Our Life In The Desert

I’m fine, that’s why I haven’t said anything…

2010-09-06T04:48:15Z

I was reading a friends blog tonight when it sort of dawned on me that I haven’t really been keeping up with stuff on the medical front.

I have tried to keep my family updated, when I talk to them – but honestly, I just don’t feel like I’ve had any measurable amount of time to blog.

Also? My stepmom has been pretty ill over the last few months and I’ll be honest, my focus has been on her, as she has the more immediate need.

At any rate – I’m doing well. In fact, I’m doing really well. I think that the reduction in overall stress has resulted in a marked improvement in my overall well-being.

I did go for lab work a bit over a week ago and while my liver enzymes (AST/ALT) and my clotting factor (INR) numbers aren’t ‘perfect’ – my Dr. said (via email. Have I mentioned how much I *love* my Dr?) he’s o.k. with where I’m at.

I am bruising a lot – but I think that has more to do with new surroundings and a need to be more cognizant of things around me than anything else. It seems I run into everything – but that’ll get better when I have a better feel for where everything else and stop trying to feel my way around by bumping into everything.

In terms of coloring – I’m more normal looking and less Big Bird looking – which I always say, is a good thing. I am still on the higher dosage of Prednisone and Imuran, so I still have that awesome full beard, mustache and swelling going on – but I’ve come to realize, as much as it sucks, it’s really a small price to pay for how much better I’ve actually felt over the last 12 months.

I don’t know that I ever really wrote about all the symptoms I had leading up to my diagnosis – but it involved the inability to keep any measurable amount of food down and a lot of pain and discomfort for 16 days before I finally had to beg someone to do *something*. Even then, it was 12 more days of a being in the hospital before I finally started to get some treatment…

So yes – this is much better.

Besides, I hear bearded ladies are making a comeback, so there’s always that to fall back on – career-wise.

Anyway, I’m doing good. I feel better than I’ve felt in a very, very long time. I’m in a very good place – mentally and physically.

As for John? The Paxil isn’t working – I haven’t asked him if I can write about what’s going on – but let’s just say, the side effects have, so far, been worse than the actually issue it’s designed to treat. He’s going to see his Dr. on Tuesday to get on something else.

He’s also going for his second week of allergy shots – which he takes twice a week. If you can believe this, his crappy insurance with the $40 copay? They are paying for the shots 100%.

It’s a happy day…well, sort of. The AC is out – that sucks. But, I’m bright siding it – it could be July. It was only 107 here today…it could have been 114 – and yeah, you can really tell the difference. Just fyi.

Dear Amazon: You Kind of Suck…

2010-09-04T15:42:08Z

A few weeks ago, John and I decided to forgo our paid TV services, including TiVo, and try life without cable and the like. It’s been rather painless, with one minor exception:

The few Wireless keyboard/mouse combo’s we’ve tried haven’t spanned the distance of our living room and trust me, our living room isn’t that big.

So, after some research and chatting with friends, we decided to get a Logitech MX5500. I did a quick search and found it on Amazon with a rebate. I was pretty stoked so I placed my order.

That’s when the problem started…

I came back to the product page to click the link to get the documents for the rebate and discovered that I would have needed to place my order a week ago to get it.

So why were they still publishing the “After rebate” price on their page? I’ve taken a screenshot to share, in the event that they fix their error – which I did call and report to them when I called to cancel my order (after they refused to honor the rebate, which they were advertising).

Stuff like this makes the articles and commentaries like the one recently published about Amazon.com in the NYTimes and on various blogs incredibly hard to ignore.

I should add, when I inquired about why the rebate information was still posted, I was told that it was because someone who purchased the item during the rebate period may still need the documents. When I asked why the rebate was still being reflected in the ‘final price’ – there was a lot of ‘ums’ and stumbling.

Ironically, I would have paid $119.99 for the keyboard – it was still a pretty good price – but their games and gimmicks left a bad taste in my mouth.

More pointless rambling

2010-09-04T12:50:42Z

I am going to list post because, for whatever reason, I can’t seem to form a functional and coherent thought that will translate into an actual flowing monologue – so instead, you get this random soliloquy about my week.

