Domos and dads and Depp

A friend of mine posts the funniest photos of domos with captions. I couldn't believe how large this domo is! He seems kind of angry about being stuck behind the glass with Spongbob's starfish friend.

I felt more bendy today than I have in quite a while. And I managed to get some decent (for me) bowling scores. Yes, I'm back to left-handed bowling.

141 isn't my high score, but close!

After bowling, we went with friends to Arriba so I could eat before going out with family. I had fajitas and brought my own chips to go with the salsa. We left and met family at Red Lobster. I know that sounds a little crazy but I literally cannot eat anything at (as my friend J calls it) Dead Lobster. When I looked at their allergen menu, I realized that they must get all their food pre-prepared and it's all cooked in soybean oil. That's quite a bummer because this part of the family LOVES Red Lobster for every occasion. We tried to reassure them that it was fine, we were there for the company, don't worry about the food part of it. We'll see what happens next time. I was kind of impressed that my husband ate with me at Arriba and just had a drink at Red Lobster. I thought it was pretty cool of him to stand by me that way, even if he was just eating what he wanted.

We watched part of Rango after lunch/dinner. I thought it was pretty cute. Depp makes a good cartoon character. It seems like a really good kid movie.

Fine on the outside; sick on the inside

Every time I get sick, I run through some of this and some of that in my head--what did I eat, what did I do, why is it like this? So this morning, when I had some double D, followed by some pain and not feeling great, but not terrible pain, I knew I did something. So let's go back.

This morning, I had a protein shake with chocolate rice protein powder, flax and psyllium, half a single serve container of chocolate coconut milk yogurt, some frozen peaches, pineapple, pears, and original almond milk. That should be alright, right? I had my tincture, tea, and supplements before drinking my breakfast.

Last night, I made chicken with salsa and pinto beans and served it over brown rice. Mick thought it was "bland" which was weird since I thought the chicken was cooked perfectly and it was really only missing some greens but I was too tired to do anything else, even making a salad at that point. I took my tincture, drank my tea, and took all my supplements and meds. I had an apple and honey peanut butter also. That seems okay, right?

For lunch, we ate out at Thai Lana, where I got questionable information about whether the curry would have soy in it or not, but she said they would leave it out. Uh-huh. Well, it was fantastic and I ate it all and was stuffed when we left. I actually was stuffed to the point of pain. Or was it pain from eating wheat via soy sauce? It felt like being stuffed, but who knows? I also had my tincture and supplements.

In the morning, I had some leftover wild rice and some chicken apple sausage links. I felt like I ate too much but I had it with me and didn't want to waste it. I was feeling constipated but managed to go to the bathroom a little a couple times during our bowling excursion. (I bowled terribly; today's high score was 94. Seriously. I was all over the place. WTF!) Was this the start of it?

The night before, I made salmon and wild rice with cranberries and almond slivers. I was surprised that he really liked it. I was feeling bloated. But that's to be expected on the second day of my period, right?

I had eaten leftover potatoes and some breakfast sausages for breakfast, leftover chicken curry I had made for lunch, and an apple and maple almond butter for a snack. I had done some yard work in the morning before the real heat set in; then proceeded inside to do housecleaning and laundry. I was EXHAUSTED and took a two hour nap before we had dinner, so it was a late dinner.

So my first instinct is to blame this on the restaurant meal, but looking back, I don't think I was feeling so great before that. But maybe it was unrelated. *Sigh* Although my pain is in the back instead of the tummy generally, I didn't "want to be touched at all." And I had a chest and upper back of the neck breakout (hives? no, it couldn't be hives.) a day or two before. Hmm.

I don't know how to make zucchini noodles. Almost.

I took it easy on the tummy (I think) tonight, with a mix of eggplant, zucchini, red and yellow bell pepper, onion, garlic, garbanzo beans, sweet potatoes, eggplant marinara with chicken sausage. All I can say is that I still feel kinda shitty and I need to clean up from all that veggie prep. But I'll be better tomorrow, right?

A new high. And low?

Since changing to left handed bowling, I've been very inconsistent.  Today was more inconsistency, but I happened to get my best. score. ever.  Even right handed.

4 strikes!

The Thai restaurant that was so accommodating previously was maybe a little less accommodating this time.  She told me that there is soy in the curry sauce but they could not add more soy.  Hmmm.  I had it and I seem to feel fine.  I think everyone is confused about the soy issue.  Overall, I should not eat soy because of my thyroid.  Soy sauce is another issue--besides the soy/thyroid issue, most soy is not gluten-free.  Yes, there is gluten-free soy, but I doubt that a typical restaurant would be cooking with it.  Since I have so many issues, I'm not really sure that I'll be able to tell if the soy sauce had any effect on me anyway.

