All Better!

I keep meaning to write a quick update about my previously mentioned illness. The Monday after my ER experience, my doctor called to tell me I tested positive for H. Pylori. Yay, I am very happy that they found the culprit! Today was the last day of my myriad of antibiotics and I am happy to be pylori-free and back to my normal self. Good riddance!

Recipe of the Week

My goal was to highlight a recipe each week, but I forgot. So, I will try again and probably again after the next time I forget:)

These cookies are so so good. The secret is the pudding. Alex loved them-we prefer chewy cookies over cripsy and I left out the walnuts. So, if you like chewy with great flavor, give these a try!

Subway Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 package (3 1/2 oz. or so) vanilla instant pudding mix

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour and baking soda. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Mixture will be thick.

Blend in the flour mixture. Then, stir in chocolate chips. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

SF Twins

Yesterday, I decided to do a little reaseach on these 2 ladies. Twice now, I have seen them at the same corner right around Bush and Powell (Nob Hill). I was reading a review of the Tadich Grill on Yelp and it mentioned the San Francisco Twins and how they eat there often. I thought, hmm, I wonder if they are the same twins I saw. After googling, sure enough, they are! Personally, I think it's a bit creepy, but kind of entertaining. Their names are Vivian and Marian and they dress and eat the same things, never been married, have only been apart for 3 weeks ever and are quite well-known, according to Wikipedia. Both times I've seen them, they've been holding hands, wearing bright red hats with leopard skin coats-those wigs and eyebrows are what get me.
So, if you are ever hanging out around Nob Hill, Union Square or the FiDi, keep your eye out for this duo!

Our Neighbohood Addition

A few days ago, my friend Jessica posted on her blog about how she's scared of libraries. I am the complete opposite, I love the library! When we first moved here, the Western Addition library, which is right across the street, was open, but after a month or so, it closed for renovations. So, for the past year and half, I've had to either walk to the Presidio library or make sure I caught the Bookmobile when it was scheduled nearby. The Bookmobile was actually great because it had all the newest books and movies, it just was only around twice a week. I got to know the man and lady who worked in it quite well.
Anyway, 2 weeks ago, the library reopened! Apparently, the city spent $4 million on it, which amazes me because it's nice, but nothing that fabulous, and it's not very big. I do like the self checkout, the homeless-proof grounds (aka a fence) and all the new books! If you're into Japanimation, it has a lot of that, too. Yay for reading and no more loud and crazy construction!

The Long but Rewarding Walk

Last weekend, Alex and I decided to walk over to and across the GG Bridge. We were then able to hang out with the Devers at their cute home! It was a lot of fun, the weather was perfect and we had a great time. Here are a few of Alex's photos.

What a Day

Well, I guess Friday ended up not being the end of the sickness, but hopefully, yesterday was! Late Friday night, I started feeling sick again, and it lasted all night. I was to the point where I wanted to just stop breathing because it hurt so much. After not sleeping and at the end of my threshold, at 5:30am, I woke Alex up frantic and needing some kind of help. We called the on-call advise nurse, who supported us in going to the ER. Zach C. loaned us his car this weekend, so Alex and I headed out to the CPMC by the dental school. We were the only ones being admitted, which was great. I got hooked up on Morphine and an anti-nausea med and was super tired, but out of my misery. Now I see why people get addicted to that, it worked in like 5 minutes and although I refused to look at the IV in my arm, I was relieved. After telling the doctors/nurses everything, they decided to do a CT Scan. By then, we had some company, a lady who needed a blood transfusion and, thanks to Alex's new medical knowledge, we knew she was close to dying. After all of this, I have so much gratitute for my health and I realize things could be much worse.

But, of course, the CT Scan couldn't be done right away. I had to drink a Liter of "contrast," which I still don't know what it is, but it's gross and looks like pee. The nurse mixed it with apple juice, but it was still horrid. And then, I still had to wait an hour after I drank it. Almost 2 hours later, they got me up to Radiology. Then I had to drink more contrast so it was fresh in my stomach so they could see all the organs. But the really cool guy up there mixed his with Tang, so much better, and he put in a little umbrella! Alex and I loved him. The scan went fine, a little weird, but no pain. Was brought back to my spot and now had 2 new neighbors, a 4 yr old cougher and an odd SF guy who was annoying. About 30 minutes later, the doctor came in and told me all my tests were fine. Seriously? I started crying and was sad. The doctor probably was not used to that, coming in to tell me I was relatively healthy and my reaction being that. The scan doesn't pick up ulcers, however, and they didn't test for h.pylori (still waiting for the other dr. results on that), but I have no obstructions, damage, tumors, etc. So he gave me some super strong Vicodin and another pain med and sent us on our way.

