My Journey Through Life & My Kitchen!

New Challenge!

2012-01-31T11:24:00.000-05:00

So a few weeks ago I was perusing the internet for new recipes to try and I stumbled upon a wonderful blog called Amanda's Cookin'. Well in Amanda's "about me" column she was explaining how in 2008 when she started her blog she was still using cake mixes and cooking the same dinners week after week. She now bakes almost everything from scratch and gives the credit to a baking group she is apart of called Tuesdays with Dorie. Well my curiosity of this baking group had me stumble over to their blog to find out what it was all about.

Tuesdays with Dorie is basically a group of bloggers who bake there way through whatever cookbook is chosen and twice a month (always on a Tuesday) they post pictures of the recipe that you were told to make. You must make at least one of the recipes every month to be able to be in the group.

I just so happened to find this website in the nick of time because they are just now starting a new cookbook and were taking names of people who wanted to join. We will be baking recipes from the cookbook Baking with Julia by: Dorie Greenspan based on the PBS series hosted by Julia Child who I absolutely LOVE!

The first recipe will be posted on February 7th and I can't wait! I am going to the grocery store today to buy my ingredients. I am hoping that like Amanda this group will help me to try different recipes and flavors that I might not have tried on my own and help me to become a better baker! I just read the TWD blog this morning and they are up to over 300 bloggers who have signed up to be apart of this challenge! There's gonna be a whole lot of baking going on that's for sure. :)

I believe there is still time that if you wanted to sign up and join the baking group too you can just head over to the TWD link that I posted above!!

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

2012-01-31T10:40:00.000-05:00

Hi Ya'll! I hope you all have had a great new year so far. Can you believe its already the end of January??!! Crazy...

This recipe that I am sharing with you today is called Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes and I believe its from my Betty Crocker cookbook (the bridal edition) that I got for our wedding almost five years ago. It was one of the first meals I learned how to make when I moved in with my husband and it quickly became one of our favorite go to "quick" meals. At one point I think we even had it every week for dinner! I now try different recipes a lot so we haven't had this dish in awhile so the other night I made it and it was just as delicious as I remember. The great thing about this meal is that it is quick, easy AND its all made on one pan so clean up is a breeze! Give it a try I know you will love it too! :)

Zesty Roasted Chicken and Potatoes!

Ingredients:

6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 lb. small red potatoes, cut in quarters
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Chopped fresh chives, if desired.

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray a baking sheet, 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1 inch with cooking spray.

2. Place chicken and potatoes in pan. Mix remaining ingredients except chives; brush over chicken and potatoes.

3. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Sprinkle with chives.

**Depending on your oven you may have to bake this a little longer than the recommended time. Mine is usually in the oven 40-45 minutes and then its perfect. It really depends on how big or small my potatoes are so at around 40 minutes I check the potatoes and go from there. I also almost never use chives just because that isn't something I always have in my fridge and it doesn't really make a huge difference its still an amazing dinner without it.

Well there you go. Let me know what you think if you try it! Happy Tuesday everybody!! :)

Jen

XoxoX

I'M Back....

2012-01-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

I know, I know....I have been a BAD blogger! Its just I have had so much going on through the holidays and going through my back pain issue (which thankfully is better!) I literally had no time to blog or was in so much pain I wasn't even able to get out of bed and when I did get downstairs to cook I certainly wasn't in the mood to take pics of everything for the blog. But I feel better and ready to get back to cooking! :)

Let me give you a quick version of what I have been doing while I wasn't blogging....

I hosted my very first Thanksgiving at our house we had about 30 adults plus children. It was wonderful and stressful all at the same time because I was working very hard to make it PERFECT. We had two turkeys (one traditional in the oven which I made and one smoked that my BIL did) and a ham that my MIL made. Then I made 4 pies from SCRATCH for dessert and everyone who came also brought a dish anywhere from an appetizer to a side dish. It was a great Thanksgiving filled with lots of family and friends! Certainly beats last Turkey day by a long shot since last year I was eating Thanksgiving dinner in the hospital attached to a vent!

I had my one year anniversary of my lung transplant on December 2, 2011 and I celebrated in style by not only having a wonderful party at my house with family and friends to celebrate....BUT I also got to spend 4 amazing days in NYC with my sister and cousin. We walked EVERYWHERE, by the time it was time to go home parts of my body that I didn't even knew existed hurt! But I could do it and I didn't have to stop/rest/or hold anyone back because I could BREATH! It was an amazing feeling!

Christmas kinda snuck up on me this year. I am usually that person who in October is usually done shopping and this year I don't even know what happened but I was way behind and still shopping the week of Christmas! That will never happen again believe me because all the millions of people who were also shopping reminded me why I don't go to stores or malls in the month of December is because of all the other crazy shoppers out there! Christmas Eve was spent with the in-laws and Christmas day was spent with my family by going to church in the morning and then dinner late afternoon. It was a great Christmas all around.

New Years Eve we had a little party at out house like we usually do. Danny doesn't really care to go out on New Years and worry about who's gonna drive home and then navigating the roads with all the other people who are possibly driving drunk. He thinks its just safer to stay home. So we have had a New Years Eve party every year we have lived in our house except last cause I was still in Gainesville recovering.

So that brings us into January. I just had a check up last week that included a bronch and yesterday my coordinator called me with my results which I am proud to say were NEGATIVE for rejection!! I was a little worried this time because I have been having major sinus issues and I didn't want that negatively affecting my beautiful breathers. Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention I got a early 30th birthday present yesterday (my bday is 2/3!) a NEW CAR!! Its so pretty, I will have to post pictures next time I blog! :)

Well that's all I got for today. I have to go meet my little brother at his college cause he needs some money for gas...aren't I a good sister or what? LOL

Till next time....XoxoX

Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-05T12:57:00.003-04:00

I saw an episode of Good Eats awhile ago and on it the host Alton Brown was making a pumpkin pie from scratch. Im talking roasting a pumpkin in the oven to make the puree from scratch and it actually looked really easy.

I am hosting my first Thanksgiving this year and I am SO excited! Not only have I been asking to host it for like 4 years now and my in-laws are finally giving in and relinquishing the rights to Turkey Day BUT its the first Thanksgiving I can actually DO everything and BREATH while doing it so I want everything to be PERFECT!

So since I have never made this pie before I wanted to make a practice pie to see what everyone thinks so I didn't have a Thanksgiving Day disaster on my hands with a crappy pumpkin pie!

Its not like the traditional pumpkin pie everyone is used to because its made with REAL pumpkin and out of the people who tried it, it was 50/50 on whether or not they like it. My father-in-law LOVED it especially the ginger snap crust. My husband liked it but said there was something "off" about it. That seemed to be the consensus of the people who didn't care for it. So my suggestion would be that if you think you want to try this pie for the big day make it ahead of time to see if you really like it or not.

Here is the recipe!

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

Crust:

6 ounces gingersnap cookies
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 ounce unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

16 ounces Pumpkin Puree, recipe follows
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust: Combine the gingersnaps, brown sugar, and ginger in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cookies are fine crumbs. Drizzle the butter into the crumb mixture. Pulse 8 to 10 times to combine.

Press the gingersnap mixture into the bottom, up the sides, and just over the lip of a 9-inch glass pie dish. Place on a half sheet pan and bake the crust for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool crust at least 10 minutes before filling.

For the filling: Bring the pumpkin puree to a simmer over medium heat in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the half-and-half, nutmeg, and salt. Stir and return the mixture to a simmer. Remove the pumpkin mixture from the heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Whisk the brown sugar, eggs, and yolk until smooth in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Pour the prepared filling into the warm pie crust and bake on the same half sheet pan until the center jiggles slightly but the sides of the filling are set, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 to 3 hours before slicing. Pie can be made and refrigerated up to 2 days in advance. Pie is best the day after it is made.

Pumpkin Puree:

1 (4 to 6-pound) baking pumpkin, rinsed and dried
Kosher salt

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Slice a small piece of skin off the one side of the pumpkin so when laid on its side, the pumpkin will lay flat without rolling. Remove the stem and split the pumpkin in half from top to bottom, using a large cleaver and a mallet. Scoop out the seeds and fiber with a large metal spoon or ice cream scoop. Cut the fibers with kitchen shears if necessary. Reserve seeds for another use.

Sprinkle the flesh with kosher salt and lay the halves, flesh side down, on a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan. Roast until a paring knife can be easily inserted and removed from the pumpkin, 30 to 45 minutes. Test in several places to ensure doneness.

Remove the half sheet pan to a cooling rack and cool the pumpkin for 1 hour. Using a large spoon, remove the roasted flesh of the pumpkin from the skin to the bowl of a food processor. Process until the flesh is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

**To make the whip cream on top I just used 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tbs. confectioners sugar. But you can use good old fashion cool whip if you prefer! :)

Cowboy Casserole!

2011-11-05T12:36:00.004-04:00

This casserole is as delicious as it is easy!

My husband is from Minnesota. Home of the "hot dish" so I have had my share of tater tot casseroles and to be honest I have never really been a fan. But this one is REALLY good! The only thing I think I will change and try next time is when I am browning the meat I think I will throw in some chopped onion and a few cloves of minced garlic. Just because lets be honest garlic makes everything taste better! :)

Well, here is the recipe! If you try it leave me a comment I would love to hear what you think!!

Cowboy Casserole

Ingredients
1/2 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
1 can (8-3/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
2/3 cup condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/3 cup 2% milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups frozen Tater Tots

Directions

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Stir in the corn, soup, 1/4 cup cheese, milk, sour cream, onion powder and pepper.
Place 1 cup Tater Tots in a greased 3-cup baking dish. Layer with beef mixture and remaining Tater Tots; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

**Just a quick side note: This recipe is for 2 servings so if you are a family of four you will want to double the ingredients!!

Crisp and Creamy Baked Chicken!

2011-10-14T22:19:00.003-04:00

The other night was one of those nights where shockingly enough I didn't have a plan of what I was going to make for dinner. So I thought about what I had in the pantry and went from there. I have made this meal a handful of times and its great every time! Its fast, easy and like I said it can be made with stuff you can just keep in your pantry for those nights you just don't feel like being Julia Child or Martha Stewart in the kitchen!! :)

Crisp-and-Creamy Baked Chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 pouch Shake 'N Bake Extra Crispy Seasoned Coating Mix

1/2 can (10 3/4oz) of condensed cream of celery soup

1/4 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheddar & monterey jack cheese

Directions

1. Coat chicken with coating mix as directed on package; place in greased 13x9 baking dish. Discard any remaining coating mix.

2. Bake 20 min. or until chicken is done.

3. Mix soup and milk until well blended; pour over chicken. Top with cheese. Bake 5 min or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.

I usually serve this meal with Velvetta Shells cause Danny LOVES them and a green vegetable! :)

Banana-Nut Bread!

2011-10-12T23:09:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! Between going to Gainesville for a check up (it went GREAT!) and still dealing with major lower back pain I haven't done much of anything lately! Last week I did start physical therapy so hopefully with time that will help!

I have TONS of dinner recipes/photos to blog about I just have to actually sit down and do them...the one problem I have had the last couple times I have cooked dinner is that I either forget to take a picture of my ingredients OR I am so hungry I start eating before I take a picture of my final plate so when I finally get to those blogs they might be a few pictures short...opps! :)

Anywho....Danny had a few bananas that were a little on the dark side so he decided that he wanted me to make banana bread for him. Well I don't eat bananas. I find them repulsive, the smell, the taste, the texture...they all just make me want to gag! LOL BUT...being the good wife that I am I powered on through and baked my man some bread!

I found a basic recipe online and then added a few things that I thought would make it better. I did try a piece and it wasn't horrible but I could definitely taste the banana so one bite was enough for me but Danny enjoyed it and that's all that matters!

Banana-Nut Bread

Ingredients

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9x5 inch pan.

2. Cream margarine and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add flour and soda, stirring just until combined.

3. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour (or until toothpick comes out clean). Remove from pan and let cool, store in refrigerator or freeze!

**What I changed** Instead of 1 cup white sugar, I used 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar. I also added 1 tsp of vanilla extract and a couple shakes of cinnamon. Plus 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts mixed in.

The smell of the cinnamon baking in the oven was so good!! If you are a fan of bananas or banana bread I say give this recipe a try its fast and very simple to make. Next there is a recipe I found for cinnamon raisin bread that I think has my name ALL over it!!

