In anticipation of tomorrow's big event, I am on a restricted diet. This morning I am allowed a last meal of eggs, toast, bananas, applesauce, etc. Then I am on a clear liquid diet until sometime tomorrow afternoon. This includes jello, boullion, consommé, black coffee or tea, clear juice with no pulp, Italian ices, and carbonated beverages. I like how they stuck carbonated beverages in there - I can suck down a Coke all day long and get over caffeinated but not eat anything. I have stocked up on my supplies. I have boullion, seltzer water, tea, apple juice, orange juice with no pulp, and my great culinary feat - orange and peach jello. I have two separate containers of jello ready for me. (Damn, I forgot to buy Italian ices... another potential trip to the grocery store!)
I really don't like jello much but was quite gratified to see that it did actually solidify correctly. It is quite complicated to make. You need to boil water (and you know how well I did on boiling an egg recently), stir in the powder for two minutes and then add cold water. Then you need to wait four hours to make sure it is set. This is my culinary feat of the week.
In addition, I had to make up my pitcher of evil goo. A part of the prep, I had to buy a 328 gram bottle of Miralax. Now the bottle says to use it a capful at a time. But no, my instructions are to take the entire bottle of Miralax and mix it with 2 qts water and some Crystal Light for flavoring. Then I get to drink this entire pitcher of evil goo in a two hour period this evening. (No I am not going out tonight.) I was given inside information to mix it up in the morning as it tastes better cold so it is sitting in the refrigerator chilling away.
One friend said all this preparation might be a good way to lose some weight. I am not sure I agree too much with that as I think I will probably gain what ever I lose right back. However I have taken a baseline weight and written it down. (No I am not telling!) I will let you know how much I lose.
I am waiting eagerly for my phone call as to the exact time of tomorrow's big adventure. They don't tell you until the day before. I am not sure the need for secrecy - perhaps it is to make sure people have been following the no seeds-nuts-corn diet and are ready to drink their evil goo and don't have the flu. Hmmm... Maybe I could ask and find out why they don't schedule until the day before. They have told me that I probably won't be until late tomorrow afternoon. (Gee, I can't wait!)
This morning I am off to meet up to discuss some work and then for a walk. Then I plan on watching a Netflix prior to going to crisping. My idea is to stay busy so I don't think about food and what I can't eat. After crisping (#21), I begin my evil goo consumption. What fun!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Things that are over analyzed
There was an primary yesterday in case anyone missed it. 23 states voted for president and several other local races. Its over. We all went and voted. Now the political campaign ads have stopped but the non-stop media coverage and analysis of who voted, why they voted, and where they voted begins. This shall slowly taper off but we will continually hear about what happened on Super Tuesday and how it impacted the race until the general elections. In case we wanted to forget about it, that's okay, the media will make sure our tiny brains don't.
In addition, two days ago there was a football game. We have almost forgotten about that. Not quite. There is still some news about it but the season is over. But the media is also here to remind us that basketball and hockey are now the big news but only until February 14 which is when the first baseball players report to spring training. Coincidentally into this gap between football and baseball, comes news of basketball trades. I have barely heard of basketball this year. There's a hockey team around some place as well that has been overlooked. Probably because of the election and football which the media has been shoving into our faces.
Also, in case anyone wanted to forget, 30 years ago today was a little bitty snowstorm they call the Blizzard (with a capital B) of 1978. The media wants to know where you were during the storm (sitting inside waiting for it to stop and then shoveling a lot), how did we survive (cross country skied three miles to get milk and bread at one point), and do we have any pictures to share (no, no one has pictures because we didn't have digital cameras and cell phones to take pictures to email in). It was a very intense storm. I was a teenager and remember lots of shoveling - I was young enough to enjoy a week off school but old enough to have to do lots of shoveling. But you know what? We have had many big storms since and will probably have many more. What made that one so special I think was that hundreds of cars were abandoned on highways and it took days to clear everything away. Roads were closed for six days in metropolitan Boston. However all of us had forgotten about it until the media brought it up again.
