February 27 - Scale said 121.0 today. I've totally got this maintaining weight thing covered. My secret weapon? Well, I'm thinking about buying stock in celery and Peter Pan peanut butter...

Food experimenting continues. Spaghetti was manageable although it didn't taste very good. Kind of surprising since the manicotti that I had on Saturday at Cobbs Hill Pizza was really very good. I suspect the taste is in the sauce and my sauce, as it turns out, sucks! Time to hop on allrecipes.com and start playing. Meanwhile, Scott and I went to the Melting Pot on Monday (I had a Groupon!). One of the items I fondued (does that word work as an action?) was a lobster tail. Turns out seafood (especially dipped in butter) goes down really easy. This is a bonus because Scott was saying that he's unsure of how to eat a lobster so I had promised to make him one some time soon and teach him how to devour those delicious, little critters. There is now a seafood extravaganza event on our horizon, not this weekend but next weekend. YUM!

Yoga is still kicking my butt. In a good way, of course. Who knew there was so much planking and other ab work involved?? My instructor also wants me to bring in info about the types of stretching exercises NoBo wants us to do before running. She's going to take a look at what they tell me, tweak where necessary, and make a personalized stretching routine for me. She rocks!

Speaking of which, I recently talked about my new doctor rocking. I'm a bit bummed with her today. I was supposed to get my Nexplanon birth control implant tonight. Got a message last night that she's canceling all of her appointments for tonight. Which is fine, stuff happens, but she doesn't have another appointment available until March 29! That's over a month away! Kind of crazy if you ask me. I hope that she's not going to start majorly overbooking like my last doctor. :-(

I'm seeing improvements in my running stamina as the NoBo program ramps up. That's something I expected. What I didn't expect was an increase in speed. Not sure why I didn't expect that but....I didn't. So, I've been doing the walking/running intervals. Walking for 4 minutes at 3.5 mph, then running for 1 minute at 4.5 mph. The other day I was on the treadmill, totally engrossed in a movie, and suddenly realized that I had slowed back down to a walk at 4.5 mph! Holy smokes! So, I've had to bump my running speed up to 5 mph to prevent that! Way cool!

Other sundry health stuff:
- I still have the cold although it's much improved. Just a lot of nose blowing and some coughing going on.
- I swear there was less hair in my bathtub this morning but since it's a one time occurrence so far, I suspect it's wishful thinking. I'll be keeping watch though.
- Sleeping seems to be getting somewhat better. If I'm up in the middle of the night, it's not usually for more than an hour. Although there may have recently been a morning where I woke up at 4:30 and just stayed up.
- Not sure what's going on with the thrush. Hasn't been bothering me so maybe...........

Fun stuff: Got a better pic of Scott sans sunglasses so that you can see his beautiful eyes! This Friday I get to meet his daughter Jessica. Scary and exciting all rolled into one!

Manservant is making progress on the house. Second bedroom is primed. Tonight it gets painted. Then we move on to the hallway which is the final area to rehab. Hopefully by the end of March I'll be calling someone to install more hardwoods!

It was great seeing Patilda this past Sunday and doing the girl gossip thing. This coming Sunday I get to visit Sammy and the ankle biters! I haven't seen them since July or August! I bet they've gotten HUGE!

I attended my first grotto (caving) meeting in 6-7 years this past Friday. I told the gang that I want to do Knox cave this summer. It's time to go through the 'gun barrel' for a second time! Found a video on youtube of some other spelunkers doing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUfR6vnl3Ro. Meanwhile, I think I was a little over-excited to be at the meeting. I volunteered to co-lead a trip, man our booth at an expo in June, start a Rochester Meetup for our group, host the next meeting, and try my hand at updating our website. Sheesh!

Last night, out of the blue, Andy and Kim sent me a Kindle book. It's called Cancer, Schmancer by Fran Drescher. The title alone makes me think I'm going to relate really well to her attitude in this book. Can't wait to start reading it this weekend! Thanks guys!

Okay, that's it for now. I'm counting down the days to my next Doctor's appointment on 3/21 with the ENT doctor, Dr. C. Then I'll have some real news to report. I have to assume they'll definitely be scoping me again and will have some kind of progress for me to report in regards to this lovely flap of skin grafted to my tongue!

