The "The Fun is in the Discovery!", edition.

Good Friday morning!  We are constantly discovering things out here. But to be honest, we were always discovering things in Detroit and in Michigan. But. We're not in Michigan. And you're gonna think " What?  That's what you discovered?" And shake your head. But understand, sometimes...most times I look at life expecting to be pleasantly surprised. Lol. Some days I'm pleasantly surprised to wake up!

The most recent surprise came in the supermarket. Several months ago we wanted some ground beef. I found the package and moved on. Then I passed the butcher area. The ground beef in the display case was $1.00 a pound less!!?!!? I put the packaged meat back talked with the butcher.  We started doing the same when we wanted cooked shrimp.  It was cheaper and we didn't have to wait for it to thaw. So on Wednesday I went to get pork chops. It was buy one get one free (!). I wanted 3, instead I bought 6 and froze 3. But wait, there's more.  Right next to the pork chops were steaks. Brian moseyed up to the counter and laser beamed right on the steaks...buy one, get two free (!!). He got 3 bone in rib eyes. And they were huge!  They're sitting in the freezer...just waiting.  And how fortuitous was it that during last night's treatment, we're watch Alton Brown and it's about cooking rib eye steaks!  :-D  And the other day the ground beef was $2.00 a pound less!!! And watching Hubert Keller on PBS, I discovered tomahawk cut of steak. Of course Brian knew about. I also discovered that it's quite pricey at restaurants. It's large, so I'll never order it, but it sure looks impressive. 

Yesterday we went looking for Las Vegas Democrats office to register for the Las Vegas caucus. We discovered the Hustler strip club.  Lol. We also discovered once you got on Dean Martin Drive near Tropicana, we couldn't get back across the freeway until Warm Springs Road...about 3-4 miles.  Lol. And yeah, the Hustler club is on Dean Martin Drive. We were also surprised by the lady on the street behind the strip wearing only a shirt.....no pants..just a shirt.....

On the dialysis front, my nurse came the condo on Wednesday. We discovered everything was just fine. And we discovered that she wants to raise my dry weight because of the low blood pressure, almost passing out episodes. That didn't make me happy, but I get it. And it has been a year doing home hemo!  Happy anniversary to us. It's been mostly non eventful and that's the way it should be!  And for the record, last night's treatment was wonderfully mundane.  Yeah!!!  

It's also time to start planning our trip to visit Shawn. It looks like she'll be doing field work in South Carolina. The closest city for us is August GA. We'll be doing a James Brown tour. :-)  I've checked hotel rates. They're wonderfully low. We considered New York City. Oh my goodness. Rooms seem to start at $275 per night. And you just know that doesn't include fees and taxes. Ugh. 

Well that's it for today. We chuckle at the news people commenting that they need hats, gloves and scarves. Heh vthey don't know what cold really is. A handful do, but surprisingly many if them were born on the west coast and have never left. And on that note rake care. Have a wonderful weekend!!!

The "I've Written 400 Entries!", edition.

Good Wednesday morning!  I've written 400 entries of this blog. That's a lot of writing, a lot of information and a lot of whining!  I make no apologies for my whining. I've enjoyed taking you on this journey with me.  The blog is also a wonderful journey of memories for me. Thanks to Facebook putting up my memories, I get to read old entrie. Many I've forgotten (well, it's been 400!). I can see where I've been, how I've felt, what I've gone though, how I've handled issues and outcomes.  It's also helped on odd things.  Like I'd read about how the dialysis techs in Detroit used an alcohol pad on the back of the gauze when the needles were removed. This is an additional step in infection control. So we started using the pads.  Or I get to relive certain events. Some good, some not so good. By the way, there have almost 20,000 page views of the blog since its inception. It may sound like a lot, but it's not.  The blog tends to average 20-25 readers with some odd spikes up and odd low hits. I especially like it when I get the hits from Russia or China. :-/

So. On my comfort food kick, in addition to the smothered potatoes I wanted some French onion soup.   I'd tried making it from scratch a while ago. And that was right after Shawn left for Howard University, fall 2008. You know I'm a Food Network addict. Well, I watched Tyler Florence make the soup and he made it sound sooooo easy. (Yeah I was duped). I went to Westborn Market and got my ingredients, then to Pier Zone to get the ramekins (fancy little bowls -lol!). It came out ok, but Tyler was a bit off in how long it takes to cook the onions.  Fast forward to now, 2016. I used a different recipe, but the ingredients were pretty much the same.  We got everything, although I passed in the brandy reopened by Julia Childs. Brian and Dad said we should include it the next time.  Yes. There will be a next time.  

Brian prepped 4 giant onions and 2 cloves of garlic. We proceeded to start the process of carmelization of the onions. It took 90 minutes. It was worth the wait. Once that's done, we added the wine, broth and seasonings. Then it had to simmer for a while.   Finally Brian sliced and toasted the baguette slices, then added the Gruyere and Parmesan reggiano. The recipe said to make sure the entire top of the bowl was covered with the cheese. Put the bowls in the oven and broiled until bubbly. Jackpot!!!  Successful French onion soup!!!  Dad and Brian pronounced it was restaurant quality! And one bowl was quite enough for the meal.  Although when I went into the kitchen later, I caught Dad downing a cup of soup while he was putting up the food!  Lol. Busted!!!! We have some left over, so it got frozen. It's there for another chilly day!  