Classic Pot Roast

2011-09-26T21:52:00.003-04:00

I have been making Pot Roast in my crock-pot for years and while I love a good roast, I haven't been able to find that ONE recipe that surpasses anyone that I have tried before. It seems almost every recipe I have ever found/tried has one of the following ingredients: cream of mushroom soup, french onion soup packet or beef stock or water with some herbs. That's it!

So when I was flipping through a new magazine I just got in the mail last week and came across this recipe for classic pot roast I knew I had to try it. I mean between the pictures and the list of ingredients it just sounded/looked delicious! I thought...hmm....could I have possibly found my recipe?? So here it is....

Classic Pot Roast

Ingredients

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 boneless chuck roast, trimmed, seasoned with S&P (3-4lbs.)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce

2 cups sliced onions

6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces

6 cloves garlic, chopped

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

Directions

1) Heat oil in a saute pan over medium-high. Sear roast on all sides, 10 minutes total. Transfer roast to a 4 to 6 qt slow cooker.

2) Stir flour into saute pan; cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook 1 minute more.

3) Deglaze saute pan with wine, cooking until liquid evaporates. Stir in broth and worcestershire; bring mixture to a simmer, scraping up any brown bits.

4) Transfer broth mixture to the slow cooker; add onions, carrots, celery, and cook until meat is fork tender, on high heat setting for 4-5 hours or on low heat for 8-9 hours. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving.

Now generally when I make a pot roast I throw potatoes in the crock pot with the roast but this recipe had mashed potatoes along side the roast so I went with that suggestion for something different....

Mashed Potatoes & Peas

Ingredients

2lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks

1/2 cup milk, warmed

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Salt and white pepper to taste

minced fresh chives

Directions

1) Boil potatoes in a pot of salted water until tender, 12-15 minutes; drain. Return potatoes to pot; cook, stirring, over low heat for 1 minute to remove moisture. Mash potatoes until smooth.

2) Stir in milk, butter, peas, salt and pepper; serve immediately topped with chives!

And here is my plate! I served it with some biscuits and honey...YUM! This roast was very flavorful and a nice change of pace from the old cream of mushroom soup roast. I will definitely be making this roast again but I am still on my journey to find the PERFECT roast recipe so if you have one I would love to hear it!! :)

P.S. In case you were wondering the potato and roast recipes both serve 6 people!! I do have another recipe from Saturday I am going to try and get up tomorrow but I am going to Gainesville for a couple of days for a check up so I am not sure if I can post it before I leave. If I don't I will do it when I get home and update you all on how my appointment went as well!!

Good Night!!

XoxoX

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops!

2011-09-21T21:12:00.004-04:00

Last night we had pork chops for dinner and this recipe is by far our FAVORITE way to have them! They aren't dry at all and are so yummy and really easy to make. That Giada really knows what she is doing! :)

I forgot to put my EVOO bottle in the picture of ingredients and I usually don't use the lemon wedges and to be honest it doesn't really make that big of difference in the meal its still delicious!

Also, when I bread them instead of having three separate plates I just use two. One for the eggs and one for the parmesan cheese and italian breadcrumbs~I just mix them together. I used to do it separate but somewhere along the way I decided to mix it and it turns out the same so its one less dish that needs to be washed!

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle thepork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

I almost always make this meal with Velvetta Shells and Green Beans. Try it. Trust me you will LOVE it!

Southwest Pasta Skillet

2011-09-20T21:13:00.002-04:00

Here is last nights dinner. Its made with the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme (Santa Fe Blend) thats out now and I have to say its pretty good!

I have made this dish once before and the last time I made it I didn't have a green pepper like the recipe called for so I used green onions instead and it turned out great so this time when I went to the store to get the ingredients I just used green onions again! If you try this recipe and use the peppers let me know what you think....

Southwest Pasta Skillet

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup chopped green peppers

1 can (14.5oz) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained

1 pkg (10oz) frozen corn

1 tub (10oz) Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme

2 cups hot cooked rotini pasta

1 cup Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Directions

1. Cook and stir chicken and peppers in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat for 6 to 7 minutes or until chicken is done. Add tomatoes, corn and cooking creme; cook and stir 3 minutes.

2. Add pasta and 1/2 cup shredded cheese; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

3. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand until cheese is melted!

**because I used green onions instead of peppers I didn't stick them directly in the pot with the chicken, I cooked the chicken until it was almost done then I put in the onions. I also served this dinner with some texas toast...we love bread in this family if you couldn't tell! :)

Sweet N Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry!

2011-09-18T22:13:00.004-04:00

Well, its taken me a few days to get Thursday's dinner up but here it is!! :)

I had watched an Episode of 30 Minute Meals where Rachael Ray makes this recipe but on the show she puts the stir-fry ontop of ranch mashed potatoes. Now call me crazy but a sweet n sour stir-fry over mashed potatoes just doesn't cry out "MAKE ME" in my mind so I decided to go the more traditional route and poured it over brown rice instead!

The sweet n sour sauce that I made was great and I was a little shocked because all it is, is ketchup, mustard, brown sugar and soy sauce! YUM!

This is a VERY quick and easy meal...once you have all the meat/vegetables chopped the actual cooking time is like 10 minutes for the whole meal~including the rice! I do suggest that you prep everything before you start cooking cause it does go so fast once you start you will want everything ready to dump in the pot.

Sweet N Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry

Ingredients
1 1/2 pound piece sirloin, 1-inch thick
Salt
3 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 bunch scallions, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces on bias, greens and whites
2 cups shelled frozen edamame
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup ketchup

Directions

Pop the meat in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen it up for slicing.

Halve the steak lengthwise then very thinly slice the meat. Heat the oil in a very large skillet over high heat. When oil wafts smoke and ripples, add the meat and stir-fry until caramelized 3 minutes. Add peppers and stir-fry 2 minutes then add in scallions and edamame for 2 minutes more. Stir together the sugar, soy, mustard and ketchup and pour over stir-fry the last minute of cooking. Season, to taste, if necessary.

Here is my final plate! :)

I couldn't find frozen Edamame when I went grocery shopping (dumb neighborhood walmart!) so I just substituted frozen snap peas and it worked out fine! All in all it was a good meal and a nice change from the usual chicken or pasta dishes that Danny loves and ALWAYS wants to have! :)

Have a great week ya'll!!

XoxoX

Breakfast for Dinner!

2011-09-14T22:01:00.004-04:00

OK I am going to let you all in on a little secret here. Although I LOVE to cook....I don't really "do" breakfast. That's more Danny's thing, which he is AWESOME at btw! Except for fried potatoes and onions...I can make a mean batch of those. :)

Anyway, I get side tracked easily. So last weekend I was watching Food Network (shocking I know!) and Cooking for Real was on with its host Sunny Anderson. She was making the best looking breakfast and I decided right then and there that we were having THAT for dinner one night that week! So here are the recipes!

Open-Faced Breakfast Sandwich

Ingredients
3/4 cup olive oil
1 stalk fresh rosemary
8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, smashed
Kosher salt
4 slices white bread
4 eggs
1/4 pound dry cured and smoked speck ham, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons maple syrup
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons grape jelly
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small saucepot over medium heat add the oil, rosemary, thyme sprigs, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Heat until the garlic begins to brown and thyme is crisp. Strain the oil and remove the thyme to a paper towel-lined plate. Discard the rosemary and garlic, but reserve the oil.
Brush one side of each piece of bread with the oil and place them oiled-side up on a wire rack fitted inside a baking sheet with sides. On another wire rack place the strips of speck ham and brush the top of each with maple syrup. Bake in the oven until both the toast and ham are golden and crisp, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile make the eggs. In a nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat, add a few tablespoons of the reserved olive oil. Crack each egg over the pan and allow to fry until most of the whites are cooked, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and a grind or two of pepper, then lower the heat and cover until the top of the eggs are cooked, but the yolks are not, about 2 minutes more.
To assemble the sandwiches: Spread a tablespoon of grape jelly on the oiled side of each piece of bread. Top with a few strips of folded over ham, an egg and a few sprigs of the reserved fried thyme.Garnish with the shredded Parmesan cheese.

Sunny's Sweet and Spicy Breakfast Sausage

Ingredients
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed with a knife or mortar and pestle
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ground chuck
1 teaspoon olive oil
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, fennel seed, paprika, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Break the beef into chunks and add to a large bowl. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the top then with your hand gently mix the beef until the seasoning is evenly distributed. Divide the mixture into 8 even portions and roll gently into balls. Place back in the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Remove the sausage from the refrigerator and one by one place each ball between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a meat pounder, flatten out the sausage balls into 1/8-inch thick patties.
In a large saute pan or griddle over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and cook the sausage patties in batches. Sear on one side until caramelized and golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes, then flip to cook just a minute more on the other side.

Sunny's Saturday Special Hash Browns

Ingredients
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and grated
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions
Using a box grater or a food processor with the shred attachment, shred the potatoes and place them in a colander over a large bowl. Fill the bowl with cold water and agitate the shredded potatoes and rinse with water until the water runs clear from the colander. Strain the potatoes and pour into a clean kitchen towel, gather the edges and twist the towel around to squeeze the excess water out of the potatoes. Do this as hard as possible, changing towels if needed to remove the most moisture. Transfer the dried potato shreds to a large bowl. Add the garlic powder, onion powder, Hungarian paprika, 2 teaspoons of salt, and a grind or two of pepper. Toss with your hands to combine.
In a large nonstick saute pan on medium heat, add the olive oil and shredded potatoes. Spread the potatoes evenly and allow a bottom crust to build before tossing to cook some more. Continue to cook while tossing until most of the hash browns are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Pour into a serving plate.

And here is the final meal plate!!! :)

**I did change only a few things slightly. One is I couldn't find Hungarian Paprika so I just used regular, I used bacon instead of the cured ham and I really cheated by using a bag of frozen hash browns that I thawed out before hand!

Also, I don't know about you but when I saw the grape jelly Danny and I thought that was a little strange but went ahead and added it anyway to see what it was like and it was surprisingly good! The sausage to me was REALLY spicy so next time I make them I personally will only add 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper instead. But if you like spicy you will probably think its fine Danny did....maybe im just a wuss?

OK well thats it....have a good night!!

Savory Garlic Marinated Steaks W/Scalloped Potatoes and Cheesy Broccoli!

2011-09-13T21:35:00.006-04:00

Last night we had I think the BEST marinated steaks I have ever made...and that's saying a lot considering I am more of a plain steak with a little steak sauce type of girl! They were SO flavorful and smelled so good. Like the minute I opened up the marinade bag to put them on the grill I was ready to eat thats how good it smelled! I wish your screen was "scratch and sniff" cause then you would get what I am talking about!! LOL

The Scalloped Potatoes is a recipe I got from my grandma years ago. Its my favorite recipe for scalloped potatoes and its SO easy...it only takes 20 minutes in the microwave and they are a million times better than anything you would make out of a box! I have NEVER made scalloped potatoes out of a box since I have had this recipe I refuse to.

The Cheesy Broccoli I believe is from my Betty Crocker cookbook but I don't 100% remember. Anyway...here are the recipes!! :)

Savory Garlic Marinated Steaks

Ingredients
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
2 pinches cayenne pepper
4 (1/2 pound) rib-eye steaks

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, honey, olive oil, ground black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, salt, liquid smoke, and cayenne pepper.

Place steaks in a shallow glass dish with the marinade, and turn to coat. For optimum flavor, rub the liquid into the meat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

Preheat grill for medium-high to high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill steaks 7 minutes per side, or to desired doneness. Discard leftover marinade.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk
5 cups peeled and thinly sliced potatoes

Directions

1. Place onion and butter in 1 1/2qt casserole. Cook in microwave HIGH HEAT for 1 1/2 minutes, or until onion is tender.

2. Blend in flour, seasonings and milk. Cook in microwave on high for 4 minutes or until thickened. Stir halfway through cooking time.

3. Add potatoes. Stir lightly to coat. Cook covered on full power for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender!

Cheesy Broccoli

Ingredients

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1/4 cup milk

4 cups frozen broccoli cuts

Directions

Stir the soup and milk in a 2-quart microwavable casserole. Stir in the broccoli.
Cover and microwave on HIGH for 5-10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender-crisp, stirring once during cooking.

