Donuts for Breakfast

My parents truly are amazing.

They have, selflessly, helped us with so much around the house. Daddy has helped paint, caulk, install flooring… you name it! He and Jerry are both so handy. My mom currently has a vision of adding greenery to our front and back yards. She’s so creative! She’s going to use an old, metal doormat to create a place for jasmine to grow over a brick wall in the front of our home. In the backyard, she wants to create a “Secret Garden” filled with herbs, fruits, and vegetables. I’m very excited to get started in that project :). They came over with donuts for breakfast this morning, and it was so nice to be able to join them in eating. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve truly become appreciative of my parents and everything they’ve ever done for me. I truly could not ask for better parents. I can only hope that one day our children will say the same thing about Jerry and me.

We have been wanting to grow our family since we got married in February 2012. We’ve researched many options, and have decided that adoption is best for us. We just completed our online information survey for the agency we are interested in completing our journey through. Although we’d prefer to have an infant, we’ve come to terms with the fact that infants are a “hot commodity.” Let’s face it – there are more couples wanting infants than there are infants to adopt. Because of this, we’ve expressed our interest in children aged zero (infant) to three years old. While we have opted to adopt just one child (because it is our first time.. we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew), we’ve expressed willingness to adopt twins. I think it would be so amazing to have fraternal boy/girl twins! I’ve heard that the entire process may take up to 2 years. I’m very excited to get the ball rolling, because I really want to be a mother. It’s the one thing I’ve been sure of my entire life :). And, Jerry will make such an amazing Daddy. I just can’t wait! It would be such a big dream come true to finally make one of our guest rooms a baby’s room! Please keep us in your thoughts; I’m hoping our journey will be smooth.

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Post-Op Day 10

This will be my last post about my tonsillectomy and septoplasty, because I feel like I’m pretty much back to being myself :).

I took my pain medication before going out for Jessica’s birthday party last night. I didn’t really NEED it, but took it just in case. It really would’ve been horrible to be out and about having fun with friends and to suddenly be in pain.

We went to Ibiza in Midtown for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious! I cautiously ordered their chicken breast, hoping it would be juicy and tender. The dish was served with chipotle mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus and brussel sprouts. The chicken was fabulous! Very juicy and tender, with a lot of flavor :). I’m very happy to say that I was able to eat my entire meal with no pain! Of course, Jerry helped me finish my meal, because it was a little much for me. Our server brought our birthday girl a big “trophy” filled with the most delicious cotton candy I’ve ever tasted! Mom… Ibiza was great. Delicious food, calm environment, and beautiful decor. On the flip side, our server was a bit inattentive (left water glasses unfilled for the entirety of dinner), they do not split checks (which is a hassle for a large party – they couldn’t even figure it out after we split everything up, wrote everything down, and figured it out for them), and last but not least.. It was a bit pricy. It’s a great place to go to celebrate an important event (anniversaries, showers, birthdays, etc.)

After dinner, we headed to Proof. There was a very long line of people waiting to get in, so I assumed it must be a very fun place. We bypassed the line, because Jess had a table reserved for us. Proof was fun. There is an outdoor area, as well as an indoor area. I didn’t go inside, but the outdoor area was well decorated to fit a luau theme for the night. They had fire dancers and hula dancers on stage as entertainment. The rooftop patio made for a fun atmosphere. It was nice to spend some time celebrating a good friend surrounded by amazing people. I couldn’t drink, because had taken my pain medication a few hours earlier, but I still ad a great time (I’m not much of a drinker anyway).

All in all, it was a great night! I felt semi-normal all day :). We stayed out until 12:30, leaving then only because I began to get a little pain in the left side of my throat.

The time last week, I was writhing in pain in bed. It felt like an end to the pain would never come :(. I had read horror stories online about people bleeding and having pain for weeks. I was so worried that I would be one of those people. But, here I am… 10 days out, and eating real (soft) food again :).

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Post-Op Day 9

Wow! What a great day!

I woke up with little to no pain, but because I had some pain in my ears, I took my pain medication around 8:45, and didn’t take it again until bed time.

I was able to get up and out today. At one point, I actually forgot I’d had a tonsillectomy and thought to myself, “Hmm.. Feels like I’m getting a sore throat.” And then I caught myself. My nose doesn’t bother me anymore, it’s just a little dry and I have to stay on top of my saline mist and rinses, and application of Neosporin to stay comfortable. My stitches have begun to fall out, which is a great sign of healing.

