Catching Up Part II

Here is a photo summary of the last month or so...

The cows have been grazing across the street again... they like to come over and say hello.

Kitty Whore aka Piper is the least scaredy-cat that we have. She stands up to Loki pretty well, but our pets are still working things out. I'm hoping that one day they'll all get along. Loki of course just wants to play and doesn't understand why the cats don't want to play with him.

The dog loves to play fetch and will do just about anything for his ball. It's our most useful training tool. Although he does love treats, he's not as food-motivated as most other dogs. We are working on playing frisbee with him and he's had a lot of awesome mid-air catches, but he still prefers the tennis ball.

There was also this morning a week or two ago, where Loki chased the rooster into the house. I was standing outside in my bathrobe with the door open, trying to stop him from chasing it. The rooster had his head down in the corner like, "If I can't see him, he can't see me!"

And then I got a hold of the dog and Mr. Roo-Roo went on his merry way.

Draco, aka His Royal Highness The Reverend Doctor Tasty, Esquire is loving his new bed. I feel kind of bad for all of our animals... they have no idea how their lives are going to change in a few months. My friends Jen and Tim are done having kids, so they gave us a ton of their baby stuff late last summer. It turned out to be perfect timing. This is the pack & play bassinet that we're going to keep in our bedroom for the first few months. Jen and Tim were over a few weeks ago with their girls (two and four, who Loki did very well with) and they helped us set up the bassinet while they were here.

And speaking of the baby, here I am pretending to chug a Strongbow. That said, I am of the belief that light drinking during pregnancy is most likely okay. It is of course a controversial subject, and since there are ethical questions over setting up any kind of study that involves pregnant women, I doubt that most OB/GYNs (in the U.S., at least) will ever encourage drinking. I've weighed the risks and read more than a few articles and studies on the subject. My definition of light drinking? Since the beginning of my second trimester (my first trimester I abstained almost entirely), I've been having anywhere from one to three drinks a week. And I do mean single servings, like a 5 ounce glass of wine instead of my usual 8-10 oz pour pre-pregnancy.

The pregnancy itself is going well... I'll be 28 weeks on June 5th, which is the beginning of my third trimester. At my last doctor's visit, I was measuring a week ahead, so my appointments were moved up to every other week. I didn't post about it, but I was having some horrible sciatica and muscle spasms in my left side quadratus lumborum. The pain was pretty unbearable, but my OB sent me to physical therapy, and I think that the combination of PT, massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic finally got me all straight. The pain also seemed to clear up a ton after passing my Series 7 exam, so that may have had something to do with it.

I've been continuing with massage and also started going to acupuncture in February. I really think that it is having a positive impact on my life as well as how I'm feeling. My massage therapist moved from the Shore Health integrative medicine group to starting up Whole Being Health with a group of like-minded practitioners, which is how I ended up trying acupuncture. My acupuncturist is also a licensed counselor, so it's like having a therapy session and acupuncture treatment together. I love it! There are also studies that show the benefits of acupuncture during pregnancy - and some states and insurance companies have approved acupuncture as another way to bring on labor naturally. So I will be keeping that up, as I do not want to go past 40 weeks.

And last but certainly not least, my dear friend Christina tied the knot with her hubby Dan a few weeks ago. She was such a beautiful bride and we all had a fantastic time celebrating her nuptials. I can't wait to see Laura Dye's gorgeous photos from the wedding!

Happy Friday

Not much new to post about. 

We're still waiting on news about our puppy. We thought that we would be taking him home by now, or in a few weeks. However, it's looking like we won't be taking him home until April, as none of the summer breedings happened. I suppose that might be better for housebreaking. After all, who wants to take the pup outside when it's cold out? Brrr! Anyway, the breeder is evaluating some other stud dogs and will be trying a new stud when one of the females come in to heat.

I'm starting to get a little excited about our trip. Not so much for the trip itself, but for the diving. I can't wait to get some more dives under my belt. We may go to FL with our dive shop in January, if the dates work out. We might also just go down to FL without them if the dates don't work. We can use our travel rewards points for flights and hotel. We could spend money on diving instead of the travel. I've discovered that the points are better used by transferring them to a partner, like Southwest and Marriott. A 4 day trip to Florida might use 80,000 points if we book through the Ultimate Rewards site, but if we transfer them to Marriott and Southwest, the same trip will cost 50,000 points.

