers took the same class many years later and it turns out my pillow was better than either of theirs, so that says something, right?).
Anyway, after that little foray into sewing, I thought I was a dud and never pushed my mom to teach me how to sew. As I have recently learned, she did not push to teach me because she doesn't really like it (even though, from my memory, she's pretty good at it). So, I grew up not even able to sew on a button. Yep, that's something I've mastered in just the last couple of years. For the first many years of our relationship, B did all button replacing and minor mending.
So, why the sudden interest? A few months ago, a few of B's pants came apart at the inseam. We really didn't want to spend money on new pants since these were not old, so I attempted to repair them by hand. It worked pretty well, but took a pretty long time. I said I probably needed a sewing machine. But, mending was not the only reason. Many of my friends know how to sew (some having recently picked it up) and have been making things I would love to know how to do.
My main "creative" hobby is cooking and baking. I love doing both, but that can be an expensive hobby and one that is hard to do a lot of when there are only two of us in the house. I can only take so many baked foods to share at work. Anyway, I also just really wanted to learn to be creative in a more tangible, long-lasting way. I envy my friends who can make baby blankets or clothes. Or my awesome friend Ginger who is a fabulously creative scrapbooker. And, like I said in my first "Taking it on Tuesday" post, I just want to challenge myself to try things I've never done before, especially things I've been afraid to try.
So, I bought a sewing machine. This was my first project:
A sad attempt at learing how to use the machine and sewing a straight line. Not to pretty, but not horrible either. I did manage to mend one pair of B's slacks tonight and they look pretty darn good. And it only took seconds!
Happy Tuesday!
A
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Things I Love Thursday: The Slow Cooker
A couple of Christmases ago, B got me a slow cooker for Christmas. Now, before you go giving him hell for giving me a kitchen appliance, I have to point out that I asked for it--along with a dutch over, a tortilla warmer, and a grill pan. I'm that kinda girl. I love to cook and I love stuff for my kitchen.
Up until that point, my only real interaction with the slow cooker had been keeping queso, meatballs, and mini wienies warm for parties or work. But, I knew there was this whole world of slow cooker meals out there and I wanted to try it out. So, I asked for a digital with an automatic shutoff/warming setting.
I started out with basics--roast, tortilla soup, etc. I bought a couple of cookbooks. And I only used it on weekends/days we were home. B asked that we not use when we are not home. Now, being the person who had done the research, I knew hundreds if not thousands of people cook dinner in the slow cookers every day while they are away at work. But, B was concerned about a fire hazard, especially with the munchkins in the house, so I did as he asked. Because of this, however, the slow cooker didn't get a whole lot of use because a lot of weekends our plans were up in the air, so it was hard to plan to use it.
I did use it on occasion when I was off work to make some new favorites like meatloaf in the slow cooker (sooo good). And I used it the one month I decided to try Once a Month Cooking--it was great for cooking large amount of shredded BBQ chicken and shredded Mexican chicken to freeze.
Then, about a year ago, I was given the opportunity at work to work from home one day a week. In January of this year, I began doing it on a regular basis and realized this would be a great way to get more use out of the slow cooker. I could just take a little break sometime in the morning, prep the food and throw it in, and dinner at 6:00! Since then, I've been searching out new recipes to try. If you check out my cooking blog, you'll see some of my most recent dinners.
Now, I'm certainly not the first person to "discover" the slow cooker. But, it's new to me and I really do just love it.
The meat that you get is so tender. I even got B to eat ribs--twice--because the meat just fell off the bones. I love that mine is big--8 quarts--so I can usually get dinner and lefovers out of one recipe.
It's really good for more than just meals. I wanted some shredded whole chicken not long ago, so I threw in a whole chicken I bought on sale overnight, took it out the next morning and let it sit in the fridge all day, and that night, I had plenty of shredded chicken for a dinner with mashed potatoes, sandwiches for lunch, and some to freeze that I later used in a pot pie. I saved the broth for other uses and the bones to make stock. How awesome is that?
I can't find a link to my exact slow cooker. But, it's Cooks brand and 8 quarts. It can be a little big sometimes, but I just have to make sure I plan for the leftovers.
I can't wait to try and share more recipes!
Happy Thursday!
A
Up until that point, my only real interaction with the slow cooker had been keeping queso, meatballs, and mini wienies warm for parties or work. But, I knew there was this whole world of slow cooker meals out there and I wanted to try it out. So, I asked for a digital with an automatic shutoff/warming setting.
I started out with basics--roast, tortilla soup, etc. I bought a couple of cookbooks. And I only used it on weekends/days we were home. B asked that we not use when we are not home. Now, being the person who had done the research, I knew hundreds if not thousands of people cook dinner in the slow cookers every day while they are away at work. But, B was concerned about a fire hazard, especially with the munchkins in the house, so I did as he asked. Because of this, however, the slow cooker didn't get a whole lot of use because a lot of weekends our plans were up in the air, so it was hard to plan to use it.
I did use it on occasion when I was off work to make some new favorites like meatloaf in the slow cooker (sooo good). And I used it the one month I decided to try Once a Month Cooking--it was great for cooking large amount of shredded BBQ chicken and shredded Mexican chicken to freeze.
Then, about a year ago, I was given the opportunity at work to work from home one day a week. In January of this year, I began doing it on a regular basis and realized this would be a great way to get more use out of the slow cooker. I could just take a little break sometime in the morning, prep the food and throw it in, and dinner at 6:00! Since then, I've been searching out new recipes to try. If you check out my cooking blog, you'll see some of my most recent dinners.
Now, I'm certainly not the first person to "discover" the slow cooker. But, it's new to me and I really do just love it.
The meat that you get is so tender. I even got B to eat ribs--twice--because the meat just fell off the bones. I love that mine is big--8 quarts--so I can usually get dinner and lefovers out of one recipe.
It's really good for more than just meals. I wanted some shredded whole chicken not long ago, so I threw in a whole chicken I bought on sale overnight, took it out the next morning and let it sit in the fridge all day, and that night, I had plenty of shredded chicken for a dinner with mashed potatoes, sandwiches for lunch, and some to freeze that I later used in a pot pie. I saved the broth for other uses and the bones to make stock. How awesome is that?
