Ready to get back into my routine…

 Monday I ended up stuck in bed again but I did get two really killed her meals out of it. Kelly made me some wheat berries with greens and some kimchi and poached/steamed eggs on top. I pretty much just relaxed the rest of the day and then Heather came in and made some cod with prawns, roasted brussels sprouts and this really cool vegetable called Romanesco broccoli… it was a combination between broccoli and cauliflower but tasted mostly like cauliflower I really liked it.

 Tuesday was another nice day. Teresa came over and got me up and I had another appointment with Dr. Piro. There is kind of this lumpy thing under my chin and he said it would be all right but he would like to do some ultrasound plus the massage just to make sure. He and everybody else in his office are just so nice. When I had my flap surgery done I didn't get a chance to get to know him, I just met him briefly, he did the surgery and I met him again briefly after. I'm glad I got a chance to get to know him a little bit. Since we were in San Mateo we couldn't help but stop at our new favorite Roman place. This time I had barbecued pork Ramen and Teresa had the same old Miso Ramen that she got last time, we also got potstickers, it was awesome. We decided to go by Home Depot because I needed to get a few things for some projects I have. I found a guy who does maintenance and he is really great. Right now he's  sanding down the top of my fence and today he power washed everything, it really looks great out there. For some reason all day today Teresa and I tired and cranky so we decided to just put me to bed and do everything tomorrow.

Wednesday the tree fell down in front of our house and it looked way too cold and wet outside so I decided to stay in bed. I was glad because I was so tired. I slept until about 1 PM, Sonja came in and did some personal care and I feel like I could sleep the rest of the night. For breakfast Teresa brought me some lentil soup and I had some of the bread I got from Santa Cruz local foods, it was really good. For dinner I had some cod, some more of that cauliflower broccoli vegetable, some super greens and some more bread.

Thursday was a really great day but cold, not chilling down to the bone cold but just cold. I got up, I almost didn't because by lift wasn't working right but I refuse to stay in bed another day. I did my exercises, I took Robby for a cruise, we practice our commands for the day and when we were done I was on my way home and I got a text from Kelly saying that she was on her way down to the wharf so I met her there. We cruise the war followed that and went in a couple of shops and then decided to go have lunch. We picked this place called Firefish Grille, every time I go by it smells really good so I wanted to try it and boy am I glad we did. Kelly had cioppino and I had scallops with artichoke hearts and mushrooms in this really killer sauce, I wanted to take my straw and just drink it all the sauce. It also came with rice pilaf and mixed vegetables,  Everything came with rolls but we had to order some garlic bread… I LOVE garlic bread. We will definitely be going back to that place. We strolled through a couple more shops and I got a sweatshirt and we came home. Teresa put me to bed and I was so cold that turned the heater way up which meet Robby go into the bathroom, he has a bed there and that's where he likes to go when I turn the heat up because it's cooler in there with all the title.

Friday was another great day. I got up and did my exercises and took Robby for cruise and then came back home and my mom and I took Tom and Kelly to  Café Cruz for their birthday, birthday was actually Tuesday but we decided to spread it out. From where I was sitting in the restaurant I could see all of the food we put up on the counter after it was fixed and everything looked great. We went there for lunch so was mostly sandwiches and burgers but in the evenings it's mostly a rotisserie place. I was looking at the menu the night before and I saw that they had a calamari sandwich,  they had a picture and it looked awesome. I pretty much convinced myself that that was what I was going to have but when I got there for some reason I teach to my mind and had a flank steak salad, it was really good but I was sorry I changed my mind. Tom  had the calamari sandwich and it looked so good and he said it was really tender and delicious, all definitely be going back there just to try to that. Kelly had an udon noodle chicken salad that also looked really good and my mom had a chicken, avocado and bacon sandwich. We shared a peach breading dessert  and of course went home stuffed. I got home just in time for Teresa to put me to bed and I just relaxed the rest of the evening. Of course I forgot to take pictures, we were going to try to remember to take a picture of the desert and forgot that also… next time I will definitely take pictures. Stanley brought Corinne and one of her friends for the weekend, it had been a really long time since I had seen them so that was a nice surprise. Corinne and her friend  Jordan watched TV in my room with me for a while and then everybody went to bed.