February 20 - Scale said 119.8 today. I realize that's down from last week but when I weighed myself on Monday, it said 117.2 at which point I freaked and started eating like there was no tomorrow. So, I'm happy that it's back up a few pounds. Both Toby and JBB have told me that I need to start loading up on carbs, which I guess includes pasta and bread. I've eaten about a pound of mac and cheese over the past 2 days. I also had an egg salad sandwich, yes an actual sandwich with 2 slices of bread and everything, the other night! I made it a bit on the runny side so that there would be enough moisture to swallow without too much of a choking hazard. It was yummy! I'm going to eat another one for lunch today. Yesterday I tried a bagel with cream cheese. That was an epic failure. Thank goodness I just had my CPR training again last week. With all the experimenting I'm doing, I might just need it one of these days! Tonight I think I'm going to do up some spaghetti. I had tried it a month or so ago and it didn't go well but that was then, this is now.

So, it would seem that with rapid weight loss comes loose, saggy skin. It's kind of gross. I did some Googling the other night. I guess it takes 6 months to 2 years for your skin to catch up to rapid weight loss and reform itself over your new shape. I then surfed to see if there was anything that can be done to speed things up. Yoga is on the list which I thought was kind of cool. Other helpers: hydration, collagen cream, sea salt scrubs, weight training.......going to have to start working on the list and see if I can improve my skin elasticity before I'm in a bikini situation!

And as much as I worry about my weight, and as miserable as I am with all the other side effects of this cancer adventure, I have to say, the weight loss has been a godsend. I've been noticing the dumbest things like how I now run down the stairs in the morning instead of plodding along one step at a time, and how easy it is for me to bend in half to paint my toenails now when it's been such a struggle the past handful of years. I know they seem like really silly little things but I'm noticing them daily and they're definitely a perk to my quality of life amidst all the bad crap that's going on!

So, I need to continue tossing food down my throat because exercise is definitely ramping up. I had running homework on Monday, yoga last night, running homework both tonight and tomorrow, and yoga again tomorrow night since I missed last week. At this rate I should be in kick ass shape in no time!

I had previously mentioned that the NoBo training ends with a 5k on 4/28. Well, the Rochester Meetup that I'm a member of recently listed a posting for the Color Vibe 5k on 4/20. JBB had told me about these. They sound like a blast! So, I couldn't resist and signed up for that one too. Hopefully I'll be able to manage two weekends in a row, running a 5k! I was talking to the manservant last night. My goal is to run (not walk) an entire 5k. So, as long as I manage that for the Color Vibe one, I'll be a happy girl, even if I have to walk the Flower City one due to sheer muscle exhaustion. As an added bonus, I had sent an e-mail to Patilda with a link to the Color Vibe race, telling her that I had already signed up for a second 5k before even running my first. The next thing I know, I get an e-mail from her telling me I'll need to pick up her packet for the race too when I pick up mine. Say what?!? She signed up to do it with me!! How bleeping awesome is that?? I was so delighted with that show of support in what I'm trying to accomplish, I may have shed a tear or two! Don't tell anyone though. I don't want to be thought of as some sappy, emotional chick. ;-)

This nasty cold thing that I caught is lingering. Actually, I say it's lingering but I have no idea how long colds usually hang around for. It's only been a week so maybe it's just running it's normal course. Meanwhile, I have to run to Walmart tonight to buy more tissues because I'm using them up like a crazy woman!


Improvements:
- 40% of food tastes meh, 50% of food tastes okay, 10% of food tastes rank.

- No Improvements:
- Sporadic sleeping still happening. (I was up from 2:30 - 3:30 this morning, just because.)
- I still have thrush. (It's been a week since I took the latest Diflucan dose, mouth was still bleeding this morning, and even I noticed the white spots on my tongue today. <sigh>)
- Back of tongue still swollen. (Although even I have noticed that's it's gone down even more!)
- I'm still not producing spit.  (Sucking on mints and citrus candy really is helping though!)
- Garbled talking. (Still improving daily. I think I'm even laughing without covering my mouth every single time.)
- Bullfrog effect still going on. (Some days this is worse than others. I think it's dependent on salt intake as well as other factors.)
- Hair is still falling out. (I can totally see the bald spots where I would have sideburns if I was a dude. On the bright side, I can also see fine, baby hair growing in.)

