All hail the hail!

 Well, today, in Oklahoma Weather, things could get interesting.

It has been really cold the past couple of days, with "100% chance of rain," but not one drop falling. Which is good, because it would have been an ice storm on Friday if it had rained. 

We are still in an exceptional drought, since last summer, unfortunately.

Today, it's supposed to warm back up, and then, tonight, we could see hail, 80 mph straight line winds, and tornadoes.

Weather that is normally expected in April and May.

So, we will put the grill under the car port, as well as anything else that might be damaged by large hail, and wait it out.

Hopefully, the forecasters will be wrong about this, like they've been about the rain.

Little Zoey pulled her feeding tube out last week, and is now at home!  Mommy is having a rough time, since Daddy has to work (and he works in a restaurant, so he has restaurant hours), but Mommy's grandma came to help yesterday.

Zoey is still very tiny, and visitors have not yet been welcomed, so my family has only met her once, and that was back on Superbowl day, in the hospital.

This past Friday, we saw the re-birth of the February Birthday Sushi Night with friends.  We did that for a few years, prior to the pandemic.  We celebrate Dave, his bestie, Lindsay, and one of my besties from the dance studio, Deidre. 

This year, Lindsay brought her boyfriend.  Maybe next year, our newer friend Lori, who was ALSO born in February, will come along!

We missed it for the past two years!!  It was lots of fun, and the food was, as always, spectacular.

This weekend has been a good mix.  Spent about  2 hours getting errands done yesterday, then came back and did chores, and I made a wonderful dinner.

I'd never tried cooking ribs - of any kind - before, and wanted to give it a shot in my new, beautiful braising pan.  I got 4 beef short ribs, and did a red wine and garlic braise.

The result was AMAZING.  I am definitely doing this again.  I'd also like to try Korean style beef short ribs some time.

Today, other than doing some storm prep outside, we will HOPEFULLY get the taxes done.  There is no need for a professional to help us, and charge us hundreds of dollars, this year.  We'll go back to Turbo Tax.

I also have some spiritual work that I want to do.  

We might go for a walk as well, since it's going to be nice out, ahead of the storm.  I hope I can get Dave motivated to do that.

Sometimes, it's virtually impossible to get him to get up from his chair and his scrolling the internet. Ugh.

Anyway, back to the office tomorrow for my weekly day, unless there's storm damage.  Have a good week! 

Cruising along

 Little Zoey is holding her own.  

She is still in the hospital, but has started to gain weight, and feed more consistently.

The feeding tube MIGHT come out TODAY, if all remains looking good.  If that is the case, she might be released to home next week.  We shall see.

My third treatment went fine.  Doc said my blood work looks great.

I complained about the steroid reactions I have, so he cut the dosage by half, and I actually slept the night of treatment!

I still got all red and puffy the next day, which is quite uncomfortable, but I did NOT have the moments of unmitigated rage because I dropped a pen, or made a typo!  

So... that was much better.

I guess I am holding my own, too.

The weather is supposed to be April-like for a few days.  We are maybe going to go out to a park this afternoon for a walk.

The fracture in my foot is much better, and I really, REALLY need a nature fix.  I feel like a trapped animal, being unable to get out and take walks, or go to dance class, or go to the woods..... 

So, hopefully, that will re remedied today!

Have a good week. 

The news is out

It's now official on social media!  

My Grand-niece is doing better, at 7 days on this side of the light, but she is still not nursing on her own sufficiently, so she is still in NICU.

Mommy went home a few days ago, and is working on the nursery, when she's not at the hospital.  Daddy has to go back to work tomorrow, which is far too soon.

BUT, he is in the restaurant industry, which is pretty merciless all the way around, regarding paid time off.

They will find a routine for going to the hospital and such, until Mom is allowed to drive again.  Family will help out.

It was a quiet week for us.  Dave's birthday came and went, and he got ONE card in the mail. From my sister.

His brothers did text him- though one was a day late.  That was surprising, and definitely a positive thing.

I have my next treatment this coming Thursday.  I've felt better, over all, this time around.

Hoping that continues. 

I also officially bowed out of the next dance performance.  My fractured foot bone has not felt good enough to even start learning the choreography, and the performance is in about 6 weeks.  

I have been taking very careful care of my foot, though, and just the past couple of days, it's been feeling better.

The podiatrist SAID it should take about a month, and I saw him one month ago this coming week.

I can't wait to get back out and take walks!!

Nothing else to report, really.  I'll be making jambalaya today, because it's some sports game day that used to always happen in New Orleans.

There was one in 1986 that the Chicago Bears won, and another after that where they played and lost, but other than that, it's never really been a thing for me.

Other than it's Jambalaya Day!

Have a good week. 

Februrary Full Moon

 Well, this has been quite a weekend for my family.  

I think it's probably okay to share here, since I don't have many readers, but if you are on my other social media platform, please don't say anything in public view. 

My nephew (my sister's son) and his partner announced, a few months ago, that they were expecting a baby, due at the beginning of March.

They didn't share this information on social media for several weeks.

My niece in law had a rough time with the pregnancy, developing gestational diabetes, but managing it okay. The past few weeks, though, she was increasingly miserable.  

I was chatting with her this past week, and she was having all kinds of issues.

I asked how her blood pressure was, and she never really answered me, but said she had an appointment Friday for her last ultrasound and a check up.

When she went on Friday, they discovered that she was in Pre-eclampsia, and sent her to the hospital.

Labor was induced Friday evening around 8 pm.  She didn't start contractions until around 7 the next morning, and wasn't dilating.

They manually broke her water late yesterday afternoon, and thought things were progressing.   She was still only at 3 centimeters, and that should have stepped things up. 

Apparently, it did not, and I didn't hear anything else until this morning.  

They FINALLY did an emergency C section at 4:30 this morning, about 12 hours after breaking the water.

Little Zoey came out at 4 pounds 6 ounces, 17.2 inches long.  

Both mommy and baby have to stay in the ICU for a day or so, until their magnesium levels normalize, and, well, so they can recover from the traumatic process of this birth.

My nephew is headed home to get some sleep.  They don't want anyone to come visit, so my sister and brother in law, and Elizabeth's mom, aren't able to go see them yet.  That has to suck really hard.

Zoey is almost exactly 4 weeks early, so she will have to stay in the NICU for a while.

Phew!!!  

Anyway, my nephew has asked me not to share any pictures on FB, so I am taking the extra step of not saying anything either, just in case. 

In other news, I have been feeling pretty good this past week, so that's encouraging.  After my first treatment, I had a lot more fatigue.

We never got the ice storms that they kept warning us about, so that was good, but we also didn't get the much needed precipitation we were hoping for.

Today is a beautiful day, for April, after the days of sub freezing, and wind chills barely above 0F.

It's supposed to rain later in the week, so fingers crossed.

Dave's 64th birthday is this coming Wednesday.  I had thought about doing another card bomb for him, but I spaced it out.  It didn't really work last year, anyway, so maybe I'll do it next year, for 65.

Nothing much else to report. I am going to make Julia Child's bouef bourguignon recipe this afternoon.... haven't done that for years, but it needs doing.  I am looking forward to it!