I haven’t had any bleeding in my throat, and I’ve started to eat real food again. Of course, I’m still eating mush :). For lunch, I met up with Alborz and Jess at Yard House. I ordered a cup of New England clam chowder and a virgin piña colada. Mmm, absolutely delicious! The clam chowder was perfect, even with 8 ice cubes melted into it to cool it down so I could eat it. And the piña colada was one of the best I’ve ever had! Hubby and I went in a date to see The Conjuring (horrible, don’t waste your money). After e movie, we stopped by Taco Bell. Usually, I order supreme tacos.. But I couldn’t do that this time :(. Instead, I ordered their new smothered burrito, a seven later burrito, and honey ordered me a bean burrito just in case. The smothered burrito was too spicy for me; I couldn’t even eat one bite of it. The seven layer burrito was pretty easy to eat, after I pulled off the tough edges of the tortilla. I split the bean burrito with my honey (just wish they wouldn’t put sauce in it..). I was worried I would bleed after the burrito.. But I didn’t!

Life is going back to normal (slowly)!
Woohoo.

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Post-Op Day 8

Woke up in terrible pain today. Had a hard time sleeping last night, but I woke up with my mouth closed.. Which is a good sign that I breathe through my nose at night, now! Woohoo!

I think now that I can breathe with my mouth closed, I’ll heal much more quickly.. But we’ll see how it goes :).

Felt alright this morning.. I was able to easily get up and walk around a lot more today. I was also able to breathe and swallow a little more easily all day.

Called the nurse to get some advice on how to manage my ear/head aches. Originally, I was advised to take Tylenol… Turns out I was ill advised because my pain meds already include acetaminophen!! She told me to take a dose of ibuprofen every 6 hours. Because of this, I’ve felt great all day. Not much pain at all anymore… Just a little bit in my ears. The nurse also suggested doing saline rinses. She said most septoplasty and many tonsillectomy patients find comfort in them. I knew my nose would feel better afterwards.. But my throat? Wow! I seriously have not had pain in my throat since the rinse! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I finally feel like I’m healing :)!

I whipped together a cold brewed coffee yesterday. I know I’m not supposed to consume much caffeine while recovering.. But I couldn’t help but take a tiny sip just to see how it turned out. I didn’t want to share the recipe unless it’s delicious.. Which it is! It’s pretty simple, and no special materials are necessary.

Cold Brewed Coffee

Materials:
2 medium/large bowls
Pitcher
Refrigerator
Mesh strainer
Cheese cloth (or paper towels)

Ingredients:
1 cup coarsely ground coffee (I used classic roast Folger’s)
5 cups water

Directions:
1. Combine coffee grounds and water in a bowl.
2. Mix the two together until there are no clumps. You want all of the coffee grounds submerged in water.
3. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap/foil and place it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 10 hours.
4. After at least 10 hours, remove the bowl from the refrigerator.
5. Place mesh strainer over your empty bowl.
5. Place cheese cloth or paper towels into the mesh strainer.
6. Very slowly pour your coffee mixture into the mesh strainer (over the cloth). It will slowly seep through and into your empty bowl.
7. Dispose of the caught grounds, and repeat step 6 with your first bowl (rinse and dry it first).
8. After straining a second time, pour your coffee into your pitcher (easy refrigerator storage).

To make a glass, flavor it to taste with cream, milk, simple syrup, coffee creamers, etc. It is so delicious! I flavored mine with hazelnut creamer, and honestly, it was better than any generic iced coffee I’ve gotten anywhere else. Maybe that’s because I made it myself and I was so proud :)! Cold brewing coffee allows the coffee to be less acidic, because the grounds are not exposed to the boiling water. It also allows the coffee to have a sweeter, less bitter flavor.

Try some for yourself! I’ve heard that there are cold brewing coffee systems.. But I don’t know if I’d ever invest in one, if I can make it on my own.

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Post-Op Day 7

I bled last night from the left side of my throat. It was pretty scary. I carefully ate Mac and cheese for dinner (soft food – not hard or crunchy).. But I guess I wasn’t ready. It wasn’t much blood. Just very scary! It stopped on its own after a gentle salt gargle. It started again an hour or so later, right before bed. Again, it stopped on its own.

I got my splints taken out of my nose today! I was worried that the cutting of the stitches would hurt.. But I didn’t even feel it. The removal of my splints was quick and easy. I felt a LOT of pressure as he grasped them and then a huge relief as he slid each of them out. They came out, with a trail of mucus and blood, so he had to suction a lot of crud up. It was AMAZING to take that first breath through my nose!

