And She Was...

Hello Friend's List.

Things have been a bit icky here lately. While I mostly feel good, my lungs are cranky. Cranky enough that my mother noticed I sounded winded on the phone yesterday and today. I've been feeling less than spectacular breathing-wise, and well, that's kind of an essential task. (Yes puzzld1 I promise I called my doctor.) So I call the OB who said "If you start using your inhaler more than 3 times a day call." And I was silly and forgot to ask what to do besides call. I've had issues with the triage nurses before-they seem to assume all patients are dumb, and this is no exception. I told her that while it wasn't urgent (I wasn't turning blue or anything) I did need a follow up call to find out what to do next-whether they were going to call in a prescription, whether I needed to go see another doctor, and so on. I have my routine appointment on Wednesday anyway, and so I'll mention the lack of a call back then, but more importantly I'll hopefully get some guidance about my lungs. Not breathing well is somewhere between frustrating and scary depending on how I'm feeling.

Oh and, my pharmacy has complied with the requirement to phase out CFC based inhalers. Fine. Most of us know the HFA propelled ones don't do the same job. Only problem? My insurance company covers the HFA albuterol as a tier 3 drug, which means they covered about five and a half dollars of it. So I can either pay nearly full price for it at the pharmacy, switch to a totally different rescue inhaler (anyone have experience with Xopenex-that, they'll cover as a tier 1 drug so I only pay $10) or get what the insurance company deems a 90 day supply via mail order for almost as much as the pharmacy. If I used it daily as a maintenance med, I'd do the mail order, but I'm not really using it that way so it doesn't make sense. *sigh* Usually my insurance isn't awful, but this is annoying me.

There was an issue with the dress I ordered for Cayne's holiday party (which is tomorrow night.) I'd put it off for about as long as possible, ordered four dresses in three colors and two sizes, only to discover that when I tried them on both of us preferred the green dress, which I had ordered in one size though I decided that a different size would be more comfortable. So, since I knew I was going to have to do a return anyway, on Saturday morning, I told him to go order the green dress in the size I liked...I went and finished getting dressed. He did it, and we decided to upgrade it to overnight shipping. The dress shipped on Monday morning, we expected it on Tuesday and it didn't show up. Somehow, UPS lost the package. After a circus of phone calls with the catalog I ordered the dress from, who then turned around to try and get UPS to trace the package, they shipped out a new one yesterday and told me they would refund the shipping on the dress, and I'd have the dress today. Which is fine and reasonable. This morning, our UPS guy shows up much earlier than he usually does (he arrived at about 9:20, his normal arrival time is between 2 and 3 in the afternoon.) He delivered two packages...each contained the same green dress. They've arranged for UPS to pick up one of the dresses on Monday, I have a green dress to wear tomorrow night.

We've been trying to get the house organized to have in laws here in January, and for the baby stuff. I'm starting to get to a place where it'll be okay to start getting the baby things we need to have to start with, though other things can wait. But it probably does make sense to start acquiring things in January or February rather than feeling overwhelmed in March.

Busy weekend planned...tomorrow I go let the vampires take my blood (thyroid panel, CBC, hemoglobin, hematocrit) then breakfast at First Watch (mmmm potatoes) then groceries and lunch and a nap before the party. Sunday we're going to spend the day with friends-the two pregnant people are baking cookies, and the other three (Cayne, Nick and Bob) are going to do "something manly." (Yes, it's been an on and off joke about this division of labor and such.)

And notes to various people because finding LJ posts to respond to would drive me crazy...

To the person who found out she was pregnant this week-congratulations, I'm so very happy for you.
To the person in the UK who is worrying me and who is having great stress in her chosen family-I'm thinking of you
To the person whose pregnancy has reached a point where the first word that comes to mind is "difficult" and the next one is "complicated" I am crossing my fingers that things ease up soon and that the little remaining time is much smoother.

And with that, I'm hungry and need something to eat.

First off, since I neglected to make an entry in my LJ yesterday, let me being by belatedly thanking the veterans on my f'list. I know of three, but there quite possibly may be more.

For those of you who don't read the comic strip For Better or For Worse, a bit of background. Lynn Johnston, who has drawn this strip for almost thirty years, honors veterans regularly in her strip. One of the major characters served with the RCAF in World War II. I found this year's strip particularly touching. You can see it here.