I can't find a link to my exact slow cooker. But, it's Cooks brand and 8 quarts. It can be a little big sometimes, but I just have to make sure I plan for the leftovers.
I can't wait to try and share more recipes!
Happy Thursday!
A
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Pulmonary Embolism: The Whole Story, Part 2: Getting Diagnosed
So, with the doctor's orders, and with B still swearing he had a broken rib, off to Harris Methodist ER we went. We got back immediately where they did another EKG (which showed the same things as the first). Eventually they drew some blood, which they told us came back showing clotting, so blood clots it was. The next step was a CT to determine where the blood clots were. Turns out they were in the lining of the lungs--which explains the pain. At this point, the assumption was that the clots had started in his leg--thus, the leg pain--and had traveled to his lungs, which is pretty common.
At this point, we had been in the ER for nearly 6 hours and we knew they were most likely admitting him, but we had yet to see a doctor. We were hungry and tired and worried. I finally complained. While B went for yet another test, a very abrupt ER doctor took all of 2 minutes to tell me that they found clots in his lungs (which I had already been told by our nurse), that he would need to be admitted (which I had been told by another nurse), and that he would be put on blood thinners (duh!). We asked if he could eat and they said yes, so I went to the cafeteria.
We finally ate around 10:45 while still waiting for a room. And this was when I had my first meltdown. Here is was almost 11:00 pm and our babies hadn't eaten since 5:30am (normal time) or pottied since around 1:00pm. But, I didn't want to leave until they put B in a room (really, I didn't want to leave him at all, but knew I needed to), but I also didn't want the babies suffering. So, B suggested I call Scott and ask him to go. Bless Scott. He got out of bed at 10:45 to drive to our house (now, before you go feeling all sorry for him, he lives exactly 6 minutes from us) and feed and potty the pups. But, of course, I still felt horrible that they were home alone and probably confused.
Close to midnight, the nurse shift changed and the new nurse came in to check on us. Once again, we asked about a room. This time we were informed that he would be staying in the ER as there were no rooms available--in the entire hospital. Yes, seriously. (And, you know, I get that it is an ER and they are really busy, but you can't tell a person who is waiting that he is not getting a room that night? Really?) At this point, we realized I could not stay any longer, so I went home and B tried to sleep.
Thursday (3/11) morning, B was taken down for a sonogram to make sure he had no more clots his legs. When he came back up, he had moved to a tiny room in the ER. The room was so small that they could not even have a regular hospital bed in there, just the gurney with the crappy pad. But, it was a private room with a door and TV, so we took it. Overnight, he had been put on oxygen because the heart monitor kept beeping. At no point was he ever actually short of breath, it just hurt to take deep breaths, so he didn't. That cause oxygen levels to lower, and the machine beeped. Our regular doctor had also come in to see him that morning before I arrived and told him what we had not been wanting to say outloud--that he could have died. We still try not to actually say that outloud. We know it, we understand it, but that's just a lot. Over the course of the day, we waited--mostly impatiently--for a room. We were told on multiple occasions that we may not have a room that day. B was also put through a couple of other tests for his heart "just to be sure." All of these tests confirmed what the EKG had already told us--nothing wrong with his heart. We were also visited by the pulmonologist who asked a lot of questions and gave few answers. Gotta love doctors sometimes.
Around 5:00 pm, we were finally given the news that they had a room for him (note, we had been in the ER for over 25 hours). But, they had to take him down for an echo on his heart first. Poor guy. All he wanted was to get to a room so he could shower, change clothes, and get in a comfortable bed. But, he was there soon enough and got to do all those things.
More to come on the hospital stay . . .
A
At this point, we had been in the ER for nearly 6 hours and we knew they were most likely admitting him, but we had yet to see a doctor. We were hungry and tired and worried. I finally complained. While B went for yet another test, a very abrupt ER doctor took all of 2 minutes to tell me that they found clots in his lungs (which I had already been told by our nurse), that he would need to be admitted (which I had been told by another nurse), and that he would be put on blood thinners (duh!). We asked if he could eat and they said yes, so I went to the cafeteria.
We finally ate around 10:45 while still waiting for a room. And this was when I had my first meltdown. Here is was almost 11:00 pm and our babies hadn't eaten since 5:30am (normal time) or pottied since around 1:00pm. But, I didn't want to leave until they put B in a room (really, I didn't want to leave him at all, but knew I needed to), but I also didn't want the babies suffering. So, B suggested I call Scott and ask him to go. Bless Scott. He got out of bed at 10:45 to drive to our house (now, before you go feeling all sorry for him, he lives exactly 6 minutes from us) and feed and potty the pups. But, of course, I still felt horrible that they were home alone and probably confused.
Close to midnight, the nurse shift changed and the new nurse came in to check on us. Once again, we asked about a room. This time we were informed that he would be staying in the ER as there were no rooms available--in the entire hospital. Yes, seriously. (And, you know, I get that it is an ER and they are really busy, but you can't tell a person who is waiting that he is not getting a room that night? Really?) At this point, we realized I could not stay any longer, so I went home and B tried to sleep.
Thursday (3/11) morning, B was taken down for a sonogram to make sure he had no more clots his legs. When he came back up, he had moved to a tiny room in the ER. The room was so small that they could not even have a regular hospital bed in there, just the gurney with the crappy pad. But, it was a private room with a door and TV, so we took it. Overnight, he had been put on oxygen because the heart monitor kept beeping. At no point was he ever actually short of breath, it just hurt to take deep breaths, so he didn't. That cause oxygen levels to lower, and the machine beeped. Our regular doctor had also come in to see him that morning before I arrived and told him what we had not been wanting to say outloud--that he could have died. We still try not to actually say that outloud. We know it, we understand it, but that's just a lot. Over the course of the day, we waited--mostly impatiently--for a room. We were told on multiple occasions that we may not have a room that day. B was also put through a couple of other tests for his heart "just to be sure." All of these tests confirmed what the EKG had already told us--nothing wrong with his heart. We were also visited by the pulmonologist who asked a lot of questions and gave few answers. Gotta love doctors sometimes.
