HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Did I have a Happy Halloween? I would have to say not so much. I woke up this morning with strep throat. Fabulous.

I could not go to my clients. I had to call the doc and get more antibiotics. 

I was able to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We had a bunch of kids. They were so cute! I bought the giant bags of candy and we have one left. We ended up having less kids than last year. 

Then I watched Charlie Brown. A full day!

Until tomorrow...

READY FOR HALLOWEEN?

Today I got ready for Halloween. I know a little late in the game. Hey, I have been very busy!  I was organized enough to buy the candy this weekend and disciplined enough to not eat any of it until today!

Today I put the big spider and web on the front door.  I hung the skull, witch, and pumpkin on the windows.  I am ready for the kids.

Until tomorrow...

DOG DAY

Today was a day all about the dogs.  First I took all the dog food back to Petco.  They were so nice!  They took back the "bad" dog food.  The food that I think had something wrong with it because Lucky would not eat it.  Then they also took back the food I bought to replace it because she wasn't thrill to eat that.  Since I had read that this brand had some recalls this year, I decided to take back Happi's food too.  Petco took back three bags of that food too.

Then I went to another store and bought one bag of a new type of food.  A new brand called Fromms.  They have a better reputation and have never been recalled.

Later that day I took Happi to the vet. She has been shaking her head and scratching her ears all night long.  Turns out she has goop in her ear. (Yes, that is a doctor term)  I have drops to put in them and in 7-10 days she should be all better.

Brenda cleaned out all their food containers, bowls, and snack containers (we feed them their food as a snack - keeps their weight down!) just in case it was some bacteria in the bad food.

At feeding time both Happi and Lucky gobbled the new food right down.  Hopefully we are on the way to a healthier home. 

Until tomorrow...

LITTLE LUCKY

Poor little Lucky, our chihuahua mix.  At first I thought she was just being picky when she would not eat her food.  So I got her some different food.  During the transition of changing her food over, she got sick.  So I stopped giving her the old food.  She still would not eat the food.  She pooped in the house.  I am not sure what is wrong with her.  Is it the food?  Is she sick?  Who knows?

I am taking back the old food because I think something is wrong with it.  I researched dog food and decided I am probably going to change their food.  Both dogs.  I did not realize that their current food had been recalled earlier this year.  Not their flavor but their brand.  I find it frightening that a dog food brand can be recalled but it never makes the news.  I never hear about it.  My dog could die because Mylie Cyrus tweerking is bigger news than a dog food recall.

I think I am also going to take back the new food and just get her some new food. I was given this sample of Fromm dog food and both dogs went crazy for it.  I researched two different brands of dog food: Fromm and Nutrisource.  Both companies have single source protein dog food.  Just what I need for Happi. 

Tomorrow I will call around and figure out what food to get for my pup!  Then take back the bad food.

Until tomorrow...

FIRST BIKE RIDE

Today I went on my first bike ride since I bought my bike. Oh, I have taken my bike out and went down the street.  Today I went with my friends N and K to a place where the city had closed off the traffic so we could ride our bikes without any cars in the way.  It was nice and flat for the most part.  It was probably 10 blocks and I rode the whole way.  Once we got to the end, we met up with some of K and N's friends.  Then we walked back to a Vietnamese noodle place where I had some pho.
It was just what I needed.  The weather was supposed to be nice but it wasn't.  It was overcast, cold and windy.  I really needed to be wearing another layer and some gloves.  The pho was so hot that it warmed me from the inside.  After eating we saw some llamas.  It was so odd to see llamas standing on the street!  I don't know what they were doing there but they were adorable.


That was when the group split up and K and I pedaled back to the car.  I almost made it the whole way but one block short I had to walk.  My legs had enough!

When I got home I took a hot bath to soak my muscles and warm up.  It felt good.

I felt really good that I could keep up.  This was my first time biking for any length and I was worried I would get tired and not be able to keep up.  I think K and N are trying to get me to go on one of their long rides.  They just finished the Climate Ride on the east coast.  I think it was 5 days biking from Pennsylvania to Washington DC.  Not so sure I will be able to do that anytime soon!  One step at a time for me.  Let's get me up the hill to my house first!!!

Until tomorrow...

