SUPERBOWL

 I had big plans for today but none of them happened. I was going to finish going through the box of Christmas stuff but I had enough of it yesterday. I was going to invoice clients but I got sidetracked. I was going to start my taxes, well that did not happen. Instead I walked Lucky and visited with my neighbor. I looked for new outdoor furniture for the backyard, did some laundry, talked to a good friend, and updated my calendar. All good things but not the items on my to-do list. 

The Superbowl was exciting to watch. I missed most of the commercials (which is my favorite part) and I was less than interested in the half time show. 

Until tomorrow...

THIS IS WHAT RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS FEELS LIKE FOR ME

 I woke up today and I feel a little bit better. Isn’t it weird how for days you can feel so horrible with this disease and the next day feel a bit better? I always am shocked when it happens. I wake up and get my mind ready for another day of not feeling good and then when I feel good it is almost a surprise. A good surprise! But after three days of feeling crummy, it is a surprise. 

I spoke to a family member and tried to explain what I am feeling and once again the person didn’t get it. It is very hard to explain what goes on. This is the best way I can explain it: imagine you have the flu and you know the way your brain feels when you have the flu? Sort of foggy, out of sorts, thick, like you just want to sleep and then you can function. Okay, remember that. 

Now, imagine being on the longest airplane flight you have ever been on and (hopefully) it was overseas. Remember how you felt jet lagged when you landed. Groggy, out of sorts, very tired but wanted to do things, you can barely walk anywhere except to bed, maybe a bit foggy. Okay remember that. 

If you have been drunk before, remember the day after that bachelor /bachelorette party or wedding or 21st birthday. Remember how hungover you were and how you could barely lift your head or hands to get the water bottle to your lips. How putting a sentence together hurt your head. Okay, remuer that.

Now imagine you twisted an ankle or hand and it hurt but you had to stand up and get out of bed or hold a cup of tea. It does matter if it hurts, you still have to let the dog out and open the door and make breakfast. Okay, remember that. 

Now, put all those things together. You are foggy, out of sorts, thick, want to sleep, groggy, tired but want to do things, can barely walk except to bed due to fatigue, putting a sentence together hurt your head, barely able to lift your head or hands, and your body aches but you still have to get up to do things. That is how I feel when I say I don’t feel well. No, I am not depressed and no I don’t just need a good nights sleep. 

I did watch my beloved Cowboys lose today. It was such a good game. Too bad they lost. It would have been fun to see them play again next week. 

Until tomorrow…

BOOK CLUB WAS GREAT

 Well, mystery book club was great. They were a real nice group of people. It was a small group and I didn't get to ask if this was the regular group or if it had shrunk due to the lockdown. We talked about the book and how our lives were like the book. The meeting went exactly one hour. That part was nice. My old book club would drag on for over two hours. Ugh. It's a book how much can you talk about?  I have my book for next month. It is very different but still a mystery-ish. 

I spent over one hour clearing off almost everything on my dining room table. I don't know about you but my dining room table became a place to drop things and it was out of control. I got rid of empty boxes and a ton of junk mail. I can see the table top and only have about 20 thing left on it. I will work on it again and get rid of them. 

I wanted to watch the Dallas/Eagles game today while I made soup. (yes, they lost.) I could not get the remote to work so I put new batteries in. The remote still did not work so I tried to get the battery out and the twirly metal part of the remote where the battery is stabbed the battery. The battery got real hot. I panicked. Could the battery blow up? Catch on fire? I called my brother and then another brother. He assured me it would not blow up. (yes, I googled it. You google it and see what you get. It will confuse you and not tell you what to do.) He told me to take it outside and use some pliers to get the battery out of the remote. The remote was toast now and the battery was no longer hot. I guess I need to buy a new remote or I can not change the volume with out doing some sort of yoga to reach the TV that is mounted on the wall. Luckily I can push a button on the TV to turn it on. 

I made the soup Curry Butternut Squash Lentil. It was so delicious. It has spinach and carrots in it too. 

