It's been a week now so it was time for another trip to the doctor. It's not that I enjoy writing out $20 copay checks or buying the new prescriptions. It's the fact that something else went wrong today. I feel sometimes like I'm headed down the wrong road and can't get turned around. Anyway, my feet, ankles, legs, hands and face were swollen and getting bigger every day and I felt very uncomfortable. Also, I was so out of breath. Just walking to the other end of the house made me winded. I tried and tried to figure out what might be wrong. I know that the morphine pump can cause edema but that's usually just in the feet and ankles. Then, right before I went in to the doctor it hit me. I have been using Catapres TTS patches since I had the morphine pump implanted. They are actually for high blood pressure but are used at times for symptoms of narcotic withdrawal. I took off my last patch on Sunday and by Monday night my feet were a little swollen. Tuesday morning was a little worse and this morning was just getting ridiculous.

When I got in the office my blood pressure was 195/102 and the nurse and doctor both said my heart was racing. My regular doctor is on vacation this week so I saw one of his partners. I tried to give him just enough history to know what was going on and right away he said I was reacting to taking off the Catapres patch.

He wrote me out a prescription for a couple months worth of patches and gave me a water pill to try to get rid of the swelling faster. He said no heavy lifting or strenuous activity. He seemed genuiney concerned about my heart. He said .."You are scheduled for a stress test and now is no time to be letting your heart get out of control like this." If I get any worse at all I am to come right back in to the office.

Tonight on American Idol we will find out the top 12 girls and the top 12 boys. I always like to go on the American Idol forums after the show to see who people are liking and who they are going to get behind and vote for. Well, last night on one of the posts I discovered a blog all about American Idol and also had some spoilers for tonights show. I have a list of who they have discovered are the top 24 people. It will be really interesting to see if it is correct. If you are interested in checking it out the blog is at http://mjsbigblog.com/categories/americanIdol
By the way, my very favorite so far is Katharine McPhee. I also like Paris Bennett but Katharine is more my taste in music. I haven't heard enough of the guys yet to know who I like. I felt so sorry for the little cowboy who had to go home but he really had a life changing experience and he knew he wasn't really ready for this.

When a person has been as sick as long as I have been in the last few years it seems the only thing I feel like doing at times is watching TV. It makes me feel like I'm with people and kind of takes up the hours of the day. Right now I am enjoying several of the reality shows. My favorites are ...1st of course is American Idol....2nd is Skating with Celebrities (I've always loved ice skating) and my choice for the winners are Jillian Barberie and John Zimmerman. I think John is about one of the smoothest and artistic skaters I've ever seen...3rd Dancing with the Stars and my pick for a winner there is Drew Lachey but I think he's gonna get beat out by "long legs" Stacey. and.. 4th The Amazing Race which will be starting in about a week. I love that show because they show so many different countries and it's the next best thing to being there.

I was fixing tomorrow's supper tonight. I just got the meat at the store today and decided to go ahead and brown it. Well, while that was done I thought I'd go ahead and put the lasagna together. Wayne thought it looked so good that I decided to go ahead and bake it for him tonight. We both took a taste and it is delicious!! I got the recipe off the Food Network from a show called "Barefoot Contessa". She used to have a restaurant in the Hamptons. Her recipes are probably my favorite. They are never very low fat but they are always excellent and I can change the ingredients around to make them a little more low fat.

Here is the lasagna recipe. It's got a few different things in it than normal lasagna's.

TURKEY LASAGNA
2 T olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage (I used half pork sausage and half ground white turkey meat)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, divided in half
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or till no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.