Homestead Mo

When one makes green juice, one goes through the vegetables in a big way. For example, my absolute most favorite juice that I would like to drink every day has 4-5 carrots, 4 stalks celery, one apple and one lemon. I am constantly going to the Co-Op for carrots, celery and lemons! I buy the apples in bigger quantities b/c they last a while, but even when I buy the 5 lb bag of carrots, I am still always running to the store! And some juices take a whole head of romaine plus a bunch of other stuff...so while it is a great way to pack in massive amounts of nutrients, it is rather time/money consuming.

So...I am planting vegetables! Tom took out two or three rose bushes that were getting all our great vegetable-growing sun and I planted romaine, broccoli, swiss chard and onion in that spot. Yesterday at Home Depot we bought a wine barrel planter and in that I planted some other lettuce (butter maybe?), chives and some other kind of onion. I also picked up some carrot seeds. I need to find a pot or two and get those babies going...apparently carrots around here do better in pots b/c the soil is so dense.

Once we get our bathroom/plumbing project finished, I'll have another area in the back that gets pretty decent morning sun...might be able to plant something there...not sure. The tree in the yard has gotten so big that it's casting a lot of shade, which would ordinarily be a good thing!

Aaaand, for our anniversary we planted a Meyer Lemon tree...he's a little dwarf tree and so cute! No lemons yet and probably won't get any until the spring, I'm guessing...especially if he gets cold over the winter. He looks pretty hearty though...a fighter! Ha!

There is an awful lot to learn about gardening...it is rather overwhelming. Maybe I'll look for a gardening class somewhere...though there is a ton of information online...where to start? Anyway, I'll take pics in a few weeks once things take hold and start to look less pathetic...they always look so pathetic straight out of the little containers. The chives and onions are all floppy, but I'm sure everything will perk up soon!

My platelets are stupid

Just spoke with the doc...he'd left me a message the other day saying it was time to start considering platelet-lowering agents. The two he mentioned, Hydroxurea and Anagrelide, have icky side effects and I'm not too keen on taking either one of them. So, when we touched base today I thought he was definitely going to push for meds. However, since my hemoglobin has dropped to normal he says I'm not "high risk" for stroke right now...I guess just moderate risk (which is still rather poopy), but since I take an aspirin every day he says we can watch the platelets for a bit and see if they continue to go up or if they drop down below 1 million. If they stay below a million, I can just take an aspirin...otherwise it's time for meds.

I have, however, been reading some promising studies regarding something called 'pegylated interferon'...apparently plain ol' interferon is nasty stuff, but people seem to tolerate the pegylated version much better. Studies have been done on patients with PV and it has shown an "excellent" response...some people even go into a lasting remission. I plan to print these out and take them to my appointment on the 1st.

Now for some awesomeness...Tom and I are giving our backyard a little touch-up. Not a total re-do, but we're putting in a fresh layer of decomposed granite and new bender board for the flower beds. It has made such a huge difference! I'm going to get a few new plants on Friday and re-mulch the beds...it is going to be party ready in no time! If we can finish our bathroom project we could potentially have an end-of-the summer bash. Fun fun!

And...without further ado...our new addition!

And here is a shot of the interior:

Isn't she just adorable?
Hugs to all!
Mo

Honk if you love my blog.

Hey friends and fam...I don't update this much because I am not sure anyone else reads it. Probably due to the fact that I have my privacy settings set to "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Anyway...if you've been in touch with me at all lately, you know I landed my dream job in the ICU. It is all kinds of awesome!

In other news...dealing with some troubling blood work but am trying not to get too freaked about it. My red blood cell count is high which means I've got a horrible disorder or I'm pretty darn dehydrated. I'm going with dehydrated and as a result am drinking a ton of water...I downloaded a little app for my iPhone called Water Tracker. It's pretty neat...you can set random reminders throughout the day that say, "Hey, drink some water!" I've set my goal at 12 8-oz glasses and have done good for two whole days in a row! Apparently it takes a bit to reverse chronic dehydration, so I'm going to stick with it until I get my next blood test. I also have super high platelets, which can also be a horrible disease or an iron deficiency. Since my ferritin levels came back low, I'm hoping that's the reason for it and not Something Else. Tom (and everyone else) thinks I need to eat beef every now and again...and honestly, I probably would because this shilolah is scaring me awfully bad. However, I'd like to try alternatives first...and one of the things I've been reading about is celiac. Apparently, a significant number of people who are diagnosed with celiac have NO gastrointestinal symptoms at all....they get tested for it because they have iron-deficiency anemia (like moi). With that said, being a vegan AND following a gluten-free diet would be rather restrictive, and I may have to throw something back into the mix to replace my beloved seitan (which is 100% gluten and one of my all-time favorite things). Sigh...we shall see. I just want to get this blood work back to normal so I can stop lying awake at night thinking about all the horrible things that can happen. And I also may have a B-12 deficiency...I'm telling ya, I am one really untalented vegetarian! I am sure my doc will do more tests, so stand by...if anyone is out there, that is.

