Waddling Wednesday

Yes, I feel like a duck again, 2nd day in a row.  Yesterday and today are the first days that i’ve actually experienced pain 😦  Felt better to stand and move.  I don’t have a standing and moving job though.  It’s come on both days around breakfast, so today I skipped my usual oats, but that didn’t make a difference.

RUN

Did my mid-week mid-range run this morning and I ROCKED IT.  I felt great during and after.  It was my first real run in the cooler weather and it was a gorgeous absolutely clear morning.  Ok, when I say morning, I mean 4:30 am, I guess that’s still kind of night 😉 

LIFE

Upon researching the specialist i’m seeing tomorrow, I realize he travels between 4 offices and my PCP didn’t tell me which one when they booked the appointment for me. I crossed my fingers it was the closest one, because the other ones may as well be on the other end of the earth with Austin traffic.  Lucky for me, my appointment IS in the one in Round Rock.  Score.  I won’t have to take a ton of time off of work or hit insane traffic.

I started working on converting my food journals into an Excel spreadsheet by week, so that just in case the Dr. wants to see my history, he can.  I’m really trying to be prepared for this, to help him out, so he can help me out.   This took forever, so I only went a month back (for now).  I AM NOT PROUD 😦   No, I haven’t been eating tons of junk, but re-typing my entries, I realize I eat too much of certain things and I am not as varied as I probably should be.  I need to work on that.  I know I still eat better than most of my friends, family, and coworkers, but still.  The lightbulb went off and I see now that maybe I need to make a few more changes.  Of course, once the Dr. sees me, I may have changes he wants me to make too.

**Please don’t let me have an allergy to oatmeal**  I pretty much have eaten some sort of oat product at least 5 times a week for almost 4 years.  I love oatmeal and it’s endless possibilities.

Did I mention I am traveling again for work for 2 weeks (2 different trips) and I have to move my office (along with 100 other people)  tomorrow and Friday?  Ugh, alot on the plate.  1 more reason to at least get this initial Dr. visit down in the books and start making some progress!

FOOD

Pretty unexciting and nothing really photo worthy, especially since I was boring today and wasn’t feeling well.

I did finally try my Quorn SW chicken wing.  They were ok.  I bought them at Sprouts a few months ago and forgot about them.    Had a few of those for dinner with some salad and the last serving of Eggless Egg Salad.  I had tried a similar eggless salad at Green Vegetarian in San Antonio and loved it (I am dying to go back).  This recipe is pretty darn close and I will be making it again.  I am still trying to learn to cook with tofu, something I don’t have alot of experience with.

Other than feeling yuck, I had a pretty awesome day!  Here’s to an even better Thursday and making some progress at the Dr’s office!

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Two-a-day-Tuesday

RUN

Seems like lately, I feel best after running.  Trying not to add any extra running though, first race is just under a month away.  Monday I mowed our jungle as a sorta of “cross-training” which is the Monday plan.

This morning I hit the gym for weights before work.  Woke up before the alarm went off and I actually got out of bed.  The session was the best i’ve had in a while, but I get tired really easily lifting weights these days.  Funny how I fatigue much faster in an hour weights session, but can go run for 3 hours and be less tired.

Hoping to get a run in this evening, as today is two-a-day Tuesday.

LIFE

Today and last Wednesday night are probably tied for the worst i’ve felt during this “mystery condition”.  I held on until 12:30 at work today, and then I couldn’t take it anymore.  I wore my cute new knit dress today, because I thought I was feeling better.  Immediately after eating my breakfast, I ballooned.  Unfortunately the dress was not flowy and there was no way I could hide it.  Plus I couldn’t bear to sit any longer, it was just too much, so I came home.

I hate insurance companies AND my PCP.

Not only do I have 2 workouts today, but I also went through scheduling two doctor appointments as well.

My OB/GYN referred me to a great GI doctor yesterday after I spoke with my Dr’s nurse about last week’s ultrasound (this guy sounded awesome, widely published, had great bio).   However, insurance won’t allow him to refer me for their purposes (my PCP has to do this).