I’m sorry in advance…

I woke up at 5 AM on a Saturday morning. What I really should be doing, instead of writing this blog, is pulling together a grocery list and going shopping before the hordes and hordes of people inundate my local grocery chain and make the experience one that sucks in monumental proportions.

Man it was hot here yesterday. I think people expect it to automatically start cooling down all across the country when September arrives, but it sure doesn’t here. The record high was 112 for yesterdays date – I just tried to see if we reached that yesterday, but I’ve given up. You’ll just have to understand that I’m still working on my first cup of coffee, so some things must be sacrificed.

So, how come every time I sit down to write up my meal plan or whatever, it seems like I just take the foods we normally eat and move them around to different parts of the week? How can I introduce new foods that are equally easy and good? It seems we’re stuck in a ‘go-to-food’ rut. I really *need* to go grocery shopping, but I also don’t want to buy the same things over and over again.

Is it just me or does it seem like the Blog Comment Spammers came out in full force on on Sept 1 and haven’t stopped yet? Of my several blogs (and the blogs I support) I’ve gotten 50-100 spam comment notification emails per day.

I need to go see if I can find some meal ideas so I can go to the store. Plus, I can’t seem to concentrate, so this post is really starting to suck.

I need to figure out what I’m going to do for the kitchen experiment too…arf

Homemade Red Velvet Cake – AKA Heaven on a plate

2010-08-28T21:28:30Z

When I first saw this recipe at work, I knew I had to try it. Being from the south, Red Velvet Cake is a staple – it’s one of my all-time favorite cakes to eat and since most of the cakes I eat either come from a box or come from a bakery, I was anxious about making my very first homemade Red Velvet Cake.

I’ll admit, in advance, I’m no cake decorator. I’d love to be able to make beautiful cakes to share with my friends and family – but they’re just going to have to settle for ugly cakes that taste like heaven.

So, without further ado – Red Velvet Cake, from scratch:

Red Velvet Cake

Prep: 15 Minutes | Bake: 18 – 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter, softened
2 ½ cups of sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 (8-oz.) container of sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (1-oz.) bottles of red food coloring
1 ½ recipes 5-Cup Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter, at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

2. Stir together flour, cocoa, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla; stir in red food coloring. Spoon cake batter into 3 greased and floured 8-inch round pans.

3. Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour)

4. Spread 5-Cup Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on the top and sides of cake.

Note: Try as I might, I could NOT find an 8-in Round Cake Pan – so I ended up using three 9-inch pans. It seemed to work fine. This is a LOT of not-real-wet ingredients to mix together. It’d be great if you could get someone to help you pour them in as you use your hand mixer to slower mix it all together. It took closer to 28 minutes for my cakes to cook.

5-Cup Cream Cheese Fosting

Prep: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

2 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
1 (32-0z) packaged of powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Note: Again, I suggest you get some help adding the sugar while you mix. It took a while – again, this is a lot of dry/not real moist ingredients to mix.

I’ve decided – I’m going to try to make a series of these kitchen experiments – I enjoy it. Also? Y should know – I started writing this post before I even tried the cake. I knew it was going to be good – I wasn’t sure how good though. I edited the title of this post to give you a better indication.

Final Thoughts: It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I’d love a stand mixer, I think that might make it easier. The cake? It’s divine. It’s a very ‘thick’ cake, almost like a pound cake, but it is amazing. The icing is, well, the icing. When you’re used to boxed cake and $1 icing from the baking aisle – it doesn’t take much to top it. I will definitely make it again.

That stupid cricket is back and I still can’t make a phone call like a normal person

2010-08-25T12:40:15Z

If I don’t start getting some rest when I sleep, I might just flame out. Seriously. I am getting to the point where I need some sort of apparatus to keep my eyes open.

So. Stinkin. Tired.

For the last two days, the old man and I have both gotten up before the alarm and just ‘given up’. He’s not sleeping well either.

Did I mention that we’ve got a cricket?

No?

Well, we do. He made himself known two nights ago and that has been the source of the old mans inability to sleep.

*chirp chirp chirp*

It lives in the wall between our bathroom and our office. There just isn’t a lot you can do for a cricket in the wall.

