Summer Time

There are only two more months of summer classes left. I still have quite a bit of work to do, but I am looking forward to the Fall. I'm looking forward to finishing my last two classes and heading over to the university in the new year.

After my summer finals are over, I have a big project to do. The master bedroom. I'll be spending the end of July and August painting and redecorating our room. We I've settled on a room theme. I'll share more later!

NYEBoy has vacation time coming up in a few weeks. I'm still not entirely sure what we're going to do, but we're bouncing around ideas. I am really hoping A gets to come with us, but I don't know if K is going to let her. :(

I'm also really looking forward to Big Brother!!!

With the exception of my blood pressure, I'm enjoying a less stressed summer "break".

Kaynoeing

Today was the first time I ever went kaynoeing. What is kaynoeing, you ask? Kaynoeing is when you  ask for a kayak and they give you a canoe, but you don't think about it until you're half way down the river. Oops!

Today was amazing. My girlfriend E and I went canoeing on a local river. It was SO much fun and scary. All in one.

We even came within an arms reach of a manatee. Weeeee! I can't wait to go again.

For the record, that is her life jacket at the bottom of the canoe. She's a lifeguard, I am not. Mine was safely around me. Ha. 

Turtle Peeking

My Name is Earl

I recently started watching My Name is Early on Netflix. I never watched it when it was on the air, but thanks to Netflix, I don't have to be sad!

I've almost watched the entire series. I wish I would have made a twitter account as I watched to tweet the random funny shit. If you haven't seen this show and you're looking for something funny, catch it on Netflix.

Greg Garcia is also the director/producer/writer? of Raising Hope. Another funny show I like!

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

We had no intentions on seeing this movie, but when I found out Dev Patel was in it, I told NYEBoy we had to see it. We LOVED Slumdog Millionaire, so I knew we'd enjoy this as well. I'll admit it, we were probably the only ones under 60 in the theater, but we didn't care!

It's a very funny, heartwarming story line. The laughter comes in forms you never expect, I'm looking at you Maggie Smith! The love stories woven throughout the film made me squeeze NYEBoy's hand a little tighter.

It's a must see, for sure. 

Misplaced Memories

I've misplaced two memory cards that have A's pictures. I know they are in a box somewhere, but I recently came across one that has a lot of pictures I forgot I even had.

This is one of my favorites from it.




If I close my eyes, I can go right back to that day. NYEBoy, K, A, and I. We were visiting Lake Ella and I was trying to get some pictures of A for my mom. A was busy running around having fun.
It seems like yesterday and yet, it was almost three years ago. 

Men In Black 3

Here come the Men in black,
it's the MIBs, uh, uh!

Please tell me you sang to that song, too? Good.

Men In Black 3 was amazing. Simply amazing. NYEBoy and I both teared up. 

If you loved the original MIB, you'll love this. 

Spoiler?

My only complaint was that the pug wasn't in the movie. I can't remember if he died in #2? Does anyone remember? 

Anyways, that was my only complaint. Overall the movie was awesome. You have to see it, in theaters or on video. Then, come back and let me know what you thought of the movie.

Less Than 50

Days, that is.

Less than 50 days until Big Brother starts.

Oh.

My.

Goodness!

Is anyone else as excited as I am? I have yet to miss a season, and I don't plan on starting now!

Energy? What Energy?

I woke up feeling energized this morning. Perhaps it's the water aerobics kicking in. Maybe THIS is the feeling people talk about when they say they feel good after working out.

And then THAT happened. What is that? Oh, you know, just sitting at my desk, minding my own business, when my heart decides it wants to burst out of my chest, but not before my head and arms go HOT.

So, I called the doctor. He of course wanted me to come in, and, I did.

My BP was high and my EKG was abnormal. I am now the proud owner of a blood pressure monitor and a bottle of beta blockers.

Seriously, I feel like I should be on Medicare. Where is my AARP card?

If it gets crazy high, I have to go straight to the ER. Let's see how long this lasts. Ugh.

Water Aerobics w/ A Friend

The planets aligned and @kristencmcd finally made it to a whole water aerobics class with me! Yay!

It was a different instructor from the one I've been going to, but it was okay. I think I like the other lady more because it's not the same thing for five minutes at a time. But, it was a workout, for sure! And that's all that matters.

On the not so bright side, her poor baby cried for her husband the whole time she was gone. I'm pretty sure she's not going to be able to come with me until her baby is 18. LOL

Do You See It?

