Starting the Year off with a Bang?

Andrew is dealing once again with acute kidney rejection. The doctors say that the upside is acute rejection can be stopped with the right drug treatment. Of course, the downside is that we have to deal with this yet again. The drugs are outrageously expensive (last tally in the past 10 days has been about $2800). Difficult to manage when you are still out of work.

The drug therapy makes him feel ill. He is constantly cold and fatigued overall. His appetite is gone and he didn't eat all that much to begin with. Tomorrow we go back for another biopsy to see if the new treatment is working, he just had one two weeks ago. The doctors are monitoring him very closely with what feels like daily blood draws.

I went with him yesterday to see his nephrologist. Those two crack me up. Andrew and his doctor have quite a sarcastic dialogue whenever they meet. If you didn't know it you would think they were old college buddies with the ease in which they converse about such serious matters.

Andrew is not the most compliant patient. Not that he doesn't take care with his meds but he likes to remind the doctors that he is going to have the last word. If the doc wants an ultrasound or another test taken the following week, Andrew refuses. He will insist that he will take the test when he is good and ready, he will make them wait an extra week or two. I think it's his way of somehow feeling in control of what he knows is out of his hands. When dealing with more urgent issues, as we are now, he follows instructions without question, thankfully.

Right now the plan is to do monthly IVIG treatments for the next three months. It is a 20 hour intravenous infusion of gamma globulin. This should stop the body from rejecting the kidney. The pounding his immune system will take leaves him vulnerable to a myriad of complications. The protocol requires him to be on a battery of prophylactic antibacterial, anti fungal and antivirus meds.

Things get more complicated for a patient like Andrew because he is CMV negative in a world where 80% of the population, I believe, are CMV positive. To make it simple, most people are exposed to CMV by the time they reach adulthood and develop an antibody to it. For the average person walking down the street it would be like getting the flu and it is not generally life threatening. For Andrew it is.

With the two transplants that he has had both donor kidneys were CMV positive, of course. With the proper precautions these kidneys were life saving transplants. When the immune system is suppressed, as is being done intentionally now, he has to have special protection from CMV. That special protection comes in the form of Valcyte, and stuff ain't cheap. Those life saving pills alone are costing us nearly $1300 for a one month's supply. And its only one of the almost 10 drugs that he has to take. That's the paradox, life saving drugs that kill us financially.

It's so easy to see how once stable people become homeless. (Relax, being homeless is not what we are worried about, at least not for the next few months)

It all seems so complicated and I guess it is, but that's our life.

New Year, Same Challenges

Regretfully, I was unable to connect with all of you through the Christmas and New Year's holiday. On the other hand, it was because I was so busy writing, baking, cooking, shopping, and of course going to soccer games.

I never did attempt my own menudo or tamales. But Gabi and I did make it out to my mom's house in the desert to partake in the annual tradition of our family tamale making. My sister Vicki and I were outnumbered by the next generation of tamale makers, which is a pretty encouraging thing. Gabi, her cousins, Breanna, Sarina, Madeline and Christopher were all in attendance and were promptly put to work. They did a great job and it was nice to see the interest they showed in what we were doing. It was also a great opportunity for all of us to catch up with each other since we all live at least an hour from one another and rarely get a chance to spend time together.

The girls range in age from 11 to 16 and when they became a little weary of the tediousness of tamale making we sent them off to the movies together. That was our cue that it was break time at Nana's, the perfect time to break out the bottle of Patron and let it relax and warm me. Oh, of course I didn't drink alone, my nephew (Yes, he's old enough) and my sister joined in the consumption. We took a few shots and had some great conversation.

Then it was time to get back to work. I can't tell you how many tamales we made because, frankly, I don't know. I can tell you that we used 35 pounds of masa and about 15 pounds of meat. We used pork shoulder butt? What! I never understand the concept of shoulder butt roasts, aren't they on opposite sides of the animal? Who know, who cares, cook it nice and slow and it's wonderful!

The week before Christmas was nothing but rain. I had articles to write for my new freelance writing gig, which has turned out to be a great gig. Doesn't pay much, but it pays me to write, for the first time in my life. Hey, a girl has to start somewhere, right?

I had about three days to do all my Christmas shopping, not too big of a task since we weren't able to buy too much, what with us having no jobs and all. The first day of shopping Andrew and I set out together and put a serious dent in our list. Nice! The next day I set out on my own. Standing in the chaos of Big Lots three days before Christmas, I received a call on my cell.

