Another rainy day in North Carolina.

9:00 AM weight: 112.0 lbs

Rainy Tuesday

Still raining today.

9:00 AM weight: 111.1 lbs

Monday

The first thing I did after coffee and meds was scoop the cat box and pull the bins to the curb for collection tomorrow morning.
It is raining today so I doubt I will get my walking in this afternoon.

10:00 AM weight: 110.2 lbs

Sunday

MonsterMustDie feels much better this morning but he woke up with a headache.
I toasted a flatbread he got a the Farmers Market on Saturday for him in the evening, which he ate. I tried to get him to drink some water and gave him some of my BioLyte drink (precious to me now) to try but he said it tasted like wet socks. I'll just stick to trying to coax him into drinking a little plain water as often as I can. Other than morning coffee, I only see him drinking low-alcohol beer all day. His choice, I know, but I try to get him to choose healthier options.
I feel fine except for my usual pain in my right hip.
Outdoor Halloween decorations are finished, except for carving the Jack-o-Lanterns this week.
I bruised the front of my right shin on the attic step while moving boxes back up. No biggie but I want to record that for Bruise Clues later.

9:00 AM weight: 110.2 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
42 Heart Points
1.85 miles miles

Saturday

I've been too anxious over the Novant medical bill situation. I know I need to let it lie for a few weeks until I can send in paperwork.

I also feel ok with my weight enough to stop the intake-blogging for a while.
I need to relax more, keep up my exercises and walking, and get out more into the world.

My sister-in-law had open heart surgery yesterday afternoon - a triple bypass. I spoke to my neice and texted my brother yesterday evening while she was still in ICU after surgery. They said the surgery went well. My brother said she will be recovered in 6 weeks. My neice said she will have a 6-month complete recovery, which sounds more believable. 

9:00 AM weight: 110.5 lbs

Pumpkin Pancake Day at the Farmers Market and pancakes were sold out before 10:00, but we did see some unusual cut greenery. 

ocra pods and hairy balls

MonsterMustDie had a fainting spell late in the afternoon while we were in a gallery in downtown Winston-Salem. I looked over and he was seated on a bench, leaning back, in a cold sweat. We waited several minutes with me putting cold compresses of wet paper towels from the bathroom on his forehead and the back of his neck. I made him send a message to his doctors via MyChart as soon as we got home. As it turns out, he had only been eating sweets and low/no alcohol beer all day (sounds familiar) to I cooked a couple of pork tamales we had in the freezer, topped them with mild salsa for him and made him drink some water for dinner.

friday

I did not sleep well at all last night. Was up until at least 12:30AM. Then I woke up when I heard MonsterMustDie stirring around at 5:30AM.
It's been a very anxious, frustrating day. I spent all day trying to deal with the Novant medical bill again with Medicare and Novant billing and got nowhere.

Message from Angela Perry, MD, sent October 6 at 4:40 PM
Good afternoon, I agree that this should not have resulted in a charge for you. I have turned this back over to the billing department to see if it can be resubmitted. Thank you.

Message from Tonnya B, CPT, sent October 7 at 8:32 AM
Hi Julia, I apologize as we can not sent this message to the billing office. Please give them a call at 844-266-8268. Thanks, Tonnya B, CCMA

It looks like the doctor copied my medical history from Duke and Atrium onto her files in a way that made it look like she performed an examination and then billed everything as a new patient appointment with my while charging medicare for everything Duke and Atrium did. She actually sent me a message admiting it was a mistake and that I should not have been billed for any of it but the woman in the billing department at Novant Health refuses to speak to her and insists the paperwork submitted states that she performed a very detailed physical exam and that the "coding department" says everything was submitted correctly and there will be no other review or changes to my bill.

