Cooking adventures...

A success!

One of my e-friends mentioned she was going to make Kalua pork in the crock pot and I decided that since we love Kalua Pork I would attempt to make it at home. I got the recipe from this site and it turned out delicious! I sauteed cabbage to go along with it. It turned out to be one of my most favorite recipes so far. We didn't add rice so it wasn't exact this picture below but pretty darn close.

Because we had a ton of leftover pork, I also did the Pork Lo Mein from the same site. I was kind of hesitant to make this because I've never been very good at spaghetti recipes (other than traditional spaghetti). I added spinach and red, yellow and orange bellpeppers in an attempt to make it a little healthier. It looked something similar to this, with no snow peas.

Apparently, Rico loved it! He inhaled it! He said it was even better than the Mongolian Grill we go to. That's the best compliment I could have ever gotten!!

Rico now has his CPAP machine. His sleeping has definitely improved. They said it would probably take about a month for him to get used to wearing it so he hasn't worn it for a full night quite yet but he's working up to it. But Mom and Bucky will definitely notice a difference in the noise level when we visit them in February :) Speaking of which, only one month to go! Time to start tanning!

I had to spend $400 today to get my car fixed, blah! Rico's sure I got ripped off but who knows, but I probably was. I had the 36,00 mile check, my rotors were warped so they had to resurface them, oil change, tire rotation, break fluid was flushed and replaced and they checked my air bag light because it randomly came on while we were driving home from Seattle one night. The one good thing about going to my dealer for this is they are replacing my tires for free. Because I purchased my car with them and continue to get my oil changed with them, they'll replace my tires free for life. So Tuesday, I get new tires.

New Year, New Goals

As 2009 comes to a close, we've decided to look ahead and make the most of what we've got together. In that spirit, we have set a goal move date for Colorado Springs. I think it helps to have something we are working toward and a deadline, per say. This helps us map out how we want to proceed with finances and such.

So, our anticipated move date: Spring/Summer of 2011. It seems so far away ...but then again, so did our wedding for a while. And even though we are going to miss terribly the friends we've made here, we're welcoming a fresh start in a new state with new friends and new adventures.

On the bright side, for those we're leaving behind...we'll be a wonderful vacation destination should you want to come visit us - this of course applies to both West & East Coast peeps!

Rico just finished up his 2nd sleep study, this time with the CPAP machine (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). The one he will actually use will go over his mouth as well. Doesn't he look so pleased??

This experience was completely opposite of the 1st study. He woke up alert and with oodles (yes I said oodles!) of energy - something that hasn't happened a long time! He was actually perky in the morning! Next step is to order the machine and have it adjusted for him (luckily he has great insurance and it covers 80% of the machine's cost), which should be either today or Monday. ::is that a night without earplugs i see in my future??::

Rico also starts a new quarter at school on Monday - just ordered his books ($300, ouch!). This quarter will be all online though so he won't have to drag himself to school at night after work. Hopefully he will be able to get all of his classes in and he will have completed his AA by Dec of 2010.

We're going snow tubing on Jan 16th. Hopefully we'll be able to get a big group of friends to go with us as well to make it extra special. This will be my first time tubing (at least on snow - I did get on an intertube pulled by a boat back home, but of course that was much warmer!)!!

PS: A quick shout out to my very first follower! Miss BellaKai at Porkchop's Modern Life, welcome to the blogging world!

Good bye 2009 , Happy 2010 Everyone!

Sleep Study Results

Rico followed up his sleep study with a doctor's visit to review the results. Our hopes of a quick and easy surgery to fix it were sidelined for now.

We were already told that he has severe sleep apnea, but we didnt' realize it was to this extent. During any single hour, Rico woke himself up 77 times!! No wonder he feels worn out in the morning! He's not getting any sleep! In order for surgery to have worked, he would have had to have numbers between 40-50.

Another concern the doctor has is that he only get 67% of the oxygen he needs which is super low. The doctor's orders: CPAP machine (it's either that or a Tracheotomy)! Because Rico's oxygen levels were so low, he's not a good candidate for being put under to have any surgery.

So, Rico is going back to do one more sleep study on Monday the 28th to try out the CPAP machine. After that, we need to go back to dieting and exercising regularly. Weight is a major factor and contributor to this disease, so if we can control the weight, we have a chance of controlling the sleep apnea. If we can reduce Rico's waking times to between 40-50 times, then he might qualify to have the surgery for his deviated septum (which should also help with his sinus issues and bloody noses).

**On a side note, I'm really impressed by how fast all these results are coming back and how quickly everything is being scheduled, especially around the holidays!

He survived!

"Worst night of sleep in my life" is what Rico said about spending the night away from me... of course, that could be all the sensors, as well as the poking and prodding that was going on. I choose to think it was the former. ::There is no harm in letting me live in my delusional state::

Below is proof of the torture chamber...Rico spent over 12 hrs getting monitored. We should have the results in the next 2-3 weeks.I also went to the doctor today. Dr. Wallace ordered blood tests for me to rule out PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Disease) as a reason for my anovulatory cycles. I'll get that done tomorrow and have the results in a few days (probably Monday due to the holidays though).

Christmas is on Friday...all the presents are wrapped and now all we're waiting for is Santa to show up. We've lit up our house so he can find us easily! You can't tell from the picture, but those are penguins underneath the window in the flower bed. I like all white lights and Rico loves the multi-colored, so this was our compromise.