MONDAY MONDAY

Buzzy is busy doing his thing and I am enjoying a different view today. I thought I was going to be terribly late for chair time today because I was enjoying my damn good, but it turns out I was right on time!

(I did, however, leave the house with a wet head because my hair dryer decided to go kaput right when I plugged him in. Phooey.)

I ended up making a huge vat of soup and cooked it all night in the crock pot, so it will be waiting for me to enjoy when I get home. I also have some lovely little sourdough hard rolls to accompany, so there will be quite the feast at CS2 this evening!

Tomorrow will be my buckle down day, I promise. I have the entire day to clean and launder and tidy and organize and straighten to my heart's content. I am hoping to tackle my closet and purge some old things and move winter clothes around, but we'll see how I do energy wise.

If I get everything done, I'm going to head to the Martins in search of a mashed potato squash. A friend on the Facebook was raving about it, and I figured I'd give it a try one night with the roasted chicken for JB. I will have to forego due to the high potassium, but methinks JB will love it! Stay tuned!

OK...better get back to doing my thing. I hope your Monday is practically perfect in every way! Come tell me all about it!

IN WHICH I MAKE A MESS AND ROAST A CHICKEN...

We went to Mass in the Basilica and then had breakfast downtown South Bend, and I got the bright idea to do a weekly grocery shop and make soup.

Did I mention that I woke up feeling like I had been dragged through a hedge backwards?

I got finished with the grocery shop and just plain ran out of gas. Kaput. Done. Couldn't do one more thing. So I surveyed the mess:

Put a chicken in the oven:

And have decided to call it a day. My eyes are heavy and the big girl sleigh bed awaits. I am going to go take a lovely snoozy nap and will think about cleaning messes and making soup later.

I hope your weekend has been wonderful and that you get your very own resting time today! What's on your menu?

OPERATION HAPPY BIRTHDAY COMPLETE

The plan was: Golf at the Warren, lunch in the clubhouse, visit/tour a health club, dinner at an Italian restaurant (for veal something), and then finally, a special premier of:

Unfortunately, my sense of timing between lunch and dinner was rather askew. We didn't finish playing golf until almost 2pm, and our dinner reservation was for 5:30. JB very graciously agreed to raincheck the fancy schmancy dinner and lounged with his new couch blanket for a few hours instead.

Bruce has never really been my thing, but JB lives, eats, breathes, and sleeps him, so this film was a really nice treat. I saw a preview for it the day I went to see Downton, and purchased the tickets that very day. I'm glad that I did, because the special preview tonight included some great bonus footage.

(The film and music were great, by the way, and even I was able to appreciate the Bruce mystique.)

Tomorrow we will return to our regularly scheduled programming, but tonight I'm bushed! I hope your own Saturday was special like JB's was! Come tell me all about it!

SO FAR...SO GOOD

  

NO DOWNTON LOUNGING TODAY

Today is my JB's birthday, so I will forego my Saturday Spinster Abed so that we can begin the festivities. I have planned a full day of surprises for him, culminating in a viewing of a Bruce Springsteen movie. All are super secret, and hopefully all will make his heart sing.

I'll be back with a full report tomorrow! Happy Saturday!

NOT MUCH, BUT AT LEAST IT'S IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

STARTING WEIGHT: 266
LAST WEEK'S WEIGHT: 249.7

CURRENT WEIGHT: 249.5

WEIGHT LOST THIS WEEK: .2 pounds

FIRST GOAL: 252

GOAL WEIGHT TO GET A NEW KIDNEY: 242

ULTIMATE LIFETIME GOAL: 160

FRIDAY

FOURTEEN AND A HALF!!

Oh, my goodness, Dearies! I am in the Happy Chair with my damn good after a very long and very deep sleep. I had no intention of staying abed that long, but I must have needed the rest.

Yesterday's d-chair time was very out of the norm, but very satisfying. I did not pick up my phone or iPad, and I left the headphones in my bag. I picked up my needle and just let myself be present and stitch and think and listen and gaze outside every now and then. It was somehow very soothing to just let my mind wander and ponder the hours away. Methinks we've discovered a new Wednesday tradition....unplug.

Routines and traditions are truly the stuff from which I'm made, and I've missed having them. Stewey was the best at keeping me in routine -- first his little face wash in the morning, then snoozy time in the sun, then a few games of pumpkin or Doozie ball, then tea and biscuits, then snoozy time in front of the fireplace, then bed. Having set times to do things was reassuring and kept me from going off the rails, and I make no apology for being simple-minded enough that I need that. I seem to have made a good start with my Downton Saturday mornings in bed with a tray and my Sunday Mass at Notre Dame, so I guess I'm thrilled to add an Unplug Wednesday to the mix.

