sigh . . .

you know my penchant for this recipe????   Well, as you know, I have always substituted herbed goat cheese for the ricotta.  And headed for heaven with every bite.  I mean seriously, could food get any better.  The answer?  YES!!!!   I fried up some breaded sliced eggplant, smeared on the herbed goat cheese while the eggplant was still hot, and drizzled on the Julianne cut fresh basil that had marinated in olive oil with a little kosher salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Dear Lord I am blessed.  Good, good food.

Under the not so good category, I called Moffitt twice today to find out why we had not heard from the person who schedules the IPI, and to inform Dr. K's nurse that the 9TS is in considerable pain . . . and it ain't from the gym.  Sigh.  I was informed that the girl in charge of scheduling was on vacation.  Huh?  And yet another call "your insurance company has not yet approved the IPI, we are looking at some time this week".   So I call our insurance company.  Their head of pharmacy seems to have some questions.  No time line for when these will be answered.  Sigh. 

Hello world.  Please do something constructive and motivate these people.  I mean really, if you can create food combinations like eggplant, basil and goat cheese, how much is it to ask for a little bit of hurry up from approval department when it comes to the 9TS?????

Dear 16-year-old Me

Enough said.

Seven days in May - day 6 . . .

This one was a toughie.  Linda Roos designed a really neat TRUE STORY title and all we had to do was tell a true story.  Easy huh?  My brain went dead.  So I cheated and retold a story I wrote back in 09.

credits:  Title:  Linda Roos, Paper and Stitches: Anna Aspnes, Pinocchio:  Walt Disney Co.

annie goes fishing . . .

I swiped an iPad app post from Facebook and sent it to my friend, Joanie, who happens to be the mom of one very curious kitten named Annie.

And this is the result!!!!!

Now I am super jealous because I know Pippin would love this but I am iPad-less.  I did try it on my laptop using Safari but it doesn't work properly not to mention kitten paws on plasma screens.  EEK!!!

But it you have a furry munchkin at home that needs a little iPad diversion, here's the link:

http://www.gamesforcats.com/index.html

Challenge day 5 . . .

this template and mini kit was provided by Liv.E Designs and is perfecto!!!!

credits:  all things Liv.e

seven days in May - day 4 . . .

another phenomenal template by Linda Roos. 

Credits:  Template:  Linda Roos. Shells:  Dawn Inskip.

It was another very good day in the cave.  The 9TS dragged me down to the dermatologist to finally have the basal cell carcinoma removed from the top of my right boob.  We get in there, full of Ativan, I might add, and get prepped but when Peggy walked in and felt around, she announced that what little she didn't get with the biopsy, has been reabsorbed by the body and no surgery needed.  YAY. 

Kelli, meanwhile, sends me a text asking if my right boob is now higher than my left because I had informed her that I thought it was a possibility depending on how much tissue they had to remove.  And well, you know, no one really asks to have their right boob higher than their left.  At least not in my world. 

Anyway we celebrated with a little dinner and a beer or two at Carrabba's and came home.  Ensconced on the bed watching TMZ, I announced to my dear Sloth that I was taking a tiny nap.  Six hours later, I woke up.  Thank you Mr. A. T. Ivan.   The 9TS is now ready for bed and I am raring to go.  Hummmm.

Seven days in May - day 3 . . .

Today's challenge was a color palette with papers designed by Linda Roos.  Beautiful stuff.

So there we were in a tropical rain forest and what was it doing??  Pouring!!!  Fantastic goodness falling from the sky making everything green and lush.  Couldn't be better

credits:  Paper: Linda Roos, Mask and Stitches:  Anna Aspnes, Flowers: Katie Pertiet, Alpha:  Pattie Knox.

p.s.  Still no word from Moffitt.  Sigh.

challenging stuff . . .

