Tidbits of everything

FYI: Any guys reading this post may want to skip the first paragraph. Don't say I didn't warn you!
So this is my first cycle off the pill. CD 16. Still not sure if I've ovulated yet. I know there's the likelihood of having a few haphazard, nonsensical cycles, and frankly, I'm scared! Of course, I do realize that, despite the old wives tale of ovulation occuring on the 14th cycle day, some women ovulate as early as day 8-9 or as late as 50-60. There's no way to know unless you chart. Speaking of charting, tracking my temps daily is getting easier (they say it takes 21 days for something to become habit). I'm hoping that today I'm ovulating, so that these cramps and feeling 10 pounds heavier would make sense. *Or could it be the handful of snack-size butterfingers that I suddenly devoured without reason? Amanda, Jenny, Lena---I know you've all gone through this, so bear with the newbie on board!

We went to the Oregon State game vs Washington State yesterday and had a great time. The beavs DEMOLISHED WSU, but in my opinion, they went a little overboard at 66-13. The weather was nice, clear but crisp at 55-60 degrees, just as it is today. These days are numbered, for I can smell the constant Pacific NW rains 'a comin'. Tech is already forming his own paths of mud in the yard from running end-to-end while the neighbor kids are out. Goodbye mud-free kitchen floors!

I broke out the crock pot today, and the aroma of a wine-broth-covered pot roast is taking over the whole house (all 1100 sq-feet of it). Yet another sign of fall... my appetite for rich food increases, my eagerness to take Tech on long walks decreases, and my fat jeans make a resurgence from the back of the closet. Ahhh, what a life. :)

Just for fun, my pot roast recipe (one I found on the 'net):

Drunken Garlic Pot Roast

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
12-24 garlic cloves, minced (about 4 tbsp.) ----yes! this is the correct amount!adjust to your taste, though.
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 cup hot water
8 ounces lager beer or your favorite red drinking wine, whichever suits your fancy
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
cornstarch (dissolved in water, for gravy)


Directions:
1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoons of the oil and brown roast on both sides, seasoning with salt and pepper; remove to a platter and keep warm.
2. Add the remaining tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onions, cook until they just start to wilt then add the garlic, them cook until the onions are tender, a few minutes more.
3. Add the bouillon cubes to the hot water and stir to dissolve; add that to the skillet along with the beer/wine, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar; stir to mix well.
4. Pour mixture into the bottom of the crock pot.
5. Place roast on top of liquid, cutting into pieces if it doesn't lay flat.
6. Set the crock pot on low and cook for 7-8 hours.
7. Remove meat from crock pot and pour liquid into a pan on the stove; heat to a boil, and mix a slurry out of the cornstarch and water; thicken pan liquid with slurry to make a gravy.
8. Serve gravy over meat or with potatoes or noodles.

You can toss in some root veggies (potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc..), but I like to serve with baked potatoes or chunky garlic mashed potatoes. Yummy! (If you try it, tell me how you liked it!)

I got grillz

Last Wednesday, I went back to the dentist to get started on my Invisalign treatment. They did new x-rays, took close-up digital pics of my teeth from all angles, and made molds of my teeth. It took 2 tries on both upper and lower molds....each one was held firmly on my teeth (with my mouth wide open) for 5 minutes. The first didn't work because the plastic material didn't surround my teeth all the way. I personally didn't think the process was as bad as other people on the 'net have talked about. So now, all I can do is wait until they call me back with the Clincheck (computerized pictorial of my teeth going through invisalign treatment) to make sure the end result they have projected is what I want. Hopefully, they'll call me in by the end of next week! The only down side is the addition of another monthly payment to the list of bills we already have.....

Daily to-dos

Work, check.
Workout, check.
Groceries, check.
Walk dog, check.
Make/eat dinner, check.
Clean up kitchen, check.
Shower, check.
Read e-mails, post new blog post, check.
Relax.....sometimes it feels like never.

Invisalign

So I have wanted straighter teeth for YEARS...and because I'm such a vain person, metal braces really were never on my "maybe" list. I went in last Monday for an Invisalign consultation with a local dentist, and he thinks it would be a great treatment option for my needs. Here's what Invisalign is all about.

So I get to go in Wednesday to have my teeth molded, get awful pictures taken from all directions, and hand over a cool $500 first payment to get things rolling. The dentist sends all my info to Invisalign and they develop a computer-generated guesstimate of the way my teeth will look throughout the process. When I and my dentist approve of the pictures, sets of trays are molded, and I wear one set for two weeks, move on to the next set until my teeth are where I want them to be. My insurance covers 60% (that's the biggest reason why I'm following through with this).

The biggest change will be brushing, flossing, rinsing, and cleaning the trays every time I eat something (no, you don't eat with them on). That's a lot of work, especially while I'm AT work. Apparently, most people who do Invisalign lose 5-15 lbs because they don't snack as much. Yippee! I could use some help in that area. :)

Our router went bad....no router, no wireless laptop service, no Stacia on laptop = no blogs. Even though we have a PC in the office. I am really laptop dependent. Glen couldn't wait for Verizon to send us a new one so I'd get off his back.
I never realized how much time I wasted just surfing the 'net....Things are going to change.

