Meatloaf

Today's been stressful. I'm not even entirely sure why. Chris is all stressed out too. Ever have one of those days where stress is just in the air for no particular reason?

I'm one of those people that cleans when I'm stressed out. I'm not entirely sure why. It's just what I do. Normally I focus on one area or room, but my organizing today was super scatter brained. I did some in the bedroom, TV room, and kitchen. All impressive improvements which is nice. At least my anxiety is productive.

Got my wedding program ready to give to my grandmother's brother. He was going to print them for us since he owns a print shop. I just found out he can only do black & white. So much for that. So we ran out to Wally World and got paper, a new stapler, and staples. My printer is currently getting one hell of a work out, and then I'm going to work on putting these puppies together. I'm already sad for my hands.

Tux has been super energetic today. Dashing from one room to another. Mostly inspired by a fly he's been fascinated with. Anyone know why cats make clicky noises at bugs? Is it like dolphin sonar for cats?

I wish I had half of the energy he does. He's currently being a meatloaf cat. Sometimes when he sits somewhere and he's annoyed he looks like a pan of meatloaf. It's pretty amusing.

Time to stop procrastinating and get these programs done. If I don't blog for a few days the pile has taken me captive.

Sneak Peek!

A sneak peek of our photo shoot today! I told you it was adorable! :)

I'm using this collage Tania made for the front cover of our wedding program. I'm pretty excited that she did it already because now I can get my programs done, printed, and assembled. Chris keeps saying they're more of a book than a program. They're only 5x7 though, and come on, programs are supposed to be informative! We have the added feature of our hand fasting ceremony too to add into the program and explain since most people do not know what it is.

Only 26 (25 in about twenty minutes) more days until the wedding! So much to do yet!

Well, It Doesn't Say Keep Off the Grass?

Today was an exciting day! Engagement picture day!

Yes. We really did get our engagement pictures done less than a month from our wedding, haha.

But no really, we don't procrastinate that bad. It's just we weren't planning on getting engagement pictures, but they came with the package from our wedding photographer.

We decided to get our pictures taken at Schell's Mini Golf.

We enjoy golfing together, and their mini-golf course is really pretty. Plus I thought it would be sort of unique.

I had to get up at 6am in order to get ready because I had an 8am hair appointment and had to meet Tania (our photographer) at ten.

So Much for Early!

After our chestnut experiment we wandered out to get some things done.

Our first stop was CVS to pick up some more prescriptions and Halloween candy. We keep buying Halloween candy with coupons for trick-or-treaters, and it keeps disappearing before Halloween. It's a problem.  It's mainly my grandmother and Chris dunking into it. I'm generally not a big candy person, but I do seem to have a weakness for Kit Kats as of late.

CVS has these giant blended bags of miniature candies for twenty bucks. I just so happened to have five dollars in extra bucks and a three dollar coupon, so I got them for roughly twelve, and it totally filled my candy bowl at home. My grandmother already found her way into it. 

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire....

So the other day we got a pint of Chestnuts at the local farmer's market for only three dollars. Neither of us had ever had Chestnuts, and it was quite the hot topic last year. They had them for sale at our local Redner's last winter, but they were super expensive and we didn't have money to blow. We were pretty curious as to whether or not they sucked though.

Three dollars didn't seem like a bad price for an adventure.

We weren't too sure what to do with them. Chris tried to eat one raw. After I reminded him that we had no idea what we were doing and he was probably going to poison himself, we consulted the internet. He was not going to die, but they're apparently tastier roasted. So they've been hanging out until I had time/energy to play with them.

Instructions said to cut an 'X' through the shell on the flat side. I started working on this while Chris was in the kitchen doing other things, there was an 'ow' with a knife slip, and suddenly I was no longer allowed to X the chestnuts. 

Chris took over, and I was given the steps that didn't involve sharp objects.

Like preheating the oven, and soaking them in hot water for a minute.

Chris was not having such an easy time cutting the X's. Many knives were employed.

After soaking I had to pat the Chestnuts dry.

Then they were to be tossed in a butter and seasoning blend. I used sea salt and oregano.

After tossing they were to be laid out on foil in a single layer.

