Pseudo Suzi

Well, I know I haven’t written in a few months. Things were nuts for a while but I’ll try to catch you up here.

NOVEMBER

• Got married in the beginning of November as you can read from the previous post.
• Had a death in the family and family from Chicago visiting.
• Went to a wine and tapas dinner with a few friends.
• Lomee made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner for just the 2 of us.
• Worked on another paper for class and submitted Chapter One for my independant research project.

DECEMBER

• Lomee’s holiday party was a blast. Very crowded though (about 1000 people).
• Finished up our church’s introductory class (finally) in order to become members.
• Went to see Little Big Town and Sugarland. Easily the best concert I’ve ever been to.
• Went to Chicago for 5 days over Christmas. Had fun, got to see some friends and family. Shopped at a couple stores I don’t have here.
• Got awesome gifts from family and my Lomee.
• Spent way too much but it was totally worth it to watch the kids (and Lomee!) open their gifts.
• Needed a vacation from Christmas; it was so exhausting. But I’m glad we went and saw everyone.
• Spent New Years Eve at home with Lomee. Lucked out and got a few more days off in a row.

JANUARY

• Beginning of the month was quiet. Still kinda warm here.
• Had my birthday mid-month. Lomee made me an awesome dinner.
• Had a bad sinus infection that I had been battling for a couple weeks. Went to the doctor to take care of that and he put me on Prednisone because I was so achy and inflamed. Allergies are killing me though, which is typical of this area of the US.
• Went to another wine and tapas dinner at the end of the month. Had a great time and delicious food.
• Lomee made a couple yummy dishes I got pictures of. Will post when I get a chance.
• Buddy (black Lab) had an ear infection and had to go to the Vet. He’s better now but I can’t believe how expensive Vets are. I wonder if pet insurance is worth it.
• Sat down with Lomee and worked out a budget and debt reduction plan for the next few months to a year. We are really working on substantially reducing our consumer debt by the end of the year. People that know me know that I hate to carry any consumer debt however, I realize at times it is necessary. So this will be a good thing.
• Lomee is working on a problem at work and his solution is getting the attention of some big-wigs in the organization. I’m proud of and happy for him. I love it when his work inspires and challenges him.
• I have car fever and really want a new one. Mine is about 5 years old and I don’t have any payments, which is nice but I’m really wanting a new one. Not needing, wanting. It’s really not practical right now but I’m hoping by year’s end it will happen. I had been wanting a VW Passat but after reading some not too good reviews, I don’t think I’ll be getting one. At Lomee’s urging I’m considering a BMW 3-series but think it may be too small. I’d really love a 5-series but it’s about $20K more than I want to spend, even for a used one. However, I do like the Infiniti G35 and M. So, we’ll see.

I have more papers and chapters due for school and I’m just trying to wait it out. I graduate in 8 months if I can stay on track. Hopefully there will be a great job in my field waiting for me then (the job market here is great if you’re in an engineering or technical field; not so great if you aren’t).

I’m seriously considering Lasik as my eyes are driving me nuts. Ever since I changed my contacts last summer they have felt dry and itchy. The left one always feels like it doesn’t fit right or there is something in it. The doctor can’t find anything wrong. I’m slowly going insane.

We have to do our taxes or find someone to do them. Lomee has always done his and I’ve had an accountant do mine in the past because of owning my own business. I’ve used Turbo Tax the past 2 years but I’m not sure if I want to go that route this year as there was a lot of changes last year: selling my house, moving, Lomee buying a house, starting school, getting married.

That’s about it. I’ll try to do better with blogging. I just hate to write stuff for the sake of writing; I always feel like its un-interesting. It’s really not much different than what is going on in anyone else’s life. I wish I could be one of those bloggers that could tell stories about their life or pontificate on a subject and have it be relevant and interesting. I think about how certain situations would be amusing or fun to blog about but then I don’t follow through. I suppose I could write about things in my life that many people don’t really know about me or haven’t considered. It may be easier to give you some history about myself so you can better understand me and my thoughts. I don’t really know. It would probably be a bunch of boring shit that you don’t care about anyway.

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For my wedding, I will dress in black
And never again will I look back
Ah, my dark angels we must part
For I’ve made a sanctuary of my heart

For my wedding, I don’t want violins
Or sentimental songs about thick and thin
I want a moment of silence and a moment of prayer
For the love we’ll need to make it in the world out there

I dream, and my dreams are all glory and light
That’s what I’ve wanted for my life
And if it hasn’t always been that way
Well, I can dream and I can pray
On my wedding day

So what makes us any different from all the others
Who have tried and failed before us
Maybe nothing, maybe nothing at all
But I pray we’re the lucky ones; I pray we never fall

To want what we have
To take what we’re given with grace
For these things I pray
On my wedding day

 (A great and appropriate song by Don Henley.)

