Wheatgrass and me

Many people who have explored the avenues of self-healing have heard about wheatgrass.  Wheatgrass juice is believed to benefit people in numerous ways: cleansing the lymph system, building the blood, restoring balance in the body, removing toxic metals from the cells, nourishing the liver and kidneys and restoring vitality.

Currently I’m buying mine frozen from the health food store.  It comes in individual pockets and I simply thaw two each morning and drink them down.  I just started back up since I had the hives so I’m not sure if this is working for me or not. 

I may want to explore growing the grass myself as it’s much less expensive.  Maybe I’ll just restart my juicing routine.  That involves regular veggies like celery, peppers, spinach etc.  I would get my “veggie bowl” ready the night before and juice each morning.  I’ll do some this weekend and post a pic for you.

Peace out.

…it’s been a few days.

...all is well just a little bit of pain.  I go to see a new primary dr. on Wednesday and I have a lead on a good Gastro dr. who I will call tomorrow to schedule appt.  I just don't understand why drs don't listen sometimes.  My current gastro doesn't get it.  He sees no reason for my pain but can he tell me why I'm now taking pain pills during the day...no he can't.  I've graduated from taking a half a pill only at night as needed to taking them on the way and going home from work.  After 11 months on chemo I know my body and this isn't right.  This is the same doctor who just three short weeks BEFORE I had the tumor and my appendix removed said I worried too much.  Can you believe that $&@!#.

I can now.  Everyone must be involved in managing their own healthcare.  You can't depend on the nurse or even the dr to do this for you.  Always (and I mean always) get a copy of all your tests.  They belong to you not the office or the dr who provided them.  I've had to sit in a waiting room a time or two until they relented and gave them to me.  I'm not shy about demanding my information.  But, I must also mention that you must be polite and nice to the office staff...you don't need to take crap but you do need to be decent to them.  I often say, that person behind the desk at the dr's office or the nurses are the people that you will need the most when dealing with a chronic condition.  Be fair but firm.

Ok...let's say tomorrow we talk about something fun.  I second that emotion :)

Let’s talk wheatgrass!!!  That’s what the picture is of.  I had two shots this morning after laying off of it because I didn’t know if it caused my hives.

Peace out.

Daniel

Daniel single handedly took care of me at home, the house, Daisy and the two cats the entire 12 months that I was on chemo.  Actually on chemo 11 months but the first month wasn’t bad but the month after treatment ended was.

So how do you say thank you…make the rest of your life with that person as special as it was the very first day you fell in love with them…remember that moment? 

I think probably one of the scariest things about my own mortality wasn’t so much that I might die but it was the thought of leaving him here alone.  I know my Dad will be there for me when I go so that’s not so bad but it just damn near broke my heart to think of Daniel here by himself.

We are all going to die someday but darn it we had better make the best of this day we have today, tomorrow and forever…no more mister nice guy :)  I’m going to suck every last little bit of fun and wonderment from each day that I’m still hanging out in this big world.  Just do the best you can and make yourself proud to be who you are.

Peace out!

Cookies for Daisy

…and she is munchin out today!

She is so happy with the new doggie treats I made her!   Can you see her in the background?  I was trying to get a more interesting shot of the final product and didn’t even notice her there outside on the deck looking in.
Not to worry, there was no cruelty involved…she was inside within a few minutes happily munching out on her new snacks!


The recipe was fairly easy.  Wheat flour, cornmeal, oil, eggs, sugar, and I added some garlic.  Roll it out and use cookie cutters to shape and brush with beaten egg.  Cook at 350 for about 20-25 minutes.  Made two trays of cookies.  That will last all of a few days but we are going to try and stretch them for the week.
Peace out.

Saturday....what a day

...I got so much done.  Today was a mish mash of cleaning, cooking and hanging out.  Mucho vacuming and dusting going on today.  Not a pretty site at times.  It's amazing how much I didn't do this past year.  Don't even ask me what the top of the fridge looked like.  We don't want to go there.

Tomorrow is a sailing day...yeehaw!  I'm so looking forward to it.  Maybe that's another reason why I worked my tush off today:))  Daisy is very happy with me.  I made some doggie treats for her.  I used a new recipe and I dare say it was a hit.  I will share the deed with you tomorrow.  Of course I have photos!

The pic today is of my $.52 geraniums that I got at the beginning of the summer.  I didn't know what to plant so I asked the lady at Lowes what she recommended for my deck...this was her recommendation and then she showed me the clearance rack...that's how I got them for .52!!!  These flourish in my deck planters so they will be coming back next year.

Well, I must be going now so I can get my sailor girl groove on...I mean sleep on :)  Peace out.

Thursday and...

... it's a beautiful Maryland day!  What a gorgeous day it was here in the Chesapeake area...simply awesome.  Picture taken from our deck.

I had my roto rooter (colonoscopy) appointment today and I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined it might be.  So yesterday I could eat breakfast and after that nothing but clear liquids.  I wasn't hungry it was more like I wanted to eat because I couldn't. 

At 5pm I took two pills and then at 7pm I started drinking the 2 liters of crap.  I tell you...towards the last half of that damn jug I just wanted to puke.  That was by far the worse part of this entire process...well you know what happens next.  Then I slept pretty good.  Got up and off we went.  I had an 11:30 am appt.

They hooked me up to the iv, the nice guy came in and made me laugh.  He said he was sending me on a round trip to the down under - Australia...I don't know where I went but the next thing they were waking me up and within 30 minutes I was outta there.  I had no polyps or cancer...I can't believe my luck but am sure grateful for it.  He said we will do this again in  5 to 10 years....he prefers 5.   I do have a bit of diverticula but upping my fiber will help prevent more. 