Do you see it?

Look carefully...

Ahhhh... there she is!

Busy Sunday

This morning I went to church early to help get the meal together to serve at the shelter tonight. It's one of my favorite things to do every month, but I haven't been able to lately because I wasn't feeling well.

As we were preparing the meal, a lady asked if I would mind leading the shelter meal since the guy who normally does it was sick. I agreed. Yay! Boss for half an hour. Heh. It was fun. After we served, we stood in the parking lot and talked for almost an hour! My back and feet were killing me, but it was nice to talk to some people from church that I didn't know very well.

After service this morning I stayed for a "Sunday school" meeting. I think I'll probably offer to help with "Sunday school" a few times a year. I didn't grow up in a church, so I've always been a little hesitant to help out, but the meeting was informative and with a little help I think I can handle it. I put Sunday school in quotes because our liberal church doesn't really do your typical Sunday school setting. I know A enjoyed learning new things about Jesus. I remember one day we were at the store and we passed some dates and she said "Oh, those dates, we had those back in Jesus' day."

I also offered to lend a hand tomorrow morning at the food bank where our church picks up a food order for the food pantry we have at our church. We're open a few hours during each week day for those in need. I've donated food and money, but I've never been by the food bank to help pick up the order so this will be good.

Well, I hope you're all having a good weekend.

Date Night: The Dictator & Battleship

Yesterday we went and saw The Dictator. It was so funny! We loved it. In classic Sacha fashion, his penis was plastered on the screen for a moment some time during the movie. 

Tonight we saw Battleship. It was a really good movie as well. Lots of action and humor through out the film.
 
Both of these movies are really good movies, you must see Battleship on the big screen!

Window Sill Garden

One thing I completely dislike about living in an apartment setting is not being able to have a garden. It's killing me! I want to plant flowers! and fruits! and vegetables! I'm definitely a city girl, but I love a garden.

The best I can do right now is window sill garden of herbs! Basil and Parsley, watch 'em grow!

Glass Beverage Jar Decoration

I picked up this glass beverage jar at Hobby Lobby on clearance. It was normally $50, but I only paid $15! I picked it up because it's really slim and I knew it would be perfect as decoration when not in use. I just filled it with decorative lemons from Kirklands.



 

Living Low Amylose & Liver

I've been cooking up a few things for my other blog Living Low Amylose this week. One downside to cooking for myself and no one else is that I tend to not need a whole can of whatever I'm cooking with.

One of my favorite tips to share is to freeze the extras. With things like chicken broth, I just use a silicone mold since I may only need to use a few ounces with each meal. This way I'm not wasting anything unnecessarily.

A tip on cleaning silicone molds is to use a spray bottle. This gets the nooks and crannies clean with ease. You'll still way to run it under soap and water, but you won't have to scrub the tight spaces.

I heard back from the doctor about my liver. Everything is stable, thank goodness! We'll keep monitoring to see if there are any changes. 

A Break In The Clouds

The storms keep rolling in. 
Rain, sun, rain, sun, rain, sun. 
Lather, rinse, and repeat.
I'd rather have a full day of rain and a full day of sun rather than this every hour or two shit. 

I'm Really 85 Years Old

Today, I went to my very first water aerobics class with kristencmcd. I had high hopes, well, truthfully, I think we both did. (Just don't tell our guys. They might laugh OUT LOUD.)

When I put my gauchos on, I had to fluff the ruffle butt part of my bathing suit out and I totally felt like I was a four year old wearing a tutu.

We thought the pool was indoors, so when we arrived and saw that it was outside, we glared at the sky. Fifty minutes, that's all we need!

We got in, holy moly cannoli, the water was freeezing. "Jog in place, get moving!" the lady told us. Apparently it was supposed to warm me up? Ha. Ha... oh boy.

Can I just take this moment to say, that when you're barely a hair over five feet tall, being in a pool ALWAYS makes you feel like a child. I had to bounce off the bottom of the pool just to keep from drowning.

As we were all waiting to begin, we had form this crescent shape around the instructor.. that is, until the line leader showed up. Everyone else eased in and this broad wanted CENTER STAGE! 

Six minutes after we got there, we all had to get out of the pool due to thunder and lightening. Five minutes later, the skies opened up and Mother Nature laughed. Hard. Until we got home and the sun started peeking out.

