October 26 - TGIF! And be warned I've been Chatty Cathy all day today so go get yourself a snack and a drink before you sit down to read this.

I was looking at my Roxicet bottle yesterday (Thursday) and it occurred to me that based on what was in there, I was going to run out this weekend. Again. Um, yeah, over my dead body! Called the doctor's office and told them I was going to need a refill. They said they would have a nurse call me back as soon as one was available. An hour later Nurse Darlene called and told me that I had already picked up my prescription on Monday and that I was all set. I told her no, I was not all set, that I didn't have enough for the weekend. She suddenly starts copping just a dash of 'tude:

"You used all of it already??"
"No, I still have 100 ml left but if I'm taking between 40-60 ml a day, it's not enough to get through the weekend."
"But you just got a refill on Monday so you should be okay."
"The refill was only for 300 ml so I'm not okay." 
"Well, I'm going to have to talk to the doctor about this 'situation' and get back to you."
"Okeydoke, you do that."

Really? She thinks I'm 'scoring' my next batch of Roxicet to sell on the streets this weekend? Whatever. She called back an hour later and very politely told me my prescription was ready for me to pick up and they had increased it back up to the 500 ml instead of the 300 ml I received the last two times.Thank you. But the fun continues. When I went to pick it up, she personally came out to hand it to me and then started babbling about an alert. Something to the effect of the thrush medication and the Roxicet reacting with each other. Okay, so what should I be on the lookout for? Honestly, it wasn't really clear. I've never heard anyone communicate quite that badly. At one point she mentioned that she was concerned that I was going to be alone and that I would fall asleep and be unwakeable. Is that even a word?? Unwakeable? And what the hell does that mean? By mixing these two medicines I'm going to fall into a coma? She finally wound down and told me that she was going to call Wegman's and have the pharmacist talk to me about it. Thank God because she was making no sense whatsoever. Long story short, as my friend JBB always says, the side effects are increased drowsiness and possibly spacing out. The pharmacist said that if any of my coworkers/friends tell me I'm acting weird or out of it, I should call my doc. That's fine. Meanwhile, I was on both of these medications at the same time 9 or 10 weeks ago when I got the thrush the first time and I didn't notice any ill effects so I'm not worried about it this time around.

I've decided that I need to post more pictures in my blog. Some of my readers see me on a daily basis so they can see how I'm doing. And some of my readers are FB friends so they get to see some pictures on there from time to time. But some of my readers don't fall into either category and are totally missing out on stuff. Plus, pictures simply make things more fun! So, I was telling you that the nurse at the biometric screening said my arm looked great and I think the Mederma actually works. Here's a pic so you can judge for yourself.

So, Dr. A told me that if I'm down another 7 pounds when I go back to see her in 5 weeks that I will then be "too skinny". And the word bubble that magically appeared above her head said that she would be very unhappy with me. All she needed was a rolled up newspaper to shake at me and the picture would have been complete. I understand that losing a lot of weight while my body is trying to heal itself is a bad thing. I'm honestly trying to give my body the nutrients/sustenance/fuel/etc. it needs while balancing my pain/comfort levels. But she didn't say anything along that line of thinking. Her comment, very specifically, was that I would be too skinny. And being the contrary brat that I am, I went Googling.


First of all, my BMI is currently 24.1 and 25 is when you are considered overweight so I am still on the high end of the normal weight spectrum. I also looked up numerous different height and weight charts, frame sizes, etc. Medical sources say I should weigh between 111-146, insurance sites say I should weigh between 127-141, everyone seems to have these really broad ranges and I wanted a smaller target to shoot at. After collecting a bunch of data, I've decided that weighing between 125-135 is probably the healthiest weight for me. So, if I lose another 7 pounds over the next 5 weeks I will then weigh 133 which is within this range I am giving myself (BMI = 22.8) and it is NOT too skinny. Of course I am going to try not to lose any more weight. The point is, if it happens, I won't be getting gray hair thinking that I'm suddenly underweight based on Dr. A's comment.

