Dream a Little Dream....

1 in 175,711,536.  That's the odds of one ticket matching all the winning numbers of tonight's mega lotto draw.  The lotto pot is $640 million and the entire country is going crazy.

So the chance of winning is almost nil but people are happily lining up to buy lotto tickets anyway.  The 7-11 on the other side of the office has a line stretching out the door.  I walked by at lunch today and I thought the line wasn't too bad.  Then, I realized the line actually snaked all the way to the back of the store and to the front again. Ugh! That was probably the longest lotto line I ever saw!!

So why do people- including me - still want to waste their time and money (with a big smile) knowing that they most likely won't hit the lotto??  I see it as a cheap thrill.  I see it as buying a fantastic dream.  Nobody really thinks that he/she will actually win but we can always dream, right?  And, someone - probably the luckiest person on earth - will win it eventually because there is that one in 175,711,536 chances.  Just like other lotto drawings, someone WILL win.

Never Say Never.  So I bought $2 lotto yesterday.  Hey, if I don't play, then I can't even dream about it.  And, I want to be able to say that I've participated in this once in a life time half-a-billion dollars lotto drawing.  Yes, half a billion dollars within anyone's reach (only if you play).  Now, how often can you say that?

So go ahead.  Dream a little dream....

The Freezer Food Challenge is Still On

Yes, I'm still in this challenge.  I'm still making food from the freezer.  I just didn't have time to blog about it.  I can't believe we are already in the final stretch of March!

I've been eating things from the freezer and I haven't bought any meat thus far.  I saved some money and my frozen stash is diminishing.  I'm having fun but I have not made anything spectacular that I can blog about.

OK, maybe there are two dishes that are fun to make and look great on photos:

Anything Paella.  Made with things found in the freezer/fridge: pretty color bell peppers, 1/2 onion, 1 tomato, baby octopus, Chinese smoked chicken (I shredded it), leftover crab meat and yes, 2 hot dogs.

Everything Ravioli.  Dinner brought to you by leftover cilantro and basil (even the lemon wedge) from Pho the night before, mushrooms from the bottom shelf of the fridge, collard greens in the bag, frozen peas and days old caviar.

What do you think?  I love this game!  It's a good challenge to turn bunch of anything into something everyday.  It's not easy as I think though.  I have to scan through the freezer the night before and figure out what's there and what I can with it.  It's like doing homework!

What I've Learned.  I learn not to over purchase.  Having space in the freezer doesn't mean I have to fill it up.  Yes, it's hard but it's something that I should restrain from doing.  One exception would be if there is a great sale.  How can you resist BOGO??

Yap, Excise Here

I had my first surgery - ever - in my life today.   Luckily, it was just a minor procedure.  The doc said it couldn't be better than this for my first under-the-knife experience.

My procedure was to have a lipoma on my left elbow "excised" (I guess that's the medical term.  I would have just say cut off, removed, carved out....)  The lipoma has been there for a few years.  It was a little lump at first and the doc said not to worry.  It was just fatty tissues and as long as it didn't bother me or affect my movement then let it be.  Well, I think it has grown a little and finally the doc said OK, you can have it "excised."

Lipoma is benign cyst of fatty cells - some people call it a "big pimple."  It can grow anywhere on the body - just glad that I didn't have this big pimple on my nose.  Mine was a little soft lump.  It didn't hurt or itch.  It was just there.   Well, bye-bye now.

Funny that the procedure was performed by a plastic surgeon.  WOW!  Can I now claim I had cosmetic surgery done?  I thought that the surgeon could just have it removed - I mean excised- during my office visit.  Nope!  "I'll schedule you for an out-patient surgery," he said.

So today was my first visit to the hospital as a patient.  I had to arrive at 6:30am to get ready for the 7:30am procedure.  The nurses took care of me like I was there for a major operation.

I had to answer bunch of questions on paper.  I was then taken to the prep station.  A nurse took my blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and asked me the same questions again.  This time, she entered in the computer.  I suggested that they should just have the patient enter this info on an iPad to save them time.  I was then visited by my surgical nurse and was asked the same questions again.  Then, my surgeon showed up and asked the questions yet again.  I appreciate their thoroughness but total of 4 times??

It was very quiet in the out-patient surgery center this morning.  There were only this other lady and myself.  My surgeon showed up nicely dressed like he was going to a meeting.  That lady's surgeon showed up in shorts and tennis shoes.  I guess there is no dress code for surgeons.

I walked to my surgery room. A room with a white surgical bed with an arm extension.  A big operation light hung above, machines humming, surgical instruments nicely laid out...oh-oh, this now started to feel intimidating.

I was told to lie down and to extend my left arm.  An electro-pad was placed on my leg.  "This is for grounding just in case," my surgical nurse said.  Huh???  A safety belt was placed around my hip.  "This is to prevent you from jumping up just in case," my surgical nurse said.  What??

Finally, the surgeon came in, examined the lump, put a "X" on the spot with a surgical marker then draped towels around the area.  He put on his surgical garb, turned on the shiny white light and pulled out a big needle.  This was it.  No turning back.

I had local anesthesia.  The needle hurt like heck but thank God for invention of anesthesia!!!  I could still move my arm and fingers but felt no pain during the procedure.  THANK YOU MODERN MEDICINES!!

The procedure and the suturing took less than 30 minutes.  I kind of felt guilty that they had to go through this big production to prep me for such a non-exciting excision.  But, my lipoma is gone and it's not coming back!!!

It's a Wrap.  My arm didn't even have to be bandaged up like a mummy.  I could even drive myself home.  So, I got home around 8:40am to start my day.

I do have to rest my arm and prop it up for the next couple of days though.  This is actually the hardest part for me.  I can't sit still and I'm not used to doing nothing.  So, here I am blogging about my experience with one hand.  Interesting but I do not wish anyone to go through.

Lucky Me. I appreciate that the medical personnel took great care of me like it was some major surgery.  I am thankful that I have insurance to pay for all of these.  There are many people who cannot afford any medical care at all, so I am extremely blessed for what is available to me.

An experience to be added to my life stories.

What's in the Freezer

I didn't do too bad on day 1 of the freezer food challenge.  Found julienned pork, and a vacuum-packed saba.  So I decided to make a rice stick main dish since I have plenty of veggies around and a grilled saba.  I even have enough stuff to make a cauliflower soup with half of an onion, potato and kale.

I like the pre-julienned pork packages.  Just divide them into smaller packets so I only have to defrost what I need.  I got the cauliflower soup recipe from a cooking show couple of weeks ago.  Simple and nutritious.  So besides the pretty orange butternut squash soup that I usually make, I now have a recipe for a pretty cream color soup.