How about you, Dearie? Do you have routines or traditions that make your life wonderful?

Nevermore is coming along. I'm not even sure if I like it, to be honest, but the stitching of it is doing its thing, and I'm sure once it's finished and framed I'll love it on my Fall wall.

That's it for me today. My only agenda is to see Dr. Melfi at 1:00 and then come home and do some laundry and tidying. JB has asked for pork cutlets and broccoli rabe for his dinner, so pork cutlets and broccoli rabe it will be! (I'm not a fan, so I will happily munch my big head salad while we watch something sporty on the TeeVee.)

I hope your Thursday is swell! Do something fun and come tell me all about it!

WEDNESDAY....

Chello!

I'm waiting for my d-chair to be ready, so I thought I would pop in for a quick catch up.

Yesterday I had the lovely privilege of meeting and having the best conversation with Gabriel. Gabe is a fellow PLS (*) alum from Notre Dame, currently in the seminary, and working in a project in which he records conversations with graduates of the program to find out how it has shaped our lives.

We went deep, and I thought about things that had never occurred to me before, but the overriding theme for me was both gratitude mixed with a tremendous amount of humility. Gratitude, because my mom and dad gave me the freedom to pursue any major I wanted no matter how seemingly impractical, and humility because I spent three years watching and listening and admiring some of the most brilliant minds at the university -- both students and professors.

I probably had no business pursuing a Great Books degree, but I sure am glad that I did. It gave me such a sense of belonging and family at a place that threatened to swallow me whole as an awkward kid from Lima who didn't have the confidence to get out of my own way.

Gabe will be a wonderful priest, teacher, mentor, counselor, and IS an amazing inspiration. I pray for him to continue on his journey and to live his dream entirely.

As for me...today is going to be a stitchy day so help me. I haven't stitched since Saturday, I think, and I'm starting to feel that twitchiness in my bones. I'm going to leave the iPad thingie in my bag today and just be present with needle and thread and solve the world's problems in my tiny little brain. It's cold and rainy here in Hoosierville, so methinks I'll kick off my shoes, get undermy blanket, and let Buzzy do his thing.

Happy Wednesday, Dearies! I hope your world is peaceful, calm, stitchy, and healthy today!

(*) PLS is The Program of Liberal Studies and is the Great Books program at Notre Dame. If you look on the Google for Great Books you can learn all about it if you're so inclined.

WHAT THE WHAAAA?

Ten pounds!

Between Friday afternoon and this morning I have somehow managed to gain TEN POUNDS! I just about fell over on the scale, but my nurses and techs are convinced that it's a combination of lady time, too much salt, and the discontinuance of one of my meds.

Well, that may all be well and good, but I am spittin' nails, Dearies! I thought I was being so careful all weekend, but it turns out it was for naught.

Sigh.

Now don't cry for me just yet. They will pull eight of it off with the machine today and I won't look at the scale again until Friday. The only thing I have to do is stay the course. I was 113.5 last Friday. I just need to be less than that this Friday.

(Those are kilos, by the way.)

OK. Time to get the 'phones on and zone out to some Flosstube. I'm not stitching in the d-chair today. Buzzy is being a bit temperamental and I need to behave myself.

So...what's new with you?

SUNDAY SPINSTER BLISS...

I was up early, showered, dressed, and out the door for Mass before I knew what hit me this morning, Dearies! We went to 9:30 services in the Crypt beneath the Basilica, and I think I was half-way through singing the opening hymn before my eyes opened!

Breakfast has been cooked, eaten, and cleaned up...a turkey sausage, pepper, onion, egg beater and cheese frittata with leftover cheddar biscuits. I discovered today that my big skillet is oven proof, which is a total game changer for me, especially since I love to make a big breakfast skillet type thing on Sundays and have it for the week.

Absolutely nothing on the agenda for the day except paper reading, stitching, more cooking, and football on the TeeVee. I might put my shoes and socks on and go for a nice walk because it is just simply beautiful outside. Who knows? Maybe Magoo will join me and we'll head back to campus and walk around the lakes.

Happy Sunday! I hope yours is lovely. Come tell me what you're stitching, reading, cooking, blogging, etc.

THE TRADITION CONTINUES

I enjoyed my Saturday coziness so much last week that I decided to do it again today. I had a great night's sleep with long vivid movie-like dreams. In one I was starting a business and in another I was talking to my dad about something and we were laughing our silly heads off while my mom just shook her head and grinned at us like we were a couple of lunatics.

It's crazy busy here in Hoosierville today with the upcoming Notre Dame vs. USC football game later tonight, so I am going to stay put and enjoy some peace and quiet from the friendly confines of CS2. There will be just a little house spiffing and maybe a load of laundry, but other that making a new big pot of vegetable soup...methinks this will be a quiet day.