Saturday was also a really great day. I was hoping it wasn't going to rain because I was looking forward to going to a car show with Tom at San Lorenzo Park. Kelly wanted to throw him a surprise birthday party with all of his friends from the area so my job was to distract him and not bring him back until 2:15 PM. We got there and of course it was on the lower level of the park and the grass was still wet and soggy from the rain the day before. I was a little afraid to drive my chair across the wet grass but Tom assured me that there would be enough people there to pull me out if I got stuck so I just did it and I didn't get stuck, it was close a couple of times but I made it. The car show wasn't real big but there were a lot of cool looking vehicles there. We walked through it and then I was wondering what I was going to to to keep him away from the house for another hour so I just told him I wasn't ready to go back yet.  We decided to just cruise around and we came across the Paradox Hotel, I saw it on the website and it looked really cool. It was all built to bring the nature inside. The desks were made of huge trees, there was twigs lined up on one of the walls and little sculptures of squirrels all over the walls and bookcases. The bookcases were filled with books but they were all covered with white paper so you couldn't see the title on any of them, I thought to myself how many trees did they kill to cover all those books? Not very nature friendly? They had a really nice dining room and we decided we should go back there one day for lunch or dinner, the menu looked really good. On the way back we walked along this picket fence and somebody had slammed a tambourine on one of the point he pickets, I mentioned it to Tom so he went back and grabbed the tambourine. We joked on the way back home about how somebody must've quit the band or got thrown out of the band and slammed it on the fence as they went by. I texted Kelly when we got a couple of blocks from the house so they would know we were on our way home and I let Tom walk in the door 1st and he was really surprised. Everybody started singing happy birthday and Tom started playing this tambourine. Ever since Tom and Kelly got here this summer they have been talking about this awesome dinner that Tom cooks once or twice a year with mashed potatoes on the bottom, sauerkraut over that, a pork roast cooked until it falls apart and kielbasa sausage so Kelly talked him into cooking that and told him we were having family over… he did not know he was cooking his own birthday dinner. It turned out AWESOME, everybody loved it and couldn't stop talking about it. Ursula made a couple of really delicious apple tarts out of apples that my uncle stole from the neighbors yards. Everybody has such a good time, I just love having people over and it especially feels good when they are comfortable in my home.

Sunday turned out to be a really great day for everybody except Stanley and Corinne. They started not feeling very good on Saturday night and they were sick all through the night. Tom, Kelly and I were going to take them to breakfast and then to the new tie-dye place downtown but Tom and Kelly said they saw them in the morning and they looked miserable. We decided to go to breakfast at the roadhouse restaurant, I usually have my wheat berries with greens and a poached egg but I decided to have a chorizo, avocado and goat cheese omelette and it was also really good. Kelly had wheat pancakes and bacon and Tom had biscuits and gravy. Kelly mentioned that her pancakes were cold but didn't want to send them back so Tom insisted, she was glad because it was a lot nicer to eat hot pancakes. Once again we forgot to take pictures so there are none, take my word for it they were awesome. It was such a nice day that we decided to drive out to the pigeon point lighthouse, last time we were there they were remodeling and repainting everything and I have been wanting to see how it was coming along. We couldn't even find a place to park and it would be too hard to get around with all that traffic in my chair so we decided to just drive on and see where else we could stop. We drove down to Pescadero and parked by Duarte's Tavern and see what was going on there. It's a good thing we did because we ended up stopping at this little restaurant and there was a band playing out back, the band was really amazing. I couldn't get out there because the deck had steps and none of the gates were open but Tom sat inside with Robby, Tom had a beer and Robby rolled around in the grass. Kelly and I sat outside the fence and listen to the band for a while until it was time to go. I can't remember the name of the band that they had just come back from a tour and said the night before they were at Neil Young's house in Redwood City. Tom bought a CD so we could remember the name and look it up to see when they're going to play in the area again. We came back home and Karen put me to bed. Stanley and the gang took off to go home while Karen was putting me to bed so I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, I hope they are feeling better. What a great weekend.

It has been HOT here lately…

 Monday luckily I got out before it got too hot. They took Robby on a really long cruise and on the way back he was panting so hard, I love the warm weather so it was perfect for me but a little too hot for Robby so we came back where it was cooler. I did my exercises and then Karen put me to bed. I just feel so great and sleep so well when I feel like I got everything done during the day that I wanted to do.

