Tales of the ER, Part II

So "ask me about my day," will ya?
The day started out normally, nay, well. I had on a good outfit, the drive in was fine, the papers were moderately full of stories. I was motivated to work and get things done.
This all came to a screeching halt around 9:00.
As I was clipping the Dayton DAily News, I started to fell...odd. Massive amounts of sudden-onset chest pain, along with shortness of breath.
Now, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and we thought I might have a virus. But I had never felt this way before, and I didn't think viruses did things like that.
I tried to take a few deep breaths and calm myself. Getting upset would only make whatever this was worse. So I continued cutting, continued deep breathing, drank some water.
Stabbing pain invaded my chest.
I finished Dayton, moved onto Cincinnati. Still pain. Deep breathing getting a bit difficult now.
As I was working on Cleveland, I knew this wasn't something I could just write off. I had never felt this way before, and I knew that shortness of breath + chest pain was not a recipe for good things. So I went up to my boss's office and told her I was going to the ER to get checked out.
She shooed me out the door and I drove to The Resort.

Tales of the ER

Spent almost the entire day in the ER. Just got home, am famished, so I'm eating.
I'm OK--some virus going around and I got it.
More later, once I'm refueled.

Some health care bits

First--doctor's round-up:
PFTs down a bit, but X-ray was clear. So Dr. K says virus is probably the deal, but to call if anything interesting develops. Will do. Saw my buddy Josh while waiting for X-ray, which is always good times. I like hanging with people I know.
Oh, and port access? Val got it perfectly. She rules.

Also, on the National Health Care front, here's a list of 20 things from NRO.

Required Reading

From Jen--if you are feeling overwhelmed. 
And this too, also from Jen.
Oh, and while you're over there: this and this. 
Now that autumn has set it, I feel as if we're back to serious time, you know? School, work, no more vacation, nose to the grindstone, alarm going off when it's dark, etc.
These posts were like a lightbulb going off over my head. I hope they do the same for you if you're feeling overwhelmed by expectations and your to-do list.

The Simple Woman's Daybook--September 27, 2009

Outside My Window ...

It's dark now, but it was a beautiful fall day.

***

I am listening to...
L'Angelus, since it's Sunday.

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Rosary, Magnificat, Bible reading, classes

***
To Fit and Happy...

Gym tomorrow, ballet class on W.

***

I am thankful for...
Being healthy
***

I am pondering ...

How I can trick my body into letting me sleep tonight!
***

From the kitchen ...
This is what I made last night. And here's this week's schedule. 

I am wearing ...

A pink camisole, Pitt sweatpants.

***

I am creating ...
My memoir. It's going really well so far!

***
On my iPod...
(Isn't this the same as the above question? Oh well)

Stuff for my voice lessons--"Messiah", "Scarlet Pimpernel"

***

I am thinking...

that it was a good weekend.
***

Around the House

Not too much! The place is relatively clean!

.***

I am reading ...

"Home" by Marilyne Robinson

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For friends I know with cancer; for a good appointment tomorrow, and good oral surgery this week. 

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping this link because they are awesome)

And MORE candles: these are what I'm burning right now.

*yeah, I really like candles*

***
One of my favorite things ...

This jam. 

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Monday: Gym

Tuesday: House!

Wednesday: Ballet, Glee

Thursday: Voice, Bones, going to parents'

Friday: Oral surgery--oh yay. 

***

If you like reading my daybook, you can find many more over at Peggy's!

Arrival of Fall

Today it really feels like fall! It's a lovely day, sun is out, a bit of a breeze, not too hot...

Leaves are changing colors, from green to gold and copper and scarlet...
Football is on the TV...
My bathroom smells like vanilla and apple...
And it's sweater time.

I love Fall.

Scary much?

Learning about presidents is one thing.
Singing this about a president is another.
So glad I'm not in school anymore.

Cripsy skin salmon with roasted cherry tomatoes

From Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone

Serves four

16 cherry tomatoes
2 tsp. plus 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 6 oz. salmon fillets, skin on (I found mine individually vacuum sealed in the fish section)
1/2 c. fresh lime juice (or 3 tbsp. concentrated lime juice)
1/4 c. grapeseed oil (available with the other oils in the market)
4 oz. mixed baby lettuce leaves (I used a mix of baby leaves)

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Place the tomatoes on a small baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tsp. olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast tomatoes in oven for about 8 minutes, or until they begin to split. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and let them cool slightly.

Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, score the salmon fillets. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Place salmon, skin-side down, in a cold, large heavy non-stick saute pan. Place the pan over medium-low heat (I left it there about 2 minutes). Increase the heat to high and cook for 2-3 minutes,or until the skin is golden brown. Turn the salmon over and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer, or until the salmon is just pink in the middle.

Place the lime juice in a bowl and slowly whisk in the grapeseed oil and the remaining 1/4 c. olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mount the lettuce on plates. Arrange the salmon and roasted tomatoes over the salads. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over the salmon and salads, and serve.

NOTE: Yes, there's two types of oil in this recipe, but EVOO has good fat, and the grapeseed oil has omega acids! So go for it. :)

This week's menu

For all the foodies out there, this is what I have coming up this week:

Tonight
Salmon with tomatoes on the vine; caramel popcorn for snacking (both from Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone)

Sunday
Pasta

Monday
Chicken and Dumplings from The Amish Cook at Home


Wednesday
Pasta puttanesca and corn bread--it's ballet night, so go carbs

I always leave a few dates open in case my brother/parents/friends want to go get dinner.

I'm especially excited for tonight. I've never made salmon fillets before so I hope they're good!

Some cuteness for your Friday

We had a guinea pig for a pet when I was growing up, but it was more my brother's than mine. I always wanted either a horse or a cocker spaniel.

Of course, this guy would've fit right in with all my stuffed bunnies:

I mean, for real--how cute is this?

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XIII (Early Bird edition)

I.

You're probably looking at this thinking, "whoa, it's really early for her!" And you would be right.

II.

Last night I couldn't sleep. I went to bed around 9:30 and got up at 2:00 a.m., wide awake. I've decided not to fight this, so I got up and wrote a few more pages in my memoir, "A few=twenty. Go me! After writing, I still wasn't tired, so I decided to clean. Yes, you read that right. I cleaned my mirrors, dusted pictures and bookshelves, ran a load of dishes in the dishwasher, cleaned out my closet, put shoes away, and put books back in their correct bookshelf places. This took me until about 5:00, at which time I decided, "hey, let's try sleep again!" Got up about 18 minutes ago.

III.

So, my Friday is off to a roaring start, which is good, given that this week I've been fairly catatonic. Throat bugging me, nose bugging me, chest bugging me. Hopefully my body has gotten the memo to quit it. 

IV.

Looking forward to a weekend of nothing. I like weekends of nothing. Parish picnic and Faith Sharing group on Sunday, but that's not something difficult, that's something fun!

V.

Some book takes: Cookbooks this week--The Amish Cook at Home, which I am continuing to love, and Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone. Some of these recipes look really delish, so I can't wait to try them.

VI.

MEdical stuff: Next week is busy! Dr. A appointment on Monday, and then oral surgery on Friday to repair the gums on my lower teeth. Apparently all my aerosol treatments and stuff like that makes the plaque on my teeth really hard to remove, which has lead to gum erosion over the years. So now I"m getting this fixed. Surgery on Friday, recovery at parents' over weekend. There may or may not be blogging.  In addition to all this, there is the Saga of the Port. Apparently, Children's decided to get rid of the old system (Huber needles) and go for a new system, which removes the needle entirely once you are accessed. The only problem with this is you can't wiggle the needle around to get the access to take. With my port (it's a "floater"), you have to jiggle it. It's the only way it works.

So last Saturday a home care nurse came out to show us the new thing. We tried to access it three times. No go. My mom used the old needle after the nurse left, and we got it. The port site is now a lovely shade of bruised flesh, so I'm hoping the infusion gals can get it on Monday. If not, it could be a long day.

VII.

And finally...my friend Val is a grandma! Her daughter, Sara, gave birth to a daughter this week.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Simple Woman's Daybook--September 22, 2009

Outside My Window ...

A gray day for the first day of fall. Leaves are already falling! A lot are turning gold and lighter green, with a few red leaves here and there. No rain today, but we had lots of it yesterday.

***

I am listening to...
The Dirty Dancing soundtrack (getting in touch w/ my 80s side)

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Rosary, Magnificat, Bible reading, classes

***
To Fit and Happy...

Gym yesterday--I've lost three pounds in a week! Ballet class tomorrow. (With hopefully more of the awesome company dancer as teacher we had last week?)

***

I am thankful for...
My family
***

I am pondering ...

What else I need to do for my parish council meeting tonight.
***

From the kitchen ...
Not much right now. Probably just spaghetti for dinner.

I am wearing ...

Boden skirt and top, grey pearl earrings that I bought in Duck.