So I'm already thinking about taking the Rescue Diver course in a few months. Hopefully I will have already passed my Series 7 with flying colors so that I'll be able to concentrate on my rescue course. Jay is joking that I'll be a Divemaster by the end of next summer. Hey, if they can get us a discount on the training for both of us at once, we might pursue it. 

Tonight we're meeting up with one of the couples that we'll be going to the DR with. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to drag myself out of bed for the Turkey Trot. 

After Jay and I were both forced to get on the scale last week, we are trying to eat a little better and exercise more. I'm trying to cut back on carbs again, but not go totally Atkins. Mostly just less processed food and more exercise. 

I know not to rely on the scale too much though, as I'm back at my heaviest again. However, I don't think that I look like this again:

 

My body is more muscular. Especially my legs (but oddly my cellulite is now more apparent). I'm not saying that I couldn't stand to lose 20 pounds or that I'm comfortable wearing a bathing suit. I just know that I'm healthier than I was at this time last year, and that's good enough for me.

Will have to post some more recent photos. There will be plenty of those in a few weeks after we return from the DR. I will probably resemble a lobster, like my last trip:

Maybe this time I'll drink less Presidente and more vodka & soda. Or perhaps champagne. 

I'll let you know what I decide. 

Almost Wordless Wednesday - More trip pics

All of the photos (at least those we are sharing) from our trip are finally up. Check them out on Shutterfly!

 

Steroids are nasty

So I’m pretty sure that my high blood pressure was caused by a combination of pain and the methylprednisolone that I was put on to relieve the pain from my swollen tonsils. This stuff is evil.

I took my last dose of the stuff last Thursday and my blood pressure has been slowly coming back down. But by Friday it had not decreased enough for my concerned coworkers and I had significantly different BP readings from my left and right arms, which apparently is a bad sign. So they gave me an EKG.

Nothing like having to lift up your boob for your coworker to stick electrodes under. The EKG was abnormal, but not heart attack kind of abnormal. My doctor friend who reviewed it said that it was probably nothing and could be connected to the steroids, but that I definitely needed to see my PCP about the high blood pressure. At the doctor yesterday, they took another abnormal EKG and numerous blood pressure readings. By the time I had finally calmed down, it was down to 128/88. Much better than my previous readings of 140/110 and 158/108. Goes to show you how much pain and stress can affect those things. 

My primary care physician agreed that it was most likely nothing, but she is sending me to a cardiologist for an evaluation and stress test just in case. On my 33^rd birthday, I get to go see Dr. Okun. 

This is not how I envisioned spending part of my birthday, but oh well. Jay is probably happy because it means that I’m bailing on book club and now we get to go to dinner instead. And since we’ll be on “the other side of the bridge,” we will have plenty of great restaurant options in Annapolis and Baltimore. I’m sure that everything will be okay, but it will be nice to have him with me at my appointment.

All of that said, I’m not really sure what is going on with my diet right now. I’ve been committed to recording everything I eat with LoseIt, and have remained under my target calories for the past 8 weeks. However, somehow I’ve gained 2 pounds in the last week, while as long as I stick to my plan, I should be losing a pound a week. I think it is probably all water retention from the steroids and that this time of the month isn’t great for me. So I’m trying to be patient. I'm still exercising every other day, if not every day. I've been walking, doing the elliptical, and swimming. Over the weekend I did the stationary cycle and used the rowing machine. So my body seriously needs to get its act together.

Since I’m not sure how the diet is affecting me health-wise, I am trying to keep my saturated fats and sodium low. I caved a bit in the carbs department, but I haven’t completely caved to the point of eating pizza, French bread and French fries. But I did have a rough day last Friday. I had two tater tots, a big slice of delicious pineapple, part of a chocolate dipped banana from Edible Arrangements  and several fried green beans. And too many cocktails at Harry’s. I’m now trying to keep around/under 40-60 net grams of carbs a day and under or around 20 grams of saturated fat a day. My current struggle is with nuts. I am shoveling fistfuls of almonds and walnuts into my mouth. I convince myself that since almonds and walnuts are heart healthy that eating a pound in one sitting is perfectly acceptable.

Okay, I may be exaggerating with eating an entire pound of nuts, but I haven't exactly been counting them out.

In other news, we are running out of time to figure out who is taking care of our critters while we’re away. 

Mind you, this is when we LAND in Brisbane. We are down to 31 days before our flight leaves.