I called my PCP to ask for a referral and they said no. They want me to see their preferred GI Dr, not the one I want.   This is their wish, not my insurance’s.  Insurance only wants a referral to the specialist from the PCP, they don’t care who it is.

So I cancelled my appointment with the guy I wanted, and settled for the guy they’ll actually refer me to. My PCP is fired after this. I am SO tired of him and his office.  He’s supposed to look out for my health and what I want, not for his buddies who he likes to refer people to. I have an appointment now on Thursday.  At least it’s sooner than the other appointment was, but I know nothing about this guy and I couldn’t find much about him online. 

In the meantime, because I am sure they’ll ask for it, I’m going to work on getting my food and workout journals in a format he can look at.  Good thing I’ve been journaling all of that for the last 3.5 years (i’ll probably give him 2 months worth).  I have a few notes about the days I really felt “off” so I guess that’ll get included too.  I’m sure they are going to look at possible intolerances and food allergies.  Crossing my fingers I didn’t develop something serious.

I’ve never really had any real health issues or concerns (other than the drill-bit that impaled my hand).  I guess i’ve been lucky to not have to deal with doctors or having to diagnose anything questionable before.

FOOD

Speaking of twos, I’ll probably need to make 2 dinners tonight as well. 

Wasn’t pleased with the way my homemade thin-crust pizza dough baked up last night.  And i’m fairly sure that Dan won’t eat the leftovers.  The crust definately needed more heat or time in the oven or something, it was too chewy.  If he’ll eat it, I may reheat leftovers on my stone and see if I can improve the crispness that way. 

Not sure what i’ll do for myself.  Thinking about scraping the roasted veggie toppings off my slices and adding them to some tomato basil soup.  Not really feeling very much like bread.  Actually, not feeling very much like anything, but i’ve got to eat.  Had to force myself to eat lunch, which ended up with me being more uncomfortable than before 😦

Thursday can’t come soon enough.  Hopefully this guy is good and can pinpoint or at least get me closer to understanding what the heck is wrong! This crud is for the birds!!!

Living on a prayer

RUN

I was definately living on a prayer Sunday morning.  Despite my early bedtime, I did not feel great and the last thing I wanted to do was wake up at 4:30 and then run.  I’ve woken up with a bad attitude on race morning before, but this was alot more than bad attitude, I really truely felt physically bad and wasn’t sure i’d be ready by time my leg went around 10 am.  We lost 2 girls the week of the race, so our 5 girls became 3 girls and 2 guys.  The guys were friends of Megan and turned out to be really nice (and fast).  It was actually cool outside, which was nice, although waiting around from 6-10 am, I was freezing because i’m a freak that gets cold really easily.  Forgot that for the last 2 years, i’ve brought a hoodie with me to wear.  This year it was forgotten in the car.

I warmed up after Megan (who was also sick), our 3rd leg went out and I started feeling better.  I was scared of getting sick on course, so I ran conservatively.  So much so, that I had enough left for a sprint in the last quarter mile before I handed off to Sarah, our anchor.  And I wasn’t even winded or felt like I’d raced when I was done.  Ooops, maybe that was too conservative.  My leg was just under 25 mins.  Not stellar, but I just wanted to be safe with the way I felt.  I actually felt MUCH better after the run.  Sheesh, if I would have known that, I would have run a few miles at 6 am when I got to the race.

We finished around 3:41.  Darn, we missed Boston 😉  The results and the splits were messed up on the race page, so I didn’t see all of our splits and paces.  It listed our final times but not all of our legs.  We just run this for fun, but one day I think it would be cool to run it competitive. 

LIFE

Traffic was horrible.  I didn’t make it to North Austin until 1.  Stopped at Sprouts for weekly groceries on the way home.  I felt very light headed during shopping and realized I didn’t eat lunch!  I ate a snack at the finish line, but didn’t have anything after that.  I am not one to forget to eat, my stomach usually reminds me.  However stomach is not reminding me lately, so I grabbed a pear and a wasa cracker out of my grocery bag to eat in the car, even though I really hate food in my car (unless it’s drinkable).

