the flip side

have work, but sucky clients. didn't i stop working in an office so i didn't have to deal with pains in the ass? apparently not.

work

i need it. badly. even boring stuff would be good right now. i can not go back to an office!

almost made up for yesterday

went here this morning because i had a craving for pork bao.

they were delish and i will definitely be back again--probably for the dozen that i will *try* to conserve in the freezer.

royal mess

yesterday was not a good day.

woke up still sick, and hives galore. i had only one craving--fresh, hot soup.

la bou had butternut squash, and i was all set. dropped mike off at his mom's for the football game (which i was too sick to attend, and thank goodness i didn't because not only did mike say it was terribly hot in the stands, but also he was gone from 11:30 a.m.--8 p.m.).

headed to la bou. waited far too long for the container of soup, and as i was trying to get my car door open, dropped said soup, where it splashed all over the ground next to my car.

maybe it's because i'm off the effexor, but i called mike, and while sobbing tried to tell him what had happened. (did i mention that i hate talking on cell phones?) the connection was so bad, he later said all he heard on his end was "soup...dropped...ok."

still in search of soup, but refusing to pay another $6 at la bou, i headed to nugget for chicken noodle. (probably a better choice anyway, in hindsight.)

the rest of the day was spent in a drug fog, because of the g.d. benadryl, which when taken in the morning apparently hits me differently than at night?!?!

i was zonked. so zonked, in fact, that when coming in from outside i tripped and somehow the bridge of my nose and the sliding glass door track met.

end result=two gashes across the bridge of my nose and one black eye. humiliation=priceless.

i guess it's a good thing i didn't require stitches, because this time i think kaiser would be hard pressed not to think i'm being beaten at home.

first a broken arm one year.
then a broken leg the next year.
then the next year a black eye and cut nose.

and for the record, no, mike has never laid a hand on me. if he did, he's be missing one ball sack.

well that sucks

i read somewhere (magazine? blog? i don't know...) that some chefs say they hate to go out to eat because the food/service/experience is never as good as what they could have at home.

i'm a far cry from a chef (although i am THE CHEF at my house--if i did not cook, we would not eat), i'm starting to feel the same way.

case in point:

my meal at il forniao was not only disappointing, but downright blah. the chicken pieces were fatty and all dark meat, and the pasta was overcooked and mushy. i expect more from them.

no, i did not bring it to our server's attention, nor did we skimp on the tip. but i doubt we'll be going back there again.

which brings me to the best restaurant in sacarmento--bali wine bar & grill.

over our disappointing dinner, mike and i were talking about the fact that at bali, the food is always good. the only thing that changes is the heat/intensity of the food.

sometimes it's so spicy it makes your eyes water, sometimes not, but either way it's ALWAYS good. which is why we're headed there monday night for our anniversary.

the big 5

five years! woo hoo!

celebrating, farmer style

october is a month full of anniversaries around our house.

one year ago today we got greta.

five years ago tomorrow i finished cancer treatments (for good--knock on wood!).

and on the 15th we celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary.

all very exciting stuff.

tomorrow night we're going to il forniao for my cancer anniversary so I can have my fav dish there--Conchiglie al Pollo. yum!

and next monday night we're either going to bali (my favorite resraurant, esp since moxie disappointed me last time we were there) or simons (since when we went to ma jong's last week it sucked, and i still crave chinese food--but good chinese food).

i may even be able to enjoy myself, now that i can breathe again and am finally starting to feel better. my hives are still pretty bad, but they're not on my face/neck, so as long as i wear long sleeves and pants, i'm good to go.

mike already gave me my cancer anniversary gift, this amazing necklace that i love and am wearing right now.

and for our wedding anniversary, we decided to go scent shopping for each other, with me choosing a cologne for mike (one that he likes, too, so he'll actually wear it!) and him choosing a perfume for me (one that i approve, since so many perfumes make me queasy). the rule is that we can only wear them for each other, on date night, etc.

we were supposed to do this fun shopping trip (to the best store in sacramento) yesterday, but since i still felt like crud and couldn't smell, we had to postone.

it may in fact have to wait until after our anniversary, because next saturday afternoon we will be at the uc davis/cal poly football game in davis cheering for cal poly, where mike went many, many years ago and where his neice nicole now goes (and is a cheerleader! as a freshman!).

it's been a long time since i've been to a college football game, and i have to say i'm looking forward to it. seeing nic will also be fun, and then we'll be seeing her again in a few weeks when we roll through slo on the way to san diego.

now if i can just get back to being well again, i'll be ready for all this activity.

why is that not on the label?

apparently both nyquil and dayquil have similar properties to motrin, to which i am deathly allergic.

on wednesday night, while i was rummaging in the medicine closet and came across nyquil and mike innocently suggested, "you should take that so you can get some sleep tonight," i thought, that's a great idea, so i did.

(in hindsight, the suggestion was probably more so HE could get some sleep, as i have apparently spent the last few nights of sick and itchy kicking him in my sleep.)

i took the nyquil, and yesterday morning awoke to marge. so i took some dayquil, thinking that would help both the hives and the sick that will, apparently, never go away.

then i emailed my allergist to tell him of my woes, and when he got back to me, he informed me of the nyquil/dayquil/motrin phenomenon. at least i did mention that i have an epi pen, and i'm not afraid to use it.

so last night i switched to something that, hopefully, won't kill me--benadryl.

this stuff usually knocks me on my ass, which is why i try to stay away from it. but last night, i wanted to sleep so badly that i took two. which did not kick in. for hours. i took them at 6 p.m. when mike got home, and i headed for bed, hoping to fall into a deep, healthful sleep. at 830, i was still wide awake--and miserable.

obviously, i did fall asleep, because i awoke at 7 this morning, itchy as all get out, but no swollen lip.

baby steps.

worse is worse

i woke up this morning to a frightful sight--marge simpson staring back at me in the mirror.

yep, that's exactly how my upper lip looks.

i'm more itchy, more sick, and more cranky than yesterday.

maybe i'm now allergic to my allergy medicine? i do have my epi pen handy, in case it gets any worse...

cold + hives = ugh!

i am so sick. and tired. and itchy. the hives seem to thrive on the cold i have (not to be confused with the temperature, although they thrive on that as well), and are multiplying every second. i will soon be one walking hive.

at least maybe i can be in the guiness book of world records, then, right?