On the dialysis front, it's been a year of home hemodialysis. Yes it's better than incenter and I'm doing better on the whole, but it's still dialysis. I have to continually remind myself that as much as I hate this, and I really, really hate this, it could be so much worse. And even though it can be so much worse, I'm entitled to a release of my emotions. Eh. Last night I had another spike in low blood pressure needing an infusion of saline during treatment. I can't stress enough on how much I hate how it feels when my blood pressure is dropping. And now that I know what it is, in addition to knowing my blood pressure is dropping, I have to fight the panic that comes with it.  I am able to alert Brian and he does what needs to get done. And we get through it. But I hate it.  

Today my nurse is coming by for the yearly inspection. She'll check the equipment and test the water. She'll also chuckle at how we somehow managed to have wild surpluses of all the equipment. We replenish every month based on an inventory with suggested amounts of equipment. It tends to be maybe too much?  Boxes upon boxes of syringes, alcohol pads, gauze. Lots of Purel and examination gloves.  Some of this stuff we do go through pretty quickly. Others, not so much. We've learned that we don't need to replenish everything each month. Took a year to figure that out! 

Anyway. That's it for today. I'm thinking pork chops for dinner.  Have a great day!  

The "My Dad Amazes Me", edition.

Good Monday morning!  Saturday the blizzard on the east coast made me want some comfort food. I guess I was commiserating or something. I wanted some smothered potatoes with onions.   I also decided I wanted to make French onion soup. The soup requires Gruyere cheese. That requires a trip to one of the few places in town that we've found so far that sells it. The only cheese store I've found is way over in Henderson.  The market similar to Westborn is in the far southwest. The closest store is Whole Paycheck...er .. Whole Foods. Anyway. We did some errands and were near a Whole Foods so we stopped in to get the cheese. We left with the cheese, a baguette, some truffled cheddar, parmasan reggiano, 3 bottles of wine, toffee cookies and chocolate shortbread cookies that surprised Brian with a Hersey kiss in the middle. $70.00. Whole Paycheck indeed!  Oh and I made a note of the cost of a 5 pound bag of russet potatoes..$3.99.  We chuckled as we left and said we made our biannual trip lol.  

Next stop was Smiths. Also known as Krogers to my Michigan folks. The russets there were like $1.50. Ha!  More stuff, less cost. And. That Smiths sells Gruyere. And it cost less. We've found that we can find certain items in different parts of town. For the record, we were at a Smiths in Summerlin, and Summerlin could remind one of Birmingham, Michigan. 

Saturday morning, on the way to our weekly one hour casino visit , "It Takes 2", Rob Base and DJ Eazy Rock comes on. Dad comments that parts of the song sounds familiar. We tell him about sampling and the use of James Brown music.  And he recalls seeing MCs doing the  turntable thing. He then asks us about the girl who says "somebody slap me" in Klymaxx, "Meeting in the Ladies Room". !!!!    !!!!!  He then says he pulled the video up on YouTube to see if it made sense. !!!!!!!!  !!!!!!   !!!!!!!!!! Lol. My dad listens to old school R and B on the Bose radio he bought, uses Shazam oh his phone and looks up songs on YouTube!  He'll be 90 in April!  He continues to amaze me!   Anyway. We told him the slap me phrase was just her catchphrase. It meant nothing. 

On the dialysis front, we forgot to administer the heparin last night.  Heparin reduces blood clots.  And sure enough, an hour in, the machine stats to holler about a blood clot. Unfortunately when that error happens, treatment has to stop... now. Do not pass go do not collect $200.  Brian wants to blame himself, but it's always a partnership.  I was to busy watching America's Funniest Videos and caught it too late. What do I mean by too late?  The administering of the heparin comes after I've cannulated...stuck the needles into myself. The heparin goes into the venous needle tubing..the needle that has the blood flow going into me. By the time I looked up, I was already attached to the cartridge (machine) tubing. You say, well unattach and administer that heparin. And I say,  well no. The sterilization of all the items have been compromised. Once I'm connected to anything it needs to stay that way, opening up anything at that point compromises the sterility of the equipment and makes me susceptible to infection. Brian would have had to take down the entire apparatus and start all over again.  We agreed to go ahead. And well. We should have restarted. Lesson learned. Clotting ensued and session ended. I did get 1kg of fluid ad toxins removed. We'll do treatment tonight. 

We're getting rid of clothes we don't wear and I'm giving up my wool coat. And as if to underscore my decision, the temp is going into to mid to upper 60s this week. I'm also tossing a beloved purse. I won't use it anymore. We're going to go to Target to get grooming items to put in the purse before we donate it. 

That's it for today.  Enjoy your day! 

The "Friday Salmagundi", edition.

Good Friday morning!  Ah. Detroiters of a certain age, who watched the local PBS station, WTVS, especially  the auctions, know the word salmagundi!  No, I don't know why I watched the auctions as I could never afford the items I wanted, but a girl can dream!!!  As an aside, I volunteered to work the auction with the sorority one year.  I was in the back where people came to pick up their "winnings". I had some interesting experiences volunteering for the sorority. Remind me to tell you about the time I worked an HBCU telethon at the house of a Black businessman in Detroit. Let's just say caviar was served.  

Ok. On to my "mixture or assortment of things". ;-)  Let's start with the pottery or ceramics class. Wheel spinning, I think thats what it's called. Brian had taken classes at Pewabic in Detroit and became fairly adept at making things.  Do you see a pattern here for Brian?  He found something similar here through UNLV and signed us both up.  The day didn't start off well.  I was fighting lightheadedness, but I pushed.  We arrived at the gallery, got our supplies and class started. I received a big ass block of clay and some tools. The instructor, Tom,  gave a tour of the gallery, had us cut and wedge the clay,  and then sat us down at the wheels.  Also known as pottery wheel thingies (thank you, Brian). Tom showed us how to use the wheel and do stuff to the clay and then we were on our own. 

