Flowers to cheer

I received these flowers two days ago from a friend of my mothers. I've never met this friend, so that makes it even more thoughtful that she would want to send me flowers.








I love to see fresh flowers on the table. They really give me a lift!

Hind shot

I noticed this the other day and had to take a picture. What does Raini's butt look like?


That's right...a heart!

Chicken Gnocchi Veronese recipe

For those who were asking about this recipe, here it is! Please let me know if you make it and how it turns out. It looks like an awful lot of work, but then I make Holiday/Wedding Soup and that's work, so it really shouldn't stop me.

I found one on Olive Garden's website by doing a search for it.



CHICKEN GNOCCHI VERONESE
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced (julienned)
1/2 zucchini, sliced, (julienned)
Salt to taste
4 chicken breasts, sliced in &frac; strips
2 small branches rosemary
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Veronese Sauce
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
14 fl oz heavy cream

Gnocchi
2 qt water
6 oz all-purpose flour
2 eggs
2 lbs russet potatoes
2 tsp salt
OR
1 lb gnocchi (potato dumplings), cooked according to package directions

Procedures
NOTE: You may make your own gnocchi by following the steps below, or you may purchase them already made.

Gnocchi

WASH potatoes and place in water. Cook potatoes until soft (cook time will depend on size of potatoes). Remove potatoes from water and cool in refrigerator.

PEEL cooled potatoes and push them through a fine grater (rice grater) until mashed; do not over-mash potatoes or they will get tough.

COMBINE potatoes, flour and eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix well until dough does not stick to hands (add small amounts of flour at a time if needed).

DIVIDE dough into 4 sections. Roll out each section into a long rope. Cut each rope into &frac; pieces. Push fork tines on each piece for the classic gnocchi appearance.

BRING water to a boil in a sauce pot. Drop in gnocchi and cook until they float.


Chicken & Sauce

COMBINE garlic, lemon juice, rosemary and chicken slices in a mixing bowl. Let marinate for at least 2 hours.

COMBINE Parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and heavy cream in a mixing bowl and set aside.

HEAT sauté pan on medium high. Add extra virgin olive oil, onions, bell peppers, and zucchini. Saute until onions are translucent (do not brown).

ADD marinated chicken slices and cook until slices are brown on all sides and internal temperature is 165°F. Reduce heat and add sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer.

DRAIN cooked gnocchi and add to pan with chicken, vegetables and sauce. Stir to coat gnocchi with sauce.

SERVE gnocchi topped with extra Parmesan cheese.

Olive Garden Soup

So, has anyone had Olive Garden's new Chicken Gnocchi Soup? My mother turns 75 this week and I took her to lunch today to celebrate. She chose the Olive Garden. That new soup of theirs is absolutely fantastic!!! Holy Cow!!!! I found a recipe for it, but I don't think I'm going to attempt something that complicated right now - I'll just have to enjoy it on special occasions when we go out.

I have 5 more days on IV's and then on Tuesday I will have another lung function test to see what improvement there is before they remove the PICC. I've been on the IV's for 3 weeks so far and a total of 4 antibiotics. This one I'm on now makes me ITCHY! Insanely, insanely itchy. I'm taking Benadryl and Zantac for it and that's helping a little but I'll be glad when I'm done.

Yesterday I went out for a hair appointment and to get a new phone. Our answering machine wasn't working and I was concerned about who was thinking they were leaving messages and I couldn't get them on my end. I've only been leaving the house to take my husband to work, but it seems each time I leave someone calls. Anyway, since I've rarely left the house for the last 3 weeks and have been sick, I was very wiped out from just doing those two things yesterday.

Not much else going on here. I'm slowly getting back to commenting on blogs, but I'm not back to posting pictures on my own. There's nothing to take pictures of unless you want to see another IV picture! Don't think you want to do that!

Please keep checking Before His Throne and praying for the people mentioned there. I'm sure that they would appreciate that.

Absolutely FABULOUS!

My sweet friend, Megan, at Hold It Up to the Light has awarded me with this FABULOUS award!


I'm very flattered! Thanks, Megan! According to the rules I am supposed to name and link 10 blogger friends who I think have fabulous blogs. Hmmmm. Is my award going to be taken away if I don't do that? So many that I know don't like to participate in these things and there are so many blogs that I think are really fabulous. You all know who you are because I visit your blogs all of the time!

Thanks again, Megan! I think your blog is totally fabulous, too!