MADE $19.00

Today was the garage sale. I got up at 6:45am and got ready to sell at 8am.  I didn't have much to sell but I still sat outside until 11:30. I sold three things and made $19.00! Yippee!

We took the money and went out to dinner.  Then we watched Peeples.  It was a cute movie. 

Until tomorrow...

GARAGE SALE TOMORROW

Tomorrow our neighborhood is having a group garage sale. I am horribly unprepared.  I forgot to go to the bank so I have $10 in coins and $9 in ones.  That's it.  I haven't gotten the stuff I want to sell together.  Basic ail all I have done is think about it and get the money in a box.  Oh, I made a list of things to bring outside with me.

I will let you know tomorrow how it goes.

Until tomorrow...

POSTURE

I have been focusing very hard on my posture. Some of my neck problems are due to my horrible posture. I attribute my slouching to having short friends when I was young and very tall. I was 5'9" very young. Always in the back row in photos in school.  Even now people don't believe I am that tall because I slouch so badly.

I have also been focusing on sitting up straight and working at my desk. Usually when I work at home I work slouched on the couch. My office could be an episode of one of those hoarder office clutter shows where they bring in a clutter expert and an expert organizer.  I just have so much paper; everywhere.  Then I have a desk I don't like.  I have a chair I love. Not a desk chair but a big soft cushy chair that is covered with crap. Then there are my many brief cases/bags for different clients on the floor. Magazines in a rack. Two dog cages for the pups. Just tons of stuff.  Oh and the room is dark if there is no sun so I need to get some sort of lamp.

I have been working on my posture. I think it is helping my neck.

Until tomorrow...

COUCH

It is almost time for us to buy a new couch.  The couch in our TV room is a hand-me-down and it is starting to look like a hand-me-down.  It is also a pull out bed and I think it has seen a better day.  I think it is soon going to be time to trash it and get a new couch.  There is a dent in the area where everyone sits because it is near the light and side table.  It actually has a butt-print. 

I have to think of what type of couch we want to but next time.  What color?  What fabric?  What size?

Until tomorrow...

OREOS ADDICTIVE? SAY IT ISN'T SO!!

Okay, I don't do illegal drugs anymore. I don't drink alcohol anymore.  I don't smoke anymore.  I don't eat any meat products anymore.  I have never worn fur (oh wait, I think I had a white rabbit fur muff when I was a small child), okay haven't worn fur since then.  My one vice is Oreo cookies. I eat them a lot. I love them. Especially the Double Stuff Oreos; they are my favorite.

Now I found out Oreos are as addictive cocaine!  According to the article,  Rats find Oreos as addictive as Cocaine - an unusual research project, "rats formed an equally strong association between the pleasurable effects of eating Oreos and a specific environment as they did between cocaine or morphine and a specific environment."  Eating the Oreos activated the pleasure center part of the brain even more than drugs do.  

So basically, I am doing drugs again. Over-the-counter of the local supermarket drugs. Right there in the cookie aisle drugs. 

Does this mean I will have to go to Oreo rehab? Have an Oreo intervention by my friends and family?  Will I be tweaking for Oreo crumbs?  Have to wear an Oreo patch?  Attend to OA (Oreo-eaters Annonymous) meetings?  

Until this research is substantiated, I will continue my Oreo consumption addictive or not. I figure one vice is okay until my friends and family show up for an intervention, an Oreo intervention!

Until tomorrow...

SAYING HURTFUL THINGS

Why do people say hurtful things? Especially when it is in a passive aggressive way.

I was told that I am loud at one of my clients. Only I wasn't told to my face. I was moved to an office that is in the back away from everyone else. It was under the guise that the position had a lot of file cabinets and needed the privacy.   Then later when the person who had the office mentioned something about not having the space anymore, I mentioned that they had given it up because they didn't like it.  She said no it was because you a lot if stuff and you are really loud when you work.  Plus you need the privacy. That last part she said once she realized that telling some they are loud is not very nice. 

No one ever told me I was too loud. Not too mention my supervisor was WAY louder than me.  If that is the way people felt the adult way of dealing with it would be to come to me and say You are too loud could you try and keep it down?  I have no problem going to folks when I want something. 

