Early Easter, Allergies, Etc.

Easter came a little early this year. At church, our Primary (kid's class) held an early Easter Egg hunt last Saturday. I wish we had a bigger crowd, but I think everyone had fun anyway. Charlie certainly did . . . he got popcorn (one of his favorite things) and a cupcake all before noon.

Every year, my mom buys all the grandkids new Sunday clothes for Easter. Since General Conference falls on Easter weekend, Charlie wore his Easter outfit last Sunday. I just LOVE this outfit.

I made sure I got Charlie a very manly easter basket. It's shaped like a football. But, Charlie decided it could also be used as a very Lady Gaga-esque accessory as well:

In other news, I had my allergy test last week. This is my third allergy test, so I knew what to expect. Lots of needles, lots of itching, lots of waiting. I had it done at my ENT's office and the allergy nurse was super nice. She actually stayed with me the entire time and we talked. Believe it or not, it was kind of relaxing! They had a huge soft chair to sit in, a TV, you name it. I guess my life is pretty sad if I consider 2 hours of getting pricked by needles a spa day. Anyway, I'm allergic to a lot of the same things: dust (BIG time), dogs, cats, feathers, over a dozen kinds of tree pollen . . . BUT I'm only allergic to two kinds of mold. And NEITHER of them grow on books. So, my whole theory about books and mold spores is crushed. Must have just been the dust that upset me! And, the test revealed that I'm not allergic to any grass. That is a huge development because I used to be allergic to every kind of grass. Literally. I would break out in hives if I touched too much of it. When I was a teenager, I had allergy shots for about 2 or 3 years. I had 2 a week. So, it was nice to see that those shots actually accomplished something! I was allergic to fewer molds, grasses (and believe it or not) and trees. I don't know if my ENT will have me get shots again, but I'm assuming so. I don't think he really knows why I keep having sinus issues. But, immunotherapy has worked on me before, so it's a good road to take. And I'm ready for it! The pollen is out and I'm MISERABLE. Sure, "allergy avoidance" is a nice theory . . . if you don't have a 2 year old boy. I can't in good conscience keep a boy indoors with such beautiful weather, even if it makes me feel bad. It just seems wrong. Not to mention he's become a total couch potato since he discovered the "Toy Story" movies . . . all he wants to do is watch movies all day!

So, in a few weeks I go back to the ENT to 1) see if I need to get allergy shots again, and 2) to have my thyroid levels tested. I've been on synthroid (a synthetic hormone that helps boost an underactive thyroid) for over a month now and things WERE looking better. About 2 weeks ago I could tell a difference in how I felt. I wasn't achy, I wasn't having chills and I was less tired and weak. But over the weekend, for whatever reason, I crashed. This whole week I've got aches, chills and I'm exhausted. Who knows? Well . . . I've got to be honest. I kind of "fudged" my diet last week. In a big way. It started with blueberry muffins early in the week (I can usually have one without butter . . . but I had several with!), then it led to 2 slices of Little Caesar's pizza (my favorite . . . darn you, LC's! How dare you open a store only 2 minutes away! Grrr . . . ) and ended with a big piece of yellow cake. I figured it was only fair to share my weaknesses after bragging about what I don't eat! I have to slip every few months to remind myself why I don't eat these things anymore! But this was a BIG slip. I don't know what I was thinking. It wasn't even in one day, but all these things have added up to major stomach issues! I wonder if my IBS acts up if that affects the thyroid. Hmmm . . . I've heard it can take up to a year to get these levels right. At my next appointment, I'll have my blood tested and then the doctor will see if I need a higher dosage of synthroid. I have been reading up on this condition and it's amazing . . . I realized that I've been having symptoms for a very long time. Last year, I started to have really weird skin issues (eczema) and horrible cramping. I wound up having to go to a dermatologist and getting a CT scan of my abdomen. Nothing really came of either of these things and it was frustrating. In the fall, my hair started to get really dry. I thought it must have been the weather or something, but my hair had never done that before. Come to find out, all these random weird things are all symptoms of an underactive thyroid! Who knew? Obviously not me or my doctors. I'm grateful this one thought to test me for it. I've been having a lot of health issues ever since I had Charlie . . . and it's a common thing for women with family thyroid issues to suddenly develop them after they give birth. Hmmm . . . not like I'll ever know if that was the case with me, but it gives me some comfort that all the problems I've been having are real and I haven't gone crazy (something I was honestly worried about!). Blah! It's just a frustrating experience. I can't help but feel guilty whenever health problems arise. When I look at the big picture, I know it's not my fault. But most of the time, I just think I must have done something wrong for my symptoms to flare up again. I feel guilty that I don't have as much energy to take care of Charlie or to write or to fufill my Church duties. Then I feel guilty because I think of all the people I know who have way worse conditions than I do. It's a whole lame guilt thing.