That's it on the health front. Ready for some fun stuff? The Brewfest was a blast! I made two new friends, Beth and Jhewels. We all headed over to Dinosaur after the fest and listened to some blues played live by Joe Beard. Good stuff! There was some crazy, young kid from Buffalo at the bar who had us all out there dancing with him. So much fun! Patilda really was sick so I didn't end up getting to see her. She's supposed to be in Rochester this weekend though so she might be popping over on Sunday to give me a hug and say 'hi'. That's actually my only plan for this weekend. I was hoping that I was going to get a play date with my new, 6 year old friend, Dimitri but I haven't heard back from his mom, Amanda yet. I don't want to push her either because I don't want to come across as creepy, childless chick! Ha! Oh! And of course I'll be seeing my cutey patooty, as Patilda refers to him, on Friday night. Hmmmm......just in case he reads this I might want to swap out cutey patooty for stud muffin or man candy or Captain hottie.............

February 16 - Results are back so I'm reporting in. I love that I can access my test results via the internet. It makes things so much quicker and easier. So, here's exactly what Dr. K. wrote me:

"So all around good news. There is no evidence of anemia, iron deficiency, or thyroid problems causing the hair loss. So, I think it is either an aftereffect of the radiation or that hair loss associated with trauma (remembered the name! Telogen Effluvium)."

I Googled Telogen Effluvium. Basically, my hair follicles have temporarily gone into hibernation, if it's the TE and not the radiation causing my hair loss, of course. Luckily, it's not permanent, and as a bonus, from what I read, I could have lost my eyebrows!! That would have been both funny and gross all at the same time. Ha!

Forgot to weigh in this morning. Weighed in yesterday and the scale said 121.2 again, which is good. I grilled a couple of steaks and whipped up some mashed potatoes for Scott and I last night for dinner. So eating habits continue to improve too.

On the downside, I've caught the cold from hell. I have one of those deep, barking coughs going on, my nose is constantly running while my sinuses are constantly clogged, sore throat, etc. I'm kind of miserable. But, I'll live. I've been drinking Nyquil like there's no tomorrow and hoping that I'll recover quickly.

That's it for the health, in other news, Valentine's Day was fabulous! I am still dating the most wonderful man on the face of the earth and loving it. :-) I didn't get to hike with Kit this morning because she's sick. And I was e-mailing with Patilda a day or so ago and she thinks she's coming down with a sinus infection so my Syracuse plans may be canceled for tomorrow. But, I'm still going to the RocCity Brewfest. Heading out to pick up Mr. Luke in 15 minutes and we're going to taste test a plethora of beers. Woo hoo!

February 13 - Seriously. I really love my new doctor. I have no idea why I waited so long to find a new one. Dr. K rocks!

The shingles are definitely gone.  The thrush is definitely still there. I will be picking up yet another prescription for diflucan today. Dr. K also put a refill on it so that if a month from now the thrush persists, I can self medicate. On the bright side, it seems to have toned down quite a bit. I'm only bleeding once or twice a week, same thing with waking up with a swollen tongue. I also mentioned to her how super sensitive I am to spicy foods and how upsetting it is. I asked if she thought it was a function of the continuing thrush or my new tongue. She said it's likely the thrush which was a great relief because if I can just kick this nasty thing, I might finally be able to head over to Young's for my spicy shrimp and seafood pancake that I've been craving for months!

I mentioned my hair loss to her and asked what could potentially be causing it. Patilda was right. Radiation to the head and neck can sometimes cause thyroid problems which can lead to hair loss. Dr. K doesn't think it's my thyroid though because I don't have any of the other symptoms that would go along with that. She said that it's probably a combination of continuing effects from the radiation treatments as well as some form of post traumatic stress disorder. She said that sometimes women who give birth will then start losing their hair 6 months later from the trauma. Weird. I guess it will eventually stop and my hairdresser says that I have all sorts of soft new hair growing in already so eventually my locks should be back to norm.

Lastly, we talked about birth control. I'm going to get an implant in my arm that last for 3 years. It's scheduled for 2/27 at 8:30 pm. Yeah, pm. I'm usually thinking about getting ready for bed around that time, Dr. K is still busy doing procedures! Crazy! Note to Kunkel: I specifically asked her if it hurts, since you terrorized me with your recent experience. Dr. K says that so far, 100% of the time, patients say "What, you're done already?". So, keep your fingers crossed for me!  Meanwhile, I realize that birth control has nothing to do with the cancer saga but just in case I start complaining about new and weird symptoms cropping up, someone might want to remind me that I have this all new thing going on in my body. :-)