Okay, I have been called loud, brash, aggressive, lots of adjectives but once you get to know me you know that I am fair, will fight for you, will help you as much as I can, and can keep your secret. 

I am trying not to be hurt by the comments.

Until tomorrow...

ANOTHER DAY OF REST

Today was a day of rest.  I watched a couple of movies (Calendar Girls and Men In Black 3), dyed my hair, took a nap, ran to the store to get some food, and made some soup.  Okay, that doesn't sound like I rested much.  But I did.

Last night we watched two movies.  The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  It was an odd movie but what do you expect from a movie called the Odd Life... It is about a small boy who appears to a family with leaves on his legs.  They are so desperate for a child they don't really question the leaves. Now would you question a child that showed up at your home in the middle of the night with leaves growing on his legs?  I think you would.

Then we watched Olympus Has Fallen.  It was an action thriller about a takeover of the White House.  Lots of guns and killing.  I sure hope the response time of our actual military is faster than it was in this movie.  It was an entertaining movie and kept me awake.  Brenda fell asleep.

Until tomorrow...

THREE MORE

Okay, I am going to be writing about rats. So if you have heard enough, I understand.

Since I have been sick, today I went out back for the first time in a few days. Out back means I have to go out on the deck and downstairs to get to the backyard. First I fed the fish. Then I noticed a dead rat. Yuck!  It was just laying there in the dirt. I went inside and got a shovel and a bag.  I put the rat in the bag. 

In the time that it took for me to get those supplies, another rat appeared. This rat was in the last hours of life. It was dying near a third rat that looked like it had been there for a day. They were all young but not babies. I am assuming they got into my neighbors rat bait. Once I got the bodies in a bag, I washed down the whole backyard. 

On another note, my fever has not retreated. I went out for a short trip today to get mail and buy bread. 

Until tomorrow...

STILL SICK BUT SEEM TO BE GETTING BETTER

Today was a better day. My temp was lower. I could get some work done. Although I told one guy that his two hour appointment was from 11-2. I kept insisting that was right. I hung up and it took me a few minutes to realize my brain is mush. It should have been 11-1. I called him back and apologized.  Turns out he is sick too and was adding the time on his fingers thinking was he wrong or was I wrong. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be a big turn around. 

Until tomorrow...

STILL HAVE A FEVER

Pretty much spent the whole day on the couch in my pajamas. My temp never went below 99.5 and went up to 100.6. So tomorrow will be another day on the couch or in bed. I taped some shows so it will keep me occupied.  My ears keep ringing so I have a hard time concentrating.

Until tomorrow...

I GOTTA FEVER

I have a fever. It is in the 90s here and I am wearing long pants and a long sleeved fleece. I woke up this morning with a temperature. It rose as the day progressed.  Once it hit 100 degrees I called the doc. Of course my primary is out at a thing. Luckily his sub knows me well. She called me in and checked me out. We are being conservative and put me on a Z-PAC to knock whatever it is out if me.

Is it a sinus infection? Is it the beginnings of something else since I was exposed to pneumonia? Or as the doc put it "Typhoid Mary".  No matter what, Brenda spent the afternoon wiping down the house with disinfectant. I am downing fluids. 

I am sure I will feel better tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

RUDENESS

Okay, why are people so rude? Have manners and good sense gone out the window?

Tonight Brenda and I went to a function and the way to exit is to go down a permanent fire escape stairway. The stairs are metal and you have to be really careful, especially in the rain. Tonight it was not raining but still you want to be careful.  Everyone exits and I am following Brenda on this scarey staircase and some jerky guy cuts me off and cuts in front of me.  Now I would not have Brenda in front of me while I go down these stairs. The nice lady behind me saw that I was wondering what to do because Brenda didn't know that the jerky guy cut inbetween us. The nice lady held other people back until the jerky guy continued down the stairs. Now I was behind Brenda again. I could hold onto Brenda while I negotiate those stairs. 

We made it down in one piece. All us well!

Until tomorrow...

DOWNTON ABBEY SEASON FOUR

It is that time again.  Downton Abbey Season Four has begun.  What you say?  I thought it didn't start until January?  Yes, but Season Four started showing in England a few weeks ago.  If you know what you are doing, you too can watch episodes of Downton Abbey online. 

