24 years of wedded bliss

*222* <--stuck there for a couple weeks

 **I have had a issue with the app for Instagram on here. I have tried to figure out how to get it back on but it hasn't worked. I will not give up but just not in the mood to fiddle with that shit right now**

   Today is our 24th wedding anniversary. I have sauce cooking while Italian sausages are braising in it. There are two small spaghetti squashes roasting in the oven. Those are for hubby and I. The girls will eat spaghetti. I have not made sauce in awhile and I was in the mood. Wedding anniversary is just as good a time as any.

    I am on the new laptop. It is actually a Samsung Chromebook. It is much smaller then what I had before so it has taken me a few days to get used to it. Do you know I still act like I dont have a letter N sometimes? Look at that capital N. Isnt she the sweetest thing you ever did see? I have transferred over all of my bookmarks and photos that I wanted to save. The clunker is sitting on the table, awaiting it`s fate. I have to figure out how to pry it open to get pull out all the pieces. There is alot of information on that hunk of junk that I do not want anyone getting ahold of. All and all, it is a really nice little computer. It gives me what I need and I have not sworn at it once. It took less then 2 minutes to set it up. That is crazy. Remember when you would get a new computer and it would take a solid hour to get it set up? That included getting the internet working. Times sure have changed.

 We did get some snow for Saturday into Sunday. I would say it was about 6-7" max. It was a very light fluffy snow so it was easy to shovel. I drove around in it the next day in the Jeepo without much trouble at all. The city sanded the hill so I have no worries at this point. It will jack up to the 50s later this week and we might get another storm on Saturday. Hopefully it is just rain. Only two months and 11 days until the first day of Spring, so says Alexa. I ordered a couple blueberry bushes through our community garden. I am HOPING to have garden beds in front of the house this year. HOPE HOPE HOPE!

      Yes, I did shovel. It is weird how my back and sciatica have been. Just really weird. I could feel like I am losing my grips with my lower half of my body and sometimes my arms and hands at the same time. Then it is like all is right with the world. I cannot explain it. I do still have lower back pain. Right now most of my pain is really low like my tailbone. But there has been no sciatica in either leg. No spasms. No awful electric shocks. Not a damn thing. I am not dumb. I know it hasnt gone away. It is still there, waiting to make me suffer once again. But for some reason, I get these *arthritic* reprieves. I guess I could dig into the internet and try to figure it out if I really wanted to.  I see the local neurosurgeon at the end of this month so I hope to get some answers.

Beef bone broth

I made this over the weekend during the snow too. My first batch of bone broth. I am so Martha Stewart right about now. This is the recipe for it.  I used bone marrow bones only this time around. I think the next time I do it, I will use marrow and oxtail bones. You can do this with pork bones, chicken bones, and fish bones too. You just roast whatever, eat the meat, and use the bones to simmer for hours and hours with veggies and such. This made it to the 12 hour mark. Somebody turned it off in the night so I did not get to do the full 24 hours. I told them the next time not to touch the heat. It tastes really really good. Now, it is not salted. It is bland as fuck but that is what broth/stock is supposed to be. This is something to use for making soups or just drinking a hot cup (with a bit of salt added). I put them in the freezer. I have to get over my fear of the pressure cooker. I could totally can these so that they can go in the cabinet. I will do some major research before I do it. I cannot believe I have never done this before.

  Okay, I just whizzed this post thru in no time. That is what happens when you have a proper keyboard. You do not feel like murdering your Dell cause it keeps deleting your thoughts. I have to go now anyhoo. Kid #2 will be done with work soon. I have to go out in the dark cold night to fight her. Then I will come home to try on my first pair of Lularoe leggings. Yes, I fell into the LuLa hole. These are what I got. Arent they sweet?
Have a great week! Try to make a snow angel if you get a chance!

 

Our First Fresh Tree

*220*

   Today I will be purchasing my first real live pine smelling Christmas tree. It will be a 3-4 footer. I dont want a super big tree cause our house is small. I think when I bought the smelly pine sticks for the tree last year, that was telling me something. All my childhood. we had a real tree for Christmas. Dad could complain about the price. He would tie it to the top of the car. The house would smell great. And needles in the carpet. I realized just recently that we stopped having fresh trees after he died in November 1983. My sister and her husband bought a fake tree for my Mom and that was that. I have had fake trees ever since. This last one is a prelit. I hate it! And it is 7 years old.. I was going to go out to buy a new fake one. But I decided to give a fresh one a try. Even if it is just for this year.