And here is my final plate!!! Seriously if you want a DELICIOUS steak dinner make this recipe you won't be sorry!! :)

Basic Tossed Salad and Milky Way Fudge!

2011-09-11T19:07:00.003-04:00

Friday night we had company again. My husbands brother, his wife and kids all came over for dinner and then we watched Bridesmaids (hilarious movie btw!) I had planned on a Mexican themed dinner with Chicken Enchiladas, refried beans and Spanish rice but I was worried that the kids wouldn't like it and to be honest my back has been killing me all week so I really just wanted something easy that I could prepare ahead of time so I wasn't standing in the kitchen while everyone else was hanging out.

So I went with my awesome Baked Ziti (you can find that recipe here!) a basic salad with homemade dressing and for dessert I made Milky Way Fudge...it was SO good and every single one of the kiddos cleaned their plates. That's a WIN in my book!! :)

Basic Tossed Salad W/ Homemade Dressing

Ingredients

2 hearts romaine lettuce
2 small plum tomatoes, diced
1 Kirby cucumber or 1/4 European seedless cucumber, diced
1 small yellow onion or 1/2 red onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 /4 cup (a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil,
2 to 3 tablespoons (a couple of splashes) red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Coarse salt and black pepper

Directions

Place salad greens in a salad bowl and top with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, and carrot. Place oil, vinegar and sugar in a small plastic container. Put the lid on the container and shake dressing until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad. Season salad with salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine.

Milky Way Fudge

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups (12oz) semisweet chocolate chips

3 Milky Way candy bars (2.05oz each), chopped

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Line a 9in square pan with foil and grease the foil with butter; set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine milk, chocolate chips and candy bars. MIcrowave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 15 second intervals, stirring until smooth. Stir in Vanilla. Spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Using foil, lift fudge out of pan; cut fudge into 1 inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator!

I just have to say that this fudge is AWESOME but very chocolaty and super easy to make!! Danny wants me to try it using snickers next time so I will let you know how that turns out! :)

Skillet Chicken Parmesan!

2011-09-08T22:09:00.004-04:00

I am FINALLY back with another food blog! I have been very lazy in the last week because I haven't felt the greatest thanks to my back but that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking or taking pictures...it just means that by the time I get upstairs and to my laptop I don't fee like uploading my pics and writing a blog to go with it!!

I have like 4 or 5 meals I need to blog about so I hope to get them out in the next few days. This meal that I am doing now we had for dinner last Thursday (told u I was behind!!) and it was SO good and made the house smell DELICIOUS while it was cooking...

Skillet Chicken Parmesan

3/4: cup Original Bisquick® mix

1: teaspoon Italian seasoning

2: tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1: egg

4: boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 oz each)

3: tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

2: cups tomato pasta sauce (from 26-oz jar)

1: cup shredded Italian cheese blend (4 oz)

Step 1

In shallow dish or pie plate, mix Bisquick mix, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. In another shallow dish or pie plate, beat egg. Coat chicken with Bisquick mixture, then dip into egg, and coat again with Bisquick mixture.

Step 2

In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken; cook 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Cover; cook 8 to 10 minutes longer, turning once, until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut (170°F). Remove from skillet to plate.

Step 3

Add pasta sauce to skillet. Place chicken on top of sauce. Sprinkle with Italian cheese blend. Cover; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Add...here is my final plate!! :)

You can serve it over any pasta you like, I really like penne pasta so thats what I used and served it along with some Texas Toast!! Oh and I didn't use the Italian cheese blend like the recipe called for I used shredded mozzarella cause thats what I had on hand!! Enjoy!!

Health Update

2011-08-31T20:42:00.002-04:00

Well I am sure as many of you already know last week I had a bronch done up in Gainesville to check and make sure I had no rejection after receiving treatment a month prior for the acute rejection my doctors had found.

I am pleased to report that the bronch results came back in recored time (the next day~usually its not till like thursday or friday I get results if my bronch is on a monday) and they were NEGATIVE for rejection!! YAY!! I can not begin to put into words how relieved I was to get those results. :)

While my mom and I were in Gainesville we also had an appointment with my vascular surgeon who did my Arterial Bypass surgery in February. I had an ABI test done and I have completely 100% normal blood flow in both my legs so that was another piece of good news! I have been having some minor swelling in my left foot/ankle from time to time lately which is what prompted me to make the appt (to make sure everything checked out ok) but the PA said that that could just be my "norm" now and that everything else looked good. So I don't have to go back to see them for another 6 months.

I did talk to my tx doctor about my back while I was up there. Ever since my surgery I have had aches and pains in my lower back but nothing that ever stopped me from doing anything. But the last month or so the pain has been SO bad that when I wake up in the morning I can barely move and unless I take something for the pain it will continue like that for the rest of the day...its HORRIBLE! :(

So Dr. Baz suggested that I go and see a Neurosurgeon in my hometown to make sure I don't have a chipped disc or disc disease due to Osteoporosis or anything like that. I for one don't think its either of those two, I feel its more like a pinched nerve or muscular but what do I know?? Anyway...so last Wednesday I went to see the Neuro guy and he agreed with me that he thinks its more muscular but couldn't rule anything out until I got a CT Scan and MRI done.

That was today. I have had many CT scans done so I knew what to expect but have never had an MRI so I was needless to say "a little anxious" about it considering I don't like things directly above my face! I was in the tube for an hour and since I am writing this blog tonight you can see I survived but let me assure you I did NOT enjoy any minute of it at ALL!! LOL

I got the films from the radiology place and now have to wait until next week to see the Neuro doc again to get a diagnosis. I will let you all know what he says but I am thinking some PT for my back is somewhere in my near future....wish me luck that that is the LEAST of my problems and that I don't have to go through any more surgeries!!

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!!

XoxoX

Flavorful Beef in Gravy!

2011-08-30T20:49:00.004-04:00

I am a few days late with this blog...I made this meal Friday night. We had Danny's brother and his wife and kids over for dinner along with Danny's brother Tony who lives with us. All total there was I think nine of us so I needed a meal that fed a lot but didn't break the bank! This crock-pot recipe feeds 12 so it was PERFECT!

Flavorful Beef in Gravy

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1-1/3 cups milk
1 envelope onion soup mix
Hot cooked noodles or mashed potatoes

Directions

Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag; add beef and toss to coat. In a skillet, brown beef in oil.
Transfer beef to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir in the soups, milk and soup mix. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the meat is tender. Serve with noodles or potatoes.

Lemon-Herbed Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

1 (5 pound) bag yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup butter

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

2 tbsp. minced green onion

1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. lemon zest

Directions

In a large dutch oven, combine potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Drain potatoes and return to dutch oven. Add butter, sour cream, green onion, parsley, salt and lemon zest. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes to desired consistency.

Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) bags fresh green beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil.

Place green beans in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with garlic, an drizzle with olive oil and S&P. Toss gently to coat.

Bake for 12 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Serve immediately.

**Here is a picture of it in the crock-pot. Sadly I was so hungry by the time we had dinner I was half way through my plate when I realized I didn't take a picture of my completed plate!! Im such an idiot...lol. Anyway I also served this meal with a loaf of puerto rican bread and some butter! Enjoy!! :)

Crouton Crushed Chicken Tenders W/Orange BBQ Sauce!

2011-08-26T10:41:00.004-04:00

One of our favorite go to easy meals is homemade chicken tenders. I usually just coat them with italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and then bake them in the oven but I saw today's recipe on an episode of Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee and it looked pretty good so I decided to give it a try!

The only thing I didn't like about it was they didn't brown up as much as I would have liked (and I even left them in a little longer than the directions said to) I probably could have put them under the broiler for a few minutes and that would have done the trick but by that time I was hungry and tired of waiting for dinner to be done! :)

Crouton Crushed Chicken Tenders

Ingredients
1 (6-ounce) bag garlic and butter croutons
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the corner off of the bag croutons just enough to let the air escape. Place the bag onto a cutting board, cover with a kitchen towel and smash it with a rolling pin. Crush the croutons until coarse in texture.

Set up a breading station with 3 pie plates or baking dishes. In 1 dish add the flour, and season it with poultry seasoning, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. In the second dish mix together the egg and buttermilk. In the third dish add the crushed croutons, and the bread crumbs.

Dip chicken tenders into the flour and shake of any excess. Then dip them into the buttermilk, and then into the bread crumb mixture making sure to thoroughly coat the tenders. Put the tenders on a baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer to a platter and serve with the orange barbeque sauce.

Orange BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

1/3 cup barbeque sauce
2 tablespoons orange marmalade
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions

Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk together until well combined.

And...here is my final plate!! Now as a person who does NOT like anything even remotely spicy...don't let the fact that the BBQ sauce has a little hot sauce in it make you think its hot. I was gonna leave it out but decided to add it and I am glad I did...it was DELICIOUS! :)

**for the 1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenders I just took four boneless-skinless chicken breast and cut them into strips! I then served them with Velvetta Shellls and Green Beans. Happy Eating!

Spaghetti a la Philly

2011-08-17T09:40:00.003-04:00

Now I know everyone knows how to make Spaghetti and I usually don't have a recipe when I make it either. I usually just throw everything in the pots and then I am done. But I thought to myself I can't put just a boring old Spaghetti recipe on my blog so I searched the good old internet for something different (and with things I had already in the house!) and came up with this version for dinner last night!

The funny side note to this recipe is that my husband Danny is color blind (that's not funny but this story is) and when he came in the kitchen and lifted the lid to the spaghetti sauce (not knowing I changed the recipe from how we usually eat spaghetti) the FIRST thing out of his mouth is "why is the sauce a different color??" I said to him..."how do you know what color it is you are color blind!!" HA! I didn't want to tell him why the color was a little "off" until he tried it because he doesn't like cream cheese (on like bagels and stuff) but if its mixed in something he usually eats it and likes it! So I wanted him to try it first not knowing what was in it to get a truthful answer. Captain "I don't like cream cheesee" not only liked it but got a second helping so that's always a good sign!

So here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

SPAGHETTI a la PHILLY

Ingredients

1/2 lb.
spaghetti, uncooked
1 lb.
extra-leanground beef
1 jar
(24 oz.)spaghetti sauce
4 oz.
(1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.)PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp.
KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

***I substituted a pound of Sweet Italian Sausage (casings removed) for the ground beef and added one chopped onion to the recipe! :)

MAKE IT

Cook spaghetti as directed on package.

Meanwhile, brown meat in large skillet. Stir in sauce and cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. or until sauce is well blended and heated through, stirring frequently.

Drain spaghetti. Add to sauce; mix lightly. Place on platter; top with Parmesan.

And here is my finished plate! I actually was so hungry I took a bite then remembered I needed to take a picture of my plate...opps. I served it with just regular old texas toast and it was fabulous! Happy eating! :)

Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto!

2011-08-15T19:32:00.003-04:00

I just recently got a new cookbook in the mail. Its called, Food Network Magazine~Great Easy Meals!! The BEST thing about this cookbook is that it has a picture of EVERY recipe which I absolutely LOVE!

I have to also say that lately I have been using a lot more fresh products than usual (fresh herbs, and whole garlic cloves instead of minced garlic from the fridge) and I am really enjoying the extra Oomph it seems to be giving to my cooking!

So here is tonights dinner. I hope you enjoy! And remember if you end up trying it...let me know what you think!! :)

Tortellini with Peas and Prosciutto

Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound meat-filled tortellini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces prosciutto or pancetta, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook as the label directs.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and prosciutto and cook until crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Ladle in about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and simmer until reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream and simmer until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.

About 2 minutes before the tortellini are done, add the peas to the boiling water and cook until just tender. Drain the tortellini and peas and add to the skillet, tossing to coat with the sauce. Stir in the parsley. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

Here is my final plate! I served it with biscuits drizzled with honey. Very flavorful...I was stuffed full by the end of the meal! :)

P.S. on a little side note...I couldn't find meat filled tortellini so I just got the ones filled with cheese and it was still delicious! I mean, pasta and cheese....how bad can that be??

