A new year to conquer

*237* <----I gained but I got it back down to this

  I have a feeling you have all disappeared because of my blogging hiatus. I really wasnt planning on coming back at all. Life got away from me and this was not something I had time for. I mean, theoretically, if I did want to do it, I would find time to. But I just did not. If you had been waiting for me to come back, I am sorry.

    You still know I am alive because my IG is attached and you can see my postings. You can also see that Keiko is a BIG girl. She is my sweet little muffin baby. She is not nice to everyone else but me. And that is how it should be. We lost Perla last month (the chihuahua). Vet thinks it was an bad intestinal infection. It came on quickly and took her without her having to go through any trauma going to the vet. Ruby is the lone dog now. We have put her on a diet and she is liking her single status. But we make sure not to say Perla`s name. She looks around for her if we do.

  About 2 months ago, I started a new way of eating challenge. Because of my diagnosis of Psoriatic Arthritis, I wanted to try not to take any strong medications for it. I was given the idea that I should eat AIP (autoimmune protocol) and Keto (because of my blood sugars). These two styles of eating for health come together as a very harsh harsh way of eating. HARSH! I had fallen off the keto wagon and gained about 20lbs. It was all stress related to health stuff. It was time and with a good talking to, I embarked into the AIP/KETO. I did not fully immerse myself into fat, and I was hungry all the time. I decided to give myself the Christmas holidays to indulge (but not over indulge) and pick back up on it for January. And here I am. AIP?KETO consists of avoiding grains, gluten, nightshades, nuts, seeds, bad for you oils, all fruits but berries occasionally, dairy, eggs, rice, high carb veggies, coffee, and sugar. I have been drinking tea in place of coffee and it has been okay. I have a nice strong English Breakfast that gives me the caffeine I need to get through life. 

  I do not want to get into my health woes anymore. If it is something serious, I will mention it but otherwise, I am gonna keep it to myself. That is probably why I have no followers because it reads like a pity party. It isn't but some may perceive it that way. I do want to mention a couple things. I had a architectural distortion removed from my breast, it was not cancer. I did BRCA 1 and 2 genetic testing and it came back negative. I could still be positive though. It is weird how that stuff is but the girls are safe. I was supposed to start taking a cancer drug this month but I decided against it. The side effects were too much for me to want to have to deal with. I will be having a MRI and Mammo on my breasts every six months to make sure there is no more growths. My gut is good and bad. Because of my change in eating, I have healed alot of my ulcerations and I am in good status with my colitis. I did find out from the new gastro that I am celiac. It explains alot.

  Right now, at this point in my life, I am doing okay. My birthday is on Satuday. The big 49. The last of the 40s. I will miss them when they are gone. As for the new year, no resolutions but just realizations. I have to stay with AIP until all my symptoms are gone. Then I slowly re-introduce foods on the no list. Some I will be able to add back, some I will never be able to eat again. Wheat and all gluten of course. I will stick with that modified AIP and Keto for as long as I am allowed to. I want to really start walking. It is way too bitterly cold here in the Northeast but when it gets back up to the 30s, I am out there. I have the sneakers. I have the socks. I have the clothes to get the job done. It will be better for my arthritis anyway if I stop being so stagnant and move my ligaments and joints. So walking and eating for health are #1 and #2 on my life realizations.

    Clutter has gotta go. I have been saying this for years but now I mean it. I want to get rid of anything that is just not worthy of this tiny space we have in this house. I have been tossing stuff that is garbage, donating , and selling since the Fall. Now I need to step up my game. I have books to donate, treasures to sell, and clothes to purge. If I have never used it, it has to go. I tend to hold onto some things because of nostalgia or it is old and I must own it. But I think I am done with all that. I want to make run for other things. Crap that is collecting dust and has no purpose for us can leave this house and give someone else a purpose.  DeCluttering in 2018 is #3.

  Money. Money has really been difficult this past year. I have been working with a state agency to get help with getting a job. I really want to try to do it. I am at the stage now where I am very close. I had two really good job interviews. I did not get the jobs but it is good practice. Now that the holidays are over, we are flooding my resumes out there in the ethers and hoping someone wants to give this old smart girl a chance.  I have always said, I need to budget. I need to save money. Blah blah blah. And then I do not do it. Once I wanted to try a no spend year. Nope. Then I tried No Spend Months. Nope, could even do that. I have a new attitude about it now. I aint spending any money. I have bills that need to be paid and paid off. I want to not stress about tax time. I want to have a nice job with some little part time job on the side. Make a good amount of money, be out in the world with people, and just enjoy that part of life that I have missed for the past 16 years. Have a healthy relationship with Money is #4.