All in all, I am glad I went, no matter how scared I was of the ER and all the trauma. Alex never left my side, come to think of it he never even went to the bathroom, how is that possible? The entire staff was super accomodating and kind. I would definitely recommend that hospital! And so far, I have been feeling better since (it's been 24 hours:). Thanks for all the prayers, caring words and thoughts. I do think now that I am being taught gratitude for the health I have and for all those out there who are able and willing to help others.

Torture

FYI: This post isn't the most uplifting and it's kind of boring....
I have been really bad at the blogging lately, because I have been super sick and can hardly do anything. Which also stinks because we have some cool photos I want to share! Thankfully, I just woke up and this is the time (for 2-3 hours) I actually feel normal. Went to the doctor yesterday and they're pretty sure I have an ulcer, what I expected, and gave me a prescription so I hope it starts working soon. It feels like something is just eating away my insides right above my belly button. Sometimes I'm able to throw up and that helps get rid of the pain, but since I can't eat much, that doesn't happen often enough. So, if this doesn't get better soon, I'll have to go to a gastroenterologist. Alex has been great, although I do feel bad for him since there's not much he can do, and he has to put up with all my moaning and groaning....
Anyway, that's what's been going on this week. Every morning when I feel good, I hope it's the day for it to end; maybe that will be today.

Eli Stone

This is a really great new show. We had seen a million or so commercials for it before it aired last week, and Alex had to watch Lost right before it, so since that seems to be a great way to get people to watch a new show, we stuck around and checked it out. I am glad we did- it has all the elements of a hit-catchy and funny lines, the touching/sentimental stuff, attractive and relatable characters and a great location (SF, of course!). It even made me like the song "Faith," which ever since Limp Bizkit redid that song, it bugged me (if you saw the pilot you know what I mean). The only bad thing is it's on at 10, which makes my Fridays at work at little more tiring!

Cell Phone, Anyone??

I am having some annoying cell phone drama. The other week, my phone decided not to work anymore and is unfixable. We only have 5 months left on our plan and then want to switch carriers, so I don't want to have to renew our contract just to get a new phone. But, if not, even the cheapest basic phone is like $80! If any of you happen to have an old phone lying around with a spot on the back for a SIM card (ideally T-Mobile), I would be so grateful to have it. I'll cover the shipping if you're not nearby and I can also return in in July if needed. I am getting desperate, my loaner is only good until Friday. Man, cell phone companies are a pain....Thank you!

Puppy Bowl

Alex and I aren't really big football fans, but we love puppies! Whoever invented the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet is a genius. It is on during the Super Bowl and the dogs are so so cute! They have so much energy and basically just run around and play. For halftime, they have the kitty show. Occasionally, we would turn to the game to see what was going on, and hopefully catch a few commercials, but overall, the Puppy Bowl was our main attraction. My two favs are the Beagle and West Highland White Terrier.

One day we will get a dog....but not anytime soon.

Oh and congrats to the Giants.

Recipe of the Week

I decided it would be fun to post a recipe or two every week or so. Since I love reading, and eventually trying new recipes, maybe this will motivate me to make them more! This morning, Alex said he wanted waffles, which is rare, since he usually prefers pancakes (I think he was just trying to be nice since he knows I like waffles better). There were some frozen bananas I needed to use so I went to www.allrecipes.com and found only one recipe for banana waffles. After reading the comments and such, here is my version...oh and above is a picture I found online; I used a Cinderella waffler so mine looked a lot different:) Also, if you don't have wheat flour, you can use only all purpose flour (that was one of my variations).

Banana Waffles

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch of nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 bananas, mashed

Preheat any kind of waffle iron. Combine flours, baking powder, sugar, salt, nutmeg & cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir together. Add milk, egg & banana and stir until all combined. Spray non-stick cooking spray onto the waffle iron. Pour batter into waffle iron and cook to desired doneness. Makes 3 to 4 good-sized waffles. Serve with syrup, butter, peanut butter, chocolate chips, whipped cream, or whatever topping you love best!