My neighbor moved today. I am a little sad. She and I were just becoming friendly more than the "hi" type of neighbors. She just rented her place so maybe she will be back. I gave her some of the cookies I made for the road trip. 

Until tomorrow...

RECOVERY DAY TWENTY

 I spent the day babying Lucky. She had one of her upset tummies. When she has these episodes she clings to me and wants me to rub her tummy. She paces constantly and is so miserable. She is finally asleep after eating a little baby food (yes, baby food) that I keep on hand. I usually mix it with rice but I didn't have any rice today so I gave her just a little of the baby mixed with her kibble. At least it got her to eat something. 

I spent part of the day doing more invoicing. I spend yesterday invoicing too. I finished one whole client's invoices and that was an accomplishment. Today I worked on another client. 

I also talked with my parents who were stranded at the Dallas airport. I asked them nicely to pick me up a Cowboys T-shirt since mine is old and has a stain. So, this worked out for me but not for them. 

Last night I spoke to my friend in HI for three hours. I haven't had a marathon talk like that in years. We had one disconnection for unknown reasons, one phone battery die and one accidental hang up in those three hours. It was so much fun catching up. I can't wait to visit HI. 

I made vegan barley pilaf today. It has mushrooms, peas and carrots. It was surprisingly good. I was only supposed to have a small bite but I cheated and had a serving. Hopefully it will be okay.

That was my day: dog, phone call, dinner and work. 

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY GALENTINE'S DAY

 I woke up and finished the Valentine's Day cookies today. I had to finish all the flooding of the frosting. That is when the you frost inside the outline that I did yesterday. I didn't finish all the cookies but I may not. My hands were starting to get sore and I have enough cookies frosted to give away. I need to figure out how to do this faster and easier. I think it just takes practice. 

Today is Galentine's Day. It is the day you celebrate the day with your girlfriend(s). I celebrated with my girl Lucky! 

We watched the Superbowl and the halftime show. Then Lucky and I played a bit. She wanted to play catch and throw the toy and chase me. 

Until tomorrow...

CLEARING OUT THE KITCHEN

 I decided early today that I would clear up some things today. First, I finished putting away the Christmas items. They are all safely tucked away in their assigned bins in the garage. 

Then I took Lucky for a walk. It seems my knee and feet are feeling better. We walked a medium length walk for two days and I feel pretty good. I will see how I feel tomorrow. Fingers-crossed that I feel good and I am healing.

I came back and cleared out some things in the kitchen while I watched the Dallas Cowboys lose to the 49ers. The last minute was so sad. I was screaming "Throw the ball". He did not. They lost. 

Until tomorrow...

BETTER AND MORE FUN NEXT YEAR

 Okay, I have eaten too much chili.  It is Superbowl day and I have been waiting to eat the chili I made and now I am so full.  It was a boring Superbowl.  Frankly, I stopped watching after halftime.  I wanted to have a good time watching football but it just wasn't the same.  The commercials weren't that fun.  The halftime show was boring.  I was disappointed.  Then I ate my disappointment in chili and cornbread.  

I guess next year it will be better and more fun.  We can hope, can't we?  That next year we can have Superbowl parties and see commercials with foot long subs and see morning show with contests about the best appetizer to serve at the party.  How to tailgate.  Which beer is the best.  Who has the best barbecue.  

I realized this year I didn't even check into the puppy bowl.  I usually check to see how cute the puppies are but I forgot this year.  Maybe that is some of my disappointment too.  

Until tomorrow... 

YUP, MY CAR WOULDN'T START

 Okay, it finally happened.  I went out to my car and it wouldn't start.  The battery was just about dead. There was not enough charge to start the car.  The car was stuck and I was unable to get to the post office to get my weekly mail.  More importantly I had outgoing mail that needed to be postmarked today.

I had to call for service and get the battery charged.  The battery is fairly new so all it needed was to be charged and run for 30 minutes.  All is good now.  

