Thankful for our 4some :)

Our Thanksgiving hike up the hill behind the house.  What a VIEW!

Saturday - November 30, 2013

So thankful for Thanksgiving hanging on through the beginning of the weekend!  First we enjoyed our laid back Thursday with our first Thanksgiving meal together since Megan's last year at William and Mary in 2009.  Add some collaborative cooking with Megan, a hike up the Headlands behind the house, and a round of Catan, and you end up with the perfect family day.  Then, our holiday was extended by United Airlines' poor communication about Jonathan's change in Friday's flight schedule.  The error caused a flood of adrenalized panic but eventually gifted us with an additional two days together - free of charge.  We'll take it!  Thanks very much!  The gift of time was shared with our Arlington friend and petsitter extraordinaire, Elizabeth, who joined us on an outing to Tony's in North Beach;  Jonathan ended up getting his sought-after meatball when he could have been sitting on an airplane.  Sounds like a fine trade-off, all in all.

The mystery of my epic stomach discomfort continues.  In fact, it might have accelerated this week.  Joe and I ponder the possibilities and we just can't nail down an instigating event.  Mozzarella or burrata?  Up until last month that had been the theory but not anymore.  Restaurant food?  Nope.  I was sick on my standard homemade pesto last week.  Rich food?  Well, I was up at 3:30 this morning battling my belly when I had only eaten plain rolls and a bit of salad for dinner; our North Beach meal had been 15 hours prior to my  turmoil.  Funnily enough, I was absolutely fine on Thanksgiving.  The methotrexate definitely did a job on my liver.  My AST and ALT liver enzyme levels remain double what they should be.  Next steps:  a consult with a liver specialist and an ultrasound.  If she can't link my increasingly frequent nuclear, jaw-jarring stomach-emptying to my liver levels then ... I am back in "medical mystery land" and I ... LOATHE ... MEDICAL ... MYSTERIES.  As I repeat to myself in the black of night, reviewing my meals, feeling a bit clammy (is it a NIGHT SWEAT?!) and pondering my stomach options, "the scans are clear.  The scans are clear."  That mantra is my Thanksgiving.