These days the media has a habit of grabbing onto something and distorting it and blowing it out of proportion - well maybe that isn't new - but it is most annoying when they do this with medical breakthroughs and make us all think there is a miracle cure and we are saved. I have learned in the past 8 months (has it really been that long? Yes, it has) that the best thing to do with the announcements in the media about new breakthroughs are to ignore them. Any new medical advance has to be tested and go through clinical trials and been approved by the FDA before it gets wide spread use and acceptance by doctors.
While I was in the middle of chemotherapy last fall, an announcement was made that a new analysis of old date incorporating hormone receptor status into previous clinical trials showed that the drugs I was getting were not effective for someone with my hormone receptor status. How did that make me feel? I was making myself sick for a drug that wasn't going to do any good? Not exactly. A clinical trial was done in the late 1990's. They now could take into account hormone receptor status and blah, blah, blah... You get what I mean. Was this announcement going to make any doctor change the treatment a patient was getting immediately? No. Was this announcement make thousands of cancer patients stress out and lose faith in their doctors and treatments? Yes. Who should we believe? The people who went to medical school and made a career out of treating patients and learning about treatment advances? Or the people that have lots of air time to fill and will grab at anything to fill their needed slots? Hmmm... I vote for listening to the doctors.
In the case of politics, why can't we just wait and see who wins instead of spending months over analyzing something that is in the past and can't be changed? I have nothing against the media and think that we can't afford not to keep up with what is going on in the world around us. I just wish they would keep us updated on what is new and not what is not-so-new.
That was my daily rant. Today I am tired. I think I stayed up too late. This morning I am going to the gym, then work, and then crisping, #20. Yesterday I also went to the gym, work, crisping and my support group. I am boring. The media would have nothing to write about my life!
In addition, two days ago there was a football game. We have almost forgotten about that. Not quite. There is still some news about it but the season is over. But the media is also here to remind us that basketball and hockey are now the big news but only until February 14 which is when the first baseball players report to spring training. Coincidentally into this gap between football and baseball, comes news of basketball trades. I have barely heard of basketball this year. There's a hockey team around some place as well that has been overlooked. Probably because of the election and football which the media has been shoving into our faces.
Also, in case anyone wanted to forget, 30 years ago today was a little bitty snowstorm they call the Blizzard (with a capital B) of 1978. The media wants to know where you were during the storm (sitting inside waiting for it to stop and then shoveling a lot), how did we survive (cross country skied three miles to get milk and bread at one point), and do we have any pictures to share (no, no one has pictures because we didn't have digital cameras and cell phones to take pictures to email in). It was a very intense storm. I was a teenager and remember lots of shoveling - I was young enough to enjoy a week off school but old enough to have to do lots of shoveling. But you know what? We have had many big storms since and will probably have many more. What made that one so special I think was that hundreds of cars were abandoned on highways and it took days to clear everything away. Roads were closed for six days in metropolitan Boston. However all of us had forgotten about it until the media brought it up again.
These days the media has a habit of grabbing onto something and distorting it and blowing it out of proportion - well maybe that isn't new - but it is most annoying when they do this with medical breakthroughs and make us all think there is a miracle cure and we are saved. I have learned in the past 8 months (has it really been that long? Yes, it has) that the best thing to do with the announcements in the media about new breakthroughs are to ignore them. Any new medical advance has to be tested and go through clinical trials and been approved by the FDA before it gets wide spread use and acceptance by doctors.