In other news, I’m thinking I might start Vlog series, but if I do, it’ll have to be something unique and different from what is already out there. I do have an idea floating around in there…but I’m not jumping on it until I get some of the other things in my life worked out – like the fact that the vast majority of my telephone calls now include the sentence, “I think you put me on mute”. So, give me a call sometime – we won’t actually /talk/ – I’ll just conference in my Dr., hang up on you mid-sentence and/or mute the phone so you can’t hear a word I’m saying.

Ha. I should Vlog about my total inability to communicate using my iPhone 4, using my iPhone 4.

Oh, and our head shots came in – mine are awful. I really want to cry…I may ask about getting them done myself. I’m willing to pay to get a decent head shot…plus I totally need someone to do my hair and make up.

That’s all. I’m going to go shower. I am going to leave at 6:45 today and see what the traffic is like. This should be all kinds of fun.

Totally pointless and irrational blog post

2010-08-24T14:00:24Z

Ugh.

So sick of hanging up on people with my face when I call them on my cell phone.
I need to find a headset so I can complain about something else.
My email everything electronic is totally freakin hosed.
I didn’t realize, until I broke down last night in a puddle of tears, how much stress I am under – I feel pretty stupid.
I have had the overwhelming desire to smoke the last few days.
I’ve resisted, don’t worry.
I have had super-vivid dreams the last 6 nights, to the point that my sleep is almost totally restless.
I’m not sure the concealer can hide the bags any more.
Heck, I’m not even sure I’m going to try.

Sorry about the pitty party. I’m having kind of a rough go. Change is super hard…

[Edited to add: I kicked something and my toe really freakin hurts - this may be the straw people.]

Blog Redesign + New Masthead

2010-08-23T12:50:55Z

I realize I just did this. I do love my custom, hand drawn masthead – but it’s time for change – and so here I am.

I want a new custom and original masthead that is sleek, chic, modern and fresh – one that uses new colors and will breathe new life into the blog.

I am not limited by size.

I don’t want something ‘childish’ or ‘country kitchen’.

So – if you’re an artist or you know an artist who is looking for some piece work, please use the contact form. Please include links to your current work

Need more info? Ask your questions in comments and I’ll answer here

A Bucket of Catch-up

2010-08-23T01:43:45Z

As has become fairly common around these parts, I’m going to do a basic ‘catch all’ post to cover the things I’ve hinted to earlier in the week, with more depth.

First, I’m going to give an update on my step mom. Earlier this month, she had her left kidney removed because they’d discovered cancer and felt that was the best course of action, based on her medical history. During the surgery, the discovered ‘something concerning to send off to the lab’ and so she was waiting to hear back from that.

Well, she heard back on Friday and the surgeon basically said that there was more cancer than they’d originally thought and they were sending her back to the regular ole non-surgical oncologist.

Naturally, she’s freaked out and so are we. At this point, we’re not sure exactly what it all means, but it most certainly means more treatments. The Dr. made some cursory statements that have basically made us all freak out – but at this point, we’re going to wait until she’s had a chance to speak to her regular oncologist.

So, that’s what the Tweet and Facebook messages were about last week. I certainly appreciate all of the positive vibes/Karma/thoughts/prayers directed her way and I will, of course, update when I know more.

Secondly, you may remember a few weeks ago that I tweeted (at length) about our Chili’s experience. It was awful. I actually had to get on the phone and call the restaurant to request our drinks finally be delivered, this was after having placed our order for both drinks and food and had our food brought to us. It was a real stupid-fest.

At any rate, I sent @Chilis a tweet and told them how unhappy I was and I sent Corporate an email spelling it out in depth.

I never did get any kind of email from Chili’s, which I thought was sort of disappointing, since my contact had been made via email, But when I checked my snail mail yesterday, I discovered they’d sent me a letter and a $20 gift check, so we decided to give it a shot for lunch.

In the end, our service yesterday was much better than the service we’d experienced previously – and when we pulled out the gift checks to pay for our meal, the guy asked us if we’d had a bad experience and if it had been at their location. When I shared our experience with him, he looked at me us and said, “You know, we had retraining this morning and I wondered what had happened – it sounds like we really needed it, so thanks for writing in so we could make your experience better”

It was great that we actually went in on the day they’d done training – but even better was the response from their staff.