I'm pretty sure we get an A for effort, right?

Also, I'm pretty sure our combined age is still at least two decades younger than the youngest person in the class. HAVE NO FEAR, WE SHALL RETURN!

Tomorrow.

As long as it doesn't rain.

But, apparently there's a 50% chance of rain. So that may not happen. BUT, we will return. And we're totally going to make that class our bitch.

On the way to get something to eat for dinner, I saw the lightening in the clouds and thought it was pretty. I texted Kristen and she questioned if really I was 85. Trapped in a 28 year old's body.

And then I uploaded the video online and suddenly I became young again.

Mother's Day 2012

I wasn't sure how to write this post today. I've typed and deleted at least four different posts, none of which seemed to really capture my feelings about today. This one won't really do it either.

I'm happy and sad.
I'm blessed and bitter.

This morning and early afternoon it was storming, but by the late afternoon, the sun was out and shinning again. It pretty much summed up how I was feeling today.

NYEBoy gave me a sweet letter. He told me he loved me and that I was going to be the best mom some day. I love that man. He's going to make an amazing father, too.

We had a low key day. We had an early dinner at Carrabbas. Their steaks are really good. I also loved the side of spinach it came with. I'm going to have to try to make it at home this week. We ran by TCBY for ice cream. I got a kiddie size of cotton candy and rainbow cream. It's hard to be too sad with such a colorful treat.


We were going to go see The Three Stooges, but apparently it was canceled for some special Bollywood movie or something? We decided to go check out The Raven instead. We were both SO glad the Stooges movie was canceled because we hadn't really thought about going to see The Raven even though we both love Edgar's writings. We just weren't really sure how this movie was going to play out, but it was very well done.
For those of you who are still waiting like us, I hope you all survived the day. To all my mommy friends, I hope it was a blessed one. xo
I'm really hopeful that we'll have less than five more childless Mother's Days to celebrate. I hope. Some way, some how.

Saturday Randomness

Yesterday, I had lunch with kristencmcd. I love her so! While we were eating and talking I mentioned wanting to join the Y for water aerobics, and one thing led to another and we've decided to go to a water aerobics class on Monday. I am so fricking excited! I was going to go by myself, but how much more awesome is it going to be to have someone else with me? We're probably going to be the only two people under 60 there, but WHO CARES? Not us, that's who! If I like it, I'm going to try to go 3-4 days a week. I've never been to one of these classes, but they always sound like so much fun. (See, I told you I am a 60 year old at heart!)

Last night NYEBoy and I went to see Dark Shadows. Oh, how disappointed were we? Me more so than NYEBoy, but neither of us just loved the movie. That really sucked. I had high hopes for that flick. Next weekend looks very promising! The Dictator, Battleship and What To Expect When You're Expecting are all coming. We'll likely save WTEWYE for the following weekend, but we'll see.

Today we went and saw Chimpanzee finally. We had half debated on waiting until it came out to the cheap theater, but after we had a late lunch/early dinner, we found ourselves with nothing to do and we'd seen almost every movie except that one. It was really cute. I did tell NYEBoy that I like IMAX nature movies better, and he agreed, but it was okay.

After the movie we were both a little hungry, but not for a full fledged meal, so we decided to hit up The Melting Pot for a little cheese and chocolate fondue. We're really not fans of their entrees. There's just something about having to boil-to-cook your own raw meat that grosses us out. But, for $40 we can have a chat, and nibble on a few things.

After dinner we came home, but NYEBoy was complaining about how it was a Saturday night and he really wanted to go do something else, so we hit up the bowling alley for a few games. He won two and I won one before my hand told us we had to leave. It was fun, you know, minus the family next to us who have no bowling etiquette at all. We're not professionals even though we have our own ball and shoes, but seriously people, TAKE TURNS. If someone is up, you wait. We wait for you!

Well, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. We're expecting a few showers tomorrow. I haven't decided if I am going to church. I do attend a very liberal church, so I am not sure if mother's day is really going to be a big theme. The sermon title doesn't leave me to believe it will be, but if I wake up emotional and it's raining, I'll probably use that as an excuse to miss. Not sure what our other plans will be.

Living Low Amylose Blog

I'm pleased to announce the opening of a Living Low Amylose blog!