Around 5:00 pm, we were finally given the news that they had a room for him (note, we had been in the ER for over 25 hours). But, they had to take him down for an echo on his heart first. Poor guy. All he wanted was to get to a room so he could shower, change clothes, and get in a comfortable bed. But, he was there soon enough and got to do all those things.
More to come on the hospital stay . . .
A
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Pulmonary Embolism: The Whole Story, Part 1: What the Heck is Wrong with Bill?
I started this blog post almost a week ago now. The first night, I got too tired to finish. Then, B came home and I just didn't want to sit and think about it all. But, it is time to finish it. I'm thinking about breaking it into two or three parts just for the sake of length. I think most people reading know me personally, so you know I can talk with the best of them. I fully admit to my long-windedness. And my storytelling does tend to go on and on and on and on. But, that's usually because I don't like to leave things out. And in the case of what happened to Bill, to us, I don't want to leave anything out. I want to be able to have this story so we don't forget and so it's just out there for people to know about because we were so completely blindsided by what happened. Originally, I had hoped this would be a straighforward account of what happened medically, but there was so much more that I know the emotional/stressful parts will find their way through. I've said it before, I'll say it again: my blog, my perogative!
Also, we've told the story so many times to so many people that I feel like having it written out, printed, lamenated, and on hand to pass out when someone asks.
So, one more time, from the top.
On Friday, March 5, B started complaining about his left calf hurting. We didn't think too much about it as his legs often get stiff and sore because he refuses to stretch properly after working out--yes, I'm calling you out here, dear, so that maybe you'll start doing it!
He woke up the next morning with it hurting even worse. I rubbed the leg pretty extensively that morning and throughout the day. It was very stiff. It hurt him to put weight on the leg and after awhile actually hurt when I rubbed it. Sunday, more of the same.
Monday (3/8) morning, we decided he'd go ahead and do the elliptical like he does every morning, thinking maybe he could work out whatever stiffness was going on. But, we also said he'd take it really easy. After less than 5 minutes, I walked by the room and looked in on him. He was barely going, saying it hurt really bad. I looked down at the left calf and from across the room could see a small (maybe marble size) bump/knot on the side of his calf, about an inch and half above his ankle. Thinking he might have actually fractured a bone or something, I immediately told him to stop working out. Once we looked closer, we didn't think it was a bone sticking out, but still were not sure what it was. I urged him to see a doctor.
Monday evening, I brought home Dairy Queen for dinner--burger and fries. A couple of hours after dinner, B started complaining of chest pains, which he gets from time to time if he eats spicy, greasy/heavy, or acidic foods. He said he was hurting pretty bad and I asked him where the pain was, if it was down his left arm, etc. He said it hurt a little in his neck/back and some down his arm. I gave him two Gaviscon, which he normally takes for heartburn, and an asprin, which he also takes every morning. He continued to complain and actually started to get worried himself, which is rare. Neither of us slept that night and we discussed going to the emergency room.
Around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday (3/9), B was just about convinced that we should go the ER. I got up and got the laptop and brought it back to bed. I just wanted to see if I could pinpoint some symptoms. Within 10 minutes, he fell asleep for the first time all night. I stayed up looking at symptoms and was convinced he was not having a heart attack. I considered gall bladder because some of his symptoms reminded me of my mom's--she had her gall bladder out about a month ago. But, his pain was on the wrong side--his left side. Around 4:15, I decided to lie back down for a bit and woke him up at 5:00, our normal time. He was still pretty groggy and I knew he wasn't going to work and I decided I was at least staying with him until we had a chance to call the doctor. I got up at 6:30 to call my boss and he got up a little while later to do the same. He decided he wanted to go ahead and get up and thought he was feeling a little better. He went to the bathroom a couple of times and was burping a lot--both of which seemed to relieve the pain/pressure.
I thought the doctor's office opened at 8:00, so I made him wait until after I could get ahold of them to eat in case he could get in and they wanted to do any kind of bloodwork or anything. I finally got ahold of the doctor's office at 8:50. I explained to the woman at the appointment desk what was going on and she told me our doctor did not have any openings that day, but she went to talk to his nurse to see what we should do. I should mention here that at some point when I was looking up symptoms at 3:30 in the morning, I had considred his leg and I think even saw something about pulmonary embolism, but by the time I called the doctor, I did not think to mention his leg. Anyway, the doctor's nurse was going to talk to the doctor and call us back. She called back pretty quickly, but said they were thinking it may have been a really bad bout of heartburn/reflux and wanted us to try Prilosec or Prevecid and make an appointment to see the doctor as early as possible. I accepted that and B thought he was feeling better, so we decided to go with that.
We both had some errands to run, so we got out and about, but B was still not quite right. We stopped by my mom's office to pick up my jury summons that had been mailed to her house. We got to talking about how B was feeling and mentioned his leg. That set off alarm bells to Mom and she said we needed to go the ER or at least call the doctor's office back and tell them about the leg. B was skeptical, but while we were eating lunch, it was pretty clear he was still in a lot of pain. By this point the pain was localized to his lower ribcage on the left side. I was starting to get very concerned by this point, so he agreed to let me call the doctor back. This time, one of the nurses happened to be answering the phone and realized, I think, that this might be more serious than heartburn or even gall bladder. She got him an appointment with another doctor the next day at 1:00.
Well, B being B, did not want to keep the appointment because he was supposed to have his review at work the next day at 1:00. I told him we could cancel if he wanted. On the drive home, I still had a nagging feeling and we actually ended up in the parking lot of Harris Southwest ER. He convinced me that he was feeling better, but that if he felt bad again, he promised he would go to the ER. So, home went. Had a normal evening, complete with B playing Halo with the guys.
At 4:00 Wednesday (3/10) morning, B woke me up saying he really thought we needed to go to the ER. He was having pretty severe pain in his lower left ribcage. It hurt to take a deep breath, it hurt to the touch, and he could not get comfortable. He wanted to take a shower first, so he got a shower and I got up to take care of the pups. At this point, he was convinced he'd somehow broken a rib. By the time he got out of the shower, he felt a ton better and claimed it didn't hurt as bad. He again decided he did not need to go to the ER, but agreed to let me make an appointment with his doctor (but cancel the appointment for that day). So, off to work we went. I cancelled the appointment and made another one for the following Thursday.