I then phoned Medicare again to ask why I do not have my claims forms from them and they said they had mailed them to me nearly a month ago. I still don't have them so I think they believe my monthly Medicare statement is my claims form. No. I checked. The woman at Medicare said I can't ask for another claims form until a month after the last one was sent out, which will be Saturday at the earliest and I have to phone them to ask for the forms to be sent - she could not put in the order for me yet. And no one may be able to do that on a weekend so I should wait til Monday. Then it will take 15 business days to get the form in the mail.

I think I am completely robbed of the money they insist I owe for the nonexistant Welcome To Medicare exam and now there is no way I can have an annual physical exam and wellness visit until after October of next year. Medicare is not easy but I'm still glad I have been able to be treated at Duke for everything this year. I'm glad I was finally able to have a couple of things done through Atrium, like the original mammogram that detected breast cancer, before the problem with Novant happened. I sincerely hope I can continue my recovery on my back and surgeries without any problem. I don't know what to do about updating my Medicare coverage for next year, if I need to, and I have no one to advise me on this. I am trying to do everything right. I am doing my best.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee
1/2 Asian pecan pastry
2 cups whole milk + Kefir (300 calories) + 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (40 calories)
Teriyaki Salmon filet + brown rice, aduki beans, roasted carrots and broccoli.
pumpkin seeds roasted with salt and olive oil (80 calories) (4g protein)
1 Ardens Garden Green Energy Machine juice (130 calories) (2g protein)
1 Orgain 30g chocolate protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)
1 cup chamomile + lavender herbal tea

24 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 112.4 lbs

not Friday yet

MonsterMustDie did not remember he left both of our ChillOut thermal carafes at work. He tried to take my one remaining cup - the large Orca stainless steel that Jennifer had given me - and I would not let him. I was able to fish out a not-so-great small, cranberry-colored 1-cup thermos I bought years ago at, of all places, Crate and Barrel but he would not use it. Tomorrow, he will probably once again forget the cups are gone and try to take my Orca cup with him.
Instead of working on the paintings we started, I went shopping for eye glasses for her and stainless steel carafes for me. We found some nice frames for her new prescription. I am still on the hunt for the right travel cups but I did find Orgain 30g on sale and some delicious-looking walnut cranberry bread at CostCo while shopping with her.
Got a text from my brother that his wife is having open heart surgery tomorrow. Phoned him several texts later to find out more of what is going on. She was "feelng things" wrong with her on wednesday and had a CT scan that reveals "a lot of things messed up" including her "widow-maker artery" is 90 percent blocked. They kept her in the hospital to monitor her and she has bypass surgery scheduled tomorrow afternoon.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
1 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (150 calories)
Dinner was brown rice, aduki beans, roasted carrots and broccoli.
1 Ardens Garden Green Energy Machine juice (130 calories) (2g protein)
1/2 Asian pecan pastry
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement

20 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 111.8 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
40 Heart Points
3.78 miles miles

Wednesday

Woke up with a slight headache that is still going on at 10:40AM. Stomach is still a bit queazy this morning.
MonsterMustDie went with me to TJ-Maxx and Target, looking for a new stainless steel thermal cup to have an extra one at the house. He's left two at work now and I think I will never see my red Chill-Out cup again. Since it is Halloween season, I hoped to find a spooky cup but most of Halloween theme stuff is already sold out everywhere. While we were at Target, he decided to buy a plastic retro-style blow mold plastic light. Then he surprised me by deciding to bring down some of the Halloween decorations from the attic today so we spent an enjoyable afternoon setting up the front yard scene. We got about halfway through it and will finish it tomorrow afternoon.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
1 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (150 calories)
1 Orgain 30g protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)
1 butter croissant (260 calories)
1 plate of tabouli + roasted carrots + broccoli for dinner (98 calories)
4 oz rotisserie chicken (186 calories)
1 Excedrin Extra Strength tablet

40 oz water
18 oz pomegranate + hibiscus herbal tea

9:00 AM weight: 112.2 lbs

Never got around to my evening walk today but at least I did all of my exercises in the morning.

