Got money and food

  Weather is still milder than to be expected this time of year. Should be ramping up soon but it's more like a delayed June Gloom because it clouds over at night and then is sunny and clear during the day. I'll take it. Not much in the way of pictures other than garden and knitting so might have unadorned post. 

As for the money, standard SS money was deposited on schedule as I figured when it would happen (last day of the month since the first is middle of the week). We did the first Costco run for paper goods, sodas and water, then decided to try a 'new' Mexican place. It's new that we haven't been to that location yet but it's the same family of restaurants that we loved up near HD when we were working there called Yesenia's. Absolutely delicious food and salsas. I got 5 rolled tacos with everything on them and Jon got a carnitas burrito with rice,beans and guac inside. Called a 'conga' burrito at the other location but the lady didn't know what that was. I failed to take pictures but will be doing that again next month or possibly sooner.

Well the burrito was huge! Length of my forearm from wrist to elbow for sure and Jon also got himself a beer to go with it. I just had a soda and the rolled tacos were buried under a mound of guac, lettuce, cheese and sour cream. Perfect! Jon almost couldn't finish the burrito which is a shock but he did finish it.  I snagged a small bit of pork from the dregs and was amazed at how much flavor it had. Might have to order a carnitas quesadilla next time.

Anyway, I had some second intuition that something was not right with Jon while he was eating. He and I were both starving and something about the way he was eating didn't mesh with what I'm used to. Well... about 2 am... whatever didn't agree with him woke him up. Poor guy, luckily we have a small trash can with a bag liner in the bedroom because he wouldn't have made it to the bathroom. Anyhow got that all finished and he got cleaned up while I got my slip ons and sweatpants on to run the trash bag to the dumpster. We didn't lay down again until around 4:30 and as a consequence of that, I slept in until around 10:30 but he got up sooner. Absolutely fine like nothing happened and blamed it on the beer and salsa combo. I was thinking it was the pork because that's what I was smelling but I would have gotten sick also because I had a small piece of it. Oh well, despite that experience we'll go back again when we have extra money.

So that was exciting and unexpected. I know the 4th is Saturday and we need to get the rest of our shopping done before then. We did a 'needful' stop at Food4Less today but because we got such a late start on the say we got that and a sandwich at Jersey Mike's and came home. Will do remainder of shopping tomorrow and maybe the Costco run as well. Will see what our energy is like because end of day yesterday I felt like a bus ran over me. Been having a tough toilet time lately and that could be part of it but also we just need to get out and walk around more.

Rocky got to be a successful hunter and caught himself a baby lizard on Sunday. A really small one because he had eaten it before I could get to him from six feet away. He's sniffing the door to check for signs of any other lingering reptiles I suspect. I was only worried about it giving him an upset stomach or worms or something but so far, he's good.

I've got another infusion on Monday then GI doctor on Wednesday then something toward the end of the month with another doctor or MRI or something. I keep thinking it really sucks having so much going on medically at this point and then realize there are 20 year olds or younger that have serious medical conditions that are far worse. Counting my blessings and lucky stars for what I have going on now. 

 

 

 

More detail about surgery (TMI)

This may be a bit TMI but it's more involved than the first time and reminded me of what the surgeon originally suggested was going to happen. 

For every procedure I get an Authorization of Service form that explains who, what, where and why of the procedure and lets me know whether it's approved or not (so far all has been approved). I keep them all in a folder on my desktop for reference and this time had to look at it. Still have to pay for the hospital stay which I think is up to $250 now. I'll be bringing the approval for assistance letter when I check in at the hospital at registration. Which is good until November thankfully. 

I'm getting liposuction and skin grafts. 

Because there was so little skin and tissue left on the right side they are going to be taking bits and pieces here and there along with some fat to fill out the area. This is major stuff. Essentially, reconstructive surgery to my chest. Now what concerns me is the list of locations they may take pieces and fat.

'Repair of wound by transferring skin, 30.1 to 60.0 cm. Graft using patient's fat removed by liposuction and inserted into trunk, breasts, scalp, arms or legs/ 50.0 cc or less'. Now what that just means is those are areas that are covered by this particular procedure. I am not getting any fat inserted into my scalp, arms, or legs. But it does cover breasts so they had to just kind of be broad about it for legal reasons or whatever paperwork for insurance purposes. 