We went home for a while before going back out to run errands, and then back home again.  I'm not sure if I'm being overly irritable, but I feel like I'm interrupted during every single thing I try to accomplish.  Because of that, I feel like I'm not getting anything done.  My memory sucks*, and I have so many things going on, so it seems that I'm spinning my wheels, running from one thing to the next and finding things half done all along the way.  *1. We went to the bookstore to return a book; they gave me a gift card.  We found several things to purchase, which I bought after getting my membership discount.  I still have the gift card.  2. We went to Kohl's to purchase some items.  At the register, I used my coupon.  As soon as we paid, I realize I have Kohl's cash that I didn't use.  I seriously just looked at it in my wallet the other day.

Back at home, I had a bit of a melt down when my DH went upstairs and then told me "there aren't any sheets on the bed."  I literally dropped the laundry, took care of the bed, then went back downstairs for laundry and dishes.  Oh, the meltdown: when I was done with the bed, I told him so very NOT nicely.  There I am again, behaving badly.

Thankfilled. Part 2.

V (me!) got 4 strikes and 2 spares

I got my new left-handed high score in bowling today, the first time using my new ball.  Well, technically, I used it already, but it stuck to my thumb, causing me to do a funky dance that looked a lot like someone following their ball past the foul line, grabbing it and coming back, so I had it re-drilled.  Okay, I'm not great, but I'm improving.  This was even after I started with 5 gutter balls because the thumb was still sticking--but my husband let me have some slip grip.

During my excellent-ish bowling of four games averaging a 90 (I know! Don't be jealous!), I was holding my right arm behind my back or over the front so that I wouldn't swing it.  Awkward!  But my right arm-shoulder-neck area was still hurting.  Not as much as it was, but still painful in certain positions.  It seems to be decreasing, so I wonder if I will still have to go to a medical professional.  Of course I mean separate from all the medical appointments I have scheduled in the next two weeks.

I decided that today was a cheat day since we were celebrating Thanksgiving at my niece's house later.  Good decision, as we had lunch at BJ's, which has a severely contaminated menu.  Their gluten-free menu is pretty short to start with, and that's just my non-negotiable diet choices.  So I had some soy and dairy.  *sigh*  The balsamic chicken (no onion strings) was good though.

I asked the waitress if she knew whether the cider had yeast; she came back and told me about their g/f beer and that the cider was not guaranteed g/f (although it's listed on the g/f menu).  Well, isn't that special?  I don't think that's what I asked.  At. All.  Oh, well, as best as I can tell from my online research, cider may or may not contain yeast.  I'll pass.  I should have stuck with water to drink--I had some pomegranate drink that was sugary sweet.  My girlfriends had pazookie and they let me have a tiny bit of vanilla ice cream off the top before they dug in.  It was enough.

At my niece's house, I asked my sister, M, about what was in stuff and she seemed a little upset that she forgot about my issues.  I told her I'd be able to eat, just not everything.  I had a little turkey and ham (really good, cooked with pineapple), candied sweet potatoes (I'd like more sweet potatoes and less candied personally, but I know that's how it's done in the family) and mashed potatoes and gravy.  That's right, I had gravy.  M made it and she uses cornstarch instead of flour.  Not necessarily gluten-free, but it is considered wheat-free.  Close enough for today.  It was great to see everyone after so long.  Again.

Saw this on the web (advice from a 2 year old): "Whether the glass is half empty or half full is irrelevant if you dump it out on the sofa. You’re welcome." 

Bowling

K top row, me middle, A bottom row

average 113!

Best of bowling

Three strikes and 4 spares in one game!

And a new high average score.

I'm getting back up. In a minute.

I'm having a friggin Monday.  I know it's Tuesday, but this was a holiday weekend.  No, I did not rest.  Not. at. all.  Saturday, I met my friend for light shopping and lunch before her hair appointment.  Light shopping means that we had something to accomplish, but not much.  In this case, she was returning shoes to Nordstroms, which meant that we were trying on more shoes at Nordstroms.  (insert giddy gleefulness here!)  I tried on those gray Tom's wedges that I was salivating over.  Disaster.  The left one fit alright; the right one flopped around every time I tried to take a step.  Damn skinny heel or whatever.  The sales guy really wanted to make it work so he brought me the next size down.  Now my left foot was pinched and my right foot was being smothered in the front but was all comfy like in the back.  Um, yeah, take these shoes.  Do not bring any more.  Thanks.

Disney princess--safe for children?

I was planning to go to Target after our lunch of salads and (red velvet) cheesecake, and she had seen this Disney princess disaster there, just posted on her FB for everyone's comments.  I doubted I would be lucky enough to see this abomination, but she offered her photo, just in case.  Um, yep, I saw one, sitting there tauting me--there's something wrong with people, look at me, I'm proof!

