Raining in Baltimore

It's been gloomy, dark, cold, and rainy for two days here in Baltimore.  I know it's also raining in central Florida, but at least it's in the 80s and not as dark.  I miss Florida.

I have had two days of eating all my meals in the house, and I ate some reasonable snacks.  This whole week is going to be like that, so I can only hope that it will be a good weigh-in tomorrow.  I had gained in the three days of driving up north, but this morning I had lost that weight and got back to where I started last Wednesday.  So I'm hoping tomorrow will be at least the same and maybe a smidge lower.  Unfortunately, a whole week of eating all the meals in the house isn't happening again after this week.  We have lots of dinners out coming up.

Today, if the rain lets up, we'd love to take a walk.  We took a 30 minute, mile and a quarter walk on Sunday, but yesterday it was just too rainy to do it.  We walked around the grocery store as we shopped. That was it for exercise.

I read some more stories in Lowell's book. I remain impressed.  His stories are thought-provoking, a little dark, very entertaining, and wonderfully readable in a unique style.  Cindy read the first one and agreed with my assessment 100%.  Lowell is a brilliant writer!  I can't wait for his next book.

Sunday at Cindy's

It's a beautiful, sunny day in Baltimore, a lot like yesterday, and I'm looking forward to a slow day at Cindy's house.  We got here so late Friday night and ran out so early Saturday, staying out until very late, that we have not really put any of our stuff away.  There are bags and clutter everywhere in the house.  This morning we will have time to stow it all away and make order out of chaos.  We will also have time to take a nice walk around the neighborhood in the beautiful sunshine, read, watch TV, and listen to the Oriole game.  Nice.

Yesterday was fantastic.  The Keter Shem Tov for Saul and Phyllis was magnificent.  They truly deserved that honor.  I loved watching the choir perform, and they even called me up to join them on the final song. THAT was an unexpected honor for me.  Such joy!

Going up with Lowell and Mark for the first aliyah was also a special joy.  It is a very rare occurrence that Lowell would be on the bima reciting blessings with us.  The last time it happened was probably our own Keter Shem Tov back in 2009.  It was also just so much fun seeing all of our old friends and hugging and kissing what felt like literally EVERYONE in the building!  And, of course, all the old friends wanted to congratulate Lowell and Emily on their engagement.  Those folks watched Lowell grow up, so that was a real treat for them to meet Emily, see the ring, and wish them well.

After the luncheon, we spent the rest of the day their house, playing with their dogs, giving them presents, taking a walk, going out to eat, and watching the musical Company on DVD.  Such fun! 

I also got to see Lowell's new book, Draw a Circle. I took one copy home and read the first story last night before I went to bed.  He is an amazing writer!  His style and sense of story-telling is unique, readable, enjoyable, and thought-provoking.  I can't wait to read the rest of the stories, and I am just SO VERY PROUD of him for this accomplishment.  The book is only available to buy from him right now, but soon it will be available on Amazon as a paperback or a Kindle edition.  I say BUY LOTS OF THEM!! 

Enjoy these pictures from yesterday.

Here's the ring!  Lowell took the three diamonds out of my mother's cocktail ring and had them reset. 

Lowell and his book!

Showing us his new laptop.

Emily with Trillian and Lowell with Ozma on our walk.

Ozma is such a sweet dog.  She loves everybody!

Enjoying a little down time before heading out to dinner.

Playing with dogs!

Lowell, Emily, and Ozma

At Copeland's for dinner.

I think these pictures show how much Lowell looks like Mark.

Toasting the happy couple's engagement.

Keter Shem Tov for Saul and Phyllis

Today is the first of three reasons why we made this trip up north.  It is the Keter Shem Tov for our friends Saul and Phyllis.  This is the Crown of a Good Name, a day when someone or some couple who has been very active at Mishkan Torah for a number of years is honored by the congregation.  Mark and I were honored in 2009.  We are super excited to be attending this one for Saul and Phyllis.

