This holiday was last Friday. I love chocolate! Awesome there's a global day for it. There are so many things you can do with it. A few years ago, I read an article about a restaurant that's chocolate themed. All their meals have chocolate in them. They had chocolate soup, mole (an amazing savory Mexican sauce that uses chocolate as a base), curries with it, etc. Of course, lots of chocolate desserts. I wonder if it's still going? That would be awesome to go there. Perfect for this holiday. People could probably try to have a chocolate themed day at home, too. That would be interesting to do.
This is my wallpaper for July. It's Leo from Kekkai Sensen or Blood Blockade Battlefront. Thought it looked a little like fireworks to go with the 4th of July. Kekkai Sensen takes place in New York City, so even that still goes with the theme. There's going to be a 2nd season in October. (They finally decided on a date.) The only issue I had with the 1st season, and apparently many other fans had, was that the final episode was 3 months late. At least, it was a longer episode than the others. Seemed like it was a movie. It's been about 2 years since the 1st season aired. That's a long time in itself. I've read that the 1st season had a different antagonist than the manga. So, it seemed to be a different story. The 2nd season might be closer to the manga. I haven't read the manga, although that might be interesting. For some people, the series seemed too complicated. I liked that aspect, though. It made you think. I wonder if the antagonist will actually be an ally in the 2nd season, knowing what happened at the end. He was occasionally possessed by a vampire called the King of Despair. His human self seemed 'good' and on the good guys' side. His nickname as himself was Black. I also want to know more about Leo's sister who's blind and wheelchair-bound. Should be interesting to see what they do with this series.
The Pusheen calendar has 3 different colored Pusheens. Each of them has a different colored heart near their butts. They're eating ice cream. One has what looks like a sundae with 3 scoops of ice cream that's actually the same colors as the Pusheens. Kind of creepy that way. One looks unhappy. She has what looks to be a big thing of swirled ice cream. Although, it does look kind of like a giant cupcake, too. The one with a scoop in a cone looks the happiest. There's also another thing of ice cream by itself with a cat head shaped cookie. The actual calendar has a shooting star with the same colors as the cats as a tail. Interesting one.
The month-long holidays for the month of July are: National Baked Bean Month, National Grilling Month, National Hot Dog Month, National Ice Cream Month, National Blueberries Month, National Honey Month, National Horseradish Month, National Watermelon Month. Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. Basically, summer foods this month.
Marched with the local Pride group in a 4th of July parade. The theme was the parade's 50th anniversary. Actually had a float for it this time. There was a comedy award with a monetary prize, so they tried to go with that. It was a Scooby Doo one. They realized that Scooby Doo didn't come out until 1969, but it was close to '67 at least. There was even a cute Great Dane as Scooby. The kids seemed to really like it. There was also music from '67 coming from our float. (Except obviously there was the Scooby Doo theme.) I wore my flag and this year's Pride shirt. The one I didn't want to change into in public at Seattle Pride. Someone gave me a small American flag to wave around, too. I tried to dance a bit, but I think I mostly just ended up smiling and waving. Oh well. That's better than nothing.
I also ended up with a sunburn on my face, even though I was in less sun than when we went to Seattle Pride. I didn't get any sunburn from that. It's especially bad around and on my nose, which travels in streaks across my cheeks. It's an odd spot. It started peeling there a couple of days ago. Hurt for a while, and now it's just like a light burning feeling.
I also met another ace! She heard about the Pride group marching, and joined us. She didn't know about the other Pride stuff. She had an ace shirt that had one of the popular sayings. The rest of her outfit was in ace colors. The shirt stood out the most. I was so happy to see another ace! I think she was, too. Although, she realized I'm older than she thought at first. And, therefore I think quite a bit older than her. I don't know how old she is, but it seemed like she was still in high school. I don't know. She comes from the same town, so that's cool. We talked quite a bit while we waited. I told her about the ace group I started on fb, and am trying to start offline. She joined the online one, and said she might go to the offline one. Yay! She might also be aro. At least, on the aro-spectrum. She's still questioning that, which is all good. She might be going to Pride fest on the 15th, too.
I'm hoping to bring a group flyer to Pride, and some info pamphlets on both aces and aros. We might get a lot more people in the group after they at least see the flyer. Pride is actually on the same day as an offline group meeting. So, I told the group that it'll be cancelled or they can come to Pride and see me. Or, just enjoy Pride in general. The next meeting after that should be interesting. I'm pretty sure some will actually show up. Just not sure how many. Maybe people will be more active online, too. Might finally be able to start doing the things I was planning for the group. I guess we'll see.