So, this is another one of those “bad experiences gone good” – I’m disappointed when I go some place and the service is crap – but I am always happy when I go some place where I’ve told them their service is crap and their service is crappy no more.

Sadly, that never happened with On The Border. Their loss.

In other news – I hinted in comments that someone at work had finally ‘delved deeper’ into the ‘my daughter doesn’t live with me’ statement I had made previously. Basically, she wanted to know who my daughter lived with, since she didn’t live with me. I shared that I had placed her for adoption and that she lived with her mother in the Chicago area and just kind of left it at that. She did ask if we knew each other – which isn’t an a-typical question from people inexperienced with adoption – and I shared a bit about our openness.

It was a great chat. She was super friendly and totally nonjudgmental about it – I didn’t have that ‘crushing guilt’ that usually accompanies these types of conversations. I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about there.

At any rate – I feel much better now – way less apprehensive and a whole ton less worried about how to deal with it going forward.

Finally, I am looking at options to help with productivity in my drive. I’ve got to find a good ear phone/mic option – the Apple Ear Buds don’t work for me – I’ve installed the Dragon Naturally Speaking App on my phone and I’m unsure of one of the Borg-Style Bluetooth Headsets will also work with Dragon. I haven’t been able to find anyone who knows that answer either (Anyone know? Can you use a Bluetooth headset to talk to your ‘voice control’ on an iPhone 4?)

Now, if I could just get my work email on my phone – I need to look into that.

Anyway – that’s pretty much all I have going on right at the moment. Ready to start my week with a bang.

Damnit, I forgot to get gas. Crap.

A Week in Review: The New Job Edition

2010-08-21T03:52:11Z

Well, I’m alive.

It was touch and go there for a minute I think.

Actually, it wasn’t so bad. I enjoyed meeting new people. I really hope to be able to get up to speed on things very quickly.

The processes and procedures are much different than what I’m used to and that scares me. I just need to remember to ask questions.

There’s nothing wrong with that, right?

As for the job – I love it. I do. I think once I’ve found my footing a bit more and I have a better feel for things – I will love it even more.

As for the commute, it is everything I knew it was going to be and more. I need to get an aux jack installed in my car – it’s on the short list of things I want to do, but it hasn’t been far enough up the list to get done – but that’s about to change. Seriously, who decided it was a good idea to make the ‘rush hour’ prime time to trashy radio?

I’m so done with prank calls, nasty jokes and stupid-human-tricks.

Yes, an aux jack is totally moving up the short list.

Overall, I am happy. It is a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say. A very good thing.

This entire post was brought to you by the fact that I failed to hydrate almost all day today, so now I have a dehydration headache – which is awesome!

[Edited to add: I forgot to mention - I'll do a more comprehensive post tomorrow about my step mom and her medical related issues. I tried calling all evening and the phone was off the hook (do people still say that?) so I don't have any real firm or updated info. Good karma is, as always, appreciated.]

Today totally has it out for me, I’m just sayin…

2010-08-19T03:44:43Z

I’m tired.

I want to go to bed.

But first, let me tell you about my day:

Took the totally wrong way to work this morning – and as a reward, I got to sit in traffic for 1.5 hours. It was so awesome – I think I might take my camera just so I can shoot some pictures of some of the stupidity I see in the morning. I’d forgotten what commuting in traffic was like. Woo hoo.
Got flipped off twice before I even got on the highway after leaving the office this afternoon – I’m pretty sure they weren’t offers/requests – but more like suggestions. I have no idea what I did to deserve it, but whatever.
I got on the highway and drove home, only to take the wrong exit, have to go four miles out of my way, in traffic, while in a hurry.
Went to the mall to buy a shirt, had zero luck.
Got home and found the following things broken or on their way to being broken: Jerrett’s glasses, the washing machine and my hot water heater.
Decided that I’d pretend my give a damn was busted and not worry about, so I started to iron a few things. Guess what? I got one shirt ironed and, yes, my iron stopped working.

You know what I need?

More stress.

Yup – that’s just what I need.

But it’s gonna be ok – because this is *all* I had to deal with today

Most all of you know what that last sentence means.

Oh and I’m totally taking my camera tomorrow. I am, you watch.