Baking Bread

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It was a year ago that I decided that I was going to bake all our own bread. I haven’t bought a single loaf this whole year. I will never go back. There are so many things I love about baking bread. Something about providing with my own hands something that is so sustaining to my family. I like that I can provide a healthier bread for less money.

It has been a year of a lot of ups and downs as I have taught myself to bake bread. I have experimented a lot and failed a lot, my poor family had eaten a lot of flat, heavy bread. When I think I have it all figured out, I learn something else and make it better and better. Last night, I baked 6 loaves of bread, 4 came out beautiful and perfect, the last batch was fallen and flat!

Despite all the failures and struggles and hot kitchens on hot summer nights it has been a wonderful experience, and something that I plan on doing indefinitely.


Who else bakes their own bread, what do you enjoy about baking bread?

Coming Home

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I am a creature of habit and routines. I like to do the things I do the same way all the time every time. Not that I won’t ever try something different, that can be so fun, I just have to think it through for a while and once it is all thought out in my mind can I comfortably try it.

Because of this little OCD quirk of mine Christmas time is a little hard for me. I enjoy Christmas, but the whole month of December I feel a little off, and life around my house just doesn’t run as smoothly and it stresses me out! When January rolls around I am so happy to be done with Christmas, I have no feelings of sadness when the tree comes down and the decorations are put away.

I know…ba-humbug!

This Christmas season was especially bad, when Dadzoo fell and injured himself he threw a wrench, or two or three into my well planed out Christmas. I now had a 300 pound man to take care of! I never before realised how much he does around this house and how much he helps me until he could do nothing. (For an update on his progress and a report on the Orthopedic appointment go here)

Christmas went on pretty much as usual, I did the big dinner on Christmas Eve (Dadzoo ate on the couch) and I laid out all of Santa’s gifts (even putting together a doll cradle as best I could, until a medicated bedridden Dadzoo had to take over). As much as I tried to keep things as normal and traditional as possible, it just wasn’t possible, poor Dadzoo slept through most of the festivities and I was so busy keeping everything together I never really had time to enjoy anything.

That being said I have learned so many things. I have come to learn and feel of the kindness of others. I have a wonderful community of friends around me who dropped everything to help out, whether it be a ride to the doctors, taking care of my kids when I needed it or shoveling me out of the drive way at 6:30 am (another post for another day!). I am go grateful for the wonderful people that the Lord had surrounded me with, they have truly been my angels on earth.

I am happily anticipating this new year. Dadzoo is slowly on the mend, we will have a long year ahead of us regarding his recovery, but at least he doesn’t need surgery (at this point anyway) and his company is going to let him work from home for another week, so we won’t have to go without a paycheck, and Dadzoo will get the rest he needs.

I am looking forward to a new year, with new goals, new plans and a new way of doing things. We are going to be healthier, happier, more self sufficient, less debt and closer to God in 2009. After a rocky end to 2008 I am excited for 2009!

A little more of "The Story"

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We were off to the Doctor’s office. It was a painful ride for Dadzoo, every bump and turn he would silently grimace, as his face became whiter and whiter. He would lay his head back and close his eyes; Sister H and I were constantly asking him “you still there?” “You O.K.” He would say “yes” weakly and I was just praying that we would get to the Doctors with out any delays.

Once we arrived I did something I have never before in my life done, I parked in a handicap spot. Sister H stayed with Dadzoo while I ran in to check us in and get a wheelchair. The office staff was wonderful, they got us right into the examine room, the nurse was so kind and gentle and questioned us thoroughly. The PA gave Dadzoo an excellent examination. He made Dadzoo get up on the examine table, but was so helpful and patient. He poked and prodded the bad knee and moved it all over the place, even in ways it really shouldn’t be able to move.

He determined that Dadzoo had pulled/torn all the ligaments on the inside of his knee joint, he didn’t say much more than that, leaving a better diagnosis up to the orthopedic doctor.

He was watching Dadzoo really closely as he was moving and examining him, Dadzoo was having a hard time again, the examine was really painful and he started doing the light-headed thing again, even though he was lying down.

