Queenies Tea House

Today was the day! The day I celebrated my birthday with my family here in Oz :). Bran, my MiL, SiL and I went out to morning tea at Queenies. It was lovely to spend some time together, and once agin Queenies was top notch. My MiL and I both got regal high teas while SiL and Bran preferred bacon egg pies. There was even leftover treats that we took home and had for afternoon tea ;). Over all a lovely day. Tomorrow is the pre-op consultation where I will learn my fate. Not looking forward to it so much, but it must be done. I'll also try to get in and see my GP.

Herbs and the Future

I'm pretty boring today. I had a nice long conversation with my sisters and father back home, then went to class. 

Class was fun though, we were talking about teas vs infusions vs decoction and succus. Here is the difference; a tea is steeping a bit of dried or fresh herb in just boiled water for about three to five minutes, an infusion is steeping a medicinal amount of herbs in water (1:20 herb to water by weight) in boiled water for 10-30 minutes, and a decoction is boiling an herb for a set period of time. On the other hand, a succus is basically juicing an herb and adding alcohol as a preservative. So today we made an infusion of chamomile, a decoction of different spices (which was basically chai tea, mmmm ;) ) and two different succi, one garlic and one lemon. They are going to trial the succi next week when i'll be home recovering, but it's great stuff to learn about! Plus i'm not too sad about missing raw garlic mixed with alcohol thats been sitting around for a week ;). 

We also had a presentation by a representative from The Herbal Extract Company of Australia. We compared their herbal extracts vs the Mediherb extracts we use in class and in clinic. Keep in mind these are both top of the line medicinal herbal extracts, but I liked the Herbal Extract Company's more. They seemed to be closer to the herb and had less of an alcohol taste, but maybe that is just my preference. I hope to someday be able to make my own herbal extracts to use in my own practice :). 

Class, Cooking, and Coconut

Back to class today! I missed my somewhat odd human bio class :). My back held up pretty well, it's feeling a bit sore now but i'm heading to bed soon. I'm trying to get back into the groove of things, I was able to do a few chores around the house and bring Milo for a little walk before class. I'll try and keep up the tempo tomorrow, though I do feel like i'm catching a cold or something.

Bran made a really yummy stuffed chicken breast for dinner :) he's becoming quite the cook! I like trading off cooking dinner and dishes (one cooks, the other does dishes), I think it's working out well. I don't need to worry about having to make dinner late at night, Bran is learning to cook new things, and we are trading off doing one of our least favorite jobs (dishes) it's a win-win!

On the other hand, I think i'm sensitive to coconut. I've used coconut oil once before as a hair mask, but it ended up smelling really bad. 'Ok, the oil must have gone off' I though, so I had no worries about putting some relatively new, definitely clean smelling coconut oil on my face last night. After maybe an hour it started to smell. Ok, maybe it's releasing toxins? Or maybe my body chemistry just doesn't work with it? So I rinsed off as much as I could. This morning I woke up to slightly inflamed skin, new break outs and blotchy cheeks. Yeah, not liking it so much. I've also gotten a sore throat from eating raw deserts made with a lot of coconut oil. Apparently I don't learn very quickly >.>.

My Valentine

Back is feeling a bit better :). Today was valentines day, so I made Bran some yummy cupcakes and meatball subs. Using chicken mince for the meatballs. Yum.

The cupcakes were originally going to be red velvet, using beet juice as dye, but I added a bit too much coco powder so they were basically just chocolate. Still quite yummy and I do so enjoy cream cheese frosting. Here is the original recipe. I did make some changes; I used less sugar, more coco power (and by default less flour), and used half a cup of sour cream (very thick) and half a cup of boiled and squeezed out beet water/juice. I think the color would have probably been fine if I hadn't added the extra coco powder. I used my usual recipe for cream cheese frosting.

I didn't make the flower on top, but i'm getting better at piping :).

My stomach is a bit twisty today...i'm not sure if it's all the sugar or if I caught something...

And Bran got me flowers <3 I do so love my husband!

French Onion Soup

Still sick, but a bit better today. Stil tired, but I was able to get out and do some grocery shopping with the MiL. I'm so thankful that she comes all the way over here to see us and give me a take me shopping :).

I also made some french onion soup using this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I wiggled the ingredients around a little bit, but generally stayed true to the recipe. It turned out wonderfully of course and even Bran ate it! He hates soup! But loves cheese and bread ;). He said he would even eat other soups! This may the the start of something :D. He's really been very sweet while i've had this cold. I'm so thankful for such a kind husband :).