Around 9:00, B called me and asked me to call back and see if the doctor could still see him that afternoon. The pain had gotten worse again and his boss was postponing his review and telling him to go home. I later found out that she actually tried to drive him to the ER herself and told him he was being selfish for not going to the ER/doctor to be checked out. All of this was enough to convince him. So, I called the doctor back and they scheduled him for 2:30 that afternoon. He went home and waited for me to come get him.
We did not see our regular doctor. She listened to everything, including the story about the leg, which B thought was silly tell, but at this point, I did not want to leave anything out. She seemed perplexed by all of the seemingly random symptoms and wanted run an EKG. Now, B was a bit scared by this. He is overweight and he has high blood pressure and high cholestrol/triglycerides. He was a little worried about what an EKG would show. Turns out, the EKG showed him to have a very healthy heart (I attribute that to his years an an athlete/runner). But, it did show some things that concerned the doctor. Without something to compare it to, she couldn't tell if it was normal for him or if what she was seeing indicated something else. She said she would not feel comfortable unless she sent him to an ER for some more testing. We asked her what she was thinking and she said blood clot (pulmonary embolism) or an infection around the heart.
Also, we've told the story so many times to so many people that I feel like having it written out, printed, lamenated, and on hand to pass out when someone asks.
So, one more time, from the top.
On Friday, March 5, B started complaining about his left calf hurting. We didn't think too much about it as his legs often get stiff and sore because he refuses to stretch properly after working out--yes, I'm calling you out here, dear, so that maybe you'll start doing it!
He woke up the next morning with it hurting even worse. I rubbed the leg pretty extensively that morning and throughout the day. It was very stiff. It hurt him to put weight on the leg and after awhile actually hurt when I rubbed it. Sunday, more of the same.
Monday (3/8) morning, we decided he'd go ahead and do the elliptical like he does every morning, thinking maybe he could work out whatever stiffness was going on. But, we also said he'd take it really easy. After less than 5 minutes, I walked by the room and looked in on him. He was barely going, saying it hurt really bad. I looked down at the left calf and from across the room could see a small (maybe marble size) bump/knot on the side of his calf, about an inch and half above his ankle. Thinking he might have actually fractured a bone or something, I immediately told him to stop working out. Once we looked closer, we didn't think it was a bone sticking out, but still were not sure what it was. I urged him to see a doctor.
Monday evening, I brought home Dairy Queen for dinner--burger and fries. A couple of hours after dinner, B started complaining of chest pains, which he gets from time to time if he eats spicy, greasy/heavy, or acidic foods. He said he was hurting pretty bad and I asked him where the pain was, if it was down his left arm, etc. He said it hurt a little in his neck/back and some down his arm. I gave him two Gaviscon, which he normally takes for heartburn, and an asprin, which he also takes every morning. He continued to complain and actually started to get worried himself, which is rare. Neither of us slept that night and we discussed going to the emergency room.
Around 3:00 a.m. Tuesday (3/9), B was just about convinced that we should go the ER. I got up and got the laptop and brought it back to bed. I just wanted to see if I could pinpoint some symptoms. Within 10 minutes, he fell asleep for the first time all night. I stayed up looking at symptoms and was convinced he was not having a heart attack. I considered gall bladder because some of his symptoms reminded me of my mom's--she had her gall bladder out about a month ago. But, his pain was on the wrong side--his left side. Around 4:15, I decided to lie back down for a bit and woke him up at 5:00, our normal time. He was still pretty groggy and I knew he wasn't going to work and I decided I was at least staying with him until we had a chance to call the doctor. I got up at 6:30 to call my boss and he got up a little while later to do the same. He decided he wanted to go ahead and get up and thought he was feeling a little better. He went to the bathroom a couple of times and was burping a lot--both of which seemed to relieve the pain/pressure.
I thought the doctor's office opened at 8:00, so I made him wait until after I could get ahold of them to eat in case he could get in and they wanted to do any kind of bloodwork or anything. I finally got ahold of the doctor's office at 8:50. I explained to the woman at the appointment desk what was going on and she told me our doctor did not have any openings that day, but she went to talk to his nurse to see what we should do. I should mention here that at some point when I was looking up symptoms at 3:30 in the morning, I had considred his leg and I think even saw something about pulmonary embolism, but by the time I called the doctor, I did not think to mention his leg. Anyway, the doctor's nurse was going to talk to the doctor and call us back. She called back pretty quickly, but said they were thinking it may have been a really bad bout of heartburn/reflux and wanted us to try Prilosec or Prevecid and make an appointment to see the doctor as early as possible. I accepted that and B thought he was feeling better, so we decided to go with that.
We both had some errands to run, so we got out and about, but B was still not quite right. We stopped by my mom's office to pick up my jury summons that had been mailed to her house. We got to talking about how B was feeling and mentioned his leg. That set off alarm bells to Mom and she said we needed to go the ER or at least call the doctor's office back and tell them about the leg. B was skeptical, but while we were eating lunch, it was pretty clear he was still in a lot of pain. By this point the pain was localized to his lower ribcage on the left side. I was starting to get very concerned by this point, so he agreed to let me call the doctor back. This time, one of the nurses happened to be answering the phone and realized, I think, that this might be more serious than heartburn or even gall bladder. She got him an appointment with another doctor the next day at 1:00.
Well, B being B, did not want to keep the appointment because he was supposed to have his review at work the next day at 1:00. I told him we could cancel if he wanted. On the drive home, I still had a nagging feeling and we actually ended up in the parking lot of Harris Southwest ER. He convinced me that he was feeling better, but that if he felt bad again, he promised he would go to the ER. So, home went. Had a normal evening, complete with B playing Halo with the guys.
At 4:00 Wednesday (3/10) morning, B woke me up saying he really thought we needed to go to the ER. He was having pretty severe pain in his lower left ribcage. It hurt to take a deep breath, it hurt to the touch, and he could not get comfortable. He wanted to take a shower first, so he got a shower and I got up to take care of the pups. At this point, he was convinced he'd somehow broken a rib. By the time he got out of the shower, he felt a ton better and claimed it didn't hurt as bad. He again decided he did not need to go to the ER, but agreed to let me make an appointment with his doctor (but cancel the appointment for that day). So, off to work we went. I cancelled the appointment and made another one for the following Thursday.