I'm thinking of wearing the Planned Parenthood ace temporary tattoo I got at the Seattle Trans Pride. Might wear it on one of my cheeks, and maybe the rainbow one on the other? I also have a trans one. I'm hoping to find things that represent my 3 identities. Maybe small flags for aro and agender. If I see other stuff I'll be ecstatic. There might be some non-binary things in general, too.
It seems difficult to find info online about being agender or even just on the community. Interestingly, I think I'm finding the most stuff on Pinterest. Tumblr didn't have much. Tumblr's known for their large ace and aro communities, at least. Also, known for acephobic and arophobic people. So, things can still be iffy there. Some aces and aros can't handle being on there, and have refused to go back. Frankly, I'm starting to feel similar. I got rid of the app recently on my phone, and have only downloaded it again once or twice since. Fb doesn't have much in the way of agender-specific pages. I might join an aro ace and agender group on there. Cool that it's for people who are all 3. There was another one that I saw that's about qpr's. I think it'd be awesome to be in one, so I might join that, too. The problem with that, is I'm already apart of a lot of groups. Funny how I went from being in like one group to so many in just a year. Probably should cool it for a while on that. Plus, some members of many of those groups are all 3, too. It's just...not the same as being in a group specifically for agender people (or all 3), and another one for those that want to be in a qpr.
I've also realized that many agender people feel like aliens, and that seems to be one of the mascots that represents us. I find this almost scary, considering I've felt like an alien because of it. (Scary because I used that word before I knew I was agender.) Maybe even because of being all 3. The idea of not having a gender, and no romantic and sexual attractions is really out there for other people. Having those things might seem like what makes others 'human'. Making someone like me feel more and more alien. I kind of like the alien mascot, though. There apparently are some agender fashion accounts on Instagram. Those are interesting. Since we don't have a gender, we wear what feels comfortable. This can make for some unique fashion. There's even an account on how to do genderless makeup. That actually sounds cool. I still think feminine looking clothes look better than masculine (and some unisex for that matter) clothes on me. Plus, they seem to have much more of a cool and fun variety.
Also, I found some interesting sites that sell Pride stuff. Some of them are: Red Bubble, Look Human, Merchandace, Zazzle. Even Amazon has some stuff. So, if I don't find anything at Pride, I can go to those. They all have sections for my identities. There are even a few things that represent all 3. They also have non-binary stuff in general. I think the least amount of stuff was for the agender category. I guess the label is still pretty new compared to the others.
I got a call recently from the gastroenterology department about the referral and making an appointment. I've been pretty busy since (at least during the weekdays), and will call them back to make an appointment soon. Hopefully, tomorrow. I might look into their gastros a little beforehand, too. To see which ones might be better. Might ask a bit more about whoever I end up getting. I've recently read about one of the things to look out for is someone who's dismissive of your situation. It's common for medical personnel who don't know much about IBD. It's rare, but some IBD specialists do this, too. It can put an IBD patient's life at risk. That sucks that we have to be so careful. Hopefully, the next gastro won't be like that. As it is, I have to be put on some sort of med to keep the IBD in check. Even if I might still be in remission.
Also, I've had really weird painful lumps behind my ear and down my jawline. It's not normal, and they're popping up more often than before. I'm hesitant in thinking this, but it might have to do with my lymph nodes. I don't really know, but they are happening in specific areas. I thought the first two would just go away on their own. That's why I wasn't too worried about it. Now that there are more of them, and they're not going away; it's a different story. Even eating feels a little weird with them. So, they might be really deep.
I've apparently lost a lot of weight again. The thing is, I keep thinking I'm gaining. Yet, more than one person has told me otherwise. I recently ordered socks and underwear from Amazon. I'm not used to doing that. The socks seem form fitting, and a lot more narrow than my previous ones. It Feels better, though. My ankles used to be indistinguishable. Now, I can actually see them clearly. I also decided to try the next smaller size for the underwear. It actually fits so much better than the next size up did. So, I'm even smaller in that way. It's almost surreal to me. I still have to get new sneakers. My current ones have holes on the outside, have absolutely no tread, the sole worn down in areas, and some of those areas so much that it looks like it has scorch marks. I want to get more of the same style/kind. I like the colors, and it feels really comfy. Need to look into jeans, and a few other things, as well. I'm still not used to the idea that I'm smaller than I used to be. When I see things like this fit, it makes me feel a bit better.