While I was in the middle of chemotherapy last fall, an announcement was made that a new analysis of old date incorporating hormone receptor status into previous clinical trials showed that the drugs I was getting were not effective for someone with my hormone receptor status. How did that make me feel? I was making myself sick for a drug that wasn't going to do any good? Not exactly. A clinical trial was done in the late 1990's. They now could take into account hormone receptor status and blah, blah, blah... You get what I mean. Was this announcement going to make any doctor change the treatment a patient was getting immediately? No. Was this announcement make thousands of cancer patients stress out and lose faith in their doctors and treatments? Yes. Who should we believe? The people who went to medical school and made a career out of treating patients and learning about treatment advances? Or the people that have lots of air time to fill and will grab at anything to fill their needed slots? Hmmm... I vote for listening to the doctors.
In the case of politics, why can't we just wait and see who wins instead of spending months over analyzing something that is in the past and can't be changed? I have nothing against the media and think that we can't afford not to keep up with what is going on in the world around us. I just wish they would keep us updated on what is new and not what is not-so-new.
That was my daily rant. Today I am tired. I think I stayed up too late. This morning I am going to the gym, then work, and then crisping, #20. Yesterday I also went to the gym, work, crisping and my support group. I am boring. The media would have nothing to write about my life!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
How not to boil an egg
I know there are several different camps on hard boiling eggs. Some people put the eggs in the water and bring it to a boil and let it simmer, some just let it boil for a while, some bring the water to a boil and then put in the eggs, and some people even pierce the end of the egg to prevent it from cracking while cooking. I put eggs in the water, bring it to a boil, and turn it down to simmer for about 15-20 minutes and they usually come out just fine.
However, yesterday I decided to make egg salad for a sandwich for lunch today (because it has no seeds, nuts, or corn in it - this is harder than you think). I put the eggs in the pan and brought it to a boil and turned it down to simmer. I looked at the clock and said to myself come back at 6 pm and they will be done. Then I went upstairs to my computer where the evil, time sucking internet lives and got totally side tracked. At 635, I said its time to start dinner. I went down stairs and there the eggs were still simmering! This was 55 minutes later. (I am claiming chemo brain here, it may be better but I clearly still have it.) I quickly cooled them off and sliced them. If you over cook eggs, you usually get a dark ring around the yolk and the whites get a little rubbery. These did seem okay and I plan on having egg salad for lunch (but if for some reason I have 'digestive issues' later today, we will know why). Moral of the story: never ask for my help in boiling eggs.
Today is primary day or Super Tuesday if you may. I will also call it 'the last day of all the nonstop annoying political campaign ads for a while'. That is why there is a mute button on the remote control. For some reason, we have not received ANY political phone calls requesting our vote. I am rather surprised at this because even though we are on the do not call list, I thought political campaigns were exempt from this. Also, we have two different party members living here so we do cancel each other out sometimes but at least we vote.
Yesterday was crisping number 18 which I can consider to be half way. I am getting 33, 34, or 35 treatments and 18 is clearly more than half way finally - no matter who's math you use. I met with the nurse yesterday and she said my skin is holding up very well but that the actually burning from a treatment doesn't really show for 5-7 days after the treatment and when they start the boost, meaning it is focused on where the tumor was, the treatment is tougher on the skin as it is not as deep so I should expect a burn there. I am sure that will be minor (HA!) as it is right on a surgical scar as well (OUCH!). Well I may be crispy but at least I am finally more than halfway. I will probably find out the exact number sometime next week.
Yesterday's job interview went well - I even sent my thank you notes - but I won't know any more for a couple of weeks. It would be a 10 minute commute and they seem like nice normal people. This morning I am waiting for the rain to stop so I can go for a walk, vote, and pick up a prescription before going to work and then my support group. I also need to go buy milk, eggs, bananas and some lunch meat. I was at the grocery store on Sunday but again my chemo brain struck and prevented me from putting these items on my list... I think I go to the store about three times a week because I always forget something. Maybe if I could remember long enough to write things down, I could reduce the number of trips.
