DAY FOUR POST COVID VACCINE

 First, I am feeling pretty much the same.  I am almost convinced that I have costrochondritis; inflammation in the cartilage.  Right now it is in my upper rib cage and under arm.  I am sure it will subside soon.

I looked back and I guess I never mentioned my tooth.  I wasn't sure anything bad occurred so maybe that is why I never said anything.  Last week I was eating a second day of the Black Bean Salad and I crunched down unsuspectingly on a piece of a walnut shell.  I thought it had dislodged a piece or broke off a piece of my filling. It didn't hurt but I tasted metal and that is never good.  A few hours later I went to sleep and didn't wear my night guard and I thought maybe I ground and clenched the filling back into my tooth.  

I called the dentist in the morning and made an appointment for today.  The dentist did x-rays and took a photo and sure enough, I broke my filling in half and I guess my grinding and clenching stuck the loose piece back in place and lodged it between my crown and the piece that didn't dislodge.  For once my grinding and clenching came in handy. Well, it means another crown.  She couldn't do it today and I have to go back in a few days but they used the extra time to clean my teeth!  

I made a lovely rift on Korean Mungbean Cream Pasta.  It is Mungbean pasta with mushrooms and spinach.  It was super tasty.  

Until tomorrow...

DAY THREE POST COVID VACCINE

 What a day!  I am still taking it slow but I don't think I am capable of taking it slow for more than a couple days.  I got up and took a shower thinking that would make me feel better.  It did not.  

I called my RA doctor to let him know what was going on.  He wasn't there but his staff informed me that I am under no circumstances to take my Orencia possibly until a week after my second shot. That will mean I will be without my meds for seven weeks.  The doctor called me back but I dropped the phone and it hung up.  Oops!

I am still feeling not so great.  The pain in my shoulder, back and neck has decreased.  The pain has moved to under my breasts.  It hurts when I breathe, sneeze, cough and laugh.  All of those things make me cough so you see the issue.  It is best when I keep quiet.

I had a distanced visit from my neighbors. They are moving from my neighborhood in a few weeks and they wanted to say goodbye.  Lucky went completely crazy when she saw them.  She is going to miss them so much.  I will too.  I will be invited to their parties but Lucky will have to stay home.  

I tried to work on my taxes but I kept getting interrupted. I got the contract from the solar company.  Did I mention I am getting solar panels installed? I made the decision and signed the papers.  Yay!  But this is a step closer to being sustainable.  I wanted to get solar panels when I renovated my house but solar panels weren't feasible at that time.  The panels were really big. 

Until tomorrow...

SECOND DAY AFTER VACCINE

Okay. I am feeling a little bit better. I still have the chills. I am just so cold. It was 75 degrees F here today and I am wearing a sweet shirt, long pants and I'm wrapped in a fleece blanket. I was on the couch so that was a step in the right direction. My neck still hurts as well as the pressure/pain in my shoulder, chest and back. It hurts to cough and sneeze. Plus I am tired.

I am wondering if I am having an autoimmune response from the shot and also from not taking my meds for now three weeks.  It is an interesting thing to think about. 

I called the doctor but haven't heard back. I might not since I told him don't bother to contact me if there is nothing to say. 

So another day of rest. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY AFTER FIRST VACCINE

Well, last night after getting my first vaccine I started not feeling great. I know it is typical to get headaches and aches. I was ready for that. I had pressure and pain on the side I got the shot. The pressure and pain is in my shoulder, chest and back. That was unexpected. I was also tired and fell asleep early. 

When I woke up this morning I had much more pain in my shoulder, back and chest. As the day went on I also had progressive pain in my neck.  I spent the day in bed sleeping and watching TV. I have been instructed by my doctor relatives to call my doctor tomorrow if I am not better.  I hope I will feel better tomorrow. Honestly, this does not make me look forward to the second shot. 😜

Until tomorrow...

GOT MY FIRST VACCINE

 I can't believe it finally happened!  I got my first vaccine shot.  

I got up and started to work on my taxes.  I have them almost ready to send to my preparer.  It is going faster than I thought because there was only in-person work for less than three months.  So parking, mileage, tolls, public transportation, and taxis are barely anything.  I barely went anywhere.  So it is taking less time than usual. 

Then mid afternoon I got ready to go get my vaccine.  I was taking a taxi so I needed to make sure I had everything (ID and confirmation page), money, masks and hand wipes.  I got in the cab.  I was more stressed than I expected.  Not because I was getting a shot; heck I get shots every week.  But because I was leaving the house and I was going to see the area for the first time in a year.  What would I see?  

I was pleasantly surprised.  The area was not as bad as I expected.  From the news reports I expected to see a ghost town. There were businesses open and people were out. Not as many people as normally would be out on a Saturday afternoon but still people.  There were businesses open. There were a lot of commercial lease space for rent.  A lot!  Some businesses were gone like The Gap and Marshalls and Walgreens.  But it was in a shopping area and I assume the area hasn't had people shopping for months.  

The arena where I went was very organized.  I only came close to the guy who looked at my ID and the woman who gave me the shot.  Otherwise I was 6' away form folks the whole time.  There were tons of people directing me so there was no cross walking.  I got my vaccine and I was told that because I am immune compromised my vaccine would not be fully effective.  They don't know what percentage effective it will be since they didn't study compromised people. So I was told to be careful.

Then I took a taxi home and jumped in the shower and put my stuff in my UV machine.  

I feel where the shot went in but so far I feel fine.  I am a bit tired but I was stressed all day so I expect this.  I hope I feel fine tomorrow so I can finish my taxes.

Crazy day! 

