Allergic to Air

My dear Watson went to the allergist last week.

This is what he's allergic to:

Corn. (This happens to be corn straight from our garden!) 

Peanuts

Eggs

Peas (but we already knew that)

Oats

Almonds (we already knew this too)

Chicken

Seriously?  Sheesh. He might as well starve to death.  It turns out he's the MOST allergic to almonds, then peas.  Everything else  scored low on the allergic-to test, so the doc said he could go on a diet totally clean of all those foods if he wants, then slowly introduce them back into his diet one at a time. This would just help him see if he can pinpoint one that bothers him more than the others. His allergies to these foods might be linked to his eosinophilic esophagitis and the esophageal spasms he has had for much of his life.

He already decided what kind of diet he wants to go on: no rye.  He thought that should be easy enough.

The doc is pretty sure the crazy allergic episode my dear Watson had last month was due to the infection from strep throat. It won't happen every time he gets strep, his body just reacted weird to it this time.  We probably don't even need an epi pen.

Good news: beans are grouped with peas since they are all legumes, but the doc said he could slowly start introducing beans back into his diet if he wants to!  I don't know if he does because beans, beans are good for you heart, the more you eat em the more you.....you know.

Weary Not

Our stake president spoke at church today. He works for the LDS Church doing something or other that allows him to be in close association with many of the Apostles and General Authorities. He was asked to provide some consultation on the musical selections for President Monson's birthday celebration which happened last night (Aug. 18th).  He asked President Monson's secretary of 40 years and other office staff if there was a favorite song of President Monson's that he absolutely loved.  All the secretaries smiled hugely and said there was one song that he loves so much that all his office staff had to learn it, because whenever he is feeling down, or sometimes when someone is visiting or just for fun, he'll call in his secretaries (mostly all older women) to sing this song....."and we can't sing" they said.  They knew he would count it a special blessing to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing it at his birthday celebration.  The song comes from the old Deseret Sunday School song book, and these are the words:

If the way be full of trial; Weary not! 

If it’s one of sore denial, Weary not! 

If it now be one of weeping, 

There will come a joyous greeting, 

When the harvest we are reaping—Weary not!

Do not weary by the way, 
Whatever be thy lot; 
There awaits a brighter day 
To all, to all who weary not! 

(“If the Way be Full of Trial, Weary Not,” Deseret Sunday School Songs (1909), no. 158)

Hearing the words to this favorite song of our Prophet, was an answer to a prayer I've had in my heart lately.

My sister had a miscarriage at the beginning of the year, and then got pregnant again and just learned she's having twins! She's told me that before she found out about the twins she was praying that no matter what  happened she would be okay with it and know that it was Heavenly Father's plan for them. She was saying this prayer thinking she might miscarry again....she had no idea the prayer would end up needing to be said to help her cope with the news of twins! 

I've been thinking about that a lot lately and how strongly she prayed to accept whatever happened as Heavenly Father's will. I often find myself pleading with the Lord...okay, almost begging, that something I want or hope for will come to pass. They are always righteous things mostly dealing with our future as a family.  I realized I pray very seldom that I will understand that whatEVER happens is Heavenly Father's plan.  I already know that He won't leave us hanging. He'll provide a way for us and a good life for us full of blessings if we are righteous and faithful.  

Hearing the words to this hymn helped me remember that I have no need to weary when things don't go my way or the way I hoped. Whatever my lot is, a brighter day awaits me if I'll weary not. I've been trying to remember to pray, like my sister, that I'll know whatever comes our way is Heavenly Father's plan for us. 

Our first harvest of the season!

My office won our division Olympics. The flag is in honor of our boss Bill who has a mustache. This is my co-worker, Jenny.  

Porter Party 2012!

The student employees in our office basically work in a call center where they get calls all day long about Admissions, Financial Aid & Scholarships etc.  They often refer customers to website or email addresses where they have to spell out the web address or email address. You know, A as in Apple, B as in Ball.  The other day I heard one of the students say, "yeah, it's Z as in xylophone".  I laughed really hard on the inside. 

I was watching Jimmy Fallon's primetime music special on TV the other day, and I decided he is probably pretty fun to hang out with.  My favorite people to hang out with though, are my siblings.  They are so fun.  We have a lot more fun together now than I ever remember as kids because our age differences are pretty big in some cases.  

This was our first ever legit Porter Family Reunion...also known as Porter Party (hence the port-a-potties on our t-shirts).  

Here's a little glimpse of all the fun we had. 

Making Bows and Arrows

Talent Show -- Dancing!

Talent Show - Teletubbies

Talent Show - Synchronized Swimming

Talent Show - Singing and wrapping cars in Caution tape.

Talent Show - Singing!

Talent Show - Mario brothers show.

Talent Show - Balloon head dancing to Bop to the Top (High School Musical). This is my dear watson and me if you can't tell. 

Ta da! My balloon popped :(

Talent show - banjo, ukulele, guitar and singing. 

The WHOOOOOLLLLLEEEE fam

Waiting for 4 wheeler rides.

My oldest niece and our reunion mascots (owls)

Me and Han getting ready for the 5k.

We're off!

Minute to win it!

Glow dancing!

Fire works!

I love my family. 