All in all it was a good day I would say.  Peace out.

Wednesday....where did...

...Monday and Tuesday go?  Not to worry, I was just very tired after work both days.  This and other symptoms could come and go up to a year past end of treatment.  Fun huh :)

So tomorrow is the big day.  I call it my "roto rooter" appt.  Tonight they say is the worst of it where you drink the solution.  Can't wait!

Well, I have to go so I can eat my only meal until after my 10:45 appt tomorrow morning.  Jeez, I might have to go somewhere for lunch...well that's something I can do to fill my time tonight...choose a lunch venue for tomorrow.

Peace out.

Sunday is...

...over much too soon.  We didn't sail today because there was still too much to catch up on here at the house.  But Daniel did make progress replacing the broken compass.  He still has some modifications to make for the new compass to fit but it will look great when done.  More importantly it will work!

The is the new lunch/dinner sandwich going on in our house.  Two sliced of italian bread, brush a little olive oil on the outside of each slice, spread Guldens mustard on the inside and fill with whatever, grill on stovetop paninni pan....yummo.  These had cheese and tomato slices...that's it and they were very good and filling.  They will be a good quick go to dinner in the winter with some soup :)

Peace out.

Saturday...

...and my Costco trip is done.  Everything is put away and we just finished a nice salad and some rosemary bread. with their roast chicken which is oh so yummy.

I was rockin the Roomba today!  For those of you who don't know what this is it's a vacuum that goes and does it's thing on its own...works pretty good.  That left me time to take some picture.  This is a picture of a cactus planter on my deck.

It was really muggy out today.  Actually started the ac just to take the humidity out of the air.  Tomorrow I think we are going out on the boat.  I haven't checked the wind speed so we'll see.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?
Satchel Paige

 Peace out.

It's Friday...

...and Daisy says "hey" :)  Well here she is.  Daisy is a three year old Jack Russell Terrier.  Love her.  She is high maintenance most of the time and by that I mean she just loves attention.  Daisy thinks the world revolves around her.  She is known to follow me around while I'm house cleaning...I often wonder what she thinks she might miss! 

She and I can start our walks again.  We live off of a dirt road that almost a mile from our back door to the main road.  We used to walk down and get the mail and she loves that. 

Daisy was so good during my treatment.  She would lay in bed with me alot..that's where I spent most of my time for about 9 of the 11 months I was on the chemo.  In fact, that's where I took this one on my camera phone.  She loves to have her own pillow!  I know...alot of people might be going eewww she's in your bed.  For me it works. 

Isn't she cute!!!  I make her homemade biscuits too.  I need to make some this weekend.  That went by the wayside too during treatment and we bought her milk bones instead.  She likes them but I want to give her mine.

Well, it's time to relax and kick back now.  By the way the top picture of Daisy was taken this evening when I got home.  And yes...it's from the new Nikon D40 (Niko for short) that I am so psyched about.  I figured out why my initial photos were blurry.  The answer was on page 8 of the guide under the section "First Steps"  I needed to change focus from M=manual priority to A=autofocus...duh read the manual.  I don't do that well.  I usually dive right in and don't touch the manual until I get stuck.  Drives my engineer husband absolutely nuts!  I know that is my purpose in life so it's all good!

Peace out.

Thursday is for farmers!

Yeehaw...we have a farm...well sort of!  We joined a CSA.  Karl's Farm is a small, family run farm. They use organic and sustainable methods to grow a wide variety of vegetables and herbs. Karl's Farm is supported by their members through the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

Each week, in exchange for their support and commitment, members receive a variety of vegetables and herbs grown on their farm with no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.

The 2009 fall planting list is: Arugula, Beets, Blue Chinese Cabbage (new this year), Cabbage, Carrots, Chicory, Daikon, Deer tongue lettuce, Florence Fennel, Green Onions, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mesclun mix, Purple Top Turnips, Radicchio, Red Radishes, Red Round Turnips, Rutabaga, Swiss Chard, Tatsoi, White Hakurei Turnips. Plus all of the summer vegetables that continue producing into the fall.

I have tried for the past two years to get into a summer share but they go like hotcakes down here...actually everywhere.  I can I try to buy organic whever I can.  I do shop the sales and I only buy organic for the top 12 offenders which are: (the following list is based on information and studies by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Consumer Reports, and the Environmental Working Group)

Nectarines – 97.3% of nectarines sampled were found to contain pesticides.

Celery – 94.5% of celery sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Pears – 94.4% of pears sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Peaches – 93.7% of peaches sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Apples – 91% of apples sampled were found to contain pesticides.

Cherries – 91% of cherries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

Strawberries – 90% of strawberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Imported Grapes – 86% of imported grapes (i.e. Chile) sampled were found to contain pesticides.
Spinach – 83.4% of spinach sampled were found to contain pesticides.

Potatoes – 79.3% of potatoes sampled were found to contain pesticides.

Bell Peppers – 68% of bell peppers sampled were found to contain pesticides.

Red Raspberries – 59% of red raspberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

I haven't forgot about the pictures...I am still working out the settings on this camera.  Most of the pics I've taken are too blurry to show.  But here is a shot outside my front door and taken this morning that isn't too bad.

Daisy will most likely show her fabulosity sometime over the weekend...giving me time to figure out the beast...umm I mean Niko...forgive me...the camera! 

Peace out.