Normally I’d be fine with asking our friends to take care of the chickens, but three weeks is a lot to ask of someone. Plus this vacation is going to require cleaning litter boxes, and I don’t want to ask that of my friends. When you’re spending over ten grand on a vacation, another few hundred bucks for a pet/house sitter shouldn’t be an issue. However, Jay still won’t make a decision on whether he is going to ask a slightly odd guy he knows from the Masons. So I think he just wants me to take care of it. I sent out a message to our book club to ask for recommendations… some of the women have college age kids who might want to earn a few easy bucks. Fingers crossed.

My aunt Nancy has been sending these photos almost daily. I can almost smell the salt in the air.

This picture was taken FROM A McDONALD'S! Seriously, how beautiful is this place that even the McDonald's has this kind of view?

I haven’t had a slice of bread in three weeks

It’s probably the longest I’ve gone without having bread, rice, or pasta in my life. What I wouldn’t give for a fresh crusty piece of French bread slathered in mashed potatoes and angel hair pasta. Mmmm.

In reality, Atkins is not that bad. The first week was the worst for sure… I felt so bad on the fifth day that I had a PA at work check my blood sugar because I thought I was dying. Turned out that I just needed some delicious salty chicken broth. Your electrolytes can get all out of whack on Atkins, especially during that first week.

There have been some other discoveries, like when I realized that this delicious Caffe Breve that I’m drinking is full of carbs. Crap. I looked at a carton of half & half and assumed that they don’t put that much in the drink. Well… yeah. This drink has at least 16 grams of carbs in it. Crap. Crap. Crap. I decided to search the interwebs about the amount of carbs in a Caffe Breve and it was bad news. So no more lattes, breves or anything. From now on, I’m sticking to brewed coffee with heavy cream and sugar free sweetener.

The other discovery I’ve made is that the Atkins bars and shakes have made me stall. I bought them probably a week or week & a half into the diet when I thought I was going to die. I needed something crunchy and sweet, and they fit the bill. Depending on my cravings, I’ve been eating anywhere from 1 and 3 of those Atkins shakes/bars/treats. Well, the last week hasn’t been good. I drank too many sprite zero & vodkas at a party over the weekend and have probably not been counting carbs as well as I should. This weekend will be another challenge – a one year old’s birthday party and a fun night out with my girlfriends in Baltimore. I think that I’ll choose a drink like vodka and club soda so that I can pace myself better. Those Bacardi & diet cokes and sprite zero & vodkas just go down entirely too smoothly.

My results? The first two weeks were great! The first week I lost 4 lbs and the second week I lost 3 lbs. Week 3 = 0 pounds. In all fairness, I haven’t been great about going to the gym. I’ve only been going about once a week. Starting today, I’m going to be more disciplined. No more Atkins shakes/bars/treats or fancy coffee drinks. Gym no less than three times a week. No alcohol other than vodka & club soda – and those sparingly.

So last weekend I faced a dilemma… what to make for a party. I googled “low carb appetizers” and came up with a bunch of different recipes for stuffed mushrooms. Most of them called for mayo mixed with cheese and artichokes. YUCK. Straight mayo? No thanks, I’ll make my own concoction.

I ended up making shrimp cocktail and my own version of artichoke dip stuffed mushrooms. Both were gone in fifteen minutes… so I’d say that people liked them!

Here is the recipe… it was incredibly simple!

Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

 8 oz softened cream cheese

1 cup Italian blend cheese – parmesan, romano & asiago

14 oz. can of artichoke hearts

2 lbs baby bella mushrooms, cleaned & stems removed

This made about 40 stuffed mushrooms with 1/4 cup of dip leftover.

Drain and finely chop artichoke hearts. I removed a few of the outer leaves if they were too fibrous.

Mix cream cheese, artichokes & cheese.

Stuff mixture into mushroom caps.

Bake on foil-lined tray at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until tops begin to brown.

Enjoy!

Tom Petty had it right

The waiting really is the hardest part.

 The good news is that we are officially approved for the refinance and the commitment letter has been signed. The bad news is that we are still waiting for the appraisal, which is a condition of the approval. As each day passes, I get more anxious about our home’s value. On Wednesday, our loan officer said that the appraisal was in the review process with the in-between company and that hopefully it would be released tomorrow. Gah!! Well, it’s Friday and the main thing standing between an incredibly fast closing is this stupid appraisal. The appraisal could make or break this refinance. If the appraiser wants to be picky, she could throw in a bunch of things like we have to install railings for our steps or repaint/cover the fascia and soffit. Or maybe she could throw in other things that I haven’t even thought of or noticed.

