And I have...

Salmonellosis.

The word came back late Thursday afternoon. Salmonellosis is caused from the bacteria called salmonella. That could have came from tainted tomatoes, someone not washing their hands, bad meat...We may never know.

The treatment is antibiotics (which last night didn't seem to be doing the trick yet). I'm hoping another day of treatment and I'll be able to eat a bit more normally.

But it's a relief to know what the heck I've got.

Quick update

I went to the doctor yesterday...her guess is that I have picked up some sort of parasite or something from some contaminated produce/water...Unfortunately, we won't know until lab results come back...which I'm hoping will be by Friday. They can't treat me until they know what it is exactly. For now, the only thing I can really take is immodium...which is holding the diarrhea at bay (it seems). Still can't really eat and my stomach hurts.

This has been a really long week.

But hey, how about those Twins!

Losing weight the hard way

I feel slightly better today, but still not good enough to go to work or really eat anything. I tried to get into my doctor's today, but they couldn't squeeze me in till tomorrow.

I'm getting a little bored with laying in bed and watching t.v, but really couldn't muster up the energy to make it over to my studio (3 flights of stairs). Really, without getting too detailed, I still need to be very close to a restroom. Enough said.

But Joel, being a good sport, took me out for a little bit late this afternoon. It was the first time I had left the apartment since Friday afternoon. That wouldn't bother me so much if it was raining or the dead of winter. I'm bummed I totally missed a weekend of wonderful weather.

I decided I might as well grab some good from my recent "diet" and drop in for a quick WW weigh-in. Haven't written much about it here, but I've been plugging right along. And yes, I lost 3.4 lbs in 10 days, for a total of (drum roll, please) 21.4 lbs! I know I may put a little of that back on (temporarily) when I start eating again, but it was still quite a pick-me-up.

Then we simply stopped at Target to pick up some essentials and search for some food I might find appealing. Man, if I could bottle what I've got (minus the misery) as an appetite suppressant, I'd make millions! Nothing looked very good at all. Hopefully this will all be over soon, because it's really no fun to not enjoy your food at all.

Mack truck headed my way

I am laying low. Feeling like a mack truck hit me. Thursday night Joel and I went for a lovely walk, came home and when I got out of my recliner I could tell something was wrong. I'm not sure what's going on...it's an odd combination of symptoms...body aches that are horrid, alternating between fever/chills, thee worst headache, no appetite to speak of (it seems like food in the cereal category are all I can stomach), and then some, well, let's just say what I do manage to eat, doesn't stay with me long. This is sucking big time.

As promised, pictures!

Ana's new kitten, "Honeykins", just 10 weeks old.

Peonies.

More peonies.

My kitty, Squeakers, resting on the recliner with me.

The new couch.

And the recliners.

Ana's move

My daughter's move went quite well...exhausting, but now done. And everyone who helped her told her that she CANNOT move for at least two years. I'm hoping she will love this place. I love this place. It's an upper duplex in south Mpls...where the boulevards are lined with mature trees and gardens are blooming everywhere. Dogs abound in backyards and kids still play in the neighborhood parks. The house...has a 3-season front porch with windows on all 3 sides, a side deck, the original (I'm guessing) tin ceiling (in excellent condition), wood floors throughout, and plenty of space.

This move was largely a family affair. A few friends of Adam and Ana's helped out (mostly Mary, who is like an adopted daughter), but besides that it was myself, Cyrus and for a bit his girlfriend, Katie (since she's just getting to know the family we didn't push her into heavy lifting detail). Since I was the senior member of the moving faction, I paced myself accordingly. And truly, a big part of my job was providing a level head and nourishment. Saturday included typical moving food: sloppy joes.

I hate moving, but truth be told, I enjoy being part of my kid's lives in this way. I am happy that they want me to be there to see their new place. I still get a certain sense of satisfaction in cooking for them (it's especially enjoyable cooking for loved ones who request their favorites and make you feel loved for doing it).

(For those of you who have been complaining, I will have pictures to post shortly. Patience, it will happen soon)

Peonies in bloom

Beautiful Saturday. The Farmer's Market is in full swing below us. I got up early this morning to buy a bouquet of peonies. Finally, they were there--several weeks later than last year.

