Mood:
I love bananas!
To have a day devoted to them is great! I usually have a banana with my breakfast. The only downside to them might be that they have a lot of calories.
At least more than a lot of fruit out there. They're tasty fried, in a dessert, or by themselves. Pretty versatile, too.
Had surgery yesterday. It was minor, but I had to be put under anesthesia. It was for getting my IUD inserted and a pap. They can't do either unless I'm put to sleep. Way too painful to have them done while awake.
It's not just anxiety or something like that. I was willing to get my IUD out, and hoping to have a new one inserted just after at my primary care doc's office a few months ago. Getting it out this way was hell, so I couldn't physically have a new one inserted while I was awake as well.
They had my 'estimated' check-in time as 6:30am. So, we had to leave the house and get up early.
(The surgery center was roughly a half hour away.) I was told to not wear my contacts while in the OR. So, I left them at home. Made it a bit difficult to fill out the forms that they gave me.
I'm near-sighted, so without my contacts everything has to be really close in order for me to see it. I was apparently scheduled as their first patient for the day. They almost forgot to tell me about the urine sample. I shouldn't have asked about it...
(The 'sample' I gave them a couple of days before that apparently was contaminated, but they told me they would have wanted me to do it again anyways.)
The chair in the pre-op area was nice. They gave me some comfy sock slippers that have tread on them, and gave me a really warm blanket on my legs. Since I have a history of pulmonary embolisms, they gave me something that went over my ankles and lower legs. They're supposed to pulsate or something in order to keep the blood flowing/moving. I only felt a slight pressure, nothing else with them. The gown was kind of revealing, so for modesty, they threw a big blanket around my backside. It was another heated one, so I ended up feeling really cozy as I made my way to the OR.
Oh, and they said they were surprised at how many visible veins I had. Before I lost a lot of weight, it was difficult. Later, I found out the area around the vein they picked for my IV was badly bruised. And, took a while to stop bleeding...
When I got into the OR, they wanted me to put my butt on a hole in the table, and lie down. Kind of uncomfortable.
They had spread my arms out wide, and kept rubbing them. The anesthesiologist was talking about shopping, and put an oxygen mask on me. She assured me that all they were giving me was oxygen. She was incredibly sneaky, because not too long after I blacked out.
At some point, I felt my breathing tube come out of my throat and I was about to open my eyes. But, someone came by, kept my eyes shut, said "oh no, no. Not yet.", and put the oxygen mask back on me.
I passed out again quickly after that.
I actually had a dream this time. It wasn't scary. I think I was a manager or something for a Japanese rock band. I remember clearly that they kept telling me that I had a huge responsibility, and that only I could do a certain thing. (Don't know what that thing was. Not sure if I even knew in the dream...
) Kind of made me confused. Also, when I was slightly waking up back when my breathing tube was being taken out, I felt like I was on a jet plane or something.
Felt that way when I woke up again.
When I woke up a 2nd time the mask was still on me, and I was looking around aimlessly feeling extremely sleepy still. The nurse assigned to me in recovery came over and told me to go back to sleep. I did, and next thing I knew, that nurse was gently rocking the end of the bed. I think the mask was off of me, finally. The lights were still pretty dim. For a while all I focused on was the conversation the patient next to me was having behind our curtains. He was pretty out of it.
Later, Dad came by, and the nurse handed her my discharge papers. Then, the nurse gave me something to eat. I was really hungry. They refused to let me feed myself.
So, Dad fed me some applesauce, and then some cinnamon graham cracker sticks. They were good.
The nurse was very nice, although he kept trying to crack some really bad jokes. He didn't want me to dress myself either, even though I kept saying I could. Felt a bit embarrassing. He said either Dad can dress me, or a female nurse could. I felt too embarrassed to have Dad help me with it, so my main nurse asked another nurse to help me.
Once I was dressed, they wheeled me in a wheel chair out to the car.
I was very sleepy for most of the rest of the day. Had a good appetite as well, even though they warned me to go easy/bland. I didn't feel sick from eating my normal stuff, so I guess it didn't affect me that way.
I was supposed to do some deep breathing and cough every 2 hours, but I forgot about it.
Oddly, I think my throat's better than it was before the breathing tube...
(They coughing is supposed to be partially for helping with soothing an irritated throat from the tube.) Apparently, I might be bleeding slightly off and on for a little while. I've been feeling like I'm draining stuff profusely from there. Not necessarily blood, but things.
In fact, I complained about it almost as soon as I was aware enough. The bleeding part's already become pretty light. They told me that I couldn't take a bath for about a month. That's ok, I don't take baths all that often. I prefer showers. They told me that I might not have a period at all during the 5 years of wearing this. It could be different than my last one. I'm more than cool with that.
Although, I'm ok if it's super light like I had before.