For a while, I was going through withdrawal of lamotrigine. I had forgotten to get it before I was close to finishing a bottle. I ordered it online, so I had to wait a while. I had gone down to about 1/4 of my usual dose for a few days. Then, nothing. That was dangerous. This is the only type of med, besides a multivitamin, I'm taking right now. It's for type 2 Bipolar. It's also known as an epilepsy med. So, if you miss even one dose, you feel it. (I'm at the highest dose you can take for it.) I felt dizzy, heavy headed, like my head was going to explode, like I was going through fog, it was hard to concentrate, and more. It didn't help that my face was sunburned and had the gut issues at the same time. Felt amazing when I went back to it at the full dose. It's really a miracle drug to me. Keeps me level, and has kept suicidal thoughts away. (There are many other benefits to it for me, but those are the biggest.) Helped me lose a little weight at first, too. That's a rare side effect. Type 2 has a lower low than type 1, and our mania is different. Often, the mania is more 'hidden'. We're at a very high risk of suicide without help of some kind.
I've made it to just over 40 pages for the memoir. I'm surprised by that. So much in such a short time. Plus, I'm very close to 40 pages of the sequel to Alliance. Much closer to the other book now. I wonder how long it'll take to finish both of them? At this rate, it might take about a couple of months more. Crazy! My other 2 books took much longer. I also was writing one at a time. I finished the 4th chapter of the memoir. The topic was on music. Oddly, that's the shortest chapter so far. I say oddly because it has been such a huge part of my life. Next one is on cooking and food. So far it's been on: aro ace and agender, Judaism, pets and animals, and music. The sequel has gone in a direction I didn't expect. That actually makes it better in my eyes. Motivates me to write more. Plus, no one wants a predictable and boring story.
Mood:
This was a few days ago, but I love pizza!
Nice that there's a day for it! There are so many different types/toppings out there. I love cheese, BBQ chicken, Greek (with feta, pesto sauce, artichokes, kalamata olives, etc.), chicken Alfredo, vegetarian (without mushrooms), and many other pizzas. Occasionally, Mom and I would make our own personal pizzas. We'd get premade crusts, whatever sauce we wanted, vegetables, cheese, etc. It was essentially whatever we felt like putting on it. Had some interesting combos, and it was usually different each time.
I know the local international market makes its own pizza. They also sell their pizza dough and sauce. The dough part seems even more from scratch. I don't think I'd do very well with rolling out, and getting the right thickness.
They also feature a new pizza every month. Pizzas like Thai chili, baked potato, jalapeno popper, taco, etc. I think the first time I had BBQ chicken pizza was from there.
This is my wallpaper for February. It features the main characters of Kyoukai no Kanata or Beyond the Boundary. It's an interesting, yet very trippy show. Only gets trippier and more complex as it goes. It's good, though. I was surprised I found a few wallpapers of it. Thought this one was cute, and nice to see them acting 'normally'. Looks like before things got more dramatic.
The month-long holidays are: Canned Food Month, National Cherry Month, National Hot Breakfast Month, Potato Lovers Month, Barley Month, National African American History Month. Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. Cherries are one of my fave fruits! I love potatoes, too! I don't think canned food gets as much credit as it should.
There are healthy and unhealthy type of canned foods. Different types of cans, too. So, people can't really say they're all bad. They can be very handy. Although, I prefer frozen type food for things like vegetables to have on hand.
My Pusheen calendar has Pusheen laying sideways on a laptop with hearts coming off her. She seems to be smiling, too. Underneath it, it says: I need you, Valentine. Just below that, she's sitting with a giant pink bow on her head. I don't particularly like this one as much, but I know they felt the need for a Valentine's Day thing...
Still haven't gotten a Jewish calendar for this year. I might soon, though. I can still see some of it on the calendar on my phone and online. It's just not as easy as looking over and seeing it immediately. Also, the calendar on my phone isn't very detailed. We're in the month of Shevat right now. It's the 5th month of the Jewish calendar. The last holiday was Friday night, and ended Saturday night. We got kind of a double holiday, since Shabbat happens during that time every week. It's Tu B'Shevat, or our New Year for the Trees. Some call it the Jewish Arbor Day. Tu B'Shevat basically means 15th of Shevat in English. I say basically, because Tu is technically not a word, but stands for 15 in Hebrew. I read that it's like using Roman numerals, similar to IV July for 4th of July. Anyways, this is celebrating the trees, and nature. It wasn't from the Torah, and there aren't really set laws or customs for it. It's become popular for some people in the last few decades to do seders (basically a ritual meal that goes in a certain 'order'. Seder means order), which that particular seder actually originated in the 16th century by kabbalists. It's somewhat similar to a Passover seder. Each fruit, nut, and wine has a special meaning to it. People are encouraged to try a new fruit or nut. People go through different seasons with the wine. You end up having about 10 different fruit/nuts, and 4 glasses of wine. Since I can't drink wine, I would have different colored grape juices. I really enjoyed the ones I've gone to. I think my mom introduced it to the congregation we were apart of, and they still do it. The other synagogue seems to have gotten into it, too. I'm not sure why my mom had started doing it. Maybe after reading about it online? She did print off the free online haggadot for it. It's still cool. Many people plant trees, hike, and eat pickled or candied etrog (a type of citrus). Some eat from the Shivat Haminim (Seven Species), which are: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates.