Baked Ziti

2011-08-12T23:26:00.005-04:00

Last night we had my two cousins over for dinner. One of my favorite go to dinners for company is my recipe for baked ziti cause I can make an assemble the whole thing early in the day, put it in the fridge and then pop it in the oven before company gets here. That way I have time to visit with everyone PLUS the mess I made making the ziti can all be cleaned up so my kitchen isn't a disaster area! :)

So here it is:

BAKED ZITI

Ingredients
1 pound dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

AND...here is the finished product!! I served it with a side salad and garlic toast. I loved it but boy did I have heartburn today. BTW...totally worth it! :)

A few side notes about the dish. Both the sliced provolone and shredded mozzarella come in 8oz packages not 6oz like the recipe calls for so I just add the whole thing of both bags. Can't ever have TOO much cheese!! :)

Also, when I make the recipe ahead of time and put it in the fridge for later I double the cooking time. So I bake it for an hour with it covered in tin foil and then after the hour of cooking I take the foil off and put it back in the oven for like 5-10 minutes to make sure the cheese on top is nice and melted and gets a little browned on top.

Another thing I do different is when the pasta and sauce are done cooking instead of layering it in the 13x9 pan I mix them together THEN put it in the pan! So it goes pasta mixture, provolone slices, sour cream, the rest of the pasta mixture and then shredded mozzarella.

I hope you enjoy and again if you end up trying this meal, let me know what you think!! :)

Lemon Chicken Breast w/ Roasted Broccolini and Green Beans!

2011-08-11T16:06:00.004-04:00

These are two recipes that I have seen on TV a few times being made and finally I was like..ok they look too delicious so I am gonna print out the recipes and make them for dinner one night!!

The Roasted Broccolini and Green Beans is a Rachel Ray Recipe and the Lemon Chicken Breast comes from Ina Garten aka The Barefoot Contessa! I watch both shows everyday (just ask Danny he now HATES the Food Network!! LOL) and love most everything they make!

So here are the recipes!! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did...and if you end up trying them please come back and let me know what you thought too! :)

Roasted Broccolini and Green Beans

Ingredients
2 bundles broccolini, trim off ends
1 pound string beans, trimmed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Arrange broccolini and beans on a cookie sheet. Coat the vegetables in oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast 15 to 18 minutes, until nutty and crispy at edges.

Lemon Chicken Breast

Ingredients
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic (9 cloves)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 lemon
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, add the garlic, and cook for just 1 minute but don't allow the garlic to turn brown. Off the heat, add the white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice,oregano, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt and pour into a 9 by 12-inch baking dish.
Pat the chicken breasts dry and place them skin side up over the sauce. Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle them liberally with salt and pepper. Cut the lemon in 8 wedges and tuck it among the pieces of chicken.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, until the chicken is done and the skin is lightly browned. If the chicken isn't browned enough, put it under the broiler for 2 minutes. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve hot with the pan juices.

And....this is my finished plate! To go along with the Chicken and Vegetables I just made a herb/butter rice side dish that came out of a packet. I wanna say it was the Lipton Rice Side! The whole meal had tons of flavor and the chicken was very juicy!! Now get cooking and enjoy!! :)

P.S. I forgot to mention if you can't find chicken breast with the skin on and no bone (like me) just take it up to the meat guy behind the counter at your local grocery store and ask him to do it!! They will be happy to! :)

rATG and things..

2011-08-09T20:55:00.003-04:00

I know I said I would update up all once my 5 day treatment was over...but once I got home I still had the body aches and slight itchiness that went alone with the drug. So I was in no mood to type an entry. Plus I was on a temporary "house arrest" since the rATG completely wiped out my immune system so I was told to stay aways from large crowds for a while!

I go back up to Gainesville on the 22nd of August to do another bronch and hope that all the rejection is gone! ***Everyone cross fingers***

Then at 1:45 I have an appointment with the vascular surgeons who worked on my leg...I have been having some swelling in my left foot and I just want to make sure everything is all good. So at 1:45 I have a ABIS test done to measure the pressures in my leg and then tuesday morning and 9:20 we have an actual appt with the dr who will go over the test results....and then we will be heading them!! :)

The last couple of weeks have been kind of boring for me being locked in the house and everything but its over now so I am a happy camper! I am eager to get back to the gym couldn't do that the last 2 weeks either so I am sure all the soreness I worked through all ready is gonna be back in full force!! Ouch...

The only other new thing I have been doing is seeing a massage lady once a month to work on my leg/foot pain and the pain I get in my lower back....it seems to be going good. I figure since I have the numbness in my foot/ankle/leg sometimes that the massage is good to getting the circulation moving around those ares again and I am hoping the feeling comes back!

Also, I used to write on this blog all the time because that's all i did was write about things that were going wrong with me. Well now that that has faded I think I am gonna try and change my format a little. I will still update on my health cause u know we all still have our ups and downs there just not as frequent!

So since I LOVE to cook every night and my friends are always asking for the recipes I figured every night after dinner (or lets be honest maybe the next morning) I will post the pictures of what we ate plus the corresponding recipe to that picture! Plus I am in the middle of re-doing some of our rooms so I will post pre and post of those projects as well!!

Well what do you think would you read a semi health/semi cooking/semi decorating blog from me?? Let me know what ya'll think!! :)

Bronch Results

2011-07-11T15:14:00.004-04:00

Hi all!

Last week (Tuesday to be exact) I had a bronch done up in Gainesville. I had a regular check-up scheduled for that Wednesday but had been coughing a little bit so I called and had a bronch scheduled just to be on the safe side. On a side note Danny had been sick for like 3 days with coughing/runny nose so I was just hoping I didn't get anything from him. We took precautions and had him sleep downstairs and all but still you never know...

Well I just got the call from my coordinator and I have Acute Rejection! So they are admitting me on Monday and they said plan on being there for 5 days for treatment! :(

I am not looking forward to being admitted...but hopefully whatever my wonderful doctor does will nip this rejection in the bud and I can go back home feeling great!

I will update while I am there also to let you all know how I am doing...talk to you soon!

XoxoX

p.s. any good movies or whole seasons of shows u suggest that I could bring with me??

Its been WAY to long...

2011-06-23T22:11:00.003-04:00

I don't even know where to begin! Its been so long since I wrote a blog and everyday I tell myself ok I am gonna write one and then I just don't.

I have been feeling SO great lately and am hardly ever home during the day anymore and thats when I usually wrote my blog post! But tonight I was like ok this is getting ridiculous, sit down and write something....so here it goes! :)

In the last month, I had my 6 month transplantaversary, my 4 YEAR wedding anniversary, been to Orlando twice (once for a the weekend with Danny for a Disney trip for out Anniversary and once for a week with my parents at there time share) both trips were awesome and I had a blast!

I think the best part for me about Disney was the fact that we got there at 8:30am and didn't leave the park till 10:30pm and I walked ALL day with out being out of breath, tired or needing any breaks besides when we stopped for food/drinks. My brother-in-law who is a firefighter actually started complaining about his feet hurting around noon...by the end of the day I told him if I had to hear about his feet one more time I was gonna punch him in the eye!! LOL

A few weeks ago I joined the gym around the corner from house. I started with just doing the treadmill for 30 minutes and now am up to a little over an hour there doing both the treadmill and weight machines for my arms and legs. I go pretty much every other day and I really enjoy it. At first I was SO sore but now its much better and I can feel myself getting a little stronger every week! I have finally gotten brave enough to try a spin class so I think my SIL and I are going to try a class sometime next week. The only sucky thing is the class is usually at like 9am and I am SO not a morning person and neither is my SIL Stephanie! But I am willing to get up and give it a try because everyone who takes the class just loves it.

I think I mentioned before that Danny was re-doing the downstairs bathroom and guest room. Well he has been working so much that its taken awhile to get things done but the bathroom is FINALLY done and the bedroom is almost done so I will try and get pictures up of the final product....I just LOVE my bathroom! :)

On a sad note a good friend of mine that I met last year past away this past Sunday. Sara lived in my town and had 2 tx's in Gainesville where I had my surgery. About 3 weeks ago our Dr sent her home with nothing else he could do for her chronic rejection and after being home for a week they called in hospice. On June 17th, Sara and her boyfriend Jesse were married in a little ceremony outside there home and on the following Sunday (June 19th) she passed away. I got to see her and say goodbye on Saturday and I have to say it was very heartbreaking for me but I am glad she isn't suffering anymore. Nobody should have to go through that...the person or their family. Its very sad. She was such a loving, caring and kind person and if you knew her and were lucky enough to call her your friend then you know just how special she was. No matter how sick she was she always took the time daily to text me to see how I was doing and was truly 100% happy for me that I was doing well and living life to the fullest...and I honestly don't know how she did it cause I don't think I am that type of person....but hopefully I can take a little piece of Sara with me and strive to be more like her. The world would be a much kinder place with more people like Sara in it.

On that sad note (now that I am crying once again) I think I will end my post for tonight and I will really try to update more often! Tomorrow I will try to get some pictures up of my 2 mini vacations when I get home from the gym!! :)

Good Night!!

XoxoX

Last Week...

2011-05-04T07:55:00.006-04:00

Well last Monday my SIL Stephanie took me back up to Gainesville for an x-ray to see how my little lungies were doing and he ended up scheduling a bronch for that afternoon and I was admitted again! :(

Steph spent the night with me and then headed home the next morning after we woke up. I am so lucky to have a SIL like her...she is ALWAYS there when I need her no matter what!

Unfortunately, we aren't entirely sure what is going on with me. When he does an xray and bronch it looks like pneumonia in the left lung but I have had no fevers at all (knock on wood!) and my biopsy's keep coming back negative for rejection but for some reason I don't think he is happy with those answers and thinks something else is going on! He said infection/rejection can look the same in a bronch so sometimes its hard to tell. So at the moment I am on IV cefipime twice a day and while I was admitted into the hospital I did 3 days of high solumerol IV and now I am on a prednisone tapper. Oh I am also on coumadin for a month (hello bruise city!) because I had a CT scan last week that showed a small blood clot so they are treating me for that as well! I tell yeah if it isn't one thing its another! :(

Easter was great. Dinner with my family was awesome and I am glad I wasn't in the "Get Well Hotel" as one of my friends calls it! I was there for 4 days last week but was able to leave on Friday to join my parents and little sister in Panama City Beach for the weekend to visit my Aunt and Uncle! It was a nice but WAY to short of a trip....next time it will have to be a longer

visit and maybe Danny can go too!

Our little family at Easter!

Me & Danny! :)

Me & Jessie in Panama City Beach!

Speaking of Danny...while I was away my awesome husband checked some things off his Honey-Do list and painted/added chair-rail to the living room and dining room. I am so thankful to have a husband that is handy AND motivated to actually do the projects that I think up in my head! :)

boring living room from when we first moved in....

slowly getting there...

Dining room from when we first moved in...

Now! :)

Well, thats all I got for now...I am on IV's for the rest of the week and have to go to a clinic appointment on May 11th so we will see what he says then. I have a meeting tomorrow for Jen's Kids so we will see how that turns out. The hospital unfortunately hasn't done a darn thing while I was away so we are meeting to decide where to go from here. I am kind of disappointed in them that they dropped the ball so we will see.

Anyway....have a great week everyone!! XoxoX

Lesson Learned...

2011-04-22T21:56:00.003-04:00

Never go up for a "routine bronch" without an overnight bag just in case....that is the lesson I learned yesterday the hard way!

So Wednesday I called my coordinator to say I thought I needed a bronch because I was feeling a little congested as I still have a little hole in my neck and it makes it VERY hard to cough anything up if need be. My energy has been fine, my O2 has been fine it was just at night when I laid down to go to bed did I feel kind of crappy. So they scheduled me for a 8am bronch Thursday morning. I thought ok I will go get cleaned out and then head on home just like I did last time. NOT. SO. MUCH!

After doing my bronch, Dr. Baz talked to Danny saying that something just didn't look right so they were admitting me and that we would know more (whether it is rejection or infection) the next day. Because we weren't expecting to stay we had NOTHING with us...no clothes, no phone chargers, no toothbrushes....all I had was a pillow and blanket from the car ride up and my laptop and thank goodness I thought to have Danny take it so he had something to do during my bronch! So I sent Danny home last night so he could go to work today and pack our stuff and then he was gonna go back up to Gainesville when he got off.

Well, this morning came and luckily I don't have rejection but I do have pneumonia in my left lung. But the good news is its very treatable and my dr let me go home today and do IV's at home! YAY! Shortest hospital stay ever! :)

I do have to go back to Gville on Monday for an xray...if it shows improvement I can go back home and continue my dose of IV's if its not improved he will readmit me and do another bronch on Tuesday to see what else is going on!