It became pretty clear to me after the Facebook page opened that we would need an easy place to access recipes and meal ideas for those of us who are on the Low Amylose diet. Since Facebook groups don't have a real easy way to do that, I believe a blog layout will be the best way to share and access recipes with the group.

http://livinglowamylose.blogspot.com/

I hope you're all having a wonderful week! It's time for the weekend. NYEBoy and I are going to go see Dark Shadows tonight.

Eight Months

Eight months ago I began to lose you before I even knew you were in there.

If you would have stuck around, you would have most likely been born by now.

I wonder if you would have been a boy or a girl. How much would you have weighed? How long would you have been? What color hair would you have? Would you look more like me or your father?

I lay in the guest bedroom and wonder what theme it would have been decorated in. Your crib would have gone on the wall to the left because the sunlight spans across the wall to the right in the morning, but that's about as far as I have let myself go.

I wish I could have met you, hugged you, and kissed you.

We would have loved you so. 

Until we meet again Baby M.

Mommy and Daddy miss you.

Mid-Week Randoms

• A girlfriend came over yesterday. We went swimming for a little bit. New bathing suit was wonderful!
• Speaking of the friend coming over, if you ever want a clean house, invite people over. I never cleaned so fast in my life.
• I gave up sleeping in the guest bedroom for our guest. As much as I miss sleeping with NYEBoy, I miss having a bed to myself even more.
• NYEBoy was not happy about that and will not be happy when he realizes I am sleeping in the guest bedroom tonight.
• I want a new bed. I need a new bed. Until we get our bed/tv situation resolved, I'm going to continue to sleep in the guest bedroom.
• I went to the doctor today. I'm hoping I'll know no later than Monday where we're at with that. Thank you for the love and support, I'll keep you all updated!
• NYEBoy and I went to a late lunch after I got back from my appointment. They messed up my lunch THREE times. The last time they got it right but it was burnt. I gave up.
• On the way home from lunch, I was hoping to run to Starbucks really quick. As my luck would have it, the storm knocked the power out as SOON as I got in line. I was so annoyed. NYEBoy thought it was funny. I got mad. 
• I feel like I haven't had very much time to work on something I was working on last week. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it up soon.

A Little Bit Stronger

When I joined the Women's Life Story group at church last Fall, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I'd never grown up in a church and I'd never heard of a life stories group, but obviously since I blog about my life, the idea seemed interesting.

I didn't really know these women on a very personal level at the time, but over the past eight months, I have heard some of the most amazing life stories from some of the strongest women I know. Their wasn't one story that I heard that I didn't learn something from.

Since we've all told our stories, we're now meeting once a month to eat, catch up, and talk to one another. Tonight most of us where able to be there and the main topic for discussion was transitions. We're a wide range of women from 20-something to 60-something. Most of us seem to be a transition of some sort, though none alike.

There were a lot of things I took away from our conversation, but a few things I would like to share.

• This may not be your lesson to learn. There will be times in your life that you may feel like you're going through something and you're trying to figure out what life lesson you're supposed to be learning, but in reality, you may be a part of someone else's life lesson. 
• Know when to hang on and when to let go. There will be times when you will need to hang on tight, but there will also be times that you just have to let it go. Letting go doesn't mean you're giving up.
• Different side of the same coin. Sometimes, one thing is not better or worse than the other, sometimes, it's the opposite side of the same coin. If you give, give, give you whole life, but suddenly find yourself struggling to accept help, just remember, receiving is not better or worse than giving, it's the opposite side of the same coin.

As I was talking to my friend E before we parted ways for the night, she hugged me tight and told me  I was amazing and to stay strong. When I started the car, the song on the radio almost stopped me in my tracks.

I'm not giving you a hour or a second or another minute longer. 

I'm busy getting stronger. 

I rolled my windows down, turned the radio up, and sang along.

 Even on my weakest days, I get a little bit stronger. 

I get a little bit stronger. I'm just a little bit stronger. 

A little bit, a little bit, a little bit stronger. 

I get a little bit stronger.

Sometimes you just need a little reminder.

Dose of Happy 5/7

My dose of happy this week comes from NYEBoy again. He actually did some cleaning this weekend after me bitching asking for several weeks. Now I have no excuse but to organize our bedroom some time this week. 

Also, I am really looking forward to meeting with the women from church tonight. We've finished our life stories, but now we're meeting once a month to keep the connections and support going. I always leave our meetings feeling that extra little wave of support and strength.
Tomorrow I have a friend coming over to go to lunch and swimming with me. I haven't seen her in a few weeks, so I'm pretty happy about that, too!
What about you? What's your dose of happy this Monday?