Got home, started laundry, watched Project Runway.  Pretty uneventful day once I got home.  Dan got home from his charity motorcycle ride around 10 (yes, I waited up for him).   Seems like he had a good time, which is nice.  We do things seperately from time to time.  I think it’s good for a relationship.  I have friends who never do anything away from their significant other and I guess I don’t grasp that concept.  Sometimes doing things seperately or enjoying seperate hobbies is a good thing.  He likes motorcycles, I don’t.  I run, he doesn’t.   I think having your own interests and own special time apart is beneficial. 

FOOD

Did some food prep for the week.  Roasted some veggies for Monday night’s pizza.  Then I put together a recreation of Southern Shrimp Salad from Another Broken Egg.  We always go to the one in Destin, Florida on vacation.  I am not generally a fan of eating breakfast out, since alot of places don’t have healthier options.  This year we went for brunch and I opted for that salad.  OUT OF THIS WORLD and i’ve been dreaming of it since.  The description says:  Marinated, grilled shrimp atop a bed of spring mix, with cucumber, mandarin oranges, sliced strawberries, feta & sprouts.

 Sprouts Farmers Market had Earth Bound Farm Organic fresh herb salad blend on sale (never tried it before).  Took a container of that, added the rest of the ingredients and plated it like the restaurant.  I only had salad shrimp (which I dusted in Mediterranean spices and garlic) and used Tomato Basil President brand Feta instead of plain.  OMG it was SO good.   Just like in the restaurant, there was so  much flavor, a dressing wasn’t needed.  But I suppose if you wanted one, a vinegrette would be best.

In the restaurant it came with cheese crostinis.  I used a serving of Stacys Everything Bagel chips instead (I had bought those as something “chippy” for my parents to have on Friday with their sandwiches). It was a GREAT idea. 

I ate half the salad for dinner and packed the other half for my Monday lunch.  Didn’t have any more bagel chips, so I made some seasoned “chips” out of a Wasa cracker, some EVOO, italian seasonings and garlic.

My mock-up was pretty much spot-on, if not better than the original!

Upsets

The only upsets weren’t in college football yesterday…

RUN

Couldn’t sleep, so I got up at 5 am and started cleaning after a bowl of espresso-brownie oats.  It put my mind at ease that the house was in order and yummy oatmeal helped too.   Then I threw on some clothes and waited for the gym to open.  Attempted weights, went easy on the legs since I ran long the day before and I had a race the next day on Sunday.   The session was better than they’d been, but nothing i’d be proud of.  Definately NOT training with intensity.

FUN/LIFE

Came home and got ready for BFF to get here.  We then picked up mom and sister for lunch at Zocalo.  Traffic sucked because of the UT game being at home.  Had a nice lunch although I was bummed that I felt off still (novacaine still bothering me) and could only eat soup (spicy black bean).  Mom and BFF tried new things, which looked awesome (ckn fajita tacos and the chicken torta).

Sister and BFF in the “thinking chairs” at Zocalo Cafe

We then headed to South Congress to hit a few stores, then on to 6th Street aka Pecan Street, for the bi-annual Pecan Street Festival.  It was HOT and huge.  Unfortunately I didn’t find much.  I bought my sister some port-wine pecans and myself some seasonings/mixes/herb blends at Tears of Joy Hot Sauce Shop which just happens to be on the part of 6th where the festival was.  I’d hoped to find some fun jewelry or other trinkets, but no such luck.  Great people watching, as usual though.

Thought this fella was cute, dressed as a UT Longhorn.  There were a ton of doggies dressed in UT gear, this one was the most creative and cute.  Yes I live in Austin, and no, I don’t like UT Football. 

Diet coke break was a must, it was HOT!

We then headed to sister’s birthday dinner at Moonshine.  I still wasn’t feeling well, so I opted for a salad and their rosemary roasted sweet potatoes (which are out of this world!).  They have really good food, so it bummed me to not be able to eat what I wanted.   Sister’s bf couldn’t help but make snide remarks about what I was eating, even though she forewarned him (classy).   Of course, sister’s bf annoyed the life out of my mother, my BFF, and myself.  I’ll just say that if I didn’t love my sister so much, I would never attend any event where he was.  Not only do I not like him because he’s a middle-aged child, but she deserves to be treated better.