It was so great to see Episode One.  Don't worry, I won't give anything away.  I wouldn't do that to you.  Downton Abbey is sacred!  I am just so addicted that I can't wait until January! This weekend episodes 2-4!

Until tomorrow...

PASTA AND QUINOA

It is Sunday so I must be cooking!  Today I decided to cook a pasta dish and a quinoa dish.

The pasta dish was  Roasted Tomato Spaghetti + Crispy Chickpeas + Dill.  It was easy to make but it took awhile because it took three hours to roast the tomatoes. I used whole wheat pasta in this dish. 

Then I made Quinoa With Brussels Sprouts And Pomegranate.  Now this is Super Good! Even Brenda ate a bunch of it. It has brussel sprouts, walnuts and pomegranate. Really easy to make. Taking out the pomegranate seeds was the hardest part. I used the underwater method.   

There is enough of both dishes to last for a few days of leftovers. 

Until tomorrow...

LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX

I have been watching this BBC/PBS series called "Last Tango in Halifax".  It is really very good.

 
It is a story about two older folks who are a widow and widower.  They were in grade school together.  I don't want to give anything away but the story unravels when their grandsons sign them up on something like Facebook.  They connect with each other and the story goes on from there.  It is based in the country side of England.

It is just a sweet story and the subplots are interesting enough to keep me interested. 

This is such a different type of story from the last series I watched on BBC, Broadchurch.  Broadchurch was such a good who-dunnit.  It is a story about a family who loses it's son when he is found dead.  It is a small town and the soon the fingers are pointing at everyone.  Who did it?  You won't find out until the end.

Just waiting until Downton Abbey!

Until tomorrow...

STILL IN MY PAJAMAS

Today was one of those days where the day started the minute I fed the dogs in the morning. I never even got out if my pajamas. Yes, I work from home!  I certainly wouldn't show up at a clients office in my PJs. I went from one phone call to another all day long. Next thing I knew I was choking down a sandwich and some soup right before the phone rang again. Then suddenly it was 6:30 PM.  I looked down and I was still in my pajamas and a fleece.  The whole day! It was a productive day. 

Until tomorrow...

SHOT IN THE ANKLE (WITH ANESTHETIC)

Today I went to the ankle doctor and she immediately saw that my ankle was an issue.  Finally someone who believes me that I hurt myself when I fell on the cruise ship!  She said that right above my scar from the surgery I have another mark where I had a bruise.  I must have hit it really hard she said!  She said I must have irritated the nerve.  She did a tinel's sign which is a way to find irritated nerves.  Boy, were my nerves irritated!  I practically jumped off the table when she touched certain places.  The doctor touches (or in my case, sticks me with a pen) to see where the tingly and sharp painful spots are located.  Once they are located, she marks those spots with said pen and sticks those spots with a needle filled with stuff that numbs the nerve.  I was stuck four times.  Count it: four times.  It hurt more than the breast biopsy I had a few months ago.  Although the pain didn't last as long since the liquid had some sort of numbing agent in it.

I have nerve entrapment.  The nerves were traumatized when I hit the bucket on the cruise ship.  Since the spot near my scar is so tender, the nerve was possibly damaged but the doctor doesn't think so but we will wait and see.  She thinks it is more likely that I just banged it up a bit.  Since the nerve is not functioning right it can't send the right signals to my brain. 

The up side is that I feel better already.  The down side is that I will have to have this treatment about four more times.  Great!  Something to look forward to. 

Until tomorrow...

SEEING THE ANKLE DOC TOMORROW

I am happy! I had a cancellation so I could change my appointment to see the ankle doctor to tomorrow.  In case I haven't mentioned it my ankle has been killing me. Ever since the cruise accident where I tripped over the cleaning bucket and fell down, my ankle has been bothering me more and more. This past weekend my ankle hurt just about every third step.  Since we went to a street fair and walked to a party, my ankle was really bothering me a lot. 

So tomorrow I see the doc and maybe get some answers. 

Until tomorrow...

