When in doubt, smile.

Well I just got back from getting the results from my CT scan .. basically I have a few slightly abnormal nodes and tissues. The Doc’s first thought was mono, but I’ve had that (blood tested positive, not active), then he said it could be another virus, throat cancer or lymphoma. So he looked down my throat with a scope and didn’t see anything strange, except the swollen tissue behind my nose and throat. So next step is a needle biopsy of the largest node. It could take a couple weeks to get that scheduled, and I’d guess a week or 2 to get the results back. So I’m back to the waiting game. The needle biopsy isn’t very accurate, but if it comes back as ‘very benign’ then he’s more willing to wait it out and see what happens. Otherwise, the next step is to remove the node completely and biopsy it. Which the neck has alot of nerves and other good stuff that’s better left undisturbed

I just need to keep myself busy for the next month .. luckily I have birthday celebrations to attend, a few photoshoots scheduled and a couple online projects to work on.

From Mike & Angelle - Jung/Myers-Briggs Personality Test

I am an ENFP.
Extraverted: 56%
Intuitive: 62%
Feeling: 75%
Perceiving: 33%

Idealist Portrait of the Champion (ENFP)

Like the other Idealists, Champions are rather rare, say two or three percent of the population, but even more than the others they consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life. Champions have a wide range and variety of emotions, and a great passion for novelty. They see life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil, and they want to experience all the meaningful events and fascinating people in the world. The most outgoing of the Idealists, Champions often can’t wait to tell others of their extraordinary experiences. Champions can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions. Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types.

Fiercely individualistic, Champions strive toward a kind of personal authenticity, and this intention always to be themselves is usually quite attractive to others. At the same time, Champions have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others, reading hidden emotions and giving special significance to words or actions. In fact, Champions are constantly scanning the social environment, and no intriguing character or silent motive is likely to escape their attention. Far more than the other Idealists, Champions are keen and probing observers of the people around them, and are capable of intense concentration on another individual. Their attention is rarely passive or casual. On the contrary, Champions tend to be extra sensitive and alert, always ready for emergencies, always on the lookout for what’s possible.

Champions are good with people and usually have a wide range of personal relationships. They are warm and full of energy with their friends. They are likable and at ease with colleagues, and handle their employees or students with great skill. They are good in public and on the telephone, and are so spontaneous and dramatic that others love to be in their company. Champions are positive, exuberant people, and often their confidence in the goodness of life and of human nature makes good things happen.

Tag, you’re it!!

We Are Scientists will be performing on David Letterman on Monday, July 28th!! (11:30pm)

Go Keith!

Defrosted frozen cupcakes taste just like fresh baked cupcakes!!! You heard me right, bake up a batch tonight!! The top was perfect, not sticky at all, just like the one I ate on Monday night (fresh baked).

Updating [this post] I did not flash freeze them, all I did was let them cool completely, then wrapped them in 2 layers of plastic wrap, then put a bunch of them in a gallon freezer bag. So simple, and soooooo worth it!

My latest Liz mix .. I added links to you tube videos this time, so you can check all the songs out yourself. The SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) videos keep being taken down because of copyright, so I’m not sure how long they’ll last, but these are some of my favorite performances this season. When I clicked the publish button, all the videos worked

OLD NAVY

• Lights - Last Thing On Your Mind - [vid]
• Lights - Drive My Soul - [vid]
• Lights - White - [vid]
• Lights - February Air - [vid]

NOT ON TV

• The Black Keys - Strange Times - [vid]
• Switches - Drama Queen - [vid]
• Mute Math - Control - [vid]
• Whoa Oh Me Vs Everyone - Forever The Sickest Kids - [vid]
• The Stills - Lola Stars And Stripes - [vid]
• O.A.R. - Shattered - [vid]

AS SEEN ON TV

• iTunes/Coldplay - Viva La Vida - [vid]
• Heiniken/Chris Knox - It’s Love - [vid]
• Grey’s Anatomy/JEM - They - [vid]
• Kohls/Ben Lee - We’re All In This Together - [vid]

SYTYCD

• Anouk - Lost - [vid]
• Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love - [vid]
• Adele - Hometown - [vid]
• Chris Brown - Forever - [vid]
• John Mayer - Dreaming with a Broken Heart - [vid]
• Jordan Sparks - No Air - [vid]

There’s been a box of cake mix on my counter that has been taunting me since Ella’s birthday party. I hardly ever bake for myself, since I usually end up eating the whole thing myself. So yesterday while I was having serious cupcake cravings I realized that some of the make-ahead cookbooks I have say you can freeze muffins and other baked goods. So I did a little search on the internet and low and behold, there are people out there who have frozen cupcakes, and said they were fantastic. This afternoon I whipped up the batch of dark chocolate Betty Crocker mix, and now my little goodies are cooling off.