I finally decided on when the new local ace group will meet. I didn't get many responses to what I suggested, so it was essentially all on me. That makes it harder for me to decide...
Someone did choose the weekend on one of the polls. So, I went with that, and decided on Saturdays. I think that would be one of the best days, anyways. I also saw that same person was ok with it every other week, and I'm used to groups doing that, so why not? There was a tie between 2 cafes. I know it was even more so than with just the people who responded. So, I decided to have the first meeting at the one closest to where I live. The 2nd meeting will be at the other one, and we can decide which one we like more during it. Both close at 5pm that day, and I think the one who responded to that part of the poll indicated they wanted it during the afternoon. So, I went with 2-4pm. This way if people still want to chat or something longer after the meeting, they can. I'm a little unsure about the dessert part at the moment. I thought it would be nice to end the meetings on a positive note with a dessert potluck. I'm unsure if the cafes would let us bring food in...
Maybe for now we can just grab a dessert from the café itself towards the end? I'm getting excited about actually starting it!
It'll start next month. This month is a little weird. I wonder how many will show up? I have a lot of topics we can talk about already floating in my head. Just in case people can't think of any. Also, ideas of what we can do during some of the future meetings. Like getting to know you events, events raising awareness somehow, fun ones, etc. I think that stuff is also important for building a community, and to educate others as well. There's some ignorance even within the community about lesser known orientations and other types of aces, and more so in general with the greater LGBTQ+ community.
I've been sick with some sort of flu (or cold?) since last Sunday. I had a fever during most of that day. Ever since, I've felt really dizzy, have come extremely close to throwing up, very runny nose, nose sometimes closes up, throat's dry, coughing with nothing 'clearing', more tired than usual, ears hurting, guts hurting more, eyes/throat/nose feeling very sensitive to the air (like the air's full of sand or something), etc. I still feel like a big mess.
Some of the old symptoms from when we knew the colitis was active have come back. That started a couple of weeks after the colonoscopy last month. If I'm still in remission, why? I haven't been 'regular' since before the very first symptoms I had of the colitis. That's saying something. Even if that's the only thing people are looking at. I've tried many things since then to get it back that way. They say if you're in remission, even with scarring, you don't have that problem. Just looking at this, it's frustrating.
Saw my gastro (who's a nurse) last Monday. I was told by the gastro (actually an MD) who performed the colonoscopy that the nurse would tell me about treatments to help with the scarring in my colon. Treatments can be meds or even surgery if it's bad enough. To be honest, I'm actually debating if I should just have the whole thing removed and have the pouch.
It's a year of recovery, though. Eventually they can have another surgery to have an internal pouch, so you don't even have to think about it. My problem with it is not only about the current scarring, but if it does become active (if it truly isn't at the moment) again, it might attack the scarred area. That scarred area is throughout the entire thing. That would be like a double whammy, and things could get much worse. If I actually have ulcerative colitis, I won't have to worry about it after losing my colon since it mostly only attacks the colon. (Sometimes it will attack the anus. Some people actually have to have that sewn shut.
) We still don't know if it really is UC or Crohn's. If it's Crohn's, it might come back in other areas, but it would slow it down considerably. If the pain I'm experiencing right now is mainly due to the scarring, that's another reason to consider surgery, too. Anyways, she didn't touch much on treatment. She said she thinks I'm having absorption issues with it. Saying the vascularity thing plays a role with that. Yet, after reading about it from several sources, it just means the veins are enlarged because of the previous inflammation. None of them mentioned absorption, but ok...
She didn't really mention what to do about it. When I knew the disease was active, I was having major malabsorption issues. Like, with not getting enough protein, my hair was coming out a lot more than usual. My nails were more brittle, and other signs. I wasn't absorbing calories and probably fats very well either. So, it doesn't surprise me if I'm still having some issues with it.
