Happy St Patty`s Day 2016

*231* <---guessing cause scale needs battery

  What a beautiful day it has been so far. I have been in slug mode for the past couple days for whatever reason. This morning I had to have a abdominal ultrasound and afterward, I just felt like doing stuff. I am being careful to not over do. I will know the results on Monday. He wants to look at my pancreas and the spot on my liver. I am just going to go with the flow.
 

black one done last year

  I have all the plastic pots, big and small out on the patio. They will be scrubbed and on a less windy day, they will all be spray painted in bright colors. I did a couple last year with Rustoleum spray paint and they look really good. I have a couple blues, green, and a fuchsia. I want to pick up a yellow and maybe a purple. They cost $3 a can. You can spruce up your old plastic stuff and it looks really good.
It will be a nice little project. They will all have herbs in them. The bigger ones will have cherry tomatoes. There are a couple more in front that I have to empty and bring out back.  What other colors should I do?

       I did not buy corned beef this year. I cannot eat it and why stink up the house unnecessarily. I have pork chops marinating with garlic, black pepper, and spices. I have some steak strips marinating for this recipe I am trying out today, Low sodium Chinese Pepper Steak. I will do some white rice in the cooker and make a corn bread in the cast iron. I have been very bad with my food choices lately in terms of my brain. I have been all about my fucked up gut and threw my brain off in the corner. She didnt like that. Today she gave me a real taste of last year. Oh boy did I figure it out quick. I have my group that I will be more active in. We have all been lax with our low sodium for our iih. Hopefully this recipe will be a keeper and I will find others. I will be purchasing a new charcoal grill end of this month so i will be able to have lots of healthy grilled things too. Mmmm

So life isnt great but I choose not to mope about it. I am going to keep myself busy. If I could only stay up in my room and clean it. I have clothes to donate. And the room has to be switched around. I want all this done before it gets hot. 
Baby steps though...
I hope you enjoy your day of Irish. Have a green beer for meh!

Jams, Jellies, and Marmalades

 I had my follow-up ultrasound this morning. I drank plenty of water so that I was fully hydrated. It was still painful this time around but I did not have to drink more and wait for the bladder to fill. I asked the tech if she could tell me one simple thing: Is the 6cm cyst on the left still there? She said she couldn't, but the Dr office will get the results this afternoon. I do not have an appointment until next week. More waiting....

  I am planning on expanding my jam and jelly horizons. I am going to make some for my husband`s godfather and he is going to sell them at his stall at the Farmer`s Market each week. He will pay for the supplies. I want to try some different things along with the old standards. I will do strawberry jam, apple butter, peach preserves, and orange marmalade. I wanted to know if there were things you like or that you would love to try out in a flavor. I also do a really nice raspberry/jalapeno jelly. Tastes good on crackers!
I always grow alot of basil so I am going to see  if I can find some jelly that uses that. But in a non-gross way. LOL I have to get rid of this cabinet behind me (I am giving it away) so that i can buy two wire shelves like the one we already own. I want to can a lot this year. Times are tough and if I can get some foods in jars for the winter, all the better. Especially the local corn in the summer..but I am digressing. We will talk about that at another time.
 I am not doing grape jelly. I heard it is a pain in the ass and I am not in the mood to ruin a batch right at this point in time.
Would you eat Lemon or Lime Marmalade?
Pear Jam or Jelly?
Lavender Jelly?
I will keep searching online for ideas and start jumping in and trying it out.

Time to get measured

Victorian Gyno exam

I have to start drinking plenty of water starting today. I want to be flooded. Wednesday morning I go in for my follow-up on the size of the 6 cm cyst on the left, the size of the 2cm on the right, and the thickness of the uterus. I have a follow up with the gyno the next week. I still have to take Vicodin when I ovulate. I just try to ignore it all because there is nothing I can really do about it anyway. If the 6 cm is gone, then I will just have follow ups. If it has grown, then it will have to come out. So I will know at the end of the month.
Now on to getting the water!

Biopsies suck!

*266*

I had my endometrial biopsy yesterday. Or should I say biopsies. He took four samples. It wasnt horrific to be perfectly honest. The part that hurt was that as he was getting ready to release the speculum, my uterus seized up in a massive cramp. I actually yelped. They had me rest for 10 minutes before trying to get up. I was crampy for the rest of the day and I did have spotting but I am okay. He started talking about having a D and C and an ablation done. He also wants to do an lap. in the belly button to peek around inside my abdomen. If I get an ablation, no more periods at least for the next two years.
 I do not know why he has did a 360 on it all. The right side cyst is a smallish 2.5 cm. The one of the left is 6cm. I have to go and have another ultrasound at the end of March to see if it has changed. I think that will steer how all this goes. Plus what my biopsies say. I was just getting a cat scan to have my gut looked at and I ended up at the lady bits Doctor. Hmmm.