So what's new with you, and how are you going to spend your very own Saturday? I hope it's full of fun and that you'll come tell me all about it!

OPERATION GO UPDATE

STARTING WEIGHT: 266
LAST WEEK'S WEIGHT: 252

CURRENT WEIGHT: 249.7

WEIGHT LOST THIS WEEK: 2.3

FIRST GOAL: 252

GOAL WEIGHT TO GET A NEW KIDNEY: 242

ULTIMATE LIFETIME GOAL: 160

FRIDAY!

OK. LET'S NOT DO THIS AGAIN...

I'm home safe and sound, but not without more drama than a PBS Mystery Classic. No details at this time, Dearies, but suffice it to say I don't want to have to repeat these tests again any time soon. (Anybody who has had a chemical stress test will know exactly what I'm talking about.)

As soon as I wash the upchuck off the front of my old lady big top, drink a gallon or two of damn good to get rid  of the caffeine migraine, and have a good cry on the balcony all will be right with the world once again.

I am so very grateful for your encouragement and notes and messages. I carried them (along with Stewey in his little wooden box) along with me today, and I am sure it's the only reason I got through it all.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet the "comfort ambassador labradoodle" from the last post, but just knowing he/she was there was very nice indeed. If I ever get to the point when I can adopt another lovie, I am going to do my level best to train them to do that type of work. It looked like it would be very rewarding, and I think I could be good at patting hands of terrified patients and cooing gently.

If nothing else, this entire journey has given me good ideas about what I want to be when I grow up: a writer, a healthcare administrator, a dialysis tech, a nurse, the head of the National Kidney Foundation, a librarian, etc etc etc. it changes every day, but it's nice to think to think about the future in a positive way.

Speaking of....somebody caught me pinning wedding dresses on the Pinterest and got nervous. No changes in that department, Dearies. I remain your loyal spinster with a "gentleman caller"/companion/man friend of my very own. JB and I have a deal. As soon as I get a new kidney, he will take me to the Grotto and ask for my hand on bended knee and I will say no. This way, I can at least say that I was asked, and he can say he tried. 😬

(I do, however, secretly hope to shock him with a yes and then plan the biggest stitching retreat/wedding weekend the world has ever seen. Can you imagine the fun we'd have?!)

OK. Time to recover my wits about me. Thank again for the happy thoughts and prayers. I'm truly convinced that they are really all I need!

THURSDAY AT THE HOSPITAL

STILL GOT IT...

I had to cancel my appointment with Miss Karen for nails tomorrow because I will be in the hospital all day doing cardiac testing for transplant. I was lamenting missing said appointment when I decided to give the old meathooks a good spiff on my own, and it resulted in a full-blown mani/pedi night.

The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Yesterday found me in jams all day doing laundry, futzing about in CS2, watching Downton, and stitching. My only fail was the amount of food I ate, but the gain wasn't too bad and treatment will take care of it today.

JB and I were talking about my good mood and what it might be attributed to, and I came up with this list: gorgeous crisp Fall weather, lots of alone time to do my spinster thing, stitching every day, and cbd oil.

No matter the cause, I really wish I could bottle this feeling of peace and keep it for days when things are less than wonderful. Or, barring that, if I could just figure out how to even out a little and enjoy some moderately good days consistently without going from mountaintop to depths of despair within the space of six and a half minutes. My dear friend Dr. Dan always tried to tell me that the rollercoaster would eventually kill me, but I haven't found the exit yet.

Oh well.

Makes for interesting memories, I guess.

So that's my report for the day. I am in the d-chair doing my thing, with Sir Elton belting the tunes into my ear and Buzzy behaving quite nicely for a change. Off weight today should motivate me to stay the course and have salad tonight, so no complaints whatsoever.

I hope your very own Wednesday is wonderful and that you'll come tell me all about it!

FREE DAY!

My original plan for the day fell apart, so here I sit with a gorgeous Fall day ahead of me and nothing to do but stitch.

Don't you love it when that happens?

I had a little fun poking about in my stash on Saturday and came across this WIP:

I don't remember starting it, to be honest, but it seems like the perfect piece to play with. I noticed that I didn't add the "Dead End" in the block, which makes me think I didn't like it, but for the life of me I can't figure out what to put there.

Here's to hoping that your very own Tuesday is as lovely as it can be. Come tell me all about your corner of the world and what's blowing your skirt (or pant leg) up today!

AND THEN...IN A GRAND STROKE OF IRONY...

That laughter you heard coming from "upstairs" was my mom and the Big Guy having a good belly chuckle over my last post.

