The very last thing I want to do is lull myself into a false sense of security, as that would be at best ridiculous and at worst detrimental.
But with that said...today was a lot of the same. Three major differences:
1. I arrived before the old panicky lady.
2. Today's shot was administered by Dr. Gonzales rather than Dr. Goldfarb.
3. Right arm, not left.
This week's biggest challenge has been making sure I tailor my wardrobe to that day's activity (as well as, you know, the weather). So the last two days I've worn sleeveless dresses with cardigans, for easy access to shot locations. Thursday and Friday, I figure pants for the scan, so as to prevent any inadvertent flashage - and Friday easy sleeves, for the blood draw. Tomorrow? Whatever I want! Woohoo!
Now I have a canister of quick oats at my desk ('cause breakfast, of course). I'm a little miffed that I didn't think to track down saltless mixed nuts previously, because that's so much more exciting in trail mix than just plan cashews. And lunch? Pesto pasta.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
What Gil(d)a Ate
Those who know me are generally (very kindly) indulgent about my obsession with Saturday Night Live. People nod and smile when I start quoting old sketches, and tend to be okay with the fact that I've basically memorized chunks of Live From New York (the SNL oral history). So here's one story:
During the first season, before people really knew who the cast were, they would basically warm up the audience at shows. Everyone would just come out, do a couple of minutes, give the audience a chance to get to know them as people. Gilda Radner did a thing called "What Gilda Ate," where she would literally sit on the edge of the stage and tell the audience what she'd eaten that day.
I have been doing that sort of thing here... so here's today.
Bananas. My stomach has been upset for several days - I think from nerves about this whole situation - so many bananas today. Pasta with tomato sauce, and for dinner...chicken soup, and rice.
During the first season, before people really knew who the cast were, they would basically warm up the audience at shows. Everyone would just come out, do a couple of minutes, give the audience a chance to get to know them as people. Gilda Radner did a thing called "What Gilda Ate," where she would literally sit on the edge of the stage and tell the audience what she'd eaten that day.
I have been doing that sort of thing here... so here's today.
Bananas. My stomach has been upset for several days - I think from nerves about this whole situation - so many bananas today. Pasta with tomato sauce, and for dinner...chicken soup, and rice.
Today is Monday (day 1)
Today? Today was the easy part. Well, sort of.
The most complicated parts of today were the buses and the old lady. This morning, I left the house about an hour earlier than I normally do, and took the bus to the city with my father. I got to my desk, took care of a couple of things, put my lunch in the refrigerator (a very important step, as we all know); and then headed out to the M15 Select bus down Second Avenue. (I got the 7-day unlimited MetroCard with express bus capability for this week, damn if I'm not going to get my money's worth.) My bus-standing skills continue to improve.
My appointments every day this week are at 9 AM. The woman with the 10 o'clock appointments was there at the same time. She was in her seventies and panicking about the testing. When I arrived she was asking questions, like, "I have to be here every day for a week? Will this hurt? Is it scary?"
And me? I'm not scared about the testing, just what it might portend. So I was busy trying to be upbeat, and be a good role model for the old lady.
The doctor lost the injection site. I mean, he gave me the shot, and then it took him a minute to find the injection site to put a bandage on it (I forget from time to time how freckly my arms are).
But all told, today was easy (and pretty painless).
When I got to work? Bananas. To eat, I mean.
The most complicated parts of today were the buses and the old lady. This morning, I left the house about an hour earlier than I normally do, and took the bus to the city with my father. I got to my desk, took care of a couple of things, put my lunch in the refrigerator (a very important step, as we all know); and then headed out to the M15 Select bus down Second Avenue. (I got the 7-day unlimited MetroCard with express bus capability for this week, damn if I'm not going to get my money's worth.) My bus-standing skills continue to improve.
My appointments every day this week are at 9 AM. The woman with the 10 o'clock appointments was there at the same time. She was in her seventies and panicking about the testing. When I arrived she was asking questions, like, "I have to be here every day for a week? Will this hurt? Is it scary?"
And me? I'm not scared about the testing, just what it might portend. So I was busy trying to be upbeat, and be a good role model for the old lady.
The doctor lost the injection site. I mean, he gave me the shot, and then it took him a minute to find the injection site to put a bandage on it (I forget from time to time how freckly my arms are).
But all told, today was easy (and pretty painless).
When I got to work? Bananas. To eat, I mean.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
May Be
So today is Sunday. At this point it's almost routine - pasta sauces for lunches, pack the lunches, freeze the grapes... but the difference this time is that, well...