Last night, it felt like I was under anesthesia again. I was really out for the night. Got up kind of late, but I was refreshed. (They said to rest for the first couple of days anyways.) Been feeling really good, too.
It might be relief from not having to think about it so much. I don't know.
Last Sunday I went to Hurricane Ridge. It was glorious out there.
Saw some great views of the mountains, lots of deer, cute little birds that made interesting sounds, and more. There were a lot of does out with their fawns. Not very many bucks out. I think I only saw one, and he was very young. Antlers were still little stubs coming out of his head. He was one of the last deer I saw, and was in the parking lot looking for food. I haven't been to Hurricane Ridge in years.
Things have changed a little up there. But, there are still a lot of deer, tourists, and great views. The Visitor Center seems to be just like I remember too. We got ice cream bars there. (Dad was with me.) I had a cookies and cream one.
Later, we went to Asian Buffet for dinner. The name was actually very fitting, because there was a wide variety of Asian cuisine. Some Japanese, a lot of Chinese, some Korean, some Thai, etc. food. It was one of the best buffets we've been to in a long time.
A wide variety of food in general, too. (Remarkably, not many pork dishes...Great for me.) I tried a thing they called a white sticky rice bun. There was a name for it in Chinese, but I can't read it. It was wrapped in, what I thought, were bamboo leaves, but it could have been banana leaves I suppose. It was wrapped up in a neat packet. Surprisingly good, even if it looked a bit odd.
I think it was filled with red bean paste. Very interesting place. I tried to get tiny bits of everything that looked/sounded good. Ended up with 4 light plates. They weren't piled on like I might have done in the past. I was still super full.
The anesthesiologist was surprised by my 'fitness' plan. She thought the way I'm trying to eat is very good and smart.
She lost weight with a similar mentality. I'm sticking much closer to it then I did before. I found out roughly how much calories are in the fruits we usually eat. It was fascinating really.
I was surprised by stuff like bananas being more calories than I thought, and strawberries were a lot less. Very cool to even just see to get a general idea of it all. So, I'm not going to skimp on my fruit, but I have to put their amount of calories into consideration for other things I might eat with it. I'm looking more seriously at labels and such too.
I've noticed that for some meals I'm not eating enough, and for some it might be slightly too much. So, this is all important for me to see. Great for balancing out things more. Since I've gotten more 'into' it, I'm already noticing even more weight loss. The person who did my blood test for surgery a couple of days before it has known me for a while. She took my blood a couple of months before, too. She said I looked like I lost a lot of weight from even the last time she saw me. (It was the first thing she said.) She was impressed too. When they were weighing me during the pre-op stuff, they looked a bit surprised when they compared my previous weight that was recorded towards the beginning of the month. Things are changing for me big time, then.
I'm hoping to get back into my walks as soon as I feel up to it. I was doing sit-ups right up until the night before the surgery. I think that's helped too. I'll restart that when I feel up to it, as well. Which feels like that might be soon. Yay!
Exercise is still good for me, even if I'm losing weight quickly with my 'meal plan'. It'll keep me in shape, too.
Oh, and I found out last night that the anime forum I really liked that used to be really active, has come back. Ever since it was hacked into a couple of years ago, it's been kind of stagnant.
They took down the index page that welcomed visitors, so they were really lying low. The rest of the site was up, but only members could really see it. I basically gave up on it a little while ago, because nothing was happening with it. Plus, there were less and less members that were active each day. I decided just for the fun of it, to see what's happened to it. Lo and behold, they've breathed life into it.
The index page is now up, and I looked around some of the threads and such, all of which seem to suddenly be active again. Read in one of their announcements that they were undergoing changes to bring back the community they lost, which was back in July. So, I think they've come back to life since then. (Pretty recent.) I'm thinking about possibly getting back to it as well. Next time, I'll probably give it more of a look again to see if I want to become active again.
It was a great place, one of the best forums I've been apart of.
Real sense of community. It's not just about anime. They have a place for creative members to share their writings, pics, drawings, etc. There's a cooking section, too. Even some interesting philosophical/religion based threads. There are sections for in-depth debates/discussions. They also have arcade games, albums, groups, and more. They were one of the first group of people to read the beginning of my first novel, Alliance. Also, to see my pics. Got a lot of great advice from them. One of the few forums that I felt like I made some pretty close friends on. (Although, some have dropped it, too. Some haven't pm'd me in a long time. Probably thought I fully gave up on it.) It's based in the UK. If you want to check it out, it's here: Anime Forum.
Mood:
I love potatoes!I could eat them all day and not get sick of them. There are so many different ways you can eat them. Mashed, baked, French fries, scalloped, shredded, etc.
