HEALTH – Page 2 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

WEEK 4 UPDATE – RECOVERY IN PROGRESS

The bottom line to me is THIS JUST ISN’T FAIR. I didn’t need this surgery for its original intended purpose, I don’t drink or do drugs. I don’t do fast food. I have cooked from scratch (FRESH perimeter shopping, no boxes or cans) for over 30 years since I was first diagnosed with Systemic Lupus and Fibromyalgia. That said, it just proves my point that LIFE isn’t FAIR!

Despite doing everything right most of my life, I’ve ended up with the Systemic Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Ovarian Cancer and have now had an unnecessary gastric bypass because of FAILED MESH to fix a hiatal hernia, not once, but twice before!

So, while, it isn’t fair, it is now reality and I’m learning a new normal. My NEW NORMAL isn’t that much different from my old normal food wise except for amount, frequency and the BIG addition (or subtraction) of ALL sugar, most carbs and fat from my diet. I watched my sugar before, but I did take it in my 1 cup of coffee in the morning and the occasional holiday sweet. I REALLY miss coffee. Now though there is the possibility of “DUMPING SYNDROME” which frankly scares the hell out of me. As time passes the threat of this will become less and less. The doctor said he truly believes that by the time I’m “released” in March I will be able to eat and drink WHATEVER I want. Here’s hoping!

I had a really cool doctor doing my Upper GI test today and he showed me everything as he was doing it and where the dye was going. Good news is there are no leaks! The freaky thing was his showing me my “new” stomach and it’s actual size. OMG it’s tiny – like a small hard boiled egg and it does not stretch or give at all.

DUMPING SYNDROME happens because there is no longer a “holding” vessel aka your stomach for food to sit in and gradually pass along to the small intestine. When sugars and starches that you have eaten are dumped into the bowel, they may act like sponges, rapidly absorbing water from the body into the intestine. This leads to a number of symptoms including diarrhea, low blood sugar and feelings of weakness or dizziness.

ALL Food now passes directly into the small intestine hence why the small amounts, more frequently are more important than ever. From what I’ve read up to 75% of gastric patients may experience DUMPING SYNDROME at some point in their life, but it is most common immediately after surgery and may subside over time. The key is to avoid ALL the triggers.

There are two phases of dumping syndrome; early dumping phase and late dumping phase.

Early Dumping Phase 15-30 minutes after eating
• Caused by rapid entry of food into the small intestine
• Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and feeling full after eating only a small amount of food. Weakness, flushing, dizziness and sweating may also accompany early dumping syndrome.

Late Dumping Phase 90 minutes to 3 hours after eating
• Caused by a rapid rise in blood sugar followed by a rapid decrease in blood sugar
• Symptoms may include sweating, fast heart-rate, weakness, feeling tired, anxiety or mental confusion

General Guidelines to Prevent Dumping Syndrome

Eat six to eight small meals daily to avoid eating too much at a time. You may be able to tolerate larger portions over time, but keep servings small at first.
Have a protein food with each meal and snack such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, nuts, tofu or peanut butter.
Do not drink liquids with meals. Drink 30 to 60 minutes before or after meals. Eventually you may tolerate small amounts of liquid with meals.
Limit high-sugar foods such as soda, juice, Ensure, Boost, cakes, pies, candy, doughnuts, cookies, fruit cooked or canned with sugar, honey, jams, jellies.
Choose high-fiber foods when possible. These include whole wheat breads and cereals, whole wheat pasta, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Choose foods high in soluble fiber. This includes apples, oats, beets, Brussel sprouts, carrots, spinach and beans.
Try adding a serving of fat to meals and snacks such as butter, margarine, gravy, vegetable oils, and salad dressings. Fats slow stomach emptying and may help prevent dumping syndrome.
Some people find that avoiding very hot or very cold foods can be helpful.
Chew foods well and eat slowly. Try to relax while eating.
Lying down right after eating may lessen symptoms.

YAY!! Today we start the new phase of my diet – trying to add back in fresh fruits and vegetables in VERY small amounts. I have to say that I have missed salads the most! I’m praying I can tolerate that salad!

WEEK 2 RECOVERY UPDATE

I an now entering the “SOFT” diet for at least 2 more weeks and then everything has to be in VERY small portions that are protein packed. SOFT is a relative word in the world of food. They are really only adding 3-4 things to my diet, so it is still basically bland, unflavorful and plain. This ENTIRE process is about retraining my body and my mind. Life as I knew it in the food world is over! It really is that plain and simple!

The part about this surgery that sucks is that I am NOT obese and did NOT need a gastric bypass for weight loss, but ended up with one because the doctor could not save the stomach after the BIO mesh side affects from previous procedures. So, life literally got tipped on its end from when I went into surgery and when I woke up – what was scheduled had to be drastically altered mid surgery.