I spent two hours at Target before heading home.  I know, I spend too much time doing everything.  But I had a list.  And Target did not organize their store in order of my list.  I don't know what they are thinking.  Games and paint brushes are on one end, and gardening stuff is next to the groceries on the other.  I never found the silk plant cleaner for my MIL.  Bless her heart, she can go through an entire bottle cleaning one fake plant.  And I obviously need fake plants as my FIL is already pissed off at my lack of a green thumb as I kill his cherry tomato plant by, well, doing nothing at all.  In my defense, it is something like 118 degrees and our yard has little shade and the water may not have been set correctly (but not by me--that's not my area of expertise.)

That pretty much wore me out and I'm only on the FIRST day of the long weekend.

Sunday, we went bowling.  My average improved!  After lunch at Ground Control, where my husband's new favorite beer resides, and there is gelato, we went to our house to combine into our car and go to K's parents house for some pool time, followed by dinner.  I learned A's secret to her scrumptious guacamole, but I've decided to forget so that she always has to make it upon request.  I didn't drink (there is a reason I'm telling you this) and I drove us all home (that's not it).  Then I passed out on the couch.  Seriously. passed. out.  I could not wake up enough to get up and go to bed.  For about 3 hours, I tried.  I finally was able to get up, take my medicine (way after I was supposed to) and go to bed.

Monday, I did some housecleaning, laundry, pet care and then watched TV with the spousal unit.  We watched some of Jamie Olivers Food Revolution.  I highly recommend this show.  Besides his English accent and cutie patootie kids, there is some fantastic information about our food.  And by fantastic, I mean totally disgusting.  We were amused (that is not at all the word I'm looking for....) by the fast food guy who didn't want to change his business, at all, even when it seemed totally obvious (like he doesn't/wouldn't feed that syrup to his kids but he'll totally put it in the milkshakes he sells to his customers).  And then my husband, God love him, lets me know that he does not care what is in his ice cream if it means that he can't have cookie dough ice cream.  Some bugs and feathers never killed anyone, right?

We turned off the Food Revolution marathon to go to our friend's house.  We decided not to swim, but went to visit R and his family.  It was a great group, fun visit, good food.  When they started getting the kiddos ready to go to the park to see fireworks, we headed home.  O. M. G.  How do I manage to do this almost every year?  There is something wrong with people.  There is something wrong with people on the 202, east and west bound, near Tempe Town Lake, before, during, and after the fireworks show.  I know I should have, could have, gone another way, but I forgot.  And I didn't.  Right about the time I took the 101 to the 202, I realized the fireworks were JUST starting.  And people are PARKED ON THE FREEWAY.  I actually, no lie, can't make this up, saw someone parallel parking in the emergency lane on the right side.  People in the first lane over were on top of their cars.  The second lane, and to some extent, the third lane, were stopped.  Not moving.  The carpool (not during those hours of course) lane to my left was mostly moving, but did stop.  I told my husband I was going to lay on the horn if my lane came to a complete stop.  It barely kept moving, so those idiots taking video with their cell phones from the tops of their cars were spared my alarmingly wussy Prius horn.

In case you have missed my opinion in the previous paragraph, it is NEVER okay to use the freeway like a parking lot.  This is not your front row seat to someone else's event.  Is it really the first time you have ever seen fireworks?  Could you not see them and keep driving?  Do you know that there is something wrong with people?  By people, I mean you, kicking it yo' on the freeway.

And today, a workday.  A hard day.  A lots of pain day.  Which makes me less productive.  But wait, there's more!  I get to go to the lab and have my blood taken for my first trial extension visit.  N from Hope Research only has four tubes to get filled today.  When I ask if that's the last tube, the funny guy taking my blood says only four more.  We quickly inform him that last time, I had 8 tubes taken.  Bigger tubes than today.  He is feeling less funny.  I go fill my, ahem, cup.  I'm having hesitancy today due to the pain.  Or maybe the pain is due to the hesitancy.  I just know this is my fifth time in the bathroom today, only the second, ahem, liquid-only visit, and I haven't even had lunch yet.  I'm going to Dutch Brothers for a frosty treat.  They are always so nice to me and I can't weep while drinking chocolate coconut coffee goodness.

I round my less than productive day (evening, thankfully feeling better) out with some blog surfing.  I find a funny, ranting writer to add to my blog roll, which has too many to follow already (cuz that's how we roll.)  After all, defeat does not lie in the outcome of being knocked down, it lies in your inability to get back up.   Thanks, Bella.  I'll be back up tomorrow.  I think I'll stay down for the count today though.

Best of bowling

100 average score.

Best of bowling