What's Happening

Ok, so I am about a month overdue for a major update on everything that's been going on with me. Our one "real" computer in the house, a little netbook, hasn't had a working screen in almost two years, so when I need to sit down and really blog, I have to make the time to turn it on, plug in the special cord that Hubs rigged up to connect the netbook to the TV, and get a chair over to the spot, hunker down and start typing. And then more recently our little netbook does this really charming thing of shutting off, completely randomly, either while paying a bill, writing a blog post, or worst of all - livestreaming church! Oh well, we make do. I am going to type as much as I can while old Trusty (or Not-so-Trusty) is running, and see how far I get :)

So. I have been out of the hospital for about six weeks, I think, and it has been AMAZING! The weather in Seattle has been out of this world beautiful, and I've been able to catch up on things at home that have been neglected for the past ten months as I was just struggling to stay alive and functioning in the very basic human mode. The other day I finally (as in, a year later) organized the big cabinet we put on the bathroom wall, cleaned it out of everything that had piled up over the year - wax ring for installing a toilet, anyone? - and got all of our bath towels put in the there.

Wow, that felt good to finally accomplish! When everything unnecessary and unused is OUT of a space, and it just has what we use and need, I feel so much better. So yay me, for slowly but surely working on things and getting to enjoy being a wife, mom, and domestic diva a bit again :)

Another accomplishment was finally putting tile backsplashes up in our kitchen, oh, three years after the remodel too place? Again, what a feeling of accomplishment, and security that no water from the sink or grease from the stove will be splashing onto the drywall (which is, yes, still unpainted) and causing issues down the road). I'm so thankful for the great deal on tile that we got, it was just what we wanted and works great in the room. We repurposed shelving from another area in the house, and I've got my open shelving wall and tile. It's looking pretty cute!

One bummer we found out is that there is mold under the wall surfaces in our coat closet, and so alas, ANOTHER remodel looms. It will be the last one, it is the closet in our living room, which is our one remaining room with old plaster walls and no insulation. But finding the time and resources to do that, in an already busy and balancing act of life, is a challenge. Good thing Hubs is always up for a challenge - by fall, we will get it done I think, and be much healthier and cozier this coming winter! 
In the meantime, I have boxes of my crafts supplies, fabric stash, glassware, birthday party supplies - you name it, sitting in my living room, waiting for a finished closet to be put into. Character building, I say ;)

So, moving on from house to health - here's what's been happening:

Going with the most recent events, I am on Prednisone right now in case of liver rejection.
My LFTs (liver function tests - ALT, AST, Alkaline Phos, Bilirubin) have been elevated pretty consistently for a couple months, actually since switching from Tacrolimus to Cyclosporine as my anti rejection med. My doctor is very calm about it, which I really appreciate and need, and isn't panicking, but started me on Prednisone a couple weeks ago and we are going to recheck my labs tomorrow (Wednesday). If numbers aren't improved, I have to go in for a liver biopsy. They will want to check for rejection, as well as any issues like infections and what not. It occurs to me that after so many blood transfusions this year, they will look for hepatitis as well. It will all work out!
Interestingly enough, the reason they can do a liver biopsy without the risks of bleeding is that...

ITP seems to be in total remission!!! GOD IS GOOD!!! My platelets have been steadily climbing since I left the hospital in mid June, and that has been an absolute encouragement. It is so fantastic to get a call from my hematologist or go online to check my results, and find that the platelet number is higher and higher every time. What a gift after such a crazy year of scary-low critical platelets! Most recenty, last Monday, my platelets were at 149,000. The range they call "normal" is 150,000-400,000, so WOW, I was just one point away :)

In light of the elevated LFTs, I went in for an MRI/MRCP earlier this month. They were checking to make sure I did not have any strictures in my bile ducts, as when you have PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) liver disease, those can become a problem, and cause back ups and pain, cholangitis infections, and elevated numbers. I refuse to accept that PSC is back in my new liver, despite what the reports may have shown over the past couple years. I believe God healed me with my transplant, and I am sticking with that. And awesome as He is, God gave us a great report on the MRI! No strictures, and actually improved liver tissue in an area that radiology report eighteen months ago said was looking not so good.
Awesome, right?! :)

Finally, the other health event I had was my annual colonoscopy. Woo, party time! (Haha!) 

colonoscopy prep solution

With all of the colitis problems this year, the major bleeding coming from my colon and just being exacerbated by the ITP low platelets, my gastroenterologist and I came up with a plan to start talking about colon removal. The first step in the plan was to even accept the idea. Talking about a simple tiny biopsy and colonoscopy, let alone complete removel of my colon, is very serious when my platelets were as low as they were (8-10,000, consistently). It is much more than an issue of surgery, as there's talk of hemorrhage risk, and also they said I must do the surgery at a liver transplant center, because there is a risk of liver failure when doing abdominal surgery when liver scarring or cirrhosis is evident (so 'they' say). As you can imagine, becoming comfortable even talking about a decision that major was a big deal. That alone took me a few weeks.
Then I started doing research, asking questions, and had an interview with my doc and asked all sorts of things about colectomy, ostomy bags, and so on. If I am not completely healed of colitis, a surgery and ostomy looks like it is in my future. That was another big mental thing to get a grasp of, and took a bit of time.