Fantastic recipe

My mom has been helping me a lot. Last Wednesday she came and spent the night and all of the next day. She and my son got groceries, picked up my prescriptions & some "takeout" for lunch. She made me a few meals, all of which were very scrumptious! I was probably at my worst on Wednesday, so her timing was excellent!

One of the recipes she made was Emeril's Chicken Cacciatore. She saw him make it on GMA and got the recipe off of the website. I think he has two recipes, this is the Slow Cooker Version. It is FANTASTIC. I must say it is one of my favorite recipes.

EMERIL'S CHICKEN CACCIATORE

8 chicken thighs - 2 1/2 to 3 lbs. total (we use chicken breasts)
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp Emeril's Original Essence
1/4 C plus 2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 C sliced onions
8 oz sliced mushrooms (I pick mine out- hate mushrooms!)
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp minced garlic ( I use fresh and mince them)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 (28 oz ) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed, with juice
1/2 C dry white wine
1/4 C tomato paste
2 Tbsp basil
Cooked pasta for serving
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese, optional

Season chicken on both sides with 1 tsp salt, pepper, and Essence.
Dredge lightly in 1/4 C of flour.
Heat olive oil in large skillet and cook the chicken until golden on
both sides, 8 to 10 min.

Transfer chicken to the slow cooker. To the same skillet add the
onions, mushrooms and red pepper flakes and cook until softened about
4 - 6 min.

Add garlic, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf and remaining 2 tbsp flour and
cook, stirring for 1 to 2 min.

Add tomatoes, wine, tomato paste (or sauce), remaining salt and stir
to combine. Transfer to the slow cooker, cover and cook until
chicken is fork-tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hrs. on high.

Stir in the basil and adjust seasoning if necessary. Let sit on warm
for 10 min and serve over cooked pasta and garnished with Parmesan
cheese if desired.

Yield: 4 - 6 servings.

My apologies

I'm being a rather bad blogger these days. I've been taking pretty much a computer sabatical due to my health.

I am starting to feel a little stronger than I was, but I will most likely be easing my way back into the blogging world. Which means I might be lurking more than commenting and I just wanted you to know that. I hope that you understand.

"See" you soon - and you aren't forgotten.

Have you been told today? - Fixed

Last night I had chills all night and a fever of 100.4. This morning I was feeling very lethargic and had to drive my husband to work. Along the way I started to pass out, then ended up throwing up. My stomach hadn't been sick, so I don't know why, but I felt better after that. At least I could drive! When I got home I crawled into bed, forgetting about the piles of dishes, etc. Still have a fever. The CF Dr thinks I may have a virus in addition to the infection.

I got up a little bit ago to hook up my IV and decided to check emails. It was very uplifting and perfect timing to find this from a good friend of my mother's (and a friend of mine.), entitled "Have You Been Told Today?" Click on that for a blessing!

Oops! Guess clicking on that didn't work. Go to www.hasanyonetoldyou.com - you'll really enjoy it!

Spoke too soon?

This evening my throat, glands and ears are just killing me. Especially my throat. I don't know if it's still thrush or what. I'm going to see if I can beg my way into the ENT this week, but it's not too likely. They are usually hard to get into.

I'm so bored!!!

I must be feeling better because I am so bored I'm going nuts today. I'm running out of books, there is NOTHING on television to watch. Just the Inaugural stuff and, sorry but I am sick and tired of hearing about that topic!!!!

I've gone through all of the blogs (I think) and read the updates.

But...I still don't feel up to going out. I'm sure I'm not up to going into a store and shop for anything. (Nor do I have the money. These abx ran $2500/day last time and I'm on them 4 wks this time!) Or cooking/baking. Not enough energy yet. (I started my new IV med at 2PM, so hopefully good things are around the corner!)

HEY!!!! I'M BORED!!!!

I'm not checking in!

To the hospital, that is!

Since I haven't been feeling any better (actually, I've been feeling WORSE, but then when you add all of the side effects what do you expect?) they were talking about admitting me to the hospital this week. Mostly because there aren't any other IV abx I can safely take.

But this afternoon they said they are going to go back to an old one. It didn't SEEM like it helped before, but I also didn't have an allergic reaction, so they want to do 2 weeks of that one, plus extend my yucky Cipro. People. 750mg. of Cipro twice a day gives you a sick belly and headache! Please feel sorry for me for that alone! *smile*

I'm glad that I don't have to go into the hospital at least. It makes it so much easier on my family.