The plan that I remember is reducing the side baggage under my arms and using the skin and fat there to fill everything out. Also that is a reduction in my left side that I was hoping to get evened out since I've been so lopsided for 16 years. Which is also mentioned as a 'revision of the capsule around breast implant' (that would be for the left side).

So that's all happening at yet to be determined time on October 2nd. There should be a second surgeon but not sure because so far no appointment or name has been mentioned. The whole deal is just overwhelming right now, not to a bad point but it kind of just surprised me with the technicality laid out.

Need to get new button up shirts, pajamas, pants, a wedge bed pillow for sitting for a month or two, plan meals, all the things. It's not quite July but I know I'll forget something if I don't start planning now because each of those things would come out of one of our accounts for every month between now and surgery. So planning is pricing and picking out things.

Speaking of planning, on a lark and daydreaming I looked up the cost of Disneyland this year.... remembering last time we thought we could get by with $400 well..it's a lot more expensive now.  Knowing we are not geared up for all day walking around like that anymore, we're going to need a hotel room to take a break and sleep over so Jon can see California Adventure. This is strictly daydreaming but my methods are looking up costs as if it's actually going to happen. Bottom line, about $1200 for two days at the parks and one overnight in a hotel. 2 people, 2 parks, one night in a hotel. That is so outrageous now. I remember when a year pass for an adult was $99, about the time they were building CA. 

So anyway... that's the way it goes. Weather is warm, garden is growing, I have one or two peppers of some sort and a cucumber coming along.   

Sea serpent sock monster is surprised. 

Good news and all that entails

 Surgeon office finally got back to me and they got the okay from all the other doctors for setting up surgery date, yay!

Bad news....current date is October 2. I say 'current date' because sometimes things change and I was really hoping to have it all done and squared away before Amber started school.  Wanted this to be done sooner rather than later and if not for my GI issues it would have been done by now I suspect.

So appointment schedules for that is pre-pre-op to sign forms and 'pick out' new implant is August 21, then pre-op is September 17, surgery Oct 2 and .... oh joy, post op is on my birthday! Party in the exam room! heheheh. So at least by the holidays I'll be all healed up from surgery with a new 'rack' to adjust to.  

For today, it was only supposed to be about 80 but it's slightly overcast so feels a lot warmer and a bit oppressive so we started the AC around 11. Had to run to the store for bread and milk (bread was on sale dangit and couldn't take advantage of it). I had enough in the EBT card for the bread and enough in my bank for milk and that was it. We are officially down to a few dollars in the bank for the next week, we're out of soda but will survive. I was already only having one early in the day so it wasn't too much of a hardship for me. Jon's used to having two or three a day, trying to get him to cut back too.

We have food, hardly used the car so still have plenty of gas (no appointments until next month so far). I'm sleeping a bit better lately, GI issues are in retrograde though so trying to figure out what I've eaten to trigger that and of course the grocery store sends me 'we've got lots of deals and coupons!'.  Right, thanks. Always a sale when I don't have the money and that goes for just about everything really from food to yarn to other things. 

Anywho... that's all the news I can think of for now.    Ta!

 

 

 

Second iron done and now coasting

 Everything went perfectly fine, no hiccups, got there on time,  not much in the way of traffic so all well and good. Never did get a chance to contact doctor about another blood draw but will take care of that next week and just stop off at the clinic to get it done. Next infusion isn't until July 6 then another doctor appointment after that and July will be a busy month. It's also when the rent goes up again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been wonderfully mild weather, clear skies and green trees, flowers blooming and all that. 

Today I'm feeling a bit off kilter, was pretty much fine and slept better than usual. Had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast for my morning pills. After my shower, I decided to trim my hair in the front and top. I got the trash can and put it on the toilet then bent over to trim while my hair was still damp. After about a minute started feeling nauseous. This is a first for me. Slightly woozy and slightly nauseous so calling it 'positional vertigo' at this point. Fixed midday meal (shrimp stir fry with extra fresh broccoli, onion and peppers) ate just fine but still feeling 'slow' and now feel like I need to take a nap. Nausea mostly gone but just feel tired.