Around 9:00, B called me and asked me to call back and see if the doctor could still see him that afternoon. The pain had gotten worse again and his boss was postponing his review and telling him to go home. I later found out that she actually tried to drive him to the ER herself and told him he was being selfish for not going to the ER/doctor to be checked out. All of this was enough to convince him. So, I called the doctor back and they scheduled him for 2:30 that afternoon. He went home and waited for me to come get him.
We did not see our regular doctor. She listened to everything, including the story about the leg, which B thought was silly tell, but at this point, I did not want to leave anything out. She seemed perplexed by all of the seemingly random symptoms and wanted run an EKG. Now, B was a bit scared by this. He is overweight and he has high blood pressure and high cholestrol/triglycerides. He was a little worried about what an EKG would show. Turns out, the EKG showed him to have a very healthy heart (I attribute that to his years an an athlete/runner). But, it did show some things that concerned the doctor. Without something to compare it to, she couldn't tell if it was normal for him or if what she was seeing indicated something else. She said she would not feel comfortable unless she sent him to an ER for some more testing. We asked her what she was thinking and she said blood clot (pulmonary embolism) or an infection around the heart.
Weekend Recovery
There were so many things I should have done this weekend. More of the house needed to be cleaned. The winter decorations in the bathroom needed to be taken down (though, Mother Nature made them seem not SOOO out of place). We need some basic groceries in the house (got milk?). Car needs inspected. Work could have been made up. All of these things could have made up my Friday Plans/To-Do list.
Instead, I recovered. I haven't posted the entire weeklong saga of B and the pulmonary embolism and the prolonged hospital stay. It's half typed out, just waiting to be finished. Maybe I'll do that later today. But, bottom line was, after the week and half we had, I, we, needed to recover.
I slept in both days (when did 9:00 am become "sleeping in"? must be that aging thing)--even the pups didn't feel the need to get up early, which is very unusual for them. Sleeping in, I think, I was the biggest thing for me. I was exhausted--mentally, physically, emotionally. I needed some long, uninterrupted, restful sleep.
Before I continue, I here are pictures of the babies from this weekend. They are very upset that they have only made blog appearances once before.
Dash
I did some shopping. Bought myself a shiney new 20" monitor (that would be a computer monitor, Scott--hehe) that not only makes personal use of the home computer so much better than the old, clunky monitor, but will also make working from home soooo much easier. Also went shopping for our goddaughter's 6th birthday. Emmy's daddy said she is into play makeup and dolls. I sooo wanted to get her some play makeup because loved that stuff when I was her age. [Tangent: When I was about her age, maybe a little older, I love makeup and playing with hair. At that age, I was still an only child when with my mom and stepdad, so not always someone around to play with. So, my stepdad, God bless him, let me play with his hair. Now, I NEVER put makeup on him, but he did let me brush his hair and put hair clips in his hair. Thinking back, I am not sure how the heck I got away with that!] Back to Emmy. So, I went to Target in search of play makeup. None to be found. So, I got her a really cute doll that looks just a little like her.
Saturday, we went to Emmy's birthday party and to eat with Scotty P. again. Emmy's party was so much fun. We hadn't seen her in awhile, so that was great. B also got to catch up with some old friends. And by old friends, I mean, these guys have know each other since birth--almost literally in some of the cases.
Adam, B, Scott, Ben, Ritchie
Ritchie is B's oldest friend in the world--quite literally. Ritchie is exactly 9 months to the day older than B. They grew up across the street together and 37 years later are still great friends. Adam is Ritchie's younger brother, so B's known Adam his whole life. Ben is another neighborhood friend. Scotty P., as previously, mentioned is the best friend. He and B met back when they worked at Oshman's 15 years ago. Scotty was quickly just one of the guys.
Anyway, it was so much fun for the guys to see each other and catch up after all these years. Of course, we see and talk to Scott practically everyday and we see Ritchie on a regular basis too. But, Adam, we only get to see a few times a year, so it was great to finally meet his wife and his kiddos. Ben actually came up to the hospital to see B, but B was so out of it, he barely even remembered! And it was so much fun watching Emmy open presents and play with her cousins and friends. I am SO glad we were able to go to the party.
Emmy trying on a new outfit from Grandma. Isn't she the cutest?
Emmy playing with her Daddy.
Today is Sunday and my Sunday is usually very packed with grocery shopping and laundry and ironing and just getting ready for the week. So far, I have slept in, put ribs in the slow cooker for dinner, watched a movie with B, and not much else. I will do some ironing because I HATE doing that on weeknights and I should at least go buy some milk--it just feels weird to have no milk in the house.
But, I really think this the way I needed to spend this weekend. I needed the rest and I needed to spend some real time with my husband. I think I will be a much better person for it later this week!
Happy Sunday!
A
Instead, I recovered. I haven't posted the entire weeklong saga of B and the pulmonary embolism and the prolonged hospital stay. It's half typed out, just waiting to be finished. Maybe I'll do that later today. But, bottom line was, after the week and half we had, I, we, needed to recover.
I slept in both days (when did 9:00 am become "sleeping in"? must be that aging thing)--even the pups didn't feel the need to get up early, which is very unusual for them. Sleeping in, I think, I was the biggest thing for me. I was exhausted--mentally, physically, emotionally. I needed some long, uninterrupted, restful sleep.
Before I continue, I here are pictures of the babies from this weekend. They are very upset that they have only made blog appearances once before.
Dash
Raspy
I did some shopping. Bought myself a shiney new 20" monitor (that would be a computer monitor, Scott--hehe) that not only makes personal use of the home computer so much better than the old, clunky monitor, but will also make working from home soooo much easier. Also went shopping for our goddaughter's 6th birthday. Emmy's daddy said she is into play makeup and dolls. I sooo wanted to get her some play makeup because loved that stuff when I was her age. [Tangent: When I was about her age, maybe a little older, I love makeup and playing with hair. At that age, I was still an only child when with my mom and stepdad, so not always someone around to play with. So, my stepdad, God bless him, let me play with his hair. Now, I NEVER put makeup on him, but he did let me brush his hair and put hair clips in his hair. Thinking back, I am not sure how the heck I got away with that!] Back to Emmy. So, I went to Target in search of play makeup. None to be found. So, I got her a really cute doll that looks just a little like her.