I ended up having to stalk the postman to make sure the mail was picked up and sent on it's way.  

Since my day was sent into chaos, I decided I was not in the right head space to start my Thai cooking course.  Instead I started watching a Netflix movie The Dig.  I won't say much because it was so good.  It is a true story about a British woman who, pre-WWII, decided to hire an amateur archeologist to dig on her land. It may sound boring but it isn't. There is so much to the story.  Then to find out the story is true was fascinating.  I recommend it highly.

Since I was not starting the Thai chapter, I thought I would swap what I was going to cook tomorrow and do it today.  I made vegan TVP (textured vegetable protein) chili and corn bread.  

It is very good.  It isn't the best chili I ever made but I never made chili with TVP before. It adds a different taste to the chili.  I am ready for Superbowl Sunday.

Until tomorrow...

SUPERBOWL DAY

I made another soup today.  It is White Bean and Barley Soup with Tomatoes and Greens. The thing I like about this soup is that it is easy and fast to make.  It is a hearty soup and I love barley!  It was good for the Superbowl.

It was a good game to watch but the team I was routing for didn't win.  The half-time show was fun to watch. So for me it was a good Superbowl.

Until tomorrow...

PROCRASTINATION DURING THE SUPERBOWL

I was supposed to work on a project during the Superbowl.  I procrastinated.  I went to the supermarket before the game.  I decided I was going to make Vegetarian Three-Bean Chili.  I have not always been a big fan of chili because most people make it so spicy.

This recipe was super simple.  It has three cans of beans, spices and veggie broth.  It was supposed to have pureed tomatoes but I could not find any so I used diced tomatoes.  I also didn't use the chunky corn and tomato salsa.  I used frozen corn instead.  I probably used too much corn but it tastes good.

I ate so much for dinner I am full.  I also ate it with a slices of fresh bread I bought at the grocery.

I am glad I waited after the Superbowl half time show.  I laughed so hard at the strip show by Adam Levine that I would have choked on my food.  Best half time show ever!

Until tomorrow...

SUPERBOWL FOOD

I had my friend H over for the Superbowl. He came with food!  He brought vegan chili, cornbread, and avocados.  After the chili we had pumpkin spice cheesecake.  It was so much food.  But good food.  I have leftovers for tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

LAYING AROUND AND WATCHING THE SUPERBOWL

I feel a bit hungover. Very tired. I am not sure why.

I have had a few people suggest that I had an anxiety attack. I do not feel like it was an anxiety attack. I have had plenty of anxiety attacks and this was very different.

How exciting was the second half of the Superbowl? I missed the half time show when Lucky decided to get sick right as Gaga went on stage.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 159.  I read that new clutter book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" a while back. Today I began going through some clothes and getting rid of old and not used clothes.  I also folded the clothes I am keeping according to the instructions in the book.  I was skeptical at first.  I am no  longer skeptical.  I can clearly see all the items in that drawer because they are organized, uncluttered and upright.  The trick to her system is not just to get rid of items but to fold the items you keep and stack them upright so you can see all the items you have at all times.  I am a convert.  I can't wait to do all my drawers.

I thought I would post those photos of Super Bowl City.

Training: I rode 11.3 miles today on the stationary bike.

Until tomorrow...

DID HE NEED A FREE TRUCK?

Tonight I watched a football player receive a gift of a new truck.  Normally I would not even listen to the story but this particular story really annoyed me.  Here is the story:

When the Patriots won the Superbowl, Tom Brady won a free truck for winning the Superbowl.  Because Malcolm Butler had a great play that won the game, Tom Brady gave him the truck.  (There are also other reasons.  Malcolm has been driving an older truck.) 

After his last Superbowl win, Tom Brady donated the truck he won to his high school which in turn raffled it off for $365,000.  