Chilly Tuesday Morning

I spent most of the day hanging out with Karen and trying to get around to practicing painting.
Got home, roasted the veggies the Hatchers left for me, and watched the first Harry Potter movie with MonsterMustDie.

I had a bit of a queazy stomach today. I had a touch in the afternoon after my lunch of toast and again after my quickie dinner of fried chicken and home-cooked veggies.
There was some drama on the street behind us with neighbors outside screaming at each other. The woman next door was frightened and came over to our house for few minutes. The son of another neighbor behind us (kinda a kook himself) called the police, who showed up to calm things down, whatever it was.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
Ocuvite Adult 50+ multivitamin
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
toast with almond butter and jelly (310 calories)
KFC 4-piece chicken tender snack
1/2 cup roasted carrots & broccoli

52 oz water

10:00 AM weight: 110.9 lbs

Monday

Today started with a sunny, cool morning after rain late yesterday.
MonsterMustDie is hot on buying a new refridgerator because he believes that means we would never have defrost and clean the fridge again. He brought this up late last night as I was trying to get to bed and he was, somehow, wide awake and excited about spending money. I really could not deal with that.

We had a Zoom conversation with Brian and Laura. Tried to avoid political downer talk and share positive things we were up to or new enjoyable things to discover. Found a short collection of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In clips of Halloween skits to watch together. Those jokes did not age well but the show was still incredibly fun for the style and the characters and cast.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
1 custard filled roll from Hansel & Gretel bakery (150 calories)
1 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (150 calories)
Chicken salad and crackers (300 calories)
1 Acai Berry Boost smoothie (420 calories)

36 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 111.1 lbs

Sunday

The Hatchers left for Asheville after breakfast this morning.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
Yogurt with fresh blueberries and pecans
2 red bean cookies from Hansel & Gretel bakery
1 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (150 calories)
1/2 Grilled chicken panini

48 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 111.6 lbs

I have not been drinking enough water this weekend.

Saturday in the park

We spent today with the Hatchers, walking around a local park in Greensboro in the morning.
We went to Brown Truck Brewing (nothing for me there) and Cohab Space in the afternoon.
I finally got around to picking up my two ceramic pumpkins that were fired and ready. I also picked up the last painting I did at the classes there so Kim could see it.
The evening was spent at Southern Roots, which was a very good choice by Kim, based on a conversation she had with our neighbor at the brewing company. I'm glad we had one more dinner out this weekend. (bad influence) Tonight at dinner, I had my first glass of wine since my medical problems started. I had one glass of the same wine Kim was drinking and did not quite finish that glass but it was a large glass of wine.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (300 calories)
Dinner at Southern Roots - 1/2 Grilled chicken panini + fresh green salad

Birthday #66

Looking forward to an overnight visit from the Hatchers today.
Based on the Endoscopic UltraSound results, I successfully rescheduled my abdominal MRI to April 2026.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookies (300 calories)
1 Teriyaki Salmon filet (310 calories) (26g protein) (20mg calcium) (14.5mcg vitamin D)
1 cup cooked Swiss Chard
Ardens Garden Green Energy Machine juice (130 calories) (2g protein)
Dinner at Sticks+Stones - "Magnolia Mountain" Pizza - Portabella mushrooms, olives, arugula, fresh mozzarella, fresh ricotta, parmesan, fresh herbs, and extra virgin olive oil

48 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 110.9 lbs

Just after Kim and Harris arrived to visit for the weekend, I got a birthday gift from Audrey and Nick - a necklace with tiny bats flying around a large purple crystal.