I had wanted to lose a few pounds, which is definitely a done deal now. Now, I just have to make sure to get enough calories to not let it get out of hand!

I have been craving a silly scrambled egg FOREVER it seems! I also get to add a spoonful of peanut butter – YUMMY! And I told hubby not to get too comfortable with his bachelor diet. Starting next month as soon as I can muster enough energy to cook I am going to to take a hand at some Ramen Fusion.

I’m already looking forward to 2 weeks from now when we enter the Pre-Regular Stage. The real trick will come in March when the lifetime diet takes affect! I am looking forward to the taste of REAL food, but not the digestive process. Honestly REAL food scares the hell out of me. I’ve always been a type A person who eats too fast and food that too hot. This is FORCING me SLOW down, chew more and eat less more often.

DAY 7 of a RECOVERY IN PROGRESS

You know the old Yiddish proverb, Man Plans, God Laughs? If not, you should learn it just to keep yourself sane.

So, as many of you know I have been suffering from some health issues the past few years, especially this last year. To give you a quick background when I was 24 I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus and not doing well. Several months into the disease I went to my rhuematlogist, held out my hand with 32 pills in it and said “I can’t live this way”. She agreed and we moved into treating the disease and it side affects like Fibromyalgia with BETTER diet. I immediately gave up ALL steroid medications, preservatives, splendas, aspartames, diet food of any kind, non GMO food, canned “food”, boxed “food”, fast food as a whole and started perimeter shopping and scratch cooking with “REAL” foods. My life improved almost immediately.

Fast forward many years to 2011 and my oncologist claiming this change in food prep and eating for all those years saved my life when she was able to lift out a twice torsioned (wrapped around the ovary 2 times) volleyball sized ovarian tumor from my body intact and I have been NED (no evidence of disease) for almost 7 years since. She decided it was because the cancer had nothing else to feed on in my body except itself. I knew I was extremely blessed when after 6 more months of testing everything and everywhere to make sure it was the only tumor, that they found none. I follow up regularly with blood work and testing.

Fast forward another year and I’m having problems with the hiatal hernia that my cancer doctor found, but left alone. Enter a new gastroenterologist who was able to fix the hiatal hernia and shredded esophogaus with a Nissen Fundoplication (2012). This didn’t alter what I ate except in the beginning 2 months, but did alter how much and how often I ate. I also gave up 90% of bread – just filled me up too fast.

Fast forward 9 months (2013) and the mesh from the Nissen Fundoplication failed requiring a revision surgery and another period of liquid food adjustment.

Fast forward to 2016 and the E.Coli bacterial infection that landed me in the hospital with a concussion because I lost consciousness and fell after becoming violently ill. For the next 13 months I was tested by neurology and cardiology for my symptoms before they finally handed me off to gastroenterology which had a HUGE wait time so my wonderful primary doctor got tired of waiting and began doing logical testing on her own. She was the one who founda new hiatal hernia (again) from mesh failure and referred me to the surgeon. His testing was further delayed another 6 weeks past their normal backlog by Hurricane Harvey.

I love my surgeon and his immediate staff as well as my hospital nurses Ericah and Lexi. Other than that the hospital will be getting a not so favorable review from me. The recovery nurse should NEVER have contact with human beings and the respiratory therapist is negligent with he lack of follow through and the nurse’s aides need to be trained in patient care and helping.

We went into last Wednesday believing he was going to be able to fix the fix on the revision surgery. Unfortunately this is where the Yiddish proverb enters. I had planned food and EVERYTHING on the fix of the fix, but he was unable to correct the issue and had to make a drastic decision to do a bypass. This is a HUGE DRASTIC LIFE CHANGE for anybody, but for me there is very little information written on it because it isn’t for someone who isn’t doing it for weight loss. I mean EVERYTHING written about the subject is for people who need to lose significant amounts of weight. The diet is strict because of the bypass in general and I can live with that, but the recovery time has now doubled!

And once recovery time is over the way you eat and how often, etc.. is a lifetime change! I can live with the long term lifetime diet and special vitamins as it is high protein, low fat and REALLY healthy which is right up my alley anyway.

So here we are on day 6 of 90-120 days of nothingness except keeping a food and medicine journal. I cannot tell you how much ALL of your thoughts and prayers have meant to me and are seeing seen me through this ordeal. There is 1 good thing. I did want to lose about 15 pounds and now that is already a given. 😀

I’m starting to research getting the highest protein, nutrients and minerals into the most flavorful recipes compactly. So I will obviously be revamping some old recipes and looking into some flavor packed Japanese Ramen and/or Thai recipes where I’m making my own noodles with high protein. At the end of the recovery time above an average day for the rest of my life will be small nibbles of small meals that total 4-8 ounces per meal three times a day with 2-2 to 4 ounce high protein snacks, up to 64 ounces of water or tea and 5 mandatory vitamins.