Monday, February 4, 2008
There was a football game yesterday
Yes, I even watched the first three quarters of it. You must understand when I watch the Superbowl, I watch it for the ads and not the game. (I don't really understand football, never have, never will. Numerous people have tried to explain it to me and I don't get it. That's okay. I am happy that way. I don't need to understand football to be a well rounded person.) I read a book during the game and then pay attention during the ads. I was not too impressed with any of the ads. Some of them made me smile, some of them were just plain stupid, and there were a bunch at the end I said "I don't get it". I did like the about the Budweiser Clydesdale who practices to make the team for the following year - that was cute - but I am not sure how it relates to selling more beer. I am trying to figure out how they got the Ford truck on the centrifuge... That was interesting.
I also watched the halftime show. I thought Tom Petty is starting to, shall we say, show his age. He still sounds great. Just like the album I got in the late 1970's when he first came out. I still have it around here on vinyl some place (not that I have an LP player anymore but I still have my vinyl collection). We were trying to figure out what you have to do to get to be one of the fans on the field in front of the stage. That would be really cool! I think they were U of Phoenix college students as they all looked young and energetic. By the way, the stadium where the game was played I think was bigger than my entire college campus. Where I went there were 210 students in my graduating class. The stadium sat 100,000! It was huge!
Now the most important part of the Superbowl is the right selection of food. We are in diet mode so we weren't too bad. We had pretzels and dip - homemade with garlic, onion, parsley, etc. Then we had our pre-dinner salads. The main dish was home made pizza - with onions, mushrooms, prosciutto, black and green olives, and roasted red peppers. Walter 'helped' me assemble the pizza. (I am a true believer that 'too many cooks spoil the broth' but his help was quite appreciated as he cut up all the vegetable for the salad.) The first question: Do you stretch out the pizza dough or roll it out. I usually stretch it out. Someone had to roll it out. My home made pizza is NEVER round. I make a big rectangular pizza that fits on a cookie sheet. If we needed round pizza, it would take forever to get in the right shape. I can make a thinner crust if I just cover the entire cookie sheet. I have a round pizza stone somewhere but it always seems to be the wrong shape.
Next question: is it crust-sauce-cheese-toppings or is it crust-sauce-toppings-cheese, or is it crust-sauce-cheese-toppings-cheese? I kind of prefer the cheese on top of the toppings. We had some dissension and ended up with the cheese-toppings-cheese variety. Also, should you use oregano and pizza seasoning or just pizza seasoning? What is the role of garlic on pizza? Are capers considered a topping? (The answer to that is only when Walter is out of the room.) Irregardless of our pizza assembly issues, it was quite yummy. Walter had the left overs for breakfast. (I had an orange and a banana - who's healthier today?)
In addition to all the Superbowl related food issues yesterday, a friend came over and we went for a long walk. Then to the farm stand and the grocery store. You know you need to put gas in your car when the gas gauge doesn't move until you have been driving for a bit and then the gas light comes on... (I didn't run out but was definitely scraping bottom.) I was exhausted by the time I got home which is why I didn't make it through the Superbowl. Perhaps next year I will stay awake for it...
Today, I have a job interview this morning, then work, and then crisping. I am not sure I will get out for a walk today. I don't think I have time. I will fit it in tomorrow.
I also watched the halftime show. I thought Tom Petty is starting to, shall we say, show his age. He still sounds great. Just like the album I got in the late 1970's when he first came out. I still have it around here on vinyl some place (not that I have an LP player anymore but I still have my vinyl collection). We were trying to figure out what you have to do to get to be one of the fans on the field in front of the stage. That would be really cool! I think they were U of Phoenix college students as they all looked young and energetic. By the way, the stadium where the game was played I think was bigger than my entire college campus. Where I went there were 210 students in my graduating class. The stadium sat 100,000! It was huge!