Then the PA started to ask some really scary questions:

Have you been having chest pains? Well not, really

Have you had tightness in your chest? Yes, I have asthma, it gets tight a lot
Pain in your face or jaw? Yes, I have had a cold and my face has really been hurting

Pain in your left arm? Um, yeah…I guess I have

What about right before you fell, any of those symptoms? No, no more than usual

My heart was sinking, I felt stunned. I knew what the PA was getting at and I felt like it couldn’t be true. A heart attack?! No way, Dadzoo is 38; he isn’t in the greatest health, but, no way! I prayed hard, really hard, please, please no!

The PA took his blood pressure and pulse again, they were normal and he listened to his heart. He then ordered an EKG and told us he would be back in a bit. The nurse came in and did it right there in the room and a few minutes later the PA was back.

Everything was good.

Dadzoo’s heart is healthy.

He determined that the passing out was a reaction to the pain killers he had been taking. Dadzoo passes out easily when he is in pain anyway and this particular pain medication can make a person light headed. So he prescribed him something different and a little more powerful, encouraged us to still see the Orthopedic Doctor and sent us home.Once we were home and he took a dose of his new medicine things really starting looking better. His color came back and his pain was managed a little better, and the next time I took him to the bathroom he didn’t feel faint at all.

He still had to stay off his leg and foot; he has made permanent residence on the couch with ice packs and pillows. He was able to get the last week in December off too, he will be going negative two days into his Paid-Time-Off and if he needs to take more time off, he will have to go on short term disability. We will know more on the 30th.

More of "The Story"

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I got Dadzoo home, and tucked onto the couch with pillow under his legs, a warm blanket around him and two pain pills. I had a thousand things to do, half of my neighbor gifts didn’t get made and delivered today, we spent a good part of the afternoon in the ER and I still had some sewing to do. Luckily the kids went to bed fairly easy and Dadzoo promptly fell to sleep. That night I got to bed about 2 am after giving Dadzoo another dose of medication.The next day seemed fine. Dadzoo was still in a lot of pain, but I figured that would be normal, it wasn’t until he needed to get up to go to the bathroom that I realized this recovery wasn’t going to be as easy as a few days rest. He could hardly move the pain was so bad, even on the pain meds, and being his injuries were to his left knee and right foot, he didn’t have a leg to stand on!

I followed him closely down the hall to the bathroom and helped him to get situated on the toilet, then gave him some privacy. Once he was done he called and I helped him up, pulled his pants up and put his brace back on. He then washed his hand and started to go white and clammy again. He says to me “I need to lie down quick; I am going to pass out!” Knowing I couldn’t catch my 300 pound man we hurried as quickly as two gimpy legs would let us back to the couch just in time. I gave him some oil treatments and he seems to come out of it ok.This happened two more times during the day, and I grew concerned.

Later that night I was at a Christmas party, I doped Dadzoo up and made him promise to call a neighbor if he needed to use the bathroom and I took the kids to the party. My grandma had a cousin party every year where all the kids frost cookies and she does a big bingo game with fabulous prizes. She has been doing this since I was a little girl and the kids really look forward to it. While I was there I talked to my sister, both of who are RN’s and was given some advice on using the medication that was given and I was also strongly advised to call the Orthopedic surgeon and our regular doctor the next day. I had to call someone because the ER’s only prescribed us 15 pills!That night I set the alarm for every three hours to get up and give Dadzoo his pain pills. I didn’t want him to start hurting at all.

I called first thing Wednesday morning (Christmas Eve) and got an appointment with the Orthopedic Doctor for Tuesday, I asked about pain pills and they told me to call our primary care doctor. I then called our doctor and they could get us in an hour if we would be willing to see the Physician Assistant….that was fine with me as long as they can give out narcotics, because Dadzoo sure needed them!

As I was rushing around getting myself dresses and dressing Dadzoo I realized that I would need help getting him into (everything was still very snowy and icy, I was afraid he would fall or pass out) the minivan. I called the neighbors; no one was home, or at least any men. I then called the Relief Society President (the leader of the women’s organization in my church). She told me not to worry; she would be right up with a couple of men to help me.