No word from any of the doctors but suspect will get a call next week from plastic surgeon. I got the monthly call from my case worker, told her nothing new to report and everything is going as well as can be expected. She said that next month is the six month mark from when we started this so if there's no concerns and I don't feel the need to have monthly check ups, we'll close it out and I'll 'graduate' from the program.  Yay! Will see what happens in the next month or two and plan accordingly when things happen. 

Amber and her boys (Wellman included) are off camping this weekend and I have no idea where. I forgot to ask her again on Thursday before they left and of course, she's likely not answering her phone at all. Hoping everything goes spectacular and they have tons of fun. There's any number of 'rustic' camp grounds within an hour or two from us so have no idea where they are. I just wanted to find out for emergency purposes.

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I'll be fixing Jon salmon dinner. Last of the salmon fillets properly seasoned this time, fancy mashed potatoes so he can play with the masher. If the zucchini is still edible might fix that up but if not will fix a salad of some sort. That's the plan at least right now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garden is going, had to pull one of the cucumber plants because the roots were broken, likely from me messing with them too much. Still have the one vine that has a couple of fruit on them, the tomatoes are doing just fine. I need to remember not to use the seeds I saved from the roma tomatoes I grew before because if it's true they revert to a cherry tomato, don't want it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another garlic failure, still have the two big ones but this was starting to die back a bi more than it should. Very healthy and all but no sign of really good bulb production so yanking happened. The Greek oregano is still growing like crazy, has a couple of flower stalks which is fine. Wish I could use that much but at this point it's just ornamental. Speaking of, got some marigold seeds from one of the other ladies and tossed them in that bed so here's hoping will have some cute flowers in a couple of months.

As usual, not much happening until something important happens. Will go back to my knitting and all that jazz.

 

Not much else going on so random things again

 GI doctor office called and said the results from the calprotectin test were improving which was good. Didn't sound like there was any reason to stop or change the treatment from what the nurse said. At least it's showing a good trend and maybe will be better after a few more treatments (my thoughts). So now just waiting on call back from plastic surgeon on pre-op appointment and actual surgery scheduling. Second iron infusion is this Friday and likely need to get blood samples done after that to see what my levels are like. I guess it's working? I slept okay last night, not so much the night before.

Had a twitchy foot, made multiple trips to the bathroom in a short time then around 2 am I got hungry and since I was up already, warmed up some lasagna leftovers. Poor Jon was so confused at all the noise even though I was trying to stay quiet the microwave is loud. Told him I got hungry and he squinted then went back to bed. 

One of the many random plants in the garden areas of the complex. In the background are the stairs that lead up to our apartment way at the back. Not that far back, there's only three units on the upstairs but we're the last one. 

This is the knitting project that the yarn was gifted to me by CJ. Took a while to get the needles and the markers but have now been working on it for five days so far. Roughly four inches done of a 6 foot long shawl. Whoof.

I don't have a comfy chair in the corner of a room or on a front porch, I have my bed and desk chair. This... this is why I can't do knitting when sitting/laying in bed. And yes, that is my stomach looking like a hill but I am kind of slouched.

There's a 'trend' now to try and make restaurant food at home because it's supposed to be cheaper. Well ... maybe but there's the problem that you fix all that food, say tacos or burritos and have to clean up before you sit down to eat and by that time the food is cold. No, in our kitchen can't leave a lot of mess around because it's so small. We had tacos yesterday (I bought a box of taco shells instead of trying to make my own. Not the same taste but easier. I fixed my two tacos and filled two shells with meat for Jon and because they are messy we ended up just standing over the sink to eat them. Then I cleaned up the mess, but today I fixed some 'mini burritos' because I made some refried beans this morning. By the time I cleaned up after the second one, the tortilla was dry and tough. I had to clean up before eating because Jon was waiting to fix some tuna mac and cheese for himself. 

I tried a new dish day before yesterday and cooked up some of the salmon fillets as well. The salmon pieces were so small we had two pieces each and there's four left for next time.

