NEW PHYSICAL THERAPY

Today I went to the new physical therapist. Wow! What a difference! The PT place was bright and vibrant and had equipment. There was music playing. The physical therapist was a bit cold at first but then she warmed up.  She did some tests to see my ranges and where it hurts (everywhere). Then she did some manipulations and then stretches. She showed me the exercises I am to do. Then she handed me off to so assistant to get a heat wrap and TENS. TENS is a machine that sends electric pulses to the spots that hurt to stimulate the nerves.

I was surprised how little I hurt after an hour of manipulation. Let's see how I feel tomorrow.

I also finally got to the lab to have my blood tests done. Since I had to fast it took some planning to get across town at the crack of dawn to have blood drawn and to pee in a cup.  I am sure I will get the results next week. 

Until tomorrow...

RING

Have you ever lost or broken or stopped wearing a ring? If so, you know the void the lack of that ring makes on your finger.  The weird feeling you get every time you feel for the ring that is no longer there.  And the momentary fear that you have lost that ring, until you remember that you forgot to put it on that morning or that you broke it and have to buy another.

Well, a few weeks ago I was once again playing with the silver ring I wear on my right thumb. I like to twist and turn it and when I am really preoccupied I pull it off my knuckle and back on again. That is exactly how I snapped it in two!  I guess I pulled it over my knuckle one too many times.

Now I have gone weeks without the ring.  When I do certain tasks where I always had to check to make sure the ring didn't get pulled off my thumb (such as laundry) I would still check and for a split second I would panic and think I had lost the ring. Then I would remember that I broke the ring. Whew!

Yesterday I went to a local shop and bought a new ring. It was not exactly what I wanted but it is nice. This ring is sterling silver so it will be a little tougher to break.  The best part is I am no longer reaching for a ring that is no longer there.

Until tomorrow...

MORE INSURANCE NEWS

Today I got approved to have an MRI on my breasts.  My doc has me on a regimen that includes MRI one year and Mammogram another year.  This is the MRI year.  I was supposed to get it done in January but I wanted to wait until my deductible was paid up.  So I put it off and then sort of forgot about it. 

I went for my annual physical this last week and it reminded me that I had this MRI looming and I called to make the appointment.  They of course wanted to get an authorization.  We got the authorization today.  They suggested I call and make sure that The-Insurance-Company-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named would pay for the procedure.  I called and I found out that my deductible situation has not yet been solved!  The computer still says I owe $1,200 to The-Insurance-Company-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named. But at the same time, I am starting to get money sent back to me for money I overpaid my deductible. So someone explain that to me!?!

It is all messed up and I am going to demand an accounting of the situation when the sort it out.  After what happened last year with Brenda's account, I don't want to go through that again.

I also took little Lucky to the vet to get her teeth looked at.  It is bad. Poor thing has "moderate to severe" tooth decay.  I have told her to stay away from the Mountain Dew but does she listen?  No.  She goes in on June 17th for a day at the dentist.  Hopefully they will not have to pull any teeth.  I also bought this dog food that is supposed to help with their teeth.  She can't eat it right now because her gums hurt too much. 

Busy day at our house.  It seems like it will be like this for a while.

Until tomorrow...

DENTAL APPOINTMENT

Today I made a dental appointment.  No not for me.  For Lucky.  Poor Lucky has the worst teeth.  And the worst breath.  I noticed the other day she is eating slowly.  She usually gobbles her food.  I looked at her teeth and her gums are red.  I think her gun disease and plaque are getting worse so I made the little girl an appointment.  Tomorrow she goes for the check up.  Then in one week she will get the tooth cleaning of her life! 

Wish little Lucky the best!

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

This weekend we worked on the backyard. Maybe too much. My back is killing me. I am taking muscle relaxers to see if I can get the muscles to, ugh, relax.  

But I did take time to make an adjustment. I have been having problems watching movies in the living room. This posses a problem since we watch movies during movie night in the living room.  This movie night the audio and video didn't synch up exactly. This was quite annoying for everyone. I figured out that my old computer is unable to upgrade anymore and that was the problem.  So I went out and bought another Roku. We have Roku's on two other TVs. We love it. Now I can watch digital copies of movies through the Roku. To celebrate I watched Madagascar 3. 

Then I made dinner. I made an Asian stir-fry with peanuts and a spinach and strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing. Delicious! 

A very productive weekend! 

Until tomorrow...