And then wrap the foil into a packet around them.

Instructions said to bake for thirty minutes.

It says to peel them while still hot, otherwise it becomes seemingly more difficult. Some were easier to peel than others. We peeled about six until we stopped.

Why did we stop do you ask?

They suck. Peeling them sucks, and in our opinion they don't taste all that great. They have an odd texture and leave an even odder aftertaste.

Chris didn't like them at all.

I didn't like them enough to make them even remotely worth peeling.

Into the garbage they went.

So we learned that chestnuts will not be a new holiday tradition for us, and we do not like them.

Have you ever had chestnuts? Do you like them? Do you make them any differently than we did? Share in the comments!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow....

Got up and started doing my chores around the house. Changed Tux's litter, I started to do the dishes, and I see this outside the window.

Snow.

In the middle of October. What up global warming?

I blame Chris for this. He kept saying that it would be cool if it was snowing during our engagement pictures. (Which are tomorrow)

It has since changed to rain. It's rather cold in the house today so I think I shall do things today that involve the oven. (Like roasting my chestnuts, which I still haven't accomplished.)

Money to Burn

Today is a serious lazy day for me. It was one of the rare days that Chris got out of bed before I did. It took much coaxing for him to get me out of bed.

I was not interested in doing the adulting today. I got up though eventually after some prodding from Chris.

Shortly after I got out of bed Chris' Mom stopped by for a visit and to drop off my bridal shower gift. She hurt her shoulder at work and couldn't make the shower. She got me a really pretty sterling silver decorative plate and a gift card for Cracker Barrel that Chris will probably commandeer for pancakes. (Pancakes actually sound pretty good right now, with chocolate and peanut butter chips. Mmm... Ihop.)

Off topic: I rarely partake in peanut butter or peanuts anymore after learning that peanuts aren't the greatest for inflammation and joints. I try not to add insult to injury when I can.

On an amusing note, the card she got me is adorable, and it's also the third time I've received this same card. We had a good laugh over it.

Chris and I gave her the gifts we got for her for helping with the wedding and we all hung out and chatted for a bit. Chris got to show off his learned skill of giving me injections. I think he was a bit proud. Tux is quite a fan of Maggie. (Maggie being Chris' Mom for those of you in the audience that don't know)

My garters for the wedding came in the mail today and they're really pretty. I'm glad they came already. Shipping/turnaround time listed on the website I ordered them from was vexingly long, and I was a bit concerned I would not get it in time, but voila!

We ran out to CVS to pick up my prescriptions so that I can fill my ridiculous pill case for the week. I was out of a few.

In the car on the way to CVS I discovered I had been wearing my shirt backwards all day. Luckily all day hadn't been very long yet at that point, and the only people who could have noticed were Chris and his Mom.

 Our local CVS is remodeling. They switched sides for pickup/drop off at the pharmacy counter. Being the creature of habit I am it throws me off every single time I go in there now. CVS is one of my favorite stores to shop in. I always do well there savings wise. They have a bit of everything and frequently freshen up their inventory with new items. So, we generally mosey around and look at what's new while we're waiting on my scripts. Today they had a GIANT stuffed Minnie and Mickey mouse, for $69.99 each. Crazy. I can't picture ever spending that much money on a stuffed animal, even if I had money to burn.

I can't really picture anyone that goes into CVS having $70 to burn on a stuffed Minnie Mouse. But hey, what do I know? Clearly their marketing department is onto something I'm missing.

We then went to Wendys to get foods because I was starving after last nights cooking fail, didn't much feel like cooking yet again, and my Aunt gave us a gift card for there at my bridal shower.

Chris took a detour to Hamburg Redners on the way to Wendys to get his Java Monster he's very much addicted to. Hamburg Redners just got added onto the list of local places that are sold out of them. Probably solely because of him. Oddly enough, their Coca Cola Machine was standing open, completely empty, with not a vendor in site. I was going to take a picture for your viewing pleasure, but we went out without any electronics. So you'll have to take my word for it. It was strange.

So now we're home gorging on chicken nuggets whilst being guilt tripped by Daisy. I believe she's guilted us out of three so far. It's a nice brisk fall day here so I believe I may attempt roasting the chestnuts that we got at the farmers market later.