We’ve wanted to finish the fascia for quite some time, but didn’t know anyone who had a brake. We were not planning to repaint the wood yet again. The plan was to cover the wood with metal, which stands up to the elements much better than wood. It also stands up to birds much better. And squirrels. These critters love to gnaw and peck through wood and nest in our attic. We also haven’t installed railings yet because we are planning to get rid of the brick steps and replace them with wood. So obviously we will do those things, but we just have been busy with the inside of the house. So if we have to do those things first, it will probably put us out another few weeks with the refinance. We’ll have to get the work done and then the appraiser will have to come back out and confirm that those things have been taken care of. I would hope that she would be more lenient since it’s a refinance and not a new purchase.

Part of my relentless obsession over the dollar amount of the appraisal? How much was all of this work really worth? The blood, sweat, tears, stress and the amount of money that we actually put into the house. Will it pay off? Would it have been cheaper to tear the whole thing down and start over? Emotionally, I don't think I could have done that. This was the place I grew up and the place I want to raise my future family. We have put about $80,000 or more into this project, so I am going to be heartbroken if our appraisal doesn't equal the amount of money we put into it.

So… if the appraisal comes back today in the amount that we need with no “subject to” repairs or conditions, I will be a happy camper.

On to the more gooderer stuff!  I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a long time - this is the first weekend since the beginning of November that we a) haven’t had guests b) have no plans and/or c) Jay hasn’t had to work. We are making a trip to the grocery store tonight and after we get home, our cars are not moving until Monday. I might make it to the gym sometime this weekend, but we’ll see. The Atkins diet is crazy hard, but I’ve had amazing results already. I lost 4 pounds the first week! I know that a few pounds might be water weight. However, I’ve been tracking my exercise and food using LoseIt, and according to that app, I should have lost at least 2 or 3 pounds last week. My clothes feel looser (hurray for less sausage legs) and even though it hasn’t been easy, the quick results have been worth it! I’m hoping that I can stick with the induction phase for at least a month. I do have some challenges coming up – wine and chocolates for the Women’s Club event next Wednesday,  a birthday shindig for a friend next Saturday, more festivities the following weekend. There are plenty of things to get me off track. My plan is that if I’m going to cheat in any way that I have to make up the difference at the gym. I’m going to try hard not to cheat and to stick to a single drink at each event – or have no more than two rum & diet cokes. Or club soda and vodka. Which is disgusting and makes me not want to drink anyway.

So that’s what is up in my world this week. What's up with you?

25 Things

Since I sometimes have trouble coming up with things to blog about, I decided that making lists would be a good thing to do. Instead of writing about my entire Florida trip, I condensed it to 25 things I learned (or confirmed) on the trip. 

1. Business class makes flying much more enjoyable. The upgrade fee is definitely worth it.
2. The state of Florida has the worst drivers in the entire country.
3. Miami is not my kind of city. Too many designer labels, stilettos, overpriced drinks, and fake people. Give me a dive bar full of friendly locals wearing jeans and offering PBR specials any day.
4. Art Basel is an experience best enjoyed for a limited amount of time, wearing comfortable shoes, and having the freedom to roam many galleries. Hanging around the same place for hours on end is crazy boring.
5. You can throw globs of paint on a canvas and sell it for $50,000.
6. Chewing gum has a magnetic attraction to new flip flops.
7. Never walk long distances in aforementioned new flip flops.
8. I should sometimes consider my husband’s crazy ideas that involve putting on his socks and cutting out the toes to prevent additional blisters from new flops.
9. Always carry band-aids.
10. I'm getting too old to sleep on cheap air mattresses that are deflated by morning.
11. Coconut water and artisanal rum drinks are disgusting, but those who produce crappy $50,000 art love them.
12. Sometimes free drinks aren’t worth it.
13. Tu Tu Tango still has some of my favorite tapas dishes, although their sangria isn't as good as it was a few years ago.
14. Miami food trucks are awesome - try the chocolate-covered bacon at the Porkalicious food truck.
15. Bubble tea is weird, but I think I want to try it again.
16. Having a rental car and no set plans is a fun way to travel.
17. Jazzy’s Mainely Lobster in Cocoa Beach has some of the tastiest seafood that I’ve ever consumed.
18. Captain J’s in Cocoa Beach is dead in the off season or when there’s no cruise ship in port. There were two people in the entire restaurant (that holds 300+ people) at 8:30 on a Friday night.
19. Investigate all potential watering holes before deciding on one place to hang out. There could be something more fun with cheap drinks just a few blocks away.
20. According to the interwebs, the best way to cure brain freeze is by warming the palate of your mouth with your tongue.
21. Sometimes you have to make your own fun – all it takes is a 6 pack of beer and Yahtzee!
22. Don’t forget to take probiotics and use sunblock while taking antibiotics.
23. One piece bathing suits make going to the bathroom terribly challenging.
24. Having my own chickens has made me an egg snob. I don’t plan on ordering eggs over easy at a restaurant ever again.
25. While on a short vacation, make sure that you have some time to relax and don’t spend hours each day driving around.