We spent three days on the road to get here.  Yesterday we got to Maryland and went straight to a kosher restaurant for lunch.  They close early on Fridays, so it was great that we made it there just 30 minutes before closing and had a great meat lunch.  What a treat!  We then did some shopping and ended up at Sara and Jeff's house for Shabbat dinner with three other long time friends from Mishkan Torah.  It was especially fun to see Rafe and Suzette again because they have retired and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee.  We have not seen them in several years. 

It was another hour's drive to Cindy's and an hour to unpack the car and settle in.  By the time we went to bed around 1 a.m., we were both exhausted and I was having leg cramps.  The leg cramps got me up every hour all night.  Not a restful night.  UGH.  Then I hit the scale this morning for the first time since we left on Wednesday.  UGH again.  Up two and a half pounds.  Well, that's what I get for eating three meals a day out and sitting in a car with no exercise.  I know I overate yesterday with the kosher lunch and way too much at dinner last night.

Today we are having our usual breakfast here at Cindy's, but a big luncheon at the synagogue after the ceremony and dinner is up in the air.  It will probably be out with Lowell and Emily.

That's the other GREAT thing about today.  We are picking Lowell and Emily up at 9:30 to take with us to the Keter.  It will be our first chance to see the ring and hear more details about the engagement.  We will also go back to their house later in the afternoon to give them lots of presents and play with their two dogs.  It will be a great day.

I had a truly wonderful time on Thursday night and Friday morning with my sister Flyn, brother-in-law Jim, and niece Katie in Dillwyn, VA.  We had not seen them in a year and a half, since Thanksgiving of 2011.  Hard to believe.

Katie is finishing up her sophomore year of college.  Both Flyn and Katie had exams on Friday when we drove off.  They left for Longwood University early, but Mark and I didn't need to rush out.  We had a more leisurely morning getting ready and enjoying conversation with Jim.  It was a short, but lovely, visit.  Here are a few pictures from Thursday evening.  Tomorrow I will post pictures of the ring, the engaged couple, and their dogs, Trillian and Ozma.  There won't be any pictures from the Keter Shem Tov because you are not allowed to take pictures on Shabbat in the synagogue.

Heading North

Today is the big day we have been waiting for and talking about for quite awhile.  We are heading north.

But first....

This message from our scale. 

I LOST almost 3 pounds this week.  I am pretty excited about that. I'm starting our big trip at 266.8.  It's really better than three because after I reported the weight last Wednesday, I actually gained another three that I didn't report.  Once the company left on Saturday, I got back to more regimented food habits and a bit more exercise.  That's always what it takes.

And now back to our trip...

This is a six week trip involving over 3,000 miles of driving and lots of time with family and friends.  Today we are making our longest single day's drive of the entire trip, up to Florence, SC, around 480 miles.  Tomorrow we are going to my sister Flyn's house in Dillwyn, VA, and Friday we will pull into the Rosens' house in Silver Spring for dinner on our way to checking into my sister Cindy's house for the month of May.

On Saturday we get to see Lowell and Emily and THE RING!!  We are picking them up to go to the Keter Shem Tov at Mishkan Torah to honor our friends, Saul and Phyllis.  While up there, I will get to see Lowell do his reading and buy lots of copies of his first published book, Draw a Circle, a collection of short stories.  We will also see him graduate with his MFA (Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts) from the University of Baltimore and have a Mother's Day Brunch with the newly engaged couple and Emily's parents.

But WAIT, there's more...

Mark saw the gastroenterologist yesterday who was recommended by our neighbor Maureen and our friends Barb and Al.  We liked him a LOT.  He renewed Mark's prescription for the protonic and scheduled him for an endoscopy and colonoscopy on June 11.  He will do both at the same time, so at least there's only one day for anasethesia.  Dr. Anwer cracked himself up when he said that we wouldn't know if he used the same scope or mixed up the scopes for the test "unless you wake up with a bad taste in your mouth."  Haha.  He cracked us up, too.  We are impressed with this new doctor.

And now back to our trip....