Watching Tom do stuff, I realized I'd get muddy and dusty. I watched Brian, he'd done this before.  I started out ok, but I managed to get clay, mud, all over me, in spite of wearing an apron. The good news it was just mud.  Lol. Anyway. I was a dismal failure. And I didn't particularly like it. I bailed. I cleaned up and went and sat in the car since my back was hurting. You hunch over the wheel and that wasn't fun.  I apologized but I won't be back. I much prefer watercolor.  I may try jewelry making again, but I'm not a crafty person. I don't have the patience.  I may try a cooking class.  I saw one where you learn how to make eggs Benedict.....yum.  

On Thursday we went to see The Revenant. I didn't like it. I don't understand how it's Oscar worthy. For a period of time during the movie there was no dialogue....like Arnold Schwazeneggars Predator. And was that Osacr material?  Yes, the cinematography was great but....anyway.  I read a review that said it was Leonardo Dicaprio on a bad vacation. I guess this is why I'm not a movie critic. Oh yeah. Wednesday is senior day at the movies at several theaters out here. $4.00 and a discount on concessions. Yeah!

When drove to Primm, we encountered a dust storm.  It was worse than any fog I've experienced, but it blew away just as quickly as it appeared.  We also passed a casino parking lot that had charging stations for electric cars. I'd never seen that before.   We see a lot of electric cars out here, especially Teslas. 

I'm still having bouts of low blood pressure. It sucks. I need rise up slowly when I stand up. And I need to learn to quit trying to fight through it.  Other than that I'm pretty ok. I still get pissed about having ESRD and sometimes wonder what's the point. So much time, money and effort spent to stay alive. And burdensome on my family. Ugh.  

Anyway. I'm glad to be out here. I feel for people on the east coast. Stay warm and safe.  My dialysis warriors have to prepare for emergencies. If we have no electricity we can't do lifesaving hemodialysis. We're vulnerable like that. A disaster can mean death for us.  Kinda makes stuff futile, eh? 

Oops didn't mean to sound maudlin. Haven't made plans for the weekend, but I'm sure we'll find something to get in to.  Have a good weekend.  If you're in the winter storm area, make some warm soup, stew or chili and snuggle on in. I did like watching it snow while I was warm and cozy inside.  

Not for me!!

The "Surviving a Pink and Green Weekend, Finale", edition.

TGood Wednesday morning!  Let's start with Saturday morning. We were told to arrive back at the hotel at 9 AM for the rededication ceremony.  This was the day we had to wear black dresses and pearls....for the ceremony.  The lunch would be held afterwards. I arrived a little before 9. A few sorors were there. And then more started trickling in.  While waiting I met sorors I hadn't met before. And some were from out of town. Lots of photos and social media stuff. I got lightly judged several times for not having Facebook on my smartphone.  Lol.  

Eventually we move into the room  for the ceremony. I won't go into details, but the ceremony was led by the Supreme Basileus Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson. This was an honor!  I did get light headed during the ceremony and standing behind the Soror who insisted on flinging her cape periodically didn't help. I digress. I survived. Prior to starting, an announcement was made to accomodate anyone who needed to sit down during the ceremony. I wasn't going to do it, dammit!  And I didn't, but I sure got out of there as soon as it was finished and sat down on one of those comfy leather couches in the hallway!  Immediately after the ceremony, we had group photos taken with the Supreme Basileus. I was in the Silver Star group, 25+ years as a member. This will be my 40th (!) year. At 50 years, I become a Golden Soror. 

Once we finished all of that, we moved into the ballroom for the Founders Day Lunch. I had the pleasure of sitting with sorors from Los Angels. And because our speaker was the Supreme Basileus, we had sorors visiting from the western states.  How cool was that!!  Once we go through all of the introductions, Soror Dorothy spoke. She is dynamic!  I was duly impressed.  She stayed to eat a bit, but she had to get back to the Midwest.  She was scheduled to leave for Dubai the next day. A very busy lady!  

I enjoyed the conversation with my sorors from California. We exchanged numbers, emails and Facebook names. We were served lunch. Chicken. Eh. I passed. I later met Brian at the casino restaurant.  He'd spent the entire time in the casino. Long enough to get comped several meals, including a steak and lobster meal!  I had a long day.  A great day, but a long day.  I survived!!  

Now I did have a few bouts of light headedness the past week or 2.  And it persisted through Tuesday. Sunday, Brian, Dad and I went to PF Changs for brunch. I experienced the wooziness on leaving the restaurant, specifically when I hit the sunlight. It happened again on Monday. We drove to Primm for lottery tickets. We experienced a dust storm!!  That was pretty funky. Anyway. On the way back the sunlight just messed with me. I had to recline and not focus on the road..almost like motion sickness. WTH?  

So on Tuesday I have my monthly team meeting with my health care team. My blood pressure is low. Well. It's been low for a few weeks. And when I say low I mean numbers like 86/65.  Sometimes the cuff would continuously error out and it would take a while to get a reading. Nurse takes my blood pressure and sure enough, it's stupid low. Doc is informed, they conclude I'm dehydrated. I'm given 100 ml of saline and bam!  BP goes up to 109/89 and I feel better. Duh. So I need to make a few adjustments to treatment. Remember a few months ago I had too much fluid.  Now I do t have enough. Lol. I need to walk that fine line to be healthy. I have to make sure I drink water. And I need to not take so much off during treatment. My dry weight has been increased by .5 kg. 