The reason this annoyed me is that it would have been good PR for Malcolm Butler to donate the truck to a charity of his choice or to a needy family instead of keeping it.  The man is not so poor he can't afford a new truck.  Butler made $585,000 this season, including a minimum of $420,000 and a $165,000 bonus that all Patriots players got for the postseason.  To make it seem that he can't afford a $35,000 truck really is slap in the face to families who have to buy cars on wages far less than six figures.  Granted Mr. Butler does not make as much as the $8M contract that Mr. Brady has but he can still afford a truck. 

I write this as a I gaze at my beloved 13 year old Cabrio VW convertible. 

Until tomorrow...

HAPPI SEEMS BETTER FOR THE SUPERBOWL

Happi seems to be much better.  She is liking the chicken and rice. The Pepcid seems to be working.

Did you see that Superbowl?  Yes the game was crazy but I loved the half time show.  Missy Elliot was great!  I loved the way Katy Perry came riding in.  Lenny Kravitz was good singing my fav song "I kissed a girl and I liked it".  Once again the Seahawks had a knucklebiting ending of a game.

Until tomorrow...

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY

Today was Super Bowl Sunday. Unless you were a Seattle Seahawks fan, it was a boring game. The halftime show was pretty good. Not the best but not the worst. Our neighbor kid came over to watch the game.  Brenda made her wings and pasta salad and I made barbecue tofu.

After the game I spoke to my friend A. Her dog is quite ill and she lost her job unexpectedly.  I tried to do what I could.  We were watching the puppy bowl! So cute. 

Oh, my migraine finally ended. Yeah!

Until tomorrow...

NINERS LOST

The Niners lost and it was so sad. It was a horrible first half. So boring. I was surfing the net I was so bored. Then the half time show with Beyonce came on. She was good. It was weird though. Usually the half time show is more of a show that uses the audience and dancers on the field. This year it was more like a concert. The music was good but it was less entertaining.

The second half started bad. THEN then lights went out in New Orleans! For 33 minutes the lights went out in the stadium. The players were stretching on the field. Standing around.

When they came back to play, it was like the Niners woke up! They scored three times in the third quarter. They were coming back. We got all excited. Down by one point. Nail biting. Screaming. Jumping up and down.

Then a missed opportunity for a touch down. Niners Lose. Sob. Disappointment. Turn the channel so we don't have to see the Ravens celebrate.

The season is over. On to Basketball and then Baseball. Go Giants!

The hot tub will be fixed on Wednesday and we got free passes to see Identity Theft. So much to look forward to. Oh, and I made soup. Not too sure about this soup. I didn't eat it today. I had barbecue tofu and pasta salad to finish up.

Until tomorrow...

SUPERBOWL AND ZOKU POPSICLES!

We are getting ready for the Superbowl. Brenda made her famous pasta salad and is about to make her Buffalo wings. Yes, she has wings. We bought them a month ago so we would be ready. In fact Brenda loves Buffalo wings so much we have a giant Costco bag in the freezer at all times. Friends beg for her Buffalo wings. She makes them in big batches and eats them all week.

While she was making the pasta salad, I went food shopping. I bought ingredients to make soup tomorrow. I also bought stuff to make FUDGSICLES!. I got the recipe from a blog called nuggets n pizza . They were easy to make and taste FANTASTIC! They are so creamy! So fudgy! So delicious! They just melt in your mouth. They taste just like real fudgsicles from when you were a kid. I know I am using a lot of exclamation points but I just ate one and I am on cloud nine. I substituted soy milk for milk so I can eat as many as I want. This is the best part of making my own pops.

I also bought some frozen fruit that I can throw in the blender and make peach or berry pops during the off season. The frozen fruit is a bit pricey but I waited until it was on sale and then bought it. It is so easy to make these pops. I pour the liquid in and set a timer and walk away. When the timer goes off, I take them out and put the next set in. If I had more sticks I would make more pops! If I had the Zoku storage I could stop using Saran Wrap to store them. That is a hint to my family since my birthday is coming up.

I have one more thing to say: GO NINERS! Hopefully tomorrow I will be writing about a Niner win.

Until tomorrow...