We have plans to visit lots of people: some colleagues from Pikesville Middle, some former students (Jon and Jen), my cousins Irene and Gary, and my friend Peggy.  I will play some Mah Jongg with my MT Mah Jongg Maniacs, see some new movies, attend an Oriole's game with Cindy and Ken, participate in Shavuot services at Mishkan Torah, and much more.  After Memorial Day weekend we are driving up to Herkimer, NY to visit Barb and Ron and see their new house on our way to a family wedding in Buffalo, NY and a visit with friend Ellen C. before beginning a four day drive home. On the way home we plan to visit my step-mother Jackie in WV and our friends Cathy and Tom in NC.  We won't sleep in our own bed again until June 6.

Mark and I are both taking our laptops, so there will be Facebook, emails, and blogs along the way. I have my camera packed, so there will be pictures.  This is quite a big trip.  I had best stop typing and get on with breakfast and packing the car to get this great trip started.

Happy Earth Day!

I started to write this blog yesterday when it actually WAS Earth Day.  Somehow I got distracted with packing and TV.

For Earth Day we went back to a tradition that we followed in Maryland but had not done here.  We took a bunch of plastic grocery bags (some years it was plastic water bottles) to the Disney Store and exchanged them for reuseable grocery bags (some years it was reuseable water bottles.)  This year's bags featured scenes from Brave and Cars2. 

Mark turned in the required five bags and took a Cars2 bag.  I turned in a dozen bags because I just wanted to get rid of a lot of bags, but they let me take TWO Brave bags.  Nice.

We also enjoyed seeing the Disney Store in Florida Mall. I had been to the mall only once, two years ago to shop for a dress.  This was Mark's first visit, so we had lunch in the big food court before going to the store.  The Mall is VERY big and was VERY busy for the middle of a Monday.  It's a great mall, but it's almost an hour drive north.  Guess that's why we don't go very often.

We enjoyed our first half of the AARP driving class for seniors.  It was scheduled from 9-noon, but we got out at 10:45.  The teacher skipped a lot of stuff.  We joked that he must have had an 11 a.m. tee time. Mark and I read the rest of yesterday's lessons and did the exercises in the book as we drove to and from the mall.  Today is the final half. I'm kind of hoping we get out early again!  We should also be getting a certificate that will enable us to get a discount on our car insurance.  Hope so.

Mark has his GI appointment at 3 p.m. today.  Since he drastically increased his fiber content and water, his symptoms have pretty much been eliminated.  We shall see what the doctor has to say.

Then we MUST finish packing today.  We take off tomorrow morning for Florence, SC and the start of a six week road trip.  I can't wait to see Lowell and Emily and the RING!

Lowell and Emily got engaged!

Last night the phone rang shortly before we were going in to dinner.  It was from Lowell, which was strange because he hardly ever calls me. I feared some bad news.

NO WORRIES!  It was the BEST news I could get.  He asked; she said YES!!

I am so very, very happy for them both.  Here are some pictures of them from last summer.

Still climbing

Up a pound Thursday and up another one this morning, Friday.  Eating out really kills me.

Yesterday I swam 12 laps, which took 30 minutes, and then jogged around the perimeter of the pool for another 10 minutes.  That was not enough to keep another pound from finding me.  Sigh.

Today only lunch is going to be out, and if I'm smart, it will be the grilled chicken on greens.  Mark is making a delicious diabetic-friendly chicken dish for dinner with salad and broccoli.  Should be fine.

As I'm typing this, I'm watching Good Morning, America and all of the information unfolding about the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.  At this point one is dead and one is on the run.  They seem to be Russian.  Wow!  I'm so glad Evey and Eric are NOT in the Boston area right now.

On a happier note, we had a great time on the boat tour in Winter Park in Lakes Osceola, Virginia, and Maitland.  It might be something we take some more of our guests up to do that day.  The Chinese restaurant, Ming Court, is awesome, too.  Enjoy some pictures of the day.

Uppity

Yeah, I'm uppity, up in weight for the week.  I'm only up two pounds, which doesn't sound too bad until I remind you that mid-week I lost two.  So then I turned around and gained four.  The number today is 269.5.  Uppity.