That's it for today. It rained most of the day yesterday. I've been helping Dad navigate the Medicare web site while he decides on a new Advantage plan. And Brian has signed us up for ceramics class and that starts today. And no, we haven't stopped painting. :)  Stay war and enjoy your day!  

Lol this is how I feel when my blood pressure is low!!!

AKA Supreme Basileus Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson. 

The "Surviving a Pink and Green Weekend", edition.

Good Monday morning!  Hope you had a nice weekend. Talked with the kid in Illinois and Brian's mom in Detroit yesterday. Yes, at the same time. Apparently while Brian and I were in different rooms we initiated calls.  Lol. I called Shawn and he called his mother....and neither of us were aware that we made the phone calls.  Yay cell phones!!!  So when I asked Brian if he wanted to talk to Shawn, he walks in the room and we exchange phones.  :-)   Anyway. Everyone is doing fine. Both Shawn and her grandmother mentioned how cold it is. 

This weekend was an exciting weekend for my chapter of my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. First a real brief history.  The sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University. It is the first and oldest Black Greek sorority. It is first and foremost a service organization. And it is an international organization. So. This past weekend, the sorority celebrated its 108th Founders Day, January 15.  We were honored to celebrate Founders Day with the Supreme Basileus Dororthy Buckhanan Wilson. Understand that there are 922 chapters worldwide with over 282,000 members....with a new chapter being chartered in Dubai this week!  So the idea that Soror Dorothy would spend it with the Las Vegas chapter was a great honor. And I wanted to be a part of that. 

Several activities were planned, but I needed to pace myself and adjust my schedule. I also had the stupid wild card of feeling light headed periodically. Bleah. As I mentioned earlier, we were asked to were certain colors and items for certain events. And protocol dictated what to wear at other events. Anyway. Friday a reception was held for Soror Dorothy at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino. What? You never heard of it?  Lol. Lots of places exist that are not on the strip. This one is in Summerlin.  I digress.  

I adjusted my treatment schedule so I could attend the reception Friday evening.  While getting ready, I realized I was...tired. No other way to explain it. Plus it was dark and I didn't want to drive. I asked Brian if he would drive me. He agreed, understanding he'd have to spend time wandering around the casino while I attended the event. Poor Brian (yeah, right!  Lol). After wandering around the casino we finally found where the reception was being held....a suite in the hotel. After walking around the casino and finding the meeting rooms, the reception was in a hotel room at the end of a really long, long, long hall.  By the time I got there I knew I'd need to sit down. And I knew the room would be ridiculously crowded. And I was correct.  I found a seat. I knew it was someone else's, but I must have looked...not well. I sat for a few minutes, had a few sips of water and realized that I didn't want to stay. The suite was crowded, which was fine. My problem was me. I text Brian and we met at a restaurant and had dinner instead. Well. That was day one. And I still consider it a success. Look I arrived around 7:15 and  stayed about 15 minutes. I was told that Soror Dorothy didn't arrive until later anyway. So it was all good. 

At the restaurant, I felt lightheaded. I sort of reclined in the booth for a few moments. The light headedness subsides.  My back still hurts, but Tylenol helps that. We finish eating, get to car, I turn on the heated seat for my back and because it is cold by Las Vegas standards.  We get home and I need to prepare to Saturday back at the Suncoast. The day will start at 9:00 in the morning. And it will be long day. I ask Brian to drive me again. And again he agreed. Understanding he will spend a significant time at the casino. But it he did. I love him. I'm keeping him!! 

That's it for today. One day I'll figure out to shorten my story telling. I'll write about my AKA Saturday on Wednesday. Let's just say I had a great weekend in spite of me and the stupid ESRD. I fight it even I probably shouldn't. I can't help myself.  And sometimes it knocks me out. Ugh. Anyway. Have a great day. Stay warm if you're in a cold place. This is the time of year is really start thinking about March. March may still be cold, but it's closer to warmer weather!  

Suncoast. 

The "Do Not Resuscitate", edition.

Good Friday morning!  I usually wake up around 6. It's still dark. Yesterday I woke up at 7. That's sleeping in!  Yesterday I needed to finish getting items I need for this Alpha Kappa Weekend. Earlier last week I found a pink sweater dress.  It's really flattering. I'll include a photo later.  I also purchased knee high suede low heel boots...they're pretty nice.  I also needed green accessories.  And pearls. And panty hose and/or tights.  I got everything yesterday.  Hopefully I'll remember to take a photo of the final product.  However, I'm especially enamored with the boots!!!

On the cooking front, Brian made shrimp fried rice from a recipe floating around on Facebook. It was delicious. It goes on the rotation.  While at the grocery store I picked up a rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad. I didn't realize until the chicken was in that cart that I picked up lemon pepper rotisserie chicken!!  That sounds like tasty chicken salad!  I'm also going to make sriracha deviled eggs and finally some dip using fresh herbs and Greek yogurt. I'll let you know how that goes.  

