Today is the sixth birthday of Anneliese’s only litter of pups. Bogart, Baerbel, Birgit (AKA: Ali) and Baron. Time has flown by! Here is a little video so you can take a walk down memory lane with me, and with their owners!
Happy Birthday Puppies from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.
I think the thing I am learning, as I go through the process of getting a firm diagnosis on my health is, it isn’t easy, and it will take a bit more time, and lots of patience.
I returned yesterday to get the results from all the blood work I had done three weeks ago. Some of the results were good. Some were bad. At least I’m not dying, right? However, there was still a giant question mark. What exactly is wrong?
We have an idea. It is more than likely an Autoimmune Disease, we are just not sure which one. I’m scheduled for a CAT Scan in a couple of weeks, and then, hopefully, we will know what we are dealing with, or have a better idea.
Some of you know that I have been fighting ill health for sometime. At first it was high fevers, congestion, exhaustion. However for the last six plus months, my joints have become swollen and painful and the exhaustion continues.
I finally have a doctor who is Board Certified in both Rheumatology and Internal Medicine. After our initial meeting he promised he wouldn’t give up on me, and in the end we will find out what it is and get me on some sort of therapy to feel good again.
Keep your fingers crossed that they can discover what is wrong, and get me feeling back to normal. (Or as close to normal as is possible.)
Today I go to Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital and will be getting the results from all the blood work I had. I am a bit nervous, but hopeful at the same time.
I have so much that I am thankful for, and each day I pray that whatever is wrong with me, won’t be too bad, and will be treatable.
I’ll be writing about it all tomorrow. Please keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer.
1. Have you ever had to wear a uniform? If yes, tell us more. Did you love it or hate it?
No, never had to wear a uniform. Thank goodness!
2. April 22nd is Earth Day. What is one thing you do personally to be a good steward of planet Earth?
Every year I plant a garden.
3. Brown rice, quinoa, or couscous…your healthy grain of choice? How often are one of the three on your menu at home? Given a choice between white rice, brown rice, wild rice, and fried rice which would you go for?
Love fried rice!
4. In your opinion, who has the best job ever?
A children’s book writer and illustrator. I would really love to do that.
5. What’s a situation in your life currently requiring patience?
My health. Or should I say, the lack there of.
6. Do you live your life around days of the week? Explain.
Not really. I do try to make it to Weight Watchers on Wednesday.
7. In a nod to the A to Z challenge happening around town this month, what ‘R word’ best describes your April?
Ridiculous! It’s been crazy busy, and I have not felt up to par. Get the first of my test results on Thursday.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
After getting my hair done today I came home and we were eating lunch, when all of a sudden the back of my head started hurting, and then my neck. Tonight it’s just on the right side. I’m thinking I pinched a nerve. How this actually occurred is beyond me. But it hurts like heck!
Last night I decided to redeem myself after Sunday’s french fry and onion ring disaster. I had a wonderful pork roast and wanted to try something new. Hubby loved it, and so did I! Here is what I did.
Roast Pork
Ingredients
Directions
Did you ever have one of those days moments, when for whatever reason something goes wrong with what you are cooking.
Usually I am pretty good and it has been a long time since I totally screwed up a meal. I remember a long time ago (first marriage) when I attempted to make a tuna fish roll for dinner. As I started the roll, it all fell apart, and there was no salvaging the mess. I sat down and wept, until first husband came home and told me all was well, and we went out for dinner. I seem to recall that pancakes were involved, but at that moment, no one cared, as long as they weren’t forced to eat that tuna fish disaster!
Well, last night, I was making baked chicken for Hubby, some fish for me, and baked fries and onion rings. I had the timer going and the chicken and fish did well, but when I went to take the fries and onion rings from the oven…they were burnt to a crisp!
Not wanting to admit to this disaster (after all it was my fault), I quickly dumped the crispy mess down the disposal and quickly made a fresh batch. Dinner was just delayed by 10 minutes.
Anyway, it’s funny when something like that happens because in the grand scheme of things you realize that one meal in thousands, really isn’t too bad.
Two years ago, I was in the middle of having my face rearranged due to cancer. They had operated on me a month before, and left me looking like this, while the skin graft took.
The biggest problem was, that the doctor basically maimed me, when he didn’t have to, and his idea of reconstruction would have left me looking like this, for a very long time.
OK, that is when depression set in, and I stopped going out, started eating (chocolate) to sooth my depression (trust me, that never works) and felt as though I would be hideous for the rest of my life.
