Have a Great Weekend!

Thanks for all the well wishes and the glad you're back comments.

I am still wiped out and struggling in some physical areas here.  That goes to say I am not up to posting much.

So I'll leave you with a Youtube of a show I mostly enjoy.  Yes, it's a Fox Network show but it's a semi-comedy show and gives me a giggle at times.

If you are a dyed in the wool Leftist you might not want to watch this but really, our whole political system seems to be a shit show no matter what side you are on.

Have a great weekend if I don't get back on here before Monday.

Sluggy

This Week On The Dining Table...Aug. 12th

I'm home and life is one big struggle right now.  This post will be short.

                                

Saw this "Welcome Home" banner(it's a military town)along with a skeleton in fatigues and a ginormous other skeleton standing over the other one in front of someone's house.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

 1. Sunday--No Plan

2. Monday--"   "

3. Tuesday--"   "

4. Wednesday--"    "

5. Thursday--"    "

6. Friday--"    "

7. Saturday--"    "

And here's what actually happened....

 1. Sunday--probably a bagged salad

2. Monday--probably a bagged salad or hummus and pita chips

3. Tuesday--Turkey, Squash, Green Beans, Sweet Potato

4. Wednesday--Catfish, sides I don't remember

5. Thursday--Catfish, Cole Slaw, an Onion Ring the size of my head lol

6. Friday--Steak, Green Beans, Corn on Cob

7. Saturday--Spaghetti and Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

Eating in VA was strange as sister in-law had a gastric bypass some time ago and hardly eats anything and doesn't cook except for herself(mostly soup), brother doesn't cook either beyond heating up chicken strips to put on a salad so mostly I was left to my own devices for meals.  So I ate an inordinate amount of salads, hummus and pita chips or prepared chicken salad with crackers for most of 3+ weeks.

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

nothing by me but Hubs was eating down the freezer and pantry at home.

What got put into the freezer last week....

* 3 lb. Ground Beef

                    

Last week we spent $57.76 on grocery shopping.

Total shopping comes to $57.76 for August.   There are 19 shopping days left in August.  

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $79.18 on Ibotta in August

I've earned $6.00 on Shopmium in August.

I've earned $0 on Alexa app in August.

I've earned $6.00 on Kroger Cash Back in August(which still hasn't come through).

I've earned $0 on TaDa in August.

I've earned $8.07 on Checkout51 in August.

I've earned $13.55 on Aisle, etc. in August. (Haven't gotten my Nature Valley rebate yet from June.)

I've earned 21,481 points on Fetch from food shopping in August.

I've earned 13,688 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in August.($13.68)

I've earned 0 Points on My Points in August.($)

I've earned 3,581 from food shopping on Swag Bucks in August.($35.81)

That is $106.80 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/KCB/Alexa/Swag Bucks/The Insiders)on $57.76 of grocery spending so in reality it's -$49.04 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending.

My savings percentage for the last week was 75.76% and the monthly savings total for August comes in at 75.76% spent.

Leftovers going into this week...lots of spaghetti, green beans.

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Salmon, Teriyaki Green Beans

2. Monday--Cheeseburgers, Corn on Cob

3. Tuesday--Fried Zucchini, Chicken

4. Wednesday--Catfish, Broccoli Slaw, Yellow Squash

5. Thursday--Leftovers

6. Friday--?

7. Saturday--?

Trying to get back into a routine here and lacking inspiration. 8-)

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy   

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THIS WEEK ON THE DINING TABLE

Still trying to relearn how to type/write with this hand so this is taking forever to write.  Posting after this one will be sporadic for awhile.

                                

Corn Ribs??  Saw these at the Trader Joe's down here last Monday.

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned for last week...........

 1. Sunday--No Plan

2. Monday--"   "

3. Tuesday--"   "

4. Wednesday--"    "

5. Thursday--"    "

6. Friday--"    "

7. Saturday--"    "

And here's what actually happened....

 1. Sunday--Salmon, Green Beans

2. Monday--Pizza

3. Tuesday--Steak dinner out

4. Wednesday--

5. Thursday--

6. Friday--leftover Pizza

7. Saturday--Sweet and Sour Chicken, rice

Frankly, I don't remember what got eaten when other than what I wrote. There were  a whole lot of salads, the salmon, the sweet and sour chicken, pizza, hummus and crackers, chicken salad and crackers.

What got taken out of the freezer last week....

 noting

What got put into the freezer last week....

* a bag of stir-fry veggies

                    

Last week we spent $76.75 on grocery shopping.

Total shopping comes to $371.93 or July.   There are 2 shopping days left in July.  

Rebate monies earned this month so far.....

I've earned $166.05 on Ibotta in July.

I've earned $17.50 on Shopmium in July.

I've earned $0 on Alexa app in July.

I've earned $13.00 on Kroger Cash Back in July.

I've earned $0 on TaDa in July.