Which leads me to say, all of you probably already know this, but a really good thing happened the other week . . . my dad's PSA came back clean which means he is CANCER FREE! He'll have to have that checked every few months for forever, but at least for now, it's amazing news.

Sorry about all the boring health rants. Cheerier posts to come!

Tying the Knot

Well, technically, Paul and Linda had tied the knot a week before this reception but it was still very special. Paul is John's youngest brother . . . and the final brother to get married! I have a special place in my heart for Paul. I met him when he was only 14 (I was only 18, but still). When John and I lived in Fort O. for the first year we were married, we went to his family's house almost every Sunday for dinner. Somehow, it evolved that Paul and I were assigned to make dessert. We always had so much fun insulting each other's culinary skills. He really feels like my little brother, not just my brother-in-law . . . we just have way too much fun dissing each other.

The reception was held in "The Valley," the ward John grew up in and the ward we attended for the first year we were married. It was a lot of fun to see people I haven't seen in awhile . . . any visit to the Valley involves lots and lots of hugging. I love those people! Laura and Hilda did the decorations . . . aren't they amazing?! I told Laura she should go professional and write a book or something. I mean, I hate HATE (no offense Linda, I'm just weird!) the color purple and all I could think was how pretty everything looked. That's quite an accomplishment in itself! Sarah's (Matt's wife) parents catered and HOLY COW . . . that was the best spread I'd ever seen or had at a reception. It was so good.

My mom made the groom's cake as her gift and it was pretty darn beautiful (as all her cakes are) and delicious. For the small amount of people that came, a lot of cake was gone! Poor Paul only got a bite (they cut the groom's cake since it was his hometown) but I made sure he left with a cinderblock-sized piece . . . gotta get him working on those "husband handles" . . . heh, heh.

Charlie had a great time. Several people told me he was "the best dressed man" there. Sorry, Paul. He was very skittish at the beginning but then he warmed up and went wild. Mr. Turner (photographer/family friend) took a liking to him and followed him around. Charlie would pose and dance for him (it's sounds creepier than it actually was!). He even encouraged Charlie to touch the cake as if he was stealing a lick of frosting! For anyone who gets those pictures, let me know so I can see how those came out! Charlie had the best time playing with his nephews. As with any Flynn function, it ended with a tangle of boys on the floor. Charlie loves playing with his boy cousins since he doesn't have any siblings. Guess that means one thing . . . it's time we find Charlie a new home where there are lots of boys to play with. Any takers?

But I think Charlie's favorite part of the night was Linda. I think he's in love. He kept talking about her all night! When I told him we had to leave, he says, "Say 'bye' to Linda?" As we drove home, he kept asking, "Where's Linda?" Hmmm . . . I wonder what he sees in her . . . (wink, wink) It may have had to do with all those big kisses she gave him . . .

John took Paul and Linda's engagement and wedding photos and they honestly are some of the best pictures he's ever taken (portrait-wise). Once John gets his website where he wants it, you'll have to go visit and check it out. The slideshow he made for the reception was really beautiful. Ah, what a talented man!