On the dialysis front, last evening's treatment was not good. I'm doing good keeping the excess fluid off, but I am crazy aware and scared of hitting that point where too much fluid is removed during treatment. Well. Last night started out fine. The needles went in fine, no alarms, blood pressure is stable.  I fell asleep during the second hour.  I woke up feeling ok, then in about 5 minutes I got light headed, warm, clammy, nauseous and to add something new, my chest was hurting.  Geez.  I asked Brian for saline...the salty solution usually helps bring up the blood pressure.  And it worked. I'm trying not to panic and just practice breathing and relaxation techniques.  I did throw up.  Which is rare, but whatever.  And eventually my chest stopped hurting. Brian asked if I was having a heart attack.  I didn't know. It was over in about 15 minutes.  And within 30 minutes, treatment was complete. And then I felt better. 

So this brings us back to a Do Not Rescusitate order.  Over a year ago, a dear friend if mine died from complications of dialysis treatment. And now, an online friend is dying from complications of dialysis treatments. Both of these men had to use feeding tubes. And my friend had breathing tube. And was confined to the hospital or a rehab location for almost 8 months. For 8 months he wasted away.  His family and him agreed on a do not Rescusitate order after a while.  The other young man has horrific side effects and it is heartbreaking reading about his struggles and suffering. His mom is his caregiver and she's pretty much given up all hope now. And she did every single thing she could to get him better. But now she's resigned to the do not Rescusitate and it appears it's at the request of her son. I'm heartbroken. 

Brian and I have talked about this. I watched Mom waste away for 13 months. I watched Wendell  for 8 months. I don't want that quality of life. I cannot fathom being confined not only to a bed, but a bed in a medical favility for an extended period of time. With a feeding tube. Not being able to get out of bed....and endure dialysis?  No thank you. Brian says he's greedy and wants me around as long as possible.  But a line has to be drawn. And after last night I thought about do not Rescusitate. When those episodes happen, I am dying. My blood pressure can only drop so low and then.....

Ok moving on. I'm ok today and I'm sure my nurse will call once we send in the flow sheets.  Finally I told you I'm going to get on the transplant list here.  But since I don't have a secondary insurance, thank you State of Michigan Emergency manger and Rick Snyder, I will gave to pay an additional $15,000+ for the surgery. Yay?  And let's not talk about the 3 year limit financial assistance on anti-rejection drugs.  It's more visit effective to die slowly on dialysis. Heh. 

Ok. It sounds depressing, but I'm moving on. I have plans for the weekend and then I'm thinking about seeing the Cirque de Soleil Michael Jackson show.  And Brian wants to see Blue Man Group.  Tickets are either half price or buy one, get on free for locals! ;-)   That's it for today. Time to start boiling the eggs!  Have a great weekend.  And Happy AKA Founders day, today.  108 years!!! Proud to be pink and green!!   

My boots!! <3

The "My Wardrobe is Not Sufficient", edition.

Good Wednesday morning! Yes. My wardrobe is lacking.  In so many ways.  I've mentioned that this the Founders Day weekend for my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA). We are being honored by a visit from our Supreme Basileus.   Translation, the international president.  Yes, we are an international organization with a new chapter being created in Dubai this month.  I digress.  So with the Supreme  Basilieus visiting there are several protocols we have to observe and what to wear is very much a part of protocol. Well I hadn't been active since right after Shawn was born. Yes that long. And Whoo boy, reactivating costs aren't for the faint of heart. I digress again. And there are wardrobe requirements for the other organization I'm in also. Oh well 

There are certain colors we wear for different occasions and ceremonies. And of course I must have pink and green. And of course I have none of the colors. AND. I was told I must wear a dress to one of the ceremonies..no pants or pant suits. Arghh!!!  I am a pants wearing woman. I just recently started wearing sundresses. And that was forced on me by my kid.  And I need shoes to go with these dress.  I don't/can't wear heels. :-(  I'm figuring this out because I want to look nice. I'm vain like that. I admit it! All this being said, I'm looking forward to this weekend. Now let's hope I stay healthy.  

And on the dialysis front, I've been crazy with low pressure and feeling light headeaded. WTF is this?  It seems to always be something. Like yesterday. We had turkey sausage, egg and English muffin for breakfast. Afterwards, I didn't feel well.  I have no idea why. I thought I slept it off. Later on I went to get a haircut and bam. My blood pressure dropped while in the chair. Ugh.  Fortunately my barber gave me lots of love, let me recline and my bp eventually rose. But it was still touch and go for a while.  And I needed to stay reclined on the ride home. But. I needed that haircut!  Vanity for the win!!! And yeah. My haircut looks great!!!  And I got my shrimp Po Boy treat from Zydeco.  Good stuff!!  

Today Brian is going back to the barber to get his grooming. They make him look soooo good!!!  Then we're headed to the movies,  The Hateful Eight.  That's my choice. So next week I'll have to see The Revenant, Brian's choice. See, compromise. I'm going to sit through The Revenant because I love Brian. <3. 

That's it for today.  Stay warm!  

The "Looking For Lottery Tickets!", edition.

Good Monday morning!  Did you know that Nevada doesn't sell lottery tickets?  Did you know that it is actually in the state constitution that lottery tickets cannot be sold?  Can you say mega casino lobby?  So what happens when Powerball or Megamillions gets to an amount you can't deny and you live in Nevada?  You go to another state!  In southern Nevada that means California or Arizona. Not Utah, though. Utah doesn't sell lottery tickets. I guess northern Nevadans go to Oregon, Idaho and California. 