Tuesday I wasn't quite so lucky. I had an appointment to get my hair and nails done but my personal care took way too long and Teresa still wasn't feeling very good so I ended up just staying in bed. I did get a nice long hot bath,  I always feel great after that. AT&T sent me a new box for my Internet and I was supposed to hook it up and wait until 8 PM to activate it, Karen started hooking it up at 4 PM… what was I going to do without any Internet for 3 hours?? Luckily I tried it by chance and let me sign up earlier. Karen went outside and came back in and said there was a HUGE spider on the fence in front of my wall so she took a picture.

Wednesday was a really good day but cold. The last couple of days around here it has been 100° and today I went out expecting it to be really hot but I think it only got up to 64°. I had an appointment to get my hair and nails done, that always feels so great. I left Robby here so Kelly could give him a bath and because they spoil him way too much at the beauty parlor. It was sprinkling on my way home and I was going to grab Robby and take him for a cruise but he was still wet, he wouldn't have minded but I didn't want to go back out into the cold. I felt really good because I got my exercises done in the morning the only thing I didn't get to do today was work with Robby, I told him I would make it up to him tomorrow. I came home and talked to Heather for a bit, she went to a Peter Gabriel concert last night at had such a great time.  Sonja came and put me to bed and my uncle and aunt came over to play a couple games of cribbage with my mom and I. For breakfast I had some cantaloupe and for dinner I had some tilapia with lemon and capers, green beans and quinoa.

Thursday was a little cold but it was a great day. I got up and did some exercises and took Robby for a nice long cruise through the lagoon, of over the bridge, to the end of the wharf and back and through the boardwalk. It was really quiet and deserted in the boardwalk is where I like to practice some of Robby's commands but when I looked and realized they were once we had to do at home we just came home and did them. Push was one of them, he pushes a   cupboard, drawer or door closed with either his nose or jumps up and does it with his paws, he's really very talented. I came back and relaxed for a while and then Teresa came back, Karen is on vacation so Teresa is doing most of the shifts. Cassidy came by to say hello, it's always so great to see her because she really cheers me up. She's moving this weekend and I'm kind of sad because although she lives right across the street I hardly ever get to see her. We did some personal care and I got to take a nice long hot bath, my 1st one in over a month… I had to take showers for a while and it sure was nice and relaxing to take about again. For breakfast I have some cantaloupe and 2 cups of coffee, I usually only have one cup and for dinner Teresa brought some wheat berries and mixed them with some greens and spinach I had. I always feel so great when I get everything done that I want to do during the day and then end up with a nice hot bath.

Friday was a pretty good day. I have been cold all day so it's a subject back into bed with my electric throw and where I can control the heater. I don't like to  turn the heater up a lot because Robby gets really warm with his big heavy coat so I just turned my blanket on high bidding keeps me nice and warm. I went to take Robby for a really long cruise and Heather texted me and asked if I wanted to go have sushi, unfortunately I had just eaten a bunch of cantaloupe but I wished I could have gone with her. As I cruise through the Depot Park I stop to that Robby go to the bathroom and here comes Seth on his bike, there is of little bike obstacle ramp that he likes to ride at so watched him for a while and then we went for a cruise through the wharf and then went down to the boardwalk and watch them take apart some of the hurricane roller coaster, I guess they're putting in the new roller coaster that goes faster and spins around or something like that. I came back home and did my exercises, ate some mustard chicken and some greens with wheat berries and went to bed and watch the Big Bang theory.

Sometimes I just look around and think about my life and wonder how I got so lucky. I have the house of my dreams and I live in the place of my dreams. Every place that I love to go is so close and so beautiful, downtown, the lagoon, the wharf, the boardwalk, the beach…

Saturday I ended up staying in bed. Karen is on vacation, Sonia is sick and Teresa has a ton of homework. I thought it was going to be a boring day but it actually turned out to be pretty good. I got a call from Lauren at CCI and she said that another service animal in this area got attacked, I asked her if she could put me in touch with the person but I never heard back from her. I got a message on Facebook from the lady today who ran into my massage therapist at the flea market and Susan gave her my Facebook name. Her and her daughter are still a little traumatized, I can't wait to talk to her because I have been dying to find somebody to talk to about this situation who really understands. I bought a new bed a while back and I was going to give my old one away by my uncle and aunt said they wanted it and now that it's been in their house for a while they want me to take it back… I thought I already got rid of it once because I didn't have room to store it?  I guess I'll put it on craigslist and see what I can get for it.