She's also said several things that were false. Really simple and basic stuff. One of the big things was telling me that UC doesn't cause pain. One of the main symptoms both UC and Crohn's share is pain. This is even false compared to what CCFA says, and they were the ones that certified her.
Another one that kind of got under my skin last time was saying it's not debilitating. People can apply for SSI with it, and it can be considered a disability. That alone says she's wrong. A lot of the definitions for IBD in general say that it's a debilitating disease. Even the side effects of the meds can be debilitating. Most of them are immunosuppressants, which lowers your immune system's defenses. This in turn makes you sick a lot more often. Many patients have overwhelming fatigue even while in remission. Making it difficult to do certain things. And no, no amount of exercise 'helps'. It can make it worse if they actually have the energy to do it. I'm not saying they shouldn't exercise at all. Just that they should do what they can. It won't necessarily help with the fatigue part, though. She also used the 'but you don't look sick' logic people outside of the medical community and patients wouldn't say. This is something that many patients hate to hear from outsiders, let alone someone who's supposed to be a specialist. It makes the person saying it sound incredibly ignorant. It's sometimes referred to as an invisible illness or disease for a reason. Most things are internal, and with some skin issues people might have, they figure out ways to hide it. Some can't hide it, like those who lose all their hair. Then again, they could just say that they thought it'd be cool to be bald. Someone could be going to the ER and 'look' fine, but seriously need the medical attention. Some people get handicap placards to park in the handicap parking spots. People see them come out of their car and harass them all the time. Since they don't 'look' like they need it. Same with bathrooms. Some need the bigger handicapped stall, and when they come out, they get harassed as well. There's actually a card that the person could show others, and to get a bathroom in an emergency. (I'm kind of curious about it, and it's apparently free.) This is serious stuff.
She did mention that it can take a toll on someone mentally. That's true, but that's not my issues with it. Honestly, I am having a hard time coming to terms with it, but regardless I know there's at least a maintenance stage if you truly are in remission. And, I have not gotten there.
I'm concerned about many things, and she just keeps brushing them off like they're nothing.
My main problems have been the pain, fatigue, lack of sleep, and I think azathioprine's affecting my short-term memory. It's like an endless cycle. The lack of sleep thing started really around June, and has persisted since. The newer pains started around that time. She hasn't done a thing for these. She seemed convinced for a while that I have IBS on top of this. The thing is, I don't have the main symptoms for it. My bowel 'habits' don't change according to stress, they don't alternate (heck, I was constipated from April up until the colonoscopy last month, with no changes during that time), the pain doesn't ease up afterwards (it either gets worse or stays the same), etc. It just doesn't add up. Plus, none of the antispasmodics I tried did a thing for me. For that matter, miralax didn't help much. I still think I have some sort of partial blockage. (Even if I'm having the opposite problem now.) I read that scar tissue can build up and start to block things. So, it's not out there to think like that.
I'm getting weary of her not really helping me, the negative attitude towards me, and the incorrect info. I shouldn't have to feel this way.
I really wanted to like her. She seemed great the first few appointments, and the staff keeps raving about her. I asked them if I can see an MD. They said she's the only specialist they have. Yet, they have an IBD center across the street...Sure. I see the gastro (who's an MD) that did the colonoscopy last month, in April. I want to bring up this stuff, and see if I can end up just seeing him. I don't want to see the nurse anymore. One of the only things I liked about her was that she ordered a bunch of tests for me. It just feels like she's not sure what to do with that info. Especially if it comes back with something weird.
She ordered a few blood tests, a nasty test to see if I have c-diff, and an abdominal type of ultrasound. A couple of those blood tests have come back. My white blood cells were low, but that was to be expected since I was still sick. Another test was on the 2 metabolites that indicate how well I'm metabolizing azathioprine. Last time one of them was well below the normal range, and this time was close to the same number. (The other was slightly low, but not nearly as much.) She was going to talk to me about last time's during the Monday appointment. It never came up. So, I'm technically not metabolizing azathioprine well. It just goes through me.
This could be a problem. I don't really have a safety net now, and it's not really keeping things in check if it's not being absorbed. We discussed several times about switching meds, she agreed, but wanted to see what the tests would say. So far, the other results were normal. That's good. They might call me to schedule the ultrasound tomorrow. I'm reluctant to do the c-diff one.I will at some point, though. I wonder what that ultrasound will show? That should be interesting.