Nerves

I've been diagnosed with a variety of auto-immune diseases/nonsense that causes an even bigger variety of issues. One of my main issues is pain.

I have all types of pain.

Muscle pain, nerve pain.

Honestly, I think the nerve pain is the worst. There's no massaging nerve pain to try to get some relief. It's really hard to find any way actually to soothe it. 

People often ask me to explain how it feels, and the best relatable way I can explain nerve pain is by comparing it to a toothache. In reality, a toothache is nerve pain. When a tooth hurts it's generally because a nerve is damaged, exposed, or having pressure put on it by your sinuses.

Because of multiple sclerosis many of my nerves are damaged and stripped of their protective coating, leaving them much like an exposed nerve of a tooth.

Think about how well your TV or charger works after a pet chews on the cord and exposes the wiring.

The nerves start to misfire causing a myriad of issues, and pain. I get nerve pain from other things too, like fibromyalgia and erythromelalgia. Sometime's it's hard to tell what's causing the pain.

My neurologist put me on Cymbalta which so far has made one of the most noticeable differences in quality of life compared to any other treatments. I started on 30mgs and am up to 90mgs. My new rheumatologist at Jefferson is considering adding Lyrica in the future. Cymbalta has drastically cut down on my nerve pain.

Do you suffer from nerve pain? What gives you relief? What analogy do you use to explain your pain to others?

Bullshit Stuffed Potatoes

So I tried a recipe out tonight for egg stuffed baked potatoes.

Link to Recipe

It didn't go well at all. It took over a good two hours if you count originally baking the potatoes.

It looked pretty freaking delicious, but the egg inside was raw.

I cooked it longer than suggested, and even broiled at the end for a few minutes. After reading the recipe comments this seems to be a common issue.

I am ticked. I have no spoons left to recook anything even remotely awesome, and I'm hungry.

Hungry and sad.

Possibly hangry.

Moral of this story, don't make that recipe unless you want to run the risk of being vastly disappointed.

'Someone With a Lot of Nerve'

We got lots accomplished today!

The day started out with Tux being an exceptional bastard. Most nights he curls up at the bottom of the bed with Daisy. Last night though he decided he wanted to sleep with me. He's always incredibly rude about sleeping with me, and generally picks one of the positions below. He tends to prefer the 'scarf' or 'someone with a lot of nerve' position.

So I get up to face the day, and stumble upon this:

Shoe insoles scattered randomly. Tux has been busy. He has an obsession with shoes, especially putting his toys into shoes.

So Chris and I are planning our day and Tux begins this nonsense. He's obsessed with something on this wall that apparently only he can see. Thus begins the chirping, clicking, tail twitching.

He eventually gave up.

Meanwhile Chris is chilling with Daisy, who is not mildly psychotic.

I did some chores around the house and got the program for the wedding almost complete. Followed up on some RSVPs, scheduled the rehearsal dinner.

Our engagement pictures are on Monday, so we ran out to get prettified. Chris got a haircut. I got my eyebrows waxed and nails done. Bin at Spa Massage in Wyomissing did my nails, and he did a pretty good job. I really love the cute little design he did on my ring fingers.

Chris was quite the gentleman and patiently sat with me the entire time at the salon. How many men do that? They kept trying to give him a mani/pedi. Good luck to them at getting him to put his monkey ballern game down long enough for a manicure. Maybe they could have talked him into a pedicure. 

I tried to talk him into an eyebrow waxing. Apparently he's had it done before and it was 'like getting punched in the face'. Men. I don't think they're that bad at all. (Men or eyebrow waxing that is.)

I was surprised to see they do Brazilian waxes there. While I don't have much modesty left, I really can't see myself walking in somewhere and asking them to please wax my vag. I have a hard enough time usually just communicating at a salon what I want done with my nails. I can't imagine how awkward that conversation would go.

I see what they did there.

Planning on making a version of egg-stuffed baked potatoes for dinner tonight. Here's a good recipe to follow to make them:

Egg Stuffed Baked Potato Recipe

I'm hoping they get good. We have some leftover pizza in the fridge to take care of, but I'm pizza'd out. Pretty sure Chris could eat it every day.

