WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE #582

Thank you Joyce.

To join in click HERE

"THANK YOU JOYCE FOR THIS YEARS HODGEPODGE"

1. What's one thing you want to get done before the calendar flips to a new year?

Honestly, it is getting my wall calendar and purse calendar filled out with all the birthday for the year.

2. What's something that brought a smile to your face this year?

It's obviously James. We saw him on Sunday and that is my happy time. 

3. What do you like on a cracker? Do you have a favorite cracker variety?

We get Pita bite and also multigrain crackers from Trader Joe's and my favorite on a cracker is Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs cheese spread. 

4. Do you have plans for ringing in the new year in a fun or special way? Are you typically awake at midnight on the last day of the year? 

No plans for New Year's but every year we stay awake, watch the shows on TV and open a bottle of  champagne at midnight. 

5. What are three words that describe your 2024? 

Family - Love - Health

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

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So you know about my injuries. The bad ankle and the fall with the cut. I'm not sure if I told you that I went to Urgent Care to have them look at the cut under my left knee. It looked okay but because it was red around the sore and felt warm, that can be a sign of infection. So I have 14 days of antibiotics to take, 4 times a day. I think I'm about a week into them. 

So on my ankle I got a referral to an Orthopedic Surgeon from my primary doctor. When it came in the mail Mark said "What about Dr. Lercel?" So I called our primary doctor and asked for a referral to him. He did my knee replacement 7 years ago and Mark's knee from his accident last May. So they said "does he do ankles?" So I called them and was told he does ankles. 

So I called my primary doctor back and they got me the referral. In fact they called me soon after with the referral # so I could call before they mailed it to me. So I called and you won't believe this. I am seeing him this afternoon. Now whether or not he does this injury I have is yet to be seen, but if he doesn't I trust that I could get a good recommendation from him. 

HERE'S WHAT IS GOING ON....

This is where I am right now. I'm going to be okay just going through a rough patch of extreme anxiety. I can't seem to get myself together or push myself to do much during the day. I do go to my physical therapy once a week and doctor's appointments, along with bowling on Wednesday's and I do grocery shopping after bowling. 

Obviously going to see Adam, Gabby and James means the world to me and I am very happy when I am at their house. We picked up James at his daycare on Friday and then we spent the evening with them and ordered dinner to be delivered. It was perfect. 

Something cute that James said to Mark on Friday. He said "Papa, you should come over every Friday night to play with me. 

When James comes home he likes to take a break on mama's side of the bed and watch a few things before he eats dinner. I have to say that he learns so many things from what they allow him to watch. He amazes me all the time, along with his parents. 

A few other things are going on which are giving me the anxiety but they are not bad things. I just can't wrap my mind around making decisions on them so it's driving me crazy right now. However, I am okay and feeling well. 

The reason I am sharing this with you is because I am struggling to read posts. I'm trying but if you don't hear from me you will know why.  I know that you all care but you don't need to comment. I will be okay. I would turn comments off on this post but I'm not a fan of that. 

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE #474

Thank you Joyce.

To join in click HERE

1. August 24th is National Waffle Day...what's something you've 'waffled' on recently? 

Most likely my DVR. It's been pixelating several things I record. It's been going on for awhile but then we went out of town and then we were in isolation so I didn't have them out. 

Then I've been going on and on about wanting the same DVR because I'm familiar with it. Mark has a different one I don't like. (I'm typing this on Tuesday and they are expected out this afternoon) I do not do well with change! 

2. Do you like waffles? Make your own or 'leggo my Eggo? Any favorite toppings or add-ins? Waffles or pancakes-which do you prefer? 

Yes, I like waffles but it's been years since I've had any. I used to make my own. I prefer pancakes. Butter and maple syrup on both. 

3. Do you have any momentos from this summer (or past summers)? What do you do with them? 

I can't think of anything recent but I do have baskets of pine cones from other past summers when we would go to Mammoth Lakes, CA for a week each summer. 

4. One thing you'd like to do before summer ends? 

We are hoping to go back to see Amber and Dylan since our trip was cut short because of Covid. We are finally out of our 20+ days of isolation. 

5. Life is too short to__continually stress over the things that I cannot control. Of course that is easier said than done!