***

I am creating ...
A CLEAN APARTMENT. REally it's coming along. And music.

***
On my iPod...
Everything is back! Yay!!!!

***

I am thinking...

that I'm excited for this evening.
***

Around the House

Vacuuming (again, always)...dusting a bit.

.***

I am reading ...

Just finished Moloka'i for facebook book club. Such a great read.

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For friends I know with cancer.

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping this link because they are awesome)

And MORE candles: these are what I'm burning right now.

*yeah, I really like candles*

Putting out my autumn Willow Tree Angel.

***
One of my favorite things ...
Fall, in general

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Tonight: Parish Council meeting

Wednesday: Ballet class, "Glee"!

Thursday: "Bones"!, voice lesson

***

If you like reading my daybook, you can find many more over at Peggy's!

How happy is this?

Wizard of Oz comic book.

Let me tell you--this is very happy.

New stuff

Up over at CPG--more on the Cincinnati stuff.

Tonight's Dinner: Parmesan Chicken

from The Amish Cook at Home

1 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sweet paprika

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. garlic powder (I used garlic salt, because that's what I had. Omit salt above if you do this.)

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. milk

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c. dried bread crumbs

1 (3-4 lb.) chicken, cut into serving pieces (I used boneless chicken breasts)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 10x15" baking pan (I used 9X13", since I only had two pieces of chicken.)

Combine flour, salt, paprika, pepper and garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Stir with a whisk to blend. Beat the eggs and milk in another shallow bowl. Combine the cheese and bread crumbs in the third shallow bowl. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, and then dredge in the crumb mixture. Set in prepared pan.

Bake until juices run clear when a piece of chicken is pierced with a knife, 50-55 minutes.

Over at CPG: Cincy brouhaha

So, there's a big dust-up going on between the Archbishop of Cincinnati and a nun who believes in women's ordination.

Read about it over at CPG.

Today's trivia

(Brought to you by Caribou Coffee....)

What literary character said, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be?"

A new record

One. Hour.

One hour.

At the gym.

Yikes.

Funny

OK, OK, I KNOW that it's only week one, and there's a lot of football left. But this just struck me as funny:

Cleveland Browns. Oh, how I loved you in the first half, you scrappy little Cleveland Browns. All these pregame talk was, "Oh, Favre is a captain for the Vikings already, he gives the Vikings a new swagger, they already have Adrian Peterson and a tough, tough defense and they should be great! And Eric Mangini has all the Browns miserable and none of their players are very good," and blah blah blah.

But the Brownies came out, middle fingers extended to the haters, and they played their little orange hearts out. They held Adrian Peterson to 2.8 yards per carry in the first half, Favre was a total non-factor, and they held the lead at halftime. They were Week 1 Cinderellas.

But then the universe righted itself in the second half, Peterson started burning through the Browns defense like they weren't there, and for the final thirty minutes of the game, Cleveland resumed being Cleveland. It was fun while it lasted, though.

The Simple Woman's Daybook--September 14, 2009

Outside My Window ...

Another great early fall day here. The leaves are starting to turn gold on more trees. I love fall!

***

I am listening to...
L'Angelus "Sacred Hymns" (yes, still. It's that good!)

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Today: Exaultation of the Holy Cross

Tomorrow: Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows (so hopefully Mass)

in between--rosary, Magnificat

***
To Fit and Happy...

Gym with my brother tonight; dance on Wednesday--that's what is set in stone right now.

***

I am thankful for...
My family; football season
***

I am pondering ...

What to order tonight at dinner w/ my brother
***

From the kitchen ...
Made a pizza over the weekend, and cake for the two birthdays I celebrated. Yummy.

I am wearing ...

gray slacks, a Boden top, my pearl necklace.

***

I am creating ...
typed at least 10 more pages in the memoir yesterday. Yay!

***
On my iPod...
I have to reinstall iTunes, so right now...nothing.

***

I am thinking...

I'm excited to see my brother tonight.
***

Around the House

Vacuuming (again, always)

.***

I am reading ...

Finished We Two (about Victoria and Albert) over the weekend, and picked up Home. Also read The Gargoyle, and it is amazing; do yourself a favor and pick it up!

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For friends I know with cancer and who are receiving treatments this week.

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping this link because they are awesome)

And MORE candles: these are what I'm burning right now.

*yeah, I really like candles*

New stuff: Just general cleaning, getting ready for fall and colder weather.