The obvious choice for Vegas is the California state line. If you've driven from California to Las Vegas or Vegas to California, you've gone through Primm, Nevada. About 45 minutes.  Right across the street, Lotto Store Road, to be exact in California is THE store for lottery tickets. We'd threaten to go there several times, but since last week, the news people were broadcasting from Primm and the lines were exceeding 2-3 hours. Ugh.  

Well. I looked up where to buy tickets in Arizona. So on on Friday morning, after my dialysis equipment was delivered, we were on our way to Arizona. This was a new road trip for us.  Now we'd been this way about 20 years ago when Brian, Shawn and I drove from Detroit to Las Vegas with Mom and Dad...returning to Vegas from staying in Detroit over the summer.  Long tortured sentence..sorry.  We knew we'd go through Boulder City and over Hoover Dam. We also knew that the ridiculous twisty narrow  road from hell that crossed Hoover Dam had been replaced with a sensible 4 lane bridge. What we didn't know was how far we'd have to go into Arizona to find a store.  

Now you know about the travel time phenomenon. When you don't know where you're going it takes forever to get there. The return trip is considerably shorter. Lol. And this trip was no exception. We headed south through Henderson.  We'd been this way going to Laughlin, almost exactly a year ago, but instead of making that right turn to Searchlight, NV, we went straight...to Boulder City.  Which doesn't allow casinos.  But clearly allows Indian jewelry stores.  And blankets.  And yes we drive right through town. There is no interstate between Vegas and Arizona. For now. I guess the ground breaking for I-11 has started. I digress. 

Immediately outside of Boulder City you see Lake Mead.  When you see the water lines, you realize how much water the lake has lost.  And yet the lake is still impressive. A little further up the road is The Hoover  Dam Lodge. Of course.  Anyway. It's about a mile from the dam.  As we traveled over the new bridge, I lamented that I wasn't able to see the dam. I also got over it.  Once across the bridge we  were in Arizona. Welcome to nothingness!  Now how far will we drive before we we find anything resembling civilization?  We found it at the 27 mile marker. The Last Stop ...store?  

We were greeted with an impossibly large deserty parking lot and a line of people. We pulled in, parked and Brian got in line. I waited in the car.  Brian sent me texts periodically. Apparently once inside, the line was still long, as it wrapped through the gift store and...restaurant. That being said, the wait was about a 1/2 hour instead is 2-3 hours.  And the drive was comparable. Oh yeah. Brian bought 3 weeks worth of powerball...and Megamillions!  So we're good for a while, but it won't matter as we will win the drawing. It just needed to go over the billion dollar mark!  ;-)

On the dialysis front I'm still experiencing light headedness. It may be due to an increase in Ive if my meds. It really knocked me off my feet on Saturday. I couldn't stay at sorority meeting and that really pissed me off. The Supreme Basileus is coming to town this week for Founders day and I really needed to hear the protocol.  The good news is I was able to attend the meeting of my other organization on Sunday. And one of the members used to be president of the AKA chapter, so I talked with her.  I'm all good.   Both on the protocol front and feeling better. Saturday was a wash. And that just really ticked me off. Ugh. 

That's it for today. We're starting the healthy eating thing today. Bye bye bagel!  Have a good day. Sorry about the snow and stuff.  But then that's why I moved out here.  Bwahahaha.  :-D

I'll post more photos on Facebook. 

The Last Stop Lotto store in Arizona.  Or the First Stop coming from Nevada!  

The view coming into Las Vegas 

Lake Mead. 

The "95th Birthday Party", edition.

Good Friday morning!  The rain finally stopped. I can see the sun this morning!  So how is life in Patland?  Life is pretty ok. Pauline's 95th birthday was Wednesday. Dad went up to her apartment and said she had so many cards and flowers that her apartment was really full!  She's been treated to meals all week!  And no surprise. Pauline is a mighty grand lady. Love her. She and mom were friends back in Detroit. Pauline and her husband were instrumental in mom and dad moving to this condo. Apparently they dogged out the apartment mom and dad lived in when they moved to Vegas.  Lol. Found them a condo here in this complex. Mom and Dad have been in Vegas 26 years this month....they moved 2 weeks after Shawn was born. And they've been in this condo for 21 years.  Anyway the condo group is honoring Pauline by having a birthday party for her on Sunday.   :-)

Got my monthly lab report. Numbers are skewed still, but my phosphorous spiked. No more red beans for me. What's even worse is I have to listen to a lecture from the dietician.  Geez. I know what I did. I'm finally recovering. I have to be more vigilant in what I eat.  And besides....I was told to increasethe phosphorous because the numbers had dropped so low!!!!  I think I'll get a pass, but have my stuff together by the next month!!!  Anyway, the diet and menus have been adjusted to get the weight loss on!  

Shawn left here, went home and has since traveled to Washington DC for the annual Society of Historical Archeology. And yes, she is giving a presentation. Again. She's got another conference and different presentation for the Society of American Archeology in Orlando in April. She actually invited me and Brian to that one!  I looked it up and we'd get visitor passes, which are only allotted to immediate family!  I feel honored. We're going to opt out, though. A trip to Orlando is pricey.  We're going to visit her at her field work in South Carolina instead. I mentioned we'll be staying in Augusta GA, which is a much better bargain!  But one day.  I'd love to see her present her research. 

Finally, today we're going to venture to Arizona to buy some lottery tickets. No lotteries in Nevada. So we have to go California or Arizona. The California state line store has lines over 1-2 hours long to buy the tickets. So we're going to try our luck in another direction. If we don't succeed, well at least see Hoover Dam!  