I'm thankful to Kim for sending back the small pizza I ordered for my birthday dinner that they brought to the table so over-cooked the top was burned and the crust was completely charred black. We tend to be too nice sometimes and never send back anything. I was already very hungry and I would never have had a bite of anything they served to me at first - it was inedible. That's the first time we ever had an order ruined at Sticks and Stones Pizza. It was embarrassing to have that happen at at time we had dinner with friends from out-of-town because we said that was one of our favorite restaurants.

making my way back to normal

Back to normal, almost. Once again, waiting to poop after general anesthesia yesterday. Got a follow-up call from Duke this morning at 9:00 AM asking how I was doing. I think I'm fine this morning, other than the usual poop issues after anesthesia. No problem

What I ate today:
2 cups coffee
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 Senexon-S 8.6-50 tablets
2 slices of wholegrain toast + almond butter + blueberry preserves
1 Sprouts sushi roll (340 calories) (25g protein)
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (300 calories)

48 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 113.8 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
45 Heart Points
3.44 miles miles

Fortunately, the Senexon-S worked a bit around 3:00 pm so I believe I can hold off on the more powerful meds like Miralax.

I resumed my exercises after two days off and got through my entire routine late this afternoon.
Now it's nearly 10:00 PM and time to relax and have a nice glass of prune juice while listening to podcasts.

Finished with my Endoscopic Ultrasound and having coffee & lunch before going home. Everything went as good as possible with the cyst in my pancreas being judged completely benign in the best way. I'll just have MRI every 6 months to monitor things.
I woke up from anesthesia to Karen waiting in the chair next to me in the recovery room with, smiling calmly.
Afterwards, we stopped by Mad Hatter cafe for coffee and lunch before going home. The trip home included a brief stop by Tanger Outlet mall, where I am pleased to say I made no purchases while still recovering a bit. Not a good time to make any decisions or operate large machines.

Tuesday

The first thing I saw on my phone was a health questionair asking me when I stopped eating and drinking. Made me worry for 2 seconds. Then I figured out that I should fill it out with what time I plan to go to bed tonight, thus no longer eating or drinking before my procedure tomorrow morning.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
HC Organic fudge bar (100 calories)
3 oz rotisserie chicken (156 calories) (23g protein)
Pumpkin Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard (258 calories) (4.5 g protein)

60 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 110.0 lbs

Monday

I slept until 8:00AM this morning. Had a slight headache on the right, top to down my neck that was completely gone by 8:30AM.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
2 stacks Trader Joe's pumpkin pancakes (290 calories or 580 calories) the serving size is kinda unclear.
1 Orgain 30g vanilla protein shake (160 calories) (650 mg calcium)
0.82 lb hot bar plate at Whole Foods Market with fried tofu, sesame kale, mashed potatoes, and rice + chicken tikka masala

40 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 108.9 lbs

Fit app: afternoon walk
39 Heart Points
2.83 miles

moist sunday morning

I slept until 8:28AM. I woke up with a very small headache and aches in my lower back and thighs. The body aches are from doing some exercises just before bed, too late, because I felt guilty for not having time to do any of my prescribed exercises earlier in the day between my MeetUp and cooking and the evening walk. Probably should have just stuck to the walk alone but I know I need to keep up the exercises as long as possibe and as completely as I can now.

With my weight being down to 108 this morning, I thought it would be a great idea to go out for a hardy breakfast cooked by someone else in a kitchen full of different ingredients so I got MonsterMustDie to agree to have brunch at First Watch this morning. When we got there, despite the wind and light rain, the host told us there was at least an hour and 15 minute wait, partially because they have a new kitchen staff in-training this week. We decided to skip eating out and just run an errand to Home Depot for a couple of tiny things.
At the last minute on the way home, we decided to go to Stock+Grain food court for lunch. We weren't sure if we wanted anything there until MonsterMustDie spotted the owner of B3, a friend of his. I decided to try the veggie burger at Smash & Sizzle and MonsterMustDie got a good BBQ plate at B3 which was much better than what they have been serving up recently - it's good to know people. The veggie burger I got was not very good but it was filling and I was hungry so it was what I needed.