Update: I have an appointment to talk to a therapist virtually in early September. I wanted something in person but nothing was available. Also, I recently had a phone appointment with my primary doctor. Told him about my experience with the psychiatrist. He said she was so wrong to drop me. Anyway, as of yesterday morning I have an appointment to see a new psychiatrist on September 12th, in person. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

This boy loves doing his puzzles. We did see James on Friday night and Saturday evening. I hope to write a post soon. A package of puzzles arrived at his house today, Tuesday, and I can't wait to hear about him opening his package. 

WHEN THE CATS AWAY

If you are on Facebook with me you already know this story.....

A few weeks ago Mark went to see my cardiologist because felt he was having shortness of breath. The doctor did a stress test in the office. He actually didn't see anything significant but saw a few dips during the test. 

So he told Mark, just to be sure, let's do an angiogram. It wasn't an emergency and we had hoped that we could get it done before I left for Florida. 

Well the referral came in a few days before I left.  Being that it wasn't an emergency I thought that he could wait until I got back. I wanted to be with him.

Well of course he called and booked it for yesterday. I was upset. I actually didn't talk to him for a few days. He has been by my side over the years with all of my hospital stays. 

This of course was a procedure that should only take a few hours out of the day but I still wanted to be with him. He was with me when I had one years ago. 

So Adam took him yesterday. Well guess what, he had two blockages and one was 95% blocked. The other is 65% blocked but needs a different procedure. It has a layer of calcium that needs to be scraped out before the stent goes in. 

So they put in the stent for the 95% blocked one and of course he had to spend the night for observation and I'm not there with him. He is supposed to go home this morning. When I talked with him last night he is feeling good other than his wrist hurting from the procedure. 

So yes I am thankful that it was done sooner than later because he could have had a heart attack possibly at anytime. Thanking God for his protection over Mark. 

So after they found the blockages the doctor talked to Mark about what the options were. Option one was to put in the stents. Option two was to open him up and do bypass surgery!!! He let the doctor make the decision and the doctor felt that the stents should be all that he needs at this time.

Can you imagine if they had done the other. This cat would be on an airplane right now flying home!

So of course Adam had to go back to our house and take Skye home with him for the night. Mark never saw this coming. He thought he would go in, they would see nothing and be back home in a few hours. 

Adam's plan for today is to take Skye home this morning and then go pick up Mark at the hospital. 

That was the best title I could come up with......

THIS AND THAT

I haven't felt well for several days now. Wednesday was my last day of bowling and I had to go. No way I was going to miss it. 

So since it was the last day I wanted to go and get my pedicure at the place I've been going to for like 15 years that's out that way. Also wanted to stop at Target for something. If you follow me on Facebook you probably read both of these stories.....

#1 - Picture this scenario....I empty my truck to take Mark to the Airport last Thursday. (Mini Cooper) I put my bowling ball back in today for our last day of bowling. Didn't bother with the other stuff because I'm picking Mark up on Sunday so I put only my bowling bag in. 

So I go and get my pedicure after bowling and realized I don't have my normal pair of sandals in the trunk to wear home. So it's raining and I needed to get a few things at Sprouts and Target. It basically only drizzled when I went into Sprouts.

It started raining harder when I left and here I am in those crazy thin things they give your to wear. I was too stubborn to put on my Toms, did not want to ruin my pedicure! Also they are brand new Toms and I didn't want to wear them in the rain.

So I go into Target one of them broke on my way to check out, no way to fix it! So needless to say when I left Target I was barefoot in the pouring rain....LOL! Can you imagine what people were thinking of me??? 

That ended up being a 9 hour day away from home because of the errands, rain and traffic! Not to mention that I was sick on top of that!!! 

#2 - I had the weirdest encounter with a doctor on Thursday at Urgent Care. I haven't felt well for a few days. Always thinking I will feel better tomorrow but yesterday and today were no better. So I went to Urgent Care.

So you go back to the room and do the usual stuff, temp, BP, etc. Usually you wait for the doctor to come in but no, they come to get you and take you to the doctor.

So this doctor is sitting behind a desk. I told him what was wrong, he listened to my chest and then sat back down. Didn't want to hear my story. I've only been dealing with lung infections for 40 years!

He picks up a phone and starts ordering things. When he was done I said who did you call. He said the pharmacy across the parking lot. I said what did you order? He starts listing stuff and I heard him say two different inhalers. I said I don't want those, I already have inhalers, I'm already in donut hole with Medicare. So he calls them back and cancels the inhalers.

