Cold Snap #3

As advertised, it got cold again. Sigh. And I had planned 2 days of cold food. Salmon bowl and wingstop salad.

Salmon bowl. Top is red onion, cucumber, roasted seaweed, and carrots. The sauce was a hot honey soy sauce I made.

Bottom: brown rice, edamame, smoked salmon and avocado.

All mixed up!

Salad: cucumber, cheese, yellow sweet peppers and carrots.

Spinach, tomatoes, and leftover wings.

All mixed up with blue cheese dressing.

I LOVE these containers. Absolutely ESSENTIAL for meal prepping when not heating things up. (Glass for microwaving.)

Wednesdays endocrinology appt went as expected. He asked a bunch of questions, looked at the MRI, ordered a bunch of labs and another MRI. He asked if I wanted to get them done at UTSW or another place. I told him I'd like to get them done where I work. He seemed a little off put, but printed the orders and told me to let them know when they were done. Sigh. I also moved my neuro appt back to when all that mess should be done, so yay me. Didn't make sense to have a neuro appt when we are waiting on results and tess from the endo. 

Dentist was somewhat more interesting. Apparently I have 2 cavities that need to be filled in, this one recommended braces to straighten my front bottom teeth out, and a night guard cuz apparently I grind my teeth. Perfect for a segue into a Riddick fest. Lol. I was able to get the right side of my teeth cleaned, with an appt for March 14 for the rest. Cavities will be taken care of on Feb 28, and we'll discuss night guard then. He did explain the divots in my back teeth, up near the gums. That's the sign of my grinding. Guess I've been somewhat stressed during my life. Go figure. I did laugh cuz one of the ladies in the office SWORE we had met before, but really she recognized me from my Hades bag. Makes me laugh to think I'm the Hades bag lady. 😆 I came home after a quick stop at Kroger for bread and Italian cheese. The plan was for eggs in purgatory with perhaps a glass of red wine. The hygienist said she'd suggest wine and beer over hard liquor, so I was just being compliant! Lol. She also gave me a new toothbrush to use until the other side of my mouth is cleaned, so that if there's any infection I won't reintroduce it with a dirty toothbrush. Makes sense. 

They never really used the bib this time.

Also: "bite down normally"

Me: "how... how do I bite??"

The boy putting up with me.

And then ignoring me.

I told you about the cleaning tabs I got, but I did a before and after on a slightly newer cup. This one has about 3 years of iced coffee and tea stains. 

Before the cleaning tablets...

During... fizz fizz

After. I mean, LOOK AT IT!!! Soooo Shiney and clean!! Seriously these things are AMAZEBALLS!!

Cozy Riddick marathon 😁

Back to work on Thurs.

Hot lunch! Baked sweet potato with Chipotle chicken and black beans. SOO GOOD!!

Thursday was weird being at work. Seemed like a one-off, for seriously. It was a weird week. I did get my labs drawn tho, like 6 vials of em. The phlebotomist was incredible. No digging around for a vein. I've been obsessively checking my patient portal for the results, tho I wouldn't be able to tell diddly SQUAT from them. The pituitary MRI is set for Monday, which should be fun since we have a BRIGHT, SHINY new MRI machine. I get to have my go on it! Lol. I'm interested to see if the images are really as awesome as they say. 

I am getting tired of all the medical crap so my plan is to deal with the pituitary, get the other half of my teeth cleaned and order a mouth guard from cheeky ($130 vs $450 from the dentist), schedule my annual, mammo, and other small procedure, and then be DONE with all the medical crap for the last half of the year. I'm tired of all the things, I'm overwhelmed, and I just want to not worry about my organs for a bit. You know? Of course if the cyst on the pituitary is an issue, might as well take care of that this year since my deductible is already done. I am glad I did the dentist thing. The plaque buildup has gotten out of hand and I'd like to keep my teeth for as long as possible. 

We tried black bear diner on Friday. 😁 it was AMAZING.