Another quick trip to the bathroom, another near fainting and then two big men and the Relief Society President show up at my door. They get Dadzoo into the van, and again he neatly faints on us. He is extremely white, his lips look like the white snow and he was sweating. The Relief Society President gets into the car with me, so she can help at the Dr. Office and we are off…..I am praying he doesn’t faint….

And that they can figure out why he keeps fainting….

And for some really good drugs!

The Story

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Dadzoo got this week off work, we were planning on a fabulous weekend…..
However,
“The best laid plans of mice and men….”
Monday we had a huge big fat snow storm, and a neighbor got her car stuck in the snow at the end of the street. She called, knowing (or hoping) Dadzoo was around. He set off down the icy streets to try to help dig her out, when he was almost there he took a really bad fall.

So bad in fact, when he was finished falling the bottom half of his right leg was sticking out at an odd angle. Looking up he saw a snow plow making its way towards him, so using the shovel he hoisted himself up and heard a distinctive pop as his knee decided it wanted to go back into place. His left foot felt like fire and his right knee was beyond painful. Using the shovel as a cane he hobbled home.

I was in the kitchen when I heard the door open and he called to me. I knew by his voice that something wasn’t right. I went to him and found him leaning against the door frame, white as a ghost, his face stricken with pain and he could barely cry out “I fell, I am going to pass out”

Dadzoo is 6 foot 4 inches and weights 300 pounds.

I got him to the couch quick as lightening.

I started to take his shoes and pants off, and he was just crying with the pain (my poor tough man!) as he was telling me what happened. His face was so white and his skin was so cold, but he was sweating. I knew he was going into shock, and I knew that it was up to me, there was 4 inches of snow packed roads and 15+ miles between me and a hospital. I started in with all the right things, elevating his legs above his heart giving him a warm blanket, but after about 20 minutes he still wasn’t snapping out of it. I then found my essential oil book, looked up shock, and by the time I was finished applying the oils his color had come back, and excepting the pain was feeling better.

I knew we needed to get him to the hospital, they needed to check his knee and foot. The only problem was the roads, they were in no shaped to be driving on in a little mini van without 4 wheel drive.

This is where I started learning, and growing.

Dadzoo and I are very independent, we don’t ask for help, ever. When we do it is really hard and we have all sorts of guilt about it. For two reasons, we like to take care of ourselves and we don’t like to put people out. Well I knew I couldn’t do it myself. I couldn’t drive and I couldn’t take all 5 kids to the ER.

So I swallowed my pride and made some phone calls, within about 30 minutes I had all 5 kids taken care of and a ride to the ER. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful neighborhood family. Everybody just stepped right up and happily took care of me, my hubby and my children. I am so thankful.

After a very icy, slow and bumpy ride we finally made it to the ER and thankfully a wheel chair. Since he was in so much pain they got him in quickly and he was examined by a Doctor, who ordered x-rays.

As we were waiting he looked at me, his face white and said, I am going to pass out. I helped haul him onto the bed and he lay there very quietly until the little girl from radiology came to get him. The poor girl weighed about 100 pounds, and she was no help getting him back into the wheel chair. As soon as he was settled and she was getting ready to wheel him away, he lay his head against me and whispered “I am going to pass out.”……….Once again I haul him onto the bed, keeping in mind he can hardly move his right knee and left foot. He lay there, white as white and sweating like crazy. The poor radiology tech didn’t really know what to do and finally told us she would be back in a few minutes.

Once he was feeling better we again put him in the chair, and once again he got light headed. Finally our nurse came to check on us, wanting to know if we were back yet. I explained to her what was happening, she put Dadzoo on oxygen and a few minutes later a big strong man from radiology came to wheel Dadzoo in the whole bed for the x-rays.

About 20 minutes later Dadzoo was given some pain meds and prescription for some more, a knee brace and foot brace and crutches. There were no broken bones, only a “bad sprain”. He was told to keep off of it for a day or so ice it a bit and if it didn’t feel better to call our regular Doctor.

So we were thinking, “Great, no biggy a few days rest and things will be back to normal…right?”

Wrong