Congratulations Linda and Paul! We love you!

Brian, Matthew, Scott, Paul, John's Dad and John.

Paul and the nephews.

Cutting the cake.

John's mom and dad, "We're finally done!"

Keeping Busy

. . . . or just trying to look it.

Here are a couple of purses I made a month or two ago. Both of these came out really, really nice, especially on the inside. Now I'm a little embarrassed at some of the first ones I made!

This "Bluebirds Seven" purse is for Donna Blackburn and I have yet to deliver it to her! ANYWAY, I know yellow and blue are her favorite colors so I think she'll really like this purse . . . when I get it to her!

This purse is for Donna's niece, Elizabeth Webb. For those of you who don't know her, she's the best! She's Charlie's Nursery teacher and probably his favorite person in the world. She's at UTC studying French and Portuguese. Yeah, she's kind of brilliant. So, I thought this French book would be perfect for her. I lined it with toile because you can't get more French than toile. And by the way, both of these purses are lined with toile because my mom is kind enough to let me raid her huge fabric stash . . . and toile is like crack to her. I'm not kidding. She has it in every color. ANYWAY . . . I didn't want the purse to look too old-fashioned so I added those clear handles to make it a little modern. I love this purse!

And now it's time for a failed experiment. I've decided I want to try to sell my book purses. Once I've made a few, I'll start an etsy page. In my crazed mind, I thought I should make other things out of books . . . like wallets. Last week I attempted my first wallet.

It literally took me DAYS to figure this out. Pathetic, no? And when I finally finished it, it did not look sellable at all. It's all wonky and not straight . . . and not cute. In fact, soon after I finished it, it started to fall apart. I'm just not meant to sew! The purses require no sewing . . . just lots of ironing and glueing. I should stick to that. Not to mention, you can charge much more for a purse than a wallet . . . and I seriously could have made 2 to 3 purses in the time it took me to make that dang wallet.

And, something totally random. My brother-in-law Paul got married last week and I was too sick to go. So, I made him and Linda a "wish I was there" card. Obviously, the "f" is for "Flynn" and I used the purple and green because those were their colors . . . I think. I had heard olive and plum, but who knows? I think people need to send Pantone swatches of their colors along with their invitations so I can make them cards with the right colors. Yep, everyone should go to that trouble just for my benefit! And the fleur de lis . . . I used because I like them. Kind of random. It does not look like a wedding card, but I think it's nice anyway.

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise (1 out of 3 ain't bad)

Okay, I'm probably not wise either. I'll tell you why.

I've always been extremely allergic to dust and mold. In the fall, I was outside while John raked leaves for maybe 45 mintues. I'm allergic to leaf mold, so I wore a mask. 2 days later I was in the doctor's office with a sinus infection. Pretty crazy.

So you'd think when I started making purses out of old books something would've clicked. Old. Books. Allergic to mold and dust. Sinusitis that won't clear up. Those facts finally clicks a couple of weeks ago. Hmmmm, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to rip apart books that were older than I was . . . some older than my dad. One almost as old as my grandmother. They could have, I don't know, DUST in them? Mold spores, maybe? Uh, yeah. I'm an idiot.

To make a long story short, here's the rundown on what's going on.

1. Antibiotics helped a little. I still have a permanent sinus headache that comes in part from grinding my teeth which has made my jaw swollen (ENT says I have "TMJ" - whatever that means). I grind my teeth at night because my sinuses are flared up. I have sinus pressure because I've been sick for so long and not everything drains the right way because I have a deviated septum. It's a vicious cycle, my friends.

My ENT says nothing is really to the point of surgery (sinus OR oral, although he said there's a better chance of them working on my jaw than my sinuses) yet. We're now going to focus on my allergies. I'm having an allergy test (my third one!) in a week and a half. I will probably have to do allergy shots (again) and perscriptions, etc. As annoying as that is, I'm grateful. I think it's great we're doing this now as spring (and pollen!) is approaching. Maybe I'll actually get to enjoy spring this year instead of being inside and miserable. I hope it helps. In the meantime, I got a new, smaller mouthguard for my teeth. I'll admit, I've been using athletic guards at night for years (they're so cheap!) because I thought it was all the same. They aren't. They make my bite way bigger and I think that could cause the "TMJ" (is that even a real thing? LOL.)