After dinner we went back to their house for gourmet cupcakes (we special ordered 1 or 2 for each person).   Oh and being the jerk he is, although sister and BFF told him not to eat the Key Lime “Hemingway” cupcake because that was what I ordered, he did.  So the cupcake I was saving for when I felt well enough to eat it, is now just a memory. 

 I didn’t stay long, I took off for home and went to bed super early.  I felt half-way sick, but mostly sick of being around sister’s bf.  I’m not a mean and spiteful person, but I REALLY can’t stand him.  And no, it’s not because he ate my cupcake 😦

Seemed like sister had a good day, which is all that really matters in the end.

Ode to the ice bath

RUN

Another dark and early morning on Friday!  Picked up AK at her new house at 5 and headed to the lake.  Wasn’t sure about traffic, since I never really go down there on a weekday, but it was fine.  Started right around 6 am and we had planned for a 7 and a 10 loop, with a little add on. 

Pace was a little slower than I like, but I didn’t say anything.  Come mile 8 (back toward the car again), she told me she was done and that her Achilles was hurting bad.  I gave her the key, told her to move my car to the gym, to work on the leg with stretching, rolling, and ice, and i’d meet her there after the run.

I pulled together and had a fairly good run overall.  At 17 I started feeling sloppy and  then tripped on the last step coming up onto Congress which was right before the mile 18 Garmie beep, but I didn’t fall, just a scare (why do I run stairs at the end of long runs?). It POURED down rain as soon as I stopped running and started walking, but it felt glorious!  It was so humid and gross that morning, I welcomed the downpour.  Walked 6 blocks in the rain to the gym for a cool-down and then stretched and showered.

We had to pick up our newly printed ARC shirts for the SiLabs relay and run errands on the way back.  Before I knew it, it was 11:45!  I needed to be at home at least by noon to meet my parents who were driving in, eat lunch, and get ready for my dentist appt! 

LIFE

When I got home at 12:15, my parents had already let themselves in and had made themselves sandwiches.  At least they weren’t waiting on me, which is what I’d feared.

I threw together a quick lunch/snack of almond butter on a wild rice cake with apple slices and hit the guest tub again, this time for this:

Yes, I ate my lunch in the bathtub.  I was in such a hurry, I had to multi-task 😉  There is nothing relaxing about an ice bath.  Nothing.  I hate being cold.  But I like to think that when the miles get high, that it helps recovery.  That or i’m freezing my buns off for nothing, or maybe I just like wearing a hoodie in the bathtub, hehe!

Mom went with me to the dentist, just in case.  It was fine I guess, but I couldn’t drive after because my left eyelid was also numb and I couldn’t keep my eye open all of the way.  Unfortunately I am sensitive to novacaine and was nauseous the rest of Friday and all of Saturday.  Oh and the dentist office bakes hot Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for the patients.  WHY?  “Hey, come get your teeth cleaned, don’t get decay or cavities, and by the way, have a ooey gooey sugary cookie while you are here.”  Don’t get it, seems odd to me.  I have nothing against cookies, especially hot and yummy ones, just seemed very out of place.

Came back, needed to nap, but didn’t.  Parents didn’t leave until right before Dan got home.  Dan and I took off to Stubbs BBQ for dinner and the Drive By Truckers concert.  At this point there would normally be some fun photos of dinner and the show inserted…however, I wasn’t feeling well at all, like my mystery condition PLUS nausea from the novacaine.  Dan made me eat some bbq smoked turkey off his plate, which i’d usually love, but not the case.  I made it through the opener and that was it.  I felt like death.  I refused to let Dan leave and take me home, so I called mom and sister to come get me.

Sister was a little po’d that she had to drive 45 minutes one way on a Friday night to come get me, but I think she got over it.  I got to hear 3 songs before I left, which made me happier, but knew there was no way i’d last til the end.  That particular band only comes to town twice a year. 