What I ate today:
2 cups coffee
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Smash & Sizzle veggie delux burger (570 calories)
Bolthouse Protein Plus (290 calories) (30g protein)
Advil Dual Action - Acetaminophen 250mg, Ibuprofen (NSAID) 125mg
Pumpkin Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard (258 calories) (4.5 g protein)
3 oz rotisserie chicken (156 calories) (23g protein)
1 cup hot cocoa (194 calories)
handful of pumpkin seeds roasted with salt and olive oil (80 calories) (4g protein)

60 oz water

1548 calories today

9:00 AM weight: 108.2 lbs

Raining today so no walk outside to record.

Saturday

No headache this morning. I woke up just before 6:00AM.
This morning, the StarTrek fan group I'm a member of had an "away mission" at the Science Center. It was fun to hang out with everyone and see the exhibits there.

This evening, I cooked Mini Pumpkins Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard. I've had the ingredients for a while now and something seemed to come up or last later than I thought it would every day this week, so this evening my time to finally cook this before things went bad. The mini pumpkins were a bit dry this time but the chard and mushroom filling was delicious.

What I ate today:
2 cups coffee
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+Cranberry cookies (300 calories)
Pumpkin Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard (258 calories) (4.5 g protein)

48 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 111.8 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
43 Heart Points
3.62 miles miles

friday

I woke up with a very tiny headache, stemming from the top of my head, this morning. Might be from the shot a couple of days ago now or it might be the slight change in routine because yesterday was the first day I did not take an Ocuvite multivitamin. I have to avoid taking any products with fish oil for 7 days before my prodedure at Duke on Wednesday.
Having a morning headache reminds me of the daily headaches I had immediately after coming home from lung surgery.
I thought the morning headaches then were possibly some sort of rebound from pain meds in the hospital and the routine of ibuprofen and tylenol.

I had lunch with Karen in Greensboro today at Freeman's Grub & Pub. Then we went to Costco, where I could not resist buying two large pumpkins for just $6.99 each. I think Casa WereMonster is completely gourded up now. I also go a slinky black velour lounge outfit as an impulse buy. We discussed the possibilities for Halloween weekend this year. Casa WereMonster usually has a lot of Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween night, which is on a Friday this year. Karen wants to have a Halloween party. She said she might have her party on Saturday. That would certainly be easiest for me, since I love handing out treats on Halloween night here.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee
2 cups whole milk + Kefir (300 calories) + 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (40 calories) smoothie
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookies (300 calories)
Amy's Brown Rice + Black-eyed Peas bowl (300 calories) (9g protein)
Orgain 30g vanilla (160 calories) (650mg calcium)
Grilled Chicken BLT (590 calories)
1 cup grilled brussels sprouts (135 calories)

48 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 109.1 lbs

thursday

Fortunately, the only effect I woke up with from the vaccine shot yesterday is a soar upper arm. Yay! I plan to ice it a bit during the day.
I know I need to try very hard to continue my therapeutic exercises and maybe even double up on them, once every morning and once every night, now that my physical therapy has ended.

I had a pre-op phone call from a nurse at Duke this afternoon to get ready for my endoscopic ultrasound a week from today. Among the instructions, I can continue most of my usual meds and supplements except for my multivitamin, because it has fish oil. No fish oil for seven days. I can take my calcium supplement until the day before the procedure. I can continue to take everything else as ususal. Of course, no food or drink of any kind after midnight before the prodedure.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
toast with almond butter and jelly (310 calories)
Bolthouse Protein Plus (290 calories) (30g protein)
Chobani key lime Greek yogurt (140 calories) (11g protein)
3 Triscuit crackers (60 calories)
1 gimme seaweed snack pack (25 calories) (1 g protein)

52 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 111.3 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
39 Heart Points
2.62 miles miles

Wednesday

I woke up at 7:00 AM this morning.
Today was my last day of physical therapy. They have done all they can do for me and now it's up to me to keep doing all of the prescribed exercises every day. One person said this is probably a chronic condition I have so I really need to exercise and continue to build my core stregnth as much as possible to prevent things from getting any worse. My hope is the pain continues to fade over time to nothing.