2. THE BIG ONE. My ENT tested my blood for my thyroid levels because I had been feeling so fatigued. I kind of rolled my eyes thinking it was pointless. I felt like I had the flu and thought it had nothing to do with my thyroid. Weeks went by and I totally forgot about that test. Last week I got a voicemail from the ENT saying my TSH was low. Wha? (I have to mention the nurse's tone of voice . . . she had this tone of fake concern that I KNEW something was wrong. They should really have classes on how to leave voicemails in nursing school . . . if they don't already.) She said they'd already called in some synthroid for me to take. WHA?! It felt like a total slap in the face. It came from NOWHERE. I wasn't expecting that at all. I was very upset about it that day because I know so many people who struggle with thyroid issues and it is NOT fun (not to mention I'd heard that medication can make you gain tons of weight--NO WAY! Not after all the weight I've lost . . . twice!). I'm just so sick of all these random little health problems getting in the way of my life. I hate missing out on things (like my bro-in-law's wedding yesterday--I'm still bummed about that one) and not being reliable because of these dumb problems.

So far, I've been on the synthroid for only a week. I've heard it can take months to work. I'm trying to be positive. It is nice to finally know there is a reason why I've been exhausted, achy and having chills. I read some other symptoms of an underactive thyroid and it totally fits the bill. It's kind of ironic how I've been praying for answers and when I finally get one, I don't want it! I'm just trying to be patient and hopefully the thyroid medication will kick in soon. It's so hard to feel so tired and not get any relief. It's really hard to stay positive when I just want to crash all the time. But I've talked to lots of my hypothyroid peeps and they all had positive things to say about the medication, etc. Right now it doesn't look too serious so I'll just keep doing the best I can . . . even though right now my best sort of sucks.

By the way, 1 out of 12 woman have an underactive thyroid. If you're feeling "flu-ey" and it doesn't go away, go get your blood tested.

Thus endeth the whining.

Baked Goodness

I hate it that I haven't updated in awhile. I've had a lot going on and nothing going on at the same time. I guess I mean I've had a lot of health stuff going on but nothing cute and fun to blog about. I'll go into all the health stuff after my appointment this coming Wednesday.

So, as I don't have much I can or want to share, I'll just throw some recipes out there. Even though I can't eat a lot of things anymore, I love cooking and especially baking. Whenever a magazine comes in the mail (my mom seriously has dozens of home mags she subscribes to), I always flip straight to the recipes.

Here is a recipe for homemade granola. I'm especially proud of this one because I created it myself! I tinkered with an old recipe of my mom's and I really think it's the best granola ever. I make it for John just about every week. My little brother's birthday was a few weeks ago and the one thing he said he wanted was my granola. Nice, eh? (I also got him a Ghostbusters tee . . . we're so crazy!) He eats it with fruit and yogurt.

The secret to this recipe is there's no corn syrup (which makes it sticky--yuck!) or white sugar . . . the sweetness comes from honey and brown sugar. Brown sugar has way more flavor and goes farther than the white stuff. (The best chocolate chip cookie recipes have more brown sugar than white, BTW.) The granola comes out crunchy, not sticky, even here with all the humidity. But I will warn you, this granola is RICH. John only eats a teacup sized portion with some milk in the morning. If it's too rich for you, you can mix it with Rice Krispies or Special K to lighten it up. But I promise you, you won't want storebought granola ever again after you try this!

