Busy Couple of Weeks

Thank you for your patience for the lack of blog updates. These last couple of weeks have been very chaotic and I’ve had trouble keeping up my normal routine.

Since we’re down to one vehicle at the moment, every time I need a vehicle during the day, I need to spend an additional 2 hours in the car dropping my husband off at work and picking him up.

The last couple of weeks have been filled with interviews, doctor’s appointments, vet appointments, etc…and toss on a couple of difficult assignments from my programming class, you have a recipe for me getting nothing done besides the must-dos. I didn’t even get to update my Duffy Disney counter!

Things have quieted down a bit now, and I anticipate returning to a more regular blogging schedule soon.

 

Final Update: After the Snow

We made it through the whole thing with our power intact!! We didn’t get as much snow as predicted, but we were more concerned with the wind and sleet, anyway.

Today we shoveled and snowblowed ourselves out. The steep driveway wasn’t as bad as we thought it’d be. I’m very glad we waited until TODAY to do any shoveling. It was warm (30s), sunny and not at all windy which made things quite pleasant. Attempting to shovel yesterday would’ve been silly.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

After the sun hit the driveway for awhile, it was perfect. Now, we just have to hope that melting from the top of the hill doesn’t create an icy situation that prevents Jimmy from getting up the hill tomorrow.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In the meantime, Jimmy is upset with the Patriots, chicken with roasted potatoes & veggies & cornbread is in the oven, and we are going to watch the X-Files tonight.

Storm Update #4

We made it through the morning with the power intact! Last night it turned into a scary sleet/freezing rain situation. The gusty wind kept tossing the frozen crystals on the windows and making a horrible noise. I was concerned about that icy substance causing power lines or trees to go out last night, but we made it safely to the morning!

We are getting far less snow here than expected…we are up to about 6 or 7 inches now (hard to tell with all the blowing). We are expected to get another 5 today…bringing the total to about a third of what was predicted for our area.

Snow seems to be quiet and fluffy again. Wind doesn’t seem as bad anymore either.

Storm Update #3

We’re still alive, and the power is still on. Too dark (and cold) for photos. I don’t like the noise the snow is making…I love the silence and peacefulness that snowfall usual brings…this snow is more like tiny delicate ice pellets…so it makes a noise that sounds sort of like light rain…and sometimes it blows against the windows and makes noise…it just reminds me how wet and sticky this snow is and how likely it is to cause power outages.

For now, though, we’re alright. We ate dinner and watched the last episode of Broadchurch. I have to pick a new show to start tomorrow.

Storm Update#2

We still have power and Jimmy’s cold has been pretty mild, so things have been going well so far.

It’s been snowing consistently since this morning.

We accomplished a few things around the house, and then played some Lego: The Hobbit co-op on my laptop. I’m now cooking some baked ziti.

Jimmy’s recliner broke, and he’s pretty bummed.

Storm Update #1

I’m going to be posting quick updates here about the massive snow storm for curious and worried friends and family members.

All reports yesterday indicated the snow was supposed to arrive at noon. Jimmy is coming down with a cold, so I let him sleep in this morning.

Big mistake!

I thought we were all set with supplies, but Jimmy informed me when he woke up that he had forgotten we didn’t have gas for the snowblower.

It was too late. The snow began a couple hours earlier than anticipated, and the car couldn’t get out of the driveway. We could have done a quick shoveling, but if we can’t get out our driveway, we likely wouldn’t have been able to get up the steep hill that stands between us and the gas station. This snow is particularly slippery, and the car was sliding all over the place. The car has always been fantastic on snowy Michigan highways, so I blame the snow, not the car.

Looks like we are snowbound until at least Sunday.

Fitbit & Emergency Sweet and Sour Sauce

What’s Going On This Week:

Fitbit Acquired: I’ve wanted a Fitbit for years…since they came out with them. Thanks to UVA, I was finally able to get one for (effectively) free if I complete a (fairly easy) activity challenge over the next few months. I’m super excited…you know how much I love data! Also, increasing my step total is great training for Disney!

 

Meal Plan: I’m not going to bother sharing my meal plan with you this week. Jimmy is away on business, so the plan consists of: two days of salad and baked potatoes, two days of frozen Chinese food, and one day of frozen ravioli leftover from oral surgery recovery.

Emergency Sweet & Sour Sauce: For the dinners of above mentioned Chinese food, I got steamed dumplings and egg rolls from Costco. Well, the box of egg rolls did not come with sauce (rude!). I didn’t realize this until it was time for dinner, so I Googled “fast sweet and sour sauce”. I found a stove-top recipe that was half-way decent. If I had planned for this, I would’ve made a fancier one and actually picked up the ingredients for it. However, I needed this ASAP, so I found one with ingredients I had in! Here’s a link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/19670/sweet-and-sour-sauce-i/ I followed the recommendations for adding honey and increasing the ketchup.