Now the most important part of the Superbowl is the right selection of food. We are in diet mode so we weren't too bad. We had pretzels and dip - homemade with garlic, onion, parsley, etc. Then we had our pre-dinner salads. The main dish was home made pizza - with onions, mushrooms, prosciutto, black and green olives, and roasted red peppers. Walter 'helped' me assemble the pizza. (I am a true believer that 'too many cooks spoil the broth' but his help was quite appreciated as he cut up all the vegetable for the salad.) The first question: Do you stretch out the pizza dough or roll it out. I usually stretch it out. Someone had to roll it out. My home made pizza is NEVER round. I make a big rectangular pizza that fits on a cookie sheet. If we needed round pizza, it would take forever to get in the right shape. I can make a thinner crust if I just cover the entire cookie sheet. I have a round pizza stone somewhere but it always seems to be the wrong shape.
Next question: is it crust-sauce-cheese-toppings or is it crust-sauce-toppings-cheese, or is it crust-sauce-cheese-toppings-cheese? I kind of prefer the cheese on top of the toppings. We had some dissension and ended up with the cheese-toppings-cheese variety. Also, should you use oregano and pizza seasoning or just pizza seasoning? What is the role of garlic on pizza? Are capers considered a topping? (The answer to that is only when Walter is out of the room.) Irregardless of our pizza assembly issues, it was quite yummy. Walter had the left overs for breakfast. (I had an orange and a banana - who's healthier today?)
In addition to all the Superbowl related food issues yesterday, a friend came over and we went for a long walk. Then to the farm stand and the grocery store. You know you need to put gas in your car when the gas gauge doesn't move until you have been driving for a bit and then the gas light comes on... (I didn't run out but was definitely scraping bottom.) I was exhausted by the time I got home which is why I didn't make it through the Superbowl. Perhaps next year I will stay awake for it...
Today, I have a job interview this morning, then work, and then crisping. I am not sure I will get out for a walk today. I don't think I have time. I will fit it in tomorrow.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Seed and nut free
This week I have the wonderful seed and nut free diet for five days leading up to the oh-so-exciting event Friday. I don't really see this as an issue but it does impact our vegetable and fruit eating. Well mostly vegetables. No cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes. They all have seeds in them you eat. So our salads this week will be somewhat boring. Green peppers, carrots, onions. It also means no pizza or lasagna unless I check the sauce to make sure it is seed free. I think it will be much easier just to avoid those foods. Also, no corn. No chunky peanut butter. Probably no peanut butter at all. Also, I have to watch what spices I use - no caraway or celery seeds either. Hmmm... boring food. Anyhow, today I had toast with seeds in it topped with chunky peanut butter for breakfast and tonight for dinner we are having pizza. Last night we ate the last of the butter pecan ice cream we had as well.
Today I have to buy jello, Italian ices and boullion because I have a liquid diet for the day before too. We do have some boullion cubes but I am really not sure how old they are. There is a distinct possibility they are more than 5 years old. I suspect they have a very long shelf life but I am not going to be a guinea pig the day before a colonoscopy and see if they are still good. Maybe I'll lose more weight as well. Nothing like a bunch of GI tests making you skip meals, mess up your digestion and stress you out to make you lose some weight.
It has been mentioned that I am beginning to sound more like my normal self (not to say I am a normal human being. What is normal? Define normal). I mostly feel better. I get tired. I hate going to Lahey every day. My chemo brain cloud is mostly gone (I am never going to say it is completely gone because it is a great excuse for being a space shot). But I think a sense of normalcy is starting to return. Just because I am feeling better doesn't mean that I will write wittier or more profound things here.
Today a friend is coming for a walk and lunch. I have to run some errands and possibly consider cleaning the house. The most arduous thing to do today is put the slipcover back on the sofa. Someone (who is short and furry but shall remain nameless) left us a present on it so it had to be washed. This is the exact reason for having a slipcover in the first place. However, it is very difficult to put the damn thing back on. After I recover from that I might consider cleaning the house. The dust bunnies are starting to get restless.
Today I have to buy jello, Italian ices and boullion because I have a liquid diet for the day before too. We do have some boullion cubes but I am really not sure how old they are. There is a distinct possibility they are more than 5 years old. I suspect they have a very long shelf life but I am not going to be a guinea pig the day before a colonoscopy and see if they are still good. Maybe I'll lose more weight as well. Nothing like a bunch of GI tests making you skip meals, mess up your digestion and stress you out to make you lose some weight.