Pain-wise, my left ankle and left knee have been unhappy today. Which is odd, usually it's the right side. I also woke up with stomach pain and reacted badly to milk today. I'm set to start an elimination diet on monday.

MiLs and AiLs

Tired.

Went out shopping with MiL and Aunt in law today. It was lovely to see Sue again (AiL). Later on we took Milo to the park. It's nice watching him run around like a mad hatter :D but there were lots and lots of mosquitos and I don't really feel like getting ross river virus, so we ended up walking home as soon as he started to take breaks. I need to make lots of cinnamon rolls, both for boxing day and as Bran wants to bring some in to work on christmas eve (he is working during the day). Pain is a bit better today, right foot was angry at points though. Still tired. Mtx is not so much fun to go back on.

Reiki and the Sea

Some of my fondest memories from childhood are the once or twice a year adventures we would make out to Rye beach. It was always a fun day filled with slowly making our way into the freezing Atlantic ocean, picnicking up on the grassy area, and climbing the big boulders that were always gritty with sand and salt. The beach is where I connect to my inner self. It's where I put away some of my most harmful feelings. It's where we scattered some of my mother's ashes. It's where I feel at peace. 

Over here in Australia, the beach is where I spent a good chunk of my first time here. It's also where my husband proposed to me :). But I always feel that same peace and connection that i've felt since I was a child. Today my mother-in-law and I spent the day walking around the suburbs near the ocean. We were exploring the idea of having a multi-family dwelling, and the idea of living near the ocean has come up. It was a wonderful day to be walking around, and though I come home slightly sunburnt I feel serenity that I haven't felt for a long time now. It's like the ocean has washed away those things that were causing so much stress and i've been able to focus on how to solve these problems.

That and we went to a psychic fundraiser and I met a wonderful man named Charlie who gave me 20 minutes of Reiki and told me i'm a kind person :). As far as the Reiki goes, it really did help in bringing down my pain levels. he really was able to focus in on some painful spots, especially the knuckle on my big toe. The pain isn't completely gone, but it was noticeably decreased. Something I'll have to keep in mind for further treatments. 

Counselors and Hollandaise

It's been a long day. Mostly because i've been a bit of a mess. Luckily today I was scheduled to see my counselor so I could talk things over with her. I'm missing my family back in the USA, some of whom I know are going through a tough time. It's a bit difficult to get in contact with them because they are all so busy and tend to be asleep most of my day (the day and night are reversed in Oz vs USA). It's been hard for me to be away from them, both when I feel like I should be there helping and when I wish someone could help me. I know everything will work out alright, and i'll just need to keep trying to keep in contact.

Other than that I made poached eggs with hollandaise sauce for dinner :D. It was a pretty easy little sauce, made much easier with the help of a double boiler (aka a big bowl I have over a little pot XD).

Easy Hollandaise Sauce (rough estimate of ingredients)

1 1/2 TB butter

1/2 TB lemon juice

1 egg yolk

3 TB thickened cream*

1/2 TS dijon mustard

Pepper to taste

Melt butter in double boiler. 

Add lemon juice, yolk, and cream. Whisk continuously until thickened. 

Take off heat and add mustard and pepper to taste. 

* Pouring or whipping cream should work fine :) 

This made enough for four eggs worth of coverage. Very yummy <3. Keep in mind you can add more of pretty much any ingredient to taste, just be careful it doesn't get too hot and split. 

Cupcakes in the PM

So, sometimes I write about cupcakes. This is one of those times. I so enjoy those little cup-sized cakes, with their pretty swirly frosting and tender crumb. Have I mentioned I recently got a little cake decorating set? Only four piping tips and some bags, but it made me happy to be able to make my cupcakes look pretty :D. Currently I have some cooling, just waiting for a devine fudgey chocolate frosting to be swirled on top. It makes my day to have a delicious cupcake.

In other news, I stayed home today in order to look after Milo. 'Why are you looking after your dog and skipping class?' you may ask. Thats because he has separation anxiety and will bark and howl and cry when left alone. We've found that using a citronella spray collar works (once he knows it's on, he pretty much settles down and sleeps or chews his toys). Rarely do we actually come home to him having been sprayed by it. But that is also the main reason we are looking to get a cat. We think if he has another animal in his "pack" who is home to keep him company, he wont get as anxious when Bran and I leave. Now we've run into a problem though. We need body corporate approval before we can adopt a kitty. Actually getting approval wont be hard, our neighbours have three cats and a little dog and another couple down the way have at least a cat, it's just having to wait possibly a month before we can get Mr.Pepper. Hopefully they will hold Pepper for us :/.

Now it's time to frost the yummy cupcakes and go to bed, goodnight all.