'Stewed Potatoes' another recipe off Pinterest. Red potatoes cubed up, milk, chicken broth (bullion because that's what I had) rosemary, thyme and a little sage, salt and pepper, couple of tablespoons of butter. Heat it all up for about a half hour in the pan and it was surprisingly delicious. The salmon was not so much a success because I tried combining two different methods so it was kind of soggy and way too salty. So the potatoes are a do again, though I used all the red ones we had, might try the russets and see how they work. Reds are a bit more dense so they hold together better I think with this kind of cooking.

That's all I've got for today, update when I get another doctor call or whatever happens next. 

 

 

Test results and random stuff

 The weather is now definitely ramping up to summer. Going to be 90 today and slightly lower but still climbing through the following week. So we are buttoned up for the third day because it was 86 by 11 am.

Some pretties that I made for knitting. That's all I've got for photos other than garden stuff and that's minimal.

Meanwhile back at the haunch.... if you get it you get it.

Test results posted for my poop sample and calprotectin is still high but is lower than it was in December. There should have been one between now and then but for whatever reason it wasn't on the order. So the infusions are sort of working but likely not as quickly or as well as the doctor would like. I may well be getting a call from him next week sometime (hopefully) to see what he thinks. All my lab tests are good other than what would be expected, I'm not in any serious discomfort, haven't had any accidents in over a month or more. It just feels like this is my normal now. I've given up on keeping a detailed bio log because it didn't seem to make a difference with what I ate and anything changing the next day. So I only log when I take Tylenol and a rough outline of what I eat for the day.

The iron infusion went just fine, no side effects, no delays and nothing else to report on that. I slept okay last night, no issues with feet or legs at all so something is working. Still feel tired today but waking up four times during the night to pee doesn't help with restful sleep. Having my one and only coke for the day right now around noon which is my usual pattern. No soda after 1pm is now the goal and only one of any kind of drink with caffeine. 

Short by a lot for SDGE and phone as usual and it's barely middle of the month. At least SDGE has leveled out to under 100 the last two months but still running short. We're hoping to possibly, maybe try to find a cheaper storage closer to us next month to save about 100 on the budget. Will see what happens. I know I said that before and it's just a way of me keeping it in mind to actually follow through. 

I've got lasagna in the oven today and will toss in some of the Texas Toast with extra garlic and butter to go with it. Kind of counter productive to run the oven when we have the AC on but no matter what we cook it's going to be stove or oven. In the process of getting that out of the freezer things were falling all over and slip sliding and crashing around. Me and the freezer were not playing well this morning. Side note: the best ice trays we discovered were the white ones at Food 4Less. Totally random choice but we were down to four or five trays and two of them had cracks in half the cells. These new ones (which jon discovered you need to wash them out with hot water first) release the ice like a dream. But they also slip slide over everywhere. So we can only keep four in the freezer with two each on the door shelves, otherwise like today, ended up with ice all over the floor.

That's basically all for today, wish I had a comfy chair for knitting. The couch is not comfy, the desk chair is okay but also not comfy. The bed is comfy but not conducive for efficient knitting. If we ever got a comfy chair the entire front room would have to be excavated and rearranged. But I would rather knit on a porch or patio of some sort, which there is but is also subject to other people invading my process.

Such is my life, make do with what I have and be thankful for it all. 6 years in the same location this weekend wooo! 

 

Doctor and garden update edition

 Got a call from my GI doctor office explaining they had been contacted by my plastic surgeon about my treatments. She asked me how my symptoms were and all that, told her still going about four or five times a day but no bleeding or pain, consistency is variable depending on what I eat. She did note that I was supposed to have had a calprotectin test done before and I told her yes, it was never collected with the other tests that I did. Oh. So she put the order in for that test to be done because that is an indicator of how well the treatments are doing. The timing for surgery is the issue as it has to happen 4 weeks before or after an infusion. My next one is July 6 which means we're already late for 4 weeks before the next one so we're looking at beginning of August for surgery. Was there anything we could have done to speed up this process? Probably not. They were waiting on me 'healing' from radiation treatment and that set the stage for delay and then everything else that happened that was unexpected.

Cucumber alert! Sorry no pretty pictures of trees or flowers this time around.