2 Comments | In: Marriage | | #

I will not be held responsible if you continue reading and experience any adverse health effects from the contents of this blog post.

Lomee and I have been going to church.  Yes, me. I’ve gone to church and the place didn’t burn down nor did I get struck by lightning.

I have not attended church regularly since 1982. Previous to that my mother forced my little sis and me to go to church every Sunday. Whether she was trying to save our souls or gain a few hours peace, I’ll never know. The church was missionary baptist and very strict. Sunday school sucked; same old teachers, students and teachings every year. It was very “clique-y” and being the poor kids whose parents did not attend, we never quite fit in with all the kids whose parents were “good Christians” and active in the church. I hated it and spent most of my time daydreaming. The service entailed the preacher on the pulpit shouting about salvation and saving our souls from eternal hell fire. Organ music and singing the same hymns from musty song books every Sunday. As you can probably guess, this was the time when I was able to catch a quick nap.

Once we moved south in 1982 we went sporadically with friends from school, trying a few different churches but never really settling anywhere for long. At college, I went to church once or twice with a friend but never felt comfortable there either. All together, I doubt I went to church more than 30 times in those 10 years.

I didn’t go to church at all during my marriage to my first husband. He was catholic and there was no way I was gonna get involved with that shit.

Around age 30 or so (coincidentally during a rough time in my life), I started reading about various spiritual and religious beliefs. Mainly those faiths that were non-western in nature. Maybe my involvement in the massage therapy world and exposure to “new age” culture made me think there may be something out there that resonated more than what I had been exposed to. I started reading books on just about anything that was different than what I knew: Paganism, Buddhism, New Age, meditation, astrology, energy work, conscious living, etc. However, I still thought like a western taught Christian and felt like one despite the fact that I could not claim a “religion” or church.

My spiritual beliefs have pretty much been in limbo the past few years. That is, until last year when Lomee came into my life and he introduced me to his church. He went to an awesome church which showed me that church didn’t have to be stuffy & boring. I was definitely interested.

Fast forward to last month. We had been talking about trying a few churches in the area but wasn’t sure which ones to start with. After a search we narrowed it down to 3. The first one was eliminated because they had recently moved and were mainly doing online ministry now. The second one is one of the largest baptist churches in the area. They are a little more modern than where I had gone when I was little, but it still did not feel right. The last church we were considering Lomee was unsure of because the head Pastors were a husband and wife team.

Ultimately, the last church was exactly what we’ve been looking for. It has a lot of similarities to Lomee’s church he left when he moved here last year, and for me it is very different than any church I had ever attended. I had no idea church could be this way…it is almost fun.

It is very progressive and quite large with nearly 3,000 members but it is so well organized and the people there are extremely nice. We felt right at home from the first service and have started attending their 10 week class to become members. They have many ministries and outreaches, and there are classes for children that are broken out into 3 categories by age group, as well as a specialized program for young people interested in going into the ministry. They have different groups based upon your interests and they give a lot of money to missions each year throughout the world.

The service this morning was very cool with upbeat, modern music. There were some people jumping around and singing. I thought maybe there was gonna be a mosh pit down front at one point. Everyone was so excited and happy to be there and the energy just spread throughout the sanctuary.

If you’re interested in reading more about them I will post a link to the church’s website in my “Contact” page of this blog (this is to preserve my location anonymity). Use the same password you have been using to access.

So, are you still with me or did you pass out from shock?

1 Comment | In: Church, Life | | #

I know it has been a while since my last post and a lot has happened but I will get to that later. Right now, here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Here is Dimps. He is getting so big and really starting to look like a bulldog. He was sick a little over a week ago and we had to take him to the vet. He is 8 months old and weighs 70 pounds! He’ll start to fill out and look more bully within the next year or so. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gains another 20 by the time he’s finished growing. I know he looks either like a demon or robot dog with his eyes glowing like that, but he really is a living, warm, sweet puppy!

Here’s a pic of our fridge after a trip to Costco and Kroger. It’s nearly disgusting how full it is.

Lomee made fried chicken. Actually, since I don’t eat meat on a bone he uses chicken breasts cut into chunks. The new Emeril pan is great for it. Absolutely delicious! Marinates them in buttermilk and then rolls them in flour, egg, and panko before frying them in a rosemary & garlic, peanut oil. Creole mustard rubbed on the chicken before rolling them makes the chicken very juicy without leaving a mustard flavor behind. You’ll have to either dry off the buttermilk or use the mustard instead, or I supposed you can mix the mustard in the buttermilk if you’d like. The buttermilk is great for making the chicken tender and juicy. Panko makes it very crunchy.

I’ve been eating so much meat this week my gout is flaring up again. This totally sucks! I love meat; animals taste yummy.