Said I need a breathing treatment and I said I do those at home already. He didn't care. So I got a steroid shot in one arm, adrenaline shot in the other, a breathing treatment and a chest x-ray.

Then I see him again in his office, he listened to my lungs and said I was good to go. However he didn't get up, I had to go behind his desk so he could listen to my lungs. I picked up a steroid, antibiotic and cough syrup at the pharmacy across the parking lot.

This man, who I thought was pretty arrogant when I met him is 81 years old and still practicing medicine. I guess I have to assume he knows a lot more than I do!!

Side note: I have to tell you that the adrenaline shot really messed me up. Was up until 4 am Friday morning before I fell asleep for a few hours. Then last night I never fell asleep at all. I tried warm milk, anxiety pill and eventually at 5 am this morning I took a melatonin and sleep for a few hours.

I'm still not feeling well, the medications haven't kicked in like they usually do. Had to miss the gym this week which upsets me and I am flying to Florida in a few weeks so I need to feel better soon....

So FYI, on the way home I stopped at Target to return something from the day before and I had shoes on! 

HERE'S SOME BABY LOVE

I babysat a week ago Friday. He was so good. I feed him, he had his bottle, a bath and went right down to sleep. I spent the night because they were going to be out late and Mark was fishing in Canada. 

I have to tell you that when he first sees you he stares for a few seconds and then the biggest smile comes over his face. Melts my heart. So come Saturday morning he did a double take when he woke up and was being changed. He looked at me like "what are you doing here in the morning?" Again the biggest smile came over his face. It was so cute!!! 

Here's a photo Adam and Gabby texted me yesterday.

MY WORD FOR 2019

Yep, my word is push! 

Actually my word for 2016 was push. I didn't even realize that when "push" came to me this year!

First let me give you an update to my doctor's appointments with my pulmonary doctor and my cardiologist. Sorry this ended up being pretty long. 

My pulmonary appointment went well. They took me almost right away which was awesome. My lungs sounded clear to the doctor. What he is going to do is send me to physical therapy to teach me ways to expand the use of my lungs and hopefully show me how to get more exercise into my day without stressing out my lungs. 

He did notice that I have been using a solution for my nebulizer the contains Ipratoplum Bromide along with Albuterol Sulfate. The Iprotoplum Bromide should not be used with Sprivia which is my wonder drug. (changed my life in 2011) It dries out the lungs to much. So that could be part of my issue. 

So he was going to order me the solution with just the Albuterol. Unfortunately that order hasn't been placed yet and I've already called once on it. 

My cardiologist appointment went okay also but just like the pulmonary doctor there were issues to deal with after my appointment. I don't understand the lack of performance that I encounter these days everywhere I go. 

So he doesn't want to run any tests yet, the reason being that my previous cardiologist has not sent over my files yet even though we sent the request two months ago. So I had to call them to see what was up. They have the paperwork, so I went over all the details as to the doctor and the fax number. The woman I talked to said she was going to make a copy and put it on the desk of the person in charge of doing that so we shall see.

He changed the dose on two of my medications however their was an issue with one of them when I received it in the mail. I take 120 mg of a medication twice a day. He wanted to increase the dose. I'm not sure if when he saw that I take 120 mg that he didn't notice that it was twice a day. The prescription came in at 240 mg once a day. That is not an increase!

So I stopped there after bowling to explain to one of the girls the issue with the prescription. I told her that I'm willing to try 180 mg twice a day. Told her when I was originally put on this medication the 240 mg made me very lethargic so we went to twice a day. 

So she calls me later and says the doctor approved the 180 once a day. WHAT!! I told her no, I now take 120 mg twice a day, it needs to be 180 mg twice a day. So she went back to the doctor and he okayed it. So we shall see how that one is when it arrives. 

I'm not suppose to have any stress in my life for both the A-Fib and the COPD yet they certainly know how to cause it! I should be my own doctor.

So enough of that. The reason PUSH came to me is that I haven't felt well since before Thanksgiving and that is why I didn't start decorating that weekend for Christmas. My decorations were not officially done until December 18th. 

I realized after Christmas that if I PUSH myself I can actually accomplish more than I think I can do. I will often sit back and do nothing because I don't think I can. I'm not saying it was easy but I did it. 