Went shopping again last weekend. Got 2 big fluffy and 'firm' pillows. My old ones were ripping apart, and the stuffing was coming out.
They were also huge, but didn't have any support, so they were pretty flat. These new ones are really nice.They're so fluffy that I'm down to one for my bed. I usually like 2 pillows stacked up on top of each other, but one seems to be the right amount with these. I think I got the old ones about 8 or 9 years ago. The ones I had before that lasted much longer. The only reason I stopped using those was because the lining was starting to flake off and turn into a powder.
I thought I might be breathing in something horrible every time I slept with those pillows towards the end.
I seriously looked through the mall for things like shirts, skirts, pants, etc. But, had to stop at some point because I started to get very dizzy. My muscle relaxer was finally hitting me.
Saw some interesting stuff though.
Later, we went to Hale's Ales for dinner. I was super thirsty.Again, probably due to the muscle relaxer. Managed to down 2 large glasses of iced tea, and I think a little more. Mouth still felt a bit dry, though. I got their cod sandwich thinking that since I liked Red Robin's so much I might as well try their's. It was grilled instead of fried. Which normally would be a plus for me.I asked for it without onions. It came with onions, and the person who came out with it was very rude.She wasn't our main waitress. I told her that I had asked for it without onions, and she asked if I was allergic to them. She said if I wasn't, to take the onions off myself and hand them to her. As if me not liking them is less important to her compared to someone who's allergic to them.And, yes I know that's a bigger deal in reality, but you should be able to get what you asked for without having to say anything about it. To them it should be the same. I asked for it without, I should be treated with respect and get it without them.
If they make a mistake they should just apologize, then go back and have them do it over. No questions asked. Our main waitress was very nice. Her only downside, I think, was the bill being late. But, it suddenly got busy at one point, so I can understand. Anyways, the sandwich had way too much tartar sauce in it, and so much fish that it didn't fit in the sandwich.The tater tots were good. And, overall things were pretty good. I don't know what happened to Hale's Ales, but for some reason they don't seem as great as they used to be.
I decided to stop taking my muscle relaxer yesterday. I haven't had a dose of it since Sunday night. I think it was starting to make me sick.I was very thirsty, dizzy, nauseous, etc. I'm feeling much better since I've been off them. And, I'm not really feeling muscle pain in my left shoulder. I was worried that it would immediately spasm again. They gave me enough for about 2 weeks, and I had a week's worth of the stuff. I think it also felt like it was liquefying the rest of my muscles.My legs were burning every time I moved them. I have very strong and muscular legs, so it wasn't a good feeling. I think my arms were starting to hurt, too.
Getting back to sticking more strictly to the way I want to eat. Things are looking even bigger than before, and my stomach fills up much quicker. So, I don't think I could eat the way I used to even if I wanted to. This makes a lot of leftovers, and I have to remember that I can eat them during my 'snack' meals as well. I try to eat 5 small meals a day, and divide the calories roughly evenly. So, there isn't really a 'snack' time anymore. I have breakfast, lunch, afternoon 'snack', dinner, and a night 'snack'. I try to range between 1200-1600 calories for the day, and usually the low end of that. I have to remember to factor in how many calories my dessert is. I try to have one a day. If I end up having half of it, that just means I can enjoy it for a longer period of time.
I stopped doing my sit-ups at one point while I was taking the muscle relaxer, so I'm starting over this week. It's 10 of them twice a day this time. Haven't started up my walking again yet, but hope to soon. These shoes have been taking a while for me to really get used to them. But, I guess most new shoes are that way.Found out they might be slightly too big for me. There's a bit of empty space above where my toes are. And, if I don't have the laces tight and double knot them, they feel like they're going to fly off. Makes it kind of comical to walk in when they're that loose.
Maybe I should have tried the 7 instead? But, I'm weary of that. (I haven't fit into a 7 in years, makes me wonder though. I'm usually a 7 1/2.) It might just mold to my foot after making it tight for a while. We'll see...
Finished the 2nd and last season of Tsubasa Chronicle. That left it hanging with barely any questions answered. Almost like they were expecting to make another season out of it, but this season originally aired in 2006. (The first season started in 2005.) That's a long hiatus if it were to come back.Certainly left it wide open.
I read that the manga was published from 2003 to 2009, so it seems that there's more to the manga version at least. I feel like I'm going through CLAMP shows backwards. CLAMP is the all women manga-ka (manga authors/creators) group. I watched all of xxxHolic first, even the live-action drama. I read a good chunk of that series, too. Loved it, and still do. Tsubasa Chronicle's first volume of the manga came out 3 months after xxxHolic's. They're connected and there is quite a bit of crossover.