The bottom line is that I need to learn to live with a NEW normal. You know what they say, LIFE is 10% what happens and 90% how you’ll deal with it. I’m up for the challenge and looking forward to better health.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 50 of 2017 DAY 5 of RECOVERY

I hope everyone had a wonderful week and are having a wonderful holiday season. I’m home from the hospital, but will address that in the Things On My Mind section. The weekend was quiet and VERY uneventful thankfully.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

Temperatures are FINALLY down into the tolerable range. We even had to turn the heat on when we got home from the hospital on Friday. Friday was an ironic day here in southeast Texas. 7 years ago when I had my cancer surgery, we had a rare ice storm in the area. Then we moved away for several years, but came back to work on my grandparent’s house and are here again for this surgery. Ironically, we had SNOW last Thursday and Friday. yep I said snow! What a shock that was to wake up to in the middle of the night! I don’t get to go outside for another week give or take so am not yet enjoying the change in temperatures though.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

3 ounces of peach high protein drink.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE / WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

Unfortunately for the next 90-120 days this is hubby’s category. I am not allowed to do anything or lift anything heavier than a bag of flour. Hubby is being a GREAT sport though and tending to my every need. Because of the risk of infection we are still having to wash every day. He’s just not used to doing it, the vacuuming, cleaning up after the cat and dog, etc…

LAUNDRY... quite a few loads this week, towels, bedding and clothing
LIVING AREAS... I did a serious deep clean just before surgery so am hoping this will get hubby through until March LOL NOT
KITCHEN… pretty clean
STUDIO… is mainly storage these days so nothing going on there
YARD… nothing much
BLOG… some recipe updating, future post planning and holiday post planning

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

I haven’t done any reading since last Tuesday, but am hoping to do some later today and get back into a routine. I’m still trying to finish Ava Miles book #9 Calendar of New Beginnings.

BIG BANG THEORY and YOUNG SHELDON
NCIS, NCIS NEW ORLEANS and NCIS LA, CRIMINAL MINDS, S.W.A.T.
MADAM SECRETARY, SCANDAL, DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
CHICAGO FIRE, CHICAGO PD, CHICAGO MED later this season
BRAVE, VALOR, SEAL TEAM
LAW & ORDER SVU, BLUE BLOODS, HAWAII 5-0
MACGYVER, SCORPION, BLINDSPOT, ORVILLE, WISDOM OF THE CROWD
Z NATION, WALKING DEAD, FLASH, DC LEGENDS, INHUMANS
THE GOOD PLACE, AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE, SPEECHLESS, GREAT NEWS
THIS IS US, ONCE UPON A TIME, THE GOOD DOCTOR
GUY’S GROCERY GAMES, BEAT BOBBY FLAY, BOBBY AND DAMARIS

CRAFTS / PROJECTS

Probably nothing this week, but am hoping to start sketching the door series and tree of life next week.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

This category is a sad and sore subject for me until about March. My surgery did not go as planned which is changing so much about food, but sure beats the alternative of being 6 foot under. Hubby is loving being able to eat what he calls bachelor food – S.O.S., chili, hot dogs, hamburger helper, etc… I told him NOT to get used to it though, as soon as I can cook again we will be eating healthier than ever.

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
2 times a day	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea	3 ounces PROTEIN drink and GREEN Tea
2-4 times a day	4 ounces strained pureed soup	4 ounces strained pureed soup	4 ounces strained pureed soup	4 ounces strained pureed soup	4 ounces strained pureed soup	4 ounces strained pureed soup	4 ounces strained pureed soup
2 times a day	4 ounces vanilla yogurt	4 ounces vanilla yogurt	4 ounces vanilla yogurt	4 ounces vanilla yogurt	4 ounces vanilla yogurt	4 ounces vanilla yogurt	4 ounces vanilla yogurt
2 times a day	4 ounces jell-o	4 ounces jell-o	4 ounces jell-o	4 ounces jell-o	4 ounces jell-o	4 ounces jell-o	4 ounces jell-o

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

These are recipes that have been waiting in cue to post, I’m definitely NOT back to cooking yet.

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND / THINGS THAT ARE MAKING ME HAPPY

You know the old Yiddish proverb, Man Plans, God Laughs? If not, you should learn it just to keep yourself sane.

So, as many of you know I have been suffering from some health issues the past few years, especially this last year. To give you a quick background when I was 24 I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus and not doing well. Several months into the disease I went to my rhuematlogist, held out my hand with 32 pills in it and said “I can’t live this way”. She agreed and we moved into treating the disease and it side affects like Fibromyalgia with diet or better said, lack of diet. I immediately gave up ALL steroids, preservatives, splendas, aspartames, diet food of any kind, non GMO food, canned “food”, boxed “food”fast food as a whole and started perimeter shopping and scratch cooking with “REAL” foods. My life immediately improved.