Last two weeks in photos

Piper aka Kitty Whore hard at work

Wine club. Er, I mean book club.

I hosted book club this month and made my Aunt Mary's French Meat Pies. They were a hit! Photos and my recipe to come soon. This photo I took for my sister-in-law Colleen to say that we missed her. She definitely should have come to partake in the festivities. Apparently we were extra loud and giggly past midnight. Sorry for keeping you up, Jay!

JT's kahlua cake was a hit. Sue couldn't resist grabbing a spoon and digging in. 

Kneading dough is great therapy

For the second year, we attended the Pealiquor Road crew's Thanksgiving Feast. I baked 2 loaves of french bread and an Italian whole wheat peasant bread to share with our friends. I used a new recipe for the french bread that called for only bread flour instead of the combination of all-purpose and bread flour. It was wonderfully crusty with a moist and chewy interior. I'm going to bake some more this weekend to go with the farm fresh butter that I just picked up from Nice Farms Creamery. 

Go ahead and put all of your eggs in one basket. The chickens will make more.

We brought eggs to our gracious hosts. 

Basket full of persimmon joy.

After dinner everyone goes for a walk (okay, we waddle) out to the golf course and collect persimmons from two trees. This year was the biggest haul of persimmons ever... there were 15 "grown-ups", 6 kids (all boys) and 5 dogs. It was utter mayhem and such a great time. Surprisingly, no one was injured! The persimmons are baked into bread for friends and family at Christmas. 

... and the persimmons jumped right out of the basket! Did you see that??

I'm blowing this up so you can see Angela's crazy eyes. Thanks, Instagram!

We needed painting supplies to get our last bedroom finished. 

We didn't crack open anything until the painting was finished, which was probably a good idea. The primer that Jay bought did a terrible job covering the drywall. We had to go over the ceiling three times until it was covered. We weren't as worried about the walls, because Lowes gave me the paint + primer product that I didn't ask for. So instead of paying about $75 for paint, we ended up spending $120. Oh well. Yesterday Jay picked up the laminate flooring for the room and ordered a ceiling fan that was on sale. The last bedroom will likely be done this weekend. We're planning to move the futon from downstairs up to that room... just in time too, because my in-laws may be coming to stay with us for a little while. Long and sad story there, and that's about all I can say about it. My mother left our house yesterday morning after a two week on and off stint at a temp job in Denton. So we are basically running a flop house these days. It will be nice when we get some time to ourselves!

Winter is coming, just like the Starks said it would

It's getting colder around here... these weird little balls of snow/sleet appeared on Jay's truck earlier this week. It's been below freezing the last two nights... 27 degrees this morning. BRRRR! I'm getting over a cold that I came down with last weekend. Still feeling a little tired and stuffed up, but I'm hoping to be over it by next week. We're taking a little 4 day trip down to Florida for our anniversary. I was really hoping to get to Key West, but we're visiting Jay's grandma while we're down there and she is in the opposite direction (we're flying in to Fort Lauderdale and she lives in Winter Park, near Orlando). The last thing I want to do on a long weekend is drive 14 hours. As it stands now, we'll be driving for about 8 hours. Oh well, at least we will be able to drive with the windows DOWN! :)

Sure we cut our own tree

With all of the insanity in our lives this week, we thought that we could use a little Christmas cheer, so we picked up our Christmas Tree on Wednesday afternoon. It's a Fraser Fir... I hate those other trees with the pointy needles. I don't like to be stabbed while I'm decorating the tree.

Our tree is crazy full and barely cleared the ceiling, despite Mr. Webby's assertion that it was only 7' tall. It's pretty close to 8.5'... you can't tell so much in the photo, but it is out of control. I will post some photos after we decorate it this weekend. Dr. Tasty, Esq. aka Dr. Tasty, aka Mr. Tasty, aka Mr. Draco is thrilled to have his tree back. He will be spending the next month lounging on the tree skirt and snacking on ribbons. I expect to find lots of bedazzled poop in the litter box.

Kitty Whore is unimpressed.

Hope you all have a great weekend!