Colonoscopy update and a weekend report.

I survived the colonoscopy!

It actually wasn't that bad.  On Thursday I was hungry pretty early in the morning but I think that was more of a mental thing.  I never eat breakfast so I just powered through that, had broth at lunch, went shopping for football cleats with Peter, got a large Diet Dr. Pepper from McDonald's as a treat, and then began the clean out.

It was just as I had expected.  Drinking the 64 ounces of Gatorade combined with a whole bottle of Miralax in 8 ounce increments every 20 minutes was very doable. I did have to set the alarm on my phone so I wouldn't forget.  I started that process at 4:00 and by 5:30, let's just say - things were starting to move.

I was able to get a little sleep and thankfully wasn't up and down too much during the night.  I did have to set my alarm for 3:30 am so I could get up and drink the 10 ounce bottle of magnesium citrate.  To me, this was the worst part.  That stuff was disgusting.  It was very thick and it was very tart/sour and not exactly what you would like to be drinking in the middle of the night. 

I was able to get a little sleep after drinking that and then was up at 5:30 to shower and get ready to be at the doctor's office for my 7:00 am check in.

My appointment was at 7:30 and they took me back right on time (a benefit of being the first colonoscopy of the day!) and before I knew it I was under.

Also, before I knew it I was awake.  As in, I woke up before they were done!

One minute I was out and the next minute I groggily opened my eyes and the room was dark.  The nurse anesthetist was standing by my shoulder and I could hear him talking to the doctor who was um, how shall I put this - still working....

I was very groggy and I remember thinking to myself, I should probably tell them I'm awake but before I could say anything, it was over.  I think I was probably awake 1 or 2 minutes before they were done. 

I got a clean report and don't have to do that again for ten years!

Dan and I tried First Watch for brunch. I got a pesto chicken quinoa power bowl.  It was yummy!

We ran an errand and were home by 10:30.  Dan did the yard work and I did a few things around the house and then on Friday night we went with the kids, my mom, and my brother to our traditional end of school dinner celebration to Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse.

The official last day of school should have been the previous Friday and we would have celebrated then except Peter was still in pain from his wisdom tooth surgery AND the restaurant had not opened up yet.  So waiting another week was fine. And school had already been out several weeks so when we went wasn't really an issue. 

Our chef was extremely good.  And we were the only ones at the table due to the limitations on seating so we got all of his undivided attention.  And the waitress seemed to only be waiting on two tables so she was very attentive as well.  It was a really nice night with the family!

On Saturday we decided to take a hike along the Yadkin River. The weather was beautiful - sunny and warm and not humid.

On Saturday evening, we grilled steaks.  Correction - Peter grilled steaks.  He has decided he wants to learn how to be a good griller so when he goes to college he can man the grill at tailgate parties.

He made his own spice rub, asked us each how we wanted our steaks cooked and did a very good job!  He is officially hired!

On Sunday, we had socially distanced Mass again and then had lunch at my mom's house.  And on Sunday evening Dan and I headed back to Goose and the Monkey (a new brewery) for a socially distant beer.

And just like that - our weekend was over.

Oh - and for anyone wondering - I lost FIVE pounds doing the colonoscopy prep!  But don't worry that I'm wasting away over here.  As on Monday morning, I had gained all five of those pounds back plus one EXTRA one!  Oh well...

Prep Day!

The next 24 hours should be lots of fun!

Why?

Because at 7:00 AM tomorrow, I will be pulling in to the parking lot of Digestive Health Specialists for my very first colonoscopy!  Oh, the joys of turning 50 - peri-menopause, aching joints, sagging skin, crows feet, the inability to get up from the ground without a lot of effort and an equal amount of grunting, and colonoscopies!

I am currently sipping on peppermint tea because as much as I love coffee, there is no way I am able to drink it without cream.  And I am already looking forward to my lunch of broth with a tasty dessert of  lemon Italian ice.  My mouth is watering already.

And then at 4:00 PM I get to drink 64 ounces of Gatorade mixed with a whole bottle of Miralax and that's when the real fun begins! 

I also apparently get to set my alarm for 3:30 AM to make sure I wake up and drink a whole bottle of magnesium citrate.  I got the lemon flavored in case you were wondering.  Sarah and I decided that would be less disgusting that the cherry and grape flavors Walgreens also had to offer.

I am less concerned with the process of getting the actual colonoscopy since I'll be asleep for it than I am of being hungry this entire day.  I'm trying to focus on a full day of eating tomorrow instead of an entire day of not eating today because Dan and I will be going out for brunch after the procedure AND we are doing our traditional end of year dinner at Tokyo Japanese restaurant tomorrow night with the family.  It's nice to have something to look forward to.

Our socially distant weird but sort of normal weekend.

We had a nice weekend!  On Saturday we grilled out burgers.  Peter wanted to be in charge of the grill so he handled the meat while I took care of the french fries.  I hauled out the Fry Daddy from the basement and actually fried the french fries instead of baking them.  So good and yes, I'm still gaining weight instead of losing any.  Why do you ask?

On Sunday we went to Mass INSIDE our church which was nice because the car thermometer was reading 81 degrees at 9:30 as we were driving to church so an outdoor Mass would have been miserable. 

We had to wear masks and use hand sanitizers before we entered the sanctuary, and the ushers seated everyone so we couldn't sit in our "normal" spot.  Everyone has a normal spot at church, right?  It's not just us being weird, is it?