So, I walked next door to the lab to give blood so they could do a thyroid test. Dr. K also mentioned a few other tests she wanted to do. I told her to go ahead and put me down for anything and everything because giving blood is always such an ordeal for me, might as well do as much as possible while we can. I swear my veins actually run away the moment a needle pierces my skin! Yesterday was no different. Nurse shoved the needle in, the vein jumped on her, she then started fishing around for it with the needle under my skin. Oh. My. God. It effing hurt! I finally yelled 'uncle' and told her she had to stop. I was crying at this point for pity's sake. I do NOT cry in public! She asked if I was sure because she had managed to nab the vein and was getting blood. I told her fine, leave it in but not to move it AT ALL. Then we're sitting there forever. I'm staring at the wall because I have no desire to see the needle, or my blood, or anything remotely gross but I finally turned my head to see why things were taking so long. Turns out Dr. K took me at my word when I said test for everything. They took 6 vials of blood from me!! I felt like I was a daytime snack for a vampire! 

No clue when  results are supposed to be back. I'll report in when I know something.

I weighed in yesterday. Scale said 121.2 so things are holding steady at the start of my running program (which I will be referring to as NoBo from here on out). I've completed 4 homework assignments for it so far. Yesterday morning saw me on the treadmill at 5:45 am. Walking for 4:30 minutes and then jogging for 30 seconds, 6 times. Easy peasy. I got this. :-)

That's if for the health stuff, on to the fun stuff. I wasn't even done enjoying my original bouquet of flowers and Scott brought me a new bouquet yesterday. How gorgeous are these?? That man is absolutely the sweetest guy I have ever met.........

And for the first time in 11 years I have a date for Valentine's Day. Color me excited! :-)

We ended up having quite a storm last Friday, I had to postpone hiking with Kit to this weekend but I did get to go to my concert. It was okay. I liked the music, but didn't love it. Plus I was really surprised at how drunk everyone was getting. You pay $60 for a concert ticket, you'd think you'd want to be sober enough to remember it. Not only that but beer was $5 for a small cup, talk about an expensive drunk! On Sunday I went to Evan's birthday party. I befriended a 6 year old named Dimitri. I am now e-mailing his with his Mom to see if I can set up a play date with him. I might have a new kid for kid-time and he's local too! Woo hoo! On top of that Elvisa told me I can borrow Evan any time I want. I told her I'd like to wait until he's talking. Spending one on one time with a kid who wouldn't be able to tell me why he's crying would definitely send me into a slight panic. ;-P

This weekend I have the NoBo group run on Saturday morning. Maybe. I'm kind of liking doing my homework on my treadmill instead of braving the elements. And since I don't really need the motivation or new friends for that matter......we'll see how many group runs I actually make it to. Then I'm off for the hike with Kit and then lunch with her afterwards. I then decided to host a Rochester Meetup. I'm going to the RocCity Brewfest which is a 3 hour tasting of craft beers. I have 3 people signed up to go with me so far. Should be fun! On Sunday I'm heading to the Syracuse area to spend the day with Patilda. Do some snowshoeing, check out all of the remodeling she's been doing to her home, watch her bunny rabbits do binkies, play some video games, and whatever else strikes our fancy. Ahhh........relaxing on a Sunday with a best bud. Life is so, so good.

And now I'm out of here. I took a half day from work today. I forgot to plug the drain hole in the basement again (blond, female, Polish) and the city sewer backed up into my basement again. Just a little bit but it smells down there even worse than normal (litter boxes are kept down there). So, I'm off to do some power washing and get things cleaned back up again!

February 8 - The latest concern from peeps is my 5K running adventure which commences tomorrow. There are some worries about my weight and getting that much exercise. I'm here to reassure you.

With my taste buds starting to flourish, I've been eating voraciously this past week. Shamrock shakes, lobster bisque, steamed mussels, French onion soup, BBQ chicken wings, etc. Just now I even attempted to eat a stromboli for lunch. I was not successful but I get a pat on the back for the attempt. Due to all of this eating, my scale said 122.8 this morning. I'm feeling fully confident that I will be able to maintain my weight even with running four times a week. I promise to not only post regularly but also to weigh myself on the morning of post days and report in.

I'm also pretty aware of my limits and will be careful to not press them too hard (although a little pressing is healthy!). Yoga on Tuesday was intense. We did standing postures and there was one in particular that I simply did not have the core strength to complete. The instructor was egging me on, telling me that I could do it. I finally had to give her 'the look'. Many of you know (and fear!) the look. She physically backed up a step and then you could see the realization dawn on her face that I wasn't being a wimp, I simply have no muscle tone at this point in time. She apologized for forgetting that I'm still recovering and gave me a modified pose to do.

