From the allergist's office.

Today I went back to have a nice, long visit with Dr. A-.  It seems as though my bee sting from October 23, 2011 flared up when I smacked my shin on the step, it was healing and I itched it, causing the bee sting area to get big, red and welted. 

Y'all, it wasn't so pretty.

On Monday morning, I called the allergist's office to see if he had any available appointments.  He didn't have any, but they said that they would call if he added some to his schedule.  I told her that I would go ahead and make an appointment with Dr. W-, my family doctor.  An hour later, I got a call that there were free appointments and would I like to have one.

Yes, please.

I had to leave work for an hour and a half, but the time was more than well worth it.  Here's the scoop:

Dr. A- said that he was "stunned by the negative bee tests given [my] family history" and my reaction to the yellow jacket sting.  I said that I was rather surprised myself and it was a two-sided coin.  On one hand, I was relieved to have it come back negative.  On the other hand, I told him that I feared that it made me look like a fool.

He assured me that wasn't he case.

He went on to tell me that though I tested negative, he's having me come back in 6 months for a retest on the bee venom (skin only) and to continue with the remainder of the skin testing for general allergies.  Then, I was told the most interesting piece of information. 

He's not convinced that I'm not allergic to bees. 

Seems as though there is 3% of the bee allergic population that tests negative.  Though he has never had such a case in his office, he said that he certainly would not discount it.  Family history (Grandpa died as a result of bee stings) and my reaction are enough to keep me hauling the Epi.  He said that I should have one, especially if I go down south.  "Do you go golfing?"  "No, but we camp."  "Do you camp in cabins or in a camper?"  "No, we tent camp."  "Oh!  Hearty people!"  He asked where we go and I told him Hocking Hills and Ohiopyle were a few places, and those aren't particularly close to hospitals.  He reviewed my concerns, discussed my welted and discolored leg and has given me a delightful prescription for a cream to apply "one week on and one week off" as it can cause skin atrophy.

"I like my skin.  I'd rather not have atrophy."  He smirked.

He discussed that when I shave my legs, I want to make sure to use the cream 12 hours later.  "Dr. A-, it is the winter and women don't shave their legs much in the winter."  "I didn't really know that."  "Just take a poll.  Others will agree."  He couldn't help but to laugh. 

So, the wind-up is this.  I have this cream.  I'll use it as directed.  If the cream doesn't make the bee irritation bit go away, I'll need to go to Dr. W- and have him perform a "punch biopsy" to remove the core of the scar that I have.  Perhaps that is something in there that is causing an irritation and the punch biopsy would possibly take care of it.  Hey, it could be worse. 

What is truly delightful is that Dr. A- is extremely thorough.  He takes his time with you.  He was with me for about a half hour.  He didn't think that I was a nut case and completely understood my concerns.  Hooray for scoring yet another wonderful doctor!

On a somewhat related note, I took my cream prescription to the local grocery up the street.  I was able to speak with the pharmacist at length about my need to fire my pharmacy, my desire to switch over to them and how things will be filled through their pharmacy.  I explained what happened with the Lipitor and he explained that insurance companies will possibly not be honoring the name brand version anymore.  Generics have to be the same active ingredient as their name brand counterpart, but their filler components can be different.  I explained my concern about switching to generic from name branded Lipitor and he understood.  He told me that I would need to have the prescription written "dispense as written" and all would be well with the insurance companies.  He was a wonderful young man who really took his time with me.  I did find out that they only carry Allegra D OTC, so I'll have to have the prescription for that transferred over to another Giant Eagle, or just bite it and leave it there.  Argh.

Hooray for good medical people!  What a wonderful thing to be thankful for!

Have a great day!

Tales from the Trenches: So sad.

I read this article online.  It is so very sad that a young man strayed off the trail and fell to his death.  This is an absolutely beautiful park.  We've vacationed at Hocking Hills several times.  I can absolutely tell you that the area is well posted with this sign:

I remember what it was like to be in college and thinking that I was invincible.  Our prayers to this family.  What an incredible loss.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

". . . And a cartridge in a pear tree."

"Babe, it's partridge."

"Mom, it's cartridge.  Like DS!" 

So I sit here on Sunday night, tuckered out and somewhat accomplished.  Laundry is twirling and swooshing in machines, the kitchen counters have been found, cookies are mounded and awaiting tomorrow evenings divvying up, we've eaten, we've played and we've accomplished much.