Im just glad to be home for Easter weekend and spend time with my family. Let me tell you last night sucked being by myself in Gainesville....I think I cried for like 2 hours after Danny left just because I wasn't expecting to have to stay so I was thrown off...I felt like such a baby after I was done being emotional! lol

Anyway, I will let you all know what happens next week!! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

XoxoX

Twelve days just FLY by...

2011-04-18T14:52:00.004-04:00

I just looked at blogger and realized I haven't updated in 12 days!! Geez-louise!

Where to start...well I got my biopsy results back from my bronch a couple weeks ago and it was NEGATIVE for rejection!!! Woo-Hoo! I love hearing those results! :)

We had and awesome time at our friends wedding on Sanibel. It was so nice to "get away" for a night even if it was only an hour away from our house. Lounging by the pool with a RumRunner in my hand is the way to relax in style! Unfortunately, we didn't get to do the parasailing thing because my doctor said NO until my sternum is "completely" healed...bummer! But one day I will...

Us and the Newlyweds!!

Me, Danny, his brother Troy & wife Stephanie

Me & Danny <3

View from our room! :)

The next few weeks are jam packed for me. We have Easter next weekend, next week I think I am going back to Gainesville (I swear I am always there!) then the following weekend me and my family are going to Panama City Beach to see my Aunt and Uncle. Then May 4th I am riding up with my dad to Ohio to pick my little brother up from college. Then that following weekend is Mother's day....and in the middle of ALL that I go to physical therapy for 2 hours three days a week!! Im telling ya I am a busy girl!! :)

Man I am exhausted just thinking of all I have to do! LOL I just got home from PT so I am gonna straiten up my bedroom a little bit and then jump in the shower. I need to have dinner done a little early tonight cause we have to go to the grocery store after dinner and I don't want to be going super late!

Have a great Monday everyone.....

XoxoX

Last Friday GNO!! :)

2011-04-06T10:24:00.004-04:00

Last Friday night Danny went to a concert with a bunch of boys so I went to my FIRST Girls Night Out since my transplant! It was so much fun and I always like spending time with my ladies. We went to Buca Di Beppo (sorry mom) it was SO yummy and I always leave there way to full. Steph and I shared the Chicken Carbonara...one word DELISH! :)

Here are a few photos...enjoy!

Enjoying the food!

Me and the best SIL! :)

All the girls outside...

Holly, Steph, Crissy & Me

My GFs from elementary/middle school! Love them! :)

Gainesville Bound...

2011-04-06T10:07:00.004-04:00

I was supposed to already be up in Gainesville as of yesterday because I had a clinic appointment this morning. BUT...the last couple days I could feel junk rattling around in my chest and because I still have a stupid hole in my neck cause of the wonderful trach I had (can you here the sarcasm??) it makes it VERY difficult to cough anything up! It basically gets stuck in my throat and its horrible. The little mucous I managed to force out luckily was clear/to a very light yellow so I wasn't to concerned. But I did call the coordinator yesterday to see about having a bronch Wednesday afternoon after clinic to suck all the junk out. I just don't want it brewing down there in my lungies and causing a bigger issue than it needs to be...I want it outta there!

SO, after my coordinator called me back with the fabulous news that my Dr couldn't fit me in today for a bronch. They cancelled my clinic appt and are just having me come in at 8am tomorrow morning for bloodwork and a bronch instead. Which is all fine and dandy except now I have to wait one more day of feeling congested (which I don't like btw! I have had months of normal breathing I like it that way!) plus I had to re-configure my ride situation. Luckily my SIL is awesome and her boss is awesome and gave her the night off to help me! Cause lets be honest I can't drive myself home after a bronch... :)

I am exhausted though! The last couple nights when I lay down is when I REALLY feel the congestion so it keeps me awake. Last night I even tried to sleep kinda sitting up and that was little help. So I am just hoping (an praying) that the bronch fixes everything and I will be sent home a happy camper. Because two of our really good friends are getting married Friday night out on Sanibel Island and I can't wait!! We got a room out there and everything (the resort is like 45min from our house and with an open bar till 2am we thought it best to stay there!) so we are gonna take full advantage and lounge by the pool....im even trying to talk Danny into parasailing with me but he is afraid of heights and being a sissy about it! LOL The man can walk not tied to anything on a roof beam but cant go in the air strapped to his wife....WTH! :)

I will definitely have pictures from this weekend that I will post once we get home. Until then I am gonna finish packing my bag for Gainesville and wait for my SIL to get here so we can hit the road!! Have a great rest of the week.....XoxoX

Gainesville Update!

2011-03-27T19:14:00.003-04:00

Well I got my biopsy results back from my bronch last Monday and they were NEGATIVE!! Woo Hoo! So relieved....its kind of stressful waiting for those results.

Thursday I had the pressure test done on my legs and both have 100% blood flow in them, they are perfect! Well...except for the little bit of numbing I have on my left shin and parts of my left foot. The doctor said after the year mark of my surgery any numbing that I still have will probably be permanent but at this point its to early to tell what if any I will have!

Thursday night Mom and I met a great gal by the name of Lori. I have been reading her blog for some time now and she reads mine as well. When she emailed me and told me that she would be visiting her cousin in Jacksonville and would I like to meet up for dinner I jumped at the chance! We had an awesome time and I can't wait till the next time we can hang out...who knows maybe I might have to take a trip to NC soon! :)

Physical therapy is going good. Not to much to report there. Still working on our downstairs bathroom...its half painted its just needs the glaze but Danny has been working so much he hasn't had time to finish it. I wish I could help but painting is a no-no for me! Oh well it will

get done soon one thing Danny is not is a slacker!

Here are a few pictures of dinner the other night!! :)

Me & Lori

Lori, Me & Mom

Me & my Mom :)

Busy Week!

2011-03-23T12:23:00.002-04:00

Hello! I think I told you all in my last post that I was scheduled for a bronch/biopsy on the 24th and then I had other appts as well with other Dr's since we were up there. I figured get everything done in a couple days then we don't have to drive to Gainesville for awhile.

Well that was a great plan until my transplant Dr called last week and wanted to move my bronch from Thursday morning to Monday morning. So needless to say we had to drive to Gainesville Sunday night to sleep in a hotel, woke up had my bronch (first one since my trach has been removed I will get more into that in a minute) slept in recovery for a couple hours, was released to go home, had lunch at Fridays, got in the car slept some more and then finally arrived home! AND because we still have all my other appts that I made we get to do it all over again on Thursday and Friday minus all the sleeping since I am not having another bronch!

Its not so bad I just hate being in the car for HOURS....especially if its just me and one other person because then I feel like I have to stay awake and talk to keep them company when all I really want to do is sleep so the trip goes by faster!! Ever since I was a kid when I go on road trips my eyelids get very heavy and I am usually asleep before we have left the driveway! LOL Happens every time.....

I don't have the results of my biopsy yet but all my blood work came back ok and Dr. Baz said my lungs looked really good and that they were clear! Now onto my bronch experience...this was my first bronch post-trach and the first time going in through my nose so I wasn't entirely sure on what to expect.

First of all, the lidocaine breathing treatment taste gross let me just throw that out there. SO then my Dr comes in we chat for a minute he asks how im doing I get a few Rx from him etc., he tells the nurse to give me the meds (300mcg of Fentanyl and 3mg of Versed) and then he basically starts the procedure right away. So I felt him numbing my nose and while I don't really remember the whole procedure I do recall bits and pieces and I could feel some of it too. So I think if he gave me the medicine and waited I don't know 5 minutes maybe I would be more out of it than if he just started right away. Plus I think next time I am gonna see if he can give me 4mg of versed since I know of other people who get DOUBLE that amount! He can be so stingy when it comes to pain medicine and things like that....

Other than being sleepy for the rest of the day the only other side effect I had was a minor sore throat but that only lasted the rest of the day when I woke up Tuesday I was fine. One of the things I talked to my Dr about was the fact that im not happy with my weight....all 92.8 pounds of it! He asked me how my appetite was and I said that it was ok but not great so he gave me a Rx for Megace. Has anybody ever taken this before and if so how did it work out?

Onto more exciting stuff other than bronchs and weight gaining....we are almost done with the downstairs bathroom! Danny did the first couple coats of paint Sunday and Monday while I was out of town and hopefully if he has time this weekend he will do the glazed sponge paint on top of that! It looks SO good already I love my beach theme bathroom! :)

I went to my first post-tx yoga class on Friday and it was AWESOME! I also started physical therapy last week too. I will be going to PT 3 times a week where I will walk the treadmill/maybe start on the elliptical, work on my leg and foot a little since I still have a lot of numbness there from my arterial bypass surgery and then the BEST part of all is the massages since I have been having so much trouble with my lower back lately. I have an appt today at 4! :)

Well I think this post is long enough....I probably wont post again till I get back from Gainesville so I will let you all know then the results of my biopsy and how all my other appts went! Have a good rest of the week!

Im Home! :)

2011-03-15T23:38:00.004-04:00

Friday morning at around 7:30am I officially had my trach removed and before lunch I was discharged from the hospital!

We had some loose ends to take care of at the apartment (equipment pick-up etc) but were on the road and made it safe and sound to our house at around 4:00pm!

Friday night Danny and I went to my favorite pizza place for dinner and then on Saturday we went to Target in the morning and then spent the whole rest of the day deep cleaning (I say we loosely because I kind of sat there and "supervised") the house and putting away the Halloween decorations that were still up...yes thats right I said Halloween because I haven't been home since October!!!

My kitchen looks so pretty! When I was in the hospital I did a little shopping on Amazon (I tend to shop online when I am in the hospital...oops) and got new kitchen knives (which are FABULOUS by the way I have never cut an onion so well in my life!) and a really cute bottle to hold EVOO....that extra virgin olive oil for anybody who doesnt watch Rachael Ray on the Food Network! I will have to take some pictures of my kitchen tomorrow when I am downstairs and post them so you all can see. We have lived in the house 3 years and its just now starting to come together with the decorating for the longest time there was nothing on the walls and I didnt know where to start but its all coming together nicely!

This weekend I am re-doing the downstairs bathroom....3 years of palm trees and I am over it. I am gonna have my mom paint the bathroom this really pretty blue color and then I am going to do a beach theme in there! I found this shower curtain with flip flops on it thats really cute...I can't wait! :) I will take before and after pics of that as well....

Next week on the 24th and 25th I have to be in Gainesville for a bronch/biopsy and then see the vascular doctors as well and have the pressures in my leg tested to see how that is doing. Lets keep the fingers and toes crossed that its a CLEAR bronch and everything goes well!

Ok well its midnight so I SHOULD probably turn off the computer and try to go to sleep......wish me luck! Good Night :)

XoxoX

:(

2011-03-02T12:49:00.003-05:00

SO....unfortunately I am STILL in the hospital. Poo!! :(

Today marks day 10 and my doctor still doesn't know when I will be discharged. He is doing a bronch tomorrow to check things out (I already had a biopsy Monday....No Rejection WOOP WOOP!!) and says he will have more of a game plan of when I can either go home home or tx-housing home depending on what he sees and if I can keep my stupid fevers lower than 99 for 48 hours.

As of right now I am on Colistin nebs twice a day, Vancomycin, and Cefepime for the Pneumonia and I guess he says I have a bladder infection too which is weird I have never had one before and I am peeing fine so how would one know if you have a BI...isn't it supposed to burn when you pee?

Oh yeah one quick question before I go. Has any post-tx out there noticed a change in there body temperature since there surgery? I used to freeze any and everyone out of every room I was in cause I had to have the A/C on COLD now Danny complains that I keep it like a sauna because I am always freezing. It's really weird! But hey on the bright side our electric bill should go down! LOL

OK, well im sure once I know more I will post about it seeing as I have not much else to do. I just really, really, really, really want to go home! My little brother comes home this weekend for spring break from Ohio and I am stuck 4 hours away from home. :(

Have a good day guys!

XoxoX

So...good news and not so good news...

2011-02-23T17:13:00.003-05:00

On Sunday I woke up feeling VERY congested around my trach. NOT my lungs I just felt like crap was getting stuck in my trach and it was driving me crazy! I was coughing up paper towels full of mucous out of my trach (very gross by the way...you would think after 29 years mucous wouldn't gross me out so much but it does!) Finally I said to Danny should I call my coordinator and of course Danny being Danny says "I don't know"....thanks babe!