I had the California omlette, and hubbs had the Joe hobo omlette with French toast. It was SOOOOO good. 

The most interesting cat in the world!

Saturday was lunch with the in-laws at chuys and celebrating national margarita day. 😁 then we wandered around World Market before coming home. I found a tomato throw pillow that brought up memories of fighting my sisters to play with a silly tomato stuffie mom brought home. 😆

TO MAY TOE, TO MAH TOE!

On Friday we also got the boy some live catnip. I put it where he couldn't get to it... so he jumped up on the shelf that he NEVER jumps on and was smelling around. Spot the catnip. Lol.

This should be a slightly more "normal" week for me. I will say my dreams have been UNHINGED lately, which I think is throwing off my groove. The dream stresses me out, then I wake up stressed and life happens which is also stressful and next thing you know I'm a huge mess. I had 2 days last week where i was missing being a smoker... stupid, I know. Just, please continue to pray for us. Life is kinda kicking us in the butt right now, and there's a LOT thats out of my hands. I hope life is being more gentle with you. Hugs and love, remember to hold your loved ones close, and treat yo self! 

Protein Coffee FTW!

I never know if it's protein or protien and apparently I use both so often my phone doesn't even know anymore. Lol. The point is, i love the Chike coffee (the cinnamon one is HEAVEN). Now if anyone ever makes protein margaritas or wine, I'll hit the MAX protein goal!! Lol... as it is, I'm happy to hit the 144g Doobz told me to. Someone told me the goal should be my body weight in grams and I LAUGHED... told em I wasn't bulking, I'm trying to LOSE! 😆 I didn't make my goal of gym 3x a week this time, but considering how the week turned out, I'm ok with it. I think I can hit 4x next week so I can get back in the groove. 

It's been a week... thankfully A and I were able to have a little Galentines day on thurs in Eastland. A much needed therapy and margarita sesson. Catching up on ALL THE THINGS! 

Then it was V-day.

On the way home on Friday I stopped by papa murphys to get a heart shaped pizza and a salad. Then I went wingstop for wings and fries, finally to nothing bundt cakes for dessert. Hubbs and I had a lovely late lunch together and then spent the day being lazy and watching What We Do in the Shadows the show. It was just the lazy we needed.

Ace 2 seconds before CHAOS!

Saturday we went and spent time with the in-laws. Hubbs changed the tail lights on one of his nephews cars, and after we got torchys tacos. 

Sunday as always is a prep day for me. I went grocery shopping, made chicken Chipotle bowls with baked sweet potatoes, prepped a salmon sushi bowl, cleaned the kitchen, figured out my outfits for the week, prepped the gym bag, and just generally prepared myself for the week. Wednesday I'm taking off work for a doc and dentist appt, then fri is my follow up neuro. Woot. Gotta make sure that cyst on my pituitary gland isn't doing anything it's not supposed to, and I need a teeth cleaning since my last dentist visit was 2018-ish. Hehe.

On a deeper note, navigating life without hubbs' brother is hard. I am no stranger to grief, but I've also never been in this situation. It's hard wanting to take some of the pain away, trying to make some things easier on him which means taking more things on myself. Sometimes I don't think I have the capacity for all the things. As always, I turn to what I know and what I can control, while my heart breaks for my love. Neither of us knows how to navigate this horrible reality. Everyone is hurting and it's still so raw... like an open wound. 

We are living thru what I'm probably going to call the Valley of Suck at the moment. The unreality of a world without his brother, the emotions, the unknowing, the unending pain of the loss... which I know won't ever go away, we just adjust to it. Eventually things become 'real' again, we find the ability to continue our lives... and there is no timeline for the Valley of Suck. The grief sometimes hits like a dagger thru the heart, and other times it's more like a thorn you just can't dig out. 

Your continued prayers for us and all the family are appreciated. I hope you are holding your loved ones close, taking care of yourself, and remembering that you are loved. 🥰🥰🥰