Helped honey set up the living room a little bit. We put down our rug and brought our couch and chairs back down. It’s really coming together well. Honey put up beautiful white blinds, an started working on the bar area, too. He’s really amazing at everything he does! My husband is so talented :).

Read on someone’s blog that it’s okay to eat baked beans while recovering from a tonsillectomy, because they’re soft, so I ate some beanie weenies very carefully for dinner. I had never had them before, and they were DELICIOUS! I was able to eat half of the tiny can very easily (I mushed the beans around. Little but to make them even smoother). Half way through, I got a terribly pain in my throat and went to the bathroom to spit my food out. Along with it came deep red blood! I was terrified that this was happening again.

I bled more tonight than I did last night. And it seemed thicker.. Like mucus-y, almost. Jerry said it looked like the blood that was trying to adhere to and scan over my wounds. My scabs have already started to fall off.. So I’m not sure what’s going on. All I know, is that I was terrified! Honey stood behind me and rubbed my back.. Which made me feel a little more calm :).

The bleeding stopped after a gentle salt gargle and some water.

As I was getting ready for bed, Jerry gold me I look like a ghost. I couldn’t have possibly lost that much blood.. I’m assuming I looked that way because I was just tired and scared :-/.

Love. Laugh. Learn
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Day 6 Post-Op

Woohoo!! My splints come out tomorrow morning :)!

I woke up at 4 this morning with HORRIBLE pain in my ears. Jerry (sweet baby) got up, without a word, and moved into action. He had my medicine ready for me by my bedside before I even had the chance to sit up. I took it, and passed out until 8ish.. When the pain started again. I’m trying to no avail to not take my meds.. Instead I’m trying to get by with Tylenol and ibuprofen. I went 7 hours without my meds yesterday, which is the longest I’ve gone thus far without anything. I’m hoping I can do it again today.

I’m very tired all the time. Maybe it’s the medication, maybe it’s the lack of nutrition. I constantly find myself nodding off.

My tongue is very very sore, my throat hurts only when I swallow and eat, and my breath is stinking. I’ve read the breath becomes foul when the scabs in the back of the throat start getting close to falling off. Speaking of which… (TMI).. a piece of scan fell off yesterday when I salt water garbled. Gross! It’s a great step towards recovery though :).

Alborz came over today, to pick me up to run some errands. I’m worried to go out on my own.. What I I get nauseous, sick, whatever.. And can’t drive myself home? A few simple errands, nothing big. I’ll save the fun stuff for when I’m feeling 100% myself again :).

BTW.. I finally got my package from Simple Addiction (three weeks late)! The one necklace they sent me (because I found out two weeks after ordering that the one I really wanted was sold out) has a broken clasp. I can’t even open the clasp to put the necklace on. It is however long enough, so I can shimmy it, very carefully, over my head. But, my goodness I’ve got to say that this boutique is HORRIBLE. They have no understanding of what good customer service is, and they have forever lost my business. They wouldn’t respond to any of my emails, so I had to file a dispute with PayPal to get a refund, to which they responded immediately. So I’m done with them :).

On a brighter note.. I stumbled across a fantastic boutique called Modern Ego! Everyone should check them out :). Fantastic customer service and beautiful looting and accessories. They’re located in Houston, where they have a warehouse. If you stop by the warehouse, you get a free gift ;). Can’t wait topics up the clothes I ordered next week!

I’m nodding off again.. Time for a nap.

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Day 5 Post-Op

I woke up in awful pain. The pain from my throat is definitely finding its way up into my ears. It still hurts to swallow, and it’s difficult to breathe through my nose, although the splints are much more comfortable now than they were before. I’ve been able to walk around and be more active today.. But still seem to get nauseated rather quickly.

I struggled to move one of our comfy chairs back into the living room, so I could watch tv.. But spent most iof my day back in bed haha.

I ate a lot today..

Forced myself to eat a half cup of soup for brunch (Mom has spoiled me with delicious soup!), and had a half cup of raspberry sorbet to follow it up. I snacked it up with a popsicle midday.. And of course a LOT OF WATER throughout the day. For dinner, Hubby took me to La Madeleine, where I got a bowl of cream of mushroom soup. The soup was delicious and pretty smooth to get down my throat after I stirred in two ice cubes (weird, I know). Hubby (knowing how horrible my sweet tooth is) agreed to stop by Smallcakes: A Cupcakery to get us cupcakes. I chose a chocolate cream cupcake, which is similar to the chocolate Hostess cupcakes with the white swirl on top and cream in the middle. The cupcake was alright.l I haven’t been impressed by them yet. Their cupcakes are all so heavy and greasy. Anywhooo.. I placed my cupcake in a bowl and drenched it in milk so I could eat it :). Sounds gross.. But it was pretty good. I avoided the too sugary frosting, and ate only the the soft, milk-soaked cake.

