CLEANING CLEANING CLEANING

We are getting ready for visitors.  This means the deep clean.  Not just the quick dust and run the Rumba.  This is the wash behind the toilet, vacuum under the couch, and clear off the dinning room table.  This took a day and a half because I am not feeling 100%.  I had to do a task and take a break to rest.  Then do another task and take another break.  I have to get it all done before the visitors arrived and that is all that matters.

Now with a sparkling house, we are ready for our visitors.  I am sure I will need a long rest once this is all over.

Until tomorrow...

TOMATOES, TOMATOES EVERYWHERE

Months ago I planted a small tomato plant.  As time went by it turned into a bigger tomato plant and needed to be repotted. Then with water and sun it became a giant tomato plant that needed larger stakes. We have been getting tomatoes. Not an overwhelming amount but more than we can comfortably eat.

If anyone has a vegan tomato recipe I can have, I would sure appreciate it.

Until tomorrow...

TONS OF EMAIL

Isn't it amazing how fast emails can stack up in your in-box?  I am one of those folks who has many email addresses and they all go into one email software program.  That means I get MANY emails.  I have a hard time keeping up with them so my in-box is a mess.  It says I have thousands of unread emails.  That really isn't true because I read most of my emails on my phone.  I have yet to figure a good system for dealing with all these thousands of emails: read and unread.

Do I sort them by work, family, friends?  Do I sort by year?  I have no idea.  If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Until tomorrow...

GRILLED SOME VEGGIES

Today I tried to take it easy. At least that was the plan. After lunch I decided to follow this recipe for a Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad. I thought how hard could it be; throw some veggies on the grill, right?

I didn't account for the prep time and the time waiting for the veggies to char. Then there was the time  making the vinigrette and chopping up all the stuff that doesn't get grilled. Well, it was way more time consuming than I planned.

But, it is mighty tasty!!  I had to nix the asparagus because it didn't look good at the store. I don't like onions so they had to go.  I am vegan so the cheese was excluded.  I used some pre-made herb infused oil that I had been given as a gift a long time ago. It was yellow chili infused oil. Wow was it hot. I had to mix it with regular oil to make it palatable. I also used lemons from my lemon tree and tomatoes from my tomato plant.  The lemons are so tiny this year because of the drought.

After making this salad I needed to take a bath. I was to achy and tired. I probabaly should have taken a nap instead of cooking.

Until tomorrow...

HOW THE PAIN FEELS TO ME

A couple of people have asked me how it feels to have costocondritis. Here is how it feels to me:

At first it felt like a giant rubber band was around the top of my rib cage. It felt more and more uncomfortable. To the point where I had to remove my bra by the end of the day. It started to feel like the area at the top of my rib cage was full and too full for my skin.  It also felt a little like the fullness of heartburn but without the burn. 

Then the the tightness in my breast bone set in.  Then it became hard to breathe. It felt like a heaviness was in my chest which sounds funny when I am sitting up or standing. Some times the pain would be a dull ache and other times a piercing sharp pain. Those sharp pains would just take my breathe away.  There was stiffness radiating out to my shoulders. 

Before I went to the ER, I began to get sharp pains up and down my back mostly on the left side.  It was impossible to get comfortable. Then on the way to the ER, I began getting pain in my neck. 

Today the pain has decreased. The pain in my neck has gone away. The back pain is almost gone. The tightness in my breast bone is still there as well as the rubber band feeling around my rib cage. I have been told that will take some time, maybe weeks, to subside.  I have been told I still look sick but I am sure that will subside too.  

Today I finally went food shopping. I am so happy. We were scrapping the cupboards for food. Since I am sticking with my plant-based meal plan, I had to get some food or starve!  Tomorrow I am planning to make a grilled vegetable salad. I am going to try grilling eggplant for the first time. 

Oh, before I forget, Lucky's blood tests came out normal. She must have had some virus or something. She ate like a champ today. 

Until tomorrow...

LUCKY IS NOT FEELING WELL

Poor little Lucky has not been feeling well. She has not been wanting to eat and for a dog who was obviously deprived of food before she came to live with us, that is a big deal. She always wants to eat!  So today I took her to the vet.  Of course she acted completely fine.  The vet could find nothing wrong with her. There are two things that are concerning: her teeth and the possibility of kennel cough. I told him that she had a cough last night and he thought that maybe she had the beginning of kennel cough.  I don't think that is what she has. He also said her teeth are bad but not bad enough to cause her problems.  I had them do blood work so we can make sure the little pup is okay.

Tonight she ate like a champ.  Maybe she is feeling better.  We get her results tomorrow.

The trip to the vet tired me out. I came home and slept for two hours with no pain pills.

Until tomorrow...

CONFIRMED DIAGNOSIS: COSTOCONDRITIS

I went to see my primary doc today. He did some painful tests to confirm I have costocondritis. He thought I may have had peritonitis which is inflammation of the lining of the abdomen.  Turns out I do not have peritonitis so that is good. 

My doc was a bit upset that my RA doc got so wound up about me having a blood glucose of 103. He felt that me losing 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks may have not been very good for my health and may have contributed to the costocondritis.  He said he should have made the decision about my blood glucose.

He was also upset to hear that his staff didn't give me an appointment for four months.  We now have an agreement that if I call again and I am told there are no appointments for a long time, I take the appointment and then have him call me and let him decide if he wants to see me sooner.  Sometimes my stuff can't wait four months.

He wants to keep me out of the ER.   He said he was impressed that I lost 10 pounds while being on 9 mg prednisone. But he was concerned that some of my blood work was wonky when I was in the ER.  

So I stay the course of taking the pain meds if I need them and just be careful. I can start walking and biking when I feel up to it. No more Zumba. Maybe some light yoga. 

Until tomorrow...

LEAD ON A GIG

Today someone sent me a lead for a consulting gig. I am pretty stoked. Turns out a friend knows the person who is doing the hiring so hopefully I have an in.  I am also excited because they are not doing interviews for about two weeks. This will allow me to get better.

Two people called today and the first words out if their mouths were "are you feeling okay? You don't sound well."   This worries me because that means I am sicker than I think I am.  Hopefully the doc can give me some answers.

Until tomorrow..

CONVERSATION WITH DOCTOR

I spoke to my primary doc today. He is not sure I have costocondritis. He is not sure what I have so he wants me to come in and get checked out. I see him on Thursday morning. I just have to hang on one more day.

Until tomorrow...

WHOLE DAY OF HEALING

I am trying to think of something profound to say today but honestly I vegged on the couch, then I sat outside in the shade, then I laid in bed and then I watched TV. That was my whole day of healing. I slept through most of The Muppets movie. I decided I wanted to watch the first Muppets movie before I see the second one.  That was my whole Labor Day. 

Until tomorrow..