The events of the last 2 days have been pretty crazy for me.  At the young age of 33 I had to have my first colonoscopy today.  24 hours before the procedure you have to stop eating completely so by the time it was all said and done I must have went 36 hours without a drop of solid food.  Then at noon yesterday the cleansing began:  4 dulcolax then 1 hour later a mixture of 238 grams of mirolax and 64 oz. of gatorade which you must consume completely in 8 hours or less.  This is really the worst part of the whole process; not eating and the cleansing.  What worked for me was conserving calories by laying in bed and watching TV all day and never getting too far from the commode.  Then at 11:30 am today I arrived at the Digestive Care Center where they took my vitals and give me an IV of fluids.  When they were ready they wheeled me back to a sterile procedure room where my heart rate, EKG, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation were monitored at all times.  The nursing staff and my doctor were absolutely wonderful.  They made me feel comfortable and answered all my questions.  At that point I was given a quick-acting general anesthetic and was completely out in probably 5 seconds.  Nighty night.  About 1 hour later I awoke in the recovery room where my mom was waiting for me.  I must have asked her the same 4 questions about 10 times because I couldn’t remember a damn thing.  I remember asking her questions but I just couldn’t remember her answers.  How long have I been here?  How long was I in there?  Did everything turn out ok?  Did he find anything abnormal?  I must have drove her crazy.  As soon as I was able to stand up and get dressed I was ready to go home.  Walking was a bit of a challenge so I got a ride to moms car in a wheelchair.  I was still groggy from the anesthetic so after eating a chicken strip basket from Dairy Queen I took a 4 hour nap.  After going through this experience I can easily say that having my wisdom teeth pulled was much worse.  This procedure was so easy I don’t know why so many people are afraid of it.  If you are putting off having your colonoscopy….DON’T.  It could save your life.  I can promise you there is nothing to fear.              

Yesterday we spent the entire afternoon at Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis shopping for Christmas gifts with my husband’s family.  We had a great time but after 5 hours of shopping I managed to purchase only a few gifts.  Miles of walking and a sore back to mark off only 2 people from my Christmas list?  What is wrong with me?  Actually, I’ve known all along that I am a horrible shopper.  An awful discovery I made in my teenage years when my mom would dread taking me shopping for clothes.  For me the greatest things ever invented are online stores and gift cards.  Gift cards are great because I love to give them and I love to get them!  Gift cards have made my Christmas shopping a breeze.  There’s no need to worry about getting that “perfect” gift for everyone and then wondering if they hated it and you wasted your time and money.  Instead, I get gift cards for almost everyone.  (Except my 10 year old nephew who gave me a long list of great ideas.)  Probably some of the best gifts cards I’ve seen are from American Express.  They generally have lower activation fees than Visa gift cards.  Another great idea is to get a gift card from the person’s favorite store which is what I have done for those hard to buy family members for the past several years. 

How many old pairs of worn-out sneakers do you have cluttering your closet?  If your like me even 1 or 2 pairs laying around takes up prime closet space.  If you haven’t heard you can donate those old sneakers to none other than Nike.  They are accepting old athletic shoes (with no metal parts) and recycling them to make high quality sport surfaces like basketball courts, tennis courts, and soccer fields.  Nike engineers developed a technique called “Nike Grind” that uses the old rubber, foam, and fabric materials from athletic shoes in order to make these high tech playing surfaces.  So instead of your old shoes ending up in a landfill somewhere they are being used to rebuild community centers in places like New Orleans where it is needed most.   

