You know, I admit that I have been lucky enough not to have long-term
illnesses or conditions requiring multiple doctors, offices and months of
tests and visits since becoming an independent adult, and because of this
perhaps I am just not up to speed with how things are done.
BUT! It never occurred to me that I, as a patient, was responsible for
coordinating and daily monitoring of the efforts (or lack thereof) of my
Primary Physician, HMO, Specialist, and the nimrods at Home Patient.
To explain: as some of you may know I was diagnosed with SEVERE sleep apnea. I was put on an AutoPap for monitoring and then to be placed on a regularly prescribed CPAP machine so that I, and those around me, could sleep better and to reduce my rising risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and
stroke. Well, the AutoPAP is a temporary jaunt that is only allowed for 4
weeks. At 3 weeks I brought the machine in to have the information
downloaded so that my Specialist could then determine a prescription CPAP
for me that would coincide with the returning of the AutoPap--or so the
Respiratory Therapist at Home Patient explained to me. I voiced no little
concern about this all needing to happen before my next appt with the
Pulmonologist, but the RT assured me this was all normal.
So! Later on in week 3 I do call to check on the status of my Rx and HP says
it hasn't been sent over yet. No one seems concerned, no one suggested I
call and harangue my specialist or HMO, so I blindly wait another few days.
It's Monday, the day I must surrender the AutoPap or (as my signature on a
piece of paper says) pay $200 to keep it beyond it's prescribed time limit.
As I did not have a spare $200 (didn't have a spare $20 for that matter) I,
reluctantly, returned the AutoPap and, assured by "R" at HP, expected to
have my CPAP in a couple of days.
Of course, now I realize that no one seems to be talking to anyone: Hands
nothing...Index finger's giving the thumb the silent treatment! So I start
the calls. First to my Specialist's office, explain the situation at least 3
times to 3 different people (none of them being the actual doctor or his
assistant since he's out of the office). At 5:15 on Monday afternoon I get a
call from someone at the Pulm. clinic saying they've sent the Rx to HP and
to my PCP for the referral request and that I can set up a time to exchange
the machines now. To which I explain that the one machine is already gone
and that this all should have been taken care of LONG before now. She
doesn't sound sympathetic.
Tuesday as soon as my dr's office opens I call to make sure they rec'd the
Rx/referral request. They hadn't. Call Pulm. and leave message to resend it.
Now we have to wait on the HMO and there's nothing to do but give it at
least 2 days. So! Thursday I start calling around again and, by Friday
afternoon I manage to get someone on the phone that enters/assigns the
referral as I'm on the line with them. I immediately relay this to an
answering machine at HP and think that my troubles are over. WRONG!
It's now been 4 nights without therapy for me and I'm suffering like I
wouldn't have believed. I'm worn out, cranky (hah!) and have the attention
span of a newt. Friday evening I go home and plan to nap for a bit....I'm
asleep by 6pm, awake at 8am the next morning. Then can hardly get to sleep
Saturday or Sunday night. And that's just me! V has had a month of
peaceful slumber and now has had to return to sleeping with a chainsaw in
his ear! DO you think he's sleeping well? No. Do you think my stress level
is increasing because of this? Yes.
So Monday I call HP and talk to this person I've badgered almost all
last week and she acts like she doesn't even recognize me. If I were her
every time I saw my name I would shudder. Apparently I wasn't quite witchy
enough to make a big enough impression. Rats. Well, she still has to wait on
the actual word from the HMO to put the Rx in, can't just take my word for
it or take the time to call the refferal line and confirm what I told her. 5
minutes is apparently just too much to take from her life....but it doesn't
matter that I stop breathing in my sleep. What does she care...as long as
she gets paid right? Well, she makes me an appt for Wednesday at noon with
the phrase "maybe by then we'll have your machine ready". MAYBE???
MAYBE!!!!! You've got to be absolutely KIDDING me!!!
Later that day I have an appt with my Pulmonologist. He's a nice man of Indian
descent, got a cute little accent and is kinda on the timid side. If he
makes the mistake of asking how I've been he's really going to get it with
BOTH BARRELS. I shudder to think what my blood pressure will be today.
WHen it comes to cleaning I have issues. Not that many people are truly enamoured by the idea of clweaning, but I have a defiite love-hate relationship with the idea of cleaning.
My biggest hold-up is people being around. For some strange reason I cannot clean (effectively) with anyone else in the house. I have to be completely alone. If there is anyone at home I become completely inhibited and cannot clean. Go figure.
Not that I can clean just any old time, either: I have to wait to be in the mood. Is there a Muse of cleaning? I'm not sure, buit it visits me every few weeks and if I do not have a moment alone in the house the spirit just vanishes. AND, if someone comes home once I've started, I usually loose all urge to continue.