In other exciting news...Tom and I found a little house we'd like to buy. It's two streets over from us and is absolutely darling! It would make a great little rental. Not sure we have enough saved for a down payment yet, but T is supposed to call a lender tomorrow and get some ideas. I may have talked him into staying in this house, but there are some things I'd like to do to it to get it more organized and functional. Namely, I'd like to turn the office into a humungous walk-in closet. That would be The Most Awesome Thing In The World. It would also cost Way Too Much Money, but could possibly be a fun DIY project. We'll see...need to buy the little rental first, so stand by.

Oh, speaking of buying things, I bought a new car. Or rather, I committed to buying a new car. It is enroute from some mysterious place and will arrive on the 20th...only 16 days away! Yippee! It's a white Subaru Impreza hatchback. Super super cute. I'll take pics once it's in my hot little hands...or maybe a video using Tom's dorky GoPro camera. YouTube here I come!

Ok, that's enough rambling...do me a favor and post a reply if you are still reading. I'd kind of like to see which of you I've suckered into following this almost non-existant blog.

Love and hugs,
Mo!

Welcome to my Science Project

Our fridge and cabinets have gotten to the point where it is impossible to squeeze any more items in...putting anything in takes an advanced degree in physics and since I barely squeeked by with a BA in Communications, then Hubby and I are embarking on an experiment: Not to go grocery shopping for an entire month! Soy milk is the one exception...and since we signed up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) and will be getting a big ol' box of fresh, organic produce every week...we really have no other reason to go to the market. Yay!

The interesting thing will be what we actually eat...you know how it gets when you get down to eating whatever is on hand.

Tom's Dinner: Leftover Turkey Burger and Tomato Salad
My Dinner: Edamame and a vanilla Tofutti Cutie (these are THE BEST soy "ice-cream" sandwiches EVER!!!!!)

See what I mean about weird meals? We are also going to try our hardest to NOT go out to a restaurant until my birthday...June 24th. Think of all the money we'll save:-)

Can we do it?????

Science Experiment Day 1 of 30.

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Good Kitty: Went to yoga this morning
Bad Kitty: Ate a Tofutti Cutie for DINNER. Hellooooo!!!!!?????!!!
Short Term Goal: Get my filing system set up for all my financial info according to David Bach's Smart Women Finish Rich.
Long Term Goal: The usual...save $$, pay off the tax man, be more philanthropic, love more

The Garden of Eden

Hey there! If you've noticed my vocabulary lately has words in it like, "foxglove", "drip system" and "mulch", then it's because Tom and I have been working on the backyard! Yay! What started out as a huge expanse of weeds has become a mini-oasis (sort of...you have to squint and only look at one section of the yard under optimal lighting conditions, but hey...it's a start).

Here is a peek at our little slice o' paradise:


In other news...went on a bike ride on Sunday...I am happy to report that I made it up Daffodil Hill without stopping! It was touch-and-go there for awhile, but I managed to pull through. The reward was a nice long down-hill in which I may have broken my speed barrier. If not, I got close (it was either 36.1 mph, or 36.7 mph...next stop 37!)

A few of you have asked about Truman...thanks so much for your concern and kind words. He is doing good, though today there was some blood in his regurgitated catfood, but the vet prescriped some anti-vomiting meds and Pepcid. I'm hoping the vomiting isn't related to the cancer, and is just a factor of having a sensitive tummy. Poor guy. He says "thanks for thinking of me" and "meow" and a bunch of other indecipherable cat things that sound vaguely like "is this all that's for dinner?" and "where's my mousie?'.

Let's see...what else? I'm really trying to do exciting things so I'll have something exciting to tell you. Tom and I are doing the "Bay to Breakers" run on the 21st of May. Well, he's running and I'm walking it with my friend, Cheri. For anyone who doesn't know what this is, it's an annual run in San Francisco that starts at the Bay and goes all the way across town to the ocean. It's supposed to be rather outrageous as most things in San Fran are...outlandish costumes, people in their birthday suits and painted blue, music, etc... We're staying the night at a B&B in the Castro area...he doesn't know we're staying in a 99.9% male neighborhood and I'm going to just wait and see if he notices. Kind of like when I took him to "Brokeback Mountain" and told him we were going to see a western.

Well, gotta run and go help with dinner. Ciao and hugs!

Good kitty: Resisted the pull of "The Cookie Connection" while getting lunch today.

Bad kitty: I'm letting the laundry pile up...I hate laundry.