We needed to go to the store today anyhow so drove over to Santee to the clinic there, apparently there was also a blood lab on order so got that done and picked up the kit for the fecal test. Tried out a Greek eatery in the same vicinity, not as good as our favorite Greek Chicken but this new place had a Tuesday special for BOGO gyro sandwich. We had to get fries as well but only one order and ate it there, it was alright for my taste, not enough garlic or onion but Jon thought it was great (I think he was just hungry). Turned out to be more expensive than Greek Chicken since they charge 6.25 for a single helping of fries. Regular fries... nothing special. So no, we won't be going there again.

So anyway.... I was moaning to CJ about not having all the supplies needed for that shawl project which is why I rarely ever do specific projects. She then sent me some money to get the things that I needed (love her to the end of our days but I was not moaning as a way of asking for help). I needed the right size and length of circular needle for the project and the right type of stitch markers in a quantity I needed. This was Sunday so I immediately ordered the type of needle I needed from Amazon and unfortunately it was not next day but said it would arrive Tuesday. Drat, oh well. I would wait and get the supplies for the markers. 

It is a crafters curse to know how to make something when you see something for sale online. I needed 12 mostly unique stitch markers but not just the keyhole style loop ones I've been using. The yarn I will be working with is a bit heftier and I wanted markers that stood out from the yarn. If I had all my crafting supplies right at hand they would have been done and dusted in an hour or so. But no... I had 'some' beads, no jump rings in quantity and size needed, no findings in same categories. SIGH. Everything I needed except tools was in storage. I went to the local Michael's which is not the same as it used to be decades ago, selection and prices were horrific. I was forced to shop at the Evil Empire Hobby Lobby on Monday since they're not open on Sunday. It's basically the Walmart of crafting stores with religious overtones. Knowing their policies and history is why I don't shop there anymore. Their geek wall decor inventory has shrunk in the past six years as well so even less reason to visit that store. 

(Side note, it is our 6 year anniversary of getting this apartment, YAAY!)

So anyway, picked up jump rings and some dangly charms that were cute, not too heavy and voila! I also bought a small pack of the 'bulb/keyhole' markers in assorted colors as well.  So that got done in about an hour as expected.  Felt good to accomplish something for that project. CJ is looking forward to doing a KAL (Knit A-Long) with me for the first time. I told her she already has a head start on it but hope to catch up. It's not a race exactly just doing the same project together and comparing notes.

Yesterday I decided to wind the first color of the project into a cake/ball with little problems and cast on the number of stitches I needed using a slightly larger needle then put it aside to wait for the expectant package the next day. This morning had an update from Amazon about my knitting needle shipment. Due to a delay in Rockford, IL I won't be getting my circular needle until tomorrow.  I sincerely doubt it would get here in the next 8 hours from that location so, starting on project will be delayed as well goshdangit. Meanwhile, back at the garden, 

This is most of my tomato harvest so far, I've already eaten about four that have been picked over the past few weeks. These are all just from the last three days and there's still plenty that haven't even gotten to size yet on the bush/vine. So they average abut 1" in diameter and are super tasty, I haven't put them in the fridge because I finally am able to keep them on the counter (as per tomato experts saying they taste better at room temp) since they're so small. I couldn't do that with the bumper crop of Roma a few years ago. These are good 'snacking' tomatoes and since the other bush hasn't gotten any of size yet that are slicers I have to buy tomatoes at the store that are more expensive than usual this time of year. Normally they're .99/lb for Romas and they are now $1.49. That's an extra .50/lb that we usually see in the off season. Thanks to the current ::insert multiple expletives and descriptors:: administration.

The cucumber crop is coming along nicely though! That's the same one pictured above, almost two inches long now and I almost missed it. I am totally stoked about something succeeding in the garden, the peppers are still just poking along putting on side growth and not doing much else. Hoping they catch up in the next month or so and we'll have a bumper crop of whatever peppers they are.  Hopefully and statistically should be poblano and jalapeño. Cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers... shrimp ceviche???

As soon as Jon wakes up from his nap I have to head down and water really well. Should have done that yesterday but wasn't feeling up to that kind of energy. I slept better last night which is not what I was expecting since my feet and legs were all tingly/itchy. Will see how tonight goes as my days and nights are so variable lately. 

I think that's all the news for now, updates as they happen and however the wind blows our way.