ARCHIVES:
MARCH 2004
04
01 : THURSDAY
--
I got the blood test results yesterday for my celiac disease. I
am disease-free. Hurray! This is good news. I am still going to
largely refrain from eating wheat, but since i don't have the disease,
i can be a little less strict about it.
-- Maybe I should start talking about getting married on this site
because I keep forgetting about it, and i need to get on top of
some phone calls and plans. I nailed down the big stuff a while
ago, like the location for the reception and the catering (BBQ is
cheap). I found my dress and now i just have to go buy it. We are
a little over 6 months out, so there's still lots of time. I think
with another burst of lists and phone calling activity, i will be
free and clear until we get a bit closer to our date in October.
-- Oh, Did i mention that I am a new person
now that I am taking Singulair?
I guess i mentioned on that 3-24 post. Anyway, its truly remarkable.
Snail has been commenting on how much silence there is in our midst
lately, without me constantly blowing my mucous horn. I agree and
would even say that i'm a little bored now that i can just hang
out. I think the nicest thing is to just be able to go to sleep
instead of having my day rapidly decline as I deteriorate into a
allergy train wreck. One night last week, Snail and I were up until
11pm talking...Just talking and hanging out. I feel very dignified
without used tissues crowding my personal space.
03
29 : MONDAY
--
I noticed that my cell phone bill went up a dollar. ( I really try
to keep my eye on the bills that i pay that are "fixed"
for the same service month after month; like cable and phone. )
My cell phone taxes went from $5.95 a month, to $6.85 month.
After calling them, they tell me about the new "Regulatory
Programs Fee" ( a fee that helps with government programs and
911 stuff and all that. ). Great. Another
program to go with all the other programs I am paying for. At least
with sales tax, I KNOW how much its going to be. But with these
kinds of itemized tax add-ons, where's the limit?
-- I brought leftovers for lunch but really
ddin't want to eat them. Normally if i go through the trouble to
bring something, then i go ahead and eat it. Reluctantly, I heated
it up and got my fork and started digging in. The leftovers from
dinner last night was zucchini and a few slices of some steak (on
the rare side). The steak was fully cooked during the reheating
process, but the zuchini was stained pink from the meat. Something
about -- blood stained zuccini-- turned me off. So I hopped in my
car and drove to Wendy's for a mandarin chicken salad and was excited
to see some good lettuce in it...well, until i opened the container
up. The trick is that they put 3/4 peices of good lettuce on top,
but below that is all stalky white iceberg. Shame on you,
Wendy's.
03
25: THURSDAY
--
Here's the scheme for the back bathroom.
When
i first saw the shower curtain from Garnet
Hill, I really liked it but laughed at the price. But, after
much looking around and discovering that the land of decent shower
curtains is sparse, i am willing to pay up. As soon as I finish
prepping the wall, we will install the new light fixture. The light
fixture is kinda scrolly with a beige, stone crackle finish. The
last step will be to sit on my doorstep and wait for Mr. Postman
to deliver the finishing accessories.
I should also mention that there is some fun, reasonably priced
home stuff at Pottery Barn Teen.
( i refuse to refer to it as "PB teen" ... shudder )
03
24: TUESDAY
--
I am a new person with seemingly few limits. A mucousy veil of allergies
has been magically lifted by the wonders of modern pharmeceutical
miracles. Thank god for the competetive market of medicine. Thank
you allergist. Thank you, insurance company. Thank you pharmacy.
Thank you, job.
Singulair has greatly improved
my daily existence in this world.
What cracks me up about allergy marketing materials and commercials
is that they are often touting the desire for these allergy sufferers
to skip through ragweed-laden fields or climb mountains of pollen.
Here's a snip from their site: "As someone
with seasonal allergies, you know all too well how uncomfortable
allergies can make you feel. How they can make some of life’s
simple pleasures, such as a spring picnic or an autumn hike, less
pleasant."
I
don't know about autumn hikes, but these
are the simple pleasures that I am enjoying..........
I can drive all the way home, without trying to hold the wheel with
my elbows as I blow my nose. I can wake up in the morning and only
blow my nose twice instead of for 10 minutes. I can go to bed when
i want, instead of yeilding to an uncomfortable nose. I don't have
to blow my nose in the shower. I can get through a workout without
stopping to go to the bathroom and blow my nose. I can fall asleep
without kleenex and a finger up each nostril trying to stop the
itchy/burning.