Another Busy Weekend

I had a nice, but busy weekend with NYEBoy. As much as I love spending time with NYEBoy, I hate feeling like I have to go, go, go all weekend. But, I get it, he works all week and really enjoys getting out of the house or having to be near work stuff. It's just exhausting sometimes. :)

Yesterday we ended up touring the other place, but I don't think we're going to move. I told the lady to call us Monday after she spoke with her manager about some things we had questions about, but I'm pretty sure we're just going to renew our current lease again.

We ran to Kirklands and the mall yesterday before going to see a movie. I couldn't find what I was looking for, but I still managed to pick up a few goodies at Kirklands. I got this bed rest pillow in taupe, two of these pillows in burgundy, and a garden flag with our last name initial in black and white.

We ended up going to see The Lorax yesterday. It was really cute! A would have loved it. My heart ached quite a bit that she wasn't with us because I know she would have been sitting right beside me with her kids meal of popcorn, candy, and soda, laughing with the other kids. They also had the preview for Pixar's Brave movie coming out this summer. It's things like this that remind me that A isn't here and how much fun she would be having.





Today we went and saw Mirror Mirror. I didn't think we were going to like it, which was why we kept putting it off, but it was a really cute move. I also didn't realize that Sebastian and Ronald from Pit Boss were in the movie. We might have gone a little sooner if we knew they were in it! ;-) It was a good movie, totally worth catching at the theater if you can, or renting soon. 
I had a really rough night's sleep last night, so I am really looking forward to climbing into bed here shortly. I woke up around 2:30 or 3 with the sudden urge to vomit for no apparent reason. I was able to drink something and fall back asleep after nearly an hour without throwing up, thank goodness! Although, the remaining few hours of rest were nightmares about A of course, so that didn't really help. 
Well, I hope you all had a good weekend. Summer classes start up tomorrow. So thankful to be doing my schooling from home this summer. I'm still waiting on one of my books to get here, but it's an online class so it won't mess me up too terribly bad. 

Random Saturday Bits

I really struggled yesterday until the late afternoon. I snapped at NYEBoy on the way home from lunch and he kept asking me what was wrong. "Nothing, fuck! Leave me alone. I'm fine." I said a few times. That's when I decided I needed to get out of the house. What better excuse than to go pay rent and grab a Starbucks frappuccino?

While we were paying rent we inquired about our lease renewal. We're this.close to renewing. I want to check another place down the street before signing on Monday. The thought of moving makes me cringe, but if we can save a few hundred dollars a month, it might be worth it. At the very most, we'll only be in this town another 2.5-3 years, so we're keeping that in mind.

Last night, we went to Teds Montana Grill for dinner. I will say, I've never had a completely wonderful experience there--ever. Something always goes wrong. Always. But, last time we went, my actual entree was really good, so I was hoping to duplicate. I admit, I should have been more realistic about it. After all, we've been there probably eight or nine times, and never not had problems. When I cut my steak, I noticed it was really red, but just chalked it up to the lighting. I was wrong. So. So. So. So. Wrong. I took one bite and nearly threw up all over the place. It tasted like blood. It was beyond rare. They offered to put it back on the grill, but I could NOT eat another bite of meat or I was going to puke. And I LOVE steak! It made me sad. Bleh.

All was not lost, the movie was Auh-maze-in! On the way in, a couple got into a physical altercation outside the main entrance of the mall. What they didn't see, that I did see, was the cop. I saw him parked when I pulled in, but they were clueless. I'm not sure what ended up happening to them, but it was the girls fault just as much the guys. She was the one to get out of the car first and walk towards the other side. I think he was just trying to calm her down and she was going bat shit crazy.

I'm so glad I ordered our tickets online! It was paaaaacked. There was a line with probably about 40 or 50 people by the door when we went back. By the time they opened the doors for seating, there was well over 150 people there. The crowd was a little rowdy at first, clapping and hollering at EVERY fucking new trailer, even the cartoons! They settled down though. We kept cracking jokes with the couple next to us when they would start hollering. Lol If you go see The Avengers, make sure you stay until after the credits!! :)

PTS Triggers

I've tried my best to keep my emotions in check this week, but things keep creeping in causing stress.