I came home and stumbled straight into bed.  I didn’t even take off my makeup or my wristband from the concert.

Ode to the hot bath

RUN

DOR today.  Was originally going to do arms at the gym, but after last night’s stomach ordeal, decided I needed a break. 

FOOD

Apparently mediterranean chicken can be served 100 different ways.  I didn’t do it in the pita like planned, but will in the near future.

There was mine (with the rest of the roasted greek-spiced veggies, side of tomato-basil-garlic crispy strips that I made from a La Tortilla wrap).

There was his (over spaghetti noodles)

And then there was yesterday’s, which I don’t have photos of, but served with garlic-herbed toasted pita wedges.

LIFE

Well tomorrow is long run day and that means night before ritual.  Yes, I prefer my guest bath tub to my master’s garden tub.  I can stretch out in the guest tub, it’s easier to clean, and it wastes less water.  My master is pretty much for decor purposes only, I NEVER use it.

Hot epsom salt bath, magazine time 🙂  Great way to end the day and prep for tomorrow!  Bring the miles!!!

Quack, quack

RUN

AK and I had conflicting ideas for Wednesday and the mid-week mid-range run.  Lately we only run 2 days a week together and it’s for the mid-range and the long-range.  She wanted PM, I wanted AM for the run (there was a chance of rain all day).  We chose to run seperately.  She had wanted to do PM at Brushy Creek at the part that isn’t flooded, which is only 2 miles, I wasn’t nuts about running back and forth AND I wasn’t too sure about the chance of rain and temps at that hour. 

I’m glad I chose AM.  It was super humid (like 94%) but no rain and the temps were in the high 70s.  I had a good run with good pace.  I was pretty pleased 🙂  My only gripe about that route on Wednesdays is I have to carry my own water and the having something around my waist drives me nuts, but carrying something in hand is worse for me.  Lately it bugs me even more, because it puts pressure on my middle which I don’t need.

FOOD:

It’s no secret that I love oatmeal.  I’ve also been known to do what some consider odd combos.  I think carrot cake oatmeal is a novel idea 😉

Along the lines of carrot cake oatmeal, I decided zucchini bread oatmeal was a good idea.  Oats/oat bran, a cup of shredded zucchini, walnuts, and some spices including cinnamon and some sweetener.  Don’t knock it, it’s actually very tasty!  Of course, I like to throw zucchini in lots of things and i’m going to be very sad when Sprouts doesn’t have them super cheap every week when they are out of season.  Frozen just isn’t the same on some things. 

I’d been looking forward to trying the new recipe for Mediterranean chicken with olives and artichokes (from the Fresh Flavors magazine at The Fresh Market.  We don’t have their stores here, but they are big in the south.  That’s my go-to store in Destin or Montgomery when I am there.  Here we have Sprouts, Central Market, Whole Foods, Sunflower, HEB, and a smattering of smaller places.  I usually stick it Sprouts because it’s the closest and has the best produce and prices.   Everything else is a haul for me to get to.   Everyone is scared of Whole Foods, so TJ’s and some of the other popular chains will probably never come here.

Anyhow, it was simple and turned out well.  Dan seemed to like it, I think next time i’ll add some herbs or something else to the sauce.  My modifications are listed below, because I pretty much modify every recipe in some form or fashion.  I took a picture as an afterthought and it was horrible, will try to do better tonight (i’ve been off on blogging and photos since vacation).  I served it with roasted greek-spiced veggies and garlic herb toasted pita wedges.  I sprinkled feta on everything, because I love feta.  Next time i’ll probably only do olives in Dan’s, the salt was just too much for me with olives and capers and I don’t really like olives.

We’re having this again tonight as leftovers.  I’m going to serve Dan’s over pasta and maybe put mine into a wheat Alternative Pita.  I’d like to eat it with pasta, especially since it sounds so tasty, but I don’t want to overdo the volume for myself.

