Crock-Pot Recipes

It seems like y’all are hip to a crock-pot recipe exchange. I was thinking you could email them to me and I can post them all on Friday. That way you can get whatever you need when you grocery shop this weekend so you can have yummy crock-pot meals next week. See? I’m a genius! Also: pretty.

Email your recipes to erica at andnoplacetogo dot com and I’ll  post them Friday afternoonish.

Oh, feel free to send me more than one, if there are several that you like : )

Updates Galore

1. I still need to link those of you that participated in the Six-Word Memoir writing. I’ll do it this week.

2. Maddie’s home! Maddie’s home! I’m thrilled, of course, but her homecoming wasn’t quite the Hallmark commercial moment I had expected. She was in dire need of a nap and burst into sobs about 2o minutes after getting home. She ignored her father and I in favor of her beloved and sorely missed toys, and then went down for a nap. Against her will, I might add. I’m about to wake her up, so let’s all hope for a happy girl who’s glad to be home.

3. Yesterday I bought myself a new outfit from the junior’s dept at Target. Did you read that? JUNIOR’S DEPT, people. There’s the plus size dept, the women’s dept and the JUNIOR’S DEPT. Granted, I’m the fattest junior ever, but STILL. I’m wearing an XL without any numbers in front of it. I honestly never thought I’d see the day.

4. Maddie’s birthday is on Saturday and her party’s on Sunday afternoon. We’re having at one of those indoor bounce-house places. I really hope Maddie likes it. If not, I still plan on having a blast bouncing around in my outfit from the JUNIOR’S DEPT.

5. I’m thinking about having a crock-pot recipe exchange. I’m a lazy, lazy cook and I’m desperate for new and yummy crock-pot recipes. Later this week, let’s all share our favorite, k? Then we’ll have lots of new ones to try.

6. Thank you for all your comments yesterday. I was so happy to get each and every one of your comments. Even the inappropriate ones. *ahemShellyahem* You lurkers and bad commenters are just as welcome here as the frequent comments… although, if I’m forced to choose, I’m gonna have to go with the inappropriate commenters. Just how I roll.

Olly Olly Oxen Free!

The powers that be have decreed today Delurking Day. So, if you lurk ’round these parts, show a girl some love and leave a comment. I’ll be leaving comments on the many, many blogs on which I lurk. I’m a professional lurker. Seriously.

Apparently, gallstones are not heavy.

I gained six pounds while in the hospital. Gotta love that IV fluid! My surgeon, whom I haven’t seen since I was six weeks post-op, said my progress is “awesome” and he was very impressed that I’ve lost 88 lbs in 5.5 months. How ya like them apples? : )

So, I’m home and doing fine. Surgery went perfectly, and I was discharged at 11:00 that morning. They were all “here’s some pain medicine and there’s the door. Ciao!” I slept almost all day yesterday and then I was up almost all night. I slept this morning and then Gerald and I ran a couple of errands.

As long as I’m hitting the bottle of pain meds every four hours, things are pretty good. I can’t really eat anything, though. I get really nauseous every time I try, so I’m having protein shakes instead.

Maddie’s staying with relatives in Austin and won’t be home until Sunday. Gerald and I hardly know what to do with ourselves. If I’m feeling all right tomorrow we’re going to try for a date… just Gerald, me and my bff vic0din. How romantic, right?

Well, it’s 9:00 and I’m a little loopy from the narc0tics, so I’m headed off to bed. Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite. Not that you have bedbugs. I know you’re totally clean and bedbug free. Jeez, it’s just an expression. Lay off!

How much do you think gallstones weigh, anyway?

I’m scheduled for my gallbladder removal surgery tomorrow at 7:30 am. That means at the hospital at 5:30, which also means leaving the house by 4:45.

4:45.

In the morning.

Or in the middle of the night, really.

Anyhow, I’ll catch you on the flip side, peeps. Here’s to heavy gallstones and a post-op weight loss!

One Life; Six Words

I was given a fantastic Christmas gift this year. This book is wonderful and thought-provoking. Each six word memoir is multi-faceted. On the surface, you have the story that the words tell you. Below that is the story they don’t tell you. Take, for example, the memoir “cursed with cancer, blessed with friends.” What does that say to you? I see an older woman battling breast cancer. She’s tired and sick and doesn’t want to get out of bed. Her phone rings and it’s her dearest friend on the other end. She’s coming over and can she bring anything special? A half an hour later she arrives with Chunky Monkey ice cream and The First Wives Club on DVD. For a few hours, cancer is forgotten and instead, there’s laughter and ice cream.

In reality, the memoir was written by a 12 year old girl with inoperable, incurable cancer. Quite a different story, indeed.

The first time I read through the book, I read the surface stories. Then, I read it again and tried to imagine the real story underneath. I’ve read the book three times since Christmas, and I find new stories each time I read it. I’ve also written countless six word memoirs of my own:

finally found my happily ever after
motherless daughter mothers daughter; lacks guidance
haven’t shut my mouth in thirty years
sticking foot in mouth since 1976
skinny girl inside is finally outside

It’s your turn. Either in comments or in your own post, tell me some of your six word memoirs. Sum up your life in just six words. It’s easier than you think. (If you do your own post, let me know and I’ll link it.)

For the love of pete!

I am the proud owner of a “gallbladder full of stones,” according to my surgeon. I’m passed the point of medication to dissolve them and now require surgery. Woo-frickin-hoo.

Unfortunately, the surgery scheduler had emergency surgery yesterday to… wait for it…  remove her gallbladder! Therefore, I can’t schedule my surgery until Monday morning. He wants me to have the first available surgery, so probably early in the week.

Please leave me sympathetic comments. Also, mail me care packages full of fun things. Please forward them to Shelly’s house, because I’m totally going there to recuperate. She volunteered to watch my kid while her husband and I lie around on the couch whining and fighting over the TV remote.

I totally didn’t see this coming

I got sick a couple of days after Christmas. A nasty cold/sinus thing/the plague. Of course, I got it from my petridish daughter. Tuesday, I took her to the pediatrician because she just wasn’t getting better. Turns out she has pneumonia. She’s been sick for three weeks and I was all “shake it off and get in there and win!”

You: Nice parenting skills, Erica.
Me: I KNOW.

Anyhow, she’s on prednisone, an inhaler and some heavy duty antibiotics. The good news is that she’s already made a marked improvement. Score one for modern medicine.

Ok, now back to the reason for my post. I was sick and vaguely nauseous for four days. I thought maybe the nausea was from The Drainage, of which there was PLENTY. Yesterday, it got worse. I could only force myself to eat a granola bar yesterday afternoon and it made me want to hork. I didn’t eat again until dinner. Two bites and I was regretting the need to eat. I ended up lying in bed with horrible pain mixed with nausea. It hurt so damn bad and I just wanted to barf. After 45 minutes or so, I called my surgeon’s answering service. The dr on call called me back ASAP and after a few questions, said that it sounded like my gallbladder. I was told to call him back if it didn’t subside within the hour and to call and make an appointment to see him on Friday.

Of course, my insurance deductible reset TODAY which happens to be my first day of UNEMPLOYMENT. Gallbladder problems + $1,000 deductible + poorness = OH, FOR FUCK’S SAKE, ALREADY!

Happy New Year to you, too, Universe. Thanks for kicking me in the ‘nads right out of the gate.