Fingers Crossed: We’ve had a couple showings recently, so hopefully that will continue even through the wintery mess. Also, I’ve got a couple jobs applications out that I’m pretty hopeful about.

Pita Bread: I will miss the soft, thin, perfect traditional Lebanese pita bread that was everywhere in Toledo. This stuff is NOT a good substitute, but it’s all I could find, ick:

Life: Oral Surgery Update

Just a quick update for folks who are curious…

Thursday late morning I had my oral surgery to remove a severely broken tooth in the back of my mouth. In addition, they added a bone graft which will help my own bone heal, prevent bone loss, and make it easier for me to get a dental implant in that spot (in about 6 months from now).

Over a decade ago, I had my wisdom teeth removed and that surgery went very well, so I was actually less nervous about this procedure than I would be going to a normal dentist appointment. My oral surgeon and his staff were fantastic. The procedure was quick and smooth. I had general anesthesia and suffered very little side effects from it (unlike my husband who had his wisdom teeth taken out a year ago and was completely out of it for a day).

Overall, I’m doing better than anticipated though today has been more challenging than yesterday. Yesterday, my main issue was stopping the bleeding which took a bit longer than normal. I stayed in bed most of the day yesterday after my appointment, with Jimmy occasionally escorting me to my chair in the living room for dinner & a tv show, and an evening snack & another show (currently we are bouncing between Supernatural and Person of Interest). Yesterday I ate applesauce, grape juice, a breakfast shake, a vanilla pudding, and cheddar cheese soup.

Today, I woke up feeling better and after handling the pain meds so well yesterday, I was ready to have a semi-productive day. Unfortunately, I’m finding I can only stand/sit-up for about 30 minutes or so before I get dizzy/extremely tired and need to lay down for a bit. I’ve set my computer up next to the bed to facilitate this. I can’t just stay in bed, as I get bored very easily.

My jaw pain is moderately bad, but the pain meds are doing a fantastic job of keeping it in check. However, I can open and close my jaw all the way, my lips and corners of my mouth are fine, and the swelling has been minimum…so I could be much worse.

Today I’ve managed to eat applesauce, a lemon pudding, potato soup and strawberry yogurt. And more juice and water, of course.

I’m debating as to whether or not to attend a holiday party at the University tonight. I’m supposed to avoid doing activities that raise my blood pressure (as an introvert, interacting with a bunch of strangers tops that list), and I also won’t really be able to eat or drink much of what they have to offer. I’m also trying to avoid talking. On the other hand, we’ve already RSVP’ed (we did before the tooth incident occurred), and I don’t want poor Jimmy to have to go alone. Also, I love the holidays.

Harree is LOVING my time in the bed. He’s pretty much been on me the whole day. The bed arrangement allows him to be on my lap while I type this, and he’s participated in all my cat naps throughout the day. He’s given me several appreciative kiss-attacks to my face as I’ve been napping.

Thanksgiving 2015

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Jimmy & I spent the day cooking, cuddling cats and playing Civilization V on my laptop.

We often play Civilization around the holidays since it allows you to take turns. So we leave the game running all day, each taking our turn whenever we have a few free moments. Our game is still going, in fact. I’m playing Indonesia, and Jimmy has Arabia. Thanksgiving Civ has become a  tradition.

While prepping our food, we had some snack…

I don’t actually have any photos of the real food because I was too busy eating. 🙂

We brined and grilled our turkey. After having it this way for years, I can’t eat normal oven turkey. It’s way too dry and icky.

We also made delicious apple sauce, cornbread, mashed potatoes and an apple and walnut salad. Oh, and cranberry sauce, of course.

For dessert we had egg nog cookies and pumpkin pie. I even found the pumpkin pie pretty tolerable this year.

I got more accomplished on the Lego village last night. Johnny Sausage’s house has reappeared!

Harree (who we are calling Harold Angel right now, thanks to a Peanuts Christmas special) is doing well! The new treatment seems to have bought us some more time. His appetite is on the rise, the drooling has stopped, and he is clearly feeling much better. He is SUCH a good patient. A lot of the reason he is managing this disease so well is because of himself. He follows instructions and trusts us. Love my baby Harree so much!

Today we are helping the kitchen recover from yesterday, making a blueberry pie, working on fixing the dashboard lights in the car, social media stuff for my mom’s shop, and making bracelets for the shop.

Hope to start Christmas decorating soon!

Today is the Day!

Today I get to see all of my kitties and my wonderful husband…