So when I was at the pulmonary doctor and he talked about the physical therapy he said the same word to me. He said "this is going to make you push harder." I already had the word push chosen and I told him about the fact that I realized when I was decorating for Christmas that if I pushed myself I was actually able to do more than I thought I could.  

UPDATE: Since I wrote this post and scheduled it to post today I want you to know that my prescription was wrong again. I see the cardiologist on the 11th of February and he is definitely going to get an earful from me!!!

HAVE YOU EVER HAD ONE OF THOSE DAYS.....

....or several in a row? Day's where nothing seems to go right! Of course you have, we all have them but it seems the older I get the more I freak out. 

So I had a doctors appointment on Tuesday. I love our doctor, we have been seeing him for approximately 30 years. The last few times I have seen him he has been short with me. So this has given me some anxiety, especially when I have an appointment coming up. I will have conversations in my head with him for weeks in advance.

My appointment went okay but he was still rather short with me. Next time I'm going to say something to him. My blood work came out good which made me happy. My bad cholesterol had been up and it is now down. I'm telling you that you don't have to go on a statin drug. If you eat right you can bring those numbers down. 

So my blood pressure was up but it was 140 over 80. That's not that bad. Anything over that is bad. At my other doctor's it is usually 129 over 70. So this was definitely anxiety. Well guess what? Apparently those who make up the rules on these things have now changed it. They now want your BP under 130.

Just so you know I have been doing lots of testing the last few months and have one more appointment on Monday for my Mammogram. All testing has come back negative which is good news. I also saw a dermatologist, he did a body scan for cancer and found nothing. 

As you know some of these tests are very embarrassing, especially the pap test, body scan and mammogram. 

Anyway on Tuesday after the doctor I went to buy gas at a station that had premium for 3.75 a gallon. When I left the house in the morning I saw that a station not far from our house had it for 4.01 a gallon. We never go to that station but I decided to watch for some prices while running my errands. Yes California gas is very expensive! 

So after that I was going to run to a restaurant that we saw on a local show we watch. Mark wanted to try their raspberry cheesecake. So I'm driving there after the gas station and remembered that they forgot to give me the copies of my blood work so back to the doctor's office I go to pick up the papers. Then I headed back to get the cheesecake and wouldn't you know it, they were out of it for the day. 

So then I continued on to get my pedicure. Had a girl I hadn't seen before. She was very good but a bit slow. When she started polishing my toes she started to share stories from several people in her family who have had visions of God and angels that have cured their cancer. 

Now I didn't have a problem with her telling me these stories but she was quiet for the first half hour  I was with her and then started talking. So with each story she stopped putting polish on my toes. I ended up being there for an hour and 20 minutes. I'm usually out within 45 minutes. I still had more errands to run before I went home. 

More to come....  

You have to hear about Mark's day on Wednesday and more from me on Wednesday and Thursday. Yes it was one of those weeks! 

NO HODGEPODGE TODAY :(

You know me, I seldom have new things to post so I always look so forward to Wednesday Hodgepodge. I guess I could have done a movie review post here today but I've only seen two movies and was waiting until I had a few more to post about. 

Actually it is okay that there is no Hodgepodge today because I changed my days around this week. I did laundry yesterday instead of today. Normally on Wednesday I do laundry and spend my day reading Wednesday Hodgepodge posts. 

I have two doctor's appointments today which are basically for my yearly medication refills. Also my pulmonary doctor will tell me how my CT Scan went on my lungs. We have been following a very tiny spot for about a year and a half now. They follow it for two years before they consider it nothing to worry about. 

In other news.....we got new Samsung Galaxy s7 phones on Monday night. Why does it have to take so long? I really didn't care but Mark has zero patience when it comes to things like that. Anyway we made it through the process. So I got the gold which is really a very faint rose gold and Mark got Black. I prepared in advance and moved all my photos to Google Drive and also onto my computer.

Thankfully Amber's Samsung Galaxy s7 edge phone was out of stock or we would have been there a lot longer. It has already shipped to the house so she can go alone to get it all set up and transferred. So we left there and quickly stopped in at Best Buy to see if I could get a cover. I must have a cover or I would drop the phone. Found an inexpensive one that is really cute and it will do until I do some searches to find the perfect one. 