Sunday was perfect. I was up by 10 AM and the sun was already out.  Robby and I went for our regular cruise around Santa Cruz and then I came back and went to lunch with Kelly at Laili downtown, I have been wanting to take her there for a while.  We decided to eat out on the patio and it was gorgeous, the sun was out… it was a perfect day. Teresa and I had a groupon a while back and we tried it a couple of times and just loved it. Kelly had a beet salad with arugula and feta and I had traveled with basmati rice with saffron and pickled tomatoes and zucchini, we both loved it. I came back home and got here just as Teresa drove up… perfect timing. We did some personal care and then I got to take a nice long hot bath, it always feels so great.

I will be back to normal soon…

 Monday I decided to get up and cruise around for a while. I found a hood to cover this apparatus that they have to put on my head. I did my exercises and then cruised around on our regular cruise, it's so nice during the week  when there are so many people. The lady that cleans my house suggested her husband for some of the maintenance stuff that I need to do around here so Karen and I met with him at 3 PM. He seemed like he knew what he was doing and I gave him the list of stuff I need done and he didn't run away screaming so hopefully it will work out.

Tuesday was not a good day. I started feeling pain really bad  where they did the Lycos suction. I'm used to taking pain medication just because it's prescribed to me and I don't want my body to go into shock, usually I don't feel anything. Under my job started hurting really bad so I broke down and took a pill and of course I felt better for the rest of the day. Around 7 PM I started feeling the pain again and it just got worse so I took another pill, a couple hours later and it was getting really bad so I took another one and I finally started to feel better. I wish I could have all my procedures done where I can feel it. Susan came over this morning and gave me a massage, that felt great. For breakfast I had some pinwheels that Heather made and some eggplant. For dinner I had some mushroom noodles with mushrooms that Kelly made. A magazine is giving her a 10 page spread for her cooking, how cool is that? She deserves it so much and I can't wait for it to come out so I can see it. She also made this really delicious chocolate and orange tart… it must be the pain pills. The noodles and mushrooms were awesome and I can't wait to have some more that.

Wednesday was just another day of the same old thing, I will be so glad when this is over. For breakfast I had chicken adobo and greens, for lunch I had mushroom noodles with mushrooms and some more of that delicious tart… I wish I could remember what it was. For dinner I had chicken adobo and brussels sprouts. Luckily it was cold all day so I didn't miss much.

 Thursday was just another day of staying in bed and avoiding pain. I liked the breast reconstruction surgery way better because I didn't feel anything. Because I do feel my chin and throat it seems like it is hypersensitive.  It itches and when I go to scratch it it hurts but I guess that's normal and I will get over it.

Friday was an awesome day. I got to get up and get out of this bed and I was so excited, I'm sure that Robby was also. I had my postop appointment with Dr. Piro so we decided to go have Ramen noodles before our appointment. We keep seeing this place every time we go by to the doctor and we keep threatening to stop but this time we did, the noodles were amazing. I had sweetcorn Ramen noodles and Teresa had miso Ramen noodles. We also had potstickers and they were also awesome. The doctor said that there is a lump in the middle of my throat that we have to massage for a couple of days and if it doesn't go down we have to go back and see him. It just needs to be broken up a little bit because I m Iny neck down too much. I hope it's not going to be a problem but if it is he will fix it. It was just so nice to get out and although we didn't get the news that we wanted it was still good.

 Saturday was another great day. I got up and did my exercises and took Robby for a nice long cruise. The weekends around here are pretty crazy and there was a lot going on but it is good experience for Robby. They had some kind of cheerleader competition going on on the stage on the beach and a lot of little cheerleaders running around. When Karen got here Tom took her and I to a much-needed trip to Costco, it has been a really long time and I was almost out of a lot of stuff. Of course I got a chicken bake, I love those things. I was really happy to get back home and go to bed, I was exhausted and freezing. I didn't even hear Karen leave because my head was under the covers and I was out.

Sunday turned out to be a really relaxing day. Teresa came in but wasn't feeling good so she fed Robby and then went back home. Last night Kelly made some custard French toast and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight so that's what we had for breakfast, it was awesome. After breakfast I fell asleep and I pretty much slept all day until Karen came in at 2 PM and I think I even slept while she did my personal care, I haven't slept this much in a long time and I hope I can sleep tonight. Alexia came over to visit for a while and Heather came over to take Robby out for a little cruise.  Heather said that I should be glad I didn't get up because it was 95° outside and everybody was coming over to Santa Cruz to get away from the San Jose heat. I watched a movie called Rio, I think I have seen them before but it was really cute. For dinner I had some chicken adobo,  some other kind of chicken with the killer green sauce, some eggplant and some broccoli. I tried to eat broccoli because I know it's really good for you but the only way I can eat it is with a ton of mayonnaise on it and I know that's not good. It's really quiet and relaxing right now and it feels great. I hope tomorrow is not as hot as it was today.