Ruffle-Bum Leggings

The other night i was brushing my teeth and noticed something felt weird. I looked down and screamed....I was using my dear watson's tooth brush! Gross. We've been married 2 years and that's NEVER happened before.

Update on my knee: I can now walk about 90% of the time without pain. I can swim, bike, elliptical, aerobics, weights, yoga, softball, all with out pain or with very little pain.  The only thing I can't do yet? RUN. About 20 seconds after I start a nice easy jog I'm in lots of pain.  Then walking becomes difficult for an hour or so.  Even though I can't do the one thing I want to do most, I'd say this is major progress.

Made some stuff for my friends baby shower:

Pistachio cupcakes with white chocolate pieces on top.  My friend is having a girl, obviously. 

These are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies made in a muffin tin with a dollop of frosting in the middle. These were good....seriously good. 

The cupcakes I put on top of my cupcake holder.  The tulips and chicks are melted white chocolate in candy molds.  Don't mind the pickle jar and ketchup bottle.  Ugh, ugly. 

Probably my favorite thing ever. I made the little pink leggings with a ruffle-butt!  I  refurbished some  clothing I never wore very much.  I'm not really sure how well they will fit or hold up but they are so cute! I found the zebra striped onesie at Walmart...perfect!

I had a Birthday

It seems kind of weird that I’ve been alive for 24 years. I used to think that was old, but now it feels young.  My dear Watson and I realized the other day that I’m only 6 years away from 30, and 6 years ago I was 18.  18 is way young, and 30 seems so grown-up. I had a great birthday with many birthday wishes from all the people I love most; family, life-long friends and co-workers. The best surprise of all was when I came home from mutual my bff Jenny jumped out from my living room. She's been in Georgia for 2 years so I don't get to see her much and had no idea she was in Utah. Thank you everyone for thinking of me today! 

2 weeks ago we celebrated our Anniversary – 2 years of marriage.  Time flies.

We had an awesome week last week at the Porter Family Reunion.  Hopefully I’ll have pictures to share soon. 

My dear Watson had an allergic reaction last week. Swollen ears, and tongue and eventual difficulty breathing. He passed out and hyperventilated at the Dr.’s office and the paramedics came. We’re not exactly sure what he’s allergic to, but we think it might be some shampoo he used at our reunion. We don’t know where it came from, it was just left in the bathroom and he used it. We didn’t know he was allergic to shampoo (if that’s really the culprit). He also went hiking the day before and had strep throat, so it really could be anything.

I’ve been so nervous that it’s going to happen again. I have an epi pen and Benadryl in my purse all the time now, just in case. Mostly I'm just grateful he's alive and that we were at the Dr.'s office surround by people who knew how to help him.  

Not a good picture of either of us, but this was our Anniversary. 

A giant moose we saw on the way back from the family reunion at Timberlakes in Heber. There were moose all over the place during our trip.  

Can't Get Enough Cake

Been making stuff lately.

Trying to copy Costco's All American Chocolate cake (not the way it looks, just the way it tastes). This was for my Dad for Father's Day.  The cake was really rich and delicious. On the inside there are 4 layers with a ganache filling in between each one.  The side things I made by melting chocolate and spreading it thin on a pan, sticking it in the freezer and then breaking it apart and gluing on with frosting.

This was a birthday cake for my nieces (and my father-in-law :)). The inside is 4 layers with blueberry vanilla mousse in between each layer.  I dyed the cake purple and hot pink, so the layers alternate.

See how cute that little Brooke is?  

Jaislyn turned 9!

This was a coconut cream pie I made for a Memorial Day celebration. It was kind of an experiment (I've never made a custard pie before) and it turned out delicious!  I would make this again in heartbeat. The  crust is made out of coconut mixed with butter and baked until golden brown. Then you pour chocolate chips over top and smooth it all around as it melts.  MMMMMMM.   

Knee, Knee, Knee

Update on the Knee:

I got an MRI and all it showed was a lot of fluid and adema surrounding the IT band. I decided to take prednisone, an oral anti-inflammatory steroid.  It was the worst 2 weeks ever. I didn't sleep well so I was always tired and had a perma-headache; AND, it made me super emotional.

I've tried all sorts of different patches and creams. I got a TENS unit which sends pulses through my knee and apparently helps reduce inflammation. It's a really uncomfortable feeling.   My athlete friend recommended a local physical therapist/sports medicine guy, so I decided to try him out instead of the doctor I've been seeing.  My first visit they kept saying how tight the IT band was (which is CRAZY because I hadn't done anything more than walk on it for 2 weeks).  They gave me some stretches to do at home and told me to come back in a few days.  Surprisingly, the stretches really work. My pain has decreased significantly and it was a lot less tight when I went in the second time.

The PT told me I can start doing 20 minutes on a stationary bike and mild to moderate intensity--in the saddle the whole time.  I tried it out today and it didn't hurt a bit. I can't believe how just doing the right kind of stretches has made such a difference. Now most of my pain is just below my patella, not at the IT band. I guess that's good and bad.

My dear Watson is doing a 3 week CNA program right now. I see him when he drops me off at work in the morning, and then don't see him again until 10 pm. It's so sad.

Tens Unit: Electro-Stimulus

Sporting my blue PowWow shirt.  I have yellow, red, grey, and green. 

The weird patch I used for awhile. 

At the Physical Therapist. I was a little sad because they just told me how tight I still was.