Meanwhile, I received my first homework assignment from the running program. I was supposed to do a brisk 30 minute walk yesterday. Things were still really sore from yoga so I postponed my walk until tonight. See? I know what the word moderation means.......sometimes.

Okay, hopefully that's enough reassurance that all will be well.

Fun stuff: Tonight I'm headed to the theater with Scott to see Warm Bodies. A zombie romance movie. How hilarious is that?? Can't wait! Tomorrow it's running in the morning, snowshoeing with Kit around lunch, and then a 3 Doors Down concert in the evening. On Sunday I'll be at El's house helping her celebrate her son's first birthday and then I'm off to see Movie 43 in the evening, possibly with Ray, or Jamie, or alone. Or maybe I'll break open the Lego Star Wars Saga Wii game I just bought and have myself a gaming night.........always good to stay open to numerous possibilities. :-)

JT snapped a picture of me this morning..........

I then snapped a picture of JT so that those of you who have never met him, have a visual.

Snow is coming down fairly heavy right now. I hear we should have 6-7 inches by 6:00. For those of you who are local, be safe out there!

February 5 - Okay, I've been reprimanded by a few peeps for the lack of posts recently, and with good reason. So today I will spit out a hodgepodge of health updates and see where we're at.

I'm still losing hair by the handful on a daily basis and I'm not sure why. I can only assume it's because I don't have the healthiest diet going on. Although I'm drinking a gallon of whole milk (sometimes more) every single week. Isn't calcium supposed to be good for nails, bones, teeth, and hair??  I went to see my stylist a couple of weeks ago to get my hair trimmed and even she commented that I only have about half the hair that I used to. She asked if it was a relief to have some of it gone since walking around with 18 pounds of hair on your head can be a burden at times. I considered her question seriously for a few minutes but in the end, hair loss does not denote good health, and that's all I've been wishing for, for many months now, so nope, can't see the silver lining in less hair.

The weight issue. Well, not quite as stabilized as I had hoped. Yesterday I weighed 120.2. A week or two ago I had dropped down to 118 but managed to pull it back up. I've really been trying to beef up the eating. Saturday I grazed continuously throughout the day and I weighed myself right before bed. Scale said 125.6. Weighed myself again Sunday morning and the scale said 120.4. Not sure what more I can do about it. I've actually been trying to pay less attention to it because fretting about it so much wasn't doing me any good. And hey, so long as I feel okay and have energy to make it through the day kicking ass, it's all good, right?

Eating is simply weird. You would think that soft foods would be doable and some are, but some are not. Rice for example is a struggle. The kernels are too small to chew very well but too large to swallow comfortably. Meanwhile, my new all time fave snack is something we used to eat constantly as kids, a celery stalk smeared with peanut butter. It sounds like something I should not be able to manage to eat at all but amazingly, it goes down really well. No idea why. Maybe because celery is mostly water?  Meanwhile, spicy foods seem to be out for now. Recently tried some guacamole, salsa, a pepper popper.....made my tongue burn like a son of a gun, and not in a pleasant way! This has me slightly worried. I'm a huge fan of spicy. It's one of the reasons Korean food is one of my fave foods, because they know how to do spicy! I'm hoping the tongue sensitivity is a passing thing and not the new norm. Only time will tell.

A few more coworkers have commented on how much better my speech is sounding. Again, always good to hear. I think I may have even laughed the other night. Scott (my paramour, my new 'friend', the guy I'm seeing, crap, dating after 40 gets tricky!) told me he's allergic to fish. I asked, being the sushi lover that I am, if I'm supposed to avoid kissing him on days I eat fish, or more specifically, the unagi rolls that I love to make. He asked what unagi was. I told him it's eel. He said "Eel huh? Lets just assume I'm allergic to that okay?". This sent me into a fit of giggles! Or whatever passes as giggles for me nowadays. I'll have to ask him if my laughter was recognizable for what it was. :-)

My taste buds seem to be coming back by leaps and bounds for the past month. Sweet is still off but I ate a piece of brownie the other night and I could actually taste a hint of chocolate and sugar so we're finally on the way! They said it would probably take 6-12 months and it has now been 4 1/2 so for once something seems to be tracking with what I was told. Woo hoo!