I thought it was a tribute to my mother and how incredibly special she made me feel and how she had a way of making me see myself as an invincible princess with a golden crown who could conquer the world by pulling herself up by her proverbial bootstraps and getting on with it with grit and determination.

Nope.

Apparently it refers to being a daughter of God.

If you knew my mom, you would understand why my confusion/stupidity/cluelessness is so very funny.  I sincerely apologize if my miscue offended anybody. I promise you it wasn't intentional...just me being me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

SUNDAY

I am home from Mass and a visit with my friend, and my heart is full. In the last several weeks I have been reminded of how incredibly blessed I am in the friend department. I've not always BEEN a good friend and I certainly don't deserve the ones I have, but there is hope that I might stay out of my cabe long enough to enjoy more time with them.

Today will be about three things and three things only: desk basket/budget/bills/planning, laundry, and stitching. And...for some strange reason I am looking forward to all three. Let's face it, there's just nothing better than putting a dryer fresh warm towel up to your face and taking a big fat sniff on a crisp autumn afternoon.

I hope your very own Sunday is perfect in every way! Thanks for all of your feedback on Mary. I am contemplating turning her into a pillow with a lovely plain and some fabulous tassels! I need to watch a LOT of Flosstube tutorials before I try it, though. Wish me luck!

I THINK SHE'S FEE NEE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I think I just finished Mary Poppins, Dearies! I know that her name and "Anything Can Happen" are supposed to be top and bottom, but I think I prefer it without. How about you?

Hmmmm. Maybe just her name at the top? There's something of the subtlety of it without that I seem to like, but is it imbalanced or look unfinished in some way?

I think I'll put it aside for a minute and watch a little of the game before deciding what to do. I've been stitching for quite some time, so maybe a little rest will help me figure it out.

But is has been a thoroughly enjoyable stitch on thoroughly enjoyable linen...29ct Applesauce Lugana from Colour & Cotton. I used most of the called-for DMC colors...substituting the lightest grey that wasn't at the Michael's and switching out the brick/orange red for 498 blue/red instead.

The chart came from The Little Stitcher on the etsy, and I confess that I have several of her charts on my wish list. Just excellent, in my opinion, and well worth the effort!

SATURDAY!

This is my new Saturday morning tradition. Instead of tucking my head under the covers and hoping the hangover will pass, I negotiate with it and set up a little recovery area. I'm still in bed, so it feels like I'm resting, but I have my damn good and lots to read, so it feels like room service in a mid-level suburban hotel.

I do like the view, though, especially when the sun is shining and the temperature is in the 50's:

I know it's a parking lot, but if you squint and only concentrate on the trees it almost looks like Tuscany.

Um, Tuscany, Indiana maybe. But Tuscany nonetheless.

No agenda for me today. JB is running to and fro and I plan to stay in pajamas all day and stitch. I do need to address my basket of mail that has filled itself this week, and I suppose I should also do some laundry, but those are decisions to be made after I enjoy a nice long lounge here in the big girl sleigh bed.

I'll have a stitchy update for you later, I promise. My toes are too cozy to ponder trecking to the Happy Chair to fetch her at the moment. You understand, right?

Happy, happy Saturday, Dearies! I hope you ate as cozy and happy as I am. Come tell me all about it!

OPERATION GO UPDATE

STARTING WEIGHT: 266
LAST WEEK'S WEIGHT: 253

CURRENT WEIGHT: 252

WEIGHT LOST THIS WEEK: 1

FIRST GOAL: 252

GOAL WEIGHT TO GET A NEW KIDNEY: 242

ULTIMATE LIFETIME GOAL: 160

SO.MUCH.BETTER.

Oh, Dearies, I am feeling so much better today! It was about 40 degrees inside CS2 last night and I slept deeply and well. Today I am in the special blue d-chair doing my thing.

Everybody else hates this chair, but I love it. It's wider and sits upright and I like being able to tuck my feet up under my blanket and stitch the day away.

Sir Elton is blaring away in my headset at the moment, but I'll switch over to Flosstube after our visit. I am woefully behind, but have the whole weekend to catch up! JB is going to run to and fro and might go to the football game, but I am going to enjoy a few days of Spinster Time to do my thing. Then, on Sunday, I am going to meet another college friend for Mass and a catch-up!

I really love these visits. For so many years I cocooned myself away and didn't answer the phone when friends called. Leaving CS1 was just too much of a nightmare for me, and the feeling of shame that I felt for falling so far down the well was paralyzing.

Then I woke up one day and realized that people didn't care if I was sick, broke, unemployed, covered in dog pee, and completely incapable of normal life. They didn't mind that I was quiet or sad or frustrated. They just wanted to lay eyes on me, have a laugh or two, and gently remind me that being a fabulous career woman who could leap tall buildings at a single bound wasn't who I was completely. I'm just me. And that's OK.