  That is it. I have four goals for my life right there. I hope to at least accomplish them all. LMAO. I am realistic. But I have been thinking about this stuff since way before the holidays. I may fail at them all but I am going to try and we shall see how it goes.

If anyone is still out there, I am going to try to blog once every Monday. I will put it in my calendar to remind my forgetful ass.  I guess I could say Blogging my shit would be #5 on that list of life affirming junk.

Toodles. :)



 


   

It is almost New year`s eve

I would die to have this poster

*267*

  Ahh! Almost time to pop the bubbly and contemplate a new year. I do not do resolutions. I am too prone to failure in that arena. I will just try my damnedest to do better in 2012 then I did this year. Lose more weight will be one of those things. But I am not going to beat myself up if I do not make it to the gym every week or month..hehehe. I WILL be saving money because I am going on my trip across the country next year. I start saving in January. I will save $32 a week in my savings account (at different bank..separate from house account) and I will have plenty by September. I am not touching it for anything. I was thinking I might try to save an extra $50 a month for a  little extra. Even after the trip is done, I will continue to save that money.

  I had my endoscopy and it was a piece of cake like everyone said. I was not even drowsy afterward. I remember everything except the part when I was knocked out. The Dr said that everything looked good but he found a couple red spots in my stomach and he took some biopsies of the areas. Probably going to check if I have that H. Pylori too. I will find out next week what his final report is. It baffles me. Everything looks good but I still have stomach pain. If I was to have to predict, I think those red spots are healing ulcers (cause he gave me that medicine). That is why he did not say ulcer right away. Who knows. Just do not tell me there is nothing wrong with me at all. I assume if he finds the bacteria in my gut, he will put me on antibiotics to kill it anyhoo. That would be good so the pain does not come back full force. I will let you know when I find out.

  Yesterday I went and bought some snacks, two bottles of Ballatore bubbly, and I made some Coquito (Puerto Rican egg nog). That shit will knock you on your ass, I tell you! The recipe almost fills a 2 liter soda bottle. It has 8 oz of white rum and 3 oz of brandy. Just enough kick to make you notice but not care..and you drink and you get drunk! LOL I want to get my drunk on but I am not stupid. I just had an endo for stomach pain. Drinking a large amount of booze would be stupid on my part. I will drink a small thimble full of it tonite and I will have some champagne at midnight. I will be a good girl otherwise.
If it wasnt for my gut..oh it would be on!
 Oh! This computer is getting ready to shit the bed now too. So I am praying to the computer gods that you let her work for another 2 weeks. I am going to save up a few hundred and get a cheapo laptop. It wont be the greatest but it will keep us online for now. I might go to the pawn shop too. We shall see.

So I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Year`s Eve. I will be spending tomorrow taking down all the Christmas decorations.
Oh Joy!

The end of the year and my gut

*266*

New Year`s Eve is this Saturday. I got invited to go out the one of the casinos to see a 70s/80s revue. I am going to decline the offer. I want to be an old lady, drink my champagne (Ballatore), eat some snacks, and play a board game with the kids. None of them have plans either. I could go but I just do not feel well. I called my gastro Dr today to let him know that the pills really are not working. I feel like garbage and I have a headache to boot. For a millisecond, I could think it is high blood pressure..but I have low blood pressure (the low good kind) and it was JUST checked last week. Fred told me when he was dealing with his stomach pains, he had headaches too.
Anyway, I told him the meds didnt work. He said that he will be looking to see what the problem is in a day and a half and we will fix the problem. I asked if I should continue taking the medicine. Yup. Damn horse pills.
 

  I want to say that I do not do New Years Resolutions. But I do try to improve myself from year to year. So if I screw up on those improvements, I do not beat myself up over it cause I didnt keep my promise to myself. 
So I think my ass will stay home with my children and have some laughs. We love to play board games. Especially the word ones. Like Apples to Apples. We bought a new one for Christmas. It is called Would you rather?  

Boring, huh?

Happy New Year`s Eve Eve!

*290*

Fred has New Year`s Eve and New Year`s Day and the rest of the weekend OFF! WooHoo! I love when he has days off together and especially the weekend. I have to get supplies for food for Eve. Champagne most definitely. We like a brand of champagne called Ballatore. I just saw on that site that they had a nice recipe for chicken samosas. I copied it and I am going to add it to the things we are having. Might as well go out with a bang. I will make my egg rolls, the samosas, a veggie platter, and a hot dip. I have a recipe for a chicken one that intrigues me. I am going to be sharing some recipes this morning before I have to go run my errands and go to the gym.

The first one I want to share and that I am intrigued about is a recipe from my friend D. BLT Dip.