Offline, my cousin apparently had her reveal party last weekend and she's having a little girl. Then, my mom tells me K will find out the sex of her baby in about a week. And I, I.. I'm just really struggling with that. Two people who aren't even really in stable relationships in my family, that are younger than me, are having babies, and mine is dead. If I hadn't already, I would be giving birth soon. Next week marks eight months since my miscarriage. EIGHT MONTHS. It kills me. I know life isn't fair, but it really fucking sucks sometimes.

Online, I keep running into people announcing their pregnancies, and I've recently stumbled upon vloggers who are announcing their pregnancies or the sex of their babies etc. I'm happy for every family who struggles to conceive and finally gets to experience that joy and happiness, but for me it's a struggle with "Why not me?" Why wasn't I good enough? Why wasn't my body good enough?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at anyone, just mad that I'm not there, either.

I've got to make a better effort at being aware of the triggers that are all around me. I've got to tell myself not to click and read more, not to click and watch that next video. I know it's hard to avoid all triggers, but I've got to try better at not getting further invested emotionally.

But, I'm also very aware that this is a difficult time right now. It's a normal reaction to think "I would have been giving birth" eight months after having a miscarriage. My feelings are normal and I'm not crazy.

Time won't heal me completely, but it will get easier as the months pass, as the anniversaries get further and further away.

A New Bathing Suit

Literally, about thirty steps from our front door is the swimming pool. For several weeks now, I hear screams of kids or glance over there and see the adults swimming in the pool. My heart mourns that A isn't here, because I know we'd already have been, but I just can't bring myself to go alone.

Plus, I don't have a bathing suit that fits comfortably. I'm the biggest I've ever been, and that cute one piece I bought a few years ago, reminds me that I don't have the body I once had.

NYEBoy has been telling me to go get a bathing suit, but I am sure you other women know how much FUN that is. {insert eye roll}

I finally decided to go shopping today, though. It's been in the 90s and walking by that blue pool every day makes me jealous! So, I put on my big girl panties and hit the mall with NYEBoy this afternoon. I checked out Dillards and Lane Bryant, but neither had anything for me. The lady at Lane Bryant told me we had a Torrid now, so I decided to check them out.

I've never been to Torrid before and I've honestly had this preconceived notion about the people that shop there, nothing bad, but I just never thought the store was my type of store. To be honest, the same thing with Lane Bryant. I've just never shopped at those stores.

When I walked in, two girls were working and they welcomed me very friendly. I asked if they had any bathing suits, and she walked me over to the area. She was bigger than I am, but had so much more self confidence than I do. I felt comfortable, not shameful for shopping in that store.

She asked what I liked, I told her the tankini style, but I wanted something that wasn't too tight around the mid-section, and something that would work with my open heart surgery scar and left breast. (For those of you who don't know, I had open heart surgery as a baby and although it saved my life, they cut the left breast tissue and basically I don't have a breast below the left nipple.}

She picked out a few things and I tried them on. The bottoms ended up working, but for the life of me, I could not find a top! I was about ready to give up when she said they had one more to try. I decided to give it one more chance because I could tell NYEBoy wanted me to pick SOMETHING. (He really wanted me to be happy and get in the damn pool! lol)

It worked. It was perfect. The bottoms have a ruffle, but the top is slimming. it doesn't draw attention to my left breast and it covers my scar all the way around my back. Best of all, it makes me FEEL beautiful. I don't feel like a lard ass getting ready to go swimming, I feel like a woman.




I was very, very appreciative to the sales lady that worked with me. She made me feel very good and not ashamed to be a bigger girl. I plan on writing a letter to the store owner. Hell, I'll probably even send one to the lady. 
I will be shopping there again, for sure. It's probably the only store I'll ever fit into a size 1 any way. Lol 
The swim suit ran me $90, but if you're looking for a suit that makes you feel good, please go find your local store and give them a try. You can print off a 10% coupon from their website, too. They also have a DiveStyle rewards program, so you can even save an additional 5% on all items once you reach a certain point level. 
I can't wait to go back!

Liver Update

I am home from my appointment finally. Can I just go ahead and doc this day as a complete waste of time? and gas? and money? and worry? Yes? Okay.

My regular doctor is out on medical leave. All of his nurses and the other doctor are aware that the liver  function is elevated and we're not sure why, but we've been doing monthly blood draws since September to monitor it.