Moving, Meds, and Milo

I may or may not have been looking at Lolcats for the last hour or so >.>...

Bran, Milo, and I are all cuddle up on the couch. Bran is watching his footy, Milo is sleeping, and i'm looking at lolcats and typing.

We had a somewhat busy day. The lot of us headed over to the apartment to do some unpacking and cleaning up for the big move next weekend. I still have some bits and bobs to pack, but most of our small things are over already thanks to Sarah's help (my MiL). Milo is starting to get more used to it and i'm sure once his bed is there he'll be happy enough.

Other than that I had a bad cognitive day yesterday. I ended up going to bed around 7:30 and sleeping for about 12 hours >.>. I am feeling mostly better today thankfully, though I did nap after we had a long walk to find the dog park in Northgate.

I'm still struggling a bit with figuring out what fibromyalgia means. I've looked up some studies, medicines, and whatnot but I think i'll just have to have a chat with my GP about it. She's been great with explaining things and helping to find the right mix of meds. I'm not sure if going on another medicine is the right thing, but I don't want to be talking the tramadol all the time. It lessens the pain a bit, but I know it's only covering up the symptoms (and making my brain foggier) and not actually helping.

Tomorrow is a relaxing day. Maybe grocery shopping though I can do that on monday and safe us a trip.

Milo has been doing much better on salmon, brown rice, and greens. He's just about entirely healed up though he had dropped weight :/. We're upping his salmon this weeks and trying out lamb to see if he can handle it.

Ranty Rant

I was quite frustrated today. I have been in a bit of a flare, but I don't want to take the prednisone :(. You'd think mtx and plaquenil would be enough? I'm also worried i'll end up on biologics....at the same time it would be awfully nice to not be in pain every day. I'm not sure that my husband is really getting it. *sigh* Usually he is really lovely and helpful but lately he has been complaining a lot more. We've been cleaning up our recently purchased apartment before we move in, and he just does not want to do it. But I cannot physically do everything. It's just frustrating...if I could then I would :(. We've had a talk about it though, so hopefully he is be a bit more considerate about that.

Seeing the rheumatologist again on Wednesday. I need to remember to ask about the itchy scalp since starting plaquenil and the random reactions to elastic in clothing...

Rice-beans-chicken mixture is still going well. It made a lot more than I though! Yeah economical! It was basically; black beans, brown rice, a can of tomatoes, some left over pasta sauce, an onion, spices, mixed frozen veg and leftover chicken thrown in....but somehow it made an awesome burrito/quesadilla  filling.

Apartment Check In

I am exhausted
I have blisters
I have scrapped knuckled
I have sore hands
I have bruised knees
I have back spasms

But you know what else I have?
A clean apartment ;)

Bran, Milo and I spent the day over at our apartment tearing up carpet, taking up nails, and thoroughly cleaning (Milo ran around and squeaked his ball). Now we have a clean concrete floor on which to eventually put wood and an apartment that is liveable and bright :). We still need to clean the walls, but that wont take half as long. We are deciding whether to move in straight away or save up for a month or so to put in the wooden floors, but that'll be decided soon. Also whether to paint right away or not. I have no idea how much paint costs :/.

Anyway, so I am sore and exhausted to the bones but I feel accomplished :)

B-Day for the Hubby

It's my lovely husband's birthday today :).

I got him a stainless steel coffee cup.

We had some cake.

We had some pizza.

I had another migraine (though this one was more visual and less painful).

What I really want is a margarita.

But what I get is some methotrexate.

Yet i'll still end up with a hangover :/.

Anyway, it was actually a nice day overall. Bran got to watch his footy and play his game without me harassing him, and I even let him sleep in ;) aren't I a great wife? Lol. Really though, we enjoyed a nice day loafing around the house and eating yummy stuffs. He also received some new flip-flops (thank goodness, his old ones literally had holes in the bottoms of them!), a pack of maltesers, crunchies and a neat wooden London suitcase box.

Pain wise wasn't bad today. I'm actually not getting any nerve pain down my leg, which i'm pondering about...but still had a stiff back. Hands and wrists were a bit sore today but otherwise i'm alright. Had the migraine thing as mentioned, and my L knee gave out o.O which is odd as that's my "good" knee. Something i'll have to bring up with the gp.

Now to sleep and try not to eat anymore cake.

Room Spray...of DOOM!

Hm. My day was not very interesting i'm afraid. I'm a bit concerned about nerve pain i'm getting down my R leg. Other than that I had some blood drawn for a few tests (darn vampires!) and hung out with my MiL Sarah :).

