Advice Please!

I'm scheduled for a fill on September 6. I have needed it for a long time. I have been able to eat with no problem...

• Hot dogs and hamburgers with the bun
• Breakfast burritos
• Pizza (half of a homemade grilled pizza, after having salad and shrimp cocktail)
• Tacos (plural)
• Steaks
• Pork chops
• Chicken and a big salad.
• Pasta

When I was visiting my sister, I had a few moments of stuck-ish (had to slow down a bit but never really stuck) which is normal for me when I travel. But I was back to normal right when I got back. (I had a sandwich on a pita the night I got back for dinner.)

Yesterday morning I had a very normal breakfast for me - mini breakfast burrito - it had egg, sausage and cheese on it. I ended up PB'ing at work afterwards, only my 4th PB ever.

Had some soup for lunch to give my stomach a break and I'm fine now. I was very, very hungry for dinner and it went down fine.

I'm hungry a LOT. Like, regular person hungry a couple of hours after a regular person sized meal.

So the question is, do I still get the fill? I think yes but I'm not 100% sure. Does one PB make you rethink a fill?

Ben & Jerry's Frozen GREEK Yogurt

Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Shortcake Greek (YES Greek!) frozen yogurt is VERY tasty. They have other flavors too (Blueberry Vanilla and Banana Peanut Butter, I think) but the Strawberry Shortcake is the one that called to me.

Nutritionals aren't awful for a treat: 180 calories and 6 grams of protein in 1/2 cup. (Compare that to 280 calories/4 grams protein in 1/2 cup of Phish Food.)

Yummy.

The Bad and the Good...

The bad...I was supposed to be getting to Alaska right about now. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't a little sad about that.

The good...last year my friend Jen and I were headed off to a cruise when there was a hurricane headed towards south Florida. I can't even tell you how stressed I was wondering about how everything would work out. I'd probably be freaking the eff out if I had to consider getting on a plane and leaving my house and parrots with unknown disaster lurking. The last few days would have sucked.

Alaska will be there next year.

The best? Getting to snuggle these two last week...

(That's my sister and my nephew, if you didn't know. We were out to lunch. Zachary and I shared the spinach and goat cheese dip, and a chicken quesadilla. Quite a sophisticated palate on that little one.)

Ten Things Thursday

It is Thursday, isn't it? It's hard to keep track of the days when there's no real weekend.

1. Today is the 17th anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I had just gotten off of summer tour. My last Dead show was only a month before, on 7/2/1995. I nearly lost my mind when I got the news. The Grateful Dead was my religion. I felt a sense of peace, joy, and community when I was at Dead shows like nothing else I ever experienced. I can't believe it's been 17 years that Jerry has been gone.

2. I'm going to Boston next week and I can't wait to squeeze my nephew!

3. My mom offered to pay for a fill (I really, really need one) and that made me very happy. As soon as the September work schedule comes out and I know which clinic day I am open, I'm going to make an appointment.

4. Scott hasn't found a job quite yet. I'm not really willing to relocate anywhere other than the Boston area or North Carolina. Or Oregon. Or maybe San Francisco. And there aren't really may jobs in his field in South Florida. So nothing promising has come up yet. Hopefully soon.

5. I've been hooked on the show Parenthood. Why didn't anyone tell me how amazing it is? I've watched all of the first season and I'm on to the second season.

6. We've been CRAZY busy at the urgent care the last week with all of the back to school physicals. We normally see about 60 patients per day. Yesterday we saw 95!

7. I'm bummed that I'm not going to make it to BOOBS 3 next month but I wish all the ladies who are going a wonderful time! And please have a Chicago dog for me.

8. I'm looking forward to summer being over. This heat is annoying.

9. Hormonal parrots suck. Liberty bit the hell out of my finger the other day. She NEVER bites me. All she does anymore is look for a place to nest. I want my sweet girl back. I can't wait for mating season to be done.