I finally got my Covid vaccine today at the Harris Teeter pharmacy. I chose the Pfizer vaccine on a coin-toss decision. I didn't have any preference between my three choices of Pfizer, Moderna, or Novavax. The girl behind the pharmacy counter told me they were all the same, just from different companies. Now that I'm home looking at it, I see that while Pfizer and Moderna are both mRNA type vaccines, Novavax is a protein subunit vaccine. I hope to have no bad reaction (migraine headache) this time around but if there is one following this, I will certainly try the Novavax next year.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (300 calories)
battered cod + broccoli (300 calories)
Stir-fry noodles and vegetables with a few bits of chicken and shrimp (500 calories)
Advil Dual Action - Acetaminophen 250mg, Ibuprofen (NSAID) 125mg

60 oz water

9:00 AM weight: 110.2 lbs

Tuesday

Slept late today. Didn't wake up until 8:00 AM.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite multivitamin
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee with Oatmilk + 1/2 teaspoon mushroom supplement
Ardens Garden Green Energy Machine juice (130 calories) (2g protein)
1 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (150 calories)
battered cod + broccoli (300 calories)
Chobani key lime Greek yogurt (140 calories) (11g protein)
1 piece Naan bread (250 calories)
1/2 cup grapes (52 calories)

40 oz water

Fit app: afternoon walk
29 Heart Points
1.89 miles

9:00 AM weight: 110.2 lbs

cancelled again

Once again, CVS cancelled my Covid vaccination appointment. I just got this message about my appointment at 9:30AM today.

"Hi Julia,
We're sorry. We had to cancel your appointment on Monday, October 6, at 9:30 AM due to an unexpected issue impacting our 124 Qubein Ave location.
We know your time is important. We're committed to giving you the best care."

My new plan is to get my Covid vaccination as a walk-in at Harris Teeter pharmacy.

What I ate today:
2 cups coffee
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
Ardens Garden Green Energy Machine juice (130 calories) (2g protein)
1 cup oatmeal with dried cranberries (150 calories)
Orgain chocolate 30g protein shake (160 calories)
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+cranberry cookie (300 calories)
Spaghetti with marinara + broccoli + mushrooms (500 calories)

60 oz water

10:00 AM weight: 111.1 lbs

The last event of the day was the lock breaking on the kitchen door. The door knob came loose and stuck in the lock position. I'm glad I discovered it without accidentally locking myself outside the house but I had to get MonsterMustDie out of bed to at least remove it so that does not happen.

sunday

The air outside at 7:50AM stinks. The back yard smells heavy and bitter like car exhaust. That makes me wonder what the winds have carried to dump at our house. I wonder how long it takes to clear or for me to get used to it.
We have dinner plans with Karen and Bob tonight.
I moved my Covid vaccine appointment to Monday, just in case there are any complications to deal with, so it doesn't affect other activities on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. I am hoping that one vaccine at a time does not give me a migrain headache the next day.

What I ate today:
2 cups coffee
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 Oatmeal+Walnut+Cranberry cookie (300 calories)
4 triscuit crackers
1 cup prune juice (180 calories)

We had dinner with Karen and Bob tonight. That included:
creamy white asparagus soup
ravioli with fresh tomato sauce
green salad of spinach, candied pecans, raspberries, and red bell peppers
lamb chops
Swedish butter cookies

48 oz water

10:00 AM weight: 112.0 lbs

autumn Saturday

Wondering if the government shutdown will affect how soon I get things resolved with Medicare.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite multivitamin
one 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee
one stack of 4 pumpkin pancakes (300 calories)
Chobani key lime Greek yogurt (140 calories) (11g protein)
1/2 cup grapes (52 calories)
Cheddar cheese (113 calories)
Uncountable snack foods and sliders at neighborhood block party

48 oz water

10:15 AM weight: 111.1 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
35 Heart Points
2.58 miles miles