 

Autumn’s Granola

4 cups old-fashioned oats
½ cup flaked coconut
½ cup wheat germ
¾ cup chopped pecans*
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3-1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

Grease a cookie sheet and preheat oven to 250 degrees. Dump oats, coconut, wheat germ, pecans and brown sugar into pan and mix with hands. In a measuring cup, combine oil, honey and vanilla. Drizzle wet ingredients over the oat mixture in the pan. Combine with hands (yep, it’s messy, but thorough) until the granola is evenly coated. If the oats still look dry (they will be light in color if not thoroughly soaked), spray them with Pam until the mixture looks evenly coated.

Slide the pan into the oven (make sure it’s in the middle of the oven or higher so it doesn’t burn) and cook for one hour, stirring once every 15 minutes (set the timer every 15 minutes or it’ll burn!). Once cooked, spread warm granola on wax paper or foil to cool. Make sure to scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the tasty scraps!

*You can substitute walnuts for pecans, or use a combo of the two (very good!). If you want to use almonds, I would use slivered (NOT sliced, those are too thin) almonds and I would not add them until the last 15 minutes of baking. Almonds are not as oily as walnuts or pecans so they burn much faster . . . So keep an eye out! If you’d like to have a special treat, I bet macadamia nuts would taste good too . . . But I would toast those separately and add them AFTER the granola is baked. Macadamia nuts burn even faster than almonds.

 

While I didn't make this next recipe up, it is a "specialty" of mine. Snickerdoodles! I made them for our Primary kids at church and two-thirds of them had never heard--much less eaten--snickerdoodles. What poor, deprived children! If you too are poor and deprived of snickerdoodles, you gotta make these. They are sugar cookies rolled in cinnamon sugar . . . only they have a better texture than plain sugar cookies. They are crispy on the outside and tender and biscuit-y on the inside. Mmmmm . . . I haven't made snickerdoodles for the Primary in over a year and those kids still ask me constantly for them. Just this week one of my old Savannah buds asked me for the recipe, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. This recipe comes from the classic Better Homes and Gardens cookbook . . . not the new one. The new recipe is not as good. Stick to this one . . . it's a crowd pleaser! Sometime I'd like to experiment and mix some real vanilla bean in and make Snickerdoodles with vanilla cinnamon sugar . . . ooohhhh . . .

Snickerdoodles

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 cup of butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
3 tbl. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (I actually triple the sugar and cinnamon mixture to 9 tbl. sugar and 3 tsp. cinnamon . . . that way I don't run out)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix 3 tbl. of sugar and 1 tbl. of cinnamon. Set aside. Next, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla, milk, and eggs and beat well. Add baking soda, cream of tartar, and flour until the dough is well combined and formed.

Make one inch balls with a cookie scoop or spoon. Roll each ball in the mixture of cinnamon sugar.

Place cookies on a parchment paper (or greased) cookie sheet and slightly flatten each ball with the palm of your hand. Bake for 8-10 minutes until light golden.

 

Happy Baking!

Happy V Day!

 

We've had a really good Valentine's week. Last week John surprised me with tickets to see "Cabaret" at the Tivoli Tuesday. I had no idea that show was even coming here so I was a complete surprise. I LOVE musicals and one of my favorite (and in my opinion, one of the best) movie musicals is "Cabaret." The movie version and the stage version are very different so I was really excited to go. I absolutely LOVE going to shows like this. It's such a nice break from just going to the movies. I love getting out and dressing up. John never fails to give me the perfect presents . . . and thus making my gifts to him crap.

In return, I offered to make him a huge breakfast Saturday, since he was traveling to Nashville to take pictures at a wedding. I made him biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon and grits. Can you get any more Southern than that? I was really nervous to make all that at once but miraculously, I managed to serve everything hot at once. Although, I must confess . . . the biscuits were frozen, the gravy was a mix and the grits were instant. Not as impressive anymore, eh? Well, he enjoyed it and he deserved it . . . especially after sitting through "Cabaret" with me. I should've warned him at one point a guy dances in drag . . . lingerie drag. John literally uttered, "UGH!" It's a good thing he didn't go see "The Rocky Horror Show" SCAD put on while we were down there! (My friend Rochelle and I went to see it twice!) I don't think he would've ever recovered.

