I have a need for comfort food once in awhile, you know? This recipe I found thanks to Maria…and once I went to the link she had posted on Facebook? Oh my. I had to make it.  I made  Marilyn’s Mac & Cheese Recipe. Only I did a reduced fat version!  It makes 6 servings, each serving coming out to be AROUND 6 Weight Watchers points (I went through the recipe builder to get this number).

Here’s the recipe (with my modifications!)

*  2 cup(s)  shell macaroni
* 1/4 cup(s) grated reduced fat sharp Cheddar cheese
* 1/4 cup(s) grated reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese
* 1/4 cup(s) grated provolone cheese (could not find a reduced fat version!)
* 1/2 cup(s) light sour cream
* 1 can(s) (15-ounce) diced stewed tomatoes, drained
* 1 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
* 2 teaspoon(s) fresh oregano

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook macaroni according to package instructions, drain, and transfer to a 4-cup casserole dish. Stir in remaining ingredients and bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Cut into 6 servings and serve. Enjoy.

One day I WILL try this in the full fat version…But it certainly quenched my want for a little comfort goodness!

Ok, I don’t know why I stopped following it in the first place. I really need a community of people to keep me going in the world of getting back to fitness and getting my body back! I joined the community when it was brand new last year…And the new challenge is totally about celebrating the anniversary of the site! It has grown so much!

You can also find me here, if you want to follow my weekly weigh ins…Which are on Wednesdays!

Starting in at 153.3! Can you believe that! BELOW 155 for once!! HOLY MOLY! I am in a great mood…

*Er…I cursed a little bit….Sorry! Just wanted to let you know so you won’t be all offended and such*

I went to the ENT this week. Nothing is visibly wrong with my sinuses from his point of view. So the jerk is sending me off to get a CT scan, which I still have not even bothered scheduling. He pissed me off, dang it. Why? Why am I so apt to calling this doctor a jerk?

I hate specialists, for the most part. Sometimes they seem to act all high and mighty like they have so many better places to be on that particular morning… I was talking to him when he first came in, telling him how I felt…and I just felt no empathy from him. I know that empathy can be a very difficult thing to build up, to become “good” at. I have to work on my own empathetic style. It’s hard. Whatever. I just felt nothing from him. No care. No concern. And no sense of humor. He asked me why I had never seen an allergist. Erm…Because my doctor had never referred me to one? And I don’t have seriously bad seasonal allergies…and because my doctors have seen me take zyrtec, allegra, claritin, amongst other drugs for years with nothing working. Allergies weren’t the first thing we thought of.

Oh! And then I told him about Atlas. Maybe I had issues with the dog, but we had given him up to Dan’s parents and it hadn’t changed anything. To which he replied something along the lines of how the dog must not have meant much to him/us. Er….Seriously, dude? He wasn’t joking. Not even being sarcastic. I come from a family of seriously sarcastic people. This man was not joking. I think tears kind of stung my eyes a bit when he said that! It was one of the hardest decisions I had ever made in my entire life so far.  I’ve had plenty of tough things go on in life, but sitting down with Dan to discuss giving up his dog? Yikes. It’s one of those things that I was scared would ruin the relationship.  Regardless of how it hasn’t helped my allergies, though, it turned out to be a good decision. We do not have room for that big cuddly bum!

Needless to say, I’m being sent off to the allergist. SUPPOSED to go this Thursday, but I’m going to have to call them. When I got the word from my doc’s office that I had the appointment, it was on Wednesday. I had stopped taking my Allegra at that point, because they told me to. But I got a letter in the mail today from the Allergist, and I’m supposed to be off that type of med for 2 WEEKS. I hope that doesn’t mean I’ll have to change the appointment. I seriously hope not. I want to go and get it down with.

Today has been the last straw for me, in a way.

I woke up this morning with a raging headache. RAGING. The only thing I had can for it, if it has a decongestant in it, is very limited…to mostly pseudoephedrine. HATE taking those meds. It’s the only thing I’ve got, though. Sigh… I felt like complete ass and I even had to call a close friend and let her know I couldn’t make it to her baby shower. For all I know when I feel like garbage is that I’m actually coming down with something else. I have to play it safe. Another friend asked if I wanted to go grab Irish stew for lunch and I was all for it.  Yes, I should have just stayed home for that, too. I have zero appetite.  My sinuses are raging, my ears are full, and I’m DIZZY, not to mention nauseated from the sinus drainage. I slacked off on taking decongestants AND using my Neti pot this week and now my sinuses are PUNISHING ME for this.

It is BULLSHIT that I have had to deal with this for so long. It is BULLSHIT that all of the primary care doctors that I have ever seen over the years never put two and two together and insisted I be referred to a specialist for this. IT INFURIATES ME that I had to step in and do it myself and it makes me BAWL to have to deal so far with an ENT who was a complete ASSHOLE towards me. Like, why the fuck was I wasting his time!!

I wanted SOOOOO BAD for something to be wrong with me on Tuesday when I went to see him. I wanted something to be glaringly obvious. I wanted something to be more than relatively normal.  I wish he had seen me today… Because he saw me on what was a good day for me. Sitting there asking me if I had ever tried this and that.  YES! YES I HAVE. I have tried every single pill. EVERY SINGLE NOSE SPRAY. EVERYTHING.  Did you not hear me?? Already said all that.

This sinus issue has ruined my life. It really really has. My quality of life, for sure and I can’t live this way anymore. I hope that the allergist finds out something…

An advisor of mine at the school? Told me had the same issues and it turned out to be allergic reaction to milk. I could deal with milk…but what if its a gluten allergy?

I have decided that I will not go get that CT scan until after I see the allergist. Don’t want to bother the ENT with a waste of time “NORMAL” scan….If the allergist can’t find anything, I mean. That’s when I’ll get it.

Until then, I’m under the wrath of my sinuses at the moment. Headache. Dizzy. Feeling hit by a truck, though no fever, so that’s a plus…Sitting in bed…With my humidifier on. A glass of ginger ale at my side. Trying to study for a midterm.  So tired of my sinuses punishing me for a crime I committed…an unknown crime…

Dan and I had decided to see each other BEFORE the ceremony. Took the edge off a little and made for amazing pictures…