Phantosmia

No, it's not a new Disney movie.

It's the name for that damn smell in my nose. Phantom smell. AKA parosmia. My brain is creating a smell and I also have a reduced sense of smell (hyposmia). (Although thank god I am still greeted by a wonderful aroma as I walk into a Peet's Coffee.)

Read this great article by Jane Andrews and it tells my story–although hers has been going on longer than mine. I could only wish that my smell might sometime change to be pleasant, but not at the risk of it smelling worse than it does now.

"A Pungent Life: The Smells in My Head" from the New York Times.

Also, a fairly easy-to-read medical journal article by Dr. Donald Leopold:

Distortion of Olfactory Perception: Diagnosis and Treatment

I had an MRI today and the only thing it showed was an "assymetry to the olfactory nerve." (OK, the doc didn't specifically say it, but I assume they also found a brain, not straw.)

More tests coming up.

Vegan Gluten-free bread, Take II

I thought this was better, but I guess not! And of course I forgot to take picture before I cut it. This was with the rapid rise yeast. Next time, I will try the recipe and bake it in the oven, not the bread machine and see what happens.Third time's a charm, right?

What is it??

Guess what this is! The answer in a few days...I want to see your guesses...!

What, nobody has a guess???

Answer: It's half a loaf of my first attempt at vegan gluten-free bread in my mom's bread machine. I didn't use rapid-rise yeast, and will try that next since the person who I got the recipe from swears this is a great recipe for vegan gluten free bread made in a bread-machine! I'll post the result when I do that. I found the right yeast at Lucky's tonight, so might attempt it over the weekend. I'll take a photo BEFORE I cut into it!

New Year's Part II

General things I wish to do this year:

1. Get out in nature more.
   (My own advice!) I saw lots of great free walks listed in the SRJC catalog. And take Allie out with me. Would love to get out at least once a week, but twice a month would be a great start. Easy walks, photo outings, picnics, playing at the beach.
   
   
2. Take some singing lessons.
   Again, the SRJC catalog has a group class that sounds fun and non-threatening. It would mean missing 3 NBOC meetings (plus one for vacation), so I might have to think about resigning for the year.
   
   
3. Get caught up on my own organizing projects.
   Apparently, 5 years is my maximum for staying organized in this big house. In great need of revamping several areas or move again! (And I am NOT ready to move!) Biggest areas: pantry, office and of course, the garage.
    
4. Get back to being creative.
   I love my digital camera and I bought a really cool printer that can do big art prints.
   
   
5. Ukulele
   Learn a few more songs and keep up my own practicing. I know I'll never be as good as Allie, but I don't have to be!
   
   
6. Decide if it's worth it to keep up with all the organizing biz stuff. Or just take that weight off my shoulders and concentrate on my life/health, my daughter and my husband.
   Wow, that's a big one.
   

New Year's Day, Part I, Head to Toe

I'm thinking there will be a few different posts about the New Year...my coaching teacher, Denslow Brown, asked us which term we liked better "resolutions" or "goals." It got me thinking and I'm still not sure, but I sense there is a George Carlin-like riff in there somewhere on semantics...

In the meantime, here are my thoughts, centered solely on me at the moment...;) This is sort of like a written photo–meant to mark where I am today so I can compare later in the year or at the end of the year to see how far I've come (or not!). It's like what I do with my client. I'll take a photo of the area to organize, because sometimes it's hard to see how far we've come when there's still a ways to go.

Here's my "picture" at least concerning health and body!

Let's start at the top...

1. Hair–well, I've been growing out my hair and it is definitely long, now. With my last haircut I added back some bangs and I like it a lot better. Just have to keep up with the bangs trimming to keep it nice. Done. Ongoing.
   
   
2. Eyes–I did just get my eyes checked last month and ordered a new pair of every-day glasses–my first in four years.  Done, for at least another two years.
   
   
3. Nose– That smelly nose issue is on-going. Had a CT scan last month, but they didn't see anything. So off to someone else next week. Ongoing but on top of it at the moment.
   
   
4.  Face– No, I don't plan on having a face lift! Although I do have the droopy eye-lid thing that Meryl Streep's character had in the movie It's Complicated. (a review of that is coming...) But last year I did attempt to start some new "skin care habits" around cleansers and lotions and such. I think I really saw an improvement there...need to keep it up again. I don't want to be accused of being a cougar to my husband who is OLDER than me. ;)  Renew habit, ongoing.
   
   
5. Mouth–I include this here as part of what I put IN my mouth–that is–food. I'd like to get back to eating really well again, planning my meals, shopping for fresh foods twice a week and keeping the grocery bill in check and the fridge clean and clear of science experiments. Gee, it's all connected, isn't it? (See my previous post on my fridge on my business website and a coming post as promised about it this week.)
   
   Part of my eating well is a simple plan, really–breakfast is two fruits, one protein, one whole grain and plenty of water. Lunch and dinner is one fruit, one veggie, one protein, one whole grain and again plenty of water. Snacks are tough, but a tiny bit of chocolate is in there, as well as veggies and fruits. Maybe throw in some fiber supplements, some vitamins and herbs, too. And of course I am still vegan and nearly wheat-free for most of last year.
   
   
6. Neck–Hmm, I'm ok with my neck except for that double chin. But what I notice on my neck is all those skin tags and moles. It's been way too long since my last "mole patrol" (I got that term from an episode of Will and Grace. My doctor actually found a pre-cancerous thingy and removed it.) so I need to schedule another one. I'm with Kaiser now, but the last time I went I saw Dr. Marek Lorenc in Santa Rosa. I admit to having a little crush on him since he reminds me of Armand Assante and has this very quiet manner and precision lightning-quick way with a scalpel. Need to schedule appointment.
   
   
7. Back and hips–Well, the same old issues at this point. I got sick in November and stopped going to all my stretching classes, training sessions and chiro appointments. And my hip is worse than ever and my back is on the edge every day. Get back to that routine of classes and seeing the chiropractor.
    
8. General weight issues–Today on New Year's Day, 2010, I weighed in at 157.5 pounds. Yeah, a few have crept back on. If I can hold to #4 (eating well) and #6 (Stretching and self-care) I can start looking at more aggressive exercise to tone up and lose, let's say, 20 pounds? I'd love to be down to that before our trip back East this summer and our 30th Anniversary this summer. Stick to #4 and #6 and have a plan for more exercise.
    
9. Feet–I have weak arches and I finally did get new arch supports last year. My feet tend to hold me back if there isn't something else holding me back first (like my hip this last year!). Done.
    
10. General Self-care– I've fallen down on this in the last few months. All of the above, plus those wonderful times when I used to take long hot baths and just relax. Get back to bath habit. Starting tonight?!