That's it for today. Nothing exciting. Which isn't a bad thing!!  Have a great weekend!  

My lab report is sort of like this. 

The "January in Las Vegas", edition.

Good Wednesday morning!  It rained yesterday.  It's been raining off and on since Monday. I missed the sunny skies!  We took Shawn to the airport around 5:30 AM. It was unnaturally humid.  And foggy. The lights from the strip shining onto the low clouds gave off an amazing effect. After dropping her off we went back home and I fell asleep.  We went out later because I needed to get some items for some upcoming events. We also stopped at Barnes and Nobles.  We're tentatively planning our travel for this year.  We're considering New York City. Brian has never been and it's been decades since I visited. But damn. It sure is expensive!  I'm looking at hotel rates.  Wow!  

We're for sure heading to near where Shawn's summer research is happening, Edgefield, South Carolina. The nearest large city is Augusta, GA. We considered flying to Augusta, but it requires a layover in Atlanta and I'm paranoid about my dialysis equipment getting lost. So after checking, the drive to Augusta from Atlanta is comparable to driving from Chicago to Champaign-Urbana.  So we'll fly into Atlanta, rent the car and drive to Augusta. 

Let's wrap back around to Barnes and Nobles. I went to the travel section to find travel books for New York City and for Georgia. This is where you learn book stores cater to regions. Books upon books for Nevada and California.  And plenty for Disney World, of course. New York City had a few, including Fodors and Washington DC had a few books. Even saw some Carolina books. But no Georgia. None!  I'll look and see if I can order one.  Finally, I still owe a friend a drive to California. I fell ill last last summer, so it didn't happen, but it should this summer. 

Vegas is on jam right now. It's the Consumer Electronics Show time. As I've mentioned before, we live about 1/2 mile from the Las Vegas convention Center. People park up to and past our condo area making leaving the complex a bit dicey. And at certain times of day traffic is horrific. And let's add the school buses to the mix. Can you say gridlock?  Ah, but we have shortcuts!  Let me explain the layout of where we live. I live on street that has the word circle in the name. And the street is a circle. In the middle of the circle is the condo complex. And the condo is surrounded by a ten foot brick wall. Anyway. There are only 2 streets that access the circle street. And one is accessible by the street people use to get to the convention center.  That street can have massive traffic jams. The other street that accesses the circle is closed because of construction. Uh oh!!  We've seen cars and busses thinking they've got a shortcut by turning into the circle. This year they're in for a rude surprise!  Of course, if they know about the alley street, they've got it made, but the alley street isn't obvious.  Well that was a long paragraph. 

Today we start the lighter eating.  I must say that  I didn't gain any weight over the holiday eating fest. But my eating habits have changed. I cannot eat large meals. I'm more a eat several small meals during the day person. And it seems to work. Anyway. Today is chicken enchiladas. And maybe a salad. Need to add more vegetables. During treatment last night, I got a little lightheaded and my left foot cramped. This is a sign of taking off too much fluid. I recovered nicely without passing out!  

Well Shawn is back in Illinois. We have a package to send her. She couldn't  pack all of her Christmas gifts in her suitcase. We enjoyed her visit of course.  And the time moved much too fast. So as you can see, we already started planning on visiting her.  Lol. It's nice seeing the sun and blue skies this morning. It rained all night. And it's supposed to rain again this afternoon. And the mountains to the west are covered in snow!!  But it's in the 50s here!  Whoo hoo. I revisited a blog entry I wrote on January 6, 2014. That was the day that put me over the top. 10 inches of snow. Yep. No more!  

That's it for today!  Have a wonderful day!!  

Map of our condo area. 

Overhead view of the condo complex. 

The "It's Been a Year!!!", edition.

Good Monday morning!  Yes, it's been a year.  A year ago I started training for home hemodialysis. I like it and I'm doing fine!  And on that note, I have no updates on dialysis or any assorted adventures. Feeling much better. Need to lose about 15 pounds to get on transplant list.  All 3 of us want to drop a few pounds so we'll track this together.  My scale weighs in kilograms, so our goal is 1 kg every 2 weeks. I think that sounds reasonable since 1 kg equals 2.2 pounds.  We should be ok.  Just change our snacks. The meals are usually ok.  And Dad and Brian walk.  I'll start again with swimming again now that I'm feeling better.  Brian wants me back at Planet Fitness and I'm ready to get going again. Small steps. At one point I did an hour on the treadmill. Now I'll have to build back up. Heh. 5 minutes seems daunting right now.  

I mentioned a special visitor we had last week.  Our visitor was the daughter of one my mom's long time friends and the sister of Shawn's pediatrician!  I hadn't seen Patricia in decades and it was an absolute delight!  We ended up in contact via Facebook..surprise!!  She let me know she and her husband would like to see us when she came to Vegas. And we made it work!  Had a delightful visit and she even called her sister and Shawn had a conversation with her pediatrician!!  Great times!!  :-)

New Year's Day we hosted dinner for Pauline and our neighbors down the hall. Everyone had seconds on the red beans and rice. While cooking it appeared I added to much red pepper flakes, which I didn't understand because I know I didn't, but the beans sure had a bite on the back end!!!  However, we let the beans simmer a few hours and that eased the bite. And I added a -1/2 cup of sour cream. Which didn't effect the taste or consistency.  Just hoped it would take away some of the hot.  Anyway. We ran out of rice. Dad chuckled that that was the first time we ran out of anything during a meal!  Lol. But everyone did get 2 servings. And we had salad and jalapeño cornbread. So no one went hungry. I also had pineapple upside down cake and our guests brought 2 chocolate pudding pies that everyone raved about!  