I've been looking at all of the pictures entered into the IHeartFaces site. (See button on my sidebar.) I don't have anything to enter right now, but it's fun to see all of the shots people have taken.

I'm going to head out for my allergy shot now. I'm several weeks behind in getting it, so need to get it and be done with it.

Things you may not know

I've been tagged by Carrie at 4 The Love of Family to tell you 16 things you may not know about me. I thought I'd already spilled all of my guts on here, so this will take some thinking. I mean, I already told you about the bra story and C. Everett Koop- what else is there?

::I was born with my toes curled up to my ankle, but they came down on their own.

::I must have been quite the precocious 5 year old because at that time I would insist on kissing all of the boys on the bus before getting off (my parents heard about this from the bus driver!) and

::When I was in kindergarten we were all gathered around the piano, students on the floor and she on the piano stool. At one point she stood up to yell at someone and I thought she was done with the stool and I was tired of sitting on the floor, so I rolled it over and sat on it. She then sat on the floor. She then called my parents!

::I have moved AT LEAST 23 times in my life.

::We had a two-week honeymoon. The first week was the Orlando area and the second one was Daytona Beach. By Daytona Beach I was sick with bronchitis and sun poisoning (big surprise, huh?) so I was in the hotel while my husband was outside surrounded by all of the bikini clad women!

::There is a sculpture of a dog sticking out of the side of our house.
We'd like to know the story behind it.

::Although we do not live in an expensive home, by any means, we purchased it from someone who is famous. I won't tell you who because you could Google her name and find our address. Hints: woman, cover of a few magazines, sorry, that's all I can tell you. But she's...famous.

Wow, that's only 7.

::I used to be a tomboy.

::I used to cross-stitch before my eyes started going on me.

::I didn't even weigh 100 lbs. when I got out of college.

::I attended Bob Jones University.

::Oh, once when I was little and we lived on a farm, I used burdocks for curlers and curled my beautiful hair. When I couldn't get them out I was afraid my mom would get mad, so I cut out each of the burdocks and thought my mother would never know!

::If I had been a boy, I would have been named Robin.

::I have lived in NY, CT, PA, SC, VA, and GA.

::I hate rock music and bluegrass music.

::I still have to struggle every day to make time for personal time with the Lord.

Now I'm going to tag Lisa, Misty, Jackie, Megan, Amanda, Cara , Marcia, to write 16 things about themselves that most people don't already know.

Buttery Crescents

I think I overdid it yesterday. I worked in the kitchen, did some laundry, then picked up my husband and went to my parents. My sister and her husband were visiting there just for the evening, so I didn't want to miss seeing her. My mom made way-too-much of Baked Spaghetti and homemade bread and a dessert. I took along salad fixings and homemade applesauce. We had a nice meal together and visited, then we brought left-overs home!

Here is a picture of my sister and my dad.

She looks so great. She had determined to lose weight by the time she hit 50 and get into better shape. She did it through Weight Watchers and surpassed her goal, going down about 4 sizes. She has so much more energy and feels so much better and looks fantastic. I have to admit that sometimes it's hard looking at her all pretty and trim and healthy, when I'm all bloated and overweight and unhealthy. But I'm proud of her and she's an inspiration to me to keep trying, even though I have some roadblocks that she doesn't have.

Let's see, my title is Butter Crescents. I need to segway here from the losing weight to eating something yummy! Should have thought that one out more.

Anyway, my family loves these Buttery Crescent Rolls that I fix in my bread machine, then shape. They are quite easy and I keep them in the freezer and grab some out with soup or roast.

BUTTERY CRESCENT ROLLS

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water, 110-115degrees
1/2 c. warm milk, 110-115degrees
1/2 c. margarine or butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
4 - 4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Additional butter

Place ingredients in bread machine in order mfg. recommended for the machine. When dough cycle is complete, punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface, divided in half. Roll each portion into a 12" circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place pointed end down 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 min. Bake 375degrees for 12-14 min. or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

-----
From the baking to the health now. The doctor commented yesterday that I don't seem to be getting better on these abx. They are concerned I've had ringing in my ears with the Tobramycin, but for now they will continue with what I'm on until next Wed. and then see if I'm better. If I have anymore ringing in the ears before then, I have to tell them right away and stop the Tobra. The next recourse, if I'm not better, is to hospitalize me and try another IV abx. while they can watch me since I'm allergic to most of them. Probably do desensitization.

Right now my list of meds has grown to 21. The pathetic thing is, some of them are for side effects of the other meds!