I emailed my primary doctor about all of this on Friday. A few hours later, she emailed back. It was after her office hours. I forgot how responsive she usually is. I haven't seen her in a while. She wants to see me, and at least make me feel more comfortable. It was nice of her.
Had a haircut on the 4th. A DevaCut or Deva haircut to be exact. It was rather odd the way they cut it. She had to cut about 4 inches off because of how damaged it was. That's twice as much as she said she would.
I'd rather have the damaged part cut anyways. As long as it still was long. Noticed, before that haircut, the length of the longest hair was slightly more than 2 feet. That's a lot. I'm still trying to get used to the length. She put a lot of product in my hair. I didn't really like the feel of it once it was dry. I don't think I liked the way the curls were styled, either. Might have liked it at first. I think it looks better now that I'm using my usual products, and styling it the way I did before. Still, it was good to have it cut. It kind of looks fancy up in a bun now, too.
I don't get it caught in things nearly as much as before.
I'm hoping to stick closer to the calorie range that's worked for me in the past. That was having 5 meals a day at 240-320 for each one. I know I might be having absorption issues again, but I want to see how it goes with this for now. I haven't really cared lately, although I didn't end up eating a lot. In fact, I was skipping meals for a while there, and then having a huge dinner. That's not good to keep up. They also say people with IBD do better if they eat more often with smaller meals each day. It balances the day out. So, maybe it'll be a good thing for me to get back to.
Mood:
Hope 2017 will be better. I know politically it might not be, but personally it might. I also want to post more often on here. Last year had a poor amount of posts. The least I've had during a year on here.
I have noticed a trend that I'm posting less and less each year. Hopefully, I can break that this time. I wanted this blog to be a daily one at the beginning. Skipping only Saturdays. I think I should at least do a few a week.
This is my wallpaper for January. It's Ciel and Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler. I was thinking of a New Year's themed one, but didn't see any I liked enough to use this time. Haven't used a Kuroshitsuji one in a while, so why not this one?
This year, my secular calendar is Pusheen themed. Pusheen is a comic cat, created by Claire Belton and Andrew Duff. First appearing in 2011 for a comic strip called Pusheen Things on their website, Everyday Cute. The original comic (from what I've read, looks like it started in 2010) had many other characters, mainly influenced by their pets and themselves. Pusheen is based on a chubby grey tabby, who was Belton's parents' cat. Her name stems from the Irish-Gaelic word 'puisin', which means kitten. She's become so popular, they launched a spin-off site dedicated her. (Some of the comics are animated/with GIFs, which is fun.) In 2013, Belton published I Am Pusheen The Cat, a collection of comic strips featuring Pusheen. There are also Pusheen sticker sets on facebook. This calendar came with actual stickers. It's cute.This month the main pic's of Pusheen with donuts around her. One's caught on her ear. The second pic's of a mini version of her hiding behind a huge donut.
Haven't gotten a Jewish calendar yet for this year. I normally get the ones put out by the Jewish Historical Museum from Amsterdam. It's cool to look at what artifacts they feature each month. Especially the really old stuff. It's a little odd that they make their calendars 16 months long. Apparently, starting around the time of Rosh Hashanah (our New Year), another RH, and ending with December like the normal secular calendar. That means if you want one in January or December, you're always a few months late.Yet, they tend to not be available around Rosh Hashanah. At least, not locally. I looked for it at Barnes and Noble recently, and they weren't there. They usually have them. I'll probably end up ordering it online, like last year. Might do that next month. I don't know. It has all the parshat or weekly Torah readings listed for each week, is accurate for Jewish holidays (which isn't the case for many of the secular calendars), they even have most if not all of the very minor holidays, there are candle lighting times on the back, each day has its Jewish calendar day right next to it, Rosh Chodesh is listed along with the phases of the moon, etc. Very in-depth.
Rosh Chodesh is a holiday marking a new month. Usually, a women's holiday. Each one has a name. We're in the month of Tevet at the moment. Maybe I'll mention those in the future...
Our calendar is lunar or moon-based. We start every holiday after sunset, and end it after another sunset (usually when you see a certain number of stars). The number of days for each month might be different when compared to the secular calendar. Each month is in relation to the new moon on ours. I think in leap years, another month is added to the Jewish calendar. Unlike how the secular calendar has either 28 or 29 days in February depending on leap years. Our holidays seem to move around when compared to the secular calendar, as well. Like, Hanukkah seemed late this year on that calendar. It's always the same on ours.