Fast forward many years to 2011 and my oncologist claiming this change in food prep and eating for all those years saved my life when she was able to lift out a twice torsioned (wrapped around the ovary 2 times) volleyball sized ovarian tumor from my body intact and I have been NED (no evidence of disease) for almost 7 years since. She decided it was because the cancer had nothing else to feed on in my body except itself. I knew I was extremely blessed when after 6 more months of testing everything and everywhere to make sure it was the only tumor, that they found none.

Fast forward another year and I’m having problems with the hiatal hernia that my cancer doctor found, but left alone. Enter a new gastroenterologist who was able to fix the hiatal hernia and shredded esophogaus with a Nissen Fundoplication (2012). This didn’t alter what I ate except in the beginning 2 months, but did alter how much and how often I ate. I also gave up 90% of bread – just filled me up too fast.

Fast forward 9 months (2013) and the mesh from the Nissen Fundoplication failed requiring a revision surgery and another period of liquid food adjustment.

Fast forward to 2016 and the E.Coli bacterial infection that landed me in the hospital with a concussion because I lost consciousness and fell after becoming violently ill. For the next 13 months I was tested by neurology and cardiology for my symptoms before they finally handed me off to gastroenterology which had a HUGE wait time so my wonderful primary doctor got tired of waiting and began doing logical testing on her own. She was the one who found the hiatal hernia (again) and referred me to the surgeon. His testing was further delayed another 6 weeks past their normal backlog by Hurricane Harvey. I love my surgeon and his immediate staff as well as my hospital nurses Ericah and Lexi. Other than that the hospital will be getting a not so favorable review from me. The recovery nurse should NEVER have contact with human beings and the respiratory therapist is negligent with he lack of follow through and the nurse’s aides need to be trained in patient care and helping.

We went into last Wednesday believing he was going to be able to fix the fix on the revision surgery. Unfortunately this is where the Yiddish proverb enters. I had planned food and EVERYTHING on the fix of the fix, but he was unable to correct the issue and had to make a drastic decision to do a bypass. This is a HUGE DRASTIC LIFE CHANGE for anybody, but for me there is very little information written on it for someone who isn’t doing it for weight loss. I mean EVERYTHING written about the subject is for people who need to lose significant amounts of weight. The diet is strict and I can live with that, but the recovery time has now doubled! Once recovery time is over I can live with the longterm lifetime diet and special vitamins as it is high protein, lowfat and REALLY healthy which is right up my alley anyway.

So here we are on day 5 of 90-120 days of nothingness except keeping a food and medicine journal. I cannot tell you how much ALL of your thoughts and prayers have meant to me and are seeing seen me through this ordeal. There is 1 good thing. I did want to lose about 15 pounds and now that is going to be a given. 😀

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

I was able to get most of my elf on the shelf photos taken before surgery and definitely have a few favorites. 😀

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday, Terri at Darling Downs Diaries and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

AN ADVENTURE – THE HARD WAY

Life has been so topsy turvy lately and we both just needed a break. We decided to take a day and visit a favorite park of ours, Brazos Bend State Park.

There is a don’t touch or pester the alligators rule and as long as everyone behaves there are no issues seeing the alligators via their natural habitat. They are not caged or fenced and people just know to leave them alone and enjoy the park. There are also several wonderful birds, turtles and old mossy trees to enjoy making this a truly unique experience. Boots and Alien Cows is a post from a few years back if you are interested.

On our way to the park I kept a look out for Alien Cow. It had been several years since we’d seen him, but we ALWAYS look just for fun.

But, the universe had another idea on how we were going to spend our day. The park closure changed our day big time. Alligators wander off from the park during the best of times, but the flood waters were 4 1/2 feet in the park and the estimate is that 300-350 alligators just floated out of the park in floodwaters along with several venomous snakes. There was a pretty informative article here if you’re interested. Here are some images from GOOGLE to give you an idea of what a trip to Brazos Bend is like.

Personally I fear the cotton mouth snakes more than the alligators. The park itself has been flooded during the last 3 BIG floods – Memorial Day 2015, April 2016 and Hurricane Harvey 2017 which was the worst and forced the park closure so pathways, ponds and signs could be re-created. This time they lost several buildings too. The wonderfully informative Ranger at the front gate told us they were slated to re-open November 7th so we will try again after that time. I’m anxious to see how it’s changed.

So we decided to head for the coast, Freeport in particular just because we had never been there, but once again the universe had another idea as a HUGE fire detoured us. Fortunately it was a very nice day and we went with the flow to Surfside Beach.

The beach was absolutely perfect and many people were out enjoying it just like us, including the pelicans and surf birds.

This is an area that builds its house on HUGE pillars because of strong storm surges during storms and hurricanes. While most places appear to have gone unscathed here, there were several still in need of repair and many already undergoing a rebuilding.

And no road trip for us would be complete without major roadwork in our path.