Oh! I did make an experimental room spray using a few tablespoons of vinegar, about a cup of water and some lavender and clove essential oils. It sure smells nice but we'll see if it actually gets rid of dog smell ;).

Goodnight.

R elbow is sore, both wrists and hands, R knee was especially sore, and R foot is being weird.

Last SOCF111 Class

Feeling better today :). We handed in our application for the first home owners grant and heard back that financing will be granted, they just need a copy of the new contract. So now we're just waiting to hear back about Milo (which should be fine). Knock on wood!

It was a slightly bittersweet class today. My last class of foundations of communication and counselling. I've really enjoyed that class and the lecturer. Hopefully i'll have her again for another class :).

We also saw Susen and Ian again after their two year trip to England. It was really lovely catching up :) I greatly enjoy Susan's company and Ian is quite funny in his way.

Pain wise wasn't too bad today. I have a bit of a cold I think, my chest has been heavy and my throat has been stuffy. Back/nerve pain today as well, but it went down after walking around a bit.

Picnic Day!

Bran and I went on a lovely picnic today :) along with our little pup. It was nice until the mozzies decided they wanted some lunch too, lol. But over all it has been a nice day spent with my husband, which is exactly what I needed! I also made sausage mini-crustless-quiches.

Painwise wasn't too bad today. A bit with my hands, R hip, and R knee. I was still able to do some chopping and go for the walk to it's all good.

Not much to report on :) handing in hopefully the last of the paperwork tomorrow to both the bank and the lawyers. We should hear back from the bank maybe monday I should think. I made butter cookies :) slightly spiced. They are addicting.

Butter Cookies

250 g butter (softened)
1 C powdered sugar
2 1/2 C flour
1 ts vanilla
pinch of salt

1 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts cloves
1/4 ts ginger
1/8 ts nutmeg
(spice measurements are estimated, I kind of just use however much I feel like)

Cream butter and sugar until smooth and changed colour. Mix in flour in three increments. Add in vanilla, salt, and spices. Roll into two 25 cm logs, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Bake at 180 for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy with a strong cup of coffee, yum :). You can also use just the first half of the ingredients for a plain butter cookie or add in cocoa for chocolate...the possibilities are endless!

Anyway, Bran had a stressful day at work so I made him cookies <3 aren't I a nice wife?

R hand and R foot are sore today. Feels more like tendon pain. I do think pain levels in joints have gone down a bit. Some tummy upset today. Decreasing prednisone.

Sunday, sunday, SUNDAY!

Ad dear. It's been a big day :). Despite only having two glasses of champagne last night, I did not feel well today. Though it may also have been from all the dairy and sugar i've had lately >.>. It was also flipping cold this morning, so I was in pain until I took a nice hot bath. Then I was ok. I didn't want to take any extra medicine because it's MTX night. Blah.

Anyway, some exciting news! My MiL decided to adopt a 14 year old shar pei dog. Despite being old he is actually quite active. He's so cute and snorty XD. I've decided to call him snuffilumps :) his actual name is Simba.

We also had a visit from my husband's paternal grandmother. It was really lovely to see her :).

Rainy Thurday Night

No Bran tonight :(. He is away at a work conference being studious. I'm here snuggling with Milo in the rainy weather.

It seems there are some legal dealies we didn't foresee with the contract for the Nundah apartment. But it'll be ok, we'll get a lawyer to check everything out and make sure we don't end up paying for things the current owner is meant to :). I'm so thankful to have such a great MiL to help sort these things out! I would be so lost and stressed out without her.

Sore today, gloves R wrist brace and cane. I did make a yummy chicken-cheese sauce-rice combo. I'm thinking it would make a good casserole with some peas or broccoli.

*Edited for title error

Of Apartments and Puppies

Spent the day looking at apartments with Sarah and Bran :D. It was a lot of fun! I enjoy looking at places and imagining what could be...The only apartment we liked was the Nundah one. It's a definite possibility :) even if it's a major fixer-upper.

Tomorrow is Bran and my date to celebrate out second wedding anniversary! The actual anniversary date is may 1st, but as it'll be a week night  we decided to go out tomorrow and have a nice dinner in on the 1st. I've been looking forward to it for a while, it's been hard for Bran and I to have time just for us lately because of busy schedules.

Milo's paws are looking a bit better today, though still raw. I think a few more days as a sock dog and he should be healed up :). He is liking the home made food, especially the nice fried egg he got this morning XD. Lucky dog. Hopefully it'll help clear up his skin problems.

Pain wise, it wasn't too bad today. My R foot is a bit sore and my hands/fingers are sore. Back is doing a bit better. R elbow is meh.