CALL TO ACTION

For those of you in California, I was sent this CALL TO ACTION by the California chapter of then Arthritis Foundation. 

CALL TO ACTION: Urge Your Assemblymember to SUPPORT AB 889

There is a bill working its way through the California State Legislature that would reduce the number of times you are required to try and fail on cheaper and often ineffective medications.

Step therapy, or fail first, leaves many of the more than 5.3 million Californians with arthritis in debilitating pain for weeks, if not months, while they "try" other medications before being approved for the one their doctor originally prescribed.

Assembly Bill 889 by Assemblymember Jim Frazier will limit the number of "steps" you would be required to try and fail to just two.

Assembly Bill 889 needs your help!

Email your Assemblymember today and urge them to "SUPPORT AB 889"!

Instructions:

1. Find out who your Assemblymember is by entering your address HERE
2. Use template below:

Dear Assemblymember,

I’m contacting you today requesting your support of AB 889 to limit a current practice known as "step therapy" or "fail first".

Step therapy forces patients, like me, to live in unnecessary and debilitating pain while we try and fail several medications before we can have the one our doctor prescribed.

Assembly Bill 889 would limit the number of steps we must endure to just two.

Excessive "steps" can lead to the deterioration of my condition. I know instantly if a medication is working or not but I cannot have the prescription my doctor wants until I try several others. This leaves me home bound for weeks.

Arthritis and other rheumatic conditions affect more than 5.3 million adults and 38,000 children in our state. This disease costs the state $7.8 billion in medical expenditures and $4.3 billion in lost earnings.

On behalf of the millions of Californians living with arthritis, I strongly urge you to support AB 889 when it is on the Assembly Floor next week.

Thank you for your time!
Your name
[Insert your phone number]
[Insert your city and State]

3. Enter your Assemblymember's email address on the "to" line^*

4. Their email address is assemblymember.LASTNAME@assembly.ca.gov (replace "LASTNAME" with your Assemblymember's last name)

5. Add your personal story to the draft email

6. Add your name, phone number, and city and state to the signature of the email.

7. Send the email

*You will see kherr@arthritis.org on the "to" line of the email. You can either leave it there or move it to the "cc" line.
Thank you for helping support the California Arthritis Foundation Council's Co-Sponsored legislation to limit step therapy.

Until tomorrow...

MOVIE NIGHT AND KINKY BOOTS

Tonight was movie night and we watched Kinky Boots.  It is a funny British movie about a familyrun shoe company that begins making a different type of men's shoe in order to stay in business. I would not characterize it as fall out of your chair funny but it had many a laugh. 

We  had a new person attend and she was great fun.  I made Zoku pops but no one ate them (more for me!) We had a good time watching a good movie.

Until tomorrow...

A LOT MORE REAL ESTATE

Today the gardeners came and we have a backyard again! There were two gardeners and they worked for 6 hours. I am so glad we called them in. That amount of work would have taken Brenda and I weeks.

Here is the before photo: 

And here is the after photo:

Now I can relax in the backyard. We are thinking of having them come back to help eradicate the ivy completely. They removed enough ivy to fill an entire bed of a Ford F-100.  If they come back and remove all the dead vines down to the ground, it will assist in the eradication.  We have about three feet more real estate on each wall of the backyard where the ivy used to be. 

Right in the middle of all this, I called The-Insurance-Company-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named to work out an issue I have with them. Yesterday I went to Walgreens to pick up my prescriptions and I was told I had a co-pay. No I don't! I met my humongous deductible back in February. Nope I have to pay to get my meds. 

Home I go and call The-Insurance-Company-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named. I explain the situation and they say Yes you have met your deductible. Have Walgreens call our special secret Rx number. 

Back to Walgreens I go today and give them the special secret number. They call and after waiting 15 minutes, I said can you call me so I don't get a parking ticket? I go home.  They call me and say that The-Insurance-Company-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named said I had a $1,200 co-payment left.  Then ask if I am waiting for state medical program payments and tell me I should call them.  What?  I am employed, I am not that old and I am not disabled yet. I am not eligible for any state medical programs. 

Back on the phone with The-Insurance-Company-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named. I was on the phone with them for 1.5 hours! Here's what I found out: there are two computers. One for the prescriptions and one for all the rest of the claims. They are supposed to talk to each other. Combined they keep track of your copays and your deductible. Somewhere along the line, mine went haywire and the computer that handles my prescriptions is now stating that I owe money when the other computer says I have paid my whole deductible. So The-Insurance-Company-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named is trying to get me to pay my $4,000 deductible twice! How nice of them!   So 1.5 hours later the problem was not solved but I will be able to pick up my prescriptions with no copay.  They say it will take 7-10 days to fix the problem but it has been "escalated".