Saturday, April 27, 2013
One Day After Day
Monday will mark two weeks of the low-iodine diet, as well as the beginning of the whole-body scan process. And I...
I'm bored. I am bored beyond belief. I mean, this has probably been the healthiest two weeks of my life (in a really long time, if not ever), food-wise, but I am just so over this whole thing. I am over cooking basically every single thing I eat. I am over no dairy. I am over no fish. I'm just over it.
And yeah, some things have been great. I sliced the bread-machine bread tonight, and I plan to have cinnamon toast for dinner. It's good. The blender mayo, best thing ever. And today's lunch, for example, only differed from any other time in that I used non-iodized salt to make the salads.
Maybe it's just because of what this represents, and how scary that is. I don't want to be sick again. I don't want to even have to entertain the thought - and that's what I'm doing right now, basically having to entertain the thought. Also I'm scared (and annoyed) by the fact that I was not given any instructions of any kind on doing this sort of prep in 2010, and so I didn't then. Is it possible that the tests then were messed up because of it? I don't know - but can we say definitively that they weren't?
Ugh.
Thursday: banana; pesto pasta; tea; grape tomatoes and green beans; end of the "spaghetti" and some salad
Friday: banana; romaine salad with egg whites, green beans, avocado, cucumber, tomato, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and sliced cantaloupe; frozen grapes; chicken soup, crispy beef deckle, pesto potato salad, crazy cake
Today (so far): small piece of crazy cake, tea; chicken, Israeli salad, pesto potato salad; grape tomatoes and tea.
I'm bored. I am bored beyond belief. I mean, this has probably been the healthiest two weeks of my life (in a really long time, if not ever), food-wise, but I am just so over this whole thing. I am over cooking basically every single thing I eat. I am over no dairy. I am over no fish. I'm just over it.
And yeah, some things have been great. I sliced the bread-machine bread tonight, and I plan to have cinnamon toast for dinner. It's good. The blender mayo, best thing ever. And today's lunch, for example, only differed from any other time in that I used non-iodized salt to make the salads.
Maybe it's just because of what this represents, and how scary that is. I don't want to be sick again. I don't want to even have to entertain the thought - and that's what I'm doing right now, basically having to entertain the thought. Also I'm scared (and annoyed) by the fact that I was not given any instructions of any kind on doing this sort of prep in 2010, and so I didn't then. Is it possible that the tests then were messed up because of it? I don't know - but can we say definitively that they weren't?
Ugh.
Thursday: banana; pesto pasta; tea; grape tomatoes and green beans; end of the "spaghetti" and some salad
Friday: banana; romaine salad with egg whites, green beans, avocado, cucumber, tomato, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and sliced cantaloupe; frozen grapes; chicken soup, crispy beef deckle, pesto potato salad, crazy cake
Today (so far): small piece of crazy cake, tea; chicken, Israeli salad, pesto potato salad; grape tomatoes and tea.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
A Little Adjustment
Tonight's dinner was "spaghetti" with meat sauce. I tweaked the standard spaghetti sauce, three cloves of garlic instead of chopped shallots, and shiitake mushrooms instead of button. I cooked some ground beef, cooked a spaghetti squash, and put the whole thing together. Score.
And the rest of the day? Pretty standard...banana, pasta, grape tomatoes, trail mix...salad with dinner.
And the rest of the day? Pretty standard...banana, pasta, grape tomatoes, trail mix...salad with dinner.
What's the Difference?
I think the biggest change so far is how much pre-planning I have to do! Truth is that I tend to be kind of seat-of-my pants about a lot of things; having to have a plan that enables me to shop on Sunday and basically know what I'm eating all week is a totally new experience for me. And it's weird, because as much as I'm not a planner I'm definitely a creature of habit: I normally eat the same thing for at least breakfast and lunch every day. If I'm in a restaurant I've been in before, I invariably get something I had the previous time.
So there's a lot of comfort in the LID restrictions - it's a lot of repetition, to be honest.
Yesterday:
breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar
lunch: ziti rigati with pesto
desktop snacks: green beans, grape tomatoes
dinner: spinach mushroom chicken situation, tabouli
and I fell asleep at 9.
So there's a lot of comfort in the LID restrictions - it's a lot of repetition, to be honest.
Yesterday:
breakfast: oatmeal with brown sugar
lunch: ziti rigati with pesto
desktop snacks: green beans, grape tomatoes
dinner: spinach mushroom chicken situation, tabouli
and I fell asleep at 9.
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