Good Doctor, Crappy Results

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Medical stuffLeave a comment

Two weeks ago I had a biopsy done on my cervix because my pap smear came back abnormal. My gyno doctor said he wasn’t going to release the results to my patient portal because he wanted to meet face to face.

Well, I got a call from the billing office telling me that I needed to pay what my insurance didn’t cover so they could make the appointment for my procedure. I asked them what procedure. She said, didn’t the nurse call you?. Nope. She then told me she didn’t know what the procedure was because she only had the code.

She transferred me to the patient coordinator who explained I needed to have a cold knife conization. I paid my portion, but still really had no clue what was going on.

Fast forward to today. I have cim-3 cells. That is not good so I will have surgery to take out a portion of my cervix so they can see how big the area is. It’s very good that we caught this early. My doctor said he would also “tug on my uterus” and if it seems loose he will remove it. That sounds fun!

Now we just wait to see when they can schedule me in.

So after that fun filled afternoon, I decided I wanted to cook. I pulled out my favorite cookbook and made beef enchiladas, beans and rice. It takes forever to make the gravy, but well worth it. Making beans in the insta pot is the only way to go. No soaking overnight.

So much better than the enchiladas I had at Sombreros. Hand grating the cheese makes all the difference.

It turned out to be a pretty good day after all. Cooking does that for me.

19

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn ChristmasLeave a comment

Happy 19th birthday to our sweet little Christmas tree. We bought it our first Christmas together on a whim because we weren’t going to get a tree because we were working so much we were never home.

I just couldn’t not have one so I went to Big Lots and bought this one for 10 bucks. It has traveled to several states, many homes and it’s still going strong. Best investment ever. 🎄

Fun Finds

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn thriftingLeave a comment

Donny called me this morning and asked if I could run by a thrift store and find some Christmas CDs because they needed them at work. Why yes, of course I can.

Jackson wanted to come with me and here’s a few things we found.

I like to collect art. I always feel bad when I see a art project that I know someone has worked hard on and then somehow it ends up at a thrift store. I found this small painting that, I think, looks like sailboats. Bonus that it’s yellow, my favorite color.

We found this guy. Is it a frog? Is it a monster? Who knows? It’s weird and funny and is now my spoon rest.

A house hippo is supposed to bring good luck to your home. I finally found one that I really liked.

And I found all the Christmas CDs, the only real thing I went for, plus a Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Ethridge for me. Fifty cents a piece isn’t bad.

We also saw another balloon.

I have now officially finished all the Christmas decorations. I remembered I had picked up some Christmas albums at an estate sale several months ago.

Jamming to Perry Como puts me in the Christmas spirit. There’s nothing better than old Christmas music, especially playing on my 70’s stereo.

Oops

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

Today I did a load of light colored clothes. They were drying I heard a something banging around. When I checked I found a pen. When I pulled the clothes out there was ink all over them. I was so mad at myself for not checking the pockets.

Wait, it gets better. Next I did a load of dark colors. When I was taking them out of the dryer I had washed one of Hannah’s lipstick. It was bright pink. Luckily it only got on one of Donny’s dress shirts.

It’s been a day. Donny is sick and his ankle has flared up like it does ever year at this time. I was walking out the side door and stepped on our three legged cat and now he won’t come near me.

But, I found the best stain remover ever. It started dissolving the ink as soon as I sprayed it on.

I’m working on the Christmas decorations. Donny thought this is how they were supposed to be. He said, I like how you’ve grouped everything together.

Yeah, I just unpacked it all and put it on the table. I guess I could just leave it like that. It would be much easier.

And Tommy our cat is fine. Nothing broken. He’s resting now. Probably still traumatized. He’ll learn not to sleep on the outside door mat.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn ChiropractorLeave a comment

I went to the chiropractor today. I was extremely nervous and honestly did not want to go. While I was in the waiting room a man sat beside me. While we were sitting there I heard this loud ratchet sound. I must have looked freaked out because he looked at me and asked me if this was my first time there. I told him it was and that I was afraid that it was going to hurt. He told me I needed to toughen up.

He was called back. I heard the ratchet sound and then the man started screaming. And screaming. I looked at the receptionist, I’m sure wide eyed, and she said, “his back is locked up”.

I was considering just bolting out the door when the doctor called me back. I was sweating profusely and told him I was scared. He told me I’d be fine and to lay face down on the table.

I did a few leg raises so he could see how tight my muscles were then he ratcheted the table as he made adjustments. Not gently, I might add.

Next I laid on my side and he adjusted that side then the other side. He then told me to lay on my back. I told him I really didn’t want him messing with my neck. He said, “I’ll be gentle” then he tried to twist my head off. Yes, it cracked. Yes, it freaked me out.

I felt looser. He told me to go to this other room where some guy was getting cupped, leaving what looked like giant hickies all over his shoulder. Unfortunately I said that out loud. No one thought I was funny.

I got a tens unit stuck on my lower back. I think he ramped that sucker up to the highest level and put ice packs on other parts. I had to put my feet on this shaking machine.

