Thursday, September 22, 2011

Today.

Today I go to Greenville for a doctor’s appointment, an appointment unrelated to my breast cancer journey of the last eighteen months.  Today I will be revisiting my other health concern: COPD. 

Although come to think of it, it seems as though the two conditions have become somewhat interrelated because ever since last summer’s three cancer surgeries, I have definitely lost lung capacity.  Before cancer, I could blow a 350 on my peak flow meter but since the surgeries, I have to work really hard to even get up to 300.   (Normal for a woman my age is about 600.)

I haven’t been to a pulmonologist in a year and a half so today they will run the full battery of pulmonary function tests before I meet with the pulmonologist to go over the results.  And frankly? I’m a bit worried about what I might hear. 

So.  That’s what’s going on.

A scary day of sorts, but on the bright side, any trip to Greenville also includes the thrift store/Chick-Fil-A stops so the day won’t be a complete wash; I firmly believe that any day that includes a thrift store is a good day indeed!

Last week, Mr. Nikon and I took a little jaunt to the downtown water front area right about dusk. Despite being almost carried away by flocks—not swarms--of mosquitos, it was a relaxing evening of picture capturing.

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And one last thing before I go.  .  .

I promise I won’t mention this frequently, but a short ways down the right column of the blog is a little box called BlogHer Store.  (You can use the scroll bar on the right to see all the items.)   Every day, they feature nifty, top rated kitchen items, complete with insightful reviews from users.    I have an advertising agreement with BlogHer and receive 10% from any purchases made there.

As much as I would love to take the proceeds and put them straight into the Becky Smith Thrift Store Fund, I’m afraid that instead they have to go into the (boring but necessary) places like Pay the Doctor and Pay Nathan’s College Bills funds.

Here’s a sample of what you’ll find over there and may I just say that I am almost tempted to get this handy dandy item myself.  I get slightly stressed  when I make pasta because it turns out differently every time and I’m never quite sure how much water/pasta/salt/oil to use.  This seems to take the guesswork out of all of that—plus it’s for the microwave and it’s fast!

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Fasta Pasta Pasta Cooker:


No waiting for a big pot of water to boil. Cook pasta to al dente perfection in the microwave! Saves time, energy and water. Use with spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, lasagna noodles, rotini and more! Features water level guides on the container which indicate the exact amount of water to add. There are measuring holes in the lid, to precisely determine exact serving sizes therefore eliminating guessing and unused pasta. The lid also functions as a colander for straining.


Conventional stove-top cooking requires approximately 20 minutes to boil water and approximately 10 minutes to cook pasta while stirring, sampling and stirring to determine when it’s done. Fasta Pasta™ cooks pasta in 15 minutes or less, depending on serving size, without cook intervention to stir, sample and stir. Fasta Pasta™ is great for making pasta salads, spaghetti, linguini, lasagna noodles, a variety of vegetables and more. Fast Pasta has also tested non-starch based pastas (soy) and they cook perfectly in Fasta Pasta™. Because the cooker’s environment is “engineered” it’s very precise and perfect for cooking soy, rice, corn, and wheat based pastas.

4 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Lisa said...

Praying for you beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Praying for a great report; God is not surprised, but may He surprise you in a good way! Love the photos; you have such an incredible eye, and I have to wrestle with jealousy when I look at your shots. You really need to look into some of the photo contests that are out there; some of them carry decent monetary prizes! And I am in the process of ordering the Fasta Pasta cooker right now; that is something I can really use! (great price, too...)

MaryH said...

Praying for you and hoping for good results at the doctor and the thrift store. Also, too busy to comment yesterday but I LOVED the Wedding Wednesdays - more, please! And, I will be checking out the Fasta Pasta item - great idea. Take care, Becky - your photos are, as usual, stunning.

Anonymous said...

Hi Becky,

Hope your day went well and that you heard some good news from the doctor. And , I am really enjoying the beautiful pictures from the wedding! It looks like it was a wonderful day. Great shots of yours in this post, too!

Best,

Debbie H. in Sacramento