Inspiration Strikes

It could be that I was inspired by the beautiful, spring-like weather. It could be that I was inspired by my good-hair-day. (Which was made possible by the new L'Oreal EverPure Moisture Conditioner) Or most likely I was inspired by Molly Wizenberg's book, "A Homemade Life" (go buy it - now) which waxes poetic about cooking in Paris, cooking in Seattle and making salads and homemade dressing. But I had inspiration to build a salad for dinner. One with lots of veggies and homemade dressing. One with poached chicken. I thought a lot about this salad. So much so, that I told Tommy I had to make it for dinner and I'd make him anything he wanted. (He's not really a salad type of guy.) He said, "I could go for a salad with chicken." "Huh? You want a salad? Okay." So he took Lucas home from our outing so I could hit the supermarket and buy what I needed. I felt so European and Parisian shopping for that evening's dinner right then and there. I purveyed the produce section. This is what my amazing, delicious salad contained:

• Arugula from Trader Joe's that I've also been layering on sandwiches
• Radishes that were still on their greens
• Endive
• Goat cheese - I forgot just how much I love goat cheese
• Toasted pine nuts that I happened to have in the pantry
• Poached chicken breast
• Avocado
• Homemade salad dressing which was so simple - dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, salt and olive oil (courtesy of Molly's book)

It was delicious. It was filling. It even made the non-veggie Tommy exclaim "This is delicious!" It even looked a smidge like this:

Ahhhhh....spring time. I can't wait to hit the roadside stands and try more veggie salads.

But I'm Only 33

I was reticent on blogging about this, but I figure you never know who you can educate or help through your experiences.

Last Thursday I had a colonoscopy. There. I said it. Out loud. My last CT scan showed a 'thickening of the colon wall.' Which the gastroenterologist said was probably due to the contrast not making it to the colon, blah blah blah, and to cover our collective doctor asses, we have to do a colonoscopy.

I cried. I cried the whole way home from the doctor's office. I'm tired of being poked and prodded and examined. I'm tired of prepping for invasive tests.

In preparation for this particular test I had to:

Not eat all day the day before, with the exception of 'clear liquids'. Clear liquids mean things they think are food but to your gaping, empty stomach aren't really food. Like broth. And jello. I just kept drinking tea without milk, Sprite and beef broth.

Purchase a half gallon of Gatorade (no red or purple, which of course are the only flavors I drink).

Purchase a bottle of Miralax.

Purchase a package of Ducolax tablets.

Find a 'responsible adult' to drive me to my appointment. Luckily, Tommy squeaked in on this one.

So. I ate nothing but clear liquids the Wednesday before. Of course on this day, there was steak for lunch, a breakfast with eggs and bacon and some little person classroom was baking something. It was torture. I finally gave up and ran a long lunchtime errand - dropping off the cello for some work to be done on it. This kept me in the car for a good hour. Of course, I then noticed how many eateries there are on Grand Boulevard in Baldwin.

At the appointed time of 5:00 I mixed the Miralax (which cautions you on the bottle not to exceed their recommended dosage except under the care of a doctor) - the entire bottle into the Gatorade and started drinking. I learned that you really can't go by instructions - the instructions said to drink 8 oz. every 10-15 minutes. I figured I was fine if I just kept the cup full and kept drinking continuously until the bottle was empty. (I was right - I was told my prep was perfect!)

About 7 or 8 I had to start running to the bathroom. I was well prepared though - I had the latest issue of Bon Appetit, Molly Wizenberg's new book and a puzzle book. But it really wasn't that bad - it wasn't like when you're sick and doubled over in pain, you just have to get to the bathroom quickly. And by the end of that part, I felt pretty good actually.

The next day I kept myself busy with errands. Then we made our way to the office. They were running an hour and a half behind schedule. Grrrrrr. And of course every older person in the waiting room was bitching and moaning about it. It took every nerve I had to keep from yelling, "Shut up! We're all waiting, you're not making it any easier by complaining!"

They called me in and had me change from the waist down. It was actually nice that I could keep my shirt on - it lessened the procedural feel of it. The anesthesiologist came in and got started. Let me tell you - I think sometimes they're more important than the 'main' doctor. The anesthesiologist gets you all set, talks to you and kind of sets the tone. He was great. Then the gastro guy came in. I rolled on my side, asked if I should feel burning when they injected the anesthetic and.....that's all I remember. Honest. Next thing I knew I was waking up. I flexed certain parts of my body, curious to see if I'd notice a pain or anything. Nothing.

Then home I went to relax the rest of the day. Watched "Twilight" (a not-so-bad encapsulation of the book) and ate a panini from Panera with bacon on it. Bacon makes everything better.

I'd take one of these over a CT scan ANY day of the week.

Here Was Peter Cottontail

Here's last year's photo of Mr. Lukey Bear with the EB.

And here's this year's photo. He practically ran up to the bunny, touching his fur and smiling at him. Upon being told we had to say goodbye to the bunny, he threw himself on the ground and screamed.

It's So Kewl

I've now rented twice from RedBox and I had to say, it's pretty darned easy. It doesn't get much easier than picking the movie out, swiping your card and *poof* out it pops. And at $1 a night, it won't get much cheaper than that. So far I've rented:

• Twilight
• Blindness
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Eagle Eye

She's Crafty

I never knew I had it in me. I made these 3 floral headpieces for the girls in the pit for "Once Upon A Mattress". It took me a good 3 hours, but I just sat in front of a few movies and worked my little fingers off. It was actually way easier than I thought it would be. Look out Martha Stewart.