Humility is an amazing thing. My whole life was spent trying to be the Rock of Gibralter for friends and family, and when I couldn't do that anymore I figured everybody would skeedaddle. But I was the doofus that skeedaddled, and it wasn't until I squashed my big fat ego that I got anywhere.

I'm still sick and I'm still broke and I'm still unemployed, but I'm here, and that's a miracle to me.

You, Dearies, are no small part in all of this peace, and today is as good a day as any to remind you of it. I really do love and appreciate every single moment we share together...whether it's on this here blog, via email, snailmail, or any other way I get to spend time with you. You. Rock. My. World.

No idea where any of that came from, but now it's time to get on with it.

Happy Friday...Happy Weekend! Do something fabulous and come tell me all about it!

FAAAAAAHHHHHHLLLLLL......

Things went from bad to worse when I got home from the d-chair, and my evening ended with me upchucking my sensible salad and putting myself to bed at 7:30. I am almost thinking it was a touch of a bug, since I am still a little queasy today and very very tired.

But enough of that.

Mother Nature flipped the thermostat...finally...and it is a gorgeous 63 degrees here in Hoosierville today! It was spitting rain a bit earlier, but now the sun is out and the breeze is just perfectly lovely. Sweater weather has finally arrived, Dearies!

I awoke with a hankering to play with needlepoint today, so after I read the paper and get some laundry sploshing I might pull out my Wendy Moore class piece from long ago. Or, I might look through all of my Laura J Perin patterns to see which one strikes my biggest fancy. I don't know what it is about the cooler weather...it makes me want to play with different toys.

Miss Danielle Stitcherista has me totally mesmerized with her coloring and diamond painting, so don't be surprised if I show up with ink on my hands and a mad dash to the Michaels for a dp kit. If I don't do that I might have to try my hand at baking some cookies for JB this weekend. Have you seen Miss Vonna's latest creations for FiberTalk?

(Raise your hand if you'd like to spend a week just sitting in Vonna's kitchen drinking coffee and watching her work her magic with every damn thing she does.)

Speaking of coffee, I'm afraid to report that I have a new addiction to my caffeine repertoire: cold brew. I had a coo-pun for the Dunkin Cold Brew kit from the Targets and made a batch and then found both sugar free vanilla syrup as well as Coffee Mate Natural Bliss vanilla to add.

Darn it.

Tastes just as good, if not better than a Venti Starbucks Cold Brew with two pumps of sugar free vanilla syrup and a splash of cream. I have been enjoying one of these every afternoon and think it is single-handedly responsible for my happy disposition.

(And my wallet is happy not to shell out $4.01 every day.)

So that's the report on a SpinsterDay. Nothing to complain about, considering. How are things in your neck of the world? Is it Faaaahhhhll where you are? Come tell me all about it!

DANG IT

I know you might find this hard to believe, but I just want to come to the d-chair and melt into the wallpaper. I just cannot stand being high maintenance.

Starting view:

Um...gee...what just happened?

Ending view:

Yup. That was me being totally EXTRA today and passing out. That's what happens when you gain THREE KILOS in four days and then try to take off FOUR KILOS because you're a dumbass and didn't stick to the smoothie/salad plan.

Guess who's having a damn salad for dinner?

TUESDAY AGENDA

MONDAY MONDAY

Well, Dearies, mystery solved as to why I have been feeling a bit off. Mr. Crohn's has reared his ugly head and I am home today with fluids, a heating pad, and steroids. I know it sounds nuts, but I am relieved to finally know what it was that had me thrown.

No worries. I am going to take advantage of the quiet to rest and renew. I'm pretty sleepy, so would imagine that the big girl sleigh bed will be calling to me in a few minutes, but that's perfectly OK with me.

My friends made it home safe and sound and this morning I was delighted to receive a message from another dear college friend who will visit this next weekend! I absolutely love and miss this woman and follow her amazing life on the Facebook, so it will be wonderful to see her and catch up.

I. Am. Truly. Blessed.

Our meatloaf dinner was really good and hearty last night and JB has a fridge full of leftovers to get him through the week. I am back on smoothies and salads without exception until I hit my next goal. I was pretty careful over the weekend and didn't completely over indulge, but I don't want to stray too far away from austerity or I'm likely to go backwards!

If I can, I'm going to switch out the stitchy basket this week to some Halloween things. I might even pull Plum Pudding back out to tackle another section or two. Either way...the ultimate goal is to get at  least 30 minutes a day. I have allowed life to get in the way of my stitching, and that is just OK at all. A stitchy spinster makes for a happy healthy spinster...so it's back to needle and thread I go!

