Breathe In, Breathe Out. Repeat. Stay Hopeful.: Giving Thanks

I think it's kind of obvious that I am very, very thankful this year. Thankful for my donor, my donor family, Jeff, and my family and friends. Being alive and being able to breathe is amazing. Don't take it for granted :-)

I could wax poetic about being thankful all day. I know you know that I could! But I'll tell you what's been going on instead. To keep you interested and all...

I am fighting my first cold since transplant. I woke up last Wednesday with a sore throat. I thought it was from the inhaler but when I woke up on Thursday morning with a sore throat again (after not using the inhaler) I knew something was wrong. Called the Doc and she thought it was a virus. Yay. I just need to let it run its course. So I have been using my sinus rinse and taking plain Mucinex every day. I am actually doing quite well! It has been a week and I've hardly had any sinus congestion. I was really worried about the gunk getting into my lungs so I am really happy my good ol' standby PH sickness treatment is working!! I went "running" today (first real exercise since my cold started) and felt pretty good. More on that later...

My blood pressure has been a little high since transplant. I am taking my readings at a different time of day to see if they get better, but I am pretty certain we are going to have to treat my high blood pressure. I am also due for a cholesterol check at my next visit. Boo. It's not like I've been eating quinoa and grass for the past 5 months, if you pick up what I'm puttin' down... The meds raise your cholesterol so I'm pretty sure my levels will be high. Yippee :-P I loves me some cheese. And bacon. Sigh...

I really couldn't drink coffee when I had PH. The meds affected me and drinking coffee made the situation worse. But now I can drink coffee. Oh. My. Goodness. I kind of forgot how much I liked it before. I try to only have 1 cup a day (don't want to raise my blood pressure and cause more bone density problems). But it is the most delicious tasting nectar. YUM. I kind of steer away from tea just because so many herbs interact with my meds. It's kind of a pain to keep track, so I just don't. Actually, all food tastes so amazing. Well, maybe not the quinoa and grass which is why I've been such a bad girl... I am actually trying to order the vegetarian options when we go out to eat and I've been pleasantly surprised! And then I throw in the roasted brussels sprouts with bacon and parmesan chunks... gah! I just can't help myself. Bacon tastes good. I know, I know... if it tastes good I should spit it out.

This Thanksgiving will be kind of different. Jeff's fraternity brother and his girlfriend will be coming over, which should be fun! If anyone reading this is here in town and wants to come over, please do! We just got back from a little wine tasting adventure so we have loads of yummy good wine. And a turkey, of course. We are gonna have a 12 lb bird for 4 people. You just can't be sick... I don't want to deal with another virus. Ugh. Part of me was hoping I could just make reservations somewhere... :-D but I really love cooking all the stuff. Jeff got a fresh turkey to brine and then I am going to rub it with butter, parmesan and sage. I finally got smart and didn't buy a frozen turkey to brine. I read somewhere that since frozen turkeys are injected with a sodium solution that they stay pretty salty when you brine them. Huh. No wonder. Sometimes me not so smart. I am excited to see how this one turns out this year! It's my annual science experiment... I really want to make those damn brussels sprouts with smoked bacon, mustard cream sauce and cheese. Maybe I'll make roasted butternut squash with caramelized onions, gorgonzola and crispy fried sage. Too many choices and it's like 2 days away! I don't know if I can skip the green bean casserole. But the brussels sprouts and squash both sound way yummier.

In case you want the recipes:
Butternut Squash
Brussels Sprouts

Full disclosure- I haven't made either of these before. But the ingredients sound yummy, so what could go wrong?

I do have a recipe for a horrible cranberry relish if anyone doesn't want your guests to come back the next year... just ask my poor parents who were the guinea pigs that year.

Okay... about the running... I finally broke down and got a "beginning runner plan." Yup. My way ain't working. So this week I am running 1 min and walking 3 minutes five times (total 20 minutes). Next week is run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes seven times (21 minutes). I can do this. I WILL do this. And running outside with the cool breeze (finally!) is really awesome. Even if it is only for 1 minute at a time :-)

I'll leave you with some pics of our little getaway. I forgot my pillow so we had to stop at a Target and buy one since I was super afraid to sleep on a hotel pillow. And I had to buy some handsoap since I was worried about using hotel bar soap. Doesn't bar soap harbor germs if it stays wet in those icky soap holders? I mean, I use it on my body in the shower but not when I want to sanitize my hands... Being a germaphobe is a double edged sword. Very annoying, but I do get some gross satisfaction from wiping off a fast food table with my wipes and seeing what comes up. I love my wipes. I am kind of fearless when I have my wipes! I can conquer any germ! Good grief, I am rambling again... Go buy some wipes, people. Yeah, we are creating the biggest superbug ever that will kill us all because nothing will be able to stop it... but until then I guess I'll keep wiping off tables...