Here are the month-long holidays: National Candy Month, National Egg Month, National Hot Tea Month, National Meat Month, National Oatmeal Month, National Soup Month, International Creativity Month. Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. I really love tea!
Awesome that there's a whole month devoted to it. Eggs, oatmeal, and candy in general are all great things, too. I'm definitely a meat eater. I just don't eat certain kinds of meat, and it's not all the time. I love beef, chicken, turkey, and duck. Haven't had duck in a while. I think I really liked buffalo when I tried it a while back. Sometimes lamb is good, too. Have to be in the mood. If fish are in this category, I love salmon, tuna, cod, and more. Soup is really versatile. I think I like stew more, though. Cool there's a month devoted to creativity. That should be celebrated.
Hanukkah ended yesterday. I used my fave menorah for half of it. It has 2 angry-looking lions holding up the red tablets with gold Hebrew lettering, and the bottom part where the other candles are is green with gold cups. I think it looks cool. Anyways, I ran out of Hanukkah candles halfway through the holiday. I had plenty of Shabbos (Yiddish for Shabbat or our Sabbath or Day of Rest) candles left. There's only one menorah essentially made for Shabbos candles, or at least candles in that shape. They're bigger candles. It's a lot more traditional looking. It's silver with branches coming off of it. Also, it's tall, and slightly bent. I think it was one of the things that Mom got for free. She worked at a Judaica shop, and they couldn't sell anything that had even a slight rip, a little bit bent, missing a little piece, etc. So, the employees could take anything that was. She got several books this way. The challah board with a bread knife on the bottom was another one. A little piece of one of the legs had fallen off. She super-glued it back, and it was/still is good as new. If you look at the menorah from far away, it doesn't look bent at all. It makes it slightly more dangerous when lighting the candles, though.A couple of the cups are bent in such a way that they're too close to each other. It was really easy to clean it, though. Impressive on the last night, too. Actually from the night I started with it until the end, I'd say that was quite spectacular looking.
I had a sufganiyot or a jelly-filled donut on Saturday. It was raspberry-filled. These are popular to have during Hanukkah, especially in Israel. It's an oily food, and we usually eat oily foods during the holiday. Normally, I get a powdered sugar one, I think this one just had a regular sugar coating. It wasn't actually called that at that local bakery. The same place I got the cinnamon roll last month. They also had one other jelly-filled donuts called Angel Creams. It didn't list what it was filled with. Looked like apricot, but who knows? I like lemon-filled ones. Sometimes cherry is good, too. The raspberry one was pretty good.
Also, had potato kugel that came from a box the first night. I had wanted to make latkes, but didn't have the energy and didn't want to make them from scratch. Kugel essentially is a casserole. Some say it's like a pudding, but that really depends. A lot of people think of the sweet kind when they hear kugel. I hate the sweet kind. There are noodles, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, cottage cheese, usually sour cream, etc. I really don't like those last 2 ingredients. Even if I did, it's such a weird combo.
Potato kugel is basically a very simple potato casserole. Potatoes, sometimes onions, garlic, salt, eggs, and more. For someone who loves potatoes, it's usually amazing.
They only had me add water, oil, and eggs to the mix. It has to sit for about 15 minutes, and put in the oven for an hour. That's the hardest part, especially with that smell. Came out pretty good. The box was very old, and it said best by April 2015. So, maybe that's why it seemed slightly stale. It stuck to the bottom of my tongue, too.
I was sick, and still am, throughout the entire holiday. Kind of sad. I've been trying to eat bland, but tasty, food lately. Also, have had a hard time eating at least 1200 calories. (From around the 29th until today it's been different. But, I think that's because of holiday stuff.) Not much in the way of tomatoes, heavily spiced things, less fried things, etc. Stomach has felt really horrible during that time. A very fiery stomach, feeling like I need to throw up every other day (not just my 'norm' of nausea), temp fluctuating greatly throughout the day, and more. I'm getting really tired of this stuff...
My colonoscopy's on the 11th, so I have to wait until at least then to see what's going on. Probably won't have word of what to do next for a while after that. I have this feeling that they'll find something. I hope they do. I've had dreams where they tell me they couldn't get through half of it, because it was blocked up with something. Like a thick viscous liquid, or some unknown hard substance, or there was overgrowth.After their nurses got my email, they mailed me a grocery list, a schedule for when to start the liquid diet, and then for when to start the laxative. Turns out I can have Miralax for it. They want me to mix basically 2 weeks worth of the Miralax with 64 oz of Gatorade. That's a lot of both of those.