I walk around freezing my butt off constantly. Actually, I was just complaining recently that I have no butt. I'm hoping that once I start running this Saturday, maybe I'll acquire a butt. I walk around hitching my jeans up all the time because there is nothing back there to hold them. Anyway, I bought a space heater for the house which I've started toting around with me. It's currently sitting next to me, keeping me warm as I type. I will then carry it into the basement with me to the bathroom so that it warms that room while I shower. And thank goodness our safety guy at work has no problem purchasing space heaters for our cubbies. I have that baby blowing on me all day long while sitting at my desk. I just can't seem to get warm! Ever!

The gagging thing has completely stopped. Guess Dr. C was right. I just needed to get used to this lump of flesh in my mouth. I noticed that the scar on my thigh from the skin graft is already starting to fade which is really cool. The stiffness in my neck has improved quite a bit although there's still some tightness and pulling, especially when I try to look up. But I have confidence that in a few more months I will have full mobility once again.

Sleep is still a hit or miss thing. Last night I turned my light out at 10:00 and was up at 12:30 for 15 minutes and then back up at 3:30 this morning, for good. I'll probably be dragging a little at yoga tonight but hopefully it means I'll sleep more soundly tonight. I take whatever I can get when it comes to sleep. I would say that it's all good because I'm still functioning but I mentioned to JT yesterday that my memory isn't worth a pile of beans anymore. You can just imagine how that makes OCD girl over here feel! I would say I still have "radiation brain" going on which is very similar to "pregnancy brain" but honestly, I think it's more likely the lack of solid sleep for 7 months straight. Hopefully my brain cells don't get used to stagnating so much. They need to snap back to attention the moment I'm able to sleep 8 continuous hours! 

I think that's about all that I have to report on the health front so, we can end with some fun stuff.

Work is slowly progressing on the remodeling project. I'm a bit bummed that it's taking longer than expected but I think it's just because I'm getting anxious about my house being in disarray for so long. I'm still hoping that I'll be able to get the rest of the hardwoods put in by the beginning of the summer.

I'm finally solidifying some of my travel plans for the year. In the next few weeks I plan on heading towards Syracuse to visit Patilda one weekend and Samammy and the kids another weekend. I contacted JBB and we're making a plan for me to visit her in NYC this fall at which point we will be discussing details of our Hawaii trip that will be happening in the spring of 2014. I contacted my father and I'm making a plan to visit him and Mary in June. I spoke to Luke and it sounds like there will be a backpacking trip in September that I can go on and bag a couple of peaks for the year. I still need to talk to Andy and Kim about a trip to Idaho, probably in August. I need to check in with the manservant too since I'm planning on dragging his ass with me. I also need to contact the local caving group and start attending their meeting again so that I can get in on a spelunking expedition this summer. And on top of all of that, I think I'm going to schedule myself for a 3-4 day cruise some time in the next couple of months. Just me. Just to take a break and soak up some sun.

And with images of sandy beaches, glorious sunsets, and warm breezes filling me head.....I'm off and running for the day! :-)

February 1 - OMG! Has it really been that long since I posted?? I am so sorry. What a slacker!

So, shingles are definitely all gone. I have a follow up appointment with Dr. K on 2/12. Not sure it's really necessary for the shingles but meanwhile I have a laundry list of other stuff to discuss with her. I'm going to see if she'll give me another script for the thrush, I'll probably cave and get the flu shot, and I need to talk to her about birth control. It feels so good to have a doctor that I can get an appointment with and who doesn't leave me sitting in the waiting room for over 2 hours!

Eating is continuing to improve. Last night I made chicken cordon bleu for Scott and I managed to eat some as well (drowned it in sauce!). He's coming over again tonight and I'm making a black bean/kielbasa recipe that my friend Karen sent me. So my diet is definitely expanding which is good because I signed up for that running program. It starts next Saturday and I'm def going to have to beef up my food intake once it starts! Below is a picture of Scott and his daughter Jessica (13 years old).

I'm still loving yoga and signed up for another 6 sessions of it. There hasn't been any more meetups that I've been interested in going on. A lot of the social ones revolve around eating and/or drinking. I'm waiting for more hikes!



Improvements:
- 20% of food tastes meh, 40% of food tastes okay, 20% of food tastes rotten.
- I've had a couple of nights in the past week or two where not only did I sleep through the night but I even hit my snooze button a time or two!

- No Improvements:
- Sporadic sleeping still happening.
- I still have thrush.
- Back of tongue still swollen.
- I'm still not producing spit.
- Garbled talking.
- Bullfrog effect still going on.