So I said for him to grab my thermometer (I check my vitals 9am and 9pm everyday I don't know if that is standard with everyone or not but if my temp is EVER 100 or greater I am to call immediately no matter what time of day) I didn't think I had a fever but I thought I will check it anyway and then decided if I am gonna call the coordinator. That was as 1:30pm and guess what I had a fever 100.4 to be exact! So I called my coordinator and of course they admitted me an hour later.

After x-rays and blood work it was determined that I have a little bit of pneumonia in my right lung. :( I of course was upset I mean I have done EVERYTHING right and worn my stupid mask everywhere how could this have happened? Well apparently I still have Psedomonas in my sinuses and that dripped down into my pretty new lungs and caused the pneumonia. Wonderful.

I was also upset because as you all know I was supposed to go home this weekend and I thought for sure this would delay my home coming by another week or so at least. Well I saw my wonderful Dr this morning and he said that I was going to be released on Friday and that he wanted me to do one more week of home IV's. I said Home, Home or tx-housing home....he says let me think about it.

Well my coordinator JUST called me because she wanted to know who I used for home health cause my Dr wanted her to set up my home health...that means Friday morning I get to go home!!! I haven't been to my house since the beginning of October and I am SO excited you have no idea!!!! :)

So I have to do IV's for a week...big deal I have done them before I get to go HOME!!! WOO HOO!! Thanks to everyone out there who put out all the good going home vibes for me I (and Danny) appreciate it!!!

XoxoX

P.S. Another piece of good news I found out the other day is my dr told me that my latest culture came back that I was sensitive to a bunch of abx which is great news so we can kick this pneumonia's butt! ;)

Almost home free!!!

2011-02-18T17:18:00.002-05:00

Saw my doctor today and the game plan is on Tuesday I am going to have a bronch and biopsy done AND drum roll please......get my Trach out!!! WOO HOO!! You have know idea how bad I want this thing out. Three months is entirely to long to have a foreign object protruding from your neck. Very annoying!

If the test results from my biopsy are all clear then next weekend Danny and I are moving on out of here! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed. The bed here in the apartment we are staying at SUCKS! I wake up every morning with a terrible back ache. I know the first night at home is gonna be like sleeping on a cloud...our mattress is awesome and I miss it!

So if you could all think clear positive thoughts for me I would appreciate it. I wanna go home and Danny needs to get back to work! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

XoxoX

How long did it take you??

2011-02-15T20:47:00.004-05:00

This is a question for all of my post-tx peeps out there....how long did it take you all to "heal" completely from your surgery?

I know that since I am on prednisone and a ton of other medications it takes a bit longer to heal than most people. But it seems like even things that seem pretty much healed (meaning not scabbed over any more, etc.) are still red. Here is an example of where the line was in my neck...while the hole itself is completely closed and flat like its not even there its still VERY red which makes the stupid thing noticeable.

This is only one example. With the amount of surgeries I have had since I have been in Gainesville (9 to be exact) my poor body looks like a road map that belongs in an Atlas of the USA!!

So I was just wondering how long I will have my lovely body souvenirs around as a reminder of my time here in good old Northern Florida and when I can look forward to finally having them start fading away a little bit.

I do realize that it has only been two months since my transplant and 2 weeks since my arterial bypass surgery so I don't expect to be completely fine at this point but I will be honest and say it makes me feel a little bad knowing I look like this right now. Last night as Danny was helping change some of my bandages I actually started crying cause I felt so bad. And of course he was completely wonderful and says I am beautiful no matter what and I know he means it but I was still sad. :(

Anyway..thats all I got for tonight. Gotta go blow-dry my hair and then we are gonna watch a movie. I have my first post-tx clinic in the morning so that means its early rising for us!!

Good Night Ya'll!

XoxoX

It's been WAY to long....

2011-01-29T09:21:00.004-05:00

I know, I know I am a horrible blogger! It's not that I haven't had anything to say because I have and everyday I think to myself "ok I am gonna write on my blog today" and then I go to bed and it doesn't happen. But I do read and keep myself updated on what is going on with all of you! :)

Ok let's see where to begin....a few weeks ago I was sick as a dog with nausea for like 2 weeks. So bad that I could barely eat or drink anything

with out having major dry heaves! I think I ate toast and applesauce and that was pretty much it. My doctor kept thinking it was the pain meds making me sick (which I knew it wasn't) but until I was off of them for couple days he wasn't ruling them out. So even though I still needed the pain meds for my foot/leg pain I stopped taking them for a couple days to prove that wasn't the culprit. When I was still sick he finally agreed to switch my prograf to cyclosporin and once he did that I wasn't sick anymore!

Now onto my leg issues....

The above picture shows a scar on my leg where the ECMO machine (the heart/lung bypass) was attached pre-tx. When I was still admitted in the hospital and both my legs and feet were massively swollen they did an ultrasound on them to make sure I didn't have a blood clot. Well good news was I didn't but there was a pocket of fluid that had formed right under the scar but they said it was fine and should go away on its own.

Fast forward a few weeks and now I am in tx housing doing outpatient physical therapy everyday but still having VERY bad pain in my left foot/leg. Its the only reason I am still having to take pain meds because if I don't its unbearable but the doctors just kept saying work through it its the nerves coming back to life after my leg not having blood flow for a day when I was on ECMO. Fine.

Well two weeks ago I noticed that the pocket of fluid under my leg scar had gotten bigger. It looked like a little football was under my skin so we once again said something to the doctor (like everyday) and finally they agreed that it wasn't normal and got us in to see the vascular surgeon that day. I had another ultrasound on my legs along with a pressure test and after those were done they found out that I had a blood clot in my left leg so I had to start taking coumadin and lovenox. The doctor then wanted to wait a couple more weeks and then have us come back in to see how my leg is doing.

Well that appointment was yesterday and we were totally blindsided to find out that not only do I have to have surgery on my leg but its apparently a pretty big surgery where I have to be readmitted for a couple of days! :( The only good news out of that whole meeting is once I do have the surgery I won't have any more pain in my leg and foot which I am very thankful for. I guess my artery is blocked (once again because of ECMO...do you see a pattern here???) so the doctors have to go in and do an arterial bypass in my leg. That consist of either taking a vein from somewhere else in my body (although I don't have many good ones so I don't know how good an option that is) or using some sort of plastic piece as a fake vein.

All of this we are hoping to get over with rather soon. My mom's FMLA runs out soon and she has to be back to work on Feb. 14th so we are really hopeful that I can go home then too. If not Danny is going to have to take off work and come and stay with me.

Well, I think thats it. I hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Oh yeah I almost forgot...while I have been here I went to see an audiologist (with my moms insistence!) We went on Thursday and gave them the check and Tuesday I get my hearing aids. I am not to thrilled about the whole idea of having hearing aids at almost 29 yrs old (my bday is Thursday!) but I will let you all know what I think about them when I get them!

One Month Anniversary!!

2011-01-02T21:58:00.003-05:00

Today, I have had my wonderful new lungs for an entire month! And while nothing about this transplant has gone easy (but what with me ever does?) I am thankful everyday to be able to sit here and blog to you all, or hang out with my family all while being on no oxygen and not fighting to breath.

Friday was the first day that I ventured out of the apartment/hospital radius and went to the mall. Boy was it nice to not have to lug O2 around with me! :)

The only thing that still really hurts me is my foot and I plan on bringing that up with my doctor tomorrow morning because something has to give. It hurts so bad its holding me back from fully enjoying my new breathers and thats not a good thing....

In case some of you are scratching your head wondering why my foot hurts when I had a lung transplant I will tell you! Before my surgery I was put on an ECMO machine (I was REALLY sick) this gave me a big cut on my thigh where they attached the tubes. This caused there to be no blood flow to my left leg for 24 hrs. So fast forward to after my surgery and now I have horrible pain in my foot!

Other than the painful foot I had a wonderful Christmas with my family and a good New Years too. I can't wait to see what 2011 brings my way!

Out of the hospital

2010-12-23T14:09:00.002-05:00

For the first time in 65 days I slept in a bed other than a hospital bed!

You would think that it would have been the best night sleep ever but unfortunately that was NOT the case! I still am not able to sleep flat and since I obviously don't have a bed that can sit up I had one heck of a time trying to get comfortable on a stack of pillows propping me up.

Plus I think that coming "home" for the first time in such a long time along with my whole new regimen of meds was a little overwhelming. Plus not having the security of being able to call a nurse if something was wrong was also a little scary. Although I have to admit I haven't really dealt with my meds myself yet. When we got home yesterday my mom was the one who got them all out and in the pill box for the first time...she's so organized with the whole thing I swear she had pie charts and graphs of all that I was supposed to do! LOL

I think its just going to take me awhile to fully trust my new lungs and know that yes I can breath now and yes I am going to be ok. There are just so many emotions that I feel all at once it feels sorta like a roller coaster ride sometimes.

But I made it through the hard part now I just have to do my physical therapy and get strong so I can go home and live my life again. Cause that is what this whole thing has been about to live my life with the ones I love.

Danny and my sister are coming up tonight and the rest of my family will be here tomorrow night so we can spend Christmas together. I am just so thankful to be here and out of the hospital! I hope everyone has a great Holiday and Merry Christmas!! XoXoX

All by myself....

2010-12-12T11:56:00.003-05:00

For the first time in 3 weeks! Danny had to go home yesterday and go back to work so I will only be seeing him on the weekends now and mom just left an hour ago to go shower and freshen up at the hotel.

What a wild and crazy path my transplant journey has come to. I never in a million years would have thought this would be how I got my new lungs.

I don't even remember all that had happened to me I only know what people tell me or I read. The last day I remember is 11/28 and then the next thing I know I am being wheeled in for my transplant on 12/1 with my family waving at me down the hall.

Everyone in the hospital is calling me a miracle. They can't believe at how sick I was and how wonderful I am doing now.

I am having a little problem with retaining fluid in my legs but we are dealing with that and I am getting stronger everyday!

It so amazing to finally be on the other side of the fence. I waited SO long and watched so many people get there lungs ahead of me I thought my turn would never come. But the big guy upstairs had it all planned out and I got my lungs right when I was supposed to and straight from the surgeon's mouth "they are the best lungs" he has ever seen! :)

So thanks to all who kept tabs on how I was doing through the whole process. The thoughts and prayers where definitely answered and I am truly grateful.

Surpassing All Odds

2010-12-04T12:05:00.002-05:00

Jennifer has continued to surpass all odds. She is a fighter - we knew that - but now everyone who has either worked with her directly or heard about her here at Shands knows that too! She pushed herself to sit in a chair yesterday. She is still on 2 PPM of nitric oxcide and they have her down to 40% oxygen on the ventilator. Her heart rate and blood pressure have now come way down since pre-surgery. Of course she is being hard on herself - she wants to be further along in her recovery - walking down the halls - but we're not there yet. Her legs are very weak both from being in bed for so long (5 weeks at Health Park before coming here) as well as being on ECMO. She also still has all 4 drains in - but little by little other things are coming out. Her doctors and surgeons are very happy with her progress. Thank you everyone for keeping Jennifer uplifted in prayer. Please continue to do so - Jennifer is proof that miracles do happen!

Miracle!

2010-12-02T14:36:00.004-05:00

I apologize for not keeping Jenn's blog up to date lately, but we have been going thru some pretty scary times these past few days. After my last post, Jennifer starting having a much harder time keeping her CO2 levels from getting too high - the vent was good for giving her oxygen, but her lungs were so bad that they couldn't expel the bad gases. This would make her "loopy" and much more concerning was the effect that the high CO2 levels would have on her kidneys. If they started to fail, it would have been a deal breaker for transplant. On Monday morning (11/29), she was literally gasping her last breaths. Her doctor decided to put her on a heart lung bypass machine (ECMO) to buy us time - 72 hours. During the surgery she had cardiac arrest - it took 12 minutes to resuscitate her. There was also complications with her left leg - because she is so slender her artery ruptured when they were securing her to the machine. She not only had a big bleed from this, but it left that leg with no blood flow. We were told that there was a good chance that she would have brain damage - again another deal breaker for transplant. Miracle #1 - no brain damage! They went back in and rerouted the tubes in her left leg to restore the blood flow. Miracle #2 - no nerve damage - perfect left leg! At this point Jennifer was elevated to #1 on the transplant waiting list. Her doctors turned down 2 opportunities because they weren't good lungs and because Jennifer had responded to the ECMO machine better than they had expected. Problem was - she still need lungs and time was running short. I am relieved and happy to announce Miracle #3! Jenn went into surgery last night (12/1) at 10:25PM to receive her new lungs! She came out of surgery this morning at 9:45AM. The surgeon told us it was a very tough surgery. Her lungs were the worst he had ever seen - however her new lungs are beautiful! The next 48 hours are critical - please keep her uplifted in your prayers. Prayers have brought her this far and I have faith that they will carry us through the difficult road ahead. Praise God my beautiful daughter has been given the opportunity of enjoying life - something none of us should take for granted.

