What a Difference a Year Makes! Breast Cancer 0 - Survivors 1





October 2, 2012 Update

What a difference a year makes. This pic
was taken in September 2011. Knee deep
in the middle of chemo. Bald, no eyebrows,
all my upper lashes gone. Oh my. I
was starin' down the barrel of a double
mastectomy loomin' on the horizon.

One week ago today at this very moment, I was listening to Pink Floyd playing Comfortably Numb over the OR's airwaves and floating on a cloud of phentanyl-induced euphoria.

I'd arrived at the hospital at 5:30am and had spent the early morning stressing about how I would possibly make it through a surgery where a large amount of the surgical time would be spent with my ginormous Texas behonkus face up in the air as the surgeons removed the donor flaps from both of my lower shoulder blades.

Luckily I have no memory of them flipping me over, nor of said behonkus hangin in the air, large and in charge. The surgeons assured me that what happens in the OR stays in the OR.

The surgery went very well. I can't say enough about the professionalism and compassion of my surgical team, anesthesia team and all the health care professionals who were part of my care. I was able to leave on Friday and probably could have come home Thursday, except my family care team felt like I needed an extra night of great pain meds in order to spare their sanity.

I've had wonderful family help. The patience of my sweet sissy Khakki and my gracious Denny approaches saint-hood. My other sissy Nannie has also been a god-send and has patiently applied love and solace with equal stint. I truly don't know how I would have managed without their love and support. Khakki and Denny have taken turns with 3am "feedings". That's code for 3am pain med time where they have to get me out of the deep recesses of the recliner chair and help me to the potty and then help reposition drains and dressings.Finally, returning me to the recliner and settling me in for the next 4 hours.

I can't report yet on the status of Second Base. I'm pretty sure Team Save Second Base were victorious. I just haven't seen the "new girls on the block" yet in order to report. I do know that I have two speed bumps between my shoulders and navel and so am hopeful!

The prayers from many sectors, including my online family have also helped so much! Thank you! Each and every one of you who have offered prayers on my behalf - thanks to you and thanks be to God. Without God at the helm, I have no doubt things would have been completely different. In total, things have gone amazingly well and I look forward to seeing the doc tomorrow and having a few of the eight drains removed.

I look forward to getting back to business next week some time and giving you a new recipe of tempting low carb fare.

Thanks for sticking around and checking in!

MUAH!

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I thought very hard about whether to interrupt the regularly scheduled program to put something non-food related on the front page again. (I don't count giving you updates about articles being published elsewhere, because those too are usually food related or diet related.)

But I'm going to be away for a few days. Don't know exactly how long. I'm having the first of 3 or 4 breast reconstruction surgeries on Tuesday morning. Many of you already know this from hints that have been dropped or comments from Facebook, so it won't be a big surprise. But a few of you may not know this and may wonder about my absence.

In fact, this month as I've prepared to be away for surgery and recovery time, I've been very slow to post new blog posts. I generally try to get up 6-8 new posts a month or more sometimes! Apologies for leavin' ya hangin'!

Here's hopin' for more fun and yummy low carb recipes soon! I just didn't want any of you wanderin' away or sittin' there worried say, "Why don't she write?"

Prayers and well-wishes appreciated!!!

Easy Asian Dino Wings a Perfect Weeknight Supper



Dino Wings - all the flavor of wings, 10 times the size, 1/10th
the cost!

 You had me at easy. But now you're just talking trash by callin' these cheap...

Full Recipe: $5.35
Per 2 Leg serving: $0.90 each

I asked you guys to vote on your next post here on Fluffy Chix Cook. The majority voted to do Chile Rellenos, but one of the last comments struck a chord. The person mentioned that I had been concentrating on Tex-Mex too much.

Now, for a Texan those are fightin’ words. You could almost lose your card-carryin’ status if you were to say something that heretical. A Texan is born and raised on Tex-Mex and if you don’t eat it at least twice a week your tummy will think your throat’s been cut. And that craving doesn’t ease if you leave the state, either. You will miss and pine for Tex-Mex and the specific essence of Texana the rest of your life.