Until tomorrow...

ANNUAL PHYSICAL

Today I went to see my primary doc for my annual physical.  We went over everything.  Checked everything.  Overall I looked fairly good.  Turns out I have some welts on my lower leg that I have had for a while that I didn't think was a big deal.  Well, it could be.  They could be Erythema Nodosum. 

Erythema nodosum is a type of skin inflammation that is located in a certain portion of the fatty layer of skin.  It results in reddish, sore lumps on the front of the legs below the knees.  The lumps range in size from 1 to 5 centimeters.  It can be self limited and last 3 to 6 weeks.  After it is gone, it may leave a bruise or indentation.  It can range in size from a dime to a quarter.  There are many different causes for erythema nodosum.  To get a diagnosis, I will have to have a biopsy. 

I made an appointment for next week to see my dermatologist.  I am going to have her look at my leg and also have her look at this stubborn staph infection.  Staphylococcal folliculitis.  What a mouth full.  I just want to get rid of it.

It was funny.  I was talking to my doc about getting the blood tests for lupus and he said "you know you don't have to get  all the auto-immune diseases.".  Believe me I am not trying!  His perception is that RA, Lupus and Sjogren's are all shades of the same family of diseases.  He feels it is hard to decipher between RA and Lupus and Sjogren's in some ways.  He says it is more realistic and correct to call it Adrienne's disease.  I have (or have shades of) RA, Lupus, Crohn's, Sjogren's, Raynoud's, Interstitial Cystitis,  Pernicious Anemia.  I am sure I am missing something. 

I will go next week to get the blood test done.  I have to fast so I will do it next week when I have the time.

Congrats for the Boy Scouts!  Half way there!

Until tomorrow...

UM, DID I HAVE A PHYSICAL THERAPY APPOINTMENT?

Today I got up early.  Okay not that early but earlier than I wanted.  I got ready to go, ate my breakfast and got out the door with time to spare to make it in time to make it to my physical therapy appointment.  I found a parking spot (FREE Parking!) and made it to my appointment right on time.

Mind you all week I reorganized my work appointments around this physical therapy appointment. 

I walked in the office and the PT came walking out to the dark waiting room.  She said you are here early.  We are not scheduled until 10:45.  I said, no I would not schedule an appointment at 10:45 because I work for myself and I would not schedule an appointment for the middle of the day.  I said I will have to cancel and make a new appointment.  We made a new appointment and I went off to run some much needed errands.

I see my doc tomorrow and I at that time I will make a decision.  This PT is the MOST unorganized therapist I have ever seen.  I have only have about 3-4 appointments and let's make a list of the things that have gone wrong:

• I showed up for an appointment and she had the wrong scheduled time
• I showed up for an appointment and she double booked.  She took me but had to explain to her SON (who is her assistant) how to call the other person and stop them from coming and make a new appointment.  A few times...
• I showed up and the front door was locked and the intercom was not working.  I stood outside waiting.  Turns out she was in the back of the office and didn't hear the phone ringing...
• I showed up for my preliminary assessment and she had a family situation that she decided to over share with me and we started my appointment late because it was tax day and she had to send her taxes in.  Once again she had to explain to her son/assistant how to mail a certified return receipt package.
• She sells some vitamin supplements on the side and consistently tries to get me to buy them. Ugh!
• She over shares all the time.  I know WAY too much about her.  Her tax situation, her family situation, her in-law's medical situation.  It is an uncomfortable over share.

I am thinking of changing physical therapists.  She doesn't seem like a bad PT, she just sucks at business.  I swear, if I ran my business like she does, I would be out of business!

What you do you think?  Have you had a situation like this?  What did you do?

Until tomorrow...

DOCTOR VISIT

Went to see my RA doc today.  I brought up my sensitivity to the sun.  At first she seem to poo-poo it as "getting older" and being more sensitive to the sun.  Then she seemed to check my medications to see if any of them would give me light sensitivity (none do). Then she said that everyone get's hot in the sun.  This was one of the first times she didn't really get it when I told her something.  Maybe it was because I was not saying it right.

I usually rehearse how I am going to say something to a doctor.  I don't want to come off as hysterical or too whiny or too needy. I don't want to sound like I just went on the web and researched something.