BLT Dip (This is to die for! It's excellent with crackers, chips, pita triangles, or fresh veggies)

1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
1 large tomato, seeded, drained and diced
1 pound bacon, crispy-cooked and crumbled or diced

Mix all the ingredients together except the tomato and bacon. Chill until it's time to serve. Just before serving, stir in the bacon and tomato.

This next recipe comes from my niece Kate.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
1 pkg of cream cheese
1/2 cup Frank`s hot sauce
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cooked chicken breast, chopped.

Mix together, 350 deg F oven for 30 minutes.
Heidi`s Egg Rolls


1 package of wonton or spring roll wrappers. (they can be bought in the produce section of your local grocery store or at an Asian specialty market)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
1 egg yolk, 1 egg white; separated
1 cup of shredded cabbage
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Vegetable Oil for frying

Put 2 inches of vegetable oil in your frying pan and start heating.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl (minus the egg roll wrappers and the egg yolk) Put egg yolk in small bowl. It is going to be used to seal the wrappers.
You will see on the package that it shows you how to wrap an eggroll. But I am going to give you the instructions right here.  When I am almost done wrapping an egg roll, I dip my finger in the egg yolk, put a dot on the edge of the wrapper and then finish the roll. That way I never have to worry about them opening up in the oil.
Put your egg rolls in the oil when it is hot enough to cook. I do not have a set time that I cook. I cook on medium high heat. That way the meat has a chance to cook on the inside, and the outside does not brown too fast. Once it is a nice golden brown on the outside, take out and put on paper towels to drain.
We like to dip them in hot sauce and wrap them in lettuce leaves. Yum!

So far, that is going to be the menu. I will not make huge portions because I do not want leftovers the next day..LOL
Okay, it is 9:15am and my ass is still cold. I am going to change and go to the bank and the package store.
Have a nice day!

Another year under the table

My Neighbor Dec. 2010

*290*
I walked the dogs last night a little later then usual so I could take this picture. I am pretty sure he will be shutting it down soon. This picture does not do this house justice. He has the entire house covered in lights, including the roof. The yard is full of blow ups and plastic mold ornaments. He even has a plastic mold snowman on the roof. I would LOVE to see his CL&P bill. Connecticut is one of the highest states in terms of electric rates. When I get a light bill that is under $150 a month, I am shocked. Granted, there is basically always someone home in my house. So there is always something running. But that is how life is. I do not have fancy fripperies but I can pay my whopping electricity bill. I guess when we are ready to get out of CT, we can take our CT money with us and live high on the hog. I hear it is sooo much cheaper in other areas.
Anyway.
I had a hissy fit at the gym yesterday because of the 290. I am okay now but I am more determined then anything. Natalie and I danced some of the songs on the Just Dance last night. My feet started screaming so I had to end it for myself but it was fun. There is a sweat mode. You can choose 1 (mild workout), 3 (moderate workout), or 6 (intense workout) songs to dance to. You pick them and then the game plays them for you in that order. There is even a warm up part. I want to do more of that. The gym and the dancing will make up for the icy sidewalk days of not being able to go out for a walk walk.
 I have that appointment with the Neurologist this morning at 830am est. For those of you that know me a long time, I will NOT be seeing Dr. Wet Noodle. He is not in the office anymore. There is a really really good Dr. in there now. He is one of the best in the area. They (and I) did not know if I should see HIM or go back to my Neurosurgeon because of my foot issues and my balance issues. They are going to look at me and then determine if this is something my surgeon should deal with.
Short Story..Dr. Wet Noodle was a young neurologist (the only one in that office!) that had that limp, cold, wet noodly handshake. He would not look you in the eye. The kind of person you want to slap back to reality. Come on dude! He told me that all my problems were not neurological. That maybe I needed to go back to my GP or go to a circulatory Dr. WTF! All I wanted was to get to go see the Neurosurgeon but you needed a referral to get in. Wet Noodle wouldn't do it!  My GP is best buds with THE surgeon that I wanted. Guess what? Two herniated discs and one was pressing really badly. That is why my foot would curl around the brake pedal, Asshole!! Now when I go in the office, I just tell them that I used to see Elijah. hehehe I do not even use his last name or Dr. This neurologist is going to see that I was not fibbing. He better not start on my fatness either. I hate when they blame EVERYTHING on your weight. I am trying to lose weight. Many people know this for a fact. I have had some obstacles thrown in my path but I am still doing it.
Fred might go with me to be my advocate. You need a fatty advocate when people do not believe that you have been doing what you say you have. Wow, that was a long sentence! LOL
So I will let you all know what he says. Hopefully it is nothing. Just a blip on the screen.