I've earned $30.01 on Checkout51 in July.

I've earned $19.05 on Aisle, etc. in July. (Haven't gotten my Nature Valley rebate yet from June.)

I've earned 4,567 points on Fetch from food shopping in July.

I've earned 8,864 points from food shopping on Shop Kick in July.($)

I've earned 340 Points on My Points in July.($)

I've earned 4,156 B from food shopping on Swag Bucks in July.(give or take)

I've earned a $15 virtual gift card from The Insiders.

That is $232.61 in rebates(not counting Shop Kick/Fetch/MyPoints/KCB/Alexa/Swag Bucks/The Insiders)on $371.93 of grocery spending so in reality it's $139.32 in food spending after the rebate apps I count. I now separate out the Food Bank donations and don't count those in the grocery spending.

My savings percentage for the last week was 37.33% and the monthly savings total for July comes in at 42.90% spent.

Leftovers going into this week...Beats me, I'm not home. lol

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--Caesar Salad, Chicken Eggroll

2. Monday--Tacos(maybe)

3. Tuesday--No Clue

4. Wednesday--No Clue

5. Thursday--No Clue

6. Friday--No Clue

7. Saturday--No Clue

I'm not in charge up here.  My sister in-law had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago so she eats different and my brother is picky.  Meals are always an adventure and a surprise here. ;-)

I bought some salad kits and seafood so we cobble something together.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any deals on food at your stores this week?  

Sluggy   

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Post Surgery & Recovery

 I survived the procedure.  Even though it was non-invasive they still consider this a surgery since it messes with your brain.

Two days out I feel like an alien is controlling my right hand and it's taken quite awhile to  go back and fix all the typos in these last three sentences so this post will be short.

It was an intense experience and not something that I'm looking forward to repeating.  Having my head shaved wasn't a big deal to me but when they injected anesthetic and began screwing those 4 pins into my skull to hold the halo frame I about freaked out!  Even with a dose of fentanyl I could hear and feel them screwing these into my skull.  Talk about creepy!

Once they put me in the hybrid MRI machine and began the process of mapping out where to zap my brain it was another 3 hours(including a follow up regular MRI afterwards).
With each "zapping" I got nauseas so they pulled me out and put Zofran into my I.V. line.  I am not prone to being nauseas but I did get very queasy with this treatment

We got to the hospital at 6:00 am and left for home at 1 pm-ish.  I was wiped out.

Yesterday was had to go to Walmart and Aldi.  I need to use my sister in-law's walker as I find my gait is off and I lean to the right when I try to walk.  Trying to write or type is difficult for now too.

One side effect that seems to be pretty rare(figures I would get that one)is that food and drink tastes different.  If you blindfolded me and fed me something, I'd have a hard time telling you with any accuracy what it was in my mouth.

The neurosurgeon was sure I'd get headaches from the procedure since my skull was NOT on the thick side but borderline on the thin side.  Never got a headache though.  But I got a nice burn on my skin where they focused all the ultrasound waves.

They zapped me four separate times after mapping out where the placement should be.  Each session I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole since your laying in a white tunnel so it's fairly disorienting to begin with.    This procedure heats your head up to 55 degrees Celsius and I could sure feel that too.        

                             

That's the left side of my head since the mirror makes it look like the right.  

I'm on a steroid pack and just OTC pain meds.

This Focused Ultrasound doesn't cure Essential Tremor. It's just a way to ameliorate the symptoms that is non-invasive, unlike Deep Brain Stimulation where they cut you open, implanting a pacemaker like device in your chest with electric leads up into your brain.
They don't know what causes ET nor do they have a cure.  They use anti-seizure drugs as a first defense but DBS and FUS are the only other options. It's an autosomal inherited chromosome disorder and if you have a parent with it you have a 50/50 chance of getting it.

So now, like a toddler, I have to relearn how to walk properly and learn to eat, write, etc. with my "new" hand, which so far, an alien is controlling.  It will take time to relearn and stabilize,

Here is my "Before" and "After" treatment paper.

If anyone wants more information about my experience just contact me.

Sluggy

Surgery is Tomorrow Morning

 Technically this isn't an invasive surgery, it's a procedure, but they call it a surgery.  The risks and side effects are still there but all in all this is a fairly safe surgery.

I am on Day 5 of being off my tremor medication so I can't really type out a long post...well, I could but it would take hours. ;-)  There have been a few hiccups since I got to Virginia but I'll blog about all that once I can get on the computer again.

So I'll leave you with these videos of people's journey through this condition and the procedure.  I wish I could find a video of a woman patient but I can't.

And yes, they will be shaving my head.  From the webinars I've attended this seems to be a big stumbling block for women and why some shy away from this treatment.  Bald and women don't mix very well in our society.

 

I spoke too soon.  Here is a woman's story.

 

I go in early Friday morning for the procedure.  Please keep good thoughts for the outcome for me. 8-)

Sluggy