A woman claiming to have found me on Facebook wanted to order cupcakes for her client to be delivered the next day. Uh, oh, I wasn't in cupcake mode so it took me a few moments to register what she was asking me for. But, I never say no. I accepted the challenge. I had less than 24 hours to do a gift package, go out and buy a Christmas card to go with it and get it delivered to Newport Beach. Jesus, I had so much to do, but I never say no to a client. My stress level went through the roof. I still had an article to write.

Every effort was met with the rain, rain everywhere. It made it more difficult to get around because people drive like tools when it rains. Needless to say the gift box was delivered as promised. I spoke to my editor that evening around 7 p.m. and pitched an idea for an article. He loved it but he would need it before 9 a.m. the next morning. Oh crap! Gabi had friends over and we had just finished dinner. So, I broke out my martini shaker, poured myself a little vodka inspiration and got to work. I was done before bedtime.

We were expecting Andrew's parents for dinner on Christmas Eve so we did mad house cleaning. I also had many things to prepare for Christmas Day at my brother's house. I had to do my baking as I interacted with my in-laws, there was just no way around it. Thank god my mother-in-law brought and prepared all the food for our dinner because I was not sure how I would pull that off. We ate crab legs, crab cakes, shrimp, baked salmon, potatoes and two kinds of dinner rolls. I looked at my mother-in-law and said, "You do realize that there are only six of us here?" She laughed but she just can't help herself. I felt sick when I went to bed.

We opened presents with the kids and Andrew's parents in the morning and they made a quick exit back to their home in the desert. It was time for me to get back to work. I had to make salsa, cranberry salsa, candied pecans and guacamole for the party at my brother's house in Arcadia, oh, and we had to be there by 1:00. Gabi helped my box up all the cookies I made. We loaded up the car and we were off.

We grazed all day long on tamales, menudo, pozole, ham, cookies, chips, candy, oh so many things I can't even remember. There was wine, vodka, tequila and beer. I only had two beers because, well I had no desire to feel like crap again.

Time to relax you think. No such luck. Gabi's soccer team had a tournament starting on the 28th and it was all the way in Whittier. The second day of the tournament it rained, and rained and rained. And the girls played...in the mud. It was 48 degrees pouring rain and windy. The field was crap and I just wanted to sit in the car and curl up in a ball. My heart went out to those girls, soaking wet, playing their hearts out. I was completely bundled up and I couldn't seem to get warm so I had great respect for them.

After the first game of the day, we had to find a laundromat and wash Gabi's uniform so she could be ready for the next game. There was no way she could sit for three hours in that mud soaked uniform and be prepared for the next game. We ran into so many people for other soccer teams at the laundromat with the same goal in mind. It was a miserable day but the girls rallied and really made an effort just to have fun with it. They even took a group dive in the mud for the cameras after the game. It was pretty hilarious.

After the tournament we made our way back to the desert for New Year's. Andrew stayed at his parent's house and I stayed with Drew at my mom's house. We all spent New Year's Eve day at the Living Desert. It's a small zoo with desert animals from all over the world. It was a nice afternoon.

We all had New Year's Eve dinner at Andrew's parent's house. After dinner there were two card games going on at the same time. Texas hold 'em was being played in the dining room and some of us played 31 at the kitchen table. I think my 16-year-old nephew, Matthew was the last one standing in the poker game. Once midnight came and went, I packed the kids in the car and headed back to my mom's to climb into a warm bed, it was freezing in the desert. Well almost, it was 36 degrees. Close enough.

We all made it back home, safe and sound and we are back into our normal routines. It was a nice few weeks, even with all the craziness. I think I needed the break back to normal life. It's much easier to manage than all those expectations. Hey, what am I thinking? We still don't have jobs. And I think the new auction date for our house is January 11th so still not sure where we are going to wind up living. Huh, oh well, that is pretty normal, for us anyway.

Happy New Year!

So Many Goals

We find out today if the house actually sold yesterday. Our real estate agent will be giving us a call today to let us know if we have a new landlord. It has been pretty annoying dealing with this for eight months now but at least it will be over today (we hope).