I realize this new lease on life is likely temporary. There was
a summer a couple of years ago when i felt like this, thinking my
allergies were gone forever. Well, i'm not that foolish this time.
However long this lasts, i am just going to enjoy it.
03
21: SUNDAY
--
Saturday was a whirlwind of wildly different activity. Here's a
summary in sequential order:
Lunch at 12noon
Chango's. Chicken was a little dry and I couldn't eat all my food.
African Violet Show
Terrariums with little plastic jungle animals. Otherwise, nothing
worth mentioning.
Wedding ring shopping
Snail and I are getting married in the fall.
Flatstock silkscreen poster show
Fabulous.
Scion XB club gathering with Popeye's Chicken at Toyota
dealership
Do people really eat fried chicken?!?!? I was expecting pizza or
BBQ or fajitas.
There were about 7 XBs there. I sat in a couple of cars with some
amazing stereo systems. One of them had so much bass, it rocked
me to my nauseated core. I love it when people are really dedicated
and excited about something --anything. These people are dedicated
to their cars, evidenced in $$$ and time. I can see why its fun
to have a slammin' vehicle. I left there wanting some special tail
lights and custom fiberglass panels for our car.
Eternal Sunsine of a Spotless Mind at 7:40
This film made me feel crazy and disoriented
aftewards. ( I recommend it ).
--
Today we are doing a few house things. We bought a bunch of plants
and started planting them in one of our flower beds in the backyard.
The weather is absolutely perfect for such activities. I think
its going to be grilled salmon for dinner.
03
19: FRIDAY
--
I don't like being forgettful.
Today is the day i've been waiting for, for 3 weeks. The day that
gluten-eating ends, and the day that I get the blood test. Well,
this day was so anticipated that i left the house and got all the
way to work (all 20 miles) WITHOUT the blood test kit. This kit
is a box that i have to take with me to get the tests done. Yes,
i left it at home. I'm not happy about this. Now, i either go home
at lunch and get it....Or wait until monday. I'm pretty sure i'm
going to just go home at lunch because i really want to just get
this done. The only thing is that the round trip home would take
a good hour and that doesn't leave me much time to actually get
blood drawn.
I should have had a clue that this morning was amiss when i drove
clean past my trophy last breakfast taco on my way to work. Somewhere
during my drive, i thought "taco" and looked around for
the place and soon realized i had passed it completely. Fortunately,
i had time to turn around and get my prize.
You'd think perhaps during this taco break, i would have thought
about the day ahead. Thought about the blood test at lunch, and
thought, "OH, i forgot that darn lab box."
What were the thoughts in my brain if not that? Shouldn't i at
least be thinking about the day ahead?
03
15: MONDAY
--
I made a great meal last night. Salad:
spinach, walnuts, feta, orange slices and a light balsamic dressing.
Main course: lasagna. Dessert: Chocolate Chip Dutch
Baby (the real purpose of this post...) I had read about
this dutch baby in an issue of Cooking
Light (january?)....and it hadn't gone out of my mind since.
When I was given the chance to eat bread again, I had to jump on
the baby.
The dutch baby is basically a pancake, cooked in the oven, in an
iron skillet. This one was sprinkled with chocolate chips. When
it comes out of the oven, its really impressive looking. The texture
is a little more eggy than the breadiness of a pancake. The topping,
which completes the dish, was bananas cooked in butter and Khalua.
Super easy and yummy.
-- I want to mention
a new allergy medicine called Singulair.
I
was reluctant to take it when my doctor first gave me the samples....after
all, no other medicine seemed to do anything.
But, i was desperate and started taking it a week ago. Since then,
I have had beautiful evenings of continuous sleep. This is fairly
big news because it was getting to the point where i was waking
up every other night with bad allergies: sneezing, itchy nose, etc.
This is good news.
03
12:
FRIDAY
--
It's a rainy, gray afternoon. Here's
my dream friday evening>> I leave work. Meet Snail at a mexican
restaurant and consume a frozen margarita and a plate of enchiladas.
Next we head to the theater and see LOTR: ROTK at the 7:30 viewing.
Leave theater and go to sleep.
-- Today starts the last week of gluten eating.
Next friday I will take the blood test and after that, the bread
party is over. No more eating whatever I want. Back to grocery shopping
and preparing lunches and being "special." Going
back off gluten is going to be a little harder this time than last.