Thus it was today when I got up and V had left for town, I decided that it was finally time to reclaim the office/craft room from the Clutterbug. And I managed to make some serious headway, cleared out some boxes and have piles of things to reorganize. But then V came home and the urge is now gone. My desk is piled with different things to sort and file, but at least all the new business stuff is in its own little cubby now and the rest will disseminate in time.
Last night I did in fact go to B&N and waited and got Book 5 by 12:30 a.m. on the 21st. During the wait I consumed a very yummy Venti Iced Caramel Machiatto which had me pretty well wired by the time I got home. I read the first nine chapters before the caffiene wore off and have gotten through chapter 23 now. I may read a bit more before bed....just one more little chapter.... (right!) I would be farther but a pesky nail appt andn then another cheesecake to make then the dinner the cheesecake was dessert of....all cuts into my reading time.
I have to say, though, the effects of coffee on reading comprehension I really noticed last night: I was so jittery my eyes kept darting among the page. I mean, I was understanding what I was reading and gettng the highlights, but I was skipping large segments of Rowlings descriptors that really don't deserve skipping. I had to force myself to stop, rewind, and reread several portions just so I didn't miss some tiny bit of foreshadowing, etc. Makes me wonder if the inventer of speed reading got the idea for the technique while on No-Doz.
Harry Harry Harry read read read Coffee Harry read coffeeeeeeee HARRRRYYYYYYYY.....read.
GO AWAY!!!! This constant raininess is truly bringing me down, along with my current hormone levels. Just makes me want to curl up and sleep, be left alone and undisturbed....but the chances of that are dismally slim.
What should be a bright spot is that the Harry Potter Book 5 Order of the Phoenix comes out tonight at midnight and I am planning to get it then (my local Barnes and Noble is having a midnight madness thing). I'll go, I'll get my book, but I'm not all that excited about it today. Blasted rain, takes the fun out of everything.
Pah!
Today is my Mother's 46th birthday....anboy she doesn't look it! For her birthday she got (from me) the Ultimate Glue-Gun and 2 cheesecakes, blueberry, one for today at the office to share and one for this weekend when we do our family tradition of dinner at the restaurant of birthday-ee's choice.
It had been a while since I last made a chesecake (we're talking dustbunnies in the springform people!!!) but it's something you never forget. I have several variations of my cheesecakes that I've concocted over the years: pumpkin, baklava (which was a little more dense because of the honey-sugar syrup...still on the drawing board), the various fruits, lemon, and the 2 faves: Oreo (yeah baby!) and Dove Dark Chocolate Cherry (mmmmm......chocolate).
And no, we're not talking dry and crumbly New York Style cheesecake....we are talking rich, creamy, smooth, delectable cheesecake. And I, being the nice person I am (and making up for not updating for a while), will share my recipe with you :)
Basic Goodness Cheesecake
Crust:
2 T butter, melted
1/2 c sugar (this is not needed if you sub crushed cookies for the crumbs below)
2 c. graham cracker crumbs
Filling:
2 lb. cream cheese (yes....neufchatel will work too....sigh...)
1/2 c heavy cream (no, light cream or half and half will NOT do)
1 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten (and for those who don't cook, eggs are always large unless specified otherwise)
1-2 t vanilla (if it's the cheap imitation stuff, use less, if it's the real thing, use more)
Prehead your oven to 325 degrees Farenheight. Let it get nice a cozy at this temp because it's going to be there a while.
Turn your springform pan upside down and lay a square of aluminum foil approx. 2" wider than the diameter of the pan on top. Press the extending foil down around the sides of the pan snugly. Why? This will save your oven in case of a leak (happens from time to time) and keeps the water out if you use a water bath. Think of it as protection.
Combine the melted butter, sugar and crumbs and toss lightly with a fork. Resist the temptation to add more butter...really....the crust does not need to stick together of it's own accord, the filling will work to bind it together (if you ignore this, be ready for the extra butter to leak out of your pan...see foil above). Press this into a springform pan. A false-bottom tart pan will work too, but springform is better.
Place SOFTENED (2 minutes at 50% power in a 1000 watt microwave does the trick for me) cream cheese into the bowl of a stand mixer. I suggest 4 qt minimum. If you must do this with a hand mixer, grad a friend because your going to need the extra hands for adding things. Beat the cream cheese until soft and creamy and completely smooth. Only at this point is it allowed to scrape the sides of the bowl but make sure you smooth out anything and everything scraped before proceeding.
Now this is a very important thing when making cheesecake: Once you add ANYTHING to the cream cheese you cannot put the mixer above Low Speed. The mixture must continue to move slowly around the bowl as each ingredient is incorporated. At this point there is no way to get out any lumps, bumps or unmixed portions on the sides: Let. It. Go.
Keeping in mind the above, set the mixer to low (on stand mixers this will be 1, not the stir speed that you use when trying to keep dry ingredients from becoming air-born) and pour in the cream. Once mixed pour in the sugar (this is why, if you're using a hand-mixer you need a friend to pour in the ingredients while you have one hand on the mixer and one hand steadying the bowl and total concentration on not scraping the sides). Once the sugar is incorporated, slowly add the eggs, then the vanilla.