Seven days in May is now going on at JessicaSprague.com.  YAY!!!!  Seven days of digi challenge.  It started yesterday with a freebie template from Liv.E Design.   Here's my take:

Today's challenge came in the form of yet another template from Liv.E Designs.   Now if you've been reading the blog for any length of time or want an update on the 9TS, read the fine print!!!!!!!

Can we please have a giant YAY!!!!!!   Get in the conga line, we're doing a happy dance!!!!!!!

a throw back . . .

today is just one of those days when I really don't want to go digging for something to wear.  If I didn't have to go to the grocery store, I would just toss on a tee and a pair of baggy shorts.  But if I don't go, we don't eat.  Sigh.

So I compromised and donned my faves:  my very ancient overalls and a wife beater.  YAY!!!!  Comfy!!!  The only problem is that the 9TS, having finally accepted that a bra is not a requirement of this outfit, will still probably stay a good five feet away from me in any public venue. Why do I love torturing him like this????

I was sharing with my good bud Kelli and she replied:  "Get a piece of wheat and chew on it while you're shopping, and say things like , "FRANK!!!!!!!!!!   don't fergit yer prayperation H!""

OMG, my stomach hurts from laughing so hard.  Is it no wonder I adore her!!!!

goose bumps . . .

Saturday night we went to the 9TS's grand nephew's high school graduation.  Whew.  Did I get that right?  It's really confusing in our family.  My BIL and his significant other have the same grandson . . . he who graduated.  His son married her daughter . . . but are no longer married.  Which means the grand nephew had his mom and her family and his dad and his family.  Technically, we should be part of his father's group but we aren't.  We belong to the other side.  Let's just say you could cut the tension with a knife when we all met outside after the ceremony.

But let's go back a moment.  Here we are happily ensconced in the nose bleed section:

It brought back memories of 2006 when Kidlet graduated in this same venue.  Sniff.  Sniff.  They both went to the same high school which happens to have an outstanding music department.  When they started with the national anthem, my goose bumps appeared.  When the valedictorian gave his speech, they popped up their heads once again.  But when the 600+ newly graduated students threw their mortar boards in the air, they ran up one arm, marched across my neck, slithered down my back, and skipped across my chest.  I thought I might fall out of my seat.  There is nothing like a good graduation with families hootin' and hollerin' for their kids.  Yes, Virginia, I live in the south.

Once outside, it took us quite some time to find our graduate.  It was mayhem at the convention center.  But when we did, he was all smiles.  Here he is with his mom and her fiance. 

He had his own little entourage.  There were fifteen of us plus his girl friend.  So multiply plus or minus 15 x 600 and you have some idea of the crowd.

Congratulations Scott, you ROCKED it.  See, I just got goose bumps again.

playing with my food . . .

I can still hear the words echoing around in my head . . .  my plate being empty of all I had deemed eatable:  "Don't play with your food, Jeanne." or,  "You're in a restaurant, Jeanne, behave yourself."

And still the urge was in me.  One that had to be quelled.  Squashed at the onset.  Behave.  Behave.  Behave.

One of the wonderful things about being an adult is that you don't have to squelch all of those inhibitions all the time.  I mean seriously, what if you are, at say . . . your favorite lunch place where Michelle, the waitress and Gron, the chef, are practically family.   And say, you are there with your two best luncheon buddies, who already know you might not be the brightest crayon.  I mean wouldn't those conditions dampen those voices in your brain.  Wouldn't it just this one time be OK to . . . you know . . .
PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD????

Well I did.   So there!!!!

and in case you cannot tell, it is a food Moose.  See the antlers?  And Meeses being from the frozen tundra, needed a scarf. 

And even when I am trying to behave, sometimes things don't always work out.  Take yesterday.  Lee and I decided to meet at a local Thai restaurant.  Neither of us being Thai literate, we asked the waitress for help with the decision making.  We vowed whatever we ended up with, we would share.  Things were going relatively well through the first course:  the soup was yummy and the spring rolls crisp.  When our entrees arrived,  it was a phantasmagoria of color and aroma.  The transitioning of half of my roasted garlic pork onto Lee's plate went off without a hitch as did her shrimp curry to mine . . . or so we thought, until we separated the two plates and a salmon colored puddle of gigantic proportions appeared on the table between the plates.  Oopsie! 