In addition to remembering what veand filled our saturday veterans have done for us, I did have a busy but satisfying weekend. We had a quiet Friday evening, and spent Saturday doing many many errands. We began with a quick trip to Linens and Things for a pizza stone, so that I can prepare a fruit pizza for our card game this week. Then a stop at Build a Bear so that I could get a stuffed Mumble to add to my collection of stuffed penguins. It was a madhouse there, and took quite a bit longer than expected, but we got the penguin built, and the promo-giveaway that made me want to go this weekend in the first place. Then a stop at Bath and Bodyworks for a few items, including part of my sister in laws's Christmas gift. An in and out stop at Ulta for something that I haven't been able to find anywhere else, and onto the next project. I wanted a loaf of sourdough bread to go with supper, so we headed to Panera for a loaf of bread, and of course some lunch! I had a tasty salad, zedrikcayne had a sandwich, and we each had a cookie. Onto Target for two items, which of course is never really two items. In addition to a dishpan and slippers (our intended targets of course) we also came home with a runner for the dining room table, a bucket of cat litter, a refill for the catnip scratcher box, my sister's birthday gift, some new playing cards and a mini-slinky, intended for our nephew's stocking. Next stop was the grocery store, for a few things, but my own confusion about our schedule for next week meant that I neglected to buy the ingredients I needed for Tuesday night's dessert. Ooops. So I'll make a trip to the store on Tuesday for really fresh fruit for the pizza. One more stop at the pharmacy on the way home, and we were home for the evening. Put things away, and then do some housework and start supper. I had a soup base for corn chowder that we'd picked up at Omaha Steaks during the half price sale at the local store a few weeks ago, so I added a few basic chopped veggies (carrot, onions and celery-a basic mirepoix) and some crab, for a rather tasty crab and corn chowder, served with sourdough bread. (There are plenty of leftovers, if anyone is hungry.) While that was cooking, a little housecleaning. In the evening, some email, a phone call with my Mom, and not much else.

Today, laundry laundry laundry, which somehow seemed to get neglected over the last few weeks. I think we did four loads today, which is quite a bit. And more housecleaning-my bathrooms are sparkling. (We have a rather nice agreement...I'll clean the toilet and sink in Cayne's bathroom if he does the vacuuming. I hate vacuuming. He cleans the shower in that bathroom, because it's just easier to do that while you're in it.) And the lawn has been mowed, too. I finished the book I was reading and now I'm puttering around, flipping between Livejournal, IRC and my French Homework. The last load of laundry is in the dryer and will get folded later, though it probably won't get put away until tomorrow.

Back to the homework though.

When I was a kid, my Mom used to make these beautiful chocolate houses and other molded chocolates, around the winter holidays, to give as gifts. She hasn't in many years, but she did pass her molding supplies, and some of her knowledge on to me.

Last winter, I made an attempt at a chocolate house of my own.

( My First Try )

The rest of them are available here.

Cayne made dinner...turkey sloppy joes, which we ate on matzo.

They were fantastic.

8 servings instant pudding (I usually stick to chocolate flavors, but you could do anything you want)
1 graham cracker pie shell, 8 serving size
1 8 oz container of cool whip
1 1/4 cups milk

Mix 1/2 the cool whip, the pudding and milk together, for about five minutes until it's well blended...it will be thick.

Pour into pie shell. Top with the other half of the cool whip. Garnsih (I use fresh berries) and chill.

Five minutes to finished.

I asked Cayne a few weeks ago what he wanted me to make for him to take to work for Pi day...I figured he'd want something like apple or his Mom's peanut butter pie. But this is what he asked for, so this is what he got.

In other news...

Went for the water/yogilates/weights class combo today...I really didn't like the instructor for yogilates, who also taught the weights class after. She was awful for yogilates, but acceptable for weights. Although I did find the fact that she sounded like Brittney from Daria annoying. I might do the water/weights thing again and instead of doing yogilates head for the track inbetween classes.

For wait

Spicy Baked Rice:

1 medium chopped onion
1 small can chopped green chili peppers (or jalapenos if you prefer)
2 cloves garlic minced (or equivalent)
1 can beans-black or kidney, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes and chilis-undrained (green or jalapeno, whichever you like)
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water (mix this with the tomato sauce)
2/3 cup long grain rice
Chili powder
Cumin
Salt
Pepper

Put about 1 tbsp of oil into a large saucepan, and cook onion, peppers and garlic until the onion is tender. Add in the beans, the undrained tomatoes, the tomato sauce/water mix the corn, rice and seasonings. Bring to a boil and transfer to a rectangular baking dish (about three quart dish)

Cover and bake in a 375 oven for about 45 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

(Optional for meat eaters...toss a couple of pieces of chicken, no skin, on the top, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic.)

It's yummy just in a dish, but you could also fill burritos with it.)