That's the report for a foggy Monday. I hope your weekend was wonderful and that your week is off to a great start. What's on your agenda for the day?

SUNDAY SPINSTER BLISS...

My friends from Lima are on their way home, and I am in the Happy Chair with a post-brunch cup of damn good and the Crackpot Spinster Fireplace blazing away. What a completely wonderful weekend! A really great lunch yesterday before the game, some stitchy time during it, and then really good cheeseburgers after at CJ's Pub downtown South Bend. 

(When my mom and dad brought me to campus the very first time, my dad pointed out CJ's and said that if I ever went to school here I would have a bar of my very own to call home. My mom wasn't exactly thrilled by the prospect of me spending time in a bar instead of a classroom, but she would be happy to know that I never stepped foot in the place until last night.)

(It's a total "joint", but part of Notre Dame tradition and the home of some very good cheeseburgers indeed.)

Today was Mass in the Basilica and then another tasty meal at a favorite place just across the parking lot from CS2. Just delicious!

JB is buying provisions for a meatloaf, since it's cold and rainy and seems like a good day for it. I will happily oblige, since a Sunday afternoon playing in the kitchen is actually something I quite enjoy, and a meatloaf sandwich (or half of one anyway) might make for a nice little treat this week.

I hope your own weekend has been full of love and laughter like mine has! Do something lovely and come tell me all about it!

AND THEN IT WAS SATURDAY...

My goodness.

We had thunder and lightning yesterday for what felt like nine or ten hours. A few bolts and jolts were so loud I felt the entire building shake! I haven't seen and heard a storm like that in quite some time, I think.

I'm slurping my damn good and getting ready for a wonderful day with some Lima friends. Denise and Jeff have been part of my heart for over thirty five years and are the parents of my goddaughters, Jacqueline and Sara. I always come away from a visit with them feeling better about the world (and myself), so I am really looking forward to some catching up.

JB and I are not going to go to the football game itself, but we are going to meet up for a nice lunch before hand and maybe a light supper after. Then tomorrow we'll do the whole Basilica Mass and brunch thing before they head home. A perfect weekend.

Thank you for pitting up with me last week. I really do think there is something "off" with me, so I'm going to have a quick check-in with the doc on Monday morning just to make sure. I know it seems like a complete overreaction, but I've discovered that little things can turn to big things pretty quickly if you're on dialysis, so away to the doctor I go.

Well, Dearies. That's it for me on a rainy Saturday morning. I hope your corner of the world is practically perfect in every way today. Come tell me all about it!

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU SAW THIS COMING...

STARTING WEIGHT: 266
LAST WEEK'S WEIGHT: 252.3

CURRENT WEIGHT: 253

WEIGHT GAIN THIS WEEK: .7

FIRST GOAL: 252

GOAL WEIGHT TO GET A NEW KIDNEY: 242

ULTIMATE LIFETIME GOAL: 160

Well, Dearies, my first gain of Operation GO. 

Here's the crazy part.

I'm actually glad it happened.

There's no other way to say it, but I just didn't pay attention this week. I let last week's number go right to my head and I decided to self-sabotage by not sticking to the plan. I had fast food and I ate my body weight in Chinese food from the casino buffet last night, as well as scarfed down candy and chips and other crap with impunity.

So I'm disappointed, but also kind of glad that I got it out of my system without too much damage. A .7 pound weight gain is utterly fantastic considering the circumstances, and I'm glad that the lesson hasn't completely derailed me.

I'm home from a relatively rough treatment and have my Starbucks next to me in the HappyChair. In exactly three minutes I will shake this off, wash my face, and move on with my night. Three minutes of self-flagellation.. After that, it's back to sitting up in the buggy and Getting. It. Done.

Mary Poppins and I are going to play if it's the last thing I do. I tried so hard to stitch in the d-chair but was just completely knocked out and woke up to my tech prying the needle out of my hand. Fortunately, she is a stitcher, so when she saw me go out her first worry was protecting my stitching! She parked the needle on my needleminder, carefully gathered up my threads and such, and stowed them back in the project bag tor me. Such an angel in more ways than one!

I'm humbled and a little peeved, but totally determined! Happy Friday! Hope your weekend is wonderfully and perfectly swell! Come tell me all about it!

HALF-WHACKED

It's 7:30pm on a Thursday night and I am in the Happy Chair with clean pajamas on and a fresh manicure. I spent a few hours doing a bookkeeping gig, hit the salon, then the library, and then JB and I went to the casino for dinner.

(Thursdays are Senior day, and JB gets a big kick out of the "Buy one get one free" promotion, even though I am technically a few years away from being eligible.)