Lee thoughtfully covered it with a cocktail napkin and lunch continued.  Until of course, the waitress came for our plates and discovered our reservoir of curried goodness.  One cocktail napkin was obviously not enough, nor would two have been.  She returned with a sponge.  :::OK, refraining from commenting on a sponge at the table in a restaurant . . . thank.you.very.much.mother:::  . . . but suffice it to say that even when I try to behave, it doesn't always work. 

What I am thankful for is that my partner in grime crime never batted an eye.  Oh, I may have heard a small chortle and a giggle or two, OK, one large gaffaw, but what the heck, that's what friends are for.


No photos were taken in order to protect the dignity of any recalcitrant diners.

p.s. it was Lee's fault anyway.

my brain is elsewhere . . .

Really.  Ever since I got my new phone and discovered Words With Friends, I have become addicted.  I keep pushing the reset button to see if anyone else has made a move.  I have nine games going at once. 

And I've been snooping around Designer Digitals, lining up my wishlist for their quarterly sale that starts today.  Everything is 30% off.  I'm reaching national debt proportions.

And running Photoshop into the ground.  I love the new Reflections Action Jana suggested.  And I have rediscovered the removal of selected color . . .  all due to a sweet little app on the iPhone called Color Splash.  Nothing like a trigger to get you going. 

And Kidlet came for a quick visit before heading back to school.  YAY!!!!

And I've been brushing Bear bald.

And I am mulling over an offer made to me.  Just not sure I can do the job justice.

And so, my blog as been on the bottom of the totem pole.  I think it is beginning to feel like Yertle and all it is going to take is one small burp . . .

Big Bad Bear . . .

is having a rough time lately.  He is shedding his winter coat and besides leaving fur on every surface, the poor lad is swallowing a ton of it.  So much so that both ends have been  . . . erm . . . compromised.

He is now on a regime of daily grooming, anti furball food and Catlax, until we can get this straightened out.  Oh, and we also need a larger litter box.  Although we purchased the largest available, it is, alas, still too small for Big Bad Bear.   A trip to Wally World for an under the bed storage box should give him enough space.  Either that or the 9TS will be needing to build us a sandbox in the living room.  This cat is huge!!!

How huge????  Take a look, huge:

Yep, that's my tiny Maine Coon cat.  And the problem is, when the front end is in the litter box digging for the proper place, the back end is somewhere else in the laundry room.  We need both in the same place at the same time.

But truly, he is anything but a Big Bad Bear.  He has the sweetest disposition.  Wouldn't hurt a flea.  Loves to be pet.  Is shy and retiring.  And a best of all, a great snuggler.  And oh yeah, he's mine, you can't have him.

something's fishy . . .

This is the weekend of seafood festivals.  One down in Daytona and another in our own hometown.  We decided we would forgo our usual Saturday luncheonette and opt for local goodness.  We arrived just in time to see the parade led by this young lady:

Who promptly sidled up to an intrigued 9TS, who in turn was enjoying himself immensely while getting his groove on:

When the magical dancing band had finished, we wandered all around to see the sights.  Food stalls hawking fish of many flavors and one lone BBQ joint . . . well this is the south you know . . . lots of tent boutiques, beverage stands and live entertainment, tables tucked under trees or tents. 

We first passed this group:

before we came to a blues band, and after much deliberation, feasted on fried fish, boiled shrimp, hush puppies, coleslaw and fries.  Oh yeah, good for the digestive track:

We always play the 'how many people will we know' game and the 9TS always wins.  He knows everyone.  That's George looking on as the Shady Lady regales the 9TS.  We also met a wonderful great Pyrenees pooch attached to none other than our old dentist!!! and a few other acquaintances in various shapes and sizes.