I was in a hurry so I didn't have time to rehearse my speech. So I heard myself come off repetitive and desperate.  I didn't have my facts ready to state in an organized fashion.  Instead I said those facts in an unorganized way that didn't make sense.

Finally after I mentioned it, she agreed that my diagnosis may have morphed into some Lupus symptoms.  She is running some tests to see if anything shows up.  Just talking about it my blood pressure was really high.  120/90 which for me is REALLY high.  I am usually 90/70.  I have always had low blood pressure and low heart rate.  Just low everything! 

Super!  Morphed into Lupus.  Just add it to the list.  I was told when I was diagnosed that I had Lupus symptoms but since then no one has said anything about it. I get the ANA test on Thursday.  So we wait until then. 

Until tomorrow...

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY

The terrible tragedy in Oklahoma is so hard to watch.  Those tornadoes just come out of nowhere and are so devastating.  Those poor families. 

This is exactly the sort of disaster I prepared for when I took the Animal Rescue Disaster Preparedness course.

Our thoughts are with the folks in Oklahoma.

Until tomorrow...

RUN IN WITH THE LAW

My sister-in-law has a blog and today her post about "getting in trouble for something you didn't do" made me think of something that happened to me a few years ago.  Brenda and I went to Florida to visit my parents and we rented a car so we could come and go as we pleased.  We were driving the car down the main road and I saw in the rear view mirror a police cruiser running the car's tags.  You know the look, he is right behind you and leans over to use the computer in his car.  I say to Brenda, the cop is running the tags.  She says you aren't speeding, don't be silly.

Sure enough, the lights come on and then the siren.  I come to a place to pull over and he comes up to the window.  License and registration.  I give him my license and the rental agreement.  (Interesting Factoid: in Florida the rental cars have no indication that they are rental cars.  I was told that back a number of years ago there was a murder spree where the murderer targeted rental cars because he knew the people were from out-of-state.  So the state passed a law that rental cars can no longer indicate they are rental cars.)  The cop ran the information and came back and told me that the registration of the car didn't match the VIN number.  He said he wouldn't ticket me because it was a rental car but if I didn't get it fixed, I would continue to get pulled over throughout our vacation.

I called the rental car company and they said it was common to switch the registrations on the cars and the paperwork had not gone through to the state DMV yet.  Wonderful!  I could come down and switch cars but I would have to drive back and switch the cars, they would not bring me one.  I gave them a hard time and they threw in a 1/4 tank of gas for my trouble.  I did go switch cars because the next cop may not be so nice.

That was one of the few times I got in trouble for something I didn't do.  Usually it is the other way around!  

Until tomorrow...

NO TRIPLE CROWN

Well, there will be no triple crown this year.  Orb didn't win.  Orb didn't even come in the top three finishers.  Oxbow won the Preakness.  Poor Orb got boxed in and couldn't get free in time.

It was fun to watch.  So many people put money on Orb.  If you bet on Oxbow you made a lot of money!  I sadly did not.  I watch the horses but I don't bet on the races.

Until tomorrow...

SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME

Someting you don't know about me is that I love to watch the horses. Yes, horse racing.  Since I was a little girl I have watched the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.  The Triple Crown.  When I was younger I even visited a relative who lived in Blue Grass country in Kentucky.  I loved watching those horse on that green grass.

I was SO horse crazy when I was a kid. I gave up ballet lessons to take horseback riding lessons after 10 years of ballet. I loved going to my great-uncle's farm. He didn't have horses, he had cows but I was happy there.

Now I have to be happy watching horse races on TV.  The Preakness is on tomorrow and I will be watching.  Let's see if Orb has it in him.

Until tomorrow...

GETTING OUT OF A FUNK

I just read an article titled "5 Foolproof Ways to Get Out of a Funk" written by Stephanie Booth in the May 2013 issue of Real Simple magazine.  I know I get in a funk sometimes.  I get overwhelmed sometimes when I have too many things pushing down on me.