Yesterday we had a lovely day in downtown Kissimmee, the old part.  Mark and I went over there a year and a half ago with our friend Rudy and found much of the lakeside area under construction.  Then we never went back down there.  Wow!  What a difference!  That construction is finished and the new Lakefront Park is beautiful.  The weather was also delightful.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at a restaurant called Savion's, recommended to us by our friends Jonathan and Susan.  Then we strolled through the new park before heading off to Private Island Ice Cream for dessert.  When we went home, we watched the movie Dark Shadows.  I hadn't seen it in a long time, so I barely remembered it.  We all enjoyed it tremendously.

Today we are heading up to Winter Park for lunch at a Thai restaurant and then a scenic boat ride on the river.  After some other errands, we will end up for dinner at the great Chinese restaurant we found in December near the Convention Center.  The weather is going to be wonderful again today.

Here are a few fun pictures from yesterday.

It's better to go down a pound a day than up. And that's the truth.

I'm up two and a half pounds in three days.  We ate out for dinner with our friends Jonathan and Susan and Cathy and Tom at Chef John's just up the road.  I had been there before, but Mark had not.  It was great.  Mark and I ordered two different grouper entrees and shared them.  I also had a bit of Cathy's Key Lime Pie.  Today we will be eating lunch out in old Kissimmee.  I bet tomorrow's weight report will not be as good as I had hoped.  Maybe not even a loss for the week. 

I did my weight routine and walked 20 minutes on the treadmill on an incline.  That was good for me, but I think there was a lot of sodium in the fish dishes.  We will see how today goes.

Cathy helped me glue one coat of puzzle glue on my alligator. It dried up great. I will put a second coat on today.  I'm wondering how the tagboard under it is going to stick.  My plan was to flip it over, take the tagboard off, and then glue the back before gluing the tagboard to the back. Now I'm thinking the glue has seeped through the cracks and around the edges so much that the tagboard may be pretty well glued down to the back already.  Once all the gluing is done, we are going to use my new exacto knife to cut around the edges and hang it on the wall.  By the end of the week, I hope it's on the wall. If so, there will be a picture.

Meanwhile, we are all still watching the news about the bombs in Boston at the end of the marathon race.  After Evey and Eric lived in Boston for five years, we all feel a love for that city.  It is just inconceivable what has happened.  Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy.

Sunday fun

This morning I am doing some last minute chores like sweeping and mopping the floor and general tidying up because around 11 a.m. our friends Tom and Cathy K will be arriving for their week's visit at the Silverstein B and B.  They have been in a time share near WDW for the last week, so we've already gotten together with them for lunch and some pool time twice. 

Catching up on the last few days is pretty easy because Friday and Saturday were so normal.  Friday morning we went to the farmer's market and had a lot of fun buying tons of fresh fruits and veggies.  We also had some pool time in the afternoon.  Saturday was shul and pool, which we haven't had in a long time because it's been a cool winter.  We have become SUCH Floridians!  I have no tolerance for the cold anymore and definitely will not get in cold pool water, or even cool.  We also watched a lot of TV both days, and I finished my alligator jigsaw puzzle. 

I have also been doing my weights, swimming, walking, and watching my calories.  I am down two more pounds since Wednesday.  I hope that I can continue with this control through the week with company, which is going to include a lot of time in restaurants.  We all know THAT'S not my strong point.  I have been in the 260s, and God Forbid even the 270s, for the last FIVE months.  I really need to get back to the 240s because then most, not all, of my clothes fit.  Right now my clothing choices are very limited and I refuse to buy anything in bigger sizes.  That's how I let myself get over 300; I just kept buying bigger clothes.

Today Cathy and I are going to The Loop, our local mall, to go to the craft store.  I need to buy puzzle glue and maybe some tagboard because I am NOT taking that alligator puzzle apart. It is too cute and is going to hang over the French doors in the lanai.  I never did a puzzle that wasn't a rectangle before.  Maybe it was the challenge and maybe it was the adorable subject matter, but I finished this in less than three weeks.  I freely admit that I worked on it every spare minute that I had.  It was so much fun.  Now I can't wait to start the manatee, but it will have to wait until we come back from up north on June 6.  Something to look forward to.

Mark has made us a wonderful chopped veggie and hummus sandwich for lunch, and I made a huge pot of turkey soup for dinner.  Theoretically, today's calories will be fine. 

