Give Me a Break

Come on immune system, give me a break.

I've received two rounds of chemo (Jan 2004 and Jan 2005) as part of a clinical trial to evaluate a new MS drug. The treatment, Campath, has had fantastic results as an MS treatment but there have been some long term side effects. One being a drop in platelets which has caused a few deaths due to brain hemorrhages and another is thyroid disorders. To catch these side effects we have bloodwork done monthly (my veins are tired of this already) which checks our platelet levels and our thyroid hormone levels.

My thyroid levels have come back abnormal the last few tests so off I went to see an endocrinologist. I had more bloodwork done and an ultrasound done of my thryoid and both confirm more autoimmune activity, this time Hashimoto's thyroiditis which has caused hypothryoidism. I really haven't researched this because I'm just fed up with going to the doctor, getting unfavorable news, getting bloodwork done, toting paperwork and MRI films around... just fed up with it. I'll take the tablets they gave me this morning but I'll read up on this later.

I know it could be worse. I could be in a wheelchair or blind from my MS and I know there are worse conditions/diseases out there than MS but seriously, after six years of this I'm tired of hauling my happy ass up to Round Rock every three months to see my neuro where I'm treated like a number, getting blood drawn at least once a month, going for MRIs, and just the constant presence of my MS and its symptoms.

So to my immune system, I ask of you, can you just give me a break? Leave my brain, my spinal cord, my optic nerve, my thryoid and all of my other organs alone. Just go after the bad stuff. Please.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

It's a little drafty in here today. I donated a pony tail of my hair to Locks of Love yesterday and I don't have much hair left now. This was my third hair donation to Locks of Love and it's pretty cool to think of my hair being part of a wig for a young child.

I wish Sam and I had taken before and after pictures of my hair because it's a pretty dramatic change.

A Walk in the Woods

One of my favorite books, "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson, is being made into a movie by Robert Redford. How exciting! I've lent this book to many friends who've also become Bryson fans.

I love Bill Bryson's books, another favorite is "In a Sunburned Country". Bryson's storytelling style and dry wit make for "laugh out loud" reading. In his travelogues he cleverly peppers his hilarious tales with interesting and relevant historical facts. Known for his travel books Bryson has also written several books on science and the history of the English language which have been well received by academics and critics.

I truly look forward to seeing "A Walk in the Woods" on the big screen. It is a delightful book.

Warm January Afternoon

It was unseasonably warm this weekend so we took Rusty down to Lady Bird Lake, fka Town Lake, this afternoon and he enjoyed some mid-winter swimming.

Am I Bovvered?

My sister Maureen introduced me to The Catherine Tate Show, a comedy sketch program on BBC America. It is hilarious! Catherine Tate plays multiple characters on the show and my favorite is Lauren. This is one of my favorite Lauren skits. Lauren's famous line is "Am I Bovvered?" or in French "Suis je Bovvered?".

This is another good Lauren skit. And even Tony Blair got in on the act.

It's well bad.

Deelish and Easy to Make

I made this last night for dinner and we had the leftovers tonight. As with most recipes I made a few changes: I added a cup of shredded carrots in step 3, doubled the garlic and ginger and used chicken stock rather than vegetable stock. We have a great rice cooker which I used as recommended in the recipe: for cooking the rice and steaming the carrots, peas and chicken. I roughly chopped cilantro, peanuts and scallions for toppings. Sam found some chutney in the fridge and had some pickled beets on the side.

Recipe source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/indonesian-rice-bowl.html

This simplified version of the rijsttafel table, a popular full-rice meal in Indonesia, looks incredibly festive served with all the condiments.

Rice
1 cup Thai jasmine rice
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2½ cups fresh or frozen petite peas (2 pounds fresh unshelled)
2½ cups shredded, sautéed tofu (or organic chicken)
½ cup hot vegetable stock

Sauce
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup chicken broth or water
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, white parts only, minced (chop the green tops for garnish)
½ cup chopped roasted peanuts, for garnish

Condiments
Separate small bowls of chutney, sliced bananas, raisins, unsweetened shredded coconut, minced fresh cilantro leaves, mandarin orange segments, chopped applies, plain yogurt.

1. Make the rice. If using a rice cooker, coat the rice cooker bowl with non-stick cooking spray or a film of vegetable oil. Place the rice in the rice bowl. Add the water; swirl to combine. Close the cover and set for the regular cycle. If cooking in a pan, follow the cooking directions on the package.
2. Make the sauce. In a medium-size saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until the mixture achieves a sauce-like consistency. Cover and keep warm.
3. When the rice is ready (if using a rice cooker, when it switches to the Keep Warm cycle), sprinkle the peas and tofu on top of the rice. Close the cover and let set for 20 minutes.
4. Transfer the rice mixture to a warmed serving platter with sloped sides. Pour the hot stock and peanut sauce over the rice. Stir gently to combine the peas and tofu with the stock and peanut sauce. Sprinkle with the green onion tops and peanuts. Serve immediately with a choice of condiments.

A Movie Filled Weekend

Sam & I saw three movies over the weekend which is almost as many as we saw in total last year. Well, not quite but last year was not a big theater year for us.

We saw "Cloverfield" with a friend Saturday afternoon, "The Water Horse" with friends Sunday afternoon and a sneak preview of "U23D" IMAX last night. Cloverfield was good, The Water Horse was great and U23D knocked my socks off.

I've been a fan of U2 since I was 11 or 12 years old, so for more than a third of my life, and went to my first U2 show when I was 15. I love, love, love them. I thought the idea of watching a concert in 3D seemed pretty cool but it was almost as good as being at the show. I got goosebumps during my favorite songs and was just completely engrossed in the film. Sam was less than enthusiastic about going to the show last night but he was completely sucked in also.