Tell me if I'm wrong, but if I'm taking 21 medications shouldn't I feel like I am healthy enough to run a marathon or at least clean my house? Something's wrong with this picture.

Mom still takes care of me

When we're sick, we always like for Mom to take care of us.

Today my mom had to come in the vicinity for a hair appt. (She lives about 40 min. away) Didn't her hair turn out nice?

After her appointment she went to the pharmacy for me and picked up my prescriptions so I wouldn't have to go out. She then picked up lunch and brought it to us, trying to encourage me to eat.


She wanted to do some housework while she was here and she brought a meal to put in the crockpot. The other day she gave us a BIG pot of homemade vegetable beef soup and we've been eating that the last several days.

After sitting in this chair - often with this pile of blankets! - round the clock,

it was nice to have Mommy come and take care of me, like when I was a little girl!

Thanks, Mom!

Proofreading- a Dying Skill

I used to be a proofreader and I still laugh at some mistakes I see that totally change the meaning of what the person is writing. Someone sent the following to me and I thought it was so funny. Just in case you haven't seen it and you could use a giggle, read on.

Proofreading is a dying art, would you say?

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called
the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this. It took two or three readings
before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!!

They put in a correction the next day.

-----------------------------------------------------

I just couldn't help but sending this along. Too funny.

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
No, really? Ya think?

------------------------------------------------------

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
Now that's taking things a bit far!

------------------------------------------------------
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
What a guy!

------------------------------------------------------
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so's!

------------------------------------------------------
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
See if that works any better than a fair trial!

-------------------------------------------------------
War Dims Hope for Peace
I can see where it might have that effect!

--------------------------------------------------------
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Ya think?!

--------------------------------------------------------
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
Who would have thought!

--------------------------------------------------------
Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
They may be on to something!

---------------------------------------------------------
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?

----------------------------------------------------------
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
He probably IS the battery charge!

----------------------------------------------
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
Weren't they fat enough?!

-----------------------------------------------
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
That's what he gets for eating those beans!

-------------------------------------------------
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
Do they taste like chicken?

-------------------------------------------------
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Chainsaw Massacre all over again!

-------------------------------------------------
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Boy, are they tall!

-------------------------------------------------
And the winner is....
Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead
Did I read that right?

Flush and run!

I decided to keep things light for you today.

I mentioned last week to my husband that if he didn't soon fix the lid on our toilet that we were going to find ourselves sitting on the floor. It was broken and loose. So he and R. headed off to Lowe's.

He got some handy-dandy new seat. For 2 dollars extra, this lid will close all by itself! Cool, huh? The only problem is, I am a firm believe that you need to put the lid down before you flush because all of that bacteria goes flying into the air. And the lid lowers itself very s-l-o-w-l-y.



So now I have to hit the flush lever and RUN to get away from those germs...or come back to flush. Someone didn't think this through when they invented it.


*****
On a side, and totally unrelated, I have a horrible case of thrush in my mouth and swollen glands. It's miserable. But at least I don't feel like swallowing any food.

Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup

One of my families favorite soups that I make is Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup. I got it from Quick Cooking, January 1999.

This is a great week for soups as it's extra cold here in the south. Here is the recipe for this one, in case you'd like to try it.



COMFORTING CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2 qts. water
8 chicken boullion cubes (I use Tones paste for less sodium)
6 1/2 c. uncooked wide egg noodles
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3 c. cooked chicken, cubed
8 oz. fat free sour cream
minced fresh parsley

In a large saucepan, bring water and boullion to a boil. Add noodles; cook, uncovered, until tender, about 10 minutes. DO NOT DRAIN. Add soup and chicken pieces; heat through. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Don't mind me. I just live here.

Well, my husband has quit his job (again). He gave his notice today and they said just clean the truck out today. His old job had called and said they had a new contract and needed drivers again. My husband can not stand change and I think he's just wanting that comfort zone and his old truck.

The bad thing is that I don't trust this company. They only haul for one company and that's putting all of your eggs in the same basket when the economy isn't good. And they don't really care about their drivers.

Another bad thing is the insurance. We had 12 days with great insurance! Now we're back to COBRA and then the horrible insurance we had before. Half the drs. and hospitals around here won't work with it. And here I'm on IV's at home.


He knows how I feel about it. That just doesn't carry much weight. I just live here.


You've probably figured out by now that my marriage needs some work. (And prayers!) Maybe I'll feel like trying in a few days...or weeks. Maybe when I get out of the loony bin.