***
One of my favorite things ...
The Gargoyle (see above); football; hockey training camps!

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Tonight: Dinner and gym with my brother

Tuesday: Biblical Studies Lecture

Wednesday: Ballet class

Thursday: Voice lesson

Sat.: A friend's baby shower

Sunday: football!

***

If you like reading my daybook, you can find many more over at Peggy's!

Have you SEEN this?

Google Moon

Google Sky

And....google MARS.

These are so fantastic. Go play.

Also for today

Last year's 9/11 post

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XII--the Video Edition

I.

So this is what I feel like right now:

Making a cake for my best friend's birthday dinner tonight! Longhorn for the meal and then back

here for the cake and Smiley Cookies (which are left over from the office gouging).

Note: My cakes are so much better. :)

II.

Did you see this? Get a load of my piano playing!

III.

Today is also my brother's 24th Birthday. Happy birthday Bubby!

IV.

So Steelers win last night. Me happy. What makes me unhappy is OT on a work night. Oh well.

Still a good win.

V.

Ballet class this week was excellent. I was very proud of my balances, and floor work.

We also did some work with port des bras.

VI.

Speaking of lessons--in voice, Robin is happy with my French. She had some tweaking to do

on the Italian. "He Was Despised" was very nice, except for a few random B-flats that

didn't want to cooperate. They will be forced into submission next week.

VII.

(Whoa seven already?!)

Football is upon us! Go Pitt! (And the Irish, I want them to beat Michigan, so if the Bucks

lose to USC tomorrow, Michigan won't have a better record.)

Have a good one, y'all!

Why...it's me!

A couple of notes: this was broadcast in 2006.

You can hear my GORGEOUS (ha) piano playing and see some of the apartment!

And, if you're really into it, a bit of the surgery. Bleh.

Karen's in it, too! As well as my parents, and my CF pulmonologist, the surgeon, and Dr. A,

who is my pulmonologist now. He's also wearing a very nice tie. :)

So go meet the crew.

There's also some footage of discharge day: I threw up TWICE while I put my make-up on

for the filming!

The Great Hockey Notes Roundup

I know that the NFL season starts in....oh....3 1/2 hours.

But, today I present the Great Hockey Notes Roundup.

Malkin's Day With The Cup

Five Reasons to Love Hockey, Part I

Five Reasons to Love Hockey, Part II

Five Reasons to Love Hockey, Part III

Malkin interview

Crosby and the Cup

Culture Cat: BalletMet's new season

Tonight:

Return to dance class, at BalletMet.

And tickets for their first two shows, Swan Lake and Nightmoves, are on sale now.

I just got mine. If you're a MetPass member (ages 22-35), you can get tickets to both these shows for under $40!

You know you want to...

Did you know?

I'm backward.

And so are any of the rest of you who go to Eucharistic Adoration.

Yeah. Made me scratch my head too.

Happy Birthday!

To her.

Massive cuteness

The Simple Woman's Daybook--September 7, 2009

Outside My Window ...

Another great late summer/early fall day in OH. Sun's out. Some of the leaves are already starting to turn red and gold.

***

I am listening to...
L'Angelus "Sacred Hymns"

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Magnificat readings, rosary

***
To Fit and Happy...

Gym, after hauling kids around this weekend.

***

I am thankful for...
Beautiful weather; the changing of the seasons
***

I am pondering ...

What to wear tomorrow.
***

From the kitchen ...
Not sure. I need to plan something...

I am wearing ...

jeans, my Johnson Space Center NASA t-shirt.

***

I am creating ...
more music. :)

***
On my iPod...
music! I just had to reinstall the software since it somehow managed to wipe itself. Yikes.

***

I am thinking...

I had a great weekend.
***

Around the House

Clearing off the kitchen table; making lunch for tomorrow; prepping the coffee machine for the AM.

.***

I am reading ...

Am now reading: We Two (about Victoria and Albert). Read Gilead over the weekend. So good! I can't believe I hadn't read it until now. Now I want to read Home. Also reading The Merchant of Venice (Ignatius Critical Edition)

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For a good week

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping this link because they are awesome)

And MORE candles: these are what I'm burning right now.

*yeah, I really like candles*

***
One of my favorite things ...
my cousins; my new Pitt sweatpants. (Yes, I now own a pair of sweatpants)

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Thursday: Voice Lessons #2; NFL season begins, Steelers vrs. Titans, at Heinz Field!

Friday: Bryan's 24th birthday. My baby brother is twenty-four! Yikes!

Saturday: Tiff's birthday dinner; OSU vrs. USC.

***