And they left a pew empty between each pew with people.  And we were 6 feet apart from the next family beside us and the Eucharistic Ministers brought communion to us and they used hand sanitizer between distributing to each family and it was all very weird but at least it's another step closer to normal church.  Which probably won't be normal for another year or two.  .....sigh...

After church we headed to my mom's for lunch to do our family birthday celebration for Sarah.  My brother grilled out steaks and mom fixed twice baked potatoes and salad and it was all delicious!  And mom made a birthday cake for Sarah and we sang and opened presents. 

And then on Sunday evening Dan and I went to a brewery for a beer!  Our governor won't allow bars to open but he has allowed breweries and wineries to open.  A new brewery in Lexington opened in March right before everything had to close down so we went and enjoyed an adult beverage!

And that was our socially distant weird but sort of normal weekend.

Teeth and a birthday dinner.

Peter had to have all four of his wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday.  He was pretty nervous about the IV.  He has hated needles ever since have to get THREE allergy shots weekly for almost 3 years.  I guess I would hate needles too.

I had to wait in the car which I didn't like but the nurse called me as soon as the IV was in and said he was doing fine and the surgery was ready to start.  And then less than 45 minutes later they called me to tell me I could pull around and pick him up at the patient exit.

He had a big dopey grin on his face and said he was "just chillin" and that he felt pretty good.  He didn't do anything America's Funniest Home Videos worthy so no $10,000 for us. 

The doctor's office sent us home with a gel pack and this little pint of deliciousness:

It's ice cream from a creamery that's about 45 minutes from our house so I think we might have a little road trip in our future this summer.  Peter said it was delicious.  This was his lunch on the day of the surgery.

He was tired most of Wednesday so he laid around watching old sporting events on ESPN.  I made sure he stayed on top of his pain medication and he even set his alarm for 3:30 AM to make sure he woke up and took it.  I didn't want him sleeping through a dose and waking up in pain. 

Yesterday was worse than the first day.  His face was very swollen so he kept the ice pack on it  and that definitely helped.  He was also able to start with the warm salt water rinses and he said that helped too.  The nurse called yesterday morning to check on him and said that day 3 and day 4 were usually the worst so I will be interested to see how he's doing today (day 3).  At the moment he is still asleep.

Yesterday was Sarah's birthday!  My sweet girl turned 16!  And sadly she had a dentist appointment.  She's got to have some major dental work done and she was not happy about  going to the dentist on her birthday..  But yesterday was just an assessment (she will go back on Monday) so after the appointment I took her to Starbucks for a birthday treat.

Her current favorite order is a grande ice Americano with vanilla sweet cream.  (I think I got that right.)

One of her friends from school who has her driver's license came by yesterday after noon and gave her a present and they hung out.  Then when Dan got home from work (people from Germany were scheduled to be in Winston-Salem for meetings all this week but thanks to the pandemic the meeting has been turned in to a 4 day (all day long) video conference.  Dan didn't want to risk our slow wifi connection giving him fits for this so he is doing the call from the office) we headed downtown to the Mellow Mushroom for a birthday dinner.

As expected, downtown was very quiet.  Some of the restaurants were open and some were closed.  Mellow Mushroom has outdoor seating which we used.  It was pretty windy last night and I would have preferred sitting inside but it was freezing inside.

Poor Peter ordered wings and was able to pull the meat from them and eat it.  It took him a while but he managed.  (We were supposed to do our traditional end-of-the-school-year Japanese dinner tonight but decided to postpone it until next week so that Peter could enjoy it. 

After we ate our pizza we walked to Lill Dippers.  Lill Dippers is this little soft serve ice cream place near Bailey Park.  You order you holder (waffle cone, sugar cone, bowl), then you order your dipper (chocolate, caramel, coffee, pistachio, white chocolate, etc -  they have 10 dips) which the vanilla soft serve is dipped in and then you order your toppings (chocolate chips, oreos, pretzels, reeses cups, cinnamon toast crunch, etc - they have 20 different toppings).  It was a really yummy treat.  Lill Dippers is only open in the spring and summer and it is literally just two windows in the side of an old building downtown.  It's a really cool concept and it's right next to Baily Park.

So we took our ice cream and headed to the park.  It was a nice evening and there were some people out but not too many.  It felt almost normal.

See the hair?  It was windy!

See poor Peter's puffy cheeks?  And how is that Sarah can look so cute windblown?  Youth?  A lot of time spent practicing poses? 

And that was how we celebrated Sarah's birthday.  We will have our family party with cake and gifts on Sunday!  Have a great weekend!

Sixteen is....

Sixteen is....

beautiful
kindhearted
loyal
conscientious
sensitive
hardworking
creative
adventurous
bright

dedicated

helpful

Sixteen loves to.....

swim
watch Netflix
paint her nails
Snapchat with friends

make pretty things on the pottery wheel

make Spotify playlists

listen to Harry Styles

shop for clothes

take selfies

decorate her room

sing in the shower

annoy her brother

eat healthy foods

Oh how I love my sweet sixteen!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Mom's 77th Birthday!

My beautiful mom turned 77 on Sunday!  We celebrated by going out to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants.  What an absolute treat it was to be able to sit down, place an order, and be served!  I will never take that for granted again.

The restaurant required reservations and would only allow groups of 6 or less.  The restaurant was definitely at less than 25% capacity.  We were shocked that there weren't more people there.  I am assuming it is because many people are still afraid to come out in public.

After our delicious lunch, we went back to our house and celebrate with birthday cake and presents.  Sarah spent a large portion of Saturday making a Tres Leches cake.  It was delicious!