There were some good ideas:

1. Do the chicken dance.  I would probably not do the chicken dance but just put some music on and dance.  But do the chicken dance if it is your thing.  It will most certainly make you smile!
2. Rent a tearjerker.  I know that when I watch Marley and Me, Steel Magnolias, Hatchi, Finding Nemo, Beaches, Fried Green Tomatoes, Toy Story 3, Wall-E, The Bucket List or Up I stop thinking about myself.  These stories put life in perspective.
3. Pay attention.  Participate in an activity that requires your full attention.  Do zumba, do a crossword puzzle, play with your dog, talk to a friend, or fix something.  
4. Look out the window.  Observe the world and see what you can see.  Maybe you will see a funny dog or a person riding a unicycle.  It may make you smile.  Maybe you will just see the beauty that is the great outdoors.
5. Use your imagination.  Think of new things and tap your creative side.  Paint, write, design, collage, scrapbook, or whatever creative thing you do.

These are great ideas.  I also have some:

1. Get in your car and turn up the radio.  Listen to the music and drive along a pretty road or along some water.  It will make you smile.
2. Go your place.  We all have a place we like to visit.  Mine is the beach.  Go to that place.  I sit in my car and look out at the beach with the radio on.  That is my happy place.
3. Walk a dog.  No one can be in a funk while walking a dog.  Dogs just don't care what mood you are in.  They are just so happy about going for a walk (we can't even say the word "walk" in our house without creating chaos) they forget about everything else.  Happy, happy, happy!
4. Take a bath.  Sometimes when I am in a funk I take a bath with good smelling bath scents and a good book.  When I get out of the tub I feel warm and wrapped in love.

Those are my ideas for getting out of a funk!  Next time you feel funky, take one of these ideas and give it a try.

Until tomorrow...

OH THE PLACES WE WILL GO

I was thinking of the places I would like to visit.  I have a long list.  Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get to see them.  I like to stay positive and dream about trips.  I figure if elderly people and people who are disabled can travel the world, I should be able to.  Here is a sample of places I would like to visit:

I really want to see Africa.  I know my doc has concerns about me visiting certain areas due to disease.  I can't be given live vaccines so visiting certain countries are out of the question.

I want to visit my friend in Australia.  She has offered many times to let us come and stay.  It would be so wonderful to see Australia.  If I could get Brenda on a plane for that length of time...

I have a friend in the Netherlands so I could go back to Europe and see some places I didn't get to see when I went to school in England.

Alaska is on my bucket list.   I want to take a small cruise ship up the coast.  I really want to see icebergs, glaciers and Sarah Palin.  Ha.

 I would like to see more of North America.  I was lucky enough to drive across country when I moved out west.  I drove across by myself and stopped a few places along the way.  Oklahoma City, Nashville, Vegas, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Painted Dessert (I think), Bakersfield (ha ha).  I would like to see the northern states.  Chicago, Seattle, and some of those flat states.

I also want to go back to Hawaii.  We had a good time in Kauai.  I would love to go back and just relax.

I need to go visit my godmother in Yosemite.  She lives just outside the park.  I have been promising to visit but I can never find the right time.  I don't want to go during the summer time when it is crazy busy.  I want to go during the spring or fall.  The spring is better when the falls are full of water. 

So there is my wishlist for travel.  Now I just have to figure out how to physically do it all. 

Until tomorrow...

BIG PROJECT DUE

I have this big project due, well, two big projects due. I have been focusing on one of them non-stop. Well, not non-stop because if you have been keeping up, I had my Animal Rescue drill on Saturday and a recovery day on Sunday.  I had put aside time on Saturnday and Sunday to work on the projects.  That all went to dust. I ended up taking a nap instead.  Now I am behind on my deadlines.  Freaking out just a little...

The recovery process just takes me so long.  I am going to talk to my doctor about this. Especially since we may be going somewhere that is sunny this summer.  I don't want to spend my time recovering from the sun.

Gotta go do my project before I am up all night.

Until tomorrow...

BLOG ANNIVERSARY

I just noticed that I passed my blog anniversary. Would that be called a blogiversary?  My anniversary was Mother's Day two years ago.  May 8, 2011 Mother's Day.

Sometimes I look back at the various posts and read the stories.  Sometimes I use the posts to remember when things happen.  More than once I have looked up an event or date on my blog. 

When I started this blog, I thought it would be more about advocacy.  I was more involved with the Arthritis Foundation's advocacy group back then.  I am just so busy now that I have little time to be so involved.  I have also become disillusioned with the Arthritis Foundation of late after reading some information about their funding issues.

I also thought I would be able to pass along more educational material.  It is harder to do that than I envisioned.  By the time I learn about something, everyone else has too!  One time I posted something that I thought was new (it had been in a current magazine) only to find out it was old news by someone who was not very nice about it.  Now I am less apt to share new information unless I am SURE it is new.

