MIA

I've been very busy working on some craft orders and while I'm still not done, thought I'd take a little break and catch up on this 'personal journal'.

For the last month or so I've been experiencing spasms of some sort on the right side underneath my breast bone and to the right. I'm not in any pain, but they can be bothersome and tend to 'spasm' when I'm sitting. Only once did it happen while I was lying down. One more thing to add to my list of questions to ask my doctor when I see her next.

About 10 years ago I had to have an endoscopy done because food kept getting stuck in my esophagus. I have GERD / Hiatal Hernia / Acid Reflux and developed some scar tissue in my esophagus and the passage was narrowing causing food to get 'stuck'. A balloon was inserted to widen the passage and for all those years I had no problems, now it's starting back up again. Food will get stuck not in my throat, but further down, in the middle of my chest. At first it's very uncomfortable, but after a few minutes it hurts like hell. Drinking water does not help it go down, as the water just sits on top, there is no where for it to go. Sometimes the food will work it's way down on it's own, but it's quite painful. A few nights ago I was hungry and took out a small piece of leftover chicken to eat. Tom was already in bed. After the 3rd bite that piece got stuck and it wasn't going anywhere. I was about ready to wake Tom up to give my the Heimlich maneuver ( he's had to do this 3 times in the past) when my mouth began to fill with saliva - a sure sign I was going to throw up. I ran to the bathroom and that's exactly what happened and the chicken came up. So here's yet one more thing to add to my list for the doctor. I knew that there was a chance the passageway would narrow again eventually.

Last week, my 2 year old grandaughter got into her mom's purse and found a tube of BenGay, which is a menthol pain relieving cream that my daughter was using for back pain. When applied, it produces 'heat' to relieve the pain.
To make a long story short, she ingested some and rubbed some on her face and got it in her eyes. She began screaming in pain and mom came running to find her thrashing on the floor. Deana thought Ayden was having a seizure. She immediately opened Ayden's mouth to hold down her tongue and that's when mom noticed the menthol smell, and that's how she knew Ayden had ingested some. The entire area around the baby's eyes was beet red like a 'mask' and she couldn't open her eyes more than a slit. Deana pried them open and saw white cream. At first she thought Ayden had gotten into toothpaste. She checked that but the lid was on securely. Then she spotted her purse on the baby's floor, with the contents spilled. The tube of Bengay was opened and some was on the carpet. She immediately called Poison Control who advised her to call 911. They weren't concerned about the cream she ingested, only her eyes. I supposed the Bengay 'could' burn the retina or cornea and there could be some damage if not treated immediately. The ambulance came right away and the medics flushed out Ayden's eyes with a saline solution. When they were finished they said there was no need to take her on to the hospital, that all they would have done was the same thing they had just done. Thank God, Ayden is fine.
I can only imagine the pain that poor baby was suffering.

Today will be spent doing some housework and more crafting. Tomorrow Deana and the kids and I will be driving to Meadville to visit my brother and his wife for the day. It's about an hour and a half drive and the kids love these day trips. They wanted to know if we'd be staying at a motel for the night, lol.

Day 7: Six Week Body Makeover Plan

We had never been to the Spaghetti Warehouse before, but our daughters have been. We loved it! The restaurant is in an old warehouse down in the Strip District and it's awesome. They have a ton of very old advertising signs on the walls in every room and Tom was impressed. He collects many of this type of sign and said they were all originals.


Tom had a pasta with shrimp and said it was very good. I ordered lasagna and it was fabulous!! Either soup or salad came with your meal, and since I'd been eating so many salads this past week, I opted for wedding soup. It was very good.

I did have a very small piece of their homemade bread roll. I couldn't resist, and when Tom offered me a second slice, I declined. I did want it, mind you, lol I won't lie. I wasn't able to finish my lasagna. It wasn't a huge piece, but maybe my stomach is starting to shrink? Let's hope so. I'm glad Tom and I were so busy talking with his sister Caren and our son-in-law's mom Bev because we didn't hear the waiter ask if we wanted any dessert. Even though I was full, I might have been tempted to order some taramisu to bring home.


Got right back on that horse this morning though with my oatmeal and couldn't do the egg whites again so had my 2 oz. of imitation crab. I really like that stuff, hope I dont' get tired of it too quickly.

For my mid morning snack, I'm having turkey and strawberries.

I wasn't very hungry at lunchtime, but I managed to get down my potato, salad and crab meat. I also had my mid afternoon snack of turkey and strawberries. When it was time for dinner, I just couldn't do it. I was not hungry at all. For me, it's very hard to eat when I'm not hungry. How can people eat out of 'boredom' just to eat because they have nothing better to do? I know a few people like that. I just don't get it.

I went grocery shopping around 7:30 and even the foods in the store didn't appeal to me. Although I will admit that I'm getting tired of chicken and turkey just like I did with tuna. This plan is supposed to be a customized plan, so I'm customizing it to suit me on ocassion. I bought steaks for Tom, Nicki and her boyfriend Bob.
Nicki or Tom won't mind if I take a 2 oz. piece from theirs. I figure, if I can get through breakfast all the way through mid afternoon snack I might as well award myself now and then.

Mrs. Hyde was a bad girl tonight. While I was putting away groceries, since we hadn't eaten dinner, she finished off the lasagna from yesterday's doggie bag. Luckily there was only about 3-4 bites left so hopefully she didn't screw us up for our weigh-in tomorrow morning.


I want to add that before I started this new eating plan, I had to take Prilosec every day for my GERD. If I missed a pill, I'd suffer during the night and would have to take a couple Rolaids. Since I've been on this eating plan, my GERD has not acted up once. I got brave and stopped taking the pill five days ago, and so far so good. No reflux at all.