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Well, I went back to the doctor last Friday for my test results and to review my medication. Everything came back normal except my uric acids were high. So, the diagnosis is gout. What is so strange is that I didn’t have the main symptom (achy big toe) and it is a disease that is usually found in older men, typically of African-American decent. Gout is a form of arthritis that is hereditary (my grandma had it) where your body produces too much uric acid breaking down the purines in food. Alcohol and animal protein seems to aggravate the condition.

I decided I didn’t want any more medications (other than an anti-inflammatory for pain) and I would try to manage it with dietary changes. This means cutting down the amount of meat I consume, especially red meat, and very little alcohol. I hardly drink anyway, maybe a beer or two a month, because I always felt so badly from it. Terrible body aches the next day from just a drink or two. So I guess having gout makes sense if I react this way to alcohol. I always thought it was due to the metabolizing of the alcohol and the insulin release. But, according to the bloodwork, all that is fine.

I get re-evaluated in 3 months and if my uric acid levels have not gone down then I will consider a short-term dose of allopurinol. He did up the intake of my fibromyalgia med (the anti-depressant) to twice a day. So far, I’ve been lucky that I’ve not had any side effects from that. I am still tired off and on throughout the day but I’m not surprised since both my medications can cause drowsiness. I’m slowly getting used to it and it doesn’t bother me quite as much as it did last week. However, one strange side effect I have noticed is that my left pinky finger and part of my ring finger feels kinda numb and tingly. I’m not sure if this is from the medicine or because I’ve spent so much time on the computer due to my classwork, and I now have a nerve impingement in my neck/shoulder that is causing this feeling. I keep hoping it will get better on its own but I plan on getting a deep tissue massage to try to help it along and maybe visit a chiropractor as well. Otherwise, it’s back to my doc who I don’t think can really do much except run more tests.

Because I’ve been eating better these last two weeks I have lost about 10 lbs. I’ve given up sugar and the foods I know I’m sensitive to as well as reduced my simple carb intake. Since it now looks like I’m having to limit my meat as well, I’ve added in a lot more veggies and some complex carbs. Lomee introduced me to Tofutti “cream cheese” and I love it on rye crackers with cucumber slices and dill. It’s my new lunchtime meal. So yummy, and it really does taste like cream cheese.

I need to investigate sources of vegetable protein and increase my intake of that since animal protein is limited to 1-2x’s a week. I’ve looked into eating raw foods but I don’t think I’d like the effort and commitment it would take to maintain that lifestyle. I am reading about eating whole foods and it is much of what I do now and how I enjoy eating anyway. It fits in well with my life and food limitations and is very simple to follow. Not to mention that it is very nutritious as well. Lomee also eats this way much of the time too. I’ll let you know how it goes.

2 Comments | In: Food, Health, Life | | #

Here are some cute pics of the boys from the past weekend.  We don’t really have a “backyard” since we are on the side of a mountain.   There are some rocks and landscaping with a few big boulders, plants and mulch.  The only yard we have is on the side of the house and curving into the front a little, with some more rocks, trees, and mulch in the front.

These pics were taken from our back deck on Sunday.  We let them run around and have fun retrieving a ball Lomee was throwing.

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I actually have some talent when it comes to the kitchen but I don’t enjoy cooking like Lomee does. That being said, we were putzing around in the kitchen this past Saturday and I decided to make a couple pots of soup for the upcoming week. Since I’m avoiding my triggers I made them without certain ingredients and spices I love and would have usually used.

Every week or so we make a batch of chicken salad for Lomee to take for work for a few days so I had a huge pot of chicken stock. It was very concentrated because 3 chickens had been cooked in it so it would make an excellent base.

The first soup I made was a Mexican style chicken soup. Some lime juice, peppers, and cilantro with veggies and chicken…for his bowl, Lomee even cut up a few avocado slices and topped it with sour cream. I have to avoid things like dairy, garlic and tomatoes but the soup was still delicious.

The other batch was a simple bean soup with about 12 different beans, onion and ham. I used the same stock as a base but added different spices.

We were watching TV Sunday night and happened to flip by HSN and saw Emeril promoting some of his products. For years Lomee has been interested in the Emerilware and we’ve been planning on getting them one day, but they are a bit pricey. HSN had the 10-piece set at an excellent price AND they were also throwing in Emeril’s a cast iron grill pan and a Wusthof 10″ chef knife for no extra charge, plus free shipping. A great deal and one we couldn’t pass up. Very cool.

I have some decent pot and pans that I got about 12 years ago but I split the set with my ex-hubby when we divorced. They have a non-stick coating and I’ve never really felt was healthy and I’ve always wanted something different. They also have plastic handles so you can’t put them in the oven…not really great for someone that loves to cook like Lomee.