Right now I have a headache and earache and my foot hurts and my PICC-arm hurts, so I'm going to go sit in a chair and chill and pray.

Update on my sickly self

Thank you, everyone, for your concern during the last several days. And your prayers. It means so very, very much to me.

I am feeling much better today. I talked to the CF doctor's office about 7-8 times today. They definitely don't want me taking that new abx (antibiotic) anymore, but want me to continue with the other IV abx. They are also prescribing 750mg Cipro to take twice a day because I need to be on two different abx. They are worried about trying any other IV abx right now because the problems I have with so many strains. Cipro doesn't usually do much, or anything, for me so I'm not sure what we will accomplish. It does make me awful sick to my stomach and give me...you know. But that's much better than my face, feet, tongue being numb and wondering if I need to get to the ER again.

They also prescribed two things for me to take for the next few days until all of that abx is out of my system because I still don't have all of the feeling back in my face.

Another thing I'm not experiencing anymore is the mania and severe depression. That was very rough, especially since I have some things going on to feel manic and depressed about! lol I had all sorts of thoughts about running away and killing myself on Saturday, but luckily I also could hardly make myself move to get out of the recliner so that helped. I just sat there and cried with my tortured thoughts. I knew it wasn't right and natural and knew the medicine was doing a number on me, but that didn't put an end to what was going through my head.

Guess what happened today?

One of these fell on my foot!

The guy had delivered the full ones and set them in a different place. I was hooking up an IV and kicked one. It toppled over right onto my bare foot and now it's all swollen and I can hardly walk on it! As they say, "if it isn't one thing, it's another."

Yesterday evening I was bored and following blog-trails. It was fun and I found some new ones I want to follow. A couple of them were talking about making meals and freezing them. I plan 2 weeks meals in advance before going to the grocery store, but I think I want to try taking a few days when I'm stronger and prepare several meals at once and freeze meals to grab out when I'm having a bad day. Or when I need one for someone else.

Soapnuts Giveaway

Have you ever heard of Soapnuts? Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous likes to do reviews of products and was sharing about BuySoapNuts.com.



They're actually not a nut, but a berry that grows in India and Nepal. There are two varieties, small and large. The large quantity of saponin in the shells acts as a gentle detergent when it comes in contact with water.

Soap Nuts are 100% non-allergenic and antimicrobial (meaning they break down the grey water in your septic system). So, they are chemical free, safe to use for those who have sensitivities to scent and soap, and they save you money in several ways! First, you can use 4-5 soap nuts in a muslin bag (included) for 4-5 loads. Second, there's no need for fabric softener because they naturally soften your clothing while washing. Third, you don't need a rinse cycle!

FF&F tried these Soap Nuts and really liked them. She is now sponsoring a GiveAway. Check it out and check out BuySoapNuts.com

Trip to ER

This afternoon my face was feeling all tingly and numb. Very weird. Like there was fluid under the skin. My eyes got all itchy and I looked in the mirror and my face was swollen and red. I had two really bad asthma attacks this evening, that were so bad I could hardly get to my inhaler, let alone inhale the stuff. By around 9:30PM my tongue was feeling numb and thick. I didn't know if it was just more nerve endings or something else, possibly allergic reaction. (Sulfa abx sent me into anaphylactic shock about 20 yrs ago) Looked Azactam up again and saw "angioedema" and it sounded exactly like what I was experiencing.

The skin of the face, normally around the mouth, and the mucosa of the mouth and/or throat, as well as the tongue, swell up over the period of minutes to several hours. The swelling can also occur elsewhere, typically in the hands. The swelling can be itchy. There may also be slightly decreased sensation in the affected areas due to compression of the nerves. Urticaria (hives) may develop simultaneously.

In severe cases, stridor of the airway occurs, with gasping or wheezy inspiratory breath sounds and decreasing oxygen levels. Intubation is required in these situations to prevent respiratory arrest and risk of death.

I probably shouldn't diagnose myself like that, but I thought it sounded exactly like what was going on. Angioedema.

I have to admit, I was very upset with my husband for a majority of the day because he seems to have made up his mind to change jobs and return to the last one. (Have I mentioned today is the 10th day on our wonderful new health insurance?) I'm just kind of fed up in that dept. and being upset probably didn't help things. I mentioned my tongue and numb face to my husband around 9:30 and he thought I should call the nurse. I didn't want to because I knew they'd want to play it safe and have me go to the ER. I said maybe I just would stop the new IV and call & let them know tomorrow. He said I should call her and "at least tell her". Well, she said to go to the ER, which I knew she'd say. I have an epi-pen here, but she still wanted me to go.