Speaking of Lady bits..Ruby went into heat! Fuck!!!  I was going to have her done in March but either I was told she was a month younger then she really is or the weird weather has kicked her into maturity. Now I have to wait till the heat is over before she can go in and get fixed up.


So this is the season of the Bloody Marys...me and Ru.

Gym Gym Gym!

*266*

   I did it! I finally went to the gym after eons. I went by myself though. Natalie was going to go with me but when I woke her up this morning at 830am, she wasn't having it. I dropped Chelsea off at work at 930am and I was there in a flash. The place is double in size of what it used to be and they have put all machines that perform similar functions in one area. They have more treadmills also. They also have some new machines I have never seen before and wouldn't even know how to climb on. I stayed for an hour. I did 15 min on treadmill, 10 min on the stair climber (and that KILLED ME) and the rest of the time on the arm and stomach machines. I feel good. It makes me feel like I need to start walking again. I am kind of afraid to because of what happened to my feet the last time. That was a year of healing. Knock on wood! My feet feel good now. Both of them do. I want to go to the gym tomorrow or even walk but we shall see. I have many things to do that day.

  Tomorrow is Valentine`s day. I have to go to the hospital at like 830am to have an ultrasound and bloodwork. I am not looking forward to either. Last time I got my blood done at the hospital, I left with a huge bruise. HUGE! It took two weeks to heal. I have to also drink 36 oz of water an hour before and make damn sure I hold it in. I cannot pee. That reminds me when I was pregnant with the girls. Trying to hold water while a baby is stomping on your insides. I think my 43 year old bladder will be okay..let us hope. LOL
  Chelsea`s birthday is on Wednesday so I have to make her cheesecake tomorrow also. Nice big cheesecake with strawberry sauce. She will enjoy it. She wants to go to Chili`s for her birthday. I doubt I can afford it but I will have to try. Ugh!

 I have to say that I was shocked to find out that Whitney Houston had died on Saturday. You always hope that she would have stayed off the drugs and gotten better. There is talk that she drowned in a bathtub after taking Xanax. I guess that will come out in the wash. I remember seeing her on MTV. She was so beautiful. She sang so strong and wonderful. She had a rare gift. She had a presence. The memory of who she was will always be there.
That is who I will remember.

SNOW!

This is what my baby looks like

*268*
No one realized that it might actually snow on the shoreline because it was so warm. Wrong! We got about two inches, then it made everything nice and icy this morning. I had to be at the hospital for 8am so I was up early this morning. Icy cement steps needed salt. The street looked good. It had been plowed so I thought nothing of it. We had two new front tires on the Jeep. Hmmm. I applied brakes, started to slide, and fish tailed a bit till I righted myself. This bitch needs four new tires. Front AND back. I am leary of the four wheel drive. I know you are only supposed to use it in wet/snowy weather. I have never used it before and I do not want to break my baby. Or fuck something up. Or crash into somebody. If any of you are really familiar with four wheel drive, soothe my soul.

  I had my ultrasound and it was not bad at all. I did not think it was going to be. It would have been if I went last week. I probably would have puked. She was checking my liver, pancreas, kidneys, gallbladder, and spleen. Those films will be read and the results will be sent to the Gastro. I am assuming I will have to wait a week to get any word back about them also. *smirk* Then I went and had the blood work done that he wanted. Eight Vials of blood! One vein on left arm said No. So She had to poke the other arm.
 I did some banking, paid the cable bill, and I am home drinking my coffee. I am now in save money mode. It took a couple weeks of me not doing what I am supposed to do but I am getting  there. Why go to Dunkin Donuts when you have 6 containers of coffee in your cabinet (from can can sale) and you are on your way home anyway? I saved $4. Because I would have had to get one for Fred. Now I am deciding what to make for dinner and I want to de-clutter something. I just do not know what. Maybe this cabinet behind me full of miniature stuff and Chelsea`s art crap. I am going to have to wait till she leaves though. She will protest if I toss anything. Pics she has done, those I will not toss. But stuff that is definitely garbage, that will go.
  Clutter makes me a little nuts. And I have people in this house that do not give a shit about it. Once I clean it up, it will get cluttered up again, just you wait.

So that is it for today. Another test down, who knows what is in my future.