(What can I say? I'm a cheap date and always have been.)

(Cheap, but not easy.)

The black dog is still here visiting, but now he seems to be happy to snooze a bit in his little bed rather than sit in my lap requiring full attention. Eventually, he will wander home and send a post card every now and then to let me know he's well, but for now all is...OK.

I'm going to put the iPad and iPhone away now and get needle and thread in hand. The Eagles are on the TV and I'm ready fora little stitching before bed.

Happy Thursday, Dearies! Come tell me all about your corner of the world.

OUT. OF. WHACK.

Dang it. I really am not right in the head, Dearies.

(Pause for eye roll and utterance of a big fat "DUH").

It's Wednesday, but I find myself in full-fret mode about the weekend. I think what it boils down to is my propensity for making everything harder than it has to be and wanting to make everybody's visit here a super colossal VIP experience. I forget that not everybody needs to be impressed...especially not the two friends that are coming...but still I find myself on the Pinterest looking at recipes and table settings like a crazy person.

What can I say? I like to make it nice.

I also need to remind myself that I've got my hands full just staying upright, so nobody is going to be disappointed if I say "Nope...can't do it like the old days, kids." and we just eat at a restaurant.

It really must be the moon or something, because my podmates are all out of sorts too. Some are not feeling well, some are quieter than usual, and some are not happy to be here. We lost another one of us (the lady that I asked you to pray for), and I suspect that we are all feeling a bit shell-shocked over the loss. Five of my compadres have passed since I started. That's too many to process, but statistically what happens. I just wish there was a way to fix it.

My eating plan has been a bit off also, but today my gain was only minimal and I am back on track. I see the surgeon on November 21, so now is not the time to quit! Salad, salad, salad! And I need to get myself on that darn treadmill!

Stitchy-wise, I am verging on a slump, so I have promised myself some studio time on Sunday evening. Maybe it's time to switch it up a bit and pull Fall and Halloween things. Either that, or maybe it's time to re-visit canvas work or needlepoint?

So that's it for me today. Sorry to be out of sorts, but I suppose it is what it is. Please don't worry...things will be right as rain again soon and I will climb back atop my glittery unicorn and jump the rainbow!

Happy Wednesday! Do something fun and come tell me all about it!

SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO SIT DOWN AT THE KITCHEN TABLE AND HAVE A GOOD BRAIN SORT

There's been something in the air around here the last two days that left me completely out of sorts. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but all day yesterday and for most of the day today I've been...eh.

I slept for several hours this morning and finally hauled myself out of the big girl sleigh bed and said "Right. That's enough of that for now. Let's get on with it." So I prepared myself a nice tall cold brew with vanilla creamer, toasted a lovely bagel with some crunchy peanut butter, and gathered my planner supplies.

It only took about a half hour, but pasting pretty stickers and washi tape in my book and writing down my appointments and to dos for the week lifted whatever was ailing me. I suppose that it was all banging about up there in my tiny little brain and needed to come out so that I could see that it really is a quiet week and not chock full of things I don't want to do.

My only real appointment is with Miss Karen, my nail specialist, and then friends are coming this weekend for the Notre Dame game, so I really do have absolutely nothing to complain about. Sure, the kitchen and bathroom will need to be scrubbed, and the apartment will need to be tidied, but some good music, a few cups of damn good, and I should be able to knock that out in an hour or two.

I also took a minute to update Bob. Bob is my book journal, and he's where I've written every single title completed since 1991. My goal is to surpass my previous year's total by at least one, and this year I've already done that. I read only 13 books in 2018 and have already finished 18 books so far this year. Tonight I will finish The Guest Book by Sarah Blake. I'm sorry that I can't give you details. I seem to read right before bed and then completely forget everything overnight. It bothers me somewhat...the fact that I see a title in Bob and can't tell you one thing about it...but as soon as I go for the phD in Literature I'll sit up in the buggy.

I always thought that my dream job would have been to be a lawyer, but mow I realize that I would have really loved being a college professor -- maybe at a small school someplace where I could have also been a dorm mother.

Oh well.

Time to think about dinner, Dearies. I made Pioneer Woman's pulled pork over the weekend for JB, so he will probably have that. I, of course, will opt for a salad. I've been getting pretty good a creating a nice big one on Sunday afternoons and adding to it during the week. So far, I've figured out that I am a huge fan of butter lettuce and red cabbage, but not so much hearts of romaine anymore. The last batch I had was very bitter, so we're sticking with the butter.

I hope your week is off to a wonderful start and that you are doing everything your heart desires! Come tell us all about it!

TUESDAY

MONDAY

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE VERY VERY UGLY

Well.