Friday

Today is dedicated to car maintenance and groceries.
I had an oil change, which also lead to brake pads replaced. Then went shopping at Sprouts Market for some things I can't get at home.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
2 cups coffee
Ocuvite multivitamin
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
1 cup oatmeal + dried cranberries
toast with almond butter and jelly (310 calories)
salmon + avocado roll (450 calories) (26g protein)
one Oatmeal+Walnut+Cranberry cookie (150 calories)
pasta with marinara and rotisserie chicken (500 calories)

48 oz water

8:30 AM weight: 110.7 lbs

Fit app: evening walk
42 Heart Points
3.38 miles miles

thursday

Woke up to the smell of the first firing-up of the heater in the house.
It is 51 degrees outside this morning. The forecast high today is 71 degrees. Welcome, Autumn.

There is a medical webinar on Webinar on Sleep and Cardiovascular Disease that I plan to watch this evening at 6:00pm.
There are two other public events at art galleries tonight that I would enjoy a lot more - one just around the corner and one in Winston-Salem - but it all depends on how I feel about showing up alone and leaving the house with disapproval from MonsterMustDie. He has no interest in being around people and, although he does not forbid me from going out alone, he definitely kills any ambition I have very effectively. Maybe I can convince him to go out with me.

The rest of my day is empty.
I really need to find a job or side-gig that will work with my medical schedule and allow me some social activity + income.
I'm not quite to the point of having time to schedule a regular gig but I think I will be as soon as I get past the Endoscopic Ultrasound I have scheduled mid-October. Then, it should be just a couple of 6-month check ups to monitor things and I hope to keep progressing in physical therapy to where all I need to do is daily maintenance.

What I ate today:
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite multivitamin
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
2 cups coffee
Amy's Brown Rice + Black-eyed Peas bowl (300 calories) (9g protein)
3 oz rotisserie chicken (156 calories) (24g protein)
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups (210 calories)
Yellowtail + avocado roll (215 calories)
2 pieces Smelt Fish Roe (Masago) (82 calories)
1 cup chamomile lavendar herbal tea

48 oz water

Fit app: afternoon walk
30 Heart Points
1.78 miles

10:15 AM weight: 110.5 lbs

Had a deep ache start in my right hip at 9:05 AM. Seemed to be already faded by 9:10 AM. All I was doing was standing upright, watching YouTube while eating breakfast.

Wednesday

I had a physical therapy appointment with Kevin this morning. I needed to ask him about my schedule before I left because I had to go online to schedule this appointment. He was going to have someone at the front desk check and schedule my next appointment but she was out and no one knew what time she was coming back. Kevin had asked her to phone me back to schedule and I never got a call so I had to schedule it myself, which seems fine but I need to know what he wants to do going forward on my therapy appointments. He said we will re-evaluate next week and figure out where to go from here.
I had a good session with a PA who is actuall a High Point University student. I asked him about pro-bono physical therapy at HPU and he assured me that I could probably qualify for it. I had thought it would be only for sports-related medicine.

What I ate today:
2 cups coffee
Rosuvastatin 5mg
Letrozole 2.5mg
Ocuvite multivitamin
two 600mg Calcium + D3 10 mcg (400 IU) supplement
1 cup Oatmeal + dried fruit + cinnamon + honey (150 calories)
Chobani key lime Greek yogurt (140 calories) (11g protein)
Bolthouse Protein Plus (290 calories) (30g protein)
1 Orgain 30g protein shake (160 calories)
1 cup grapes (104 calories)
3 ounces of rotisserie chicken without skin (160 calories)
1/2 cup Chex Mix (120 calories) (2g protein)
Advil Dual Action - Acetaminophen 250mg, Ibuprofen (NSAID) 125mg
toast with almond butter and jelly (310 calories)

60 oz water

Fit app: evening walk
45 Heart Points
2.71 miles

10:00 AM weight: 109.1 lbs