Full of southern goodness from the sea, we wandered back to the car, drove home and crashed and burned.  The 9TS was still gently snoring when I started dinner.  It was a very good day in the old hometown.

one ringy dingy . . .

My phone has been on the fritz for quite some time.  At first, it simply would not rotate when I wanted to use it horizontally, which is the only way I use it.  Then it wouldn't pull up my sim card numbers.  When I reproached it, it would acquiesce and begrudgingly oblige.  Yesterday, however, it told me it could only be used as an emergency phone and refused to do otherwise, so after dinner at Carrabba's, the 9TS and I marched its gnarly little butt into the ATT store for some remedial help.  Still it misbehaved . . .   refusing to budge.  We tried to placate it with a new sim card.  It rebelled.  We tried pleading.  Begging.  Groveling even.  All to no avail.

While the wonderful phone rep . . . yes, i said wonderful . . . searched the net for another Nokia Surge, I started to wander the store.  Lust was just around the corner.  The 9TS found the iPhone display.  The Apple logo melded into my brain.  A light awakened.  I fondled it.  I caressed it.  I fell in love.  Deeply.

I looked back with mixed feelings at my old recalcitrant friend.  He and I had had similar feelings for well over a year.  Could I just dump him?  Forget the past so easily?

YES, why yes I could!!!  Take that you old fickle fiend!!!!

And now back at the display, my heart was pumping madly, I was light headed.  I was . . . well, you know.  After a quick introduction, the two of us left the store hand in hand, the 9TS bringing up the rear.  On the way home, I texted the Kidlet to tell her the news.

Immediately, my new best bud trilled his song.  The Kidlet was sputtering.  YOU got an iPhone???  She has always been our gadget guru.  She is our guinea pig.  She was clearly not happy that mom had an iPhone.  Mom, in this regard, being an ancient dinosaur who would surely not appreciate the finer nuances of this incredible handy-dandy machine.  Ah, such is the power and seduction of the iPhone. 

But, life goes on and mine now includes the iPhone 4.

p.s.  the Kidlet has offered her nuance services.  yay!!!

your move . . .

yesterday we faxed and emailed everyone their respective paperwork.  today our insurance company called saying they happily received their share of the forest . . . but did not get the referral papers.

another call to Moffitt. they have a landslide of patients waiting for approval for IPI.  panicking, I asked where the 9TS stood in this onslaught. fortunately, his oncologist red lined he and another patient to the top of the list.  he has been approved by Moffitt for the infusions but again, their pharmacy will not order the drug until they are assured the $120,000.00 is in their pocket.

and so, caught off guard by the plethora of patients wanting the meds, they are forming a committee to handle the chaos.  translate that to mean:  our people will contact your people.  and so we wait.  we are now looking toward the end of May or beginning of June.

I don't like this game.  I want to take my toys and go home.

just one of those days . . .

got up at 7:30 to hoof it around the block a few times with my friend and neighbor, Jovial Joan.  She is much fun to gallivant around with . . .  mostly because she lets me be me and lets me babble about all things inane.

Made it home just before the cleaning people knocked on the door.  According to them, my house is clean just furry.  Now why didn't I realize that.  In the two weeks since they were last here, my Animal sucked up 2.5 bags of fur.  That's roughly a five week old kitten.

While they cleaned, I ran loads of sheets through the laundry and made #7.  And if you look closely, after much practice with its predecessors, I still some how managed to make the plackets on the wrong intersections and after fooling around a bit, created a new design element.   Well, that's my version and I'm sticking to it.

Oh and for anyone who knows me well enough, yes that is the left over home decorator fabric that I used to cover the cornice board in the kitchen the time I painted it adobe puke.