Sleep was not something that was going to happen last night so I got up at 6:00 a.m. and in my bleary-eyed state, I made coffee, bacon and then I put bleach in the sink to clean it. That's definitely a great aroma combination first thing in the morning and it definitely wakes you up if the coffee doesn't. What was I thinking? Maybe multi-tasking is not the best thing to do when you are half asleep.

Soccer is in high gear right now and our frosh/soph team is doing well in the preseason. We had a game last night and we have a tournament starting today that goes through Monday. I think that gives us a schedule of seven games in seven days, but the girls are having a great time. Last night I waited at the school for the bus to deposit the girls after the game. I could hear the singing as the bus made its way down the hill, it was quite amusing to hear the girls laughing and singing as they rolled into the parking lot. Gabi jumped of the bus, with red and gold balloons hovering over her head as she tried to manage the secret sister packages she received and her soccer gear. She played really well yesterday and her coach gave her high fives and high praise as she walked off the field.

I was planning on trying my hand at making a small batch of tamales on my own (OMG) today, but that will have to be postponed since Gabi's tournament schedule changed and we now have a game today. I don't know how I am going to squeeze in this little project with all of this soccer going on, my new column starting next week, and trying to get ready for Christmas. I'm also the point parent for Gabi's soccer team so I am in charge of organizing the team pasta parties and the charity backpack event for Christmas.

I was also thinking about trying my hand at a small batch of menudo. I helped out in the kitchen as a kid but that was the last time my hand actually touched tripe. Most people are grossed out by it but I happen to love it. I need to find other ways to prepare it besides having it in menudo, not that my husband or kids will touch it but I need to experiment, I have been in the food experimenting mood lately.

Baking has been a priority these days. I tried out a new ginger cookie recipe and although they weren't quite what I was shooting for, they were gobbled up immediately. I need to take another shot at them before Christmas. I had an interesting cupcake order which shot my stress level through the roof. I had to work with a local chocolatier to make it happen and although she was making very little money from my order, she went above and beyond the call of duty so my cupcakes would be a success. And, they were. I can't wait to do another order just like it since now I have a handle on how to do it.

I have a few books sitting around waiting for me to read them, but right now, I don't have the time I had just a few short weeks ago. I picked up "White House Diary" by Jimmy Carter from the library and a friend of mine loaned me "Where Men Win Glory" by Jon Krakauer, the story about Pat Tillman. I'll tackle the library book first, and to be honest, I am hesitant to read the Krakauer book as I warned that it is going to make me angry, I don't have a lot of energy for angry right now. That one will have to wait a bit but I will read it. I have also been bombarded with reading essays that Gabi has written about "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Tom Sawyer". Of course, that leaves all my newspapers piling up along with all my cooking magazines unread. There just not enough hours in a day.

For now, I will just try to focus on my column, which I am so excited about, and a little nervous, but I will make it happen.

Maybe next time I blog I might have an idea where I will be living next month.

I'm Stuffed!

November 8 came and went with no auction of the rental home we are living in. I have been informed that the auction date has been reset until December 9. This should all make for an interesting holiday season, yet again. Just as we do with most things, we will take this one day at a time and just wait and see what will happen. If there is anything that I have learned about life, it is that life does not follow a plan and that worrying seldom changes the outcome. Of course, worrying never changes the outcome but sometimes it is hard to control that as well.

It has been a very busy November. Winding down from one soccer team to ramping up for the next soccer team brings new experiences for all. I volunteered my assistance with the new team and, hopefully, I will meet some interesting people in the process.

I had a large cupcake order to fill this month. This particular order was delivered out over a number of days. I forgot how much work it is to bake all the different flavors of the season and add the appropriate toppings to them. To finally package and wrap each box up with the most gorgeous ribbon I was able to find, I must admit, is quite satisfying. You have to see the pictures of the packages that we did this year.

Even though I have a pretty large family we spent Thanksgiving with friends this year. My family is spread out all over L.A. and we are out here in Orange County so it is sometimes difficult to get all of us together in a place large enough to accommodate us all. We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner with our friends and we played cards as we tried to digest the large meal that seemed to anchor us to our chairs. It was a pretty lively game of 31 and at one point someone's wine glass took a dive. The wine made its way across the tablecloth and was only halted by the wall that stood in its path on the way to the living room. We were thankful that the cleanup was quick and there was no permanent damage. I wonder if we will ever get invited back.