Ingredients:

  1/4 cup Lucini Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I didn’t use all of this)   4 boneless chicken thighs, cubed (I used breasts)   salt and pepper, to taste   3 garlic cloves, finely minced   1/2 cup Echeverria Sauvignon Blanc Reserva  (I used a similar white)   1 jar Cucina Antica Garlic Marinara Sauce (used a similar from HEB)   1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped   1 (12 ounce) jar Delallo Marinated Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped   2 tablespoons  Capers

Preparation:

In a heavy bottomed sauté pan, heat olive oil for 2 minutes. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook for 5 minutes, until browned evenly. Remove chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm. In the same pan, add garlic and quickly sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add wine, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Return to heat and allow to reduce slightly for 2 minutes. Add pasta sauce, olives, artichoke hearts, capers and browned chicken with any juices back to the pan, and combine thoroughly. Cook for approximately 10 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and sauce is bubbling gently.

LIFE

Since I have a very full day on Friday, I had planned to get some things done at home last night.  Dinner was done later than I expected.  We ate and I decided to tidy up some.  I didn’t get very far before I started feeling bad.  Ate half the amount Dan did at dinner, but that was too much apparently.  I could barely waddle around and it was so uncomfortable.  I did some cleaning and vaccuming, but that didn’t help.  I couldn’t take it anymore and didn’t know what to do, so I went for a walk, even though it was pretty dark.  Dan didn’t offer to go with me, which upset me a great deal.  I waddled like a duck, half a mile around the block and came home.  Still not better.  Didn’t know what else to do, so I brushed my teeth and went to bed. 

Pity party for one.

RUN

I usually lift weights on Tuesday morning and run in the evening.  Instead I switched it up and ran before work.  It wasn’t a bad run, in fact Garmin says it was a good run, however I felt uncomfortable and bloaty.  UGH.

I ended up doing weights at lunch at the gym at work.  The gym at work isn’t very good and my effort was pretty half-assed.  I’ve been struggling with weights for the last week, I can only imagine it’s whatever the heck is wrong with me, but then again, it doesn’t really running.   I know it’s a much different type of workout and a different kind of endurance.  I’ve got 7 weeks to go in training, I refuse to let the weights lapse (which I did last season).  I will try again with just arms tomorrow (no legs, have a long run Friday), and then full body again Saturday. 

Yeah, my schedule is all screwed up this week because I want to go to Drive By Truckers concert on Friday night (WOOHOO FOR THE ROCK SHOW!)  and I know attempting a long on Saturday would be silly.  So I am running Friday morning instead, which originally a vacation day, but now a sick day, since I am getting the tooth yanked that day too.  And I have a relay Sunday, which I do every year.  So I think i’ll do Sunday’s usual workout on Saturday. 

FOOD

Just like I predicted, Dan wasn’t nuts about the chicken and peanut noodles.  He says it’s because the rotiesserie chicken I used (it was on hand, needed to use it up) reminded him of the smell of his breakfast sausage and it freaked him out.  Um ok, whatever, it’s not the first time you’ve eaten smoked/roasted chicken.  I ate my serving and the other 3 servings went into the trash 😦  I thought about freezing them, but I honestly don’t eat alot of things I freeze except for sauces or soups, so I knew better.  Plus because of my track record lately, I knew there was no way to eat them as lunches, which is what I would have normally done with something he rejected.

I’ve been sticking to oatbran for breakfast with PB or fruit or veggies added, soup for lunch and an apple for a snack.  I ate lunch Tuesday at 3:30 and that was only because I made myself.   I did actually get hungry for dinner, which was good, but it was more of a half hungry.  The meals are getting in, but sometimes forced.  I HATE this. 

LIFE

I’ve heard alot of “boo hoo you can’t eat, that’s not something to be sad about.”  Really?  I like to eat, you need to eat for survival.  Plus being active, you need to eat more.  I have to fuel my everyday activity, plus workouts.   I mean I don’t want to be a ravenous beast either, but there have honestly been some days where i’ve had to make up calories at the end of the day with PB, Ensure, or something else calorie dense but not too filling (because then I get REALLY uncomfortable and have a knot in my side).     I’ve heard a couple of times that people were jealous.  WHAT?!?!  Come on people!  There is something medicially wrong with me that is producing this side-effect.  I don’t want it.  I tell Dan 10 times a day that I am tired of being “broken”.  At least I haven’t cried this week, so that’s some progress.  I think I cried just about every day on vacation and half of last week because I was frustrated.