I find that I am more likely to share the goings on in my life.  The "how RA and Crohn's affects my life" story.  How I am feeling, doing, being.  What I am doing, cooking, thinking.

I have a bunch of followers.  Although I have been trying to hit 30 followers.  I have leveled off at 29 for months now. 

So Happy Blogiversary!

Until Tomorrow...

TOO MUCH SUN?

I have really come to the conclusion that when I am in too much sun, it takes me a really long time to recover.  Yesterday I spent hours outside (under a tarp) with 30 sunscreen and a hat.  I got home and was very tired and took a long nap.  Today I felt wiped out.  My Crohn's kicked up.  I just felt exhausted.  I did one thing all day and then laid on the couch.

I really have to figure out this sun thing.  Is it Lupus?  Is it sun sensitivity?  I know it knocks me for a loop.  The docs have said I have some Lupus symptoms.  I know sun sensitivity is one side effect. 

I feel a bit better tonight and hopefully better tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

GRADUATION!

Yup, I graduated from my Animal Rescue training. I got my certificate of completion and my card. If there is a disaster and I get called up, my card is all access to first responder areas. 

For the final drill we were each at a station. I was disappointed that I was at the storage/supply station. It turns out that we were at the station with the least to do. We gave everyone the supplies and then set up our area. Our tent was broken so we made a tent out of a tarp and some mop handles with duct tape and zip ties. We Macgyver'd it. Then we sat there for a few hours in case anyone needed any supplies. Then we broke down and restacked all the supplies at the end of the drill. Other groups were much busier. Intake, medical, dogs and cats were pretty busy. They also threw in some wild cards like an actor stole our dog net so we had to call security (who was eating lunch).  Another actor acted crazy throwing stuff. There was also a person (not an actor) from either PETA or the Humane Society who showed up and told folks that the area was not hygienic. I don't think she understood it was a drill for a catastrophic situation such as an earthquake, large fire, terrorist attack, etc. Things will not be hygienic! They will be as clean as they can be. 

In all it was fun. The best part is that it is done and now I can move on to another thing. Thanks for all your kind words of encouragement. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

VISITOR FROM A FAR

My friend and her beau came to visit from The Netherlands. I haven't seen her since November. We had a nice visit before she heads off to other parts of the West Coast. We sat and told stories (mostly mine) and ate the surprise I made.

Last night I made Clementine Pots de Crème.  It turned out fabulous. Nice and creamy. It was not as sweet as I thought it would be but quite good. I could not find clementines so I used regular oranges.  Next time I might try lemons!  I bought some cute red ramekins to put the chocolate in. 

My friend brought me the most fabulous thing from Europe. She brought me Ritter Sport bars in my favorite flavor Peppermint. It is made with dark chocolate, yum!  Someone told me the Ritter bars directly from Europe are made from a better chocolate than the American ones.  I will eat these slowly and savor each square.

It was so great to see her and meet her beau. She s so happy.  I wish we had more time but I know it is hard to fit everything in when you only have a few days.  I will just have to be content until the next visit. 

Until tomorrow...

ANOTHER PHYSICAL THERAPY APPOINTMENT

I had my third physical therapy appointment. I have some gripes about my physical therapist. 1) she has horrible time management. Today I showed up for my appointment and found out she had double booked the appointment. Well, not her but her office. Last week I had to wait for my scheduled appointment while she finished up with someone else. During the first appointment she seemed to have forgotten I was coming and didn't have the paperwork ready and went into a long talk about a family member who was diagnosed with cancer unexpectedly.

Which brings up another point. 2) she seems to have no boundaries. I know way too much about her. I know how much she owes the IRS, about her relatives cancer, how much she saves for retirement, all about her son (who works for her) and his issues. Too much information for only having three appointments.

Point 3) she is hawking this vitamin supplement and is pretty aggressive about it. Each time we meet she brings up the vitamin supplement. She must be getting a commission on each sale or something. I find it annoying. I don't need to know about her stupid vitamin supplement. She just doesn't mention it but is pretty pushy. Next time she brings it up I am going to have to say something because each time she talks about it, I get stressed out.

My neck is kinda sore but we will see in the morning how I feel.

I made my dessert. It smells delicious! I will take a photo.

I contacted a gardener and he is coming in two weeks. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN FAUX TUNA FISH SANDWICH

I am not always thrilled with all vegan recipes. Some of them scare me a little. Some of them just don't sound appetizing. I saw this recipe and thought I would try it because the comments were very good.