Okay, let's break for fun stuff. Kit and I went to Nightmare Manor last night. What a blast! She was the brave one and led the way. There may have been some hand clasping and clutching each other in a few areas as well as turning tail and running in a few other areas but mostly we were a couple of independent, kick ass women, taking a haunted house by storm! ;-)

Today I got back the results from the biometric screening. There are 8 different things they look at ranging from blood pressure, to glucose, to cholesterol. Last year everything on it was green except my BMI due to my weight. This year, everything is green except my triglycerides. The report says anything under 150 is good and mine are at 159. The report doesn't really tell you what could be causing them to be high or how to reduce them. All it says is "...there are times when you are at greater risk for experiencing a cardiovascular event...". Something to ask Dr. Pebble about when I see her in the spring.

When I got to work this morning there was a large box sitting on my desk with a note from Messner, one of our Engineers. It said "Cathy, I just bought this but I'm headed to Japan. I thought you might want to test it out for me and let me know what you think.". I opened the box and it's a juicer! Oh the fun I will have! That's my big plan for Sunday. I'm going to Google juicing recipes and pick out 2-3 faves, pop over to the store for ingredients, and then juice away! I actually have a juicer picked out on Amazon but I haven't purchased it yet. If I like his, I might go ahead and bite the bullet because juice is definitely something I can ingest. Speaking of which.....

I decided I had better get a little more serious about the eating homework Dr. A gave me. Especially since I only have the weekends to do it. When I tried eating soup last Thursday, I was up gagging all that night because it caused my tongue to swell. Dr. A said that was normal and it would continue to happen because my swallowing muscles are all weak and wussy from so little use for months on end. So, I will be attempting to eat on the weekends, when being up all night gagging isn't going to make me late-for or useless-at work. Tonight I made Creamy Chicken Rice. Meh. I think I managed to eat one, possibly two spoonfuls. I then made a packet of grits with butter. Ooh! This has possibilities! I bought the instant grits in the single serve packets. They were lumpy and clumpy and kind of gooey. I'm going to buy a container of real grits that you cook on top of the stove and see if they're smoother. If yes, then this is definitely something I could eat. I managed 4 full spoonfuls of this. I also bought a box of Farina because Dr. A said that it's smoother and creamier than grits. It's on the test panel for tomorrow. I had told Dr. A that finding food to test is a little tricky because I can't taste 'sweet' at all. So, when I try to eat something sweet like applesauce, ice cream, yogurt......it's disgusting. So she and I sat there for a good 5 minutes wracking our brains, trying to think of liquid/soft foods that don't lean towards sweet, definitely not an easy task.

Okay, we're going to end on a fun note too. Kunkel is cleaning out her closets again. This always bodes well for me since I happily accept all hand-me-downs and this woman has an eye for style like you wouldn't believe! (I think the only reason I own anything classy is because she gave it to me!) Today, I was the recipient of 4 dresses. I found the dress choices interesting and am wondering if there is a hidden meaning behind them. Below are pics that I have placed in 'wearing' order. Observe and see if you're getting the same hidden meaning as I did.......

You get up in the morning and stretch. Grab the closest, comfy, casual article of clothing within reach and pull it over your head. You then wander out barefoot to your balcony where coffee and croissants await you:

After breakfast you decide it's a beautiful day for the beach. You shimmy into your bikini and pull on a light and fun sundress as a coverup for the walk down the gangplank:

Frolicking in the surf and lounging in the sun all day can really make a gal thirsty. And oh look, it's happy hour. Time to get back on board, freshen up, and find a cocktail:

Ah, it's elegant night. The one night that formal attire is requested for the dining room. I believe I packed just the thing:

Well? Is it just me? I swear those dresses are screaming for me to book a cruise! White sand, magic shows, sunbathing, slot machines, quiet corners with a book, hip hop dancing in the club, cocktail specials every day, swimming with the stingrays, movies and popcorn on the deck, zip-lining...........I'm off to bed. I will be dreaming of blue, blue water tonight..........