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6 years 7 months 10 days and counting – OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH – HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and my birthday month. Is there a correlation? Probably just for me, but the irony is NOT wasted on me. At this age many people just say, it’s another day, oh well. For me, I look forward to it like a small child. Not because of cake and presents, but because I’m alive to celebrate it. In a few months I will have my 7 year check up, an event fairly rare with this type of cancer, so I’m ecstatic to be having another birthday that puts me that much closer to being labeled cancer free AGAIN! I have vowed to tell my story every year in hopes of raising awareness. My story was not just pure luck. In today’s world it’s hard work to stay on top of awareness, healthy eating and a positive lifestyle, but it is also SOOOOO worth it! BE AWARE. BE VIGILANT. BE HEALTHY. BE POSITIVE.

SEPTEMBER IS OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH!

I’ve always been a good girl and gotten my yearly well woman exams. I know my own body. I started getting my mammograms at a very early age because of a serious family history of breast cancer. I have a degree in the health field. I am aware, yet imagine my surprise at my well woman appointment when they said they thought I might have a serious problem – Merry Christmas (December 2010) to me! Imagine my shock a few weeks later when it was confirmed.

Are you aware of your body?

Do you get regular check ups?

Do you get timely cancer screenings.

Don’t neglect any little pain or irregularity.

Take control of your health and reduce your cancer risk.Despite getting my yearly well woman exams I had been having a few pains here and there for several months before my scheduled appointment, but ignored them because they “mimicked” my chronic appendix of many, many years. I ignored them and it almost killed me. Are YOU ignoring something that you should be having a doctor check? Think twice and make an appointment 1st thing tomorrow.

Ovarian cancer has an ugly step sister too, breast cancer. If you have any family history please get tested for BRCA also. You have probably heard about it with a few celebrities having chosen to remove their breasts after testing positive. It’s a simple blood test and can give you a world of relief to know the answer and if by chance it’s not relief, then your are armed to save your life with positive choices. You can learn more about it here. Because of my family history I not only got BRCA done, but I was ready to act on it f necessary. Being prepared mentally is one of the best things to do fo yourself.

I cannot say it enough:

Are you aware of your body?

Do you get regular check ups?

Do you get timely cancer screenings.

Don’t neglect any little pain or irregularity.

Everyday Steps to Help Lower Your Cancer Risk can be found here.

Go check these out NOW!
Here are a few other tips to get you started.

Stay away from tobacco.
Stay at a healthy weight.
Get moving with regular physical activity.
Eat healthy with plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Limit how much alcohol you drink (if you drink at all).
Protect your skin.
Know yourself, your family history, and your risks.
Have regular check-ups and cancer screening tests.
For information on how to reduce your cancer risk and other questions about cancer, please call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit THEM online at www.cancer.org.

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CHAT TIME ~ Life as it Happens ~ WEEKLY WRAP UP

With all the work on the House From Hell, I got away from my Life as it Happens of just chatting once a week or so. It’s time to start doing a weekly wrap-up again.

Things have finally slowed down a bit in my life, but as it happens, just in time to get crazy again. In 2011 I had my cancer surgery and began the long trek back to health and fitness. All in all, I was already pretty healthy and fit – I mean I cook from scratch, perimeter shop without the junk food and eat extremely little fast food. The oncologist had said that those 3 things probably helped save my life as the cancer had nothing to feed on in my body.

But, the length of surgery caused another problem. Turns out I had a Hiatal hernia and the stomach acid seeped up and started eating away my esophagus. So, a year later I had to have another operation to remove the shredded esophagus and rebuild the valve. Then 9 months later an allergic type reaction to a prescription they gave me for my Fibromyalgia started lowering my potassium levels and shutting down my heart and I collapsed, literally close to death. Fortunately, hubby insisted they take me to the hospital despite the idiot ambulance driver who was convinced I’d been drinking (strongest thing I EVER drink is iced tea) and tried to get me to sign a waiver so he didn’t have to transport me. The hospital staff work quickly to revive my potassium to a safe level and life went on. When I came to though out on the street I became violently ill. A few weeks later I knew something was wrong and several weeks after that I had surgery to repair my stomach and esophagus, AGAIN.

Fast forward a few years later and guess what? Here we are again. Turns out I appear to be a statistic, a part of those late night commercials for the class action suits against products that fail. I don’t see the surgeon for a couple weeks, but have been doing research and it appears from the last article I read that the type of mesh used to repair my stomach failed 17 out of 24 times – not very good odds in my opinion. I’m anxious to meet the new surgeon who has gotten rave reviews from patients and doctors alike, and see what he has to say about a more permanent fix.

I have begun amassing cooking magazines and simple projects like changing over the address book, password book, etc… for when I’m laid up. Unfortunately, this type of surgery leaves you unable to do much more than walk (no lifting, no stretching, etc…) after for quite awhile and on a very strict liquid to soft foods diet for quite a long time too. I figured I would use the time to read, develop some ideas for new recipes and work on updating the blog compilation. I might be able to do a few simple craft projects to.