Saturday, we went to Emmy's birthday party and to eat with Scotty P. again. Emmy's party was so much fun. We hadn't seen her in awhile, so that was great. B also got to catch up with some old friends. And by old friends, I mean, these guys have know each other since birth--almost literally in some of the cases.
Adam, B, Scott, Ben, Ritchie
Ritchie is B's oldest friend in the world--quite literally. Ritchie is exactly 9 months to the day older than B. They grew up across the street together and 37 years later are still great friends. Adam is Ritchie's younger brother, so B's known Adam his whole life. Ben is another neighborhood friend. Scotty P., as previously, mentioned is the best friend. He and B met back when they worked at Oshman's 15 years ago. Scotty was quickly just one of the guys.
Anyway, it was so much fun for the guys to see each other and catch up after all these years. Of course, we see and talk to Scott practically everyday and we see Ritchie on a regular basis too. But, Adam, we only get to see a few times a year, so it was great to finally meet his wife and his kiddos. Ben actually came up to the hospital to see B, but B was so out of it, he barely even remembered! And it was so much fun watching Emmy open presents and play with her cousins and friends. I am SO glad we were able to go to the party.
Emmy trying on a new outfit from Grandma. Isn't she the cutest?
Emmy playing with her Daddy.
Today is Sunday and my Sunday is usually very packed with grocery shopping and laundry and ironing and just getting ready for the week. So far, I have slept in, put ribs in the slow cooker for dinner, watched a movie with B, and not much else. I will do some ironing because I HATE doing that on weeknights and I should at least go buy some milk--it just feels weird to have no milk in the house.
But, I really think this the way I needed to spend this weekend. I needed the rest and I needed to spend some real time with my husband. I think I will be a much better person for it later this week!
Happy Sunday!
A
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Things I Love Thursday: Mexican Food
So, I still have the whole account of B's ordeal with the pulmonary embolism to post. It is half typed out, but it's long and a lot to get out, so I'm still processing. In the meantime, I'm going to try to keep up with my weekly posts, meaning today is Things I Love Thursday.
I love Mexican food. LLLLLOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEE Mexican food. I could eat Mexican food every meal, every day, no question. There is very little about Mexican food I don't love. I used to not be so much of a hot and spicy kinda girl, but over the years, I have developed a tolerance. I still can't, say, eat a pepper or even just a slice of a jalapeno, but I don't think that makes me any lesser of a Mexican food lover.
Now, I suppose here is where I should point out that when I say Mexican food, I mean Tex-Mex. I'm a Texas girl--born, raised, and never left. I have been outside of Texas and tried Mexican food outside of Texas. It sucks. I don't even know what it is that makes Tex-Mex so much better, but it is. The only Mexican food outside of Tex-Mex that doesn't suck is authentic Mexican food. Living in Texas, you can find that and I have been to Mexico. The meats are different in authentic and often the dishes themselves, but there is something about eating authentic that makes it good even if it is not what you are used to.
So, my very favorite thing to eat at a Mexican food place and usually the thing I order the first time I try a new place is Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. I love them. If my older brother was reading this, he would take this time to tease me about not liking sour cream. At some point when we were young children, I turned down sour cream on tacos claiming to not like it. While I do remember this incident, I have absolutely no idea why I said it because I do not ever remember a time in my life that I didn't love sour cream. What's not to love? And that is why I love the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas.
And here is where I would like to discuss enchiladas for a moment. I'm a bit of a cooker myself. Due to my love of chicken enchiladas and B's love of, well, all enchiladas, I have tried my hand at them. My biggest complaint about recipes I see for enchiladas is that the majority call for flour tortillas. Enchiladas are NOT made with flour tortillas. Burritos are made with flour tortillas. You put fajita meat on flour tortillas. You can even make soft tacos out of flour tortillas. Enchiladas, however, are made with corn tortillas. Yummy, slightly fried corn tortillas.
Now that we have that cleared up, I need to tell you why I love Mexican food today.
Today, I had dinner at El Paseo. As you have probably gathered, I have eaten at a lot of Mexican food places in my life. And there are other places that I also love (Mexican Inn--the original locations, not the franchised locations--is a family tradition). But, no other place in many years has come close to rivaling El Paseo when I want real, down home, authentic Mexican/Tex-Mex.
B has been eating there with family for years. His late brother, Johnny, worked there for years. For some reason known only to him, B waited well over a year to share this place with me. I will never forgive him for that year or so I lost. We used to live minutes from the Fort Worth location, which is actually the only location I've been to. When we lived there, I could pretty much convince him to take me anytime I wanted. Now, we live over 30 minutes away, so it's a bit more of a decision if we want to go. But, it's also less than 10 minutes from my in-laws' house, so I have NO problem ever visiting them (I have no problem visiting them anyway; I love my in-laws) because even if B wasn't planning on taking me, odds of my father-in-law taking are pretty good. My father-in-law loves this place as much as I do. We are obsessed with the chips and salsa. We get our own basket, just the two of us. They have to refill it often.
Anyway, our best friend, Scotty P., took us to dinner tonight because B had been craving some Mexican food while in the hospital and, well, we love the place. So, we made the 30 minute trip out there and were not disappointed. In case any of you locals would ever like to try it, the dishes we got tonight (and that we get pretty much every time) were:
Steak Fajitas (Scott)
Steak a la Mexicana (B)
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (A)
Soooo yummy!!! I love the fajitas. Really awesome steak. But, B's dish is their specialty and so worth the extra wait to cook. The steak is absolutely perfect and sooo different from the fajitas. And the SCCE are, hands down, my favorite of any other restaurant.
I need to say here that when I have mentioned my love of El Paseo to others in the past, I have received bad reactions. Other people--reasonable people whose tastes I usually agree with--have said they do not like El Paseo. However, these people have not been to the location I go to. Perhaps there are differences; I don't know. All I know is, the Fort Worth location is so good that I have been known to say I could just stand in the entry way and smell the air!
Happy Thursday!
