Did your surgeon make any recommendations post op, he would be the first person I would ask. 16 days is really not a long time. I personally would stay away from any eyecream that has an anti wrinkle or tightening effect for now, while you are still healing. Some eyecreams make me puff up. congratulations for taking the plunge, you must be so happy !

Cool!!! I have some of those Ice Kabobs too!!! They are great for people, that don't like ice in their drinks (like my fussy Aunt) They can just stir, and remove. God help me if she reads this!!!LOL I love the pitcher too. Nice Swap package Jessy!!! You did good. Diana55

My BF was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer 3 1/2 yrs ago and after chemo, radiation, loss of part of his tongue, jaw replacement and throat replacement with muscle from his arm was told he would have to live with a PEG tube for the rest of his life. He refused and learned to down Ensure, aspirating a little each time but swallowing tests show it is not detrimental as he has learned to drink over a sink and he coughs out the last little bit. He has not been able to gain weight beyond 140 lbs (he looks like a stick man) even downing 16 bottles of Ensure a day and eventually adding whey protein powder until I met him. He likes to race in Enduro motorcycle competitions so is high energy. I am an RN and can't stand to see people using Ensure as a meal replacement, it is only meant to be a supplement and other than the vitamins and protein only contains oil and sugar with milk solids. I figured if he could down anything I could get him back to consuming vitamins, fat, etc. through natural foods and put some weight on him. The sugar in the Ensure has also taken a toll on what was beautiful white teeth. He had purchased a Vitamix 5200 (pricey but worth it) to mix another powdered sweet drink he found (can't remember the name) to put weight on. The vitamix will actually dessimate anything you place in it and is so fast it will heat the food so hot that you can't drink it. I have learned to blend the weirdest foods together to get the high calories and the only problem I've had is with the broths/juices/milk you have to add to get it to the very liquid consistency will sometimes dilute the flavors. I literally blend anything I eat for him and he is eating better than ever. I now taste everything (sometimes it sounds like it would be gross) and have been astounded at how flavorful meals can be. He has gained 10 lbs over the last 2 months since I add cheese, butter, use whole milk, and for shakes blend high fat nuts like Macadamia and coconut (he loves) and add to them. I have noticed that chicken and dumplings is his favorite because the base of the soup is all I need to use to thin it so it is full flavor. Also for some reason the italian dishes like spaghetti, lasagna, etc. even when thinned severely with beef broth keep the original taste. White sauces are best thinned with chicken broth and milk (both) and sweet and sour chicken is best thinned with apple juice. He is Jewish so when we made potato latke's I put the apple sauce and sour cream in and thinned with apple juice and milk and it tasted almost just like mine in a liquid version. One potato latke thinned equalled 64 ounces so thank goodness he can drink alot! Next time I may add a few potato flakes for extra calories. He has started blending sushi and thins with seafood broth found only at Central Market here. I've done steak with potato including sour cream, butter, bacon bits and thinned one time with milk and another with beef broth and added beef gravy...he loved it! Most of our "soups" come out restaurant quality:-)My next jump is to make steak with Au Jus and Demi Glace to try to get the flavor to come out better. I encourage you all not to be afraid to try different things together and remember that on a liquid diet you need to increase your calories significantly. His Oncologist said he can't believe I've been able to put weight on him but he's defied all of them from the start:-)

I've been with the same company since 1989, and so we are very familiar with each other by now, but it was not like that in the beginning. When I first met my boss, I felt an instant rapport with her and felt like we were meant to be together. When I looked at her furniture, I thought to myself, "These are the exact same proportions I would use," and so I knew from the beginning that we had a compatible design style/sense. It took her a little longer than it did me to realize this, but once she did, she trusted me with all new designs. Kevin has some good friends at work, and a couple of the them live not too far from us. One has offered to help cook and help with grocery shopping, if necessary, but I think I am recovered enough by now to handle shopping. I just cannot get anything heavy yet, but that will come in due time. As for the garden, I will hire help probably in October. It would nice to have him sooner, but he is my friend in Sacramento, and I have to work with his schedule. I don't trust the local landscapers here. I could possibly find a good landscape architect here, but that would be expensive and more than we need right now, although I'll keep it in mind for the future. It depends on what we end up doing in Palm Springs. I think Kevin will be much happier when we can buy a second home in the Palm Springs area. We'll probably end up in Cathedral City (Palm Springs adjacent but not walking distance), and hopefully Cathedral Gulch. This won't start happening until next year, but it's something to look forward do that I think might help Kevin feel better. What is odd is that so many people ask us if we are twins, but I am 15 years (+3 weeks) older, and I think this must be very insulting to Kevin. First people ask us if we are brothers. Then they ask if we are twins. Then they ask which one is older, which is the worst question of all. I've afraid that Kevin is going to appear even older after this ordeal, but if he can have a week-end house in PS, then I think he won't mind so much. I don't know yet how I will look after my full recovery, but I am keeping plastic surgery as an option. I've had hospital technicians tell me that if you live in Los Angeles, then it is almost mandatory. When I had a bike accident that cut my forehead, they would not release me from St. Johns until I interviewed with a plastic surgeon. Back then (around 1996) I did not care about having a small scar or two on my forehead, and now it's barely visible anyway. If anything, what I can see of it makes me look more rugged, I think. I wear bike helmets now. Sorry for rambling - I'm having trouble sleeping some nights, and after just having seen Kevin, I am feeling even more anxious. I think I will be able to help him with most of what he needs, but he is very private and introverted and often likes to be by himself. I hope he will spend his alone time in the back yard instead of his bedroom, but for now, I know it is painful for him to sit in a chair, and I expect that to last for a while. I could see the evidence of the surgery that had been done, having to remove part (or all) of his sphincter, which I mentioned before but had not seen evidence of before. He's going to be on disability for about three months, I think, but since he has been paying disability insurance for many years, he will get paid pretty much his normal salary - from the insurance. However, they deduct Californian disability payments, as California is fairly generous with these payments, and so Kevin will have to apply for those as well - since the payments will be deducted whether he receives them or not. He cannot file for California disability until he gets out of the hospital, but I think he knows how to do this.