Some tips I read about freezing cupcakes:

• allow to cool completely (duh)
• do not frost them
• keep the paper wrap on
• double wrap them in plastic wrap
• unwrap before defrosting (apparently this helps minimize the sticky gooey tops)

So .. that’s how I’m going to do it. I’m going to see if my tops are sticky before wrapping them. If they are, then I will be flash freezing them first, then wrapping them up. I’ll let you know in the future how they do with defrosting. I read you could stick them on your counter for 5 - 6 hours to warm up, or stick them in your fridge to get the job done. I’m sure I’ll experiment both ways

I changed my twitter url .. you can now follow me at http://twitter.com/myfiasco.

Its been raining for days around here, today was the first day all week that the afternoon sunshine could actually dry up the grass. The dogs are very thankful for that. Last night the frogs were louder then they had been in months (even louder then [this night]), I ended up sleeping in the guest room, convinced the sliding glass door was letting more frog noise in. I think having the TV on in the guest room is what helped me tune out the frog song. We also have a ton of baby dragonflies around our backyard. Our grass grows so fast right now, there are a ton of little perches for the guys to hang out on. 

So .. what’s new here? Well .. yesterday I signed up for Image X. A photography workshop in New Orleans this October. I’m sooooo excited you have no idea. I’ve signed up for sessions with 2 photographers I know I have alot to learn from. I can’t wait. As for the photo business in general. I’m getting alot of emails and phone calls from interested people, I have a few sessions scheduled coming up, things seem to be growing. Its tough to know how things would really be in a good economy, since portraits are considered a luxury item.  

And for a little health update .. its now been 4 months since my swollen glands first really started bothering me. 3 months since one Dr. diagnosed me with a ‘throat infection’ and gave me antibiotics that did nothing. 6 weeks since I switched my allergy medicine and was tested for various auto immune diseases. Yesterday I got those results back, and everything came back fine, so that’s good. That Dr. said that she still believes my problem is allergy related, but because I’ve tried 2 different oral meds and nose spray, and nothing has helped, she suggested I see an ENT just to be sure. So I called my ENT who was going to do my surgery last year and they happened to have an opening this morning. After checking out all my head openings and feeling all the glands and nodes in my throat, he decides I should have a CAT scan on my throat. He said my glands or nodes on the left side of my throat were larger then the right, and there aren’t any signs of infection (which I swear my ears were infected, they’ve been hurting for days). So after that exam, I had blood drawn because they’ll inject me with dye for the scan next week, and they want to make sure I wont have a problem with that. Sounds like a blast huh? He didn’t say what he’s looking for .. I’m pretty sure he’s just covering all the bases. Anyways, I should get the results from the CAT on the 30th.

After spending most of the day in bed with the pups and the boy, I’m finally up .. and I’m going crazy with boredom. I think its just the aggravation of staying inside, rather then being able to go out even if I didn’t want to. I have 3 or 4 sewing projects that I need to do, a programming project that I volunteered for, and a few blog updates to work on .. but nothing sounds like fun right now.

What would I’d like to do? .. well I want to go look for curtains for the house .. thats what I’m spending my stimulus check on. And my fall veggie garden, but I def. can’t work on that, as its been raining all day. I also have a big desire to play poker. One of my old acquaintances has actually made it to day 5 of the World Series of poker .. and was ranked as high as 5th place earlier today .. he’s been in the top 20 for most of the day (and there are only about 150 left out of 6k+ who started). Its pretty exciting, I just wish it was on TV rather then having to check online for updates :\ Sucks they wont be broadcasting it until November. 

I guess I’ll work on Liz’s next mix CD for now .. maybe I’ll get motivated to work on one of my other online projects. 

I would also like Big Pup to stop barking at his reflection on the entertainment center. He apparently just discovered it, even though that piece of furniture has been in this house longer then him