I've been on several different medications for something I haven't talked about with you all, (see, I don't blog about EVERYTHING!), but these particular medications are known for messing with the liver. After fooling around with these various medications, and not having any results, I mentioned to the doctor that I would like to try to get back on the original medication one more time. The original medication made me have migraines after 2-3 days so I stopped taking them, but there is a liquid form available, so I asked to try that. We agreed that we could see how my body liked the new medication, but if it made it worse, I would have to stop because my liver is bad enough without this added medication.

If you remember, on Friday I got a very nice letter telling me I needed to call ASAP because my liver was BAD BAD BAD. We'd run some tests at the last appointment, but normally they just say "stable, still monitoring, see you soon, " etc. So, today is my appointment and the doctor tells me everything is stable, the Hep panels and whatever other panels they ran all came back negative and normal, but the liver function was still very high and she wanted to move forward with an ultrasound. Apparently, her nurses didn't realize we were monitoring so the HIGH HIGH HIGH liver function warranted a nice letter WITH YELLOW HIGHLITER ACCENTS! and BOLD PRINT! So, she told me she would be in touch with the appointment information.

And suddenly, all was calm again medically. You know, until we get the ultrasound and bloodwork. I'm stable. Stable is better than worse. I'll take it.

And then, NYEBoy asked if I got his note. Note? What note? Oh, the note on the fridge about dropping (and busting) a (glass) bottle of my (liquid) medicine? "Yeah, I got it. I'll call Costco to find out what I need to do about getting the replacement bottle."

I decided to call Costco on the way home. As I was driving and talking to the pharmacist, him and I both realize I have been taking the wrong dosage. My bottle says to take two tablespoons twice a day. Apparently it's supposed to say two teaspoons twice a day.

"Teaspoons, tablespoons, the T, it all sounds the same, you know what I mean?" he timidly asked me. He said hang on a minute while he looked up something else, but I heard him start to mumble over and over again "oh my gosh this is not good, not good." When he got back on the phone he asked if I had felt sick or anything like that. He told me I should be okay, but when I mentioned my liver issues I told him I was going to speak to my doctor. He kept telling me he was sorry. He told me he put the order for my refill, and I told him I'd come by tomorrow and pick it up.

While I was writing this post, I decided to go up there and speak to someone because I wasn't exactly sure what dosage (at that point) I was supposed to be taking and I was trying to find out how much medicine I had over taken as far as money we had lost. NYEBoy was adamant that we were not paying for any medication they wrongly over-prescribed me. By the pharmacists calculations they only owed me one bottle. So that bottle, plus my original refill has been ordered and I will be picking it up tomorrow.

I haven't spoken to my doctor yet, I think she had left when I called them, but my nurse has me scheduled to come back in next week for bloodwork. The bloodwork we discussed at today's appointment was taken right before I started this medication, so coupled with the other monthly checks, we at least have a baseline and we'll know what it's done so far, and how much worse it gets.

I'm really mad about this and it's completely irresponsible for the pharmacist to over-dose like this. I don't want the pharmacist to get in trouble, but what if it had been another medication? What if I was a child? What has it done to my already fragile liver? Now I have to make an unnecessary trip (one hour each way!) appointment for bloodwork, and who KNOWS how much damage it's done and how often I am going to have to keep monitoring it.

Another local pharmacist I spoke with told me I was taking 50% more than the maximum amount for adults per day and that they normally under-dose when someone is having liver problems. Not cool Costco, not cool.

I really just want a break from medical problems. Aren't I over due?

Update on Facebook + Low Amylose

Just in case you missed it, I've joined Facebook! You can find me by clicking here or searching for InDue Time. Several of you have found me already.

I'm starting back on the Low Amylose diet today. I did the LA diet for the first two months of this year, but stopped around the time I had the ruptured cyst. I'm really looking forward to getting back on the diet, starting the Metformin, and hopefully my pants will stop yelling for help every time I put them on. Ha.

I've also created a Facebook page for people who are interested in the Low Amylose diet. Several people have expressed interested to both Christina and I about doing the diet and/or having questions. This group will allow us to answer those questions as well as share advice, recipes, and support each other. The group is private, so that should make everyone feel comfortable joining. No judgement, just love! You can find us by searching Facebook for "Living Low Amylose".

I'll still be sharing my journey on the blog as well, but the group will give me a nice place to get/give support.

{Side note: I go to the doctor tomorrow. Please say a prayer. I'm really nervous about what she's going to say about the liver tests we ran.}