Pout into the prepared pan. Do NOT scrape the last drop nto the pan, let only what gently flows out of the bowl into the pan otherwise you will have unsweetened clumps of cream cheese dotting your cheesecake that will make it wholly unpleasant.
If you want, you can use a water bath but I have no problem with cracking without it so it's entirely up to you. If you do want to, get a pan that is large enough to hold you springform pan with 1" all around or more, place your filled springform into this pan, and pour in hot water to about 1" up the sides of the springform (no, a cookie sheet will not work for this technique).
Place (carefully) into the oven and set your alarm for 2 hours away. (no, I'm not kidding, it really takes 2 hours to bake...do NOT increase the oven temperature in the hopes of getting it down more quickly, you will only succeed in burning your cheesecake's outside while the inside is a pile of mushy goo....still sweet and yummy....but not cooked.
Aftrer you remove it from the oven you are going to want to (okay, want is maybe not the right word....insert NEED TO) let it cool for a minimum on 1 hour. Do not put it in the refrigerator until it is close to room temperature to preserve the cheesecake's texture and your electricity bill.
Chilled cheesecake should be let to come up in temp a bit before slicing, but straight out of the fridge is good too...it's just messier to cut.
Enjoy!
Oh happy night, last night, with a multitude of projects going on. First I made the sign-in page for an Altered Book Round Robin I'm in, turned out pretty close to what I had in mind, then I painted this birdhouse I picked up at Micheal's with a green base coat, crackle medium, and an offwhite top coat. This will be varnished at some later point and then stamped as a demo for a future CTMH demo.
And then, while the coats of paint, etc were drying, I molded/sculpted 21 new knobs for the kitchen cabinets out of terra-cotta Sculpey. Turning my hands orange in the process (but it washed off easily). I have 18 different fuits/veggies hand-scupted in relief-style, and 6 "blanks" where I'll paint herbs on. After they bake I'll paint them all and lightly sand around the edges,distress them a bit, before I seal them, then epoxy them to bolts. This is one of the mail projects for the kitchen redecorating, along with the tiled backsplashes and counters. I took "before" pictures of the kitchen last night and, within a month or so I hope will have some awesome "after" pictures. Now to get the main site functional where it shows something lol
My most sincere apologies for my recent absence: Tuesday night while making dinner I managed to acheive 1st and 2nd degree burns on the tops of the four fingers of my right hand (the thumb escaped unscathed) and was incapacitated for a bit. The good news is that the burns have mostly healed (thanks to instructions by the on-call after-hours doctor) and I have full mobility. I attempted to go to work Wednesday planning to be able to at least proficiently type with my left alone but found that exhausting on a number of levels and gave up by lunch. The right hand still gets fatigued.
In other news Sara is blogging again!!! I, and many other, truly remorsed at the demise of the wedding that began Going Bridal and was happy to find, during a periodic check of the still-up site, that Sara's now Going Jesus. Go. Read. Now. She's great.
Oh happy day! V did not have to write me an FTP program after all, we found Smart FTP, it's free and I was actually able to use it (after some initial "getting used to" and now the crop cards are in the store! Still haven't changed the order form (DOH!) to reflect the changes, but now that I have an FTP client it'll be a breeze to get it there once I do!
In other news....well...do I have other news? Just working on the site design for scrapsoflife (there will eventually be more than just this weblog), trying to decide the tile design for the kitchen revamp, and waiting for my CTMH Consultant kit to come in!
Oh, go see Knitty! The summer issue makes me want to get my needles out and do....well, something! And speaking of needles, the Denise interchangable set just looks simply fabulous!!!
That I haven't been inclined to sit at my pomputer lately: when I do things go terribly terribly wrong!
Today was another misadventure in the realm of FTP.... Here I am trying to update the store with the new crop cards when my ws_ftp is expired, can't get a reinstall to work right, and something in my browser despises dreamhost's web upload feature. It took V and I half an hour to get past the page cannot be displayed page when I tried to go to the ftp page on my computer, yet his will do it in one second (once we got the spelling corrected on my password!). Then it comes to light that even if I can browse the directories on the web attempting to drag and drop only opens it from teh local folder, NOT from the web folder. Sigh....and it's been like this all week. I declare, with the week I've been having, somethings in retrograde or stars are misaligned or I've got gremlins with a personal vendetta against me!
I'm going shopping!
...my TOES! (Uh huh....just what were YOU thinking???)
Today was so icky and gray and drizzlie (especially after my trip to the grocery) that I decided I must have a bubble bath. I have yet to even come close to exhausting my supply of cucumber melon bubble bath, and even lit a few candles (like the bath needed to be any hotter). And, in the process, I managed to finish re-reading book 3 of Harry Potter, my favorite of the series so far. No to re-read Goblet of Fire before Order of the Phoenix comes out in just over 2 weeks!