After a couple of months, a friend gave me the name of her doctor in Boston, and I went down to meet him, and get a second opinion.
Dr. P. told me he couldn’t make my nose look the same, but he could definitely improve what the other doctor had left me with.
So, starting in July, I had my first surgery with him. After the first surgery with Dr. P. I could already see the improvement.
After that, we waited a few weeks for healing, then more surgery and the improvement was remarkable.
Dr. P. was not only a gifted plastic surgeon, but a wonderful man. Finally in November of 2013 he finished my reconstruction.
Now we wait, until the scars fade and I somehow forget what my face looked like before and get used to what it looks like now.
I will be honest. The way you look in the mirror to yourself, is something most of us never think about. We get up, shower, comb our hair and never really think that the person you are seeing may change.
And so it was with me. One day I looked like the person I always have know. And then, I wasn’t. I have really struggled with depression about this, and this spring I decided to fight back!
I am, who I am. The person inside is the same.
Now, it’s time for me to work on getting rid of all that chocolate that I ate to soothe myself during the surgery and after. Let me tell you, gaining weight, never helps with how you see yourself.
It’s hard, losing weight. And oh, so easy to gain it!!!
Life is as good as you chose to make it!
Game on!
Hearty Beef Stew
This hearty beef stew tastes better if refrigerated overnight, making it the perfect make-ahead meal (overnight can be expanded to several days too!).
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Back in 1965 my family set out on a road trip to Washington, DC. Dad drove and Mom attempted to read maps, and in the back seat of our car were my brother, Richard, my sister, Melodie and me. I was all of 6 years old and probably a bit of a handful.
We filled the back seat with boxes of Barbie toys, and I remember having to be totally silent when we drove through large cities with heavy traffic. Dad really was a nervous Nelly about driving in the city.
We stayed at the Mayflower Hotel, and although I remember nothing about the room, I do remember liking the rather elaborate elevator that they had.
We went to the Lincoln Memorial, and stood for Dad to take our picture. It was so hot and I recall that we were all sweating like crazy. My poor brother was wearing a suit.
And then over to the White House. Dad insisted we pose and I recall refusing to sit down and burn my legs. Being the baby of the family, I wasn’t forced to sit down, but my sister and brother were.
We visited Arlington National Cemetery, and President Kennedy’s grave. I remember the eternal flame, but not much else.
The most important thing about this trip is that it was the only vacation that we took as a family. We made day trips, but never again did the five of us travel or do any sort of vacation together. I am so happy to have these pictures, and my sister’s great memory, so I can look back and remember…
1. Speaking of April 15th…what’s the most ‘taxing’ thing you’ve done recently?
Taxes! LOL! Not, not really. Yesterday was grocery shopping and errand day. Hubby stayed home (he usually comes with me), and so I had to do the entire big shopping alone. By the time I shopped, got home, got everything put away, made dinner, and cleaned it all up, it was 7:30 and I was beat!
2. When did you last take a taxi somewhere and where was that somewhere?
Oh my, it has been a long while. Years. Probably the last time I traveled to Germany with Anneliese. That was 2009!
3. What’s something you can do today that you couldn’t do a year ago?
See my beautiful granddaughter, who has grown from toddler to little girl! She will be three next month!
4. How often is chicken (in some form or fashion) on your menu at home?
Once or twice a week.
Which of the following would you most like to see on your table tonight…a chicken salad sandwich, your mom’s fried chicken, a Chick-fil-A meal, Cracker Barrel’s chicken n’ dumplings, a roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings, or ‘hold the chicken, I’m a vegetarian’…?
Roast chicken dinner. I have the best recipe HERE for a perfect baked chicken. Love baked chicken!
5. What was your favorite television program when you were a kid? What characters do you remember the most?
I loved The Partridge Family, The Brady Bunch, My Three Sons, and The Original Star Trek! Favorite character? Keith, (David Cassidy!) Although I also loved Katie, in My Three Sons.
6. What was the last piece of ‘art’ you made?
I went to a painting class in February 2015. We had so much fun! Left to right, my cousin Janet, daughter, Amanda, cousin Sue and me.
7. What frustrates you most about the Internet?
How sometimes it can slow waaaaaay down. Mostly, it is fast and gets me where I want to go. So I don’t have too many gripes.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
Hubby and I hoofed it out today to get our free Ben and Jerry ice cream cone. He got Mint Chocolate Chunk and I got my favorite Cherry Garcia! The lines were long, but it was worth the wait!