At least it is summer and since I’m relegated to the indoors during this weather anyway, it’s a good time to get well.

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LIFE – IT IS WHAT IT IS!

As I was scrolling through facebook this morning I ran across this post from 7 years ago. I found it speaking to me as it still describes life so well. I’m also pleased to say that even though there have been MANY (cancer, 5 surgeries and The House from HELL just to name a few of the BIG ones) curve balls thrown at me since then, I have de-cluttered my life really well, for the most part. So I offer you a rerun of that post below.

“Life has this funny way of testing us and sneaking in trials and tribulations that weren’t in our original game plan never quite fit into “OUR” plans. That is how it’s been for me the past many months.

As many of you know I have spent the last 7 1/2 months helping out various family members around the country. First it was my elderly in-laws (MIL just turned 90) who begged us to come help them sell everything including the house and move them closer to family (we all know how that went – FIL is still trying to assign sentimental prices to everything in sight) and now it is my aunt & uncle. My aunt has end stage Parkinsons disease, such a sad disease. My aunt is extremely artistic and a beautiful painter – or at least she was. The Dyskinesia from the Parkinsons disease has robbed her of that ability. My uncle recently saw the Oprah episode on hoarders and has decided that my aunt is one. Trust me, she isn’t. I once worked for a real estate company as a stager for homes and they would send me in to work on homes that were similar to those on the Oprah show – those were horrible. So ask yourself, what is my (your) happy medium on the stuff I’ve (you’ve) accumulated? My theory? If you have a place for each item and it’s in its place, you’re NOT a pack rat or a hoarder. I do offer you the definitions below.

This is one of my favorite paintings of hers. She did have a LARGE collection of art supplies and empty tins for storing those items in, but in her defense men do think in simpler terms and this is just a meeting of the minds discussion. And in his defense they should be getting rid of most of this as she is now in a assisted living home and will not be able to use these items again. Donating them to the church or a school while they are still usable would be best, but can’t be forced. I pray that I will have more grace regarding these type of decisions if I reach that point and give up things more willingly, but none of us can ever be in one another’s shoes and truly know what we would do.

PACK RAT

~~Also called trade rat. a large, bushy-tailed rodent, Neotoma cinerea, of North America, noted for carrying off small articles to store in its nest.~~
A person who collects, saves, or hoards useless small items or an old prospector or guide.

HOARD

a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use, etc…
to accumulate money, food, or the like, in a hidden or carefully guarded place for preservation, future use, etc…

Long story short (I know too late), I have decided it is time to take back MY life. So, over the next couple of months I will be making some changes. Some big, some small, but ALL necessary to be myself and get a handle on MY life.”

My aunt passed 4 years ago and in the end they found she did not have Parkinson’s disease, but did have Lewy Body disease. Unfortunately the only way to tell for sure is through an autopsy. The treatments are similar and in the end would not have changed much. She was offered the DBS (deep brain stimulating) surgery early on and refused it (surgery scared her to death – especially brain surgery). As her disease progressed she wanted the surgery, but had waited just too long and it was no longer a viable option.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 17 of 2017

I hope you all had a GREAT weekend. Ours was quiet. I’m stuck in the house for the most part again.

Having a compromised immunity SUCKS. Thank you SLE. It especially sucks when you’re working with a house like this and constantly exposed to something lurking. Despite my constant effort to wash the dirt and grime away I keep ending up with bacterial infections from what I am coming in contact with. Fortunately this time I got into the doctor the next day after I noticed a problem . She took one look and said I had what she thought was cellulitis. She referred me a great specialist the same day who says we caught it in time to avoid the hospital and eye surgery.

The ophthalmologist also told me that cellulitis can be from a mosquito or spider bite. It usually affects the skin of the lower legs, but mine is in the muscle of my lower eyelid which makes even blinking painful. While it isn’t contagious, it can spread withing your own body quickly making it a potentially serious bacterial infection that can become life threatening by spreading to the lymph nodes or bloodstream when left untreated, Boy am I glad I didn’t ignore the pain and went to the doctor right away. I can’t be out in the sun because of the medications so, it will be a quiet week indoors for me again.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

It’s supposed to warm up quite a bit this week, high 80’s+ and even a low 90’s, but at least there is no rain in the forecast for the next 5 days!

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

Black Cherry yogurt and coffee.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

I’m pretty happy. Doing the laundry and deep cleans on Saturdays are making for HAPPY Mondays!

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

We’re going to work on some finishing touches around here this week:

Caulk and seal new molding on door frames
Seal windows

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Not much on TV at this time of year, just a few straggler shows that are about to wrap up for the season and some cooking shows backing up on the DVR so I’ll catch up on those this week. We did find a new show on Netflix that we are liking and we watched Adam Sandler’s Sandy Wexler this past weekend. It was okay.