Last time there was the unknown , a sense of novelty and the feeling
of being challenged. This time, i know what i'll be missing ...and
this time, i can keep counting weeks for fun, but the weeks are
just going to keep adding up because i have no plans to discontinue
the diet once i start. Regardless of what the blood tests say.
I think more than the "not eating" of foods; the part
that i dislike the most is the work that's involved with grocery
shopping and making sure i have gluten-free snacks at work, and
my lunch and all that. Even when i had gotten to week 7, i don't
recall feeling like it was taking less time; like i had mastered
it. Truthfully, it could be a little easier if i were better at
planning. I guess that's my next challenge...master the art of meal
planning and shopping accordingly. gah, that sounds boring.
Have
a great weekend!
03
10 :
WEDNESDAY
--
Yesterday, in a very rare trip through wal-mart, i picked up som
ALTOIDS apple sours. I like them.
--
Normally, i have no trouble handling telemarketers. Somehow,
this one guy ( selling air conditioners, which we DO need ) got
through to me; meaning i didn't just say "No thanks, good bye."
Again, i can't explain why i haven't put an end to this. The short
end of it is that he keeps calling and calling and calling. Sometimes
I forget, and pick up and i've politely tried to put him off, but
he doesn't take a hint. And the way he talks is so burdened and
downtrodden. Its creepy. Snail says its time
for me to face the music.
-- I got one of my flower-plant
paintings framed last week. It came out really classy. Even
bad paintings look great in a frame and i wouldn't even say that
mine is a bad painting. It's stupid that i haven't ever framed anything.
The few things in the history of my art life that are framed, are
stuff that my dad framed: my 8th grade giraffe pencil drawing (lost
in the divorce shuffle), a 9th grade daffodil watercolor that
we gave to my grandmother and was given back to me when she passed
away, another 8th grade peice...a construction paper peacock mosaic
that i have in a closet.
I can't see shelling out $100 a pop to frame my other 15 some odd
peices. I may frame a few more, so that i have a grouping, and then
start painting on nice canvas, which you really don't have to frame.
By the way, I plan to abandon home improvement mania and return
to my normal painting activities in April. Someone please hold me
to that, or snail is going to win the art race.
03
09:
TUESDAY
--
This past weekend was the ultimate in being productive. I managed
to get a fresh coat on the entire hallway and the kitchen. It went
from dingy off-white to a sparkling bright white. It looks fantastic.
It was a lot of work, but it wasn't too bad hearing the birds sing
while i painted. Next i plan to tackle the trim, with the same color.
-- I am in rough shape lately due to several
nights of interrupted sleep. No no, not insomnia, not sleep walking,
not stress, no babies crying, no fire drills, and not bed wetting.....we're
talking about ALLERGIES. The only other
thing i can do ( and how logical to think i can DO something about
it...) is to rip up the carpet in my room. It DOES feel good to
think you can DO something, even if the thing you are doing is of
no consequence.
I was a little dismayed just now to see that the allergy count is
medium. Ah well. This too, shall pass.
03
03 :
THURSDAY
--
It was a month ago tonight that I bought my new
car (the scion XB). I'm not sure how long a new car honeymoon
lasts, but mine is still in full swing. Every morning when I get
dressed for work and go outside to get into my mode of transportation,
I am always a little surprised to see that its still
sitting there, waiting for me. And its a friendly
little car. I mean, how can you be in a bad mood when you see that
car? i can't. It makes me laugh. Its funny looking.
(that drawing would have really been something if i could
have gotten my drawing tablet to work; but its late and i'm tired
and its time to go to bed)
03
03 :
WEDNESDAY
 --
The bathroom painting over the weekend was a huge success. It took
much less time than when i painted the front bathroom. I think
the biggest lesson learned for painting textured walls, is LOTS
of paint on your roller. The painting is not quite actually done.
We are looking to replace the light fixture in there; so, once
we get that in place, i can finish painting. We have had some bad
luck with light fixtures ( through no fault of our own ) in the
past. I don't think either of us are looking forward to dealing
with this one.
-- There was another customer in the paint dept when i was there,
and no one working the paint counter. After waiting for a few minutes
for assistance, he just stood there saying, "Help!".
A few moments of that, which wasn't working.... and he raised his
voice a litte more and said, "CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME?"
It was one of those special moments where humanity really shines.
-- Now that i'm back to eating like a normal person, its been really
nice not having to cook all the time. I am enjoying the time away
from the grocery store and the kitchen. Of course, i'm not feeling
super fabulous, but only 2 more weeks to go (untill the blood test!
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