BEING AROUND SICK PEOPLE

Today I showed up at a client's office and one of their staff announced she had pneumonia. I asked her what she was doing at work. She said she had a project due.  I said isn't it something that could wait or someone else could do?  She said she was only going to work that day and then she was going to take the next few days off.  I asked her if she was contagious. She didn't answer. Instead she said her physician said she could go to work if she felt better.  I asked again if she was contagious. No answer. I said I have a compromised immune system so don't take it personal if I don't come near you.  Then I said I think you should go home and get some rest and not infect others.  I called her boss and told him I that she should go home. He said he would talk to her.

Instead she worked all day. When she didn't leave by lunch time, I left and worked from home.

I get that people think they are irreplaceable, but sometimes they are selfish.  They don't know if someone has a compromised immune system or diabeties or a heart condition. Pneumonia can really complicate those conditions.   It seems she probably has walking pneumonia.  As I read it, it is very contagious with a 10 day contagion period.

I am working there again tomorrow but I will walk out if she shows up again. The last thing I need is to get pneumonia! Oh, and yes, I got the pneumonia shot but as I read it doesn't protect you from all forms of pneumonia, just the most common strains.

Until tomorrow...

TWO GREAT DISHES

I cooked two great dishes tonight. First I made Pan Fried Tofu and Kale Bowl.  It so tasty. I think I am going through a kale phase.

Then I made Easy Summer Quinoa.  It is so colorful and delicious. Sometimes dishes have too much quinoa. This dish has the right amount of each ingredient.

It made for a wonderful dinner and lots of great leftovers.

Until tomorrow...

TWO EVENTS TODAY

Today was a hot, busy day. When I say hot, I mean HOT.  We have a thermometer hanging on the side of our house and at one point today it said 106 degrees. Now I know it wasn't 106 degrees; more like in the 90s. But if you hung on the side of our house in the sun you would be 106 degrees!

First, I walked to my usual stops: post office, pharmacy, bank. Then I went to the store to get a wedding present. 

Second, I took the pups to a dog fest. They loved being around the other dogs. Okay, Happi loved being around the other dogs. Lucky mostly hid behind me. Happi spent the rest of her time looking for shade. Dogs sweat through their paws and since Happi has three paws, she can't cool off like other dogs. She just went from shade spot to shade spot. At one point she crawled under a van to stay cool! We only stayed for 45 minutes total and then we went home.  Just so you don't think I am mean, Happi wanted to stay and be with the dogs until the end and I carried my 27 pound dog to the car so she didn't have to walk.

Third, our neighbor's daughter got married this summer. Tonight they had a party to celebrate.  Hence the wedding present. It was really fun to catch up with some of my bookclub folks who have dropped out. We all caught up and reconnected. 

Overall it was a fun, busy, hot day. 

Tomorrow there is a local street fair I am planning on attending. 

Until tomorrow...

ONE OF THOSE WEEKS

Okay, I have not posted every day as usual. This has been one of those weeks. 

First, one of my clients had a situation that exploded. It was volatile and I had to deal with it. That took all week and it was stressful. I even had Brenda help out with some of my easier tasks just to get the work done.

Second, I am exhausted.  Maybe my B12 is low? Don't know but I am so tired. Falling asleep at 9:30. 

Third, I had a mini flare. I say mini because it has mostly subsided already. My feet feel better. My finger still hurts but my hands are not as swollen this morning. 

I hope next week will not be one of those weeks.

Until tomorrow...

Feeling Better?

I am feeling a bit better this afternoon.  I had a rough morning.  You know you are looking rough when your partner says "what is that noise?" and it is you walking.  Or trying to walk.  I did have to take a nap this afternoon but when I got up I was feeling better.  I didn't fall asleep at 9:30pm as I have been for the last few nights. 

I want to feel better because we have some events coming up.  A concert, a play, street fair, party.  I swear we can go months with nothing to do and then BOOM! everything happens at once.

I think this flare has been exasperated by the amount of work I am doing.  I have been going 100% for a more than a week now due to a crisis with one of my clients.  The money is going to be great but I am REALLY over it.  I want it to be over.  Someone said to me "These crisis' get the blood flowing."  He must have a really boring job.  I don't need work crisis' to get my blood flowing!  I have a enough going on in my life, thank you.  I wanted to say have a mammogram that comes back with a spot that needs a biopsy, that will get your blood flowing!  Have a chronic disease and you will wish for boring! 

I have hope that this good feeling continues!

Until tomorrow...