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTY-SEVEN OF COOKING COURSE

 It happened! I have a vaccination date.  I thought it would never happen.  Today after spending 30 minutes looking for a date, I called my doctor because I read on a facebook help group that people were being asked for a doctor's letter for the tier for Individual at higher risk.  I read that I didn't have to bring any proof and that I just had to say I was in the tier but then I read that people were getting doctor letters.  I contacted my doctor's office to get a letter and his office called me and said it is illegal to ask any medical information and that I can certify myself at the vaccination site.  If they do ask, it is a HIPAA violation and I should call the state and complain.  

The doctor's office also explained that in one week another tier was going to open up and I should hurry up and get my vaccine while there are fewer people waiting for vaccines.  She told me one place she knew had appointments open and explained how to get an appointment.  I did what she said and sure enough it worked.  I got an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.  It is not a drive through but I need to get a shot before next Thursday when thousands and thousands more people will be looking to get appointments.  I have a second appointment three weeks later. 

Today was another crazy day.  On Monday my week was pretty empty.  Then I don't know what happened. Today there was a discussion on email about solar panels with my brothers.  I met with a client.  I attended a webinar.  I contacted my dentist because I may have injured a filling.  It hasn't fallen out but it bothered me last night and I tasted metal.  It feels better today but I probably ground it all night and I was afraid to put my night guard on. I have an appointment on Wednesday to get it checked just in case.  Meanwhile I am not chewing on that side.

Then I made dinner.  I made Korean Mungbean Cream Pasta.  It is my first time making Cashew Nut Milk and Mungbeans.  The pasta is tasty with mushrooms, mungbeans and the cashew nut milk.  I really enjoyed this dish and would make it again. 

That was about my day.  

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTY-SIX OF COOKING COURSE

 This is probably the busiest day I have had in months. First I had deliveries.  Then I had to figure out my fruits and veggies that I was going to order for my bi-monthly delivery.  I ordered my food and then took a quick shower.  Then I began the nut milk production.  

First I made the cashew milk which consists of taking the cashews that I soaked overnight and putting them in the blender with some water.  I got about 2 cups of cashew milk. 

 Then I took the nuts and oats that I soaked overnight and did basically the same thing.  It was a bit more involved since it also had oats and it was a larger quantity.  I got about 4 cups of nut/oat milk.  

I took the nut/oat milk and used it to make Yam Soup.  I chopped up part of a yam and blended it up and added some of the nut/oat milk.  Then I heated it up. It is really good and creamy. 

Then I had a meeting with my social media guy.  Then straight into a video conference to see/hear my friend speak on a panel.  Then I could clean up my mess, workout and make some dinner and watched a video school on whales for a few minutes. Whew!  What a day!

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTY-FIVE OF COOKING COURSE

This was a crazy day.  I literally had zero on my calendar.  I thought I would get so much done today.  Nope!

First thing I get a notification from my credit screening company (I have it because my info was in an employee's briefcase and the briefcase was stolen a number of years ago) that someone was trying to get my credit report.  I tried to log in and my account was locked.  Ugh.  I had to call and talk to a person.  That now added on 30 minutes of him figuring out why my account was locked (from the credit report request) and then I had to get a new login.  Once that was cleared up, my dog walker showed up with 30 rolls of toilet paper.  Thirty rolls!  I haven't seen thirty rolls of toilet paper all at one time for one year.  I feel that is a sign that things are getting better.

 Fed Ex finally came and picked up the 25 lb of dog food.  I thought it was never going to leave my porch.  Then they dropped off my new box of dog food.  Yay!

I made Black Bean Salad - Kongjaban.  It is black beans cooked with walnuts, cashews, sesame seeds, and a sauce made from soy sauce, sesame oil, agave and some other stuff.  The black bean mixture is mixed in with salad greens.  I can't believe it is so good.  I have some leftover for tomorrow.  

I have 1,000 followers!!  I am so excited.  That is a good accomplishment. 

I am soaking nuts for two reasons today.  I am soaking cashews to make cashew milk and soaking nuts and oats for Yam Soup.  Next I am fermenting some things.

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTY-FOUR OF COOKING COURSE

 The food I made today was good but spicy.  I ate a helping but it took me awhile.  It was Tteokbokki pasta.  This is a Korean dish that is usually made with rice cakes but can be made with other things.  We made it with penne pasta and tofu.  The sauce had gochujang (Korean pepper paste) sauce and soy sauce. It was supposed to also have Korean pepper powder but it was already spicy enough for me.  I portioned it out and gave some to my friend S and the rest goes to my dog walker for his dinner tomorrow.  

I had a zoom class on a photo software Pixlr. It was interesting what you can do with photos these days.

Until tomorrow...

DAY SEVENTY-THREE OF COOKING COURSE

 Bibimbap!  It is a Korean bowl that has rice and usually meat.  The vegan version has rice, shocked spinach and sprouts and sauted carrots and zucchini.  Then there is some Korean pepper paste in the middle (Gochujang).  I liked all of it but the pepper paste made my eyes tear.  I made two bowls and on the second I did not include the pepper paste.  It is really tasty and light.  

I was very excited when I woke up today.  Yesterday I posted on my Instagram a photo of an Amy's brand vegan wrap.  This morning I woke up and the company Amy's wrote back to me, liked my photo and said "So glad you enjoyed!" with a heart emoji.  That was my first try at tagging a company and they wrote back to me!  So exciting!  

Well, the 25 lb bag of dog food is still on my porch.  Fed Ex did not show up today. The woman at Chewy obviously did not make a Fed Ex pick up appointment for me like she said she did.  I called Fed Ex late in the day and they had no record of any pick up.  Seriously?!  I fixed it and they are coming tomorrow.  She also put 1 pound on the label.  Boy that delivery driver would have been surprised when he got a 25 lb box instead.  

I haven't slept well the last two nights with this box on my porch.  I need to go to bed early tonight. Night.

Until tomorrow...