I was on the Humane Society website looking at goodies for Happi's birthday. Then I stumbled on a recipe for vegan Tuna-free salad sandwich. I know what you are thinking. What am I doing with a recipe from the Humane Society? I get recipes from all over the place.

So, I decided to try it. I got all the ingredients and made a small batch.

Tuna-Free Salad Sandwich
Ingredients:

Serves 6

30 ounces (2 cans) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
1/4 cup red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 cup dill pickle, finely chopped
2 tablespoons nori seaweed flakes
1/2 - 3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
12 slices bread, lightly toasted
6 large, crisp lettuce leaves
12 fresh tomato slices

In a large bowl, mash the garbanzo beans with a potato masher or the back of a fork. Fold the onion, celery, garlic, pickle, nori, mayonnaise, salt, and black pepper into the garbanzo beans. Combine thoroughly.

Lightly toast the bread. Spread the salad on one slice and stack with a lettuce leaf, two tomato slices, and another slice of bread. Cut sandwiches in half and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Allison Rivers Samson, owner of Allison's Gourmet and award-winning author of the VegNews column "Veganize It!" (Issue 61).

It turns out the beans when all smashed up have a texture a lot like tuna when you smash it up. Of course it doesn't have that fishy taste. I didn't put the nori seaweed flakes in the mixture because I didn't have any on hand. I also skipped the onions because I can't eat them. I put in extra celery and dill pickle.

In case you were interested, my test subject Brenda liked it. She thought it was good. I made her make her own tuna fish salad so she wouldn't eat my faux tuna. I wanted to have something to eat for lunch for a few days.

I am going to make a surprise for my friend who is coming to visit. I can't wait to see her. I got this recipe and I hope it works out. Can't tell you what it is cause she reads this blog!

Before I sign off, what a crazy week! Jodi Arias found guilty. The three girls found alive in Cleveland. The news has been so wild lately.

Until tomorrow...

ADMITTING DEFEAT

We have had a battle with our backyard for about a month now. The foliage has gotten out of control with this crazy weather. First no rain and then rain and now record hot weather. The plants are growing like, well, like weeds. So are the weeds. The whole backyard looks like a jungle. We could have done something about it about 1.5 months ago but now it is so out of control, it would take Brenda and I two weekends and the ability to clone ourselves to get it done.

So we admit defeat. We called someone to come in and clear it out. Clean it up. Cut back the never ending ivy, pull out the weeds, and hopefully cut back our neighbors tree. Our neighbor has one of those pine trees that is narrow and tall. It leans over our property line and already once we cut some branches off. Brenda jokes that the pine tree and our white birch will soon meet from the two sides of our property and block our view. We want the pine tree to be cut back again.

We are excited to have a cleared out backyard that doesn't look like an overgrown jungle.

Until tomorrow...

PASSED MY THIRD TEST

Yay! I passed my third and final test! I now only have to pass my drill on Saturday. I have my assignment. I am part of the Storage team. We are in charge of all the supplies for the team. I am excited for the drill.

They just had a Breaking News report about the three girls found alive in Cleveland. They had been abducted 10 years ago. How wonderful that they were able to escape but how sad that they were kidnapped. Imagine they were being held just a short distance from their homes, in the same neighborhood. Abducted by a school bus driver! You just never know. It is such a miracle one of the girls escaped.

Until tomorrow...

LAST TEST FINISHED!

I finished my final test for the animal rescue certification. Whew! That last test was hard. I sure hope I passed. I don't want to have to take it again. I have to get a 75% to pass. there were about 75 questions. I really didn't count. There is a timer that comes up if there isn't activity on the page and it asks if you want to be timed out. I have 300 seconds to respond and it times me out. So it gets a little stressful when I am going along and then this box appears asking me if I need more time to complete the exam. What?! Am I going to slow? I know I am taking my time. It is open book so I want to get it right. Seems silly to get wrong answers when it is open book. The answers are right in front of you.

This whole test is stressful. It is an online thing that you have take the whole online course that is three hours with practice tests throughout that you have to do. Then once you finish the online course there is a test that is timed. Well, not timed in that you have to have it done in 30 minutes but every 25 minutes a box pops up asking you if you need more time and you have so many seconds to respond to the question or it times you out and you have to start the test over again. So no going to the bathroom! No getting up for a glass of water unless you are quick. I basically just sit here and do the whole test in one sitting. No phone calls, no bathroom, no getting up for any reason. No talking. Just focus on the test.

