aKathy's What's for Dinner 10/15

You go and take some beautiful pictures. Don't worry one bit about us here. If you need someone else to start the thread and keep it going, hand over the reins. I just want you to have fun.

I am breathing a big sigh of relief. After a very busy morning, my calendar is wide open this afternoon. Like wide open. Which hardly ever happens to me.

I must tell you, though, that at our staff meeting, my boss told coworker and I that we are "being watched" by the executive office. And that any communication we have with my boss's boss or her assistant manager, we are to cc the boss and the director. It felt like a warning not to talk to her. Keeping fingers crossed that I get called for an interview that gets me one step closer to putting this job behind me.

It was cold outside this morning. Very close to freezing so I'm going to get out to the garden today and harvest anything that looks anywhere close to ripe. It can continue to ripen in the house but I think we are very close to having a freeze.

I am reading a very good book and that might be part of how I spend my afternoon. Curled up under a blanket.

I think I might make chickpea potpie tonight for dinner. naby64 the recipe I use is from the cookbook I recommended. She calls for making ch'cken flavored seitan. However, I am not a big fan of seitan. So I use chickpeas. This potpie is seasoned perfectly and has a layer of phyllo dough on top. Just delicious. Jeremy thinks it's a very good substitute for chicken potpie.

Good evening all,
Today was one of those days that is going to be a part of my life from now on - back to the hospital where I had my surgery for another PET scan. Today I went on half an hour before my appointment time and it worked well. I was talking to the doctor right on my time and after going through all the forms, answering the same questions about medications and medical conditions that I’ve answered so often in the past 3 months, she put the cannula into my arm. Then it was a bit a of a wait for the radioactive stuff to be injected, then an hour wait for it to work its way through my bloodstream. 5 minutes before the hour was up, they sent me to the bathroom (combination of effects of contrast medium and the diuretic they give so you pee out the radiation quickly) and then I was in! 20 minutes later, cannula out, bandage on and I was out the door! Total 3 hours, so much better than the 5.5 hours it was last time!

I’m still on my own for dinner tonight and I’m going simple again. Tray bake root vegetables and a chicken thigh, all in a Greek herb and spice mix. Veggies are already in the oven and the chicken will gonn be in soon..

scrapmaven - enjoy your adventure with DH. Yesterday, you asked if I felt any negative effects of my surgery while on vacation. Mostly I was fine. I did get tired at times, but we were on the go a lot, even during the 4 days of our ‘relax’ part of the vacation, where we went on a few long walks. 

I don't play a doctor on TV or anything.  But do they normally do this this close to the surgery?   Is this typical?

Good morning! It is finally starting to feel fallish here! I am so happy. My mood actually lifts at this time of year. I love flannel, fleece, leggings and all comfy throws. The first Saturday that it is cool I am out on the patio with my coffee and warm house shoes and such. My mother usually calls me to ask if I am out enjoying it.

It's just another work week for me. Nothing special. So far so good on keeping my head above water. No member conflicts this week. So far. Nobody fell at the office yesterday, thank goodness.

I am shopping for some black loafers. I had some last year and I think in my last shoe clean out, I threw them out. They slipped on my heel. I even put those heel huggers in there. All of my life that has been my story. I inherited skinny heels from my dad. And my DD has gotten them from me. le sigh... I was going to wear the pair I thought I had today but a quick sweep of the closet didn't produce them. So I start that horrible struggle shopping adventure.

Tonight I think we are having tacos. I have a shopping trip planned at lunch time to grab some things. I will make beef tacos for DH and I think I am going to go with jeremysgirl earlier dinner of sweet potato and black bean tacos. They just sound so good. The cookbook that you mentioned, is it from Isa? I did grab one of hers on Saturday. Isa Does It. I will be looking at it later this afternoon when I get things squared away in the office. No one is here this afternoon and I just really want to get through it.

scrapmaven take wonderful pictures and enjoy the new camera!

jeremysgirl - it is now almost 10 weeks since my surgery, so already some time (in a medical sense) since the surgery. I was originally told, even before the surgery that my first follow up MRI would be at around 3 months, then a discussion appointment with my surgeon. I wasn’t expecting the PET scan, but I also wasn’t expecting the one two weeks before the surgery either.
Once I see my surgeon in early/mid November, he will let me know what my check up schedule will be for the next year or so.

It's my birthday

Nice! Sometimes, I just feel the need for a mental health day so glad you're taking off! I use all of my days off and don't carry many over. I feel they're there for a reason!

You share your birthday with my DH, though I am sure you are much younger!
Enjoy your day off - DH is travelling as he so often is on his birthday and other milestone days, but I am baking him cookies to take to work Thursday and we’ll celebrate with dinner out on the weekend

I wouldn't be so sure! I'm turning 58 (eek big number)  Happy birthday to your DH!

It’s a nothing day! Obviously there is always something I can do around the house, but today there are no appts and nothing pressing to do and I love it!

My mom came over this morning saying she couldn’t get her voicemails on her phone and she had left a couple messages she was waiting to hear back from. Turns out she was checking her text messages and not her phone messages. She’s 82 and although quite healthy, she is getting more and more forgetful lately.

Although I still have some turkey leftover, tonight I am having pulled pork fries and DH will have hamburger patties with gravy and veggies.

scrapmaven have fun!

jeremysgirl I don't know how you are handling your job so well.

Tearisci I am so jealous that you are having gulf shrimp.

naby64 I love fall too. It seems so short lived though. Today when I left for work it was 34 degrees. At 2:00 this afternoon it has only gotten up to 53. I am cold!

leannec I guess I need to go back and read yesterday's thread.

Today is an extremely crazy day at the office. I am sure jeremysgirl you will understand the significance of today. I am teaching a class tonight.

Thanks for the positive comments regarding my parents yesterday. It was greatly appreciated!

DH will take my parents out for dinner and I will snack on something when I get home.

I think you have the right to say whatever you'd like to say. You said your piece and it wasn't received well, but was answered graciously. I have had similar concerns that I have shared with my friend, Dawn. I know I sent you a private message about this trying to be gentle with you too, but the longer I think about this, the more angry I become because bringing it up again today like we are all taking a ginormous vote on whether a member of ours is struggling with an eating disorder is mean girl behavior.

Here's what I know: 1) people with bipolar disorder and ADHD hyperfixate on things. We tend to be more black and white in our thinking which results in using qualifiers like good and bad to describe and sort things in our minds 2) my current diet isn't any less restrictive than hers and not a single person here has commented on how extreme my eating has become 3) her primary care doctor is fully aware of the diet she has chosen and is supportive of her quest to lose weight in this manner 4) the diet she has chosen means that in order to be successful on it, her body needs to be in ketosis which means that eating carbs can throw her off the path and take quite a bit of time to correct 4) I have been a huge naysayer about the ketogenic diet due to my belief and that of many doctors that 130 g of carbs are necessary for brain function but there is new research stating that people with schizophrenia and schizo-affective bipolar disorder actually see mental health benefits from it and this is part of her mission and 5) she is under the care of a therapist who is assisting her in balancing her mental health so that is just another health professional that she is working with. I have talked about similar concerns with her and this is the data I've gathered from our conversations regarding it not that she or I owe anyone any explanation. But concerns or not (I care about her physical and mental health and check in with her usually daily), that stung. You hurt her and she is taking a break from this thread.

I wasn't going to say a word until you came to this thread today hoping to resurrect your comments for what? A pile on? You said your piece, now let it go.

Our new Trader Joes is opening around the corner from me tomorrow! It's going to make a busy parking lot even busier but I'll be over there tomorrow checking it out!