Not entirely sure what the weekend holds for us yet. Some chores, wedding stuff, but other than that I think it'll be pretty quiet. Get some of our Netflix queue taken care of. Excited for our engagement photos on Monday! Can't believe Halloween is almost here. Really can't believe it's only 29 more days until our wedding!

Pajamas

I never used to understand people that went everywhere and anywhere in pajamas.

Going grocery shopping? Put some real clothes on, you heathens!

Yeah well, now I'm one of those guilty heathens. I've grown quite fond of my pajamas. I don't go out anywhere of much significance anymore since my disability, lack of employment, and subsequently, money. So what is there to put uncomfortable clothes on for? And I know, I know. People say wearing 'real' clothes just makes you feel better, and sometimes that's true. The estrogen in me loves to play dress up every once in awhile when I'm feeling up to it. When I'm feeling up to it. Which isn't all that often. In general though 'real' clothes are just plain uncomfortable, which does not make me feel better.

With my nerves misfiring sometimes things just being on my skin hurts. 

Pajamas are pretty freaking comfortable. Somehow pajamas generally manage to make you look half decent in unflattering silky material. They also actually make it acceptable and adorable to wear tiny cute animals on your clothing. Did I mention they're comfortable?

As I mentioned earlier I had my wedding dress fitting this morning. I forgot to set my alarm to wake up for it, but managed to magically wake up about twenty minutes before I needed to leave. I was still pretty much half asleep at that point, but I managed to get my meds taken and do a few things around the house before I left.

My Mom, Aunt, and Grandmother went with to the fitting today as they have to all the previous ones. They immediately voiced their unified horror in the fact that I was still wearing pajamas. I simply shrugged, "They're comfortable, and I'm changing as soon as I get there anyways." Which is exactly what happened. Then when all was done, I changed back into my pajamas, went home and crawled back into bed with my love. Yay pajamas.

I've learned to be less judgey of the attire people are wearing. If it makes them happy or comfortable, good for them.

I've also learned to be less self conscious about what I'm wearing. If it makes me happy and/or comfortable, good for me.

Lucky for me my fiance generally feels the same way. I'm pretty sure he thinks I rock the world regardless of what I'm wearing (or not wearing). I'm pretty fond of him.

Long time, no blog!

It has been quite some time since I posted a blog. I just recently realized how much I missed it, and what a tool it could be for reaching out to others. Life has changed a great deal since I last blogged. While I won't recap the past two years in a long daunting post, I'll give you the highlights, and work some of the details in in bits and pieces of future posts.

I've been diagnosed with an asinine immune system. Okay, so that's not really a diagnosis, but it's the basic gist. After a ton of trial and error with treatments and a near death experience I'm going to Jefferson University Hospital now to work on figuring things out.

 Current diagnosis is Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The MS diagnosis made a lot of weird things my body was doing finally make sense. My brain is a hot mess. At least now that I know why certain things are happening I can cope with them more appropriately. I plan on sharing my battle with chronic illness in intimate detail with you all in hopes of connecting with others going through it.

My weekly nightmare of filling meds!

In happy and exciting news, I'm engaged!

I know, I can hardly believe it either. Haha. I'm getting married in less than a month.

Crunch time is on. I'm actually going for my billionth dress fitting in a few hours.

Hard to believe I get to marry this sexy beast, if he doesn't murder me later for using this picture.

Another addition to our little family is a cat we adopted, Tux. My fiance is a cat person and Daisy's vet was fostering him. One thing led to another, and now I have a biscuit maker in my house. He is rather adorable though.

And a bit crazy, but he fits in well. I thought I was extremely clever when I named him Tux. Turns out he's actually a Tuxedo cat. Not so clever, but still fitting.

Daisy is as adorable and spoiled as ever. She's quite in love with the cat. They have regular hardcore wrestling matches in the kitchen.

So, there's a taste of what's going on in my life and what you can expect to be reading about in the future. For now, I'm going to curl back up with this incredibly hot man that I somehow have in my bed and my furry family for a few extra minutes of shut eye before I have to go play dress up.