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!