And since the 9TS returned from the gym and his luncheon date with the 'boys', he was here to hold down the fort while I went grocery shopping.  My question of the day . . .   why do they stop carrying the things we eat the most.  The 9TS inhales Skippy Creamy Reduced Fat peanut butter which has now been shoved from the shelves to make way for more generic brands.  Boo. Hiss.  What is the sloth going to do for his midnight munchies???

But as I waddle home with my goodies and start to unpack in the kitchen, my sparkling white floor is sparkling no more.  In the thirty seven minutes it took to run to Publix and back, someone decided . . .  after using the litter box, to drag their not so clean butt across the tile.  And whoever it was, had to pass a bathroom on the way and could very well have made a pit stop and used toilet paper, but oh no, there went my clean floor.

We are now unpacked and waiting for the screen man to make his second appearance in as many days to secure the cage and replace two panels of screening.  When he is done, I am moving into the pool for the season, so if you meet me on the street and I look just a wee bit pruney, you'll know the reason.

Oh, and while we're at it, let me explain my face or as Christine said, "OH MY GOODNESS, what happened to you?"  Monday night, we decided to order pizza from our favorite place but when it arrived, it was decidedly cold.  Being a hot pizza fan, I popped my slices into the oven.  A few minutes later, out it came, all bubbly, delicious and totally needing to be eaten.  As I chomped down with my first bite, the hot cheese slid off the pie and onto my face.  When I wiped the steaming mozzarella off my chin, the top layer of me came too.  OWIE!  Two days later it is looking worse than it did originally.  Sigh.  Good thing I am older than dirt and have pretty much given up vanity.  I mean really, how vain can you get when your wrinkles have slid way past your face, down your neck and onto your  . . . oh never mind.  No need to get graphic.

And so, I am going to pour a nice glass of Cabernet, fluff the pillows, crown myself queen dork of the day and  relax.  Wanna join me???

when is enough . . .

a couple of weeks ago, I bought this adorable pair of espadrilles.

 

They reminded me of Joseph's coat of many colors.  I love them.  Of course, being ensconced in flip flops for the last umpteen years, I promptly fell off them in the middle of Target, with of course, an audience but never mind.  I love them.

I love them so much, that I looked them up on line and they come in tons of colors.  I started to salivate.  I started to twitch.  I was overpowered with covetatious emotion.  Yes, I made up that word.  I restrained.  That is until Tuesday after dinner at Carrabba's. The 9TS suggested a walk through the mall to assuage our full bellies and appease our guilty brains.  And there was Dillards.  And there were my shoes.  With their shoe mates.  All in a row.  Staring at me.  "Buy us!", they squealed.  "Take us home to our friend.", they demanded.  "You love us.", they coaxed.  And what was I to do?  They were pitiful.  The salesman profound.  The 9TS grinning.  I was dead meat.

 

And now I have to clean out my closet and divest myself of the remainder of my office shoes that are pushing 15 years plus to make room for my new best friends.  I can hear them partying in there now.  "oh we belong to a mutual . . . la la la . . . admiration society, my baby and me . . ."  they are singing their hearts out.  Who am I to interfere.

happiness is . . .

my Mother's Day present for the past few years has been my all time favorite . . .  a photo shoot with Kidlet.  Lest you think this isn't a big deal, it takes a lot for Kidlet to don make-up and pose for a camera.  She is not naturally "into it".   But she happily agrees this one day of the year.   This morning I dragged her out of bed bright and early to catch the soft morning light . . . we were slugs yesterday and never made it out of our p.j.'s.  I am still mad at my camera for the amount of blur I am getting, so I brought my old Rebel too. 

This is SOOC:

 and this is after I used a new program on it:

so, let me introduce you to my other gift . . . from the 9TS.  Topaz Adjust!  And a special thanks to Jana for showing me the way.

Or wait, then there is this:

which is a little over the top but still fun.  I can tell what I will be doing this week.  YAY!!!

Hijacking...