A
I love Mexican food. LLLLLOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEE Mexican food. I could eat Mexican food every meal, every day, no question. There is very little about Mexican food I don't love. I used to not be so much of a hot and spicy kinda girl, but over the years, I have developed a tolerance. I still can't, say, eat a pepper or even just a slice of a jalapeno, but I don't think that makes me any lesser of a Mexican food lover.
Now, I suppose here is where I should point out that when I say Mexican food, I mean Tex-Mex. I'm a Texas girl--born, raised, and never left. I have been outside of Texas and tried Mexican food outside of Texas. It sucks. I don't even know what it is that makes Tex-Mex so much better, but it is. The only Mexican food outside of Tex-Mex that doesn't suck is authentic Mexican food. Living in Texas, you can find that and I have been to Mexico. The meats are different in authentic and often the dishes themselves, but there is something about eating authentic that makes it good even if it is not what you are used to.
So, my very favorite thing to eat at a Mexican food place and usually the thing I order the first time I try a new place is Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas. I love them. If my older brother was reading this, he would take this time to tease me about not liking sour cream. At some point when we were young children, I turned down sour cream on tacos claiming to not like it. While I do remember this incident, I have absolutely no idea why I said it because I do not ever remember a time in my life that I didn't love sour cream. What's not to love? And that is why I love the Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas.
And here is where I would like to discuss enchiladas for a moment. I'm a bit of a cooker myself. Due to my love of chicken enchiladas and B's love of, well, all enchiladas, I have tried my hand at them. My biggest complaint about recipes I see for enchiladas is that the majority call for flour tortillas. Enchiladas are NOT made with flour tortillas. Burritos are made with flour tortillas. You put fajita meat on flour tortillas. You can even make soft tacos out of flour tortillas. Enchiladas, however, are made with corn tortillas. Yummy, slightly fried corn tortillas.
Now that we have that cleared up, I need to tell you why I love Mexican food today.
Today, I had dinner at El Paseo. As you have probably gathered, I have eaten at a lot of Mexican food places in my life. And there are other places that I also love (Mexican Inn--the original locations, not the franchised locations--is a family tradition). But, no other place in many years has come close to rivaling El Paseo when I want real, down home, authentic Mexican/Tex-Mex.
B has been eating there with family for years. His late brother, Johnny, worked there for years. For some reason known only to him, B waited well over a year to share this place with me. I will never forgive him for that year or so I lost. We used to live minutes from the Fort Worth location, which is actually the only location I've been to. When we lived there, I could pretty much convince him to take me anytime I wanted. Now, we live over 30 minutes away, so it's a bit more of a decision if we want to go. But, it's also less than 10 minutes from my in-laws' house, so I have NO problem ever visiting them (I have no problem visiting them anyway; I love my in-laws) because even if B wasn't planning on taking me, odds of my father-in-law taking are pretty good. My father-in-law loves this place as much as I do. We are obsessed with the chips and salsa. We get our own basket, just the two of us. They have to refill it often.
Anyway, our best friend, Scotty P., took us to dinner tonight because B had been craving some Mexican food while in the hospital and, well, we love the place. So, we made the 30 minute trip out there and were not disappointed. In case any of you locals would ever like to try it, the dishes we got tonight (and that we get pretty much every time) were:
Steak Fajitas (Scott)
Steak a la Mexicana (B)
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas (A)
Soooo yummy!!! I love the fajitas. Really awesome steak. But, B's dish is their specialty and so worth the extra wait to cook. The steak is absolutely perfect and sooo different from the fajitas. And the SCCE are, hands down, my favorite of any other restaurant.
I need to say here that when I have mentioned my love of El Paseo to others in the past, I have received bad reactions. Other people--reasonable people whose tastes I usually agree with--have said they do not like El Paseo. However, these people have not been to the location I go to. Perhaps there are differences; I don't know. All I know is, the Fort Worth location is so good that I have been known to say I could just stand in the entry way and smell the air!
Happy Thursday!
A
Friday, March 12, 2010
Weekend Goals/Projects/Plans
So, I think Friday's blogs are going to be all about things I want to get done on weekend. Not the silly mundane stuff like house cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping. The bigger things--home improvement projects, big organization projects, cooking/baking projects, etc. Sound boring? It probably will be, but I just feel like putting things out there.
This weekend will, of course, be a bit different because it is certainly not a normal weekend.
I'm breaking my first rule by putting house cleaning on this list. But, the house was already in need of a good cleaning after a couple of weeks of overtime at work, which causes me to neglect the house a bit. And, now, I've barely been home in three days and, frankly, it's getting a bit disgusting. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I can actually see layers of dust. Blech.
So,
A
This weekend will, of course, be a bit different because it is certainly not a normal weekend.
I'm breaking my first rule by putting house cleaning on this list. But, the house was already in need of a good cleaning after a couple of weeks of overtime at work, which causes me to neglect the house a bit. And, now, I've barely been home in three days and, frankly, it's getting a bit disgusting. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I can actually see layers of dust. Blech.
So,
- House cleaning
- Rest
- Learn more about Pulmonary Embolisms and treatment
- Learn how the heck I'm going to feed B with some of these dietary parameters (seriously, I'm going to kill the guy trying to keep up with servings of foods he should and shouldn't eat).
- Get the full account of what we've been through with Bill this past week written up in a blog post so it's just "out there."
A
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Things I Love Thursday: My People
"Things I Love Thursday" is supposed to be my own little version of Oprah's Favorite Things--except I won't give anything away and nobody really cares what I love. But, my blog, my perogative!
Anyway, the intent is supposed to be to talk about things I love to do, things I like to read, watch, buy, eat, listen to, etc. But, like "Wordless Wednesday," it just so happens that the first post has to sort of take a different feel given what's going on this week. I'm not going to go into the full story right now, though I will post it later. Short story is B is in the hospital with blood clots in his lung. So, my head and heart are in a very different place right now than usual.
With that being said, the things I love this week are "my people." First, don't give me any crap about people things. You get what I mean. I've been thinking about this for the past few hours, batting around how I would word this: "my friends," "kind-hearted people." I just couldn't quite figure it out until I actually typed out the title. Kind-hearted people was too general. Friends didn't quite encompass everybody and, more importnantly, it didn't quite describe how I feel about the people I'm referring to.
