Monday, February 16, 2015

HAPPY HOMEMAKER & MENU PLAN MONDAY

It's another Monday... you know what that means. It's time to link up with Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at home mom and Laurie at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Happy Homemaker and Menu Plan Monday.

I had a good Valentine's weekend.  We stayed home and BBQed Steaks with baked potatoes and hubby's favorite for dessert - cheesecake! Plus NASCAR started on Saturday!

Thanks go to my wonderful physical therapist who is treating the "whole" person and not just my knee.  She is very surprised that not 1 doctor put me through physical therapy after any of the 5 major surgeries I had in 2 years that zapped my strength and muscle tone and is not surprised by how weak I have been, but is happy with the path I'm on to become "whole" again! I've also started a new vitamin regime and have a lot of new found energy so this post is a little fuller than normal!

BREAKFAST AS I WRITE:

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE
THIS MORNING:
A little overcast, but with the supposed promise of sunny skies by lunch.  The nights have been clear and downright cold though making it cold and flu season with a hint of ear infection!! Very misleading as it is only sunny and somewhat nice for about 4 hours and then it's bone chilling damp cold and miserable again.

FOR THE WEEK:
Pretty much the same, but less and less promise of sun and more and more promise of dreary skies as the week progresses.

TO DO LIST
TODAY:
  • Physical therapy
  • Dog grooming
THIS WEEK:
  • Laundry
  • Cleaning
  • Paperwork up the ying yang
CURRENTLY READING
TELEVISION & DVR

A couple of new or returning shows start this week,
  • Perception
  • Rizzoli & Isles
  • The Odd Couple remake
  • Vikings on the history channel (hubby has a thing for Norway)
but I'm still working off the DVR from last week.
  • Castle
  • Scandal
  • State of Affairs
  • Justified
  • Sleepy Hollow
PLAY TIME (If I can find any)

I built a new framework for my weekly menu and recipe links.  It is still not exactly what I'm looking for, but I'll keep working on it. I also changed up last week's menu and made quite a few experimental recipes and was quite happy with the results.  Recipe links below.

 Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

BREAKFAST
DINNER
DESSERT
MONDAY
Onion & cheese eggs with Toast
C.O.R.N.

TUESDAY
Bagel & cream cheese

WEDNESDAY
Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola
Y.O.Y.O.

THURSDAY
Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola

FRIDAY
Yogurt with Blueberries & Granola

SATURDAY
SUNDAY


LAST WEEK'S RECIPE LINKS
NEW RECIPES I FOUND THIS WEEK TO TRY IN THE NEAR FUTURE
  • Pineapple Skirt Steak
  • Ham & Asparagus Stuffed Chicken
  • Country French Chicken and Rice
  • Chunky Beef Ragu
MY FAVORITE PHOTO FROM LAST WEEK

It is a very strange winter, definitely the kind where you are always fighting a cold. Warm then cold...  dry then VERY wet... rain, but no snow pack... Early bulbs that then freeze and strange fungal growths on tree roots.

BLOGS TO CHECK OUT

I keep looking for new and inspiring blogs, but honestly so many have huge ad sections or pop ups nowadays that just annoy me!

HOMEMAKING TIP

One of the worst things is reaching for an onion or potato to find that they have rotted. And a lot of people don't know not to store them together.  I've always used baskets, but they can become cumbersome and messy. I found these bags at Lakeside collection and they are a big help at keeping things fresh, organized, clean and they are color coded too.  All the onion skins and eyes end up in the bags instead of the shelves.  They were relatively inexpensive too.

ON MY MIND LATELY

If the people who walk the aisles of the local grocery store and walmart drove their cars the same way they drive their shopping carts there would be an accident every 10 feet and you couldn't drive down the street.

PRAYING FOR & INSPIRATION

I'm praying for the courage and strength to deal with the VA (AGAIN) while we continue through this process.
I also pray for forgiveness for everything I called the "WITCH" from my primary care doctor's office last week.

I LOVE my primary care doctor.  She unfortunately works for a University system that has taken on the practice that there is NO need for actual nurses or professionals in the office and they staff with untrained or at least not well trained and uncaring people who have the compassion, understanding and follow through of a gnat.  They also use a voicemail system that allows them to ignore, avoid (you choose) calls.  I have pages and pages of documented calls that only reached voicemail that have YET to be answered by them.  Recently I had to resort to a certified letter to get a referral placed 3 months after the doctor originally requested it.

And that wasn't the first time a referral fell through the system.  The first time they kept faxing to the WRONG insurance company - a company I have never been affiliated with and I only know this thanks to a front office girl telling me.  Obviously she will remain nameless to protect her.  By the time the referral went through 2 months later, the specialist was no longer accepting my insurance and I had to start the process over.  In all from the time the first referral was requested to me actually being seen by a specialist and then having to start over again 3 months had passed.

This time I have had to cancel and reschedule with a specialist twice and this 3rd referral was extremely time sensitive!  Their inability to perform even simple functions has not only ticked me off and forced me to make dozens of unnecessary calls to follow up (basically doing their job for them), rearrange my schedule not once, but twice and not only inconvenienced me, but also the specialist's office staff and patients.

Don't get me wrong - it's not that she didn't deserve EVERY single word as do the worthless office staff she works with, just that I shouldn't have said it all.

6 comments:

  1. Prayers for all your frustrations with the VA medical system! Hope it gets worked out soon.

    So happy to hear you're getting your therapy in now and getting yourself on a healthier path! Good for you - and I just believe it's so up to us to advocate for ourselves and our health care. Our health care system needs a lot of work so it really is up to us to take matters in our own hands at time to be sure we're getting the care we need.

    Wishing you a wonderful week Tamy!

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    1. Thanks Carrie - prayers always welcome when dealing with the VA! I've always been a good advocate, but with our current system of care even the best advocate gets frustrated with red tape!!!!

      I hope you have a great week too.

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  2. Sounds like you've had a rather frustrating time. I hope things get figured out and you find some caring and compassionate help very soon. I chuckled at the shopping cart rant...I completely agree! Your weather sounds similar to ours.

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    1. Thanks. LOL I saw that shopping cart piece on facebook and had to share! I hope you have a great week.

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  3. That's a great tip about onions. I should check out those bags as I tend to buy my fruits and veggies in bulk.

    We had steak for dinner on Valentine's Day too. It was nice having him home to grill since he does a MUCH better job than me. ;)

    Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks LOL that's what I thought as hubby was standing out in the cold grilling (chuckle). The steaks from our local butcher melt in your mouth. I'm still eating on it at lunch today and tomorrow. :).

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