So how do you donate?  You can drop off old sneakers at participating Niketown stores or Nike Factory Stores if there’s one in your area.  Visit Nike Reuse-A-Shoe  for more details on where to drop off shoes.  If you don’t live near a drop-off location then simply mail them to:

Nike Recycling Center
c/o Reuse-A-Shoe
26755 SW 95th
Wilsonville, OR 97070

According to Nike’s website letmeplay.com, “It’s all part of Nike’s long-term commitment to addressing our environmental impact and improving lives through sport.”  Nike you rock.  Read more at:  www.letmeplay.com

I must admit that I cannot afford anything at Neiman Marcus on my measly health-care worker salary.  This is just not a place I shop on a regular basis (Ok, I’ve NEVER shopped there) but I just couldn’t resist signing up for their Free $10,000 shopping spree.  Of course I would shop there if I had a free $10,000 to blow on overpriced handbags, jeans, shoes, and jewelry.  What sane woman wouldn’t.  So here’s a link to the sign-up page.  You will be added to their email list but you can easily unsubscribe.  An inconvenience well worth a chance at a new designer wardrobe.  Good luck!

I can’t help but wonder why I never feel like I have energy anymore.  Last night I made supper then thought I’d lay in bed and watch a little TV.  Instead I completely crashed.  The next thing I know I’m laying on my side with my cat, Cosmo, patting my face with his paw.  I think he was concerned about me so he tried to wake me up.  Maybe its the fact that by 6pm there’s no sunlight?  Maybe I work too much?  Maybe I don’t exercise enough?  Maybe, maybe, maybe?  I hope this lack of energy doesn’t last long.  I’ve got too many things to do, places to be, and people to see.     

Finally, I own a weblog.  Yes, it took me forever but the time has come.  For the past 2 years my nose was almost permanently attached to anatomy and kinesiology books so I could get a ”real job” as a licensed Physical Therapy Assistant.  I literally had no spare time to do anything but study.  I felt horribly guilty if I indulged in anything else since my livelihood depended on getting my degree and passing my federal board exam.  Excuses.  Excuses.  While I enjoy my new career in healthcare, I also enjoy writing about everyday life, my family, my job, food, and things that I think are cool.  One of the coolest things I’ve stumbled upon is Blogsvertise.   Blogsvertise is cool because you get to write about products or services and get paid while doing so.  The best part is they welcome your honesty and your own personal perspective.  Whether you have something positive to say or something to gripe about all posts are welcome as long as you are true to what you are writing.  Writing honestly is what its about.  Their site explains all the steps you need to take to begin earning a little extra cash from your blog.  The rules for earning are simple and easy to follow with payments being made through paypal.

I can’t believe the cold weather is finally here.  My toes are cold, the furnace keeps running, and I’ve been putting lotion on my hands non-stop.  And its just my luck that the temperature would drop on my first day off in 8 days.   What a bummer.   On the bright side, one of the great things I do like about the season changing is the food.  There’s nothing like homeade ham & beans in the crock pot with corn bread, homeade chili soup topped with cheese, and my favorite recipe for tomato soup.  Before we all moved further apart my friends and I would have “chic night” every friday night.  Chic night was a celebration of food and conversation.  My friend Jenny Poo would make the best tomato soup I’d ever tasted, along with a grilled cheese sandwich of course.  So here you go…you’ve got to try this:

Fresh Tomato Soup:

1 14oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 medium chopped onion

1 chopped celery stalk

3 oz. or 1/3 cup tomato paste

2 tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro

1 vegetable bouillon cube

2 teaspoons lime juice

1 teaspoon sugar

A few dashes of hot pepper sauce

In a large saucepan combine undrained can of tomatoes, water, celery, onion, tomato paste, cilantro or parsley, bouillon cube, limejuice, sugar, and hot pepper sauce.  Bring to boil; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until celery and onion are very tender.  Place half of the soup in a blender or food processor.  Cover and blend until smooth.  Repeat with remaining mixture.  Return all parts to original saucepan and heat through.  Makes 4 servings.

Enjoy with grilled cheese sandwiches. 

I think one of my favorite food/recipe sites has to be www.foodnetwork.com.  I just printed a recipe for Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Spiced Buttered Rum Glaze by Dave Lieberman.  I can’t wait to try it so I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out.