 

On Friday, Charlie and I made sugar cookies together. I don't know what's gotten into me this year but I just felt like making heart cookies. I mainly made them as a snack John could take to Nashville. I used to love sugar cookies but since I don't eat a lot of desserts anymore, I think my tastes have changed. I had one little heart cookie and had to run and go brush my teeth. It was too stinking sweet! I thought I would never hear myself say that . . . It was a nice little project anyway. I swear, I was rolling out dough, then it started snowing! I felt like I was in a Pillsbury cookie commercial or something. When did I turn into such a cornball?

To add to the corniness, I watched two rom-coms this weekend. I know! What's got into me?! I usually avoid "chick flicks" like the plague. Most of them these days are just idiotic. There are a few I like and watch over and over, but for the most part I avoid them. But these two movies I checked out from the library had good reviews, so I thought I'd try them: "Definitely Maybe" and "Last Chance Harvey." I had avoided "Definitely Maybe" because I think Ryan Reynolds is annoying. But I was pleasantly surprised . . . he was really good in the movie. It was a different sort of rom-com. It actually held my interest and wasn't as predictable (although, the last 45 minutes, you pretty much know exactly what's going to happen) as those other movies are. The acting was really excellent in that one. "Last Chance Harvey" didn't have as much of a plot. It was a lot of talking but I found that I got a bigger romantic payoff than I did with "Definitely Maybe." I don't know, I have a weakness for Emma Thompson. She's just amazing . . . as is Dustin Hoffman. They made a pretty simple movie really fun and interesting to watch because they're such pros. Another miracle . . . I watched 2 romantic comedies in one weekend and they were both pretty good!

 

Rollin'!

 

John sharing his bounty . . . what a good dad. :)

New Look and Diagnosis-sis-sees-sis (whatever the plural is for "diagnosis")

I finally got around to updating the look of the blog! It's such a pain but I'm happy with it now. Sorry there are no pictures for this post . . . feeling kinda lazy.

My dad is doing really well after his prostate surgery. He got good news this week that he probably won't have to have any radiation. There is still a chance he may have to in a few weeks but overall, things went really well and he is doing much better. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes!

As for me and my marathon sinus infection, I finally got to see an ENT. Can someone please explain to me why it takes so much time to get an appointment for a specialist? Obviously, if you have to see a specialist, it's serious. So why is the soonest appointment I could get two weeks away from when I needed it? ANYWAY . . .

Dr. Fowler (my ENT) examined my nose and was surprised to find something. I wish I could tell you what it was but he had an outburst of medical jargon. So, apparently something was wrong with the inside of my nose. He showed me my CT scan and pointed out some abnormalities in my sinus. There were a couple of areas that could be cysts but nothing major. He said the abnormalties could be causing the infection but he didn't want to jump into surgery just yet. So he put me on a month of antibiotics to try to kill it. He's also made me do a blood test to check my thyroid because of the extreme fatigue I've had. My dad has Graves' Disease so it would make sense that I could be having thyroid trouble . . . only, my dad has hyperthryroidism, meaning, he CAN'T sleep because he's so jumpy.

All in all, it felt good to finally have a little more information. Mostly I feel Dr. Fowler just played it safe, which is good. He was ruling out other possibilities before we get really serious. I know it's a good thing but at the same time, part of me just wants it all over with. True, $10 of antibiotics beats the price of surgery but I'm sick of being sick. I've felt like I've had the flu for over two months now and it's getting really old. I mean, I took 2 weeks of steroids and that didn't even get rid of it. I doubt some antibiotics will. So right now it's just about playing the waiting game and being patient. At least I'm doing something that may help, unlike the 2 week waiting game just trying to get in with the ENT. I guess all I can do is make the best of it and try to find out what I'm supposed to learn from this. I know patience is the biggie but it also has taught me to be grateful for what I have (or had). I'll get back to you when I figure out the rest of it!