One thing that is awesome is that I'm a Google person and everything transfers so easily. Just had to move my icons around to make it look like what I had before, put in my favorite wallpaper and put in my ring tones. Still playing with it but very pleased. Adam didn't get a new phone because his contract has one more year on it. Yes we do the phone plans for our children and will do so until Mark retires. 

Because we are very loyal Verizon customers we got discounts off the new phones plus two Verizon Ellipsis 8 tablets for free with free service for two years which basically works wherever there is a wi-fi connection. If you want to you can make it like a phone but we didn't think that was needed. 

We gave them to Adam and Amber. So Adam had a new toy to play with last night too! Amber does everything on her phone, she is not a computer person, so now she can use the bigger screen when she at home to play her sudoku.

That is what's happening in our neck of the woods, how are things with you?

FLORIDA PHOTOS AND MEDICAL UPDATE

A few photos from Florida. I went to the pool a few times and really enjoyed exercising in the water. It was very easy on my lungs. I plan to start going to our neighborhood pool next week. 

Speaking of my lungs I had a follow up with my Pulmonary Specialist yesterday for the tiny nodule that was found at the bottom of my right lung from a CT Scan in December. (Post from March) I had a second CT Scan done right before I left for Florida. The nodule hasn't changed in size which is great news and my lungs looked in better shape overall. So the next CT Scan will be in December. They follow it for 2 years. 

I never really worried about this nodule because he had assured me it would most likely be something left over from a long infection but boy was I nervous yesterday! So after that I meet my bowling buddy Kendra for lunch at Chili's and we celebrated with margarita's. 

Palm Trees at the pool.....

Always love the Florida clouds.....

 Some of the visitors on the pond......

I also enjoyed watching three squirrels chasing each other up and down a big old tree but I could not capture a picture of them! 

Today is ornament premiere at Hallmark so I am going to pick up my pre-order of the ones that come out today. There are a few that don't come out until October and November. If you want to look at the ornaments this year you can look at them HERE. 

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend.......

HAPPY 63 TO ME

We celebrated my birthday last Sunday. It was unsure if Mark was going to be out of town this weekend so we celebrated early. (Turns out he is home) We stayed in and had a lovely steak dinner, sauteed mushrooms, mashed potatoes, corn and warm bread. 

It was nice being waited on and I was also supposed to do nothing for a few days after my angiogram so it was perfect. I even had to have my steak cut up! We normally go out for our birthday celebrations but since I asked for the trip to Chicago as my gift I thought staying in would be fun. 

Adam and Tristen brought me tulips and sunflowers along with Macaroons. It was my first time eating them. I don't know why I never tried them when I was in Paris 3 years ago.  Mark bought me yellow roses and Amber had picked up the cute S&P shakers to add to my collection. I was also given a gift card for Hallmark from the kids. 

 This card from Amber was perfect! 

 And the card from Adam & Tristen was also too cute.

Has a little Eiffel tower hanging from the ribbon!

We had a delicious Pumpkin Streusel pound cake for dessert. I made some fresh whipped cream too! 

We will probably go and get my free Red Robin burger tonight or over the weekend. I also have coupons for other free birthday things like a Baskin Robins 31 Flavors cone or a Blizzard from DQ! 

I'm sorry I haven't been around much. Still not feeling well. Having good days and bad days. Had a follow up appointment with the cardiologist yesterday. He is sending me for a CT Scan today so I would appreciate your prayers. 

Hope your weekend is perfect.......

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE (+Medical Update)

FYI: Remember the question from last week about stars? Just wanted to let you know that August 10 - 13 is when you want to be looking up at the evening sky for the dramtic Perseid meteor showers lighting up the sky in the wee hours with hundreds of falling stars. It will be especially bright this year because the moon will set as the action starts. (From Redbook Magazine)

   

1. The first week of August is National Simplify Your Life Week...what's one thing you could do this week to qualify as a participant?

I could clean out a closet and get rid of a lot of items I don't need anymore.

2. It's also National Peach Month...peach pie, peach cobbler, or please pour me aBellini?  What's your peach pleasure?

I am not a huge fan of peaches, but I would prefer to eat my peach fresh, don't care for them cooked unless they are a peach dumpling from my childhood with dry cottage cheese, butter and a sprinkling of sugar! 

Would look something like this:

3. Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote, "Do one thing every day that scares you." Agree or disagree...explain.