This is going to be my last surgery/procedure…

 Monday was an awesome day. I got up and did my exercises and then took Robby on a really really long cruise. We went through the lagoon and up over the bridge above the wharf and I decided to go see how crowded it was on West Cliff Dr., we used a cruise that all the time and it's so beautiful. We cruised all the way down past the lighthouse and then decided to turn back because it was getting really cold and windy. We cruised to the end of the wharf, they have a couple of seal outlook places they cut in the wharf where the sea lions, doggie mermaids, like to hang out. Every time we go by there Robby likes to stick his  head through the rail and look at them for a while. I never thought about it before but that's what everyone does, a guy came over and asked if he could take a picture because Robby look so cute with a bunch of people looking over the rail and Robby looking through it… he said Robby looked like a tourist. I'm going to have to get Kelly to take a picture of that. We cruised back and then over to the boardwalk which was again deserted after the weekend. I came back and Karen put me to bed and I had a nice relaxing evening visiting with my aunt and uncle and Tom and Kelly. For breakfast I had some mustard chicken and brussels sprouts and for dinner I also had mustard chicken and brussels sprouts with some greens and some awesome macaroni and cheese that Kelly made.

Tuesday was another great day. I got up and did my exercises and then took Robby for a really long cruise through the lagoon, the wharf and the boardwalk. The boardwalk was again deserted for the week so we practiced some of our commands, Robby is so smart. We put some tug ropes on a couple of drawers and cabinets so he can practice opening and closing them. Teresa put me to bed and nurse came to give me a complete physical for my life insurance and then Susan came to give me a massage, I just love getting a massage. We did some personal care after everybody left and I was so tired I slept right through it. For breakfast I had a stuffed pork loin and some greens and for dinner I had a tuna salad wrap and some Pringles… probably not a good idea when the nurses going to come and take my blood, hindsight…

Wednesday was really nice. After I got up I went downtown with Karen to drop off some of my shirts at the tie-dye place, the guy said he would tie dye some for me and I'm so excited. We decided to go to the Surfriders Café  for lunch and we had another awesome experience. I had Angus sliders with Gorgonzola cheese and bacon bits with sweet potato fries and Karen had sliders with cheddar cheese and sweet potato fries. The guy remembered me from when I was in there a couple of days ago. I used another expired groupon, only 3 left. I went up to Safeway to pick up a prescription and then cruised back home just in time for Sony to put me to bed. I have some fish and some kale and then my uncle and my aunt, Lee and Claudia and my mom and I played cards… I won a dollar.

 Thursday was a pretty good day. I got up a little related than I expected but I got to do my exercises and take Robby for a long cruise. Teresa came by and we did some personal care and I got to take a nice long hot shower, unfortunately no baths for a while. Teresa took Robby home with her so that Jess can cruise him around for me tomorrow while I get my procedure done, I am getting Smart lypo on my chin. I am more nervous about this than my last surgery because this is going to be a place where I can potentially feel it even though it's going to be done under local anesthesia am a little afraid of the pain afterwards. I know he has done this about 1 million times before so I have every confidence in the doctor. I wish it was tomorrow night at this time right now so it can be over with. For breakfast I had a poached egg and lamb patties and for dinner I had chicken and kale… I can't wait until I can have garlic again, nobody is going to want to be around me for a while.

Friday was a really crazy day. I have my appointment with Dr. Piro to get smart liposuction on my chin. I was more nervous about this one that I was about the breast reconstruction because my neck I can feel. We stopped off at the cafeteria and got a breakfast burrito and some coffee because neither one of us had time to eat, there was actually a really great burrito. We got to the office and they started injecting local shots in my neck and I have to admit it was really uncomfortable. The next shot is the procedure plus more local anesthesia, you could hear the fat pop and it sounded really weird.  I didn't get to see what it looked like when he was done because he covered it with some compression bandages that I have to keep on for a week. I know it's going to be worth it but these bandages are driving me crazy. I got home and just went to bed and just kind of chilled out the rest of the night.