Snuggles with my girl while waiting for my doctor

My smarty girl, checking me out after she saw my doctor do the same thing :)

The most recent step was to have my colonoscopy, so they have a current picture of what my guts look like to give to the surgeon if we continue going down that surgery road. This wasn't even an option for most of the year, because of such low platelets. But my platelets started improving and we scheduled the procedure, and the day before I went in to get my numbers checked. They were planning to give me a platelet infusion during the procedure, to prevent any bleeding issues, and only take a couple biopsies. Well, my platelets came back so good, I didn't need any infusion and they got to take more biopsies, which is always good for monitoring sake. Woohoo!

Kind of grossing me out, I had a number of polyps in my gut. I've never had that before, even having colitis for nearly 20 years. But they were all biopsied, along with a bunch of other spots of gut tissue - and everything came back clear, no malignancies, no dysplasia! Yeah Jesus! :)
Also, the report, similar to my Liver MRI, came back showing that my guts look better than the last scan, in two areas. There is definitely colitis activity and my transverse (across the top of my abdomen) colon looked worse, but the ascending and descending colon areas are improved. So, hurray for that!

Thankfully, things have been pretty quiet with colitis and ITP these past six weeks. I am so grateful for that! Not having to worry about bleeding and transfusions and going back to Critical Care or riding in an ambulance... phew! Thank You Jesus!
What a gift it has been to be at home, at church, and around our city with my sweet family and incredible friends, just enjoying the summer weather and all that is good in my life. WHAT a gift.

We may live in the 'hood, but our summer sunset views are million dollar :)

Pray with me in agreement for a great report on my LFTs and platelets tomorrow! Once my numbers are stabilized, I get to taper off the Prednisone, which is always a good thing. Last night my knees and belly were super swollen from the side effects. Pred is a great drug in the short term, but so many icky side effects when you have to be on it for a while. Speaking of which, is why I am up before dawn today. (Insomnia is another lovely side effect.) Thankfully in the summer, being up this early, it gets light out early, and I have always loved watching the sun come up. One reason I really loved being on crew in college :)

Today is a new day, full of new gifts, opportunities, and potential! Seize the day - look UP and around at all you have been given - life is good! Xo!

"So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective."
-Colossians 3, MSG

Crock Pot [keepin' the kitchen cool!] GLUTEN FREE Banana Bread

Wow, what a ride it has been these past ten months. There is much to update, so much I want to share that I've been unsure of even where to start. This post will break my writer's block/overload, perhaps, since it's just for fun! :)
The one health update I'll share today is that I am thrilled to report, my platelet count has been steadily climbing since I left the hospital in June! Yesterday it came back one point below NORMAL range!  God is healing me thru and thru!

So onto the banana bread fun!
I discovered this idea when we had a major heat wave the weekend of Mother's Day, and I wanted to make quick bread for the brunch, but did NOT want my kitchen to get any hotter than it already was!
Enter my favorite kitchen appliance: the crock pot! This recipe as my inspiration,
I made some modifications and voila, Banana bread in under three hours with no extra mercury rising in the house.

What you need:
1 3/4 cup Trader Joe's Gluten Free flour blend
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup coconut sugar (check out Madhava brand Organic Coconut Sugar thru Subscribe & Save on Amazon!)
1/3 cup organic butter or coconut oil
2 cage free eggs, beaten
2 ripe, medium to large size bananas (or 3 small), mashed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (I use Trader Joe's Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract),
1/2 cup frozen organic blueberries

What you do:
Grease the crock of a 3 (ish) quart slow cooker with butter or coconut oil. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together all dry ingredients except sugar (flour, gum, soda, powder, salt).

In another bowl, cream together butter (or coconut oil) with coconut sugar until blended. Gently mix in beaten eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla.
Add in the dry ingredients slowly, blending well with a whisk.
Stir in the blueberries (no thawing needed).