Friday was dough day.  I was able to make up all the cookie doughs that I needed for cookie baking this year.  What did I make?  Well, let me make you a list:

Cherry Thumbprints
Oatmeal Craisin Cinnamon Chip
Lemon Chip
Peanut Butter
Ginger Kisses
Chocolate Chippety Chunk
Red Hot Sugar Cookies
Butter Crisp
Triple Chocolate Fudge Bars

Being in the rather chilly environment that we're in, I kept the doughs in the back of my car, as it was too much to fit in the fridge.  It was freezing out there and I had to leave the dough out for a while to make it pliable enough to even work with.  If it's cold, embrace it.  What else can you do?

K- and Hubs got onto cleaning K-'s play area in the basement.  We were trying to encourage her to donate items, but the child is rather sentimental about everything-- major awards, rocks from the driveway, paper dots she's punched from homework . . .  I remembered that Goodyear was having a Toys for Tots toy drive at the blimp hangar a bit down the road.  I told her that we would make the trek to the hangar and that she could donate her new items that she never played with to the Marines that were there.  That put a spring in her step, especially after I explained to her that her donations may be the only things a child receives for Christmas this year.  The hangar closed at 6 PM, but I left more than enough time for travel and any type of line.  I had travel time right.  What I didn't have right was the time the line would take.  Last year we went, and we drove right on in.  This year the wait was an hour and 45 minutes. 

No kidding.

Hubs wanted to bag on the trip, but I was determined to allow K- donate the toys that she gathered-- tonight.  I figured that her step to thinking of others would lose steam and possibly have her reconsider her donations.  We waited, listed to K- read, listened to the radio and finally, it was our time to go in.  I had K- keep the donations in the back seat with her and she was able to pass them onto the Marine through her window.  When we left, she asked, "Mom, did I do the right thing?"  "Yes, baby.  You did."  "You know at first, it was hard.  I didn't want to give that doll away.  I put more things into the bag and it became easier."  She had received two dolls from my aunt last year that were very similar.  She had opened one, but one she never got to.  Over the years, she had amassed so many craft kits that she just didn't get to all of them.  K- didn't complain about the line we sat in, but occasionally I'd hear her in the back seat say, "Dude!  Pay attention and move up!"  Gee, where does her back seat driverism come from? 

The unexpected hours that we logged away from the house completely put me behind on the remainder of the baking.  I left the thumbprints for last, because K- told me about how her thumb was the perfect size for holes.  By the time we ate the pizza that we picked up (dinner on the fly because of the line), we bathed and only had enough time to have her help me with two sheets of thumbprints before she went to bed.  She was good with it, though. 

We did Lowe's this weekend.  She built her coal car and next week will be the third part to her three part train.  We'll be taking her friend, Rebecca, along with us.  Rebecca doesn't get to go to K-'s girl birthday party because of a family Christmas celebration that came up, but we were more than happy to party with her early.  K- and Rebecca went to preschool together and Rebecca's mom, Kay, is one of my best friends.  Kay would have done the same thing for K-. 

:yawn:

Hubs' Christmas party was Saturday night.  Talk about a snoozer.  I was able to check out the miniature golf course that Hubs and his coworkers have been crafting this past year.  That was cool.  The rest of it was rather lame.  There was dinner, which was a lovely turkey and ham, but the rest was boxed sides and the most disgusting stuffing I've ever eaten in my entire life.  They had a dinner mystery theater theme to the evening.  After dinner, Hubs scooted me out so that I could jet back home to retrieve K- from the sitter.  He said that he knew that I was hitting my limit of actors milling around and yelling at us while we ate.  He said that the evening got no better. 

Church this morning was absolutely delightful.  Pastor Karen did a visualization with us about love.  It brings shivers to me just thinking about it.  One of the teachers at K-'s school busted down out of the choir and tracked us down to fill me in a bit more on Sunday School.  (I left her a note in her mailbox at school pleading for some guidance.)  We cruised on down, had 17 in Sunday School and our topic today was what gift we would give Christ for his birthday.  It is a current issue class, which is right up our alley, but we were feeling a little wonky about it.  Today, we had different people recognize us, make us feel at home and even Pastor Karen caught us at the top of the steps and said, "The L- family!"  She double checked on K-'s name pronunciation (often mispronounced, misspelled, never remembered and just generally butchered in a number of other ways that I may not have listed) to which Hubs replied, "You are one of the few people to get it right!"  (It's not a weird name, just a really old name that isn't very popular in the states.)  I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart to have people really reaching out to us today.  I had been struggling this last week.  I just hadn't felt at home with the grove of Sunday School and this past week made a complete turn.  Even Mrs. McC-, the one who dashed down from choir, told me at school this week that she looked to see if we were there at the choir cantata last week.  (I had the tea and explained that is why we didn't get to go.)  Hubs and I are feeling more and more at home at this new church.  It really warms my heart to be able to say that. 

