Oh! Hi! Long time no see!

Sorry for going dark for so long there.  Real life snuck up and bit me on the bum! THEN I went on an adventure and now I'm starting to get my life back on track so that I can get through the end of 2012 without too much drama.

So, when last we spoke - I was going on my soft food diet to try to heal up the swelling in my jaw from TMJ.  That went as well as can be expected.  I spent the 10 days I lasted feeling bloated and still not truly full.  My jaw did wind up feeling far better and now I'm far more aware of what I put in to my mouth and how it makes my head feel.  Such a weird thing to have to take in to consideration.  Will this make my jaw angry?  Some times the answer is YES! Yes, it will.  But it's tasty and I want it so Imma eat it anyway! Most of the time though I'll pass on the steak and go with something easier to chew now.

I miss steak. A lot!

I also promised to share the funny ENT story.  So -

While sitting in the ENT's office, in what is actually an OB chair since the office is set up in an old OB office and I'm leaned back and the doctor is staring in to my ears and Hming and ahhhhing as he takes stock and is jotting down notes.

Then he starts talking.  "Have you heard about this book, Wheatbelly?"

I told him I had not and he begins talking about how it's based on this study that due to changes in wheat over the generations that, even in people who don't have a wheat allergy, the human body can react in a weird way that causes more abdominal fat to be held on to during weight loss.

I nodded, he held my head still and kept looking.

Then I started thinking... he's talking about weight loss while looking in my ears... are my ears fat?  What is so interesting in my ears that he picked NOW to talk about this book which has changed his view on how he eats.  WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY EARS?!???!!

He then just started talking about weight loss in general.  How hard it can be but he knows that anyone can really reach their goals if they want to.  That because of Wheatbelly he plans on going wheat free after the new year once all the partying is done.

I get it, dude.  I'm fat.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY FREAKING EARS??????

He then spends a few minutes poking the sides of my head and having me open and close my mouth and looking at my nose and throat.

I told him, that's awesome that he's making those changes.  I tried going wheat, grain, gluten, carb free in different combinations and it didn't work for me but I've lost 200 pounds and am doing just fine without this new miracle cure. That since my thyroid is in check, I'm good.

"Oh! You do have a thyroid condition."
"Yep, Hashimotos."
"Well that explains the lack of ear wax."  *crickets* "You see, your ears itch because you don't make enough healthy ear wax."  Oh! An answer! Awesome!
"Also, your ears are totally healthy... you just have TMD or TMJ.  Read this material and go on a soft food diet for two weeks.  Then talk to your dentist about your cross bite."

Oh... good... answers.

But are my ears fat?  Someone tell me my ears are pretty?  Please??!?!?!?

Up next - posts on vacation, vacation food, an awesome Zumba Master Class and The Hobbit!

Adventures in cooking...

Today I went on a bit of a cooking expedition.  And OW my hands hurt.

Since I'm on this soft food diet, I decided to make some hearty, comforting, soups to get me through the next week and a half.  Here's what I made -

Kristen's Potato Leek Soup - This is OMG good.  Hearty, warm, creamy and very easy to follow instructions.  This made about 6 cups of soup.  I can't wait to eat it topped with just a touch of cheese.

Crockpot Sweet Potato Basil Soup - This is, honestly, a bit overwhelming.  This is not something I can really eat as a soup - the basil is extremely overwhelming and it's hard to eat more than maybe 1/2-2/3 a cup at a time.  Very filling though.

Winter Root Vegetable Soup - This is the soup that tried to kill me.  In peeling and chopping all of those root vegetables I developed a blister on my right index finger which then POPPED while finishing up the chopping.  This is a very hearty soup that tastes extremely earthy.  The celery root really comes out a lot in this.  This was a little hard for me to do the splitting of the soup and blending and recombining was time consuming but worked.

Also cooked this weekend was a giant pot of baked potatoes.  Tomorrow Marshall is going to finish baking the sweet potatoes for me.

I also bought apple sauce, pudding, ice cream, hot cereal, oatmeal and all the fixins' for my Shakeology shakes.  I am going to defeat this soft food diet if it kills me.  And it might.

Last night Matt and I went to see Skyfall and I really wanted something sweet.  I wound up eating M&Ms one by one by holding the M&M in my mouth, cracking the shell and then tonguing it and sucking on the chocolate.  I WANTED THOSE FREAKING M&MS!

I keep trying to look on the positive side of everything and I know this is going to help boost my weight loss but I don't like it.  I want a steak, or a hamburger, or a slice of pizza. SOOOOOOON!

Also, the countdown to vacation starts NOW! 5 work days between me and my vacation. WOOHOO!