I might not write as many blogs this next week if I am busy with the company. If I'm off line for a few days, don't panic!  I'll be back.  I will definitely try to take the time to post my weight on Wednesday. I'm hoping for another good number.

Here's a picture of my alligator.

Three Part Day

Yesterday was in three distinct parts, all good.

Part One:  My check up with the Medical Oncologist

My doctor came into the room and said, "Your blood work is absolutely perfect, in fact, it's better than mine!"  Wow!  You don't hear that too often.  The tumor markers are normal; that's the one I care about the most when I'm there.  She looked me over and said I was fine.  The only wrinkle that she added to the mix was about my bone density scan back at the end of February.  Apparently they scanned three areas.  Each of them went down a little, but the left hip showed a 10% loss of bone since the scan two years ago.  Dr. Vijay freely admitted that she wasn't sure how to interpret the results and that she had sent them over to the primary care doctor.  She recommended that I consult with the PCP about possibly taking osteoporosis medication to prevent further loss. I also walked out with a copy of the results.

When I got home, I googled my results.  That was a blessing because I'm no longer worried about them and don't plan to see the PCP or take any additional meds for it.  My numbers from two years ago showed that I was way above average.  Yes, I lost 10%, but that brought me down to the low end of normal.  The good news is that the effects of the breast cancer drug, Arimidex, which I take and which causes bone loss, tapers off after the first two years on it. I have now been on it a few months over two years.  I bet there will be very little, if any, additional bone loss in the next three years. I'm just not worried.  I will see the PCP in the fall and discuss it with her then. I suspect she already saw those results and was not concerned since they are still in the normal range.  At least, I hope that is the case because I was already IN her office for my check up with her in March. She should have already seen those results but did not mention it to me.  Hm...

Part Two: My hair appointment

After the oncology appointment, I had an appointment to have my hair cut and colored.  I should have had several hours in between when I expected to go home for lunch, but while I was still in the office, the salon called and moved me up.  I went straight from one appointment to the other with just a half hour in between for a quick lunch.  I made a bad choice about what to eat, but that's another story!  My hair appointment was a lot of fun. I enjoy seeing the gray disappear; I like talking to my stylist, Angel, and the other people in the salon; I like the cut, which wasn't as short as last time.  It was all good!

Part Three:  Dinner out with Denise, my sister-in-law

The best part of the day was the last part.  Denise had flown down to Tampa for work, but she had last night free.  We met at the Plant City Outback, where Mark and I go for our monthly NARFE meetings, because it was almost exactly halfway between us.  We each drove just a few minutes over an hour to get there.  It was so much fun hanging out with her for about two hours.  We had not seen her since last Fourth of July when we were at her house for a party.  She is so much fun to be around, so it was great to catch up on everything.


I ate very well there. I followed the plan I outlined yesterday (no bread, no Wallaby Darned, no Bloomin' Onion), but I did have a Crown Royal on the rocks and three very small bites of cheesecake for dessert.  Mark and I both had a salad, grilled tilapia, and broccoli, an excellent dinner. We also had a $50 gift card, so we used that.  We are so good that our bill came to $50.06.  What a hoot! I think Pat and Phil S. gave us the gift card for Hanukkah. If I'm right, thanks Pat and Phil!

This morning I am up two and a half pounds, but I'm attributing it to the ridiculously bad choice I made at lunch, which included way too much sodium.  I am eating all three meals at home today, so I think it will be gone tomorrow.

I am working on making a turkey soup out of the Passover turkey carcass this morning while Mark does the week's grocery shopping.  Then we will spend a few hours in the afternoon with friends Tom and Cathy K, checking out their time share near WDW.  In the evening we are going to the Solivita movie.  Tonight it is Flight with Denzel Washington, and I'm very excited to see it.

Here's a couple of pictures of us with Denise last night.   Everyone looks great except me.  This really shows how the weight has crept back on.  I can no longer pretend that I've lost any weight at all. I look as bad as I ever did at my highest weight.  The only difference being that at my  highest weight of 322, I could not fit into the booths at Outback and always asked for a table.  I did fit into the booth, but barely.  Maybe looking at this picture will motivate me to get back on track.  I went ahead and included a picture of me at my highest weight at a restaurant in Annapolis from seven or so years ago.  Not much difference really.  Sigh...  I also included one of me at my lowest at the train station in Chicago in March of 2010.  I weighed 208. Maybe that will be motivating, too.

