Friday Five

Five things I bookmarked this week, all food, of course!

We love risotto and I love that Drew likes to be the one who makes it! We always have a lot of leftovers so this recipe for Risotto Cakes will be perfect! It might actually be something we make this weekend.

Two dips from Brown Eye Baker. Sausage Dip that I will be making Sunday for the Super Bowl, and Seven Layer Dip. Mmmm...dips....would it be bad to have dips for dinner?

No Bake Almond Butter Balls sound deliciously healthy! At least compared to those previously mentioned dips!

I need to starting thinking about finger foods for the baby shower in a few weeks. These Chicken Salad Bites caught my eye!

good days and bad days

Monday was a bad day.
Sometimes I start thinking about how I will never be "fixed". That this is what I have to live with the rest of my life, and I really hate it. This leads to thinking about having kids and do I really want to risk putting my children through this. No, I don't. But I've always wanted kids. So, if I do have kids does that make me selfish? Will they hate me?
I'm almost to the point where I'd be okay making the decision to not have kids. Almost. I really try not to think about it too much. But, I'm co-hosting a baby shower for a good friend later this month and I made the invitations. That's why I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Plus, I have 3 other good friends that are pregnant. And then there are all those cute pictures of new babies on several blogs I read. So, it's something I can't really avoid, and I don't want to. I just try to remember that the good days out number the bad and that tomorrow will be a good day!

Friday Five

I cooked a lot of yummy things this week and had I taken pictures I would tell you about them! Instead, here are five food related things I book marked this week. If I wasn't going out of town this weekend you would be able to find me in the kitchen!

With the Super Bowl being next weekend I need something to make for the game. Joelen has a good list of Tasty Touchdown Snacks. Now, which one to try?

I'm a sucker for Peanut Butter Pie, add a brownie and I'm sold!

Bacon, cream cheese, jalapenos? Yes, please!

I've always wanted to make the Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls. Now that someone has figured out the quantities for a small batch, I'm going to do just that!

I need to make a trip to Bed, Bath, & Beyond so I've added ramekins to my list so I can make this French Onion Soup.

MY MS, part 2

Thank you for your comments on part 1! I think part 2 should answer some of your questions!
So...my neurologist gave me a 3 day high dose steroid and then put me on a treatment plan where I give myself a shot every other day. We like to refer to this shot as brain juice! The treatment/medication website gives a good explanation of what MS is (which I copied below).

• The nerve fibers in your central nervous system are covered with a fatty protective coating called myelin.
• When you get MS, it is believed that your immune system attacks the myelin, leaving scar tissue on the nerve fiber coating. This can cause permanent damage.

The "juice" in the shot then communicates with my immune system to prevent it from attacking the myelin.
The shots don't hurt, but I can get awful bruises which can be sore. The shots go in my leg and then about every 5-7 days Drew gives them to me in my bum! I can also place them in my abdomen and back of my arm. Of course if they could turn this shot into a pill that would be awesome, but it's going good so far!
While we were at the neurologist we talked about us having children. He said that it is absolutely possible and if and when we decide to start trying I should stop the shots 2-3 months beforehand. MS isn't completely genetic or inherited. No one in my family has or had it that we know of and chances of passing it our children if and when we have kids is 10-20%.
The whole kids thing will need its own post!
So, right now I feel good! The symptoms I do still have (slight tingling in my hands, skin sensations on my abdomen and arms) are in no way debilitating or uncomfortable. I know that this will not always be the case but I try not to think about that. No one knows what the future holds!

My MS, part 1

Five months ago I found out that I have MS. One month prior I went to my doctor because I was having tingling in my hands. Carpel tunnel was the first guess since I do work on a computer most of the day. They gave me braces to wear (don’t even get me started on the price of those!) at night. After one week nothing changed and I started having “skin sensations” on the left side of my body so I went back to the doctor. Google told me the high probability of MS and my doctor also mentioned it, so he sent me to have an MRI. A few days later I got the call that yes, indeed, my MRI showed consistencies with MS and I was referred to a neurologist. I cried, and cried, and cried.

A few days later Drew and I met with the neurologist who was compassionate, explained everything clearly, showed me what was going on in my brain, and told me the next steps. Best of all we left that appointment feeling positive and hopeful.

It's Friday!

It’s Friday, and I couldn’t be happier! Last night Drew’s band played near where my parents live, an hour away. We decided to stay with them as opposed to coming back so late which was a great decision only I really didn’t want to get out of that bed! I’m pretty sure it’s the world’s most comfortable bed and it’s a shame that someone doesn’t sleep there on a regular basis! I slept great but didn’t get as many hours as usual so tonight I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing and sleeping in tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m also going to a Tupperware party. I know, right? I’m really not that old, am I? But it should be fun since we’ll be hanging out with good friends that we don’t see often enough. Sunday should include a lot of relaxing, reading, cooking, football watching, and probably Yahtzee playing. That goes for Monday too since I have the day off!
What are you up to this weekend?

What I'm cooking

I'm a huge fan of the crock-pot and on Sunday I made Chicken Brunswick Stew. I used this recipe. It wasn't bad! A little sweet for my liking so if I make it again I would probably forgo the added sugar. I would also maybe add crushed red pepper! We like spicy!

I love this Tomato Cream Sauce so the other night I made a double batch! We had some last night on mini farfalle pasta, topped with bacon. Then I froze 4 containers of the sauce to use later. So easy, and so good! If I were on the show The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Sauce, I would pick this sauce!

This weekend I'm planning to make oven baked onion rings, can't wait! I'm hoping they will be The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Onions!