It has been mentioned that I am beginning to sound more like my normal self (not to say I am a normal human being. What is normal? Define normal). I mostly feel better. I get tired. I hate going to Lahey every day. My chemo brain cloud is mostly gone (I am never going to say it is completely gone because it is a great excuse for being a space shot). But I think a sense of normalcy is starting to return. Just because I am feeling better doesn't mean that I will write wittier or more profound things here.
Today a friend is coming for a walk and lunch. I have to run some errands and possibly consider cleaning the house. The most arduous thing to do today is put the slipcover back on the sofa. Someone (who is short and furry but shall remain nameless) left us a present on it so it had to be washed. This is the exact reason for having a slipcover in the first place. However, it is very difficult to put the damn thing back on. After I recover from that I might consider cleaning the house. The dust bunnies are starting to get restless.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
I was really inspired to write something
But I can't remember what it was about. It will come to me eventually. Anyhow, I think I forgot to mention that I got the results of my upper GI series and it says I have a hiatal hernia. Apparently this is something you can have and forget about unless you have lots of heart burn. It does NOT require more medical tests and lots of nasty treatment. If you want to go look it up feel free but it basically means that a portion of my stomach has pushed up through the diaphragm. There is no treatment or cure unless massive heartburn causes esophageal erosion or it twists and cuts off circulation and those are very rare.
Now I must clear up something. My brother is accusing me of being ageist and sexist as I continually cite OMWAHs for their driving skills or lack of. I must clarify. You do not need to be old or male to drive like an OMWAH. I knew girls in high school with the same level of driving skills. The real criteria are:
Yesterday, I did have an exciting time. I went for my walk with a friend, had coffee, went
to CVS to buy the necessary supplies for my colonoscopy (which clearly will be the high point of my week, if not month), went to the library, crisper, grocery store, and bank. I ended my day at the manicurist. I now have pink fingernails. I am very happy. In fact I do feel the need to share them with you. I will say my picture taking skills were impaired by my cat. The manicurist said that even though my toe nails are in such bad shape I can probably get a pedicure in another month!
Today is nice and sunny and low 40's. I am going for a walk to walk off bacon-of-the-month club for breakfast. (We do not share it.) Later I am meeting friends for coffee. My very exciting life. I still can't remember what I was so inspired to write about so this will have to do. Maybe tomorrow I will...
Now I must clear up something. My brother is accusing me of being ageist and sexist as I continually cite OMWAHs for their driving skills or lack of. I must clarify. You do not need to be old or male to drive like an OMWAH. I knew girls in high school with the same level of driving skills. The real criteria are:
- the totally inability to pull into a parking space without 3-4 tries to back and fill,
- to parallel park into the same space for 10 minutes,
- the inability to discern in a parking lot who is actually waiting to pull out of a parking space vs. has just pulled into one,
- to have little scrapes all over your car from parking lot 'adventures',
- to have to constantly replace your car due to numerous collisions (that weren't your fault - the guy behind you didn't see you slam on your brakes at a yellow light - but everyone stops for yellow lights), or
- the inability to drive at or over the speed limit.
Yesterday, I did have an exciting time. I went for my walk with a friend, had coffee, went
to CVS to buy the necessary supplies for my colonoscopy (which clearly will be the high point of my week, if not month), went to the library, crisper, grocery store, and bank. I ended my day at the manicurist. I now have pink fingernails. I am very happy. In fact I do feel the need to share them with you. I will say my picture taking skills were impaired by my cat. The manicurist said that even though my toe nails are in such bad shape I can probably get a pedicure in another month!Today is nice and sunny and low 40's. I am going for a walk to walk off bacon-of-the-month club for breakfast. (We do not share it.) Later I am meeting friends for coffee. My very exciting life. I still can't remember what I was so inspired to write about so this will have to do. Maybe tomorrow I will...