Update #3

2010-11-23T17:52:00.002-05:00

Jennifer is amazing! Only a few hours after her tracheotomy she was able to drink from a straw! Her doctor has removed her nasal tube and she will be allowed to eat soft mechanical food. Just this morning we were told that possibly tomorrow they would allow her to try a small piece of ice. Right now she's doing good watching one of her favorite shows. Tomorrow will be the start of something new - physical therapy - getting up and getting in shape for transplant.

Update #2

2010-11-23T14:36:00.002-05:00

It's almost 2:45pm and I'm sitting with my beautiful, brave, resilient daughter Jennifer who is resting after receiving her tracheotomy. I like finding positives out of negative situations. So, I feel happy to get to see her face again! She only has a nasal tube which hopefully will come out tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.

Transplant Update

2010-11-23T09:29:00.002-05:00

Hi - this is Heather, Jennifer's mom. She wanted me to post an update letting you know what's been happening with her. You probably know that she has been in the hospital for a long time now. It's been 5 weeks and she hasn't gotten any better - only worse. Sunday her doctor called Danny and Kevin and me and told us to come over to the hospital - that he wanted to talk to us in person. Right away I was so upset! When we got there he told us what we already knew - she wasn't getting better - there wasn't anything else that they could do to make her better except get her transplant done. The plan was to take her by ambulance the following day (yesterday) up to Shands where she would be admitted and stay until they had a donor. Yesterday morning they put her on a ventilator and flew her up to Gainesville. She is now number one on the list so we pray that her new lungs will come very soon. This morning at 11:00 she will have a tracheotomy done so that they can get the tubes out of her throat and get her moving around again. Danny and I won't be leaving her side. I promise to keep you updated as things happen. Please keep her in your prayers - we love her very much.

Half way there...

2010-11-04T16:28:00.001-04:00

Well its taken 2 weeks but the other day I FINALLY started to feel better thanks to some 3% saline treatments! Along time ago I used to do 7% hypertonic saline treatments but they would cause me to have horrible bronco-spasms and wheezing so I stopped doing them. With this admission I was finding that my left upper lobe was just not getting the junk out on its own no matter what I did so my doctor suggested I try the 3% to see how well I tolerated it. Luckily it went well and almost instantly I was feeling less sticky in my lobe and I was able to clear the mucous out easier! Have I mentioned that I love my doctor and am thankful he is back?? :)

Yesterday, I had another interview with the newspaper for Jen’s Kids. I think its gonna be a really good article I am just going to have to get used to the fact that they want to take pictures of me with my oxygen on to put in the paper. I know that thats really me but I just hate the fact that I even have to wear it all the time let alone be put in a paper that everyone in the town I grew up in is gonna see. I guess that’s just me being vain but I can’t help how I feel.

I got to go out on pass on Sunday. I went with my SIL and we got pedicures and I got my haircut. It was so nice getting out of the hospital for a little bit and the pedicure was complete bliss! Definitely what the doctor ordered.

I missed Oktoberfest this year which was a huge disappointment but hopefully this time next year I can go and not be on O2!! Let me rephrase that...next year I WILL be going without oxygen!!

Well, I guess that’s all I got for now. Monday is 3 weeks I have been in the hospital but I have strong feeling that I won’t be going home then. Especially since the whole first week I was here was basically a joke thanks to the Dr who shall remain nameless. But we shall see.

Have a good weekend everyone!!!

Finally Feeling Better!

2010-10-28T20:47:00.003-04:00

I spent a week with the Dr who shall remain name-less not getting better at all. When in swoops my wonderful Dr on Tuesday tweaked a few things and had me on the path to feeling better almost instantly. Its amazing how having a Dr who knows you and cares to listen what you have to say can have such an impact on how you feel! I truly am blessed to have the CF Dr that I do!

So I am on 3 different abx, 3 days of VERY high steroids, breathing treatments every 4 hours and I just started taking Zen Pep instead of Pancreacarb Ms-8 while in here too. Anyone else on those? I had an overstock of Pancreacarb at my house so I was trying to use all those up before I have to buy the new med but in the hospital they only have the new stuff so we have been trying to get my dosage right. Apparently I am on a "lower" dose than most CFers, I use to take 4 Pancrecarb Ms-8 with meals (or 24,000 units) so thats what's new with me.

I have a newspaper interview that I am doing on Monday from the hospital for Jen's Kids. The 2nd and 3rd rooms are almost complete! Very exciting stuff!!

Well that's all I got for now...sorry that's what a week and a half of the hospital does! Have a great Halloween weekend and everyone stay safe!

Am I being ridiculous?

2010-10-21T22:03:00.002-04:00

Well for those of you who don’t know. I was admitted on Monday like I predicted! I had a horrible night of no sleep Sunday night so first thing Monday morning I called my doctor.

Of course as my luck would have it, he was leaving the very next day to attend the CF Conference for a whole week! Ugh! Well I knew I couldn’t wait a whole week for him to return and I didn’t want to chance getting even sicker so I was admitted and will be seen by the Dr who is on-call. Which happens to be the Dr I have had issues with in the past and who isn’t my favorite person in the world to begin with. :(

So, I have been here 3 days and already I have some issues...so please let me know if I am being ridiculous....

Like I said I have been here 3 days and I have only seen the Dr once. The other two times I have been seen by a Physician Assistant STUDENTS. Now I have no problem letting a student come in and do there thing but I would still expect to be seen by the Dr.

Especially because today I was having a little bit of the SOB come back. My nurse told me that the Dr would be back in the afternoon so I could see him then and let him know how I was feeling.

Well around 7:30pm the nurse comes in and tells me that the Dr had ordered a chest x-ray for the morning and some PRN treatments if needed but that he wasn't coming in to see me. I mean WTF?? I felt like I wanted to cry.

I am here to get better but if he never actually comes in to see me what’s the point of being here? And its not like these are PA students who are like almost ready to graduate they still have like another 10 months to go out of a 2 year program!

I just don’t want to be here all week basically twiddling my thumbs waiting for my awesome, wonderful, caring super Dr to be back when I could be getting better instead!

Please tell me...am I being ridiculous? and if I am not being ridiculous what should I do? I don’t want to say something and then have him be rude to me the rest of the week cause god forbid I make him actually come in and do his job! Grr...he makes me so mad!

I think its almost that time...

2010-10-17T12:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday and today I have been feeling a little more SOB than usual. Its almost at the 2 month mark of me being off abx so its not unusual that this is how I am feeling. It just sucks that its like clock work...

I have been feeling so good lately too. I have been going to yoga, I have been out almost everyday with my SIL "window shopping" (wink, wink) cooking dinner every night, doing all my treatments like usual so why oh why do I have to wake up and feel this way? and why can't I stay out of the hospital for more than 2 months??!!

I had planned on going into the hospital Nov. 1st that way I was for sure out by Thanksgiving and Danny's birthday and I would be well through Christmas. Plus I have plans the next couple weekends that I really don't want to miss so me not feeling good is totally cramping my style!!

I know, I know...if I don't feel good I shouldn't push to stay out because that never goes well so I will see how I do today and tomorrow and if I have to call the doctor I will. Just know that I won't be happy about it! :(

Anyway..other than that I am totally loving the cooler weather (when I say cooler I mean its 78! lol) and the lower humidity we are having here in SWFL! I can't wait till we can bust out the sweaters and have some bon fires!! :)

Lung Transplant Center Party

2010-10-07T14:07:00.002-04:00

Its already almost been a week but at least my post is better late than never!

Last Friday my mom and I went back up to Gainesville (after being there Wed for a clinic appointment) for my transplant centers 16th anniversary celebration. We drove up for the party that was from 2pm-6pm stayed the night in a hotel (its a 4hour drive from my house) and then woke up the next morning to come home. Needless to say I was pretty much exhausted all weekend from the trip!

I was a little apprehensive about going and im not sure really why. I mean I love all the wonderful people I have met and talk to through my blog and you guys have been tons of help to me in any of the questions or concerns I have brought your way but still I wasn't to excited about going. But my mother thought it would be good for us so up we went!

When we first got there they had guest speakers talking about all the different experimental things they have in the pipeline as far as lung transplants go and its all very exciting stuff! I will have to see about getting some of the pamphlets from my mom and maybe doing a couple post on them.

After all the speeches were done they had food and drinks and everyone kind of mingled around and talked. I met some really nice people who all have had there transplants at Shands. All of them gave me some "pointers" on what they thought the hardest part of surgery was, what to expect etc. This one gentleman in particular I was really impressed with looked like he just stepped off a golf corse (you know polo shirt, khaki pants, shinny silver hair, sun-kissed skin) he looked FABULOUS and he was 10yrs post-tx!!

I also met a girl there who is around my age with CF and she just had her tx like a week or two before. The crazy thing about her story is after we were talking for a bit we found out that she not only lives like literally 2 minutes away from me we also have the same hair dresser! Small world, right?

In the end I am super glad my mom pushed for us to go. It was really nice. Oh yeah...and I won a necklace and earrings in a raffle and I never win anything!! :)

This week has been ok health wise. I finished my 14 days of Cipro. My cough is better but I am still slightly more SOB than usual. I just started for the first time in years Tobi so maybe that will help!

OK..have a few more good days of the week and a great weekend!!

Food Do's and Don'ts!

2010-10-01T07:28:00.003-04:00

Wednesday was my clinic day at Shands. My PFT scores were down a little bit but pretty much stayed the same. My Dr says my name has come up since my last call several times but nothing ever good enough to give me a ring. So I still wait....

While I was there I asked the coordinator if I could have a booklet of do's and don'ts for post tx. I got one when I first came to the center back in 1999 so I figured they had new/updated material since then and I was correct!

Just the other day or week or something I was reading one of Piper's FB statuses and it was all about her tx center not wanting her to use the subway (she lives in NYC) for the first year post tx so I wanted to know what my centers rules were.....especially for food!

I know no sushi (raw sushi) and I know no buffets/salad bars, for good reason...I mean I love me a good buffet but have you seen some of the people who go to buffets? Yeah THATS why I can't eat at buffets post tx! LOL

But does that mean if I go to say Outback for dinner and the waiter asks me soup or salad I forever and always have to choose soup? Cause that's what my center says! I mean part of the reason I love Olive Garden is because the salad is the bomb and Danny LOVES to eat at Jason's Deli (salads, sandwiches etc.) can I never go there with him again?

I mean I know if it came down to it and I had to choose living/breathing or a salad I would rather breath every time and something as stupid as eating a salad isnt that big of a deal but its not the only thing....

I like my meat cooked medium rare. My center says at least Medium...which I think I should be grateful for because I think I saw on another centers website they say well done and I would HATE that! The one thing I will miss the most is seared tuna....they say that is a definite no no. I think I should start eating it every week until I get my tx! :)

The booklet I have is kind of general too so I guess I am just worried about not doing everything exactly perfect.I know at first everyone is really strict and over time you learn more of what you can and can't do I just don't want to mess anything up and if that means no more seared tuna than thats what I gotta do!

On a side note, my mom and I are heading back to Gainesville today. They are having their 16th Anniversary of the lung transplant program. Shands also just received a MILLION dollars from the state of FL for lung tx research so there will be a Senator and State Rep there giving speeches about that.

Well, I need to pack my crap mom will be here in a couple hours! Have a great weekend everyone!

Disney on Ice!

2010-09-26T13:53:00.003-04:00

My sore throat is gone! Yay! It took about 2 1/2 days to go completely away but now I am fine. I am still on Cipro and have noticed my cough improve a little bit so thats good.