 Saturday I pretty much stayed in bed and took pain meds.

Sunday was the same thing, stay in bed and take pain meds.

I feel great and I got my puppy back…

 Monday was a really long and exhausting personal-care day, I didn't even make it out of bed. For breakfast I had chicken Castroville and roasted vegetables in for lunch I had chicken and coconut soup and focaccia bread.

Tuesday was a great day. I got up and did my exercises for Stanford research, I decided to do them when I 1st get up because by the end of the day I always forget. I would for cruise through the lagoon, down to the end of the wharf and back and then home. It was such a nice day I decided to lay back in the driveway and enjoy it and Heather came by so I have her give me something to eat because I knew it was going to be a busy evening. The accounting lady came by at 3 PM and then Susan came by at 4 PM to give me a much-needed and appreciated massage, I think it has been 2 or 3 weeks. When Teresa came by at 3 PM she brought Robby and it sure was nice to see him. Of course he came in and totally ignored me and ran over to the accountant  and then back to Teresa, Tom came down the hallway and Robby dashed out to say hello to him… I guess Robby didn't miss me as much as I missed him. We'll see who's left out when I go for a walk tomorrow… just kidding, I am really glad to have Robby back. For breakfast I had some pineapple, Costco has better pineapple than Safeway but unfortunately Costco does not deliver. For lunch I tried a pineapple and golden beet juice smoothie, it didn't taste as good as it sounded and it was really thick. For lunch I had chicken Castroville, steak, roasted vegetables and quinoa. It sure is nice to get back on a real diet again although I really loved Heather's soups.

Wednesday I got up and took Robby for a really long cruise through the lagoon, the wharf and the boardwalk. All of the rides, food and souvenir places were all closed up for the winter so I figured I was the perfect place to practice some of  Robby's commands, there were a few people around for distraction  so it was perfect. We cruised on back home and rested for a bit and then went to the Farmer's market with Kelly, she got me addicted to those white raspberries and now I just want to have them. I also got some almond milk with coconut and some vegan macaroons, I have always wondered what vegan desserts taste like and I think they are pretty good. We came back home and it was time to go to bed for the evening. For breakfast I had some cantaloupe, again it was from Safeway so wasn't that good. For dinner I had steak, quinoa and some roasted vegetables… after I went to bed I had some sardines in mustard and crackers.

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day also. I got up and did my exercises and took Robby on the same cruise and ended up again at the Boardwalk practicing some commands, Robby is such a good boy. As we were cruising through the wharf I noticed Robby didn't have his collar with his tags on so I texted Karen to make sure she forgot that I didn't have to backtrack to try to find it, she forgot to put it on. As we were cruising through the boardwalk I noticed that Robby slipped the nose piece off of his halti so I figured I was listening that it was time to go home. I caught Karen before she left and had her put it back on and we were going to go out cruising again but instead we talked to Tom and Kelly for a bit. Kelly went upstairs and my hand came in with Jessica, my cousin's wife. My cousin passed away when he was 22 and Jessica found him and she was so devastated that she just moved away so she came back to say hello, it was really great to see her and she looked exactly the same as she did 12 years ago. She said that she had moved back to Santa Cruz and was going to try to start a new life. Hopefully we will see her again. For breakfast I had a poached egg, a pork Patty and an English muffin. For lunch I had a white raspberry smoothie with almond Coconut milk and coconut water, it was a little bitter so next time I will try to add something sweeter to it. For dinner I had steak and kale and after I went to bed some more sardines in mustard, I really love those but so far only Teresa wants to feed them to me.

Friday was such a beautiful day. I got up and just hung around in my driveway loving my yard and the sun. We decided to have a barbecue for lunch and cleaned out my freezer, get rid of some of the stuff that's about to expire. Kelly found some calamari and my aunt had some tempura shrimp and Kelly made some broccoli risotto, I had never had risotto before and I have always wanted to try it… it was really good. Teresa came and put me to bed and I just relaxed the rest of the evening, so nice. For breakfast I had a poached egg, pork Patty and an English muffin.

 

 Saturday I felt miserable so I just stayed in bed.