Now, listen to this ridiculous conversation. I hung up and

Husband: What did she say?

Me: Go the ER.

Husband: NOW??!!

I must have been missing something here. I'm not sure I answered something and I won't say what I was thinking, but I will admit that I did not feel very valuable at that moment.


Got our son out of bed, and he drove the LONG WAY to the hospital, through this state park where you have to drive 25mi. for miles. Duh. Anyhow, I got signed in at the ER, triaged, I wasn't any worse so we sat. After 10 min. my husband was complaining about how long it took for them to see me! We can take our time getting to the ER, but they'd better rush when I walk in, huh? Sorry about my sarcasm. I really am and shouldn't be (sarcastic).

I didn't remind him that the last time I went to ER I was coughing up blood and waited over 2 hrs. Oh, and the TV had all kinds of filth and bad language on it for my 14 yr old to watch!!! I kept saying "Why don't the two of you go out to the car and sleep? The stuff on TV is bad and you're tired.", but they didn't. After an hour some lady told my husband that she'd been there since 7PM and another group since 8PM. All he had to hear. So at midnight I asked to sign a release and we left! I told them that there was a lady in extreme pain that needed help, so they did get to her when we were leaving.

My tongue isn't quite as bad, my face is still numb but not as swollen and not red. Eyes aren't quite as itchy, but still some. Feet and hands are still tingly and numb. I just had another asthma attack and they are really hurting my arm and chest where the PICC is. I've got my epi-pen but that IV is every 8 hours and it's been over 10 hours since the last dose so things should improve. In the AM I'll have them call in another abx to mix and ship to me. Not taking this one anymore. Oh, I was also feeling very confused and having a hard time focusing. (Altho I was with it enough that I would have taken a more direct and fast route to the ER.)

I hope you enjoyed this little expose of my life.

Botox?

My paresthesia from my medications has spread to my face now. I wonder if this is what it feels like after botox injections?? It's all numb and tingly feeling. Does this mean I will look like I'm about 29 by the time I'm done with my IV's?



And would that mean that only my hands, feet & face would look 29 and the rest of my body would be the sagging 48 year old I started with? (Not that I wouldn't be happy with the new parts, mind you.)

Bake, decorate a cake and eat it, too!

After seeing the nice cake that Lisa made for her son's 2nd birthday, it made me think back to my cake decorating days.

Before I was married I used to bake and decorate cakes on the side for extra money. Only scratch cakes for me! At first it would take me hours to decorate one birthday cake, but as I grew more experienced it didn't take me that long. I did one for someone's wedding with Lily of the Valley (in icing, not real) cascading all over it and then transported it to her reception over the back roads of PA, in the BACK SEAT OF MY HONDA CIVIC! Man, I didn't have a brain back then! What was wrong with me?

When I decided to do my own wedding cake my father-in-law thought that was the stupidest thing he heard. He was convinced I was biting off more than I could chew and something would happen at the last minute to ruin things. I baked the huge layers in the professional ovens of the nursing home I used to work at, then spent about 2 days putting on the basketweave, then flowers. I REALLY impressed my father-in-law. He very willingly ate crow over that. Here's a picture of the picture...

Christmas balls to IV balls

It's been a very rough couple of days since I started on IV's, but I'm still very thankful that I can do the IV's. I know I will feel better when the PICC comes out and the IV's are done. I'll hopefully have more energy, can breathe easier and have less pain.

For those of you who live in the healthy world and aren't familiar with these things, they have these IV eclipse balls now so you don't need to drag an IV pole everywhere you go in the house.


Not that I've been wanting to walk around much. So far my medicine side effects are bothering my nerves the most. Depression, mania and paresthesia. Some heart racing. The more winded I get, the worse the paresthesia (tingling and numbness to my fingers and toes) so I'm trying not to overdo today like I did yesterday. But even then I was wearing my oxygen and just crossing a room or two, maybe switching the laundry.

I've given orders to the men in this house that they are doing any work today. I will fix supper, but they will clean the house and anything else that needs doing. I'll just work my way through these things.


The highlight of my days right now is reading your blogs, emails and comments. I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate them and covet them. (I also should tell you that even though I'm reading blogs, I'm not commenting as much as I was. I'll try to work on that, but I am reading them!) It's been a joy to read some of the exciting answers to prayer in some of the situations we are praying for, too. Some exciting things are going on!