All scheduled, but not when we wanted.

Yesterday was another day full of frustrations as well as fun.

The fun was meeting up with Cathy and Tom K.  They are visiting a time share property by WDW this week and then staying with us next week.  We met them for lunch, which they bought for us (Thanks, Tom and Cathy!) and then we relaxed in the pool, hot tub, and lounge chairs until dinner.  That was a great afternoon.

The frustration was in trying to schedule that appointment with a gastroenterologist and a colonoscopy.  Two different people gave us the same name of a GI doctor in Celebration.  Mark also had the name of a doctor recommended in the ER as well as two other groups in Kissimmee.  His plan was to start with the one in Celebration and try everyone here before turning to those in MD.  Dr. Anwer, the one recommended in Celebration, said he could see Mark for a consultation appointment on April 23, the day before we leave, meaning if anything had to be done, like a colonoscopy, it would have to wait until after June 6 when we returned.

Mark declined that appointment.  After talking it over, we decided to skip all the Florida doctors, assuming we would get the same results and just go straight to the doctor in Laurel who did his previous colonoscopies.

NO!  Turns out he doesn't take Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal Plan.  Crazy!  Mark was on a different Federal insurance plan back then.  Then he called one that my sister Cindy used for her colonoscopy last year.  That man is no longer with the group he was with then, but they would be happy to check if they took his insurance.  They said they would call back.  Then he called a doctor in Columbia that he found through his insurance's website, but by that time we were having lunch with Cathy K and she had also used him and recommended him. Great. They gave him an appointment for May 14 but it would be June before any colonoscopy could be scheduled.  AARGH.  We'll be on the road to Buffalo and then back here by then.  The good news about his office, though, was that they kindly pointed out that any doctor who did the colonoscopy would have to be the doctor who did any follow up surgery or work because it's not pictures, it's real time looking.  If he had the colonoscopy in MD, any doctor in Florida would just want to do it over again.  UGH.  No thanks.

So he called back Dr. Anwer in Celebration and took the appointment for April 23.  Hopefully it will all be fine.  Then the colonoscopy and any further procedures will have to wait until after June 6.

LOL!!  A few hours after he made that appointment, the doctor in Towson who was checking on the insurance called back and said she could make him an appointment.  He declined.  We are sticking with Dr. Anwer.

In the meantime, Mark has increased his fiber intake and water intake and is feeling better.  There are still some symptoms that are troubling, but he is doing okay and thinks he can hang on.  Worse comes to worse, we will be in an ER in Maryland in May, but neither of us really thinks it will come to that.

Now for the really great news, my weight.  I am 267.6 this morning, down a whopping SEVEN pounds. Basically that is where I was just before Passover, so that extra weight is gone.  I'm still up 11 pounds from six months ago when I went to Dr. Vijay, the medical oncologist that I'm seeing today.  She probably will not be happy.  I'm also still up five pounds from March 15 when I saw our primary care doctor.  It's not a good number, but it's down.  Today I'll take it.

It's going to be another busy day.  After my oncology check up, I am getting my hair cut and colored, and then we are meeting my sister-in-law, Denise, for dinner at the Plant City Outback Steakhouse.  That's about half way from where we are in Poinciana to where she is staying in Sarasota.  I can't wait, but I also have to be sensible in the restaurant.  Here's the rules: NO Wallaby Darned even though it's my most favorite drink in the entire world and I haven't had one in years; NO bread; No Bloomin' Onion.  If I eat only what I eat at the lunches for NAARFE, which is salad, fish, and vegetables, I should not undo this weight loss.  I'm also planning to walk today.  Wish me luck.

Frustration with Primary Care Doctors

We like our primary care doctor.  She's a good listener; she gives you a lot of her time and attention while you're in her office; we trust that she's a good diagnostician and knows what to do for you; she bring you in every six months for blood work and monitoring of our conditions.  Unfortunately, she is inaccessible when you need her.