I'm off soon to help my daughter move. Not exactly what I want to be doing on a gorgeous Saturday, but I'd rather be moving her in this weather than in rain.

And, I'll get my cardio in to boot.

Furniture Update

The new furniture arrived early this afternoon and we couldn't be happier. It wasn't too hard to figure out an arrangement that seems to work. We spent a good chunk of the evening relaxing in our his-n-hers recliners while watching t.v. and playing scrabble. The couch is beautiful...the color seems darker in the light of our apartment and works well with our other furnishings.

Ah, domestic bliss!

First Anniversary pics

Here we are enjoying the Twins game on our anniversary.

A view of our room at the Golden Lantern Inn

The lovely roses waiting in our room.

Here I am sitting in the "Risa chair" at Slumberland. Really, the chair is titled the "Risa chair". I had to take a picture of me sitting in the chair.

The recliner on the right is the one we're getting. Yes, we did get 2 for the price of 1--plus the sales ad printed the price $100 cheaper than it was supposed to be!

Ana sitting on the plum couch--this is the full-sized couch, which we would've loved getting, but there's no way it would get in our apartment!

This is the loveseat-size that we got (only in plum).

The anniversary celebration

Well, Year Two of the Marriage began today...but first, we had a wonderful celebration spread out over the last few days. (Pictures will follow soon)

Sunday we enjoyed a lovely (and delicious) brunch at Loring Pasta Bar in Dinkytown (The restaurant is located in what was the Campus Drugstore when I was a U college student. The transformation is unbelieveable). The food was incredible, the people-watching interesting and the interiors of the restaurant are so intriguing you can spend the whole meal looking around. For $15.95 it's a steal.

Unfortunately, Joel came home and wasn't feeling well (not related to the food), so we laid low the remainder of the day.

I took Monday and Tuesday off, so after some discussion, we decided to head off for Red Wing Monday afternoon. Moondance Inn, the bed and breakfast we stayed at for our honeymoon (that I absolutely love) was closed, but we found a beautiful room at the Golden Lantern Inn. The home (7000 square feet) was built in 1932 by the owner of Red Wing shoes. Our room was the original master suite. Joel surprised me with a dozen roses waiting in our room. We slept in a spacious king bed (I could get used to that) and thoroughly enjoyed the two-person whirlpool tub. The weather was quite cool (it's June, right?), so we didn't really enjoy the beautiful gardens at the inn much...but maybe another time.

There's something so restorative about leaving town and spending an evening at a b & b. Sometimes you don't have to travel far to feel like you're on a mini-vacation. I definitely prefer a b & b over a big hotel. This trip made our anniversary special (Thank you honey).

Before leaving Red Wing on Tuesday, we stopped at our favorite antique shop on Main Street and then at the Red Wing Pottery store. At the pottery store, they have good deals on Fiestaware...and we added to our collection--a beautiful plum vase and a light turquoise pitcher.

We headed home, with the plan to stop at the Hom furniture store on the way. Over the past week, we had made a few stops to look at furniture and had decided on a new couch. So...we became the proud owners of the couch pictured in the earlier post (along with 2 recliners). I am deliriously happy about the couch for a number of reasons: 1) it's purple; plum if you prefer. It's a beautiful color. 2) I have never owned a new couch, so it's exciting to make such a purchase and get to pick what I liked; 3) Most importantly, it's the first new furniture that Joel and I have picked out together. It was fun shopping together (we like the same stuff)...and it will be even more fun to get the furniture home and lay out a new furniture arrangement. It is also another step in making this apartment feel more like our home. This is part of building our life together.

We finally arrived home, had a little bit of time to unwind before we headed to the Twins game. The night didn't end with a Twins' win, but we had a great time nonetheless.

And now we're all set to start Year Two. Here we go!

A new couch!

I will write more later about our wonderful anniversary...but just had to post a picture of the beautiful couch we just bought for our living room (along with two recliners). Joel and I are doing our part to stimulate the economy.

The couch is really sort of a plum color and as my daughter said, the color "fits you". My husband does like the color and we have purple as an accent color already. With all the wood in our apartment (exposed beams, wood-beam ceilings) and the recliners being a brown-tweed color, I think the plum will work and make things POP!

I like color!