10. Time to go to the gym. See you later!

Loooooon-esta

Has anyone ever taken Lunesta? I had the craziest experience with it. I've been on Ambien for years and it works amazingly well, but recently my doctor gave me some samples of Lunesta because, well, it was free and I didn't have insurance for a little while as I waited for my insurance to kick in at my job. Last night I decided to try the Lunesta to see how it worked for me.

Within 20 minutes I had a horribly bitter taste in my mouth. It was as if I had bitten into an unripe, rotten orange, rind, pith, and all. I got up to drink some water (didn't help) and brush my teeth again (didn't help). I ate a few crackers and then brushed my teeth again (didn't help). I tried to ignore it and went back to bed to read and wait to feel sleepy.

After that, the stomach cramps started. I was back in the bathroom over and over again. Then I started to feel sleepy but I was nauseated and still had the awful taste in my mouth.

I finally fell asleep and had CRAZY dreams. Nightmares, really. I kept waking up. Even while I was sleeping, I KNEW that I was sleeping badly. It was like I was having a sleep anxiety attack.

I woke up at about 5:30 from another nightmare with my heart pounding. I couldn't get back to sleep, I was so anxious. I STILL have the bad taste in my mouth (not as bad but it's still there) and oddly I'm SUPER hungry and craving sugar like crazy. I don't have sweets in the house so I haven't given in, but wow...it's the weirdest thing.

I'm never taking that crap again.

Randomness

• My job situation, if you've been following the madness, has changed again. I decided to stay at the urgent care - and thankfully, management decided that they wanted to keep me too when I asked for my job back. Reasoning: (1) I can work three 12-14 hour shifts per week and still have enough time for a part time job. This is important while my husband isn't working. (2) My medical insurance for urgent care kicks in on August 1 - I'd have to wait 90 MORE days for insurance at the doctor's office. (3) The doctor's office offers 2 weeks vacation per year...after you have been there for a year. In other words, zero vacation time for a whole year. I have a new baby nephew that I would be very unhappy to miss out on visiting for a whole year. Eff that.
• I worked 56 hours last week. 40 at urgent care and 16 at the doctor's office. I'm tired.
• I'm going to visit my sister, brother-in-law and baby nephew next month and I am SO EXCITED. My beautiful sister and mom bought me a plane ticket so I can come up, and I am so very grateful. It made my week.
• I habe a cold in my node. Sniffle.
• I took some expired Nyquil last night and had 12 hours of sleep like I'd been hit in the head, along with some really bizarre dreams.
• I haven't lost weight in a really long time and I'm not freaking out about it. Maybe I should, but as long as I'm not gaining, I can't get myself to care much. A co-worker is gaining weight like mad (darned drug reps bringing in tasty treats all the time) and she asked me and a couple of others if we would do a month of Atkins with her to help her get on track. I said I would, but I'm not really feeling all that passionate about it.
• My husband rocks. That's all.

I recently wrote on Facebook, "It's funny how the universe opens doors when you're not even looking for them."

Well, yesterday yet another door slammed shut on our fingers. My husband was laid off from his job of 9 years.

I took the career leap I did based on the fact that his job was stable and we had NO indication this was coming. We're pretty scared.

This means no Alaska trip (I have to cancel 60 days in advance to get 75% the deposit back OR send a check for the additional $2000, which ain't happening...and the trip is in 64 days so that decision had to be made quickly). I'm more sad for Scott than for myself with this one...it was his dream vacation and I am so bummed that we had to make that decision.

The good thing is that my husband is brilliant. I'm not saying that to be nice...the man is literally a genius. So I am hopeful that he will find something soon, but until then, belts are tightened, we're canceling satellite TV service, and I'm going to work every minute that I have available to me in the next 2 weeks before I leave the old/new job for good.

To leave this positive, I started my new job yesterday and it is awesome! I love it. The people are fantastic. It's very fast paced and it's going to be tough at first until I get the hang of things, but there's NO micromanaging. I can really kick ass at this job.

I'm off to work...urgent care center today. 2 weeks from today is my last day there. See ya later.