Heck no, each day on its own scares me enough!

4. What's your favorite household chore?  Yes-you have to name one.

Really??? Putting away the clean laundry. That doesn't include washing them! 

5. Fodors recently listed (what they've dubbed) the ten most beautiful sunset spots in America: Butterfly Beach in Santa Monica CA, Mount Haleakala in Maui HI, Old Fort Marcy Park in Santa Fe NM, Laguna Beach CA, Hopi Point in Grand Canyon AZ, Four Seasons in Miami FL, Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica CA, Gay Head in Martha's Vineyard MA, Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City UT, and Mallory Square in Key West Florida. Have you seen the sun set from any of these spots?  If you could choose to watch the sun set this weekend from one spot on the Fodors List, which would you choose?  Where was the prettiest sunset you've ever seen?

I have seen the sun set in Laguna Beach, Grand Canyon, and the Santa Monica Pier. I would love to see the sun set at Martha's Vineyard. I have seen so many beautiful sunsets across the country but I do remember being in Colorado 40 years ago on a trip and enjoyed gorgeous sunsets for several days in a row.  I think the reason it was so memorable was because we were living in Illinois and it was my first experience of sunsets in the mountains. Now I see them every night! 

6. What's your favorite or most used app?  If you don't use apps how about your favorite or most visited website?

I guess I would have to say Facebook on my phone. I also use Google Search all the time.

7. We've recently passed the halfway mark for 2013...write a seven word sentence that sums up your year thus far. 

It has been joyous, painful and beautiful. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

The Doctor is in: I had my follow-up appointment with the Cardiologist on Monday. All is well with my heart. It is pumping good and no blockages which I was so happy to hear. The doctor I first meet with back in early June is no longer in the office but he actually wasn't the doctor I was referred to so I meet the man who is my doctor. 

I explained to him how my issue started on May 30th before my trip to Las Vegas and that I went to my regular doctor and then I got into his office the next day which was a week after it started. I shared with him how I traveled to Florida for 3 weeks, came home and took the first test, went to Mammoth Lakes for a week and then had the second test. I told him what my thoughts were on my diagnoses. 

So I went over all the details of what I felt and what I researched. I told him that I thought I had Acute Pericarditis.  We went over this for quite awhile as he typed on his computer. Then he took his glasses off and looked at me with a smirk on his face and his eyes filled with amazement saying "I'm impressed, you made a great diagnosis, I think that is exactly what you had!" (It is a virus that runs its course in about six weeks and they are not sure why people get it)

He said that my ultrasound showed a very, very thin layer of liquid around my heart which would make him think I was right. It was done 5 weeks later and it would have been almost healed by then. When he saw that layer he didn't think it was anything to worry about. So like I said, THE DOCTOR IS IN: If you need some help with a diagnoses just let me know :) I have a degree in Google Search......

 

LAS VEGAS

(this one is from last year)

I took a few pictures with my phone but I don't generally take my camera to Vegas because I go a few times each year and have been going to my bowling sweeps for 20 years now. I stay at The Orleans which is off the strip because that is where we bowl and it just makes it easy. The casino has everything I need and I like staying put! 

Mark went with me and we had a nice time. We left around 9:00 AM Friday morning and we stopped in Barstow at a Tanger's Outlet Mall. We like to go to the Bass Outlet Store which we did. We both got a few items. Gee whiz  we even got a 10% discount for being members of AARP.....the benefits of growing old :(

We stopped in Henderson, NV for our Aurelio's pizza and it was amazing as always. Then we checked into the Hotel, unpacked and of course went downstairs to do some gambling. We didn't have big plans to gamble this trip so we did a few hours here and there. The Orleans has an amazing movie theater so we went to see "The Hangover III" which we thoroughly enjoyed. If you do see it don't leave when the credits start because you will miss something that is a Hangover tradition! 

Saturday was my day to bowl. I needed to be at the bowling alley by noon. I had gotten up and showered and went downstairs to play a little on the Keno machines which are my favorite. Then when Mark came down we had breakfast. I had a nice bowl of oatmeal with banana slices and some cantaloupe. I bowled my three games. Didn't break any records or win any money but I did bowl better than my average which is usually my goal. Had a great time with the ladies. 