Sunday was a much better day. I got up and took Robby for a nice long cruise and then came back home and Tom, Kelly and I  decided to try the surf riders Café. I have several groupons from them and Karen keeps telling me how fabulous there  food is, she was not lying. I had a coffee and chocolate milkshake and Kelly and I split some avocado fries and calamari. Tom had a portobello hamburger that looked awesome and that came with some which cut potatoes. After that we went to the tie-dye store and I got a couple of pairs of tie-dye pants. I have a bunch of white shirts that I have been looking for someone to tie dye and the guy said that they will do it for me, I am so excited. I can't wait to gather them up and take them down there. I already picked out a couple of patterns. I came back home and Karen put me to bed and I have the rest of the evening to relax and watch movies. For breakfast I had a poached egg, English muffin and some white raspberries.

I think I'm almost through the worst of it…

 I'm really getting tired of sitting up in bed at a 45° angle and really really getting tired of taking all these pills, I downloaded all these movies from pay-per-view that I had planned on watching but all I do is sleep.

Tuesday is just more of the same, taking pills and sleeping. I am getting a lot of stuff done around the house that hasn't been done for a while thanks to Karen and Teresa. I did make an appointment for Thursday to see if everything is coming along like it's supposed to be and to see if I can start getting back up in my chair and critiquing these nasty pills.

Wednesday was pretty much more of the same thing, I hope my appointment goes well tomorrow. For breakfast I had a poached egg and red potatoes from my front yard and for dinner Kelly grilled salmon burgers and we have them on  herb bread we bought in San Francisco with avocado, they were so good.

Thursday was my 1st day back up in my chair and outside of the house, what an incredible feeling. I went back to see Dr. Piro and he took off the bandages, took out the drains and took out the stitches. Once again he did a fantastic job on me, I was so thrilled I couldn't stop smiling. He said that I can start getting up and resuming my life but no Jacuzzi bath until the holes heal up on the side.  I did get a nice hot shower before I went back to bed, I feel great. What a great day. For breakfast I had a poached egg and the roasted potatoes that Kelly made from my front yard, they were awesome. For dinner I had some corn and potato soup that Heather made. Since my surgery and there has been making me a lot of soups, all awesome. I didn't know that among everything else she cooks she makes an awesome variety of soups. I'm so glad that I found her not only because she's a good cook but because she is a great friend and always here when I need her.

Friday was such a great day. It was really nice to get out and out of the house for a little while. Now that I'm starting to feel better and now that I know everything went okay I'm really starting to miss Robby, he has been staying  over at Teresa's since my surgery because I was a little afraid he would jump on me. I can't wait to get him back. I cruise around for a while by myself and then hung out in the driveway in the sun talking to Kelly for a while. We decided to grab Tom and my mom and go down to the roadhouse restaurant for lunch, I love that place. I had fish tacos and we split some truffle and Parmesan fries. My mom had some soup and Kelly and Tom split the beet salad and this really yummy looking Pesto, Eggplant, Shitake Mushroom, Mozzarella,  fresh Ricotta, Chili flakes pizza. We have never been disappointed going there.  We came back and Kelly and I were looking at the vegetables in the front yard, the tomatoes are almost ready, the potato she dug up and roasted and she cut down the chard and cooked it off the other day. It is so nice to have all this fresh stuff right in front. Kelly and I went across the street and got a bunch of red and yellow tomatoes. Hopefully for a while I will have roasted tomatoes for breakfast. Teresa came and put me to bed and the rest of the evening I just relaxed and watched chimpanzee on pay-per-view. I am so relieved that the surgery is over, it was a really hard week, and everything turned out okay. I just have to make it through the Smart Lypo suction on the 21st and everything will be back to normal. The Lypo suction is going to be a piece of cake compared to the breast reconstruction surgery.

 Saturday I intended to get up but Sony looked at the incision underneath my chest and it was red and had a little blood, not very much. I think it's from the chest strap on my chair rubbing, we put sheep skin around it but apparently it's still too delicate so I have another day to relax. Terry, Angie, Phoebe and Phyper came over to visit for a while while Charlie, Peter and Parker went to the wharf to do some fishing, Parker caught a starfish and was so proud of it but he put it back, he is such a smart kid. My uncle and aunt, Claudia, my mom and I played cribbage… I only have a dollar left to my name. I was getting kind of tired of soup, although they were all awesome so Tom went over to Berger.and brought us dinner. I had an ahi tuna burger and sweet potato fries, I love that place. For breakfast I had some corn and tomato soup that Heather made, she really make some killer soups.