Yesterday, I went with my SIL and niece Delaney to see Disney's Princesses on Ice! It was such a cute show and I was glad Steph asked me to go with them. :)

Princess Delaney!

Today Danny is working in the yard again putting up a fence to block off the area where we keep out trash cans and stuff. I swear we will NEVER be done....

Next week I have a Shands appointment. All the usually test have to be done six minute walk, Pft and labs. So it will be a long day! I will let you all know how I do when I get home.

Have a great week!! :)

Not feeling to hot

2010-09-23T10:15:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I woke up with a sore throat. I haven't had a sore throat in years and it all came rushing back to me on how painful they are! I can't swallow, cough, talk or eat with out being in pain. Hopefully it doesn't last much longer.

I called my doctor and told him I was feeling a little under the weather and he started me on 14 days of cipro so hopefully that helps.

I am hoping I feel better by Saturday because I am going with my SIL and niece to see Disney's Princesses on Ice. :)

In a couple of days it will be a whole month since my "dry run." I kind of thought I would have had another call by now. I just hope I don't have to wait to much longer I am ready to get this show on the road!!

Hearing

2010-09-19T18:29:00.002-04:00

Sorry its been a week since I posted last. I have been wanting to post about my hearing I just haven't got around to it until tonight!

So, I went to the ENT last Monday and I was put into a little box for my hearing test. IT was two parts, one part where they spoke words to me and I had to repeat them and the other where they do the little beeps and I have to push the button when I hear it.

Now I must say that between the ringing in my ears I already have and my pulse O2 tank I found it very difficult to hear the beeps. It seemed like every time I took a breath and it made the noise to pulse in my nose is when they were doing the beeps so that kind of irritated me.

When I went back in the exam room the doctor came in to read my results. He said that he was surprised that this was the first time I had complained of hearing problems cause according to my test I had severe hearing loss. He also said that the ringing was probably permanent, which is the most annoying part of this whole situation!

Hearing aids at this point are the only way my hearing will come back. But he says as long as I feel I am fine I don't need them. The only time I noticed I have a real problem hearing is when like Danny tries to talk to me from the other room or something. Other than that I am ok.

Maybe sometime down the road I will think about the hearing aid option but right now its not something I am fully ready for. I already feel like an 80 year old caring around oxygen I don't really want to throw hearing aids in the mix! LOL

weekend update!

2010-09-11T16:22:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Wednesday I went to see my CF Dr and of course he didn't see anything in my ears that looked out of place. So he gave me the card of a ENT that I go to on Monday for a hearing test and office visit. Hopefully I will know more info then.

I got a call from Shands Thursday afternoon and when my phone rang I thought I was getting my call but no such luck! They were calling to tell me that the last appointment I went to I guess something funky showed up in my sputum culture so instead of my Nov. 17th appointment they want me to come back Sept 29th. I was in my car when they called so thats why I don't know exactly what they found (cause I couldn't write it down) but I wanna say its some kind of Aspergillus but don't quote me! If it was Aspergillus, I would think they would know how to treat that with out me coming back in that's why im not sure I heard that correctly. But I will let you know for sure once I get back from that check-up!

We rented a bobcat this weekend and Danny and his 2 brothers and his best friend Curt have been outside ALL day today digging up these nasty root systems that are in front of our house left over from some Australian Pines we cut down. The one stump in particular is being a real pain the butt and not wanting to come out! He will be back out there tomorrow working on it too.

The yard is all torn up right now but when its done it's going to be BEAUTIFUL!! I took some before pics this morning so I will post before and afters when the whole project is complete! :)

Went to the flea market this afternoon with my mom, aunt and sister and then we had lunch at a yummy Irish pub. I love some fish and chips and if its on the menu I usually order it. I love seafood but Danny doesn't so I rarely get it at home.

Tonight is my GNO dinner! Its been awhile so I can't wait to see some of my favorite ladies! I am sure I will have pictures to post later. Have a good one everybody!

Ringing, Ringing and more Ringing!!

2010-09-03T23:57:00.003-04:00

The ringing is still coming from my ears!!! AAAGGGHHHH!!!

I have been off the Revatio for a week now and no change. I talked to my TX center yesterday and they want me to go to my local Dr so they can look in my ears and see if they notice anything and if he comes up with nothing then they want me to go to a ENT.

I am really concerned that this is gonna be a permanent thing and while its not painful at all its still VERY annoying.

I had posted something about this on Facebook the other day and Piper commented on how she had the same problem and that it was from Tobra.

I used to do inhaled Tobi every other month and then when I was sick I would get IV Tobra. But I stopped doing everything nebs and IV well over 2 years ago because I was starting to show signs of resistance to Tobra and my TX Dr wanted me to become sensitive to it again. So I don't think that is was my problem because my ears just started to bother me this last admission when the Revatio was started.

Well, I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend! We are going to dinner tomorrow night with friends and then I think my parents and siblings are coming on Sunday for a BBQ but thats up in the air so we will see!

Goodnight All...

Home again...

2010-08-29T01:49:00.003-04:00

Well I am home again. Got here around 11:00pm last night. Did my vest (first therapy I got all day, it never occurred to any one in the hospital to give me a breathing treatment or anything while I was in the hospital for 12 hours waiting!) ate a bowl of ice cream then snuggled in my blankets and went to sleep and didn't wake up until 11:45 the next day! I was exhausted!

I then did my morning treatment routine, went to a late lunch with Danny and his parents then went home and took a short nap before getting up and getting ready for some of our friends to come over for a game night. It was tons of fun and I really enjoyed having everyone over. Tonight marks the first night EVER the boys actually won fare and square without cheating, so it was definitely a night full of laughs. We played Trivial Pursuit: 90's Edition and we always play any game boys vs. girls. We have way to many couples to just play couples vs. couples...there is never enough game pieces to do it that way. Plus its always fun to battle between the sexes! It definitely gets loud thats for sure. :)

Tomorrow we are going out shopping for all the things we noticed we needed and didn't have for my dry run yesterday. I guess that is the positive thing that came out of being able to go home, we will be more prepared next time. I know I had 2 1/2 years to prepare for yesterday but until I actually went through it I had know idea really what I would need until I went through it....even though I was told by other CFers who have already been down this rode. Now I know first hand the things I will need!

I wish I could say that the moment I heard it was a no go because one of the lungs had pneumonia I had a happy thought that at least another family was going to receive a wonderful gift but I didn't. I just cried (for the first time that day though!) because I was really sad that I had been there for 12 hours and now I was going home and I kind of feel bad that my first reaction was to feel bad for myself....

Hopefully the next call won't be to far off behind this last one. I was really liking the idea of being able to have my surgery and be home in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!

Well all, I am going to finish my vest and hit the sheets! Good Night!! :)

UPDATE

2010-08-27T17:01:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately we just got some very bad news. The transplant has been called off because there is pneumonia in one of the lungs. Jennifer is upset and so are we. However, I know that everything has to be perfect when it's her turn and she will have her turn very soon.

I love you Jenn,

Mom

UPDATE

2010-08-27T11:36:00.001-04:00

The nurse just came in and said that right now everything is looking like a go! They are anticipating the surgery to start around 3:45pm.

I got my call!

2010-08-27T06:55:00.003-04:00

This is Jennifer's mom - I'm going to be helping update this blog for her. She got her transplant call at 1:30 this morning and we made it to Gainesville by 5:30. We are now in the cardiac intensive care unit waiting to hear if the lungs are good for transplant. I'll post another entry and let you know as soon as we know.

Transplant Check-up

2010-08-26T23:49:00.003-04:00

Went to Gainesville yesterday and it was a really good appointment!

It started at 6am with us getting on the road since my appt was at 10. My whole check-up was a breeze yesterday since I had no test or labs. So all I had to do was give a sputum culture and see the Dr.

When the Dr came in I told him all about my recent hospital stay and my pulmonary hypertension (which he already knew about from my Pulmonologist at home) and he informed me that my number has gone from a 41 to a 43 and that I am 4th on the list for my blood type. But he said that doesn't necessarily mean I have to wait for 3 people to get lungs because the 3 people ahead of me have smaller chest cavities than I do so if a bigger set of lungs come in they couldn't use them so it would go to me. So it could be anytime now....

I have been having real bad ringing in my ears which I thought was from the diuretic, so my transplant Dr told me I could D/C it since I wasn't swollen anymore. Yesterday morning was my last dose of it and I still have the ringing tonight! I am starting to think it is the Revatio that is causing it. But since that med is for my Pulmonary Hypertension I don't think Dr. Faverio is gonna stop it. I just hope this ringing either stops or gets lower cause I am going to go bonkers if it doesn't!! :(

Home Sweet Home

2010-08-24T14:17:00.004-04:00

I got home last night. It was SO nice to sleep in my own bed and to be able to sleep through out the night with out any interruptions!

I had a little trouble with my new prescriptions at the pharmacy last night. I am now on Revatio (viagra) and Aldactazide (diuretic.)

When Danny went back to the pharmacy to pick them both up he was only able to get the Aldactazide because the Revatio needed a pre-authorization from my doctor. Danny asked the pharmacists how much it was, if for some reason insurance doesn't cover it and its $1500 for one months supply!! Can you believe that? That's ridiculous...I called my doctors office this morning and informed them that if they can't get it authorized they are gonna have to find another medication cause I can't afford that!

Tomorrow is my check-up in Gainesville. I don't have any test scheduled but that doesn't mean anything they sometimes make me do a 6 minute walk and PFT's anyway. I will update tomorrow night and let you all know how it goes!

Almost There!!

2010-08-18T20:22:00.003-04:00

Less than a week to go and I will home and IV Free!!! WOOO HOOO!!

This will be my 6th and final week on abx and while I am feeling better and my PFT's are actually higher than they have been in like 2 1/2 years (only by like 5% but hey I will take it!) This hospital admission hasn't come without its problems.

It started out with my blood work being all out of whack because of the merrem. But a change of abx helped that out and got me on the right track of feeling better.

About half way into my stay we noticed that I was having some elevated blood pressures. So my doc had me get a EKG and an Echocardiogram. The EKG came back fine but the Echo showed that I have moderate Pulmonary Hypertension. Which if left untreated could cause the right side of my heart to become enlarged. As of right now my heart is fine but I am now taking a med 3 times a day to help and you are never going to guess what it is....VIAGRA!! LOL Apparently Viagra was made to help heart patients originally and it was an accident that they found out what other side effect it has in men...

One of the main symptoms of Pulmonary Hypertension is SOB. So once I started taking the meds my breathing eased up almost right away.

I go to Gainesville Aug. 25th and they are already aware of the hypertension (my doc called them last week to see if they wanted a cardiocath done) which will more than likely raise my score. So while its not a good thing this developed its good that it will raise my score.

The last couple of days I have been taking a diuretic because I was retaining a little bit of fluid so I have been peeing like crazy. I usually have an awesome bladder so this is highly annoying!

This hospital stay has also been smooth as far as nursing goes since I have my "primary care nurses." I basically gave them a list of nurses I trusted and they made them be the ones to take care of me. So I haven't had any issues which is a nice change! :)

I can't wait to get home to Danny and Brodie...I hope these next few days go by fast I miss my boys!

New Room

2010-08-06T16:06:00.006-04:00

Here are some pictures of the first completed room by Jen's Kids!! I am so happy its finally done and I think it turned out wonderful. I LOVE the wall color the most...I think the overall feeling of this room is just warm and cozy and much more inviting unlike the cold rooms from the previous post! So I hope you like it and let me know what you think!! :)

the door/"rain" windows to the hallway

The new pull-out couch/window and the bathroom door

New closet/wall unit/TV

Notice the cool fiberoptic lights on top of the wall unit...they change colors. :)

Old Room

2010-08-06T15:55:00.003-04:00

When we started the first room renovations for Jen's Kids, I didn't get before pictures taken. But I did take snapshots with my phone of the room I was in before moving to the new room yesterday afternoon and since all the rooms look the same I figured its the next best thing so you all could see the changes we have made!!

This post I will show the old room decor and then I will post the new room renovations in another post.

the door/windows to the hallway

window to the outside/little bed for parents to sleep on

TV cabinet, sink and closet...in the lower right corner is a table/chairs

looking straight on from the bed

Pretty plain looking I know. This is all the original decor from like 20yrs ago so it definitely needed refreshing! :)