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.