Yesterday Dad treated us to Fogo de Chao. A Brazilian steakhouse. Geez. I get overwhelmed by the parade of gauchos bringing meat.  At this point, I know what I like and will pass on the sausage, ribs and chicken. I like picanha, rib eye and flank steak. I even had restraint at the salad bar.  I did have a bit of Caesar salad, but was it. And even passed on the mashed potatoes, polenta and plantain that comes with the meals. Like the meal. Like the restaurant, but once in a long while is enough. That's a lot of meat!!!!  

Finally, I forgot to mention that after we left the High Roller we went to Ghiradelli. I had a Salted Carmel hot fudge sundae. I learned that I can probably eat that stuff once every 2 years. :-/  It tasted wonderful, but I was miserable the rest of the day.  Sadly, the misery was worth it!  Lol. 

That's it for today. This is Shawn's last day. She leaves tomorrow morning. We're going to do the mani-pedi thing and have one more giant meal today. We told Shawn about a Mexican seafood restaurant we liked and she wants to try it. Here's the kicker. The seafood menu is extensive, yet, Brian and I order the beef burrito every time!  Shawn  judges the hell out of us for that. And she should!  Lol. I told her I may go off point this time. Oh, and they have the best salsa!  Anyway, I'll let you know how it turns out.  And believe it or not, in spite of a seemingly nonstop eating fest, I've maintained my weight!  Kind of important for the dialysis patient!  Can't speak to Dad and Brian, though!  Heheheh. 

Anyway have a great day. Supposed to rain out here for the week!  But remember rain out here does not bear any resemblance to rain in the Midwest!  Take care!!  

Dad finishing up his meal. Note the "clean" plates! 

The "It's A New Year...Again", edition.

Good Friday morning!  First of all, a shout out to one of my former teammates for posting A live performance of Isaac Hayes singing the "Look of "Love".  It just reminded me of how much I enjoy his music. It also reminded me about one of the very few things I miss about going to the center for dialysis. And that is listening to my music. Since I do treatment at home, I watch TV with Brian or we talk or I sleep. But I'm not sitting in the chair with my headphones on, rocking to my tunes. Of course every now and I play some music at home. I have this Harmon Kardon speaker that I got when I got my Android phone last year. It looks like a small hubcap!!!  But it can kick out some music using Bluetooth. Wow!!  Brian had also got me new set of Bose headphones a few days before home hemo training started and must have used them  no more than 3-4 times. :-(

So. Did I tell you that Dad started walking the circuit around the condo complex a few weeks ago?  I am so proud of him. He noticed Brian would go out to walk or run. The next thing I knew, Dad said he went to the sporting goods store and purchased som athletic shoes. Said he wanted to walk. Next thing I know he's up early in the morning and walking. He started a small circuit, but is now walking the entire circle. He's satisfied with the distance for now. There are also other seniors that walk, but I think the motivation for all of us is the guy who uses the walker who walks every day!  No excuse for the rest of us!  Oh yeah, we got him a jogging suit for Christmas. He's been wearing it on these chilly mornings while walking. :-)

I'll start the process to get listed for a transplant at University Medical Center Hospital here. The waiting list is not as long. And sadly because of the high number of people riding motorcycles and mopeds without helmets kidneys become available. How morbid is that?  There is also an abnormally high number of pedestrian accidents here. The city really is not pedestrian friendly once you get off the strip.  

Went to see Star Wars yesterday. In IMAX 3D. OMG. Lol. You start ducking when stuff happens on screen!  Lol. And the trailers for upcoming movies. Wheeeee!!  Let's admit it. I'm an action and sci fi movie fan. Trailer for the new Star Trek movie excited me, as did the new Marvel movie with Captain America (and I will admit to thinking Chris Evans as Captain America is the ultimate eye candy). And the the trailer for Warcraft...based on an online game I played for years. Now that really excited me. The trailer immersed me in a game I was so familiar with.  I don't play anymore, but I still maintain my subscription.  You never know when the bug will hit. Although I've missed 2 expansions and have forgotten how to play!  I still have good friends who play and we are friends outside the game. 

Finally, I'm going to lose some weight. I'm telling you to keep me accountable. Dad and Brian are included, but we'll focus on me. Dad has gained 15 pounds since we came out here. And that's because for the time mom was sick he didn't eat...well?  Now that we're cooking and we've exposed him to new foods and restaurants, he goes overboard!  lol. Nothing like watching your 89  year old dad scarfing down 6 pieces of pizza!   Rofl.  And he's addicted to Brazilian Steakk houses.  We took him to Texas de Brazil in September 2014. He found Fogo de Chao, which is pretty close to where we live. He's been there about 5 times, taking assorted people and visitors out to dinner....and he's treating us with Shawn this Sunday!  He really likes that garlic sirloin. Lol. 

Treatment will be late tonight since we're hosting dinner.  Looking forward to the red beans and rice. Well have the cornbread, a chopped salad. And bought a pineapple upside down cake from our bakery!!  We've lamented the fact that we have to give up our newly found bakery once we start the weight loss program.  Sigh. Perhaps we can treat ourselves once a month?  

Well that's it for today.  I have more, but the entry is already long. We had a special visitor Wednesday and I'll talk about that later. Have a great day!  And I'm kinda sorry about MSU, for my MSU friends. We turned off the game after the umpteenth interception. Ugh.