I'll have half of it the night before it, and the other half the morning of. They want me to take dulcolax, too. 2 of them with the night Miralax mix, and 2 in the morning with that mix. I think the procedure's in the afternoon. I probably won't be able to eat or drink until then. (After taking the laxative stuff.) That's a long time. They give suggestions for the liquid diet. They stress not having anything with a red dye in it. (Makes sense.) They suggested things like chicken broth, popsicles, jello, and tea. Got some root beer float popsicles. They sound interesting. Also, got lemon jello. They didn't list pudding, so to be on the safe side, I didn't get it. Lemon jello's good, though. Also, got some vanilla chai for one more tea option.
We were going to celebrate NYE at our friends' place. The same people that invite us to Thanksgiving and their Passover seder, too. Apparently, both the other guests and the hosts were sick, so they called it off. That's ok. It's sometimes nice to celebrate at home.
I got a salmon onigiri or rice ball for dinner that night. Also, a slice of warmed mincemeat pie for dessert with whipped cream. Good stuff, too. Later, had some beef in blankets (a kosher version of pigs in blankets), plain potato chips with chipotle salsa (painful later, but I didn't want to care about it for at least one night), chocolate raisins, pickled herring on crackers, and red bell pepper tapenade (also on those crackers). Also, had tea and sparkling apple cider. We watched the local fireworks on TV. People were setting off their own in or around the neighborhood. It was really loud. I don't remember that many fireworks going off around the neighborhood during NYE. I know they do it during the 4th of July, but usually not as crazy now.
Today's been colder than normal, and the next couple of days will be, too.
The forecast keeps pushing the snow later and later during the week for the past few weeks. It hasn't done it yet, and it feels eery to not have it, when it gets so cold. I decided to wear my Hillel pullover sweatshirt hoodie, because of the cold today. Haven't worn it in a long time. It was really tight/small on me when I first got it. Now, it's huge. Actually, covers my butt, unless my jacket makes it ride up. It has stylized writing (like Hebrew letters, but it's in English) on the front upper left corner that reads: WSU Hillel. Yep, I went to WSU. There's the WSU cougar logo on the back next to a big Star of David. It also has WSU Hillel in bigger letters below the cougar and star. I'm being very open with my religion if I go out with it. I did, and no one said anything. Which was great. It always makes me at least a little nervous, but I should be more out with it.
Went to my dad's hair appointment. I thought since I haven't had a haircut in a while, I should try and schedule one. I think it's been since April 2015. They told me never to wait longer than a year between haircuts. I've been bad about that.I think before that it was maybe early 2013. Between that haircut and the one before that, it had been 7 years. At least, I'm not waiting that long. I was trying to grow it out during that time. Anyways, the receptionist suggested that I get a DevaCut. Stylists who have gone through the training of that, specialize in curly hair. They apparently cut each individual curl. I had a free consult for it. She said it will probably take 2 hours for my hair. It sounds like it'll be really pampered.It's only a little more expensive than a regular haircut. She said she'll have to cut at least 2" from the ends. That's how damaged it is. It's ok as long as I can keep it somewhat long (which I think it will be), same style, and it's just really a trim. Sections of it are uneven. Some parts are really long, and some really short. Most of it goes to midway down my back. The before and after pics I saw online of the DevaCut were really impressive. The curls looked healthier, and more pronounced. Should be interesting to see what mine will look like. I'll have it done in February. I got compliments at a restaurant afterwards, and hadn't done anything with it yet.
She gave me some samples of the Deva products. A 'low-poo', conditioner, mask, and styling cream. They say that regular shampoo is very harsh and damaging, especially for curly hair. So, they have a cleanser to replace it with that doesn't have that harshness. Normally they recommend 'no-poo', but they start people off with 'low-poo'. No-poo doesn't lather, and low-poo has some lather. They feel that people might need something in between to get more used to it, and then move to the no-poo. This 'poo' thing sounds really gross to me.Why not call it something like: 'no-sham' or 'low-sham'? I think I read that it's mint based. The conditioner is olive oil based. I've heard that's really good for your hair. I'm not used to masks, so that might be interesting. I've already used the low-poo and conditioner. (I used my regular calming spray and styling mousse after that.) I think it feels softer, there aren't very many hard flakes, and it has kept its shape. Not as frizzy. I plan to try all of them tomorrow. They told me that the amount I was given was enough for one use, because of my hair. Knowing how little I ended up using of the low-poo and conditioner (I really tried to use as much as I could), I think they gave me about 4 uses. Maybe they think my hair's bigger than it is?