Pour batter into pregreased crock, smoothing the top with spatula. Cover and set to High. Walk away - you're basically done! :)

Check the bread with a toothpick after 2 hours. It will be done between two and three hours. (Slow cooker power levels vary by brand.)

When bread is done, toothpick should come out clean, but bread will be moist and oil sizzling on the edges. Remove lid and let cool/set up for five minutes. Cut into pieces and scoop out of crock, or turn out the whole loaf onto a plate and cut to serve
Enjoy!

*Sometimes it is recommended to prop open the lid with a wooden spoon when baking in crock pots. I've never done this, but know it's an option if bread is too moist/not setting up.

Update: This recipe is even more fool proof than I thought! I ran out of Gf flour blend but had ripe bananas to use, so I thought I woukd experiment.

I used 1 cup brown rice flour and 3/4 cup teff flour. I was much more lax with the mixing too, I just combined all the wet ingreds together, added the dry, and put in the crock. This time I set the slow cooker on Low and let it go 4 hours. It turned out great - moist and delicious again! it was just slightly darker in color because of the teff flour.

so there you go, this recipe is even more versatile tban we knew!

If you make any changes be sure and comment to share your experience :)

Cinco de Mayo XII

Well, I skipped Day Five of the BEDIM, and for good reason. Yesterday was the twelve year anniversary of my liver transplant.
It was a dream of a day. Woke up to blue skies and seventy degrees before noon, got to spend the morning at my amazing church for one of the greatest services of the year, our annual Liberty Offering. Then in the afternoon it was home with my family, BBQ steaks, homemade salsa and salad, lemonade, gluten free cake and brownies. My  big bro was in town which made the day even more special.

Then I was surprised with cards and gifts- I was not expecting anything! My hubby really got me good, he brought out a wrapped box which I opened and it was A PEARL NECKLACE! I had made a little comment a while back about wanting real pearls some day, and I would love to have them to mark our vow renewal in July. Well, now I have them! Wow!!

Hubs took this photo of me wearing my new pearls:

It was a great surprise and very special, memorable day. We wrapped it up by watching a brilliant sunset from the deck. I'm convinced that as tiny and humble our home is, we are on one of the best view lots in our city. I can't wait for summer and all the gorgeous sunsets to come!

If you are not registered as an organ donor, please consider it. One donor can save or improve the lives of over 50 people! Less than 1 percent of registered donors ever get the opportunity to donate. And as of ten minutes ago, 118,019 people are on the waiting list for a life saving organ transplant. Consider the gift of life.

(Source: unos.org)

Summer Update

So, I've been neglecting the blog lately, because summer in the Pacific Northwest is the most glorious time and place on earth! We have been extra blessed this summer to have sunny weather and temperatures in the 80's more days now than I can count. We had a real heat wave last week and it nearly hit 100! Can I just say, God bless the brilliant individual that invented Air Conditioning? ;)

This will be an update brought to you by a bunch of photos; a little sneak peek into some of our summer activities and accomplishments.

1) To start off, I don't have a photo for this, but by far the biggest accomplishment around our home is that we now have a TODDLER! And she is just eight days away from turning one years old! Time flies far too fast as a mom, but how incredibly wonderful the time has been! :)

2) Bargain treasure hunting...

I have totally scored this summer when it comes to secondhand and clearance rack bargains! I've been frequenting the thrift stores when us gals need to get out of the house for a bit, and we've found some great things. A few of them that I can remember right now:

• A huge bag of Mega Bloks for a buck - I soaked them in warm water and bleach in the sink, ran them through the dishwasher, and they are good as new!
• A bunch of items - some thrifted, some clearance at JoAnn Fabrics and Michael's stores - for Victory's garden birthday party. I am SO excited to decorate with all the goodies I've been stashing away. More photos of those to come, after the party.
• My best find, I think, was a "garden arch" - really a simple arbor - which is something I've been wanting all summer. I found one in a box on the bottom shelf at Goodwill over the weekend - for eight bucks!!! Hubs and I put it together and it is in our yard awaiting the party. I am always reminded of how God cares even for our little wish lists, because it's so evident when I find treasures like that!
• Perhaps my most unique find was this totally awesome retro clock. It was 3.99, and I had a $3 off $10 purchase coupon for making a donation to the store, so since I spent $10 on more "necessary" items, I consider this a freebie! ;)

Another great score was ten organic herb plants from Home Depot, on clearance for 75 cents a pot! One of the lavender plants fit perfectly into this hand painted clay pot - also from the thrift store, for $1!
(From the way I describe it, you'd think I go shopping every day. Actually, I've only been to the store about ten times this whole summer!)

3) Gardening

It is official. I have caught the gardening bug!