As per usual, I went from being High Queen of The Exalted Diet Universe to a filthy animal in a gutter sucking down Taco Bell like some kind of demented garbage disposal.

Oey.

After blogging, I made myself a little snack plate with cheese and nuts and crackers and such and I ate it while basking in the glow of my loss.

Then I made "just a few more bites" of said snack plate.

Then I ate the Autumn Mix/candy corn that I swore was just for decoration.

After calculating my calories, I said to myself "OK. You did well today and gave yourself a little treat. You're at your calorie limit for the day...in fact, just a teensy bit over, so water with lemon for the rest of the night and start fresh tomorrow."

Uh, yeah. That happened.

Rich stopped at a Taco Bell and ordered half the menu. And I ate half the damn menu. At least that's what it feels like today as I'm green and woozy in the Happy Chair in between trips to the powder room.

Jimminy Crickets.

BUT! The very happy news is that the new me is able to see that the falling off the wagon was YESTERDAY and that it is no reflection on TODAY.  Instead of enjoying popcorn and candy at the movie today and a cheeseburger tonight when we go to watch the Notre Dame game, I'm going to take apple slices and grapes to the movie and have a salad at the Hooters. So, in essence, my treat day just came a day early and I have two days this weekend to behave myself at hit my 3-2-5 goal.

(3-2-5 is a new thing for me. Each week I strive to have 3 good treatments, 2good days off, and 5 good eating days. This week I hit the 3 and the 2 and I need Saturday and Sunday to hit my 5.)

So, Dearies, I have proven the old adage that pride really does goeth before the fall. It was true when Sister Assumpta hollered it at me in second grade and it's true now when I get too big for my britches and crow about losing weight like I'm some kind of hero. That'll teach me to Happy Dance...better to keep my head down and save the dancing for 160, I think rather that 252!

I'm taking myself to see Downton this afternoon and then we're off to see Notre Dame play Georgia tonight. In between, I hope to get a little stitchy time in. I finished Mary's umbrella last night and started on Big Ben, but need to frog a bit and get it back on track.

So that's it for me on a sunny Saturday morning. I hope your very own weekend is off to a wonderful start. Do something fabulous and come tell us all about it!

OPERATION GO...WAIT...WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!

STARTING WEIGHT: 266
LAST WEEK'S WEIGHT: 255.6

CURRENT WEIGHT: 252.3

WEIGHT LOST THIS WEEK: 3.3

FIRST GOAL: 252

GOAL WEIGHT TO GET A NEW KIDNEY: 242

ULTIMATE LIFETIME GOAL: 160

Dearies, I am sitting in the Happy Chair stunned senseless.

This was not one of my better weeks, eating-wise. As a matter of fact, I ate so much JUNK on Tuesday and Thursday of this week that I resigned myself to having my very first gain since the start of Operation GO. I swear, I think that's what my problem was this morning...dread that manifested in a feeling of unwell.

I had a good treatment today...no crashes or cramps or other shenanigans. After I was disconnected and got taped up, I packed up my stuff and headed for the scale to get my off-weight and right there in front of God and everybody burst into the ugly cry, did a happy dance, and scared the beejeesus out of Sean the Nurse by grabbing him and kissing him full on the face.

252.3

How in the Holy H-E-double toothpicks did THAT happen?

This milestone means that living donors can now begin their process of testing to see if they are a candidate for donation, and, as an added bonus, the transplant team at IU decided that I can do mine too to get it out of the way before the final goal weight of 242.

Dr. Goggins and his team will be here in Mishawaka on November 21, so that is now my official GO day. I am going to walk into that appointment at 240 pounds and he's going to look at me and say "You are cleared for takeoff, kid. Let's get you a new kidney".

(Or words to that effect.)

As much as I would like to tell you that this achievement is the result of my hard work, it is 100% due to the fact that you all are my accountability team. I now feel responsible to stay the course because I know that you are out there cheering me on and I owe it to you (as well as myself) to GET. IT. DONE.

Oh, and I am also convinced that Bosco has an awful lot to do with it. Today is his 14th birthday. Guess what the kilo weight read on the scale today?

114.7

Happy, happy, happy Friday to us all! I'm going to celebrate with my damn good cold brew, You've Got Mail on the TeeVee, a sensible salad, and some stitching! Come tell me all about what you're celebrating today,

AND THEN IT WAS FRIDAY...

I'm decidedly "off" today, Dearies...almost like I'm coming down with something.  I don't know what it is, but it has me craving the big girl sleigh bed, a sleepy Stewey, and something lovely playing on the radio.

Oh well.

For now, there's dialyzing to be had, a visit from the nurse practitioner, and lots of Flosstube to catch up on while I play with needle and thread, so no complaints.

Happy Friday!