Friday brought a repeat of the Thanksgiving festivities, or should I say, a repeat of the menu. Andrew's parents came to visit and this time I made the turkey dinner with all the sides, and I even baked another apple pie. I won't lie, my turkey and stuffing were amazing. I tried a new recipe for pie crust so my apple pie was even better than before, and that says a lot, even though I do say so myself, I make a kick ass apple pie.

Today I am nursing a food hangover so I have been lounging all day. Recovering from baking, delivering, cooking, grocery shopping, eating and drinking. Of course, it all causes me to consider a return to the gym and workout routine I was once so dedicated to. I know I need to do it, I feel it in my bones, or to be honest, I feel it more in my gut.

In the meantime, the two Andrews are bringing in boxes of Christmas decorations and urging me to get to work. They have been busy little elves today, planning their attack of lights on house. Its a large project to be sure because I am married to the real life Griswold. Andrew always has the Christmas spirit like no other and it makes for some pretty amazing curb appeal at our house.

I think I will sit here in my sweats for a while longer while I stare at those big blue Rubbermaid containers marked "Xmas". Just thinking about that project is making me hungry. Hmm, maybe I'll get to it after I have a turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwich...

Today is D-Day!

Upon our return from retrieving the kids from school on Friday, we were welcomed back home with yet another note posted on the front door with a phone number to call. "Immediately", I believe was what was written on the note. The author of the note explained that this house we are renting was going up for auction, yet again, slated for sale on November 8. You might note that that day is today.

One might wonder why I am not in a panic about it. I am sure that most of you will remember that we already went through this once before in September. Truth be told, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it, even if its true, and I have my doubts. We will just wait and see, I'll keep you posted, this could get interesting.

We made it through the election this past week and I am glad to be relieved of the political advertising that found its way through television, radio and the web. Now comes all the political posturing during the lame duck session. I have to turn most of it off because it has a tendency to make me crazy, or is it that I have a tendency to become crazy? Oh well, either way I know my limit.

I have been reading a lot of books over the past few months, I LOVE to read. I read all the the Steig Larsson books and they are incredible, not for the faint of heart mind you, but a truly amazing ride. Andrew and the kids gave me John Stewart's new book, "Earth", Gabi jumped on that one and she enjoyed it as well. Also on my literary menu was "Thomas Paine's Rights of Man" and "God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens, all very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed "A Happy Marriage" by Rafael Yglesias and "Under the Dome" by Stephen King.

While visiting my mom, I quickly blew through her copy of "Wishful Drinking" by Carrie Fisher. Now Ms. Fisher has some interesting stories to tell but to be quite honest, I thought her book was crap. One of my favorite reads this summer was Anthony Bourdain's "Medium Raw", I just love him.

Right now I am on a quest to educate myself so I picked up a copy of "The Greatest Show on Earth, The Evidence for Evolution" by Richard Dawkins. Not a page turner or an easy read but pretty amazing stuff to be sure. I am not an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination as one might have already ascertained by reading my blog, but I try to stay informed and knowledgeable about as many things as I possibly can. Its my latest venture, an attempt to expand my way of thinking. I know what you are thinking, "Good luck with that!" and to that, I say, "Thank you!"

Gabi reads books like most teenage girls go through Starbucks beverages, or should I say how most Starbucks beverages go through teenage girls, or would that sound too unseemly. But I digress. What I love about Gabi's love for reading is that it gives us some really great things to talk about. She just finished "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the second time (she had to for school). I never read the book but I saw the movie with Gregory Peck, so I had her watch it prior to her having to read it for school because I felt it was an important film for her to see. We have had many discussions about it ever since she finished reading it. She now insists that I read the book because there is so much more to know about the story. It's next on my list.

I gotta get back to reading heresy, so, until next time....may the force be with you!

Halloween, its Bittersweet!

We have been living in our rental home for close to a year now. Its a little stressful not knowing what will happen at the end of the year, if we will stay or if we will go. We only just started to get to know our neighbors here and they seem really great and I have to say, its really nice to have a huge park at the end of our street.

Gabi mentioned something about the lottery this morning and I started to think that maybe winning the lottery was a viable option for our financial crisis! Wow, I need a break. Hopefully we will get some good news this week (got a few things in the fire you know).