I feel like I'm going backwards, because the anime versions were switched. Tsubasa is older than xxxHolic that way by about a year. Yuko the 'interdimensional witch' is in both. Watanuki had one or two appearances in Tsubasa, as well. Also, there are 2 Mokona (they describe them as rabbit-like creatures. They're kind of like mascots), the white one travels with Shaoran and his group in Tsubasa, and the black one stays with Yuko at her shop in xxxHolic. Also, there are apparently many references to Cardcaptor Sakura. One of the main characters from Tsubasa, Sakura, is based off of the main in Cardcaptor. Shaoran's in that one too. Even Sakura's kingdom of Clow is in Cardcaptor (I think it's used as a last name in that one). They had several other characters from that series too. I think I saw Chii from Chobits at one point.
I'm thinking of watching Cardcaptor Sakura to replace that slot. It's quite a bit older than Tsubasa and xxxHolic, but looks somewhat interesting. (Plus, with all the references to it, I think I should watch it to get the full picture.
) And, if it's by the same people, it might be good. It started airing in 1998, a couple of years after Rurouni Kenshin started. So, I'll be watching 2 shows from that 'era' if I like Cardcaptor enough.
I'm thinking of watching an OVA or basically special of Tsubasa that might explain some more things. It seems a lot darker, but one of the things it might answer is the truth behind him and his 'doppelganger'. They just barely touched that subject, and the organization who's watching them travel didn't do much. They kept saying they were planning something big, but nothing specifically came up.
They interfered a few times, but didn't actually change anything. We just know that they don't want Sakura to get all her feathers (they hold her memories), they have Shaoran's doppelganger in a weird tank, and they despise Yuko.
Oh, and apparently CLAMP's going to continue both xxxHolic and Tsubasa manga versions. The original xxxHolic manga had stopped in 2011. xxxHolic was picked up again about a year ago under the title 'xxxHolic: Rei (Return)'. For Tsubasa, they stopped the original run of the manga in 2009. Tsubasa's manga version comes back this month under the title 'Tsubasa: World Chronicle'. (That's an even longer hiatus...
) Maybe I should look into Tsubasa's manga version. It might finally answer things, too. Plus, I know there's more to it if they picked it up again. Probably should go back to reading xxxHolic, too...
Finished the 10th short story to my nightmare anthology. Started the 11th one yesterday. The original recurring nightmare that this one is based on is pretty short, so it should be interesting to see how it turns out. This was the last recurring nightmare I wrote down from my list. So, I'm not sure if it'll be the last one, or I'll add another...
(I've had many more recurring nightmares. It was the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.) I was thinking of trying to do 13 when I started, but that also sounds cliche.11 might be good. I guess I'll see how I feel about it when I'm through with this one...
I've been coloring in my drawings of my characters from Alliance's outfits/extras. I really wanted to do something with my colored pencils. I've had them for a while, and don't use them that often, so this was fun.Most of it is turning out better than I expected. Also, moved onto editing the 2nd part of the 'angry' section of the exaggerated emotions meme in Photoshop. Junko (who's also in my story, Alliance), looks hilarious as being angry. No matter how I drew this section, she looked very funny.
She's the type of character that hides her emotions well, but looks like she's happy most of the time. She can be blunt and a glutton, though.
Finished studying the kanji 愛, and its compounds. It's a very popular one for names, too. The next one I haven't come across much (there aren't any common compounds listed for it), but the one after that seems like it's everywhere. That means there might be a lot of compounds for that one...
Did pretty well on JapaneseClass' site. I've ranked pretty highly for the last couple of days on the top 20. Overall, my rank is soaring. Yay!
I'm getting back into Pinterest. It's helping me get more in touch with my 'style' in the fashion sense. I used to be in tune with it for a while, then I guess I became numb to it.Now I'm starting to really get it again. I guess it might be called warm, classic, and rich feeling. Not rich as in wealth, but in colors and feel. (I don't like when something looks like it's just for the super wealthy. That's not practical for me, and makes me feel weird.) Not sure what all of that together would be called.My friends used to tell me that I had my own style. I don't know. I do know that fall colors always look good on me. That might influence it a bit. Sometimes I'll go for a couple days without anything peaking my interest, and sometimes it feels like suddenly there's a bunch of things I like on Pinterest. I look at those and try to find similar things, or even just similar colors, when I go out to the mall. At least, that's what I plan to do more often. It'll help me figure out what interests me so I could focus on that instead. I'm also looking at jewelry on there. It'll also give me ideas.
I might drop Juui-san, Jiken Desu yo. The subs' timing has been very off.
Plus, the actual show feels kind of flat for some reason. It's funny, but something's missing from it. The stories behind the pet owners are kind of lukewarm. If I do drop it, I'll start another anime to replace its spot. That would mean I'm only watching 2 dramas at the moment. Sad.I like both of them, and they seem pretty engaging. So, at least I'll stick with them.