On another note, fall is officially here in the Pacific Northwest. I officially had to break out the down comforter 2 nights ago, and it was dark by 6pm lastnight. My patients are concerned with being able to rake the leaves in their yards. Boo-hoo. The rains are sure to follow.

My own personal Mr. Clean...but with hair

I really, really, really love my husband. He has every Wednesday off work because he works 10 hours, 4 days per week. We have out of town visitors coming on Friday, and he spent all day today mowing/trimming the yard, Preparing the guest room, vaccuming cars and the house...and he even scrubbed the bathroom floor! What a lucky gal I am to have a husband who likes a clean house and loves to clean more than I do! Actually, I hate it with a passion.

Love ya, babe.

Addicted to "Rock Band"

So my sister-in-law's boyfriend has the Playstation 3 game Rock Band...and I'm addicted. Who knew that a tried-and-true flute player in the good ol' days would turn out to be a kick-ass (virtual reality) drummer? The one downfall is that the front of my right shin starts to spasm from pressing the bass pedal. Good thing we don't have this game at our house!

Our next door neighbors had a "Napoleon Dynamite" party lastnight, and we were invited! They served quesadillas, tater tots, 1% milk, and root beer floats (if you haven't seen the movie, all of these foods make a cameo). They put up a large screen in their backyard, projected the movie onto it, and we all watched it from comfy lounge chairs/air mattresses/blankets after sunset. The movie is WAY more funny when you've seen it more than once and when there are more than 2 people watching at once. We had a great time!

P.S. Trying for baby in December! (Hi my bestest friend Amanda! I bet that is the news you want to hear!) Nobody tell my in-laws, though. I want it to be a surprise!

Common Sense: becoming extinct

Whew, it's been a long week! I don't know if it's something in the air...perhaps the coming change of season...but I have gotten way too many patients lately that seem to be 5 pennies short of a nickel. Example:

Me: So how are you today?

Patient: Well, my shoulder has been flared up since yesterday. I think the exercise you made me do irritated it.

Me: Well, it's been 3 days since I saw you last. Did you have pain after you left here?

Patient: No, actually I felt pretty good.

Me: Did you do anything else that could have irritated it, like housework?

Patient: No, but yesterday I did sand and paint 6 pieces of 4x6 ft plywood pieces, but that surely didn't do it, did it? I think it was what you did.

Silently to myself: "NO, you're just a freaking IDIOT lady!"


Just looking to place the blame onto anyone but herself.
Since when did society change from being hard-working, honest, decent people to idiots who don't OWN their own actions, who blame others for their problems, and SUE other people "to get justice"? I just don't understand it. Yes, I am on a soap box right now. I do consider myself to be a kind, understanding, PATIENT P.T., but it is becoming more and more difficult to want to help someone who could care less about helping themselves. It is my job day in and day out to educate people on what to do/what not to do to manage pain, increase mobility; what I cannot do is control whether or not the patient follows through. I probably spend 2 out of 8 daily work hours having conversations such as the one above. People don't get it.

Glen's Surprise Party

As some of you know, my hubby Glen just turned 30 this month, plus he rode in his first "Century" (in the cycling world, a 100-mile bike race) last Sunday the 24th. Since we were in Mexico over our birthdays, and with many fully-booked weekend plans, I ended up throwing him a surprise party on the 30th....to commemorate not only a milestone of a birthday, but a difficult physical achievement. I am VERY proud of him!
So about 15 of our closest family and friends (boo-hoo to Jenny who would rather work than party with my in-laws!) enjoyed a "Casino Night" theme, complete with blackjack, poker, chicken wings, beer, and homemade ice cream cake! We all must be getting old, because everyone was gone by 11! We had a great time, Glen was truly surprised, and we got to see a few people we haven't seen in a long time. Plus, no drinking games! A sign of the times.....

On another note, we decided to get up yesterday morning and go on a hike to Larch Mountain with our friends Megan and Jeff, and their dogs Hershey and Gustav. It was a cold 42 degrees up there--we took 2 trails for about 8 miles---and at the last mile, it started POURING DOWN RAIN. Nothing like the smell of wet dog in the car to keep you awake on the ride home!

Support Me in the Race for the Cure!

Please excuse the cut-and-paste plug, but:

Dear Friends and Family,
I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen Portland Race for the Cure® on September 21st in the fight to save lives and end breast cancer forever.
Did you know that Susan G. Komen for the Cure® locally helps to provide more than 7,000 free screening mammograms for the uninsured women of Oregon and SW Washington who otherwise cannot afford them? Unfortunately, 37,000 more local women need mammograms but don’t get them. That is why I am fundraising and joining this year’s Race, to help Susan G. Komen for the Cure save lives through early detection.
Imagine the impact…
Seventy-five percent of the dollars you donate will fund vital services across Oregon and SW Washington, while twenty-five percent will be combined with other Affiliates’ funds to fuel national breast cancer research at an unprecedented level.
$10 funds ten support booklets for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.
$25 pays for a gas card for a low-income woman driving over 75 miles one way to get a mammogram.
$77 can fund a free screening mammogram for one uninsured woman
By making a donation in this year’s Race you can make a difference.
Click here to visit my personal page and pledge your support.
Click here to register and join me in this year's Race.
Thank you for joining in our promise to create a world without breast cancer!Sincerely,
Stacia
To sponsor my participation online, click here.