Kitchen Sink Chile Rellenos - Low Carb Tex-Mex Goodness

Hard to believe Chile Rellenos are Low Carb

Low Carb Oven - Roasted Kitchen Sink Chile Rellenos
taste perfectly sinful!

Well kiddy troopers, I solved the dilemma of which comes first the Asian Dino Wing or Kitchen Sink Chile Rellenos by publishing these two post simultaneously! Crafty!

I will try to get back to post more images on how to make these, but I’m pretty pressed for time right now. It’s likely you will not see me much over the next couple of weeks. I’m having the first of 3 to 4 reconstructive surgeries starting next Tuesday. The first surgery will be a big one at somewhere around 7-8 hours long. They will be taking 2 muscles from my shoulders and implanting them into my chest wall so that there is living muscle capable of holding up my implants. I don’t have any muscles left cuz they took it all

It's Football Season - Party Low Carb Texas-Style

I'm pleased to announce Fluffy Chix Cook and Susie T's latest article is published over at CarbSmart Magazine. The article touches on how to maintain carb sanity during football season when every weekend brings a 3-day party of Texas-sized dimension!

Dr. Richard Feinman of SUNY Downstate and the Nutrition & Metabolism Society fame, helped me understand biochemistry 101 as it applies to alcohol and partying - even low carb style. Thanks Dr. F! (Ahem, any errors in the explanation rely solely on my chemistry-challenged brain and its exceeding imperfection at grasping biochemistry concepts!)

I want to invite each of your to drop by and post a comment or tip with your favorite advice for navigating downfield in low carb success! Hey, maybe you would share one of your TNT recipes for dips and tailgating party food that you and your family love?! Super! I'm hoping we can get a big old long post of recipes to share!!! I started the ball downfield with my family favorite: Queso with Meat.

Thanks in advance and hope to see you there soon! (Oh and if you would be so kind, don't forget to +1 the article!) MUAH! And muchas gracias!

Here's the link:

Scoring a Low Carb Touchdown For The Home Team

Choose Your Next Post - Asian Dinosaur Wings or Chile Rellenos

Kitchen Sink Chile Rellenos tastes decadent but is
low carb and oven fried.

Ok crew. It's a grudge match of Texas-sized disorder, I mean, Texas-sized proportions! Or maybe I mean it's a grudge match of proportion distortions? Or epic proportions? Meh...

Regardless, what I'm lookin' for is feedback.

Have we gone too far with the Tex-Mex? Do you need a break from all things chile?

Do we need to switch gears and head to the opposite end of the spectrum to keep ya happy and motivated?

Tex-Mex Pulled Pork Street Tacos – More Low Carb Leftover Love

Leftover Love, Lucky Leftovers, Lazy Leftovers – Embrace the Quick and Easy Meal

Low Carb Street Taco.
Tex-Mex Pulled Pork on a homemade low carb Tortilla
with cabbage, onion and jalapeno relish and cotijia cheese.

Lazy Leftovers and Tex-Mex continue to reign supreme in Fluffy Chix kitchen stadium. Hell, people, you just cooked a 420lb hog with me a few days ago, we gotta use it somehow! (Ok, it was an 8.5lb pork shoulder, but do we have to be technical?) And with everything going on this week, I’ve relied heavily on leftovers. Lazy Leftovers. Or maybe it should be Lucky Leftovers? Yep, freezer diving was the Olympic Event of the week.

On Sundays, I like to cook some kind of roast beast. It could be a pork shoulder, or pork loin, or beef chuck, rump roast, tri-tip, eye of round, or whole chickens – even if they don’t provide the protein in the Sunday evening meal. I love making a Roasted Sunday because I generally buy meat when it’s under $2.00/lb, but I take personal pride when I get it for under $1.00/lb! Score!