See, I don't really feel I am a good test taker. Never have. I get sort of stressed out and tend to forget everything. The only things I remember are the things that I knew anyway. Things that have been pounded into my head. That is why I never go back and check my tests. If I do I second guess myself and then I change my answers. My first guess is usually correct. Over the years I have learned to just take a test and hand it in. Never go back.

When I was in graduate school I had a choice after my main courses where over. I could take three more courses and take an all day test that covered all the courses from the whole 2.5 years OR I could write a thesis. Of course I chose to write a thesis. It took me 2.5 years to finish it but I did. The other folks that took the test. Well, the test was in two or three parts and you got the test at 7 am and had to turn it in at 7 pm. Some of them got hotel rooms so they could set up their computer and printer and just take the test. A fair amount passed the whole test. Others passed a part of it and had to take the other part(s) over. To me that would be my worst nightmare. Having to take the big horrible test over again. Not sure I could bring myself to do it. Oh, yeah, they only give the test certain times of the year. So I would have to wait months to take it again. Ugh!

Well, keep your fingers crossed. I hope to find out tomorrow. I am just happy this is finished!

Oh, it is Happi's birthday today. She is 8.5 years old. We adopted her 6 years ago today when she was 1.5 years old. She still acts like a pup! I made her these frozen treats I read about on the Humane website. I took peanut butter and mashed it up with a 1/4 banana (I added a little water so it would mix a little easier). I then took spoonfuls and drop the spoonfuls on waxed paper and put it in the freezer. When they are frozen they make cute little treats for the dogs. They were gone in seconds. Smiles all around! Mommy we want more!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Until tomorrow...

SORE NECK

I had physical therapy on my neck yesterday. The PT did some exercises and some massage and some other stuff. It didn't hurt yesterday but, oh, this morning! It is killing me on the left side. Like a knife is sticking in the left side of my neck. I actually took one of my back muscle relaxers because it hurt so much. Then I took a nap because I was so tired. Those muscle relaxers relax me so well.

The PT was so easy with me this time since last week I was really sore too. I am just not sure if there is anything she can do to make me feel better. I did change pillows to see if that does anything. I also have some new exercises to do once the pain subsides.

This maybe a long haul.

Until tomorrow...

CRAZY WEEK IS FINALLY OVER, ALMOST

Well, this crazy week is finally almost over. I still have this weekend to get more work done. I have to invoice my clients, finish a handbook, and take my third animal rescue test. Not much!

It is also Derby Day! The Kentucky Derby is tomorrow. One of my favorite sporting events. One year Brenda and I dressed up, made mint juleps and sat on the couch and watched the Derby. We know all the rituals and choose our horses for the race.

Two weeks from now we will sit down and watch the Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes. We are addicted.

Until tomorrow...

DEADLINES

Okay, some deadlines are good. Some deadlines I like. Some deadlines suck. Good deadline: your last day of work before you leave for vacation! Deadline I like: the last minute of riding the stationary bike. Deadline that sucks: The few minutes before surgery!

One thing that is tough is when you are expecting a deadline to be one day and suddenly someone moves the deadline up. The deadline is supposed to be May 15 and suddenly someone wants to move it up to May 1. Yikes!

I have so many deadlines right now and I have to keep them all straight.

Until tomorrow...

ANTICIPATION

I got a letter in the mail today that my Enbrel will be supplied by a new pharmacy starting June 1. In some ways this could be a good thing. It is a pharmacy that I like and as a drop by and pick up pharmacy, they are very good. I reserve judgement on how they will be as a delivery pharmacy.

I am anxious about the transition from one pharmacy to another. So many things can go wrong and since I take a drug that I have to take, it worries me that the whole situation could go haywire. I have already broken in this pharmacy and they know where I like my drugs delivered, when I like them delivered. They call me to have them delivered.

Now I will have to get used to another pharmacy. What if they screw up the prescription? the delivery? Some of you may be saying "why worry unnecessarily?" If you have ever transitioned from one pharmacy to another when taking a biologic drug, you would understand. If one little thing goes wrong, no drugs. No drugs, stiffness and pain. It is not like when you go to Rite-Aid and they can't fill your prescription. You can go to another Rite-Aid or a CVS and get it filled. With biologics, you can only get it from the one place the insurance company tells you you can get it mailed to you. If that company screws up, well, no drugs.

I just got my shipment today so I have one more shipment before the change.

Until tomorrow...