Hubs and I have said for four years that we wanted to garden, but we were always so busy throughout the past four years in our home remodeling moldy walls and fixing rotten floors... well this year we finally followed through! Hubs was given free wood at work, as well as our neighbor gave us a bunch of wood. My amazing handy man built six raised beds for me, and I went to town! (I have definitely caught the 'gardening bug!')

This is my cart after discovering the clearance and end-of-season mark down racks at Home Depot...

Some early goodies from my winter squash vines, and a zucchini we let go too long!

We are growing many different things. Lettuce - red leaf and butter; Brussels sprouts; broccoli; zucchini; tomatoes (three types - Roma, Early Girl and Big Beef); three types of peppers - Jalapeno, Green bell, and orange bell... oh I can't even remember everything. All that matters is that everything is thriving and we have or are going to have tons of produce to enjoy and give away!

I found some great pots on clearance at Rite Aid last month, and filled them with flowers. This is my hardy Gerbera daisy from last spring - remember when I bought it? I never covered it with mulch for the winter, and I thought the late ice storm we had surely killed it. But it returned!

Tip from a Home Depot nursery employee: plant marigolds in the corners of your raised beds, and the slugs will go munch on those and leave your veggies alone.

Here is our first red tomato - a "big beef ." And there are about thirty green ones, plus all the tomatoes on the Roma and Early Girl plants. Yikes, I wish I could have nightshades! Fresh salsa from your own tomatoes must taste amazing!
Our neighbors will be benefiting from our surplus :)

Can you see the teeny tiny sprouts in the base of each leaf? The cabbage moths have been loving the leaves but I'm hoping we still get a good crop in the fall. We LOVE our Brussels sprouts around here!

I just love this plant, called "Mossflower." I don't know of any other flower plants that have multiple colored blooms on the same plant! It's amazing! I bought four or five of them, because they were so pretty and I could tell they had potential. Well they did, they have grown twice their size in just a few weeks, and hang over their baskets beautifully!

Pink and green zinnias, cream colored Marigolds...

More Zinnias and Marigolds 

Butter lettuce! We've been snipping off leaves for two months to eat, and it just keeps coming back. Awesome!

I couldn't resist this Dahlia plant when it was on sale for $5 - and now it is HUGE!  Dahlia  flowers are just beautiful

4) Crafty stuff!

I made this for the Fourth of July. It was fun, I sat down with fabric scissors, three quilting fat quarters (red, white, and blue patterns) and a wicker wreath from the dollar store. One movie later, I had a wreath. It felt a bit sparse to me, and I had a lot of leftover fabric strips, so I got another, smaller wreath and tied fabric to that one and connected the two wreaths together with twine. Super easy and cheap to make, and you can do these in any color for any occasion!
Original inspiration from Woman's Day magazine

I've also been using my crafty skills to do a lot of things for Victory's upcoming birthday party...

 6) Birthday party planning!

Hubs and I talked for a few months about our sweet girl's first birthday party. We finally decided on having it at home and making it a "garden party," because this has been our year to finally start investing time and resources into our yard. So why not host a celebration there and really enjoy it! I also like that the money we've spent on potted plants, flowers and garden beds and windchimes and more, is not 'birthday themed,' but they will be party decorations and then just staples in our yard each summer. Double purpose but only a one-time purchase - it's a win-win!

This is a bean bag toss target that a friend and I painted. It is two pieces of foam core board from the dollar store, staple-gun stapled to a wooden frame that used to be part of a shelf in our bathroom.
At the bottom of the photo are bean bags I sewed from leftover nursery fabric. Easy tutorial found here

Pinwheels! I was inspired earlier this summer by a Martha Stewart craft tutorial, and then this garden party blog post, so I have been making them in my free evening time. I've got some little ones, and some huge ones!

8) Home improvements, in particular:

Finishing the bathroom remodel we started in May 2011!

Just a snapshot of the prettiest part of our new bathroom - mosiac glass tile. It cost just $14 total!
Right under that is a wall-mount sink from IKEA. Cost? Just 30 bucks!

Hubs has done an amazing job. It has taken much longer than we'd have liked, but we are so close to being done (just cosmetic stuff left - drywall sanding, painting, staining trim). Can I just say, my husband is amazing! He is working so hard and has so much on his plate, and never complains! Thank you for your great attitude and leadership, Babe!

Hubs has also been very busy building a deck around our house, so our little champ can play outside even when the lawn is sopping wet this winter! It is taking shape and I am so excited to get out there and start decorating it with thrifted, made-over outdoor furniture and accessories!



...Well, that's a little bit of what we've been up to. The highlights! What special things have you done this summer??