 Sitting by the phone isn’t helping, but I really wish my Dr. would call and give me a next step.  He’s so busy, i’m sure he hasn’t reviewed the scans.  With this Dr. I am being patient because he’s a great Dr. and I want him to be the one to give me directive.  I do not care to deal with my regular Dr. on this, since his answer is always “there is nothing wrong with you” and after my first scan, he suggested I pretty much live on OTC meds until I felt better, which never happened, I got worse.

The problems I have are likely just side-effects of something else.   This is courtesy of Dan:

Yes, i’ve WebMD’d this.  Yes, i’ve scared the crud out of myself.  I couldn’t help it.  Sometimes you need to try to figure out what’s slightly abnormal and when you need to seek medical attention.  That’s my story and i’m sticking to it!

Still holding out hope that this is something minor, I get some meds, and get all better.  And soon.

Pity Party over.   I feel fine despite the discomfort.  I WILL BE FINE 🙂

Case of the Mondays

I friggin LOVE Office Space, just in case you didn’t know.  Mike Judge is awesome, well mostly awesome, I don’t care for all of his work, but Office Space and King of the Hill are 2 favs.  If you aren’t from Texas, KOTH is exactly like Texas and growing up there in a smaller town. 

Speaking of, I love Friday Night lights and yes, if you aren’t from Texas, that is the exact depiction of teenage life in high school in Texas, or was for me (minus the gangs).  And that football field that the team plays on that is supposed to be in the “ghetto” is on Lake Lady Bird running trail!  Not the nicest part of the trail, but I run by it any time I do the 10 mile loop!

LIFE

Got to work early, because I was still in charge and had some projects to do before the day started.  Thought about running before work, but the idea of running on nothing but liquid fuel scared me, sounded like asking for a fall…so I didn’t.  I never workout on Monday mornings, but I momentarily thought about it, thinking maybe it would make my stomach behave better for my test.

Work blew by, before I knew it, it was appointment time.  Had my appointment and 2 different kinds of ultrasounds.  This time I thought for sure they’d be able to see more with me having almost only liquids for 2 days.  WRONG 😦  Yes, my stomach was still too full.  The tech and the machine were better and she got some scans, but it was a huge problem.  I can only hope that my Dr. (different one than first scan) can see something.  This is seriously driving me nuts.   I went home and thought about everything I could have tried to do differently to get my stomach to cooperate.  Dan assured me it wasn’t my fault, but I now think I should have opted for an AM test, maybe that would have made a difference.

 I like to eat, I want to eat.  I do eat but I can’t eat when and what I want.  I have to be careful with the volume of what I eat, because if not I either 1) look pregnant, 2) can’t sit up straight, 3) very uncomfortable.  And half the time I am just not having an appetite or getting hungry at all.  If you know me, you know, NOT LIKE ME AT ALL, I eat at least 6 times a day and I eat alot.  Fortunately I am never in pain, it’s just lots of discomfort.  I am SO ready to have some sort diagnosis or progress toward something.

FOOD

JOY! Found the mediterranean chicken recipe, turns out it was in the Fresh Market supermarket book that I picked up in Florida.   At least that was 1 perk of the day!  I am super excited to make that Wednesday, I think we’ll both love it.

Another perk was dinner, which was Peanut noodles with Shredded chicken and vegetables  We liked it.  Not sure Dan was nuts over it, but I thought it was yum!  Next time i’d add even more vegetables, even though I put more than it asked for, I didn’t feel there was enough.  I didn’t have the right noodles (how does that happen), so I used rotini instead.  I had every noodle shape BUT spaghetti or linguine.  Figured rotini would still get nice sauce-surface coverage and it did.  Think I made the right choice over shells or penne 😉

Standstill Sunday

RUN

Didn’t get to the gym when it opened, but I was close.   Was dragging butt all day (hence the name of today’s blog), from the time I woke up and couldn’t get out of bed, until the time I went to bed for the night (now I know it’s super high mold counts in the air).  I lifted weights and it was not my most stellar performance, but it was there.  Foam rolled my legs to try to finish off that charlie horse pain which was only a tinge left.