I’m currently reading Ava Miles Dare River 5 book series. I’m on the second book, Chocolate Garden.

CRAFTS/PROJECTS

I’m working to finish a quilt for my niece Jill and her first baby, Luca. I used a Noah’s Ark theme for one side and spring showers for the back.

KITCHEN WISHES

LOL nothing for now, but dreaming about my next kitchen.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	FRUIT & COFFEE	SCRAMBLED EGGS	BACON & EGGS	PANCAKES or WAFFLES
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	MEAT ROLL-UPS	SALAD	MEAT & CHEESE	C.O.R.N.	C.O.R.N.
DINNER	CHICKEN CHOW MEIN	INSIDE OUT CHICKEN POT PIES	BLUE APRON TAWANESE CHICKEN & RICE	BLUE APRON SEARED COD IN CREME FRAICHE SAUCE	BLUE APRON SILCILIAN STEAK & FREGOLA SALAD	C.O.R.N.	C.O.R.N.
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

Health tips for Kids – Precautions are better than treatment

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY week 13 of 2017

Did everyone have a good weekend? Ours started out with a violent thunderstorm and tornado warnings, but we woke up Saturday to beautiful skies and warm temperatures. I’ve been doing a lot of ebaying and organizing while I continue the minimizing and donating so wasn’t too bothered by the warm weather.

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW & THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

After a beautiful, but warm weekend we are slated for more thunderstorms, warmer temperatures and high humidity as the week progresses – good thing I have a lot of inside activities this week.

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE

I’m having blueberry yogurt with granola and coffee.

AS I LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE

The house is in good order despite the activities I have going on.

WEEKLY TO DO LIST & HOUSE PROJECTS

A couple doctor appointments – hoping to get a diagnosis and treatment plan.
EBAY pictures and descriptions
Trip to surprise a friend for her significant birthday.

CURRENTLY READING & TELEVISION / DVR

Still reading Jan Deleon novels trying to get caught up on all her series books. This week is Book #3 of the Family Inheritance series.

MENU PLANS FOR THE WEEK

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	YOGURT & FRUIT	SCRAMBLED EGGS & CHEESE	FRUIT SMOOTHIE	YOGURT & FRUIT	MAPLE OATMEAL & RAISINS	TOASTED FRENCH TOAST	CREAMED CHICKEN ON TOAST
LUNCH	FRUIT & CHEESE	SOUP & CRACKERS	SANDWICH	OUT	MEAT & CHEESE	LEFTOVERS	SANDWICHES
DINNER	CREAMED CHICKEN ON TOAST and SALAD	CAMPFIRE CHICKEN and POTATOES in foil and SALAD	GRILLED TAMARIND CHICKEN SKEWERS with MORITA CHILE SAUCE	C.O.R.N.	C.O.R.N.	GRILLED STEAKS and ASPARAGUS	TAVERN CHICKEN and NOODLES
DESSERT

SUCCESSFUL RECIPES and their links FROM LAST WEEK

RECIPE FINDS TO TRY LATER

ASIAN PEAR and GRAPE CABBAGE SALAD
RED, WHITE & BLEU MEATBALLS
PAN SEARED CHICKEN with HERBED WINE SAUCE
SESAME CHICKEN
LEMON CURD CHEESECAKE
CHICKEN BOG
CHICKEN and SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA
CREAMY CRAB DIP
NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN DIP
CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY and ALMOND RUGELACH
MOLTEN RED VELVET CAKES
BRAISED TOMATO MUSHROOM CHICKEN
TAVERN CHICKEN

HEALTH & BEAUTY TIPS

HOMEMAKING/COOKING TIP

ON MY MIND

2017 has been a rough year so far. My MIL passed away on the 7th and it has taken me a couple weeks to process this. Mom was 4 days shy of her 97th birthday. Can you believe she was almost 90 in this picture taken at a family camp out several years ago? She lived a VERY FULL and mostly happy life leaving behind a long legacy of love and family. While at that age you know it’s natural causes and inevitable, it never lessens the severity of the impact. She had been saying for years that she was ready to go, but I just never wanted it to happen. Just knowing I’ll never be able to hear her sweet voice again leaves me with a heavy heart.

Then on the 21st my favorite BIL, Ray, entered hospice as his cancer continued to eat away at his body. He passed quietly surrounded by family on the 25th. Ray was one of the best men I have EVER known in my entire life. I LOVED talking to him for hours – we have so many beliefs and ideals in common, almost like we shared the same thought process despite the HUGE age difference (hubby is almost 20 years older than me and his sister is 7 years older than him and my BIL was 3 years older than her – you get the picture). He lived a VERY FULL and happy life also leaving behind a long legacy of love and family.