After bowling we went to the pool for a few hours. That was fun and relaxing. I love watching people and it was a great weekend for that. The last few years our bowling has been on the same weekend as the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend held at The Orleans Casino. When they are meeting each evening for their doings we usually go over and watch all the amazing dresses, costumes, etc. that I've ever seen! So watching them at the pool was fun too!

We also had a very nice dinner in a restaurant called Canal Street Steak House at The Orleans which we haven't eaten in before. Mark had noticed a special that they had from 5 pm to 7 pm so we decided to try it out. The meal was $44. each and included a salad with a white wine, a beautiful steak smothered in onions, mushrooms and feta cheese, veggies along with a red wine. It also included a lovely dessert. The steak was delicious and huge. Neither of us could finish ours. 

Then we went and checked out the show times for "Fast and Furious 6" and went to gamble for a few hours before the 9:15 show. The movie was great. I haven't really seen any of the earlier movies but I really did enjoy this one a lot. (Mark didn't think it was a good at #5) That was a long day and I sleep really good that night. 

Sunday we got up and went out to look at homes. We had fun and spent about 7 hours driving around from place to place. Didn't find anything specific but we will do that again and maybe work with a Realtor to see other homes. We also had Aurelio's for lunch that day which was perfect! When we got back to the hotel Mark was tired so he stayed in the room and I went down to gamble for a little while. Then I went up to the room to watch a movie with Mark and order room service. I love this patty melt that they make and it's been a tradition to watch a movie while eating the patty melt! 

We headed home on Monday around noon. Didn't win anything big but I did play on their money most of the time. I left about $150. dollars there which isn't bad at all. We arrived home safely and another bowling sweeps in Vegas is history!

 

HERE'S WHAT I KNOW.....

Last Thursday I woke up with some strange muscle spasms on my left side that ran down from my neck, across my shoulder, across my chest and my underarm. It wasn't intense just very uncomfortable. So like most of us do I did a search on Google. I didn't think it was my heart but I also knew it wasn't my lungs. I have had a lot of lung pain over the years and even pleurisy but this didn't feel like either of them.

I kinda thought that maybe it was stress related. I've had a lot lately and Tuesday/Wednesday were extra difficult for me. You can get Angina from stress and it seemed to be the best answer although I didn't have that kind of pain. I used a heating pad and took some pain medication. It started to feel better. Woke up Friday morning feeling great so we headed to Las Vegas as planned. 

Well since then I have been having the same thing on and off mostly happening during the night. I seem to  be  having trouble finding a position where my muscles didn't feel strained. During the day it was better. Saturday evening I had to do the heating pad thing again. So I decided that when I got home I would try to get in to see my doctor.

So I saw my doctor  on Wednesday. He thinks that it may be a pinched nerve. He gave me some medications and also sent me to get an x-ray of my neck/spine. We decided that I would go see a cardiologist just to make sure it wasn't my heart. Of course with leaving for Florida on Sunday evening I didn't think that would happen. Well the referral went right through and the nurse was able to get me in on Thursday.

So I went to see the cardiologist yesterday. He wasn't able to do the stress test because they only do them twice a month. He thought I would be okay going to Florida. He could feel that my left shoulder is very, very tight compared to my right side. He said to call him if I have any problems from Florida. It just so happens he did all his schooling in Florida. Obviously I should go to the emergency room if I have a problem but we are not seeing anything that indicates that. He gave me nitroglycerin just in case something happens and put me on two low doze aspirin a day and more if I have pain. My EKG was perfect!

So I am getting a echo cardiogram on July 1st. Then we will schedule my Adenosine Cardiac Study which is basically the treadmill stress test only it is done with medication because I can't do the treadmill. They inject a medication through an IV. So the next one they have after I get home from Florida is July 9th which happens to be the week we are in Mammoth Lakes so most likely it will be done later in the month.

I feel good that I saw him and I think that Florida will be the best place for me right now. I will just be relaxing with my dad, watching movies and away from home. (i.e. stress central)

So keep me in your prayers.....

 

GUESS WHO I'M SEEING TODAY?

Should have done this a week ago!

AH CHOO......

This is me......

Lots of sneezing.....

First I'm hot....

Then I'm cold.....

Tons of tissue.....

A little medicine.....

Some warm chicken soup.....

Lots of liquids.......

Plenty of bed rest....

So if you don't hear from me for a few days you know where I'm at!