Any U2 fans out there should definitely check it out. In Austin it's showing at the Bob Bullock IMAX theater.

Rusty is Seven

According to the paperwork we received when we adopted Rusty from GRR he turns seven this month. Seven years is middle age for a golden of his size and we hope he's with us for a very long time.

I took this photo yesterday afternoon. I bumped up the saturation and sharpness in Photoshop which is something new for me. I guess I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to photos and I will usually just crop a photo a bit.

Finally, Something that Works

I was at my neurologist's office last week and one of the doctors who was standing too close to me with his uncapped black ballpoint pen in hand made a nice long black ink mark on the sleeve of my bright yellow blouse. I thought that was the end of my blouse because I've never had luck with ink stain removal. I've tried ideas that I've read online (rubbing alcohol, hairspray, laundry pretreatments, etc) and absolutely nothing has worked. I lost a favorite pair of pants a couple of years ago because of a pen that sneaked its way into the laundry.

A friend who is a big Real Simple fan suggested I check Real Simple's website for an idea. Here's their answer to the ballpoint ink dilemma:

Put glycerin on the spot, then treat with a detergent like Woolite and very little water. Gently rub to form suds and rinse.

I got a bottle of glycerin from the drugstore, rushed home and followed their instructions. I was very skeptical but when I pulled my blouse out of the dryer the next morning there was no hint of black ink anywhere. It was a miracle!

Real Simple has a comprehensive stain removal guide here. I'll be keeping this guide handy.

An Entertaining Burns Supper

Sam and I attended the Silver Thistle's Burns Supper this evening. For over 200 years Scots around the world have celebrated Robert Burns's birthday with a Burns Supper. The suppers are fantastic to partake in: there's great music and dancing, entertaining speakers, and of course, the haggis. The guest speaker this evening was Ed Miller, a native of Edinburgh who is a local celebrity, and it's always a pleasure to hear Ed speak and sing.

This evening we were entertained with great stories and jokes, of which I had to share two jokes.

What's the difference between Mick Jagger and a Scot in the Highlands:
Mick Jagger sings "Hey you, get off of my cloud."
A Scot in the Highlands says "Hey MacLeod, get off of my ewe."

About midway through the ceremony there is a salute to the lasses and a response to the laddies. During the exchange we were entertained by this joke:

A Scottish mom was going to return to the workforce after her kids had grown up so she went to her doctor for a physical. When her husband returned home from work she shared her physical's results with him. "My doctor told me I have the body of a 20 year old and the heart of a 16 year old." Her husband responded "Did he say anything about your 50 year old ass?" to which she responded "No, he didn't ask about you." LOL I laughed and laughed at that one.

I'm Old

I feel like a geezer who is stumped by technology. I set up a Facebook page yesterday and first, Google sent friend invites to most of the people in my address book which I wouldn't have done, and second, I just accidentally send an e-card to all of those people which I'm not an e-card sender. So I wonder if I look like a stalker to all of these people. How embarrassing.

I Can't Wait

I can't wait for the new season of Lost to begin, two weeks from tomorrow. It's been a long wait but I'm hopeful Damon Lindelof & Co. have been hard at work on good stories and scripts.

I have so many questions... argh! I can't wait to find out:

-who is on the ship that is off the island's coast especially since we know that it's not Penny's ship
-who is Jacob
-what was going on with Kate and Jack in the flash-forward episode
-how does Naomi have a photo of Penny & Desmond
-who was in the casket in the flash-forward episode
-what is the deal with Richard who doesn't age
-why do some people see deceased persons from their past: Ben seeing his mom, Jack seeing his dad
-what healed Locke and Rose, and does Rose also have a special relationship with the island & possibly Jacob
-was a plane really found near Bali, like Naomi claimed
-where are Walt and Michael, and what's up with Walt
-what's up with the monster smoke and the voices that we heard in season 1

Last fall I enjoyed two new shows on NBC which starred a couple of actors from hit HBO shows: "Life" with Damian Lewis of "Band of Brothers" and "Journeyman" with Kevin McKidd of "Rome". Life is a much better show but Journeyman was entertaining to watch.

I also got hooked on Heroes last fall. I missed the first season so I watched season 1 on dvd last summer and thanks to DVR I got caught up on season 2. What a fun show! "Save the cheerleader, save the world."

But I digress... two weeks until Lost begins.... let the countdown begin.

Florida Sunset

Sam and I spent Christmas with our families in Florida. My youngest brother took me out onto one of the local lakes in his new boat and I took these photos of the beautiful sunset. Florida sunsets are the most beautiful in the world.

Our Rusty Boy

Sam and I went to Santa Fe, NM last fall and we brought our golden Rusty with us. While having Rusty with us limited some of the things we were able to do we had a great time being together. This is one of my favorite photos from our trip.

Remembering Meredith Emerson

While I didn't know Meredith Emerson her disappearance and the subsequent news of her death really shook me up. Eyewitness accounts said that Emerson's alleged murderer was able to get close to her because his dog and her dog were interacting with each other on the north Georgia trail where she was last seen.

That is one thng about having a dog and visiting parks and trails; you tend to let your guard down with people who are also dog owners/lovers because of that common bond. I read somewhere in the coverage of Emerson's disappearance that she probably would not have spoken with Hilton if she'd met him on the street but since they both had dogs she likely let the stranger get close to her.

I walk our dog in the morning darkness (we usually leave the house about 6:15am) and our route takes us through an empty field and past several completely unlit areas such as an overpass several blocks from our house. Some mornings I look into the darkness and wonder if anyone is there, and wonder what would I do if someone approached us from the darkness. If someone approached us and they were walking with a dog I know my guard would be lower than if they were alone.