Now if you'll pardon me, I do believe that I have an evening of slumber and some cartridges in a pear tree to dream about.

Have a wonderful day!

Toy and donation drive whoas.

Today ends our school Civic Drive.  The Civic Drive was for collecting "new or lightly used toys for children in need."  Allow me to inform all of you that most of what was donated, which was very little, was used.  We're talking extremely used.  There is a Doodle Bear, all doodled, not laundered and without the doodly pens.  The doodles?  Not so artful or purposeful.  Scribbles, really.  There is a stuffed Mickey Mouse that has met his fate with some type of cream colored latex house paint on several areas of his body.  There is a little bitty oven with stickers on it.  Barbie accessories with marker on them and missing parts.  We received all of three new things, at least in the batch that I saw.  (Not all have been collected yet, as I know what K- donated hadn't made it to the PTA room yet.)

Let me decode for the reading public-- "lightly used" doesn't mean whipped to no end.  "Lightly used" is the polite way for saying, "Basically new and out of the box."  Please consider who will be receiving this toy.  K- and I had a discussion about it.  I told her that the toys that are donated may very well be the only item that the child receives for Christmas and I certainly would hate to think that if we were in the same situation, my child's only Christmas gift would be something that Goodwill wouldn't consider selling. 

She gasped.  As well she should.

I have to consider the other side, too.  Perhaps all of you recall the story of K- and the used Christmas exchange book.  Maybe the kids were donating just something of theirs so that their name could be put in the drawing to win a skate ticket pack.  Perhaps the parents had nothing to do with it.  So often, parents know very little about what their children are doing at school.  (I have teachers who would back me up on that statement.) 

We're looking towards doing our annual canned food drive in March.  Last year, we had to toss nearly 80 expired items.  One item dated back to 1999.  On the collection notice that we send, we will be specifying that any expired items will not be counted toward the class total and we will be discarding them. 

Who would seriously want to eat a boxed meal item dating back 11 years?  Well, it could have been longer.  The expiration was back in 1999.  Goodness knows when the item was actually purchased!

Again, I think of the recipients.  For about a year, Hubs and I volunteered at the local homeless shelter.  We directly saw who received items/meals and interacted with them on a regular basis.  In fact, I ate with the ladies every Monday night.  (To earn their trust, I learned that declining a meal that I thought I shouldn't take from them was them viewing me as looking down upon them and thinking that they were icky, as opposed to my trying to conserve food for others.)  I've worked at the church food pantry.  I've picked up from the church food pantry for my brother on numerous occasions.  I've been in the thick of who receives such donations.  I couldn't ever hand potentially inedible items off to them-- ever.  Not to anyone. 

I hate that times that drives come up, people feel the need to donate the unwanted.  Isn't it when donating to church, it is to be the first fruits that you set aside for God?  Well, let's look at donations to the public in the same way.  Let us give them our first fruits and not the leftover table scraps that have been in the fridge for a week.

Giant Eagle Pharmacy-- You are fired.

I'm done.  I e-mailed them tonight on their 2000 character max customer contact page.  I'll follow-up with their response. 