Weighed myself last night, and weigh in at almost 7 pounds lighter than before surgery!
Hoping to keep it up.

Live. Laugh. Learn
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Day 4 Post-Op

Sorry for not updating until now. Our wifi was disconnected from the outlet during the installation of our flooring (which looks amazing, by the way!) yesterday.

So day yesterday came and went.. I had horrible pain in the morning and it dulled out through the day. I continue to take my pain meds every four hours and two extra strength Tylenols every 6 hours to help with the aching in my ears and head. I’m really hoping this will all be over soon. Ice packs laid on my thoat have become my best friends.. Mm.. So good :).

My nose is not bothering me too much anymore.. Guess I’ve gotten used to having these huge splints in there lol. The stitches inside my left nostril hurt a little bit, but it’s nothing unbearable.

Dad came over to help Jerry with the floors yesterday. They worked all day and they look fabulous!!

Moisture barrier –

Pups, with full bellies, begging for scrambled eggs 😉 –

Working hard –

Bar area we’re going to reno, as well. We’re going to paint, install marble/granite top, and shelving –

Finished product!

Of course, we still need to do finishing touches.. But the laying of the floor is all done :).

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

Tonsillectomy and Septoplasty: Day 3 Post-Op

Today has been the worst of all days I’ve had so far. I was overall, nauseous, bedridden, and in excruciating pain. It has become increasingly difficult to swallow, eat, and talk. I’ve had to continue taking my medication every four hours as advised on the bottle. I actually got close to running out, and, in a panic, had Jerry call the after hours call desk at my physician’s office to request doctor authorization for a refill. The on call doctor was very sweet (comedic, even) and had my prescription refilled for me.

My mom made my favorite soup last night, so as nauseous as I was, Jerry packed me up (medications and such), and we headed for Mom and Dad’s. I haven’t eaten very much since Tuesday night (before surgery) and ended up eating an entire (small) bowl of soup!! It was quite an accomplishment. It was the most I’ve eaten in an entire day since surgery! I’ve lost four pounds in four days! Not sure if it’s a good or bad thing.. But I sure am liking the way I look..

That’s it for now. I’ll fill you in on how I’m feeling today a little later. Dad is coming over to install flooring today. I’ll upload a photo once they come to a standstill :).

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana

False Hope

I’m beginning to think that my recovery will not be as smooth as I had anticipated it would be. I have waves of excruciating pain that decide when they want to come and go. I wake up with horrible pain, it dies down throughout the day, and then strikes again at the end of the day. Today, my throat got the best of me.. I was hot, cold, aching, throbbing, and swollen all at once. I couldn’t swallow, and couldn’t talk… Moving, in general, hurt. My lips, tongue, gums, throat, neck, and cheeks all swollen and tender to the touch. That was a couple hours ago.. I feel much better now, besides the headache I have. I really wish I could pull my splints out of my nose, right about NOW!!

On a side note –

I ordered two necklaces from an online boutique called Simple Addiction on June 29th, that were supposed to be mailed to me first-class and arrive within a week tops. I STILL haven’t received my goods, and on top of their delay, I got an email on Wednesday to notify me that one of the necklaces is out of stock. Isn’t it odd that it took two weeks to realize that they don’t have one of them..? Their customer service is also horrible.. I keep getting the runaround. My package tracking information says I should’ve received the necklace yesterday, but is not up to date with scanning from facility to facility.. so not only have I not received it.. but I don’t even know where it is! Hopefully it shows up tomorrow…

As I mentioned earlier today, Jerry came home early from work today to care for me :). After a couple episodes of Dexter, he left me to relax, and started working on the living room floors again. He has scraped off all of the cement board, grout, and debris from where the tiles were and has smoothed the subfloors. He’s also ripped apart the bar area, because we’re redoing that as well. We are thinking of applying a mirror as the backing with two glass shelves and a beautiful marble/granite top, so that the area my be used as a small storage/display area. The previous owners of our home overused natural wood… So it’s everywhere! To make our home more modern, we’re removing and painting over as much natural wood as we can… Starting in the living room :). I’ll take some pictures tomorrow when it’s bright and post them here for you to see how our home is coming along. (Measurements Jerry asked me to remember.. not sure what for – 38.75 x 24)

This little one has become quite the cuddle monster!

Live. Laugh. Learn.
Roxana