Halloween was really fun in this new neighborhood. We had tons of kids (some were not really kids anymore) in numbers that we had never seen in the old neighborhood. That was a treat (no pun intended) for Andrew because he loves to go all out decorating the house and scaring all the kids. He set up a monster on a pulley system to fly towards the porch as the kids turned and walked away, as well as a fog machine and a big, hairy spider that jumps out at you when you get to close to it. Our neighbors gave him rave reviews for all of his efforts. He also carved all the pumpkins and we roasted the pumpkin seeds right away. I baked mummy cupcakes for a friend and for a dinner party that we had the night before Halloween. It was a great weekend, Gabi's soccer team even won their game and I discovered a new martini drinking buddy!

I wrote a few more food articles but the website still places them under the wrong category so that is beyond frustrating. Hopefully they will get that resolved soon or I will have to move to greener pastures, green as in moola baby!

Currently, we are mired down with much to do about fundraising, for soccer and for science camp. So many things to sell for these kids but its part of the gig when have kids. I think we may have had to do more when the kids were in private school, on a much higher level. I would rather sell Sees candy than golf tournament fees or luxury vacations, thank god I am currently surrounded by normal people, of course I could be overstating that a bit.

By the way, anybody want to buy some See's candy?

Dreams Of L.A.

Oh wow, it's been a while since I've shared.

Short recap: Summer came and went and soccer was king. Drew started playing soccer again as well and that is going well. Kids prepared for school. Gabi started her freshman year at high school. My little peanut is now in high school! Job search for us has been fruitless, as it is for millions of other Americans. Also, my husband's great uncle passed away just this month.

Gabi went to her first homecoming dance last week and she was so excited. We had a lot of fun shopping for her dress, especially when the one she finally picked was on clearance for $17.99! It was a little surreal seeing my baby girl in high heels looking so beautiful. I was worried all the anticipation building inside her, that her night would not live up to all the hype. She came home beaming, "Best night of my life!"

I started writing a food article on Examiner.com and I really love it (please note that the website has my new title marked incorrectly). It inspires me to cook and bake more, great for the fam but hell on my ass. I made cupcakes last night just for the hell of it, because honestly, we really need to have two dozen cupcakes sitting around the house. Off they went this morning, boxed up for coaches and teachers alike. Hey, a little sweet bribery never hurt anyone!

After making a few visits back to my hometown L.A., I realized how much I miss it. I noticed the abundance of quirky and interesting restaurants and eateries, and not one of them was a product of the mass produced crap spewed out by the chain gang.

On one of the trips back, I took the kids to my sister Lisa's house in Pasadena. With her kids and mine in tow, we took the train to Olvera Street, bought Mexican candy and gobbled up the amazing taquitos they are famous for. Then it was a short stroll to Phillipe, my all time favorite. Gabi swore up and down that she was not hungry but once she took a bite she was hooked. She still talks about how amazing those french dip sandwiches are. Walking through that place, with the sawdust all over the floor brought back so many great memories from the many times we ate there when I was a kid.

My next trip was solo. The drive we made from Lisa's house in Pasadena to the streets of Silverlake was another trip back in time for me. Rolling along down Colorado Blvd. through Eagle Rock, I was reminded of all those nights after hitting the clubs in Hollywood, how we all hit Tommy Burgers to quell those cravings you get after dancing non stop for hours.

The trip we took to Silverlake turned out to be a much needed night of hilarity. There were six of us ladies that went to go see Chico's Angels. My sister had been dying to get us all there since she had already had the pleasure. Basically, its a comedy skit based loosely on Charlie's Angels, um, performed by Hispanic drag queens. It was one of the most hilarious things I have seen in a long time. If you get a chance, please go, you won't regret it, that is of course, as long as you are not a homophobe.

If it wasn't for my kids, I would move back to L.A. in a hot second. It's not easy to have real friends behind the Orange curtain. Sure, you meet a lot of people, but most (not all) are incapable of being a true friend. Only in the OC can one be completely disrespected by people who call you friend and then excuse their bad behavior with a myriad of proclamations like, "I am so sorry, but I went off my meds", or "I'm sorry but hey, I was on my period", and "I can't be friends with someone who doesn't agree with my politics...it doesn't matter if I didn't vote."

Of course, there is the mom who won't let her kids say "fart" because its offensive. Yet when my 11-year-old son is at her house playing with her 11-year-old, she hands them each a b. b. gun, lights her cigarette, and sends them up into the hills unsupervised. She thinks I need to give my son a bible.

ARGHHH, I can't take much more of this...