Friday, February 1, 2008
Now its my doctor who is sick
Today's doctor's appointment was canceled because my doctor is out sick. They called at 7am to tell me this! I was quite surprised to have the phone ring THAT early but maybe they try to get people at home before they go out for the day. I have to call later to reschedule. Well, what that does is mess up my schedule. I had everything neatly scheduled to go to the library, a walk with a friend, doctor's apt, crisping (which was rearranged to coincide with the appointment) and then the all important manicure. Now I will rearrange everything to avoid little gaps. I can leave later and go for my walk, then the library, then crisping, and then manicure. Will I be more productive because I can leave later? No, now I just have more time for procrastinating on the computer.
Well, actually, its not my computer, its the Internet. The internet can be an amazing time suck. In website design and marketing, you want to get people to your website so you link to it, publish it, advertise it, and generally tell everyone to go there. Then you need to make your website 'sticky' so people stay on it and use it more. This is what makes websites such giant time sucks. How many times have you gone to a website for one little bitty thing and then the next thing you know you have book marked it, read a ton of things, signed up for regular emails, and possibly printed stuff out? That was a sticky website for you and sucked you right in. Not every website appeals to everyone but a good website, if it is of interest to you, will keep you there for days! Anyhow, that is the little marketing lesson for the day. A good example of a sticky website is www.freerice.com. It challenges the visitor and serves a good cause. Can you go there and leave again right away? There's a challenge for you.
Otherwise, yesterday's doctors appointment was fine. Apparently I am tolerating hormone therapy just fine. Some of the side effects will go away with time but I am on it for five years. The doctor says that by the time I go back and see him in three months my real hair will be as long as my wig is now! Well, I don't know about that but I will wait and see. He also claims that my missing toenails will return within six months. Hm. I am skeptical here. I thought it would be longer but again I am merely the patient and he is the one who has been to medical school and would know these things. I did have to deal with both the evil little parking lot (and won) and the giant parking garage. I saw several OMWAHs and even parked next to one (How do I know this if I didn't see them? It was a brand new, giant, two tone Lincoln town car.) I also had plenty of opportunity to catch up on my reading as I was at Lahey from 2 until after 5 pm. I had been meaning to finish that book for a long time so it was a good opportunity.
Well, actually, its not my computer, its the Internet. The internet can be an amazing time suck. In website design and marketing, you want to get people to your website so you link to it, publish it, advertise it, and generally tell everyone to go there. Then you need to make your website 'sticky' so people stay on it and use it more. This is what makes websites such giant time sucks. How many times have you gone to a website for one little bitty thing and then the next thing you know you have book marked it, read a ton of things, signed up for regular emails, and possibly printed stuff out? That was a sticky website for you and sucked you right in. Not every website appeals to everyone but a good website, if it is of interest to you, will keep you there for days! Anyhow, that is the little marketing lesson for the day. A good example of a sticky website is www.freerice.com. It challenges the visitor and serves a good cause. Can you go there and leave again right away? There's a challenge for you.
Otherwise, yesterday's doctors appointment was fine. Apparently I am tolerating hormone therapy just fine. Some of the side effects will go away with time but I am on it for five years. The doctor says that by the time I go back and see him in three months my real hair will be as long as my wig is now! Well, I don't know about that but I will wait and see. He also claims that my missing toenails will return within six months. Hm. I am skeptical here. I thought it would be longer but again I am merely the patient and he is the one who has been to medical school and would know these things. I did have to deal with both the evil little parking lot (and won) and the giant parking garage. I saw several OMWAHs and even parked next to one (How do I know this if I didn't see them? It was a brand new, giant, two tone Lincoln town car.) I also had plenty of opportunity to catch up on my reading as I was at Lahey from 2 until after 5 pm. I had been meaning to finish that book for a long time so it was a good opportunity.
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