His death is hitting me the hardest I think as we were both diagnosed with reproductive cancers within weeks of each other. He did everything right, just a bit too late for when his was diagnosed. I have had to struggle with moving past the Survivor’s Guilt of a high mortality cancer for the past 6 years and 99% of the time I’m doing well with it, I just wish he was walking that same path with me!

I REALLY MISS THEM BOTH!

FAVORITE PHOTO FROM THE CAMERA

My violets are REALLY going to town in this window!

We had a visitor pop into our yard last Wednesday and couldn’t convince him he wasn’t ours. He had a collar, but no tags. I tried calling rescues and local shelters and walking him through the neighborhood asking everyone I saw if they knew him. As for the shelters they were NO help at all, at least by phone. Everyone said I was not in their jurisdiction and were actually quite rude! The last woman told me to just let him go, someone else would take care of him. Can you believe that? So, we took him to our vet to see if maybe he was microchipped (he wasn’t) or they had any info on him. They sent us to the nicest no kill shelter where he was immediately welcomed and seemed happy to be there. Bye Jake (that’s what we called him). I pray you are adopted by a really nice family with 2 little boys and a HUGE yard.

INSPIRATION

Be sure to link up with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for Happy homemaker Monday and with Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

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CANCERVERSARY Year 6 and Counting

Six years ago today my life was forever changed when I woke up after my “Cancer” surgery. I will NEVER forget that day or all the support and love that my family and friends provided during my journey. The doctors, nurses and fellow cancer patients I met and have bonded with has been an amazing gift. I will always worry about my cancer coming back but right now I am so thankful and blessed to be here today. Thank you everyone for your love and support!!!
2192 days ago they told me they got it all. Well to be honest I was out of it for the first 3 days after a being cut open from stem to stern and a lengthy surgery so I didn’t hear them until 2189 days ago. But, my family knew and was relieved. I am always waiting for the other shoe to fall and the elephant is ALWAYS in the room. They learn new nuances about cancer every day, but no one knows for sure why one person gets cancer and another doesn’t when there is no direct link nor when or if it will come back.

Every bite of food I take, every prescription, every breath of air, every time I’m around fertilizer, clean the bathroom or use kitchen spray cleaner remind me that I don’t know how I got this horrible cancer and that there is is still the risk of it repeating itself. My oncologist tells me that having Systemic Lupus may have saved my life because it changed my lifestyle all those years ago forcing me to eat “cleaner” with no boxed or canned products for the most part, give up “regular” junk food and just be more aware and vigilant in day to day life.

After surgery I was poked, prodded and put through every possible test to double check their findings because they couldn’t believe they got it all. The tumor was large (volleyball size) but contained – unheard of for this type of cancer so I got a new label – rare and uncommon gynecological tumor which sparked a new round of tests. Even with complete vigilance I ended up with a secondary condition, Lymphedema, that requires daily maintenance.

I dread the waiting between check-ups, but the dread is lessening with every passing check up, but NOT the vigilance! I’m always afraid that I might not get a clean bill of health with every blood test or check up. While I can now claim complete remission and have been moved to the “survivor’s clinic”, but even then there are no guarantees. While I know I am one really lucky girl, I am always vigilant.

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HOUSE FROM HELL day 458 update

I’m still under the weather, but trying to get some things done none the less so I try to pick an inside project each day that I can come close to accomplishing. Unfortunately I’ve entered the “Full Flare” phase of Systemic Lupus and Fibromyalgia. These are two really horrible diseases to have to begin with, but together they equal complete misery – every joint and nerve ending are on fire between shooting pains. The SLE makes you beg for death some days with aching joints and the shooting pain and at the very least think about staying in or going back to bed. Then the Fibro has you crawling the walls with pain, but ironically that pain feels better if you get up and move. My motto since I was diagnosed all those years ago has been “GET UP & GET GOING” no matter what! Eventually I feel better as the day goes on even I do crash by 8PM. I’m doing pretty well for someone who is supposed to be living a stress free life and still dealing with this house the past 14 months.

Last year I did the “turn your hangers around and anything not worn during the year you donate” challenge. Well, I used to have an office job – the kind that actually required nice dresses and heels. I’ve moved those clothes around with us the last several years thinking they’d be good for church and nice nights out, BUT I don’t need so many of them. So, I went through them all today (my project for the day) as well as my skirts, blouses and slacks and was able to seriously clean out my closet by 52 gallons, four 13 gallon bags full to be exact. Since I’m continuing the minimizing challenge this year, logging everything has helped A LOT!

Tomorrow I’m thinking about doing the spice cabinet or the desk.

Hubby on the other hand worked outside and has taken over my digging on the stump trying to get all the small roots out of the way. It took him several hours, but he made good headway today.

We’re still looking for someone to at least chainsaw off as much as possible though we’d prefer to find someone to grind it out!

Category: HEALTH