Sunday I got up and went to hang out for a little bit outside, I love my yard. Tom, Kelly and I went up to this really cool café and had coffee. We decided to go over to Trader Joe's and get some pizza dough, goat cheese and vegetarian chorizo and make grilled pizzas, we already have a type of tomatoes. They turned out really good and I ended up eating way too much but I'm not sorry. Karen came and put me to bed and the rest of the evening was just relaxing. While we were at Trader Joe's all of a sudden Bailey got quiet and when Tom and Kelly came back out I saw them looking in the window and giggling… Bailey fell off the seat into the cooler and couldn't get out.

It's starting to cool down a bit…

 Monday was a really restful day. I was really tired so I decided to just stay in bed. The nurse from the Peninsula Hospital called to do my preop for Thursday over the phone, it took longer than I thought but she was really nice. The rest of the day I kind of just slept on and off, it felt great. I used to stay in bed at least once a week and I really miss those days but then when I stay in bed I do get a little restless and wish that I could get out. Especially on days like today where it ended up warming up to 81°. Teresa came over and we did my personal care and I got a nice long hot bath, I love doing my personal care and bath at night instead of the morning because then I can get up earlier and enjoy more of the day. For breakfast I had chili relleno casserole with Canadian bacon, mushrooms and spinach that Teresa made… it was so good I couldn't stop eating it so I ate way too much. For dinner I had tilapia with lemon and capers, eggplant and spinach.

 Tuesday was another lazy day, I stayed in bed. The accountant came by to help me with my bills and Susan came by to give me a much-needed massage, it has been a couple of weeks. After she left I was so relaxed and sleepy, I just love that feeling. I talked to Teresa a little bit about what were going to do after the surgery and what we're going to need to bring to make me comfortable on the way home. I think her and Jess are going to keep Robby for a couple of days so he doesn't jump up on me, every time we moved my bed out he likes to jump up and hang out for a while. I e-mailed Cici with a bunch of questions, she is Dr. Piro's assistant. I'm sure she's quite tired of all my last-minute questions but she's very sweet about it, I just hope I'm not the only one who asked all these questions at the last minute… I'm sure I'm not. For breakfast I had poached egg sandwich with wheat bread and for dinner I had some lentil and spinach soup that Heather made. Heather also made some Green Chile soup, I saw her roasting peppers outside and it smelled wonderful.  I also had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the jelly and my moms friend Betty made, it was killer.

Wednesday was such a nice day, not too hot and not too cold. I took Robby for a really long cruise through the lagoon, through the park, to the end of the wharf and back, to the end of the boardwalk and back, through town and to the bank to make an extra payment on the principle of my mortgage. I came back and rested for a while and did my exercises for the research and then Teresa came by and did my personal care and I got a nice long hot bath with hexafluoride, I feel so clean. Tomorrow morning is the big day. I have my breast reconstruction surgery. We have been trying to go over everything  that we are going to need to do and although it doesn't sound easy but will definitely be worth it in the long run. I think the hardest part will be trying to sit up at a 45° angle for a couple of weeks. I had a poached egg, some wheat toast and some apricot jam that my mom's friend Betty made, it was really good… I think apricot is my favorite. For dinner I had some green chili soup that Heather made, THAT was awesome. Well… here I go, wish me luck.

Thursday went pretty smoothly. We got to the hospital and got to our room and there were a lot of people that help us although thank God I had Teresa, she knew exactly what to do. I woke up in the recovery room feeling like crap but I expected that. They somehow got me loaded in my chair and brought me home and that's all I really remember, somebody kept telling me to breathe deep and I wanted to smack them.

Friday I pretty much took the Percocet every 4 hours and slept, it's really hard to do everything at a 45° angle… I wish I would've practiced although I doubt it would have done much good. Everybody has been really good about letting me rest.

Friday was pretty much the same, I was out of it most of the day. I had all these hopes of watching movies and watching some of the shows on my TiVo but so far nothing has happened but sleep. People are waking me up to eat and then take your pills and then I am back to sleep again. I guess I'm catching up on all my sleep now.

Saturday is the same thing all over again, eat, pills, sleep.

Sunday I feel a little bit more awake even with the pills, I hope that is a good sign. I haven't gotten bored yet if they are getting hot and cold flashes and that is really annoying but thank goodness Robby isn't here or I would be making him crazy. 1 min. I have the air conditioner up to 70° and the next minute I haven't up to 78°.