This is an announcement. I interrupt your regularly scheduled blog to bring you a brief blurb...

My dad's my hero. Several years in the police force, a third-degree black belt in his sixties, and a cancer-survivor to boot. No matter what he encounters, he overcomes it.

But my mom's my unsung hero. She asks for one day to herself (Tuesdays, should you be wondering) and seemingly spends the rest of her time supporting me, me dad, and yes, even the cats. It's hard to even think about all the things she does for us, because, well... she's everywhere.

She's the mom who supported me at track meets, despite the late endings and the cold temperatures. She's the mom who sat for endless hours at karate tournaments, even though she hated every minute. She's the mom who let me make my own decisions about school, and never pressured me into my choice of taking advanced classes. She's the mom that sat across from me crying, feeling my pain, when I was at my worst.

Most importantly though, she's the mom that tells me what I need to hear when it isn't what I want to hear. It's not always enjoyed at the time, and I might have taken my anger out on her a time or two..., but I always appreciate it in the end. It's what's helped me become the person I am today (not too shabby, if I say so myself) and make no mistake, it's what'll help me become a better person in the future. Because no matter how "independent" I'm supposed to be, you can bet I'll always have my mom's number memorized.


Happy Mother's Day, mom.

Love,
The Kidlet

... I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

and so it goes . . .

Warring side A said that side B is being outrageous and to ignore them and go through side A.  Side B, needs what side B needs and so the contestants line up.  I figure the Disney complex is middle ground.

Monday, I will call another leader of side A and ask for what side B needs, because side A is not good at keeping it together. 

Are you following me????   Good, because I am getting mired down and need some assistance.  Meet me halfway at Tomorrow Land.

another hoop . . .

Our insurance company countered by wanting all doctor's notes from the past year, as well as the notes from the failed trial.  I see a small forest of trees being massacred before this is done.

And so, I have made #6.   Sell your tree stock and buy into cotton, we're in for a long ride.

waiting . . .

and so it starts.  Since the 9TS was not a candidate for the IL-2, we were told to wait for IPI, which is now being sold under the name Yervoy by Bristol Myers - Squibb, having been approved by the FDA on March 25, 2011.  Moffitt told us to hang tight until we heard from them as the IPI went through the hoops of insurance.  I was thinking it was the hoops of our insurance but it seems that Moffitt has to be approved to distribute it in commercial form as well.  Their target date is May 18.  YAY.

In the meantime, I was told that M.D. Anderson is already approved if we wanted to go there.  Huh??  Why would we fly to Texas?  Well because you dummy, they may have meant the M.D. Anderson Orlando campus . . .  which we didn't even know existed??  More phone calls need to be made.

Moffitt also suggested we get in touch with our insurance company and get the ball rolling on their end.  The news was not heartening.  I was told that Medicare was in no big hurry to accept new drug treatments.  Sigh.  Especially when the series of four infusions runs $120,000.00. 

Moffitt will not even order the drug until they are assured that the money is in their bank. 

And so we wait.  We wait for the paperwork we need to fill out and then forward to our insurance company.  We wait for Moffitt to be approved.  We wait for Medicare.  We wait and we hope.

And while we wait, I sew.  Here's #5:

 

I have to have something to do . . . you know what I mean????

                                 

enough of this . . .

I made another bag.  Red and white. These things are too much fun not to make. zip. zip. done. And, yes, I bought fabric for yet another.

 

Art in the Park. Again? It's that time of year.

Tried the new Mexican restaurant yesterday. You know there's a problem when the 9TS doesn't finish his meal.

That spot on my chest? Basal cell carcinoma. Removal May 24th.

Re-reading Wind in the Willows. Poor Toad. Pardon me, but you are an idiot! Ratty and Mole, I love you. If you missed this tale as a kidlet, do yourself a favor. Read it now.

How did I get sucked into Sudoku? Oh yeah, it's on my Nook. Devilish.

Enough of this.