In Maryland, our doctor's office kept several appointments open every day for people who were actually sick and needed to be seen that very day.  If you called when they first opened and said you're sick and not going to work that day, boom, you got an appointment.  If you went to the ER and needed to follow up the next day, boom, you were in.

Not in Florida.

Friday was the second time that Mark felt he needed to be seen on a particular day and called to get an appointment, but the office sent him to the ER.  We do not consider that an appropriate use of the ER facilities or our time.

Then yesterday we could not get any attention from them to schedule a follow up appointment.  We were also hoping she could fast track an appointment for a colonoscopy within the next two weeks before we leave for Maryland.  I called them when they opened, explained everything, and was told the nurse would call me back after speaking to the doctor.  That was at 9 a.m.  By 4:30 when no one had called, I called back, got a different person, explained all over again, was put on hold for nearly 20 minutes, and was finally cut off at 4:50, 10 minutes before closing time.  Geez, so much for patient care.

Today Mark is going to skip her office and call every gastroenterologist in the local area, which is a 25 mile radius so that's a lot of doctors.  If he can get a colonoscopy scheduled in the next two weeks, fine, if not, he is going to call the doctor in Maryland that did his previous ones and try to have it done up there in May.  That's not exactly our idea of ASAP, but maybe it is theirs.

Meanwhile I played with the new Mah Jongg card for the first time yesterday. I won four times, so it was a great day, and I think I really like this new card!  There were 8 of us playing, and I think everyone won at least once.  Nice afternoon. 

After Mahj, Mark and I went to the gym, did weights, and walked a mile and a quarter in 30 minutes.  I ate about 1300 calories yesterday.  I have definitely dropped weight this week, so I'll be excited to report that tomorrow morning.  I have an appointment with the med onc tomorrow morning, and I'll still be up a LOT since I saw her six months ago, but it will be a little better than it would have been last week!  LOL!

The Turtles

First, the GREAT news:  I am under 270 again.  I hit 269.6 this morning and I'm very happy.  Only a few months ago I would have been horrified by a 269, but coming off a high of 278 now puts it in perspective. I'll take it.  I'm going to work really hard to get out of the 260s ASAP because I feel terrible at these numbers.  My hips and back hurt when I walk. I have less energy.  My clothes don't fit right.  It's such an obvious thing, but it's so hard to keep to the plan.  I am going to try really hard to remember how important it is to eat healthy, watch portion sizes, and exercise.  If I do what I know how to do and what I should do, then I will be rewarded with consistent weight loss.   It will be slow, but my current goal is to be in the 240s when I get on the airplane July 31 to head to San Jose.  That's attainable in the next three and a half months if I don't allow myself to get out of control on our six week trip up north in May.  Two pounds a week is a slow and steady weight loss, so that should translate into about 24-30 pounds between now and July 31, but only if I stick to the plan and do NOT get out of control.  Wow!  If I lost 30 pounds between today and July 31, I'd actually be 239!  I haven't been that low since I ended chemotherapy in January of 2011.  I would LOVE that!

This morning Mark and I are going to do household stuff like laundry and paying bills.  Then we will go to Epcot to see The Turtles perform at 5:30.  All three meals will be eaten at home, which is always a good thing, and there will be plenty of walking at Epcot.  I am anticipating another good day.  On Wednesday, I have my six month check up with the medical oncologist.  I weighed only 256 six months ago when I checked in with her.  I don't think she's going to like seeing me up 10 or more pounds, but it's better than checking in up 20!!

Mark took his first dose of the Prevacid last night.  It's a drug that isn't fast-acting; it says it takes 3-4 days to take effect.  Even so, Mark felt no pain in his stomach when he woke up this morning.  We really suspect he is dealing with two separate problems, one intestinal and one abdominal.  Even the ER doctor said he should be "scoped" from both ends.  I agree, but the colonoscopy is the most urgent one.  He will call the doctor tomorrow and try to get that scheduled ASAP. 

The weather is amazing today.  I can't wait to get outside and walk around Epcot.  I hope you all have a wonderful day no matter where you are or what you are doing!

Found Money!