I'm officially firing your pharmacy. In the last month and a half, I've either received partial rx that I've had to come back for remaining or tonight, a long term rx that I've been on and have only filled through you was switched to generic w/a higher co-pay. Rx #62----9 was a partial fill with 10 pills, having me come back in 2 days for the remainder. Less than a month later, my daughter's antibiotic (rx 62----8) was confirmed to be filled 3x by rx tech by phone. "We just need to mix it when you get here." When I arrived, we found that the rx was only 1/2 filled, requiring me to come back the day after Thanksgiving for the remainder. When I was irritated and I admit that while I didn't scream or yell, the staff did completely get that I was irritated, I was told by the young man behind the counter, "Well, Ma'am, it IS flu season." Yes it is. You need to be more prepared and order more. A little more kindness would have been appreciated, but I admit that I was ticked, so I wasn't the happiest either. I also admit that the tech was shocked by my suggestion to give 1/2 copay for 1/2 meds. Of course, that doesn't happen. Fast forward to today. I re-filled my monthly rx (rx 62----3), went to pick it up to find that what had always been name brand had been switched (company policy perhaps) to generic and the co-pay was actually $20. and not $10. as it was with name brand. Since I had a Lipitor copay voucher, the tech said, "Well, it is filled generic, if you want, I can have it filled name brand but it'll be 10 minutes." Why would the filling of a 2 1/2 year old + rx be now switched to generic when last month it was name brand, as every other month? I chose to wait the 10 additional minutes for the rx that I should have had.

With this, I'm transferring my rx to a different pharmacy and officially fire you. Perhaps when you put customers out and require add'l trips, you could accommodate them for inability to deliver goods. That would be good customer service.

They've irritated me for the very last time.  I shouldn't have to continue to go back and forth for remainder of meds undelivered.  I should also have my rx filled as it was filled and if it is to change to generic, I should be given the option, not just be something chosen for me. 

Thoughts?  Pharmacy irritations?  Are you a pharmacist or a tech that would love to chew me out?  Go for it.  Be polite, though.

Tales from the Trenches: How does that stuff get in there?

My computer is flashing that I have some root kit with possible malware and RRRR!  I just spent the last hour and a half running a boot time scan and deleting the win32:julkpoly bit from my computer's interiors.  Avast!, you suck right now.

I'm so tired.

 I had the Ladies Christmas Tea today.  I would show you photos, but I forgot to take them.  I do know plenty of others did, so that'll probably make up for it.  I just got too wrapped up in hosting the shin dig to take photos of the shin dig.  Final word is that everyone liked it better at our house vs. the church and they would like an invite for next year. 

We finished painting in the kitchen.  We have a border, chair rail and photos to hang, but I'm not to highly pressed to do that right at this very second.  We'll do the back splash in the new year.  I also want to paint the table legs and bits of the chairs that are green and need to be chocolate cherry.  Rome wasn't built in a day or year and a half, you know.

Hubs and K- kicked in major on helping with the tea party prep.  They even freed the refrigerator from the confines of years of memories.  We have a freezer door of magnets, K-'s Honor Roll and report card bits are on the side of the fridge, but it is otherwise empty. 

Amazing.

I scrubbed and cleaned parts of the bathroom that needed some extra tending.  I wiped upper parts of walls and gave a good spring cleaning on an otherwise wintry date.

Speaking of, I have some windows open and it is December 4.  It's 8:54 PM.  It says that it is 48 F out, but seriously our home is nice and toasty.  Fresh air, fresh air!

I have to comment that in the midst of writing this, I got distracted, then watched some TV and fell asleep sitting up on the bed at 7:45 PM.  I had been up until about 1:30 AM doing things, probably until about 2 AM because I just didn't fall right to sleep and was back up at 6:15 AM with K- snuggling in on the end of the couch, wanting to turn the TV on.  (Not 'til 7 AM, thankyouverymuch.) 

I end this post by being thankful to Hubs and K- for digging in and working all together as a family on hauling, painting, organizing, doing and preparing our home for a month of festivities.  My sister was the people hauler, bringing Aunt Donna in tow.  It was a particularly important day for Aunt Donna, as today was the one year anniversary of my Grandmother's death.  She really needed not to be hanging at home on her own.  The ladies all brought desserts to share, loved the chicken corn chowder, rolls and salad bar that I provided.  LeAnne got in there and was a food flinger with me. 

All went well.  Now if you'll pardon me, I need to have a date with my pillow.

Smiles in my weekend:
-  The kitchen.  I'm not embarrassed of it anymore!  The ladies loved the colors, too. 
-  I think that I've decided that our bathroom will be a nice sea aqua slightly greenish color.  Now, to find the right chip.
-  When Hubs ran clear away from today's tea party, he went to a music resale store and found me another copy of Ben Folds and WASO Live in Perth.  I loaned my copy to a friend's husband.  They are separated now, she knows nothing about the DVD, he never returned it and I loved it.  I will never loan him anything ever again.

Have a great day!