We are very lucky to have so many people in our lives who genuinely care about us. Though I've always known these people care and are true friends, you really see when something like this happens what people are really about. Who will offer to do/help with ANYTHING while you are trying to worry about your husband getting into a real hospital room and getting his medication knowing that you are probably not doing thing for yourself like eating? Who will offer to take care of your beloved doggies? Who will just call to check on you and ask for updates or simply send good thoughts and prayers?
I am literally going to list those people. Mom, Mom, Scott, Julie, Cris, John, Terri, Ritchie, Jamey, Kelly, Marcos, Bernie, Jerry, Dina, Judy, Nora, Ginger, Cobi, Alex, Kyle, Angela, Angela, Melissa, Carol, Melanie, Darren.
I have no doubt there are others, but these people have let me have meltdowns, called or texted for updates, emailed a sister who had been though the same thing to give me some information and insight, came to visit, bought funny gifts, brought me food and took care of my doggies and stayed late to walk me to my car, emailed to tell me they were praying for me, offered prayers through a social networking website to someone they haven't seen since high school and her husband they've never met, offered their heartfelt prayers and good thoughts, took care of loose ends at work, took on full responsiblity of planning an event.
All of these things seem so little, but when you are dealing with so much, these things are huge. These things make the people who are "just friends" so much more. They are extended family. They are "my people." They are the people I can count on, the people I can call.
So, they are what I love today. I highly recommend everybody get their own people!
A
Anyway, the intent is supposed to be to talk about things I love to do, things I like to read, watch, buy, eat, listen to, etc. But, like "Wordless Wednesday," it just so happens that the first post has to sort of take a different feel given what's going on this week. I'm not going to go into the full story right now, though I will post it later. Short story is B is in the hospital with blood clots in his lung. So, my head and heart are in a very different place right now than usual.
With that being said, the things I love this week are "my people." First, don't give me any crap about people things. You get what I mean. I've been thinking about this for the past few hours, batting around how I would word this: "my friends," "kind-hearted people." I just couldn't quite figure it out until I actually typed out the title. Kind-hearted people was too general. Friends didn't quite encompass everybody and, more importnantly, it didn't quite describe how I feel about the people I'm referring to.
We are very lucky to have so many people in our lives who genuinely care about us. Though I've always known these people care and are true friends, you really see when something like this happens what people are really about. Who will offer to do/help with ANYTHING while you are trying to worry about your husband getting into a real hospital room and getting his medication knowing that you are probably not doing thing for yourself like eating? Who will offer to take care of your beloved doggies? Who will just call to check on you and ask for updates or simply send good thoughts and prayers?
I am literally going to list those people. Mom, Mom, Scott, Julie, Cris, John, Terri, Ritchie, Jamey, Kelly, Marcos, Bernie, Jerry, Dina, Judy, Nora, Ginger, Cobi, Alex, Kyle, Angela, Angela, Melissa, Carol, Melanie, Darren.
I have no doubt there are others, but these people have let me have meltdowns, called or texted for updates, emailed a sister who had been though the same thing to give me some information and insight, came to visit, bought funny gifts, brought me food and took care of my doggies and stayed late to walk me to my car, emailed to tell me they were praying for me, offered prayers through a social networking website to someone they haven't seen since high school and her husband they've never met, offered their heartfelt prayers and good thoughts, took care of loose ends at work, took on full responsiblity of planning an event.
All of these things seem so little, but when you are dealing with so much, these things are huge. These things make the people who are "just friends" so much more. They are extended family. They are "my people." They are the people I can count on, the people I can call.
So, they are what I love today. I highly recommend everybody get their own people!
A
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Taking it on Tuesday: Hey! Look! I'm Updating the Blog!
I don't even know if anybody even checks to see if this blog gets updated anymore. Doesn't matter, it's one of my new goals. Blogging. I started this blog a year and a half ago and have managed approximately 6 blogs since then. But, I've been inspired as of late. I'm a "bloggie." Don't know if that term has ever been coined before, but in case it hasn't, for my purposes it means I'm a lover of blogs. I will at least check out any blog I come across and you would not believe the number of blogs I check out on a daily basis. I should probably use Google Reader to keep up, but I think it's more fun my way. I will try to get my faves listed on here.
So, are you wondering about the first part of this blog title? In an effort to make myself keep up with blogging, I need some type of motivation or goal. So, each day will be a different "theme." I'll explain them as I go along (no, that doesn't mean I haven't figured out what they all are yet; okay, I haven't; whatever).
Tuesdays are going to be "Taking it on Tuesday." What does that mean? What am I taking on? The plan is for it to be something different each week. Sort of challenging myself to try new things or remembering what I loved about things I've done in the past.
This week, I'm taking on my blogs. Yep, that's right, blogs. I do have the two. I'm working on this one first. See the pretty new background? I love it! Super cute. And here is the post. My goal is to keep up with this blog. I don't promise it will always be interesting, but it's more of an outlet for me. I hope to give B his own day, but we'll have to see about his motivation. Oh, and that second blog, my cooking blog, is next. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already. While I haven't updated it in a while either, it has lots more posts than this one ever did.
See you tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday (to be explained then because I need to watch Lost).
A
So, are you wondering about the first part of this blog title? In an effort to make myself keep up with blogging, I need some type of motivation or goal. So, each day will be a different "theme." I'll explain them as I go along (no, that doesn't mean I haven't figured out what they all are yet; okay, I haven't; whatever).
Tuesdays are going to be "Taking it on Tuesday." What does that mean? What am I taking on? The plan is for it to be something different each week. Sort of challenging myself to try new things or remembering what I loved about things I've done in the past.
This week, I'm taking on my blogs. Yep, that's right, blogs. I do have the two. I'm working on this one first. See the pretty new background? I love it! Super cute. And here is the post. My goal is to keep up with this blog. I don't promise it will always be interesting, but it's more of an outlet for me. I hope to give B his own day, but we'll have to see about his motivation. Oh, and that second blog, my cooking blog, is next. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already. While I haven't updated it in a while either, it has lots more posts than this one ever did.
See you tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday (to be explained then because I need to watch Lost).
A
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