Last night I decided to clean out three purses that were in my closet but hadn't been used in a very long time.  I found five gift cards, but I couldn't remember what might be on them, if anything.  Today I called the numbers and discovered that I had just found $108.16!!  It pays to clean out your old purses now and then.

Yesterday, Mark and I both skipped lunch because we were in the ER.  Mark was told to have nothing by mouth, just in case, and I had nothing except a bottle of water and two little mandarin oranges.  We had our normal breakfast and dinner at home.  I was rewarded by that with a loss of a few pounds this morning.  Yay!

Today we had all three meals at home, went to the gym for the first time in a long while, and walked a mile and a quarter in 30 minutes.  I hope to be down another pound tomorrow.  That would be so nice.  I just feel so awful being in the 270s again.  I thought the 250s were bad and the 260s were worse, but seriously, I cannot stay in the 270s a day longer. 

The Mark update:  He woke up feeling kind of bad this morning, but after he ate some breakfast, he felt better.  All day he has said he is in no pain, but he just doesn't feel right.  After our visit to the ER, we are armed with more information that we had before.  I think that's good.  Still, until there is a definitive diagnosis and a plan of action, it's stressful. He is anxious and unsettled, worrying about what the colonoscopy might find and what the treatment might be.  I think that's a common reaction. 

Giraffes vs. the ER

ER wins!

Mark has been experiencing some abdominal discomfort that sometimes becomes pain for at least six weeks.  Lately it has increased in intensity and his stools changed in the last few weeks to something not good.  Last night he was in a lot of pain, and I actually tried to get him to go to the ER then.  He has been talking about calling a gastroenterologist for weeks, but he never got around to it.  This morning he called, but they couldn't get him an appointment until after we were heading to Maryland.  He called the primary care doctor, and she said go to the ER.  So that's what we did.

We had tickets to go to the Giraffe Ranch in Dade City today, but we cancelled them.  The lady on the phone at the ranch was very nice about it and will even let us use that money in the future since it was a medical emergency.  Turns out Emily and Lowell are interested in the ranch, so I'm going to try to make another reservation for the four of us at the end of June.

We left the house at 10:45, arriving in the ER at 11:20.  They are very prompt at checking you in, so we logged in on a kiosk, met with three people, and were all registered and paid up by 11:50.  Not bad.  At 1 p.m. he was called back for a CT scan and at 1:30 or so he was called for a blood draw.  Then we sat together in the freezing cold waiting room until they got him a room, maybe around 2.  Once in the room a tech gave him an EKG, and a nurse took his vitals again. Then nothing happened for a very long time.   Around 3:30 the doctor came in, poked around a bit, listened to Mark tell his symptoms again, and said he should probably get a colonoscopy ASAP, but he'd know more when the test results came back.  He also ordered an ultrasound of the gall bladder.  Another hour went by and a nurse came in to read him the results of his tests.  Blood and urine were all normal, except his sugar was 187.  Hey, he's a diabetic.  Unfortunately, the CT scan showed a thickening in the wall of the rectum.  She pronounced that and then left.  We immediately started googling that!  Looks like it could be IBS or ulcerative colitis, but it doesn't usually mean cancer.  Around 5:00 the doctor came back in and told us the same thing the nurse had said.  He said the thickening "concerned him."  Yeah, us, too.  When they do the colonoscopy, he thought they would biopsy the thickened wall, too.  He also said he would cancel the gall bladder ultrasound so we could get out of there.  Five minutes after he left, a nurse came in and wheeled Mark off for the ultrasound. Ten minutes later she brought him back because it had been cancelled!  Yeah, we knew that.  By 6 p.m. we were heading out to the car.  He also got a prescription for Prevacid for the heartburn and gas.  We stopped at Publix to fill it, which took a half an hour, and finally made it home by 7:10 p.m. WOW!  Not the day I thought we were going to have when we got up.  Still, we are now armed with more information than we had before and the ability to order a colonoscopy even though it's only been three and a half years since the last one.  During that one, they did remove a polyp but everything else was good.

Now we have finished our Shabbat dinner and have settled down to watch some TV.  Really need that Shabbat wine tonight!

I also got the pictures up from Frank's visit.  Here are a few for you.