  
  Thanksgiving was good. We had a keto feast. I did eat a little pie. That is okay too. I am human. I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done. I just have to pick up a couple things for the girls. I am still kinda bah humbug but since it is the 1st of December, I will give the holiday a chance. We decided on a ham for holiday dinner. Kid #2 and I will figure out the sides later. I am trying so hard to be 100% complaiant with the foods that I am allowed to eat. I just stressed out a tad and sometimes I just say fuck it and eat something I shouldnt. I have to be strong! I have more weight to lose. I am doing so well. I have to step up my game, get sneakers, shoe inserts, and start walking.


 
    I was able to read the notes on my lower spine MRI. What I do know for sure from reading is that my L5S1 is extremely bad and my L4L5 is moderately bad. You would think I would be in more pain. I barely take a Tylenol. Lately my neck has been hurting more but I dont want to think about that. I go to the Yale Spine Center on January 3rd and we will see what the surgeon says about my issues.  I will try to leave this alone till I hear what he has to say.

 
 
 

I covered the windows too.

 In the midst of doing this post, I had left to go do errands and pick up the tree. Isnt she the cutest? I had to secure the trunk because it was too skinny for the tree stand. It is very sturdy now. It is watered and we are going to leave it be today. Let it`s branches settle. Tomorrow we will deck the little honey out. I totally love it and I will probably do this again next year. It cost $25. What a good deal!

Okay..I have a shit ton of dishes to wash plus I have to make dinner, which I hate to do. I am tired and in pain. But I will push through cause when I am done, I am gonna soak in the tub and get into the bed and watch my YouTube favorites.

Have a great rest of your week!

Life Changin Stuffs

*218* <----OMG Yes!


   I am late with this cause yesterday I had an adventure. I would have posted about it last night but my ass was tired, I had a piece of cake to eat, and YouTube videos to catch up on. I am here bright and bushy tailed early to give you the scoops while I drink my coffee(s).

   First off, I am 8lbs from my first goal. IF you ever read my posts from the beginning, my first real weight loss goal was to get down to 210. That was the perfect number for me when the kids were little. I wasn't morbidly obese but I wasn't classified as thin. It was okay with me, back then. When you eat LCHF, weight loss is tricky. You can have long stalls which would make you feel like you want to give up. But if you wait, you will be rewarded. I was stuck at 226-227 for like 6 weeks. It didn't matter what I did, that is where I would be. The other day I weighed myself at the pharmacy. 219 popped up on the screen! Yes! Then yesterday at the Drs office...218. I have lost approx 65 lbs since I started this blog. Took me multiple years but hey..it is gone.

  Yesterday I took the train to Providence, RI to have a consultation with the gut doctor at the Women`s Collaborative. She is a Cdiff Doctor. We talked for about a half hour or so. She is going to do it for me. Yay!  Her nurse was not in the office so she will call me today to set up appt for the procedure. It is done through colonoscopy. I had to read and initial alot of paperwork because you are considered a volunteer, not a patient. Fecal transplant is still experimental. The FDA has not approved it as a cure for cdiff. They probably wont in the near future because they wont pump money in for poop, essentially. So I will sit here and wait for the phone call.

   I have two important appointments coming up at the beginning of next month. I see the ortho at Yale to talk about my scans and my hips. We have to figure out if my hips are actually my hips or is it my spine. The other appt is to see a Weed Doctor. Yes my friends. I am finally going to get my medical marijuana card. I have been talking about it for awhile but I just never took the initiative. It is funny though. I do this and our state might make it legal to smoke recreationally. If that happens, it wont happen till January. I could wait but I think I just want to do it. So yeah. Judge me if you want. I gotta help my body and the brain.

  Okay. I gotta go. It is nearly 930 and I have to make breakfast and plan my day. I will share pics from the kid`s birthday this week in my next post.

Bundle up! It is chilly out there!