GETTING READY FOR THE SUPERBOWL

Superbowl hype. I am almost over it. You would think this was a presidential election or something! All that I hear about is Superbowl, Superbowl commercials, The players got the New Orleans... Enough already. The Oscars are the week following and I hear practically nothing about them.

Now there is all the controversy. A stupid player had to open his ignorant mouth. He doesn't like the gays and doesn't want them on his team. Oh, "his" team. I wonder where this 49er lives. Does he not know he is playing in San Francisco (at least until the team moves in 2014)? That's like vacationing on Fire Island and being upset you can't find any single girls.

The ignorance is just so amazing. Not that people are ignorant, that doesn't shock me. Just that they can be so blatant about it on national TV/radio. When people are that blatantly ignorant after a few cocktails at a barbecue, I always just assume those are their true feelings. But when they blurt these things out completely sober in a giant crowd, that is just plain stupid. I understand some guys feel they don't want to undress in front of other guys or even gay guys. There are ways to say that without sounding like such a jerk. I think it is still a bit ignorant. Thinking that all gay guys want to check you out. Please get over yourself! When I am in a locker room, I just want to get in and get out. I don't make eye contact with anyone.

This stupid comment was made by Culliver on the same week San Francisco open it's first gay sports bar and that sports bar was featured in Sports Illustrated. That is very exciting. The fact that these stupid comments have people talking about gay athletes and homophobia, is fantastic. I also think the way the 49ers coach Harbaugh handled it was awful but the owner was terrific. The owner took full responsibility. He said Culliver is my employee and obviously we have not done a good enough job educating him.

Then this afternoon, two other 49ers players denied being a part of the It Get's Better campaign video. They claimed they were not part of any video. Then once they were showed the video, they said it was an anti-bullying campaign video. The reporter told them it was for the "It gets better" campaign for bullying of LGTQ youth. The two football players said they didn't know it was for LGTQ anything. The It Gets Better campaign has taken down the video with the San Francisco players. This mess just keeps getting worse. Who is doing the PR for the 49ers? S/he should be fired.

Anyway, back to the Superbowl. Ravens/49ers, who do you choose? I am backing the 49ers. I think they will win if they an get their focus back. This ignorant gay comment thing has thrown them off track. I say young players should not be allowed to speak.

At least for now: GO NINERS!

Hot Tub Update: the parts have come in and the appointment has been scheduled for next Wednesday.

Medical Update: I thought I broke my tooth so I went to the dentist today but it wasn't. More about it tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

FOOTBALL, COOKING AND PUZZLE

Today was a day of football, cooking and working on my puzzle.

First, I went to the supermarket. That was an experience. Last week when I went shopping, I noticed that some of the tofu packages were very expired. Like very expired. One had an expiration date of Nov. 24, 2012. Another Dec. 22, 2012. I gave them to an employee and told them they were expired and told her someone needed to go through the packages. Today I went to buy tofu again and I found more tofu packages expired and the same two packages that expired in Nov. and Dec. This time I found a manager and told her about the expired tofu. I explained to her that this could make an unsuspecting person quite ill. She immediately summoned the employees in that section and spoke to them. I received an apology and they said they would fix it. I will see next time.

I bought the ingredients I needed to make an awesome soup. Chard, lentil & potato slow cooker soup. It is really good and super easy. I cut up the ingredients sautéed them for short time and then threw them in the slow cooker with the lentils and potatoes. At the end of 8 hours throw in the chard. It is really hearty.

While cooking I was watching the playoff football games. It looks like a West Coast/East Coast playoff. I am rooting for the West Coast. Go Niners!

I also worked on my puzzle. I have to have it finished by Saturday because Saturday is movie night! I will need the space. Looks like a bunch of folks are coming. This puzzle is complicated not because it is big or 3D but because it has a bunch of little animal type creatures that have similar costumes. The animal faces are difficult. Anyway, I have to work on it during the day light because the light at night is not good enough for me to see the pieces well enough. Tomorrow is another day to work on it.

Until tomorrow...