LIFE

Dan was actually down with the mold allergy too.  If Dan is down, I know it’s really bad.  Dan takes shots and pills for his cat allergies and he’s not really allergic to anything else.  I use him, my friend Alison, and my coworker as my allergy barometers.  If they feel bad, then I know it’s allergies and not me getting some weird cold.

I didn’t get much accomplished at home at all.  Laundry, cleaned a tiny bit, groceries, a little food prep, and tossed some dead veggie plants from the back porch, finished hanging scarves in my dining room.  I wanted my new patio set put together so I could stain it before I set it out, but none of that happened 😦  Maybe one day this week if it doesn’t rain.

Just as I predicted, Dan watching the Auburn game was loud and violent.  NOT A FAN OF THAT.  I pretty much stayed upstairs and cleaned and worked on setting up my office nook again.  I decided to remove my laptop from the living room and put it into the nook where it belongs and have it hooked up through my full size monitor and with keyboard and mouse.  I want to keep phone/email/computer time to a minimum between dinner and bedtime.  Dan and I are both guilty of  getting sucked into these distractions (me on the laptop, him on the iphone).  I cleaned up my nook, which had gotten piled up with random things that needed to be sorted.  Looks all neat and pretty now 🙂   Now if he’d only keep his office neat and organized (he has a full size office downstairs with a closet.  I have a built-in office nook upstairs, with a HUGE closet). 

My 2nd ultrasound is Monday late afternoon.  In an effort to make sure my stomach isn’t too full with food like the first one, I have been trying to only stick with liquids until the test.  I’ve done ok with that for the most part, but my brain knows this is a self imposed ban and not a medically necessary ban, so I had a few small pieces of chicken and a rice cake with almond butter, in addition to the pudding, cottage cheese, smoothies, and soups i’ve eaten.  Sad thing is, I have to have a tooth pulled on Friday, so i’ll be back to the liquids again Friday.  SUCK.  Lol, not suck literally, because you can’t do that after dental work 😉

Hopefully the week is low key, because the weekend will not be.   Friday I run 18 miles in morning, then have my tooth yanked at noon, then it’s Drive By Truckers concert at Stubbs that night (of course Dan wants to eat there, not sure what i’ll do with my stupid mouth).  Saturday my BFF is coming into town for my sister’s bday (but she’s staying with me) we are doing Pecan Street festival and dinner on Saturday for that, then Sunday it’s wake up supa early for Silicon Relay and then a BBQ at sister’s house for more birthday celebration.   

Dan is out of town on Saturday and Sunday, he’s doing his own thing with a concert, floating the river, and a charity motorcycle ride.   After I thought about it some, I decided that spending time with my family for my sister’s birthday for the majority of the weekend is where I needed to be.  Somethings just trump others in life , and seeing my family and BFF this weekend is where I need to be.

FOOD

In an effort to prepare for my ultrasound on Monday, I made the Tomato Bisque from Gina.  It was pretty simple and tastes amazing.  I still exploded it a bit in my blender, because I was impatient and put too much in there.  That’s what I get, lol!  Anyhow, if I was eating solid food, i’d be pairing it with a grilled cheese or some sort of grilled sandwich, but alas, since it’s only liquids, it’s solo until after Monday evening.  You better believe that Tuesday for lunch, when I eat the last serving, there will be a crusty-cheesy accompaniment to the soup. 

Trying a few new recipes this week.  A Thai inspired stir fry tonight and a mediterranean chicken dish.  Well the chicken may have to wait, because while I wrote it on the menu, I forgot to write where I saw the recipe!  If I can’t find it, will make something of the like.  All I remember is that it was chicken, capers, artichokes and maybe some feta.  HATE when I do that.  I looked through my emails and my reader and I don’t see it.  Going to drive myself nuts until I find it!