I got an email this morning saying they shipped and would be delivered within 7-10 days but I was shocked when the doorbell rang and the UPS guy was delivering my box of pots. It was a nice surprise for Lomee when he got home from work. He’s like a kid on Christmas morning and can’t wait to make our first meal with them. Menu planning and grocery shopping just got more fun.

1 Comment | In: Food, Life, My Sweetie | | #

I haven’t been feeling well lately. At first it was general aches and pains but looking back I’ve been experiencing that for a few months now and have just attributed it to stress. Well, this week I started feeling some sinus problems starting and a lot of fatigue. On Friday when I woke up with my head throbbing I decided I should probably go to the doctor.

Now, I’ve had head colds/allergies/sinusitis, etc. throughout the years and figured I’d get a script or two to treat it, but that was not to be. I went to the same doctor that Lomee had when he was in the hospital 2 months ago for pancreatitis and since I was a new patient he really wanted to do a full work up.

While I was in the office I got a chest and sinus x-ray and a steroid shot, then had to go down to the lab for blood-work and urinalysis. He’s doing a full blood panel to check things like cholesterol, liver enzymes, etc. and testing me for diabetes, lupus and arthritis.

I also walked out with 7 prescriptions. 2 of them are short term but the rest are for the next 30 days with refills for 6 months. The doc thinks I have allergies (even though I’ve tested negative in the past I’ve always reacted to things in the air), which is not uncommon living where we do…I guess this part of the US is the most heavily pollinated area. Plus he wanted to treat my achiness and fatigue which is a great idea even though I hate the treatment. I’ve always resisted certain kinds of drugs but its come to the point that I can’t keep doing that since doing so negatively impacts my quality of life.

Pretending there isn’t a problem doesn’t mean there isn’t one, so I’ve decided I have to do something I don’t like in order to do other things that I enjoy. Always being tired and in pain kills your motivation. No matter how good my intentions, it is easy to make excuses.

I got meds for my sinus problems (antibiotic, Allegra D, Flonase) as well as treatment for fibromyalgia (Prednisone, muscle relaxer, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory). I’ve known I’ve had fibromyalgia for about 7 years now and have been pretty good at treating it myself with diet and exercise. However, now its to the point that I can’t manage it without help so I’ve agreed to a low dose “cocktail” of drugs to help reduce the inflammation and stress in my body. Once the pain and fatigue has lessened I can start being more active and motivated to make the positive changes I need in order to get well.

The Prednisone is short term and will reduce the systemic inflammation in my body while the anti-inflammatory is for treating arthralgia, such as arthritis pain, long term. The antidepressant also helps me to stay asleep and elevate my mood and the muscle relaxer will help with stress and tension in my body. I guess they will all work together to treat different symptoms and target the problem from different angles. It makes sense but I don’t have to like taking them.

Looking for a job is really discouraging and I believe it contributes to the depression I’m feeling along with the general malaise. This affects how I feel and just kicks off physical and psychological pain that feeds on each other.

So, Lomee and I have decided to start eating better. Its not that we eat poorly but we could make better choices. He’s just about given up carbs as of this past week while I’ve been weening myself off sugar. I’ve also dug out the info about my food sensitivities and the foods I need to avoid so that he can reference it when preparing our meals. When I follow this “diet” not only do I start feeling a lot better but I lose weight like crazy. I knew I had gained weight (stress does that to me) but I am within 10 lbs of being the heaviest I have ever been. Last time I avoided my triggers I lost about 60 lbs in 3 months so I’m hoping for similar results. The loss of weight is secondary to improving the way I feel and it will make me healthier in the long run.

After only one day of being on the meds I woke up pain free for the first time in months. Lomee said I looked a lot more rested and that he could tell that I had not been feeling well for a few weeks. I go back to the doctor next week to go over my test results and to discuss how I’ve been dealing with the meds.

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Lomee taught me how this summer and I love it. I remember my Mom used to do it when I was little but I never knew what it was or how until now.

I had fresh macerated strawberries with cream for breakfast and we macerated peaches a few weeks ago. Berries are great for this, too. With all the farmer’s markets and roadside produce stands around here, we find all sorts of goodies.

Just cut them up and sprinkle sugar over them. Give them a quick stir and let sit for a few hours or days. If desired, drizzle heavy cream on and enjoy!

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Since I devoted a post to Dimps, I thought it only fair that I give Bud some blog time. Bud is a beautiful black Lab with a sweet disposition. He always looks like he is smiling. He is about 20 months old and definitely plays the “big brother” role well.

He and Dimps are so funny when they are wrestling. They also sleep all night and don’t wake us begging to go outside…which is great because I use to have a dog that wanted to get up every morning at 5:30 a.m.

Lomee was playing catch with him and Dimps and would hold the ball up and put Bud in a sit so I could get a pic.

Here are The Boys taking a snooze.

They are so easy to love and a ton of fun. We have fallen so in love with them…they just sorta make our life and home complete.

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