I was told I needed at least three treatments so I may be going back Thursday. I say maybe because I am in so much pain. Much more than when I went in. My hip is killing me and my shoulder is right behind it. I’m just hoping that I’ll feel better in the morning. Although I will say I can turn my head to the left without the searing pain I’ve had for months.

Gettin’ it Done

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

Even though it was a cold windy day, we managed to get the Christmas decorations out of the shed. Nothing is put out yet, but hopefully soon.

I’m almost finished with the winter cat house. It’s not pretty, but it should keep the ones that hang around warm. Milo is still afraid to stay inside for long. He is so deathly afraid of the ceiling fan, the heater clicking on and the TV.

Our cats don’t like any type of cold weather so they’ve been hanging out inside.

I do like the colder weather because it makes our home feel so much cozier. There’s something about having twinkle lights burning and snuggling under blankets that makes me love winter.

This wasn’t today, but yesterday. I could hear the balloon firing up, but couldn’t see it. Turns out it was just very low. I caught a glimpse of it through the trees.

Black Friday

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

I’m not really a black Friday shopper. Today Jackson hit me up to take him to Entertainmart to see if any of his manga series were on sale. I was surprised that the crowds at the mall weren’t too bad.

He didn’t find anything he was looking for, but I found the next book in the series I am reading and because it was buy one get one free I picked up another that looked entertaining.

I also picked up 4 CD’s: Billy Joe Shaver, Cat Stevens and 2 Michael Buble. Not a bad haul for 20 bucks.

I have been looking for these cookies since I had then at a meeting FOUR years ago. I finally found them today at Drug Emporium. They are light, crispy and not too sweet. Delicious!

Thanksgiving 2023

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn family, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a huge fan of Thanksgiving. I hate turkey in any form. I’m not fond of most of the side dishes. Last year I tried to make an effort when we rented an Airbnb in Dallas. That was a shambles that has taken me almost the whole year to get over.

The one thing I do like to do on Thanksgiving is go to Cracker Barrel. It puts me in the holiday spirit browsing the store while we wait for a table.

This year we met Hannah’s boyfriend Gavin, his mom and his aunt there. Of course I forgot to take pictures of all of us, but it was such a fun lunch.

Aunt Betty is so interesting. She has a ranch that has cattle and zebras. She is having the zebras moved to her land here so hopefully I’ll get to go visit them.

I found the candy I wanted and I knew I should have bought it before we were seated because after we ate I couldn’t even think of candy I was so full. Dang you chicken fried steak.

Happy Thanksgiving from our family.

We are awful at selfies.

And just to let you know I’m not a complete Thanksgiving party pooper, I wore the earrings Donny got me because he thought it would be funny.

Yard Guy + Milo

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn JournalLeave a comment

There is a guy who mows yards. He used to push his lawnmower around the neighborhood asking to mow people’s lawns. He did ours a few times. Well, one day, several months ago, he knocked on our door. He said his lawnmower was broken and he had some customers that needed their lawn mowed and could he borrow our lawnmower. I didn’t know him that well, but I said yes anyway.

He said he’d be a few hours. Those few hours turned into 6 hours. I was freaking out because I hadn’t told Donny that I let him borrow it. I walked down to the end of our street where I knew he’d talked to those neighbors. They didn’t know where he lived and hadn’t seen him.

I then posted on nextdoor and the Longview Facebook group. No one knew him. I did know his name was Jimmy, but that’s it. He FINALLY showed back up and asked if I could drive him and drop him off in Spring Hill. I did and, thank goodness, I lived. I don’t know why I do these things.

He’s been borrowing our lawnmower on a regular basis now. He does change the oil and takes care of it, but yesterday when he brought it back he told Donny he could mow our lawn for $30. Um, don’t we kinda have partial ownership in his lawn business. Especially because without us he wouldn’t have said business. We always have such strange things happen to us.

We have finally named the tuxedo cat that adopted us. Meet Milo.

He will come in and chill but is so afraid of the ceiling fan, off or on. He is super sweet and gets along with the other cats except Bailey because she’s just mean and a little psycho.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Bye Felix

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn Home lifeLeave a comment

We said goodbye to Felix, our Ford Flex. I still love the Flex, but I don’t love the amount of gas it drinks, the small things falling off of it or the car payment. We used to only have one car and then when Donny was working in Nacogdoches it was a necessity that we have two. We purchased the Flex because, with only one car, we need a very large SUV so we could have that third row seating. That is no longer the issue.

So, meet Marky Mark. He’s a Hyundai Sonata GT.

It’s going to take a little while to get used to driving so low to the ground, but this little guy is peppy and very comfortable. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that Felix had, but that’s okay by me. The amount of money that we will be saving every month it’ll be worth it. We were worried that my daughter’s 6’6″ boyfriend wouldn’t fit in the backseat, but he fits fine.

And we had another cat make himself at home. I have been seeing this tuxedo cat around for quite a while now. He has been so skittish and would not let me get near him. A few days ago he just let me pet him and now wants in my lap all the time. He came into the house this morning, but is still a bit afraid of other family members. We’ll be working on that. Meet tuxedo cat. I’ve been calling him Tux, but I need to come up with a better name that isn’t so generic.