I have no idea what tests were or were not performed while I was hospitalized, nor how to find out, so I couldn't possibly argue about it with a doctor or insurance company. My file was several inches thick for 20 days in hospital in 2005. Often, bills were submitted by a practice, but paid to a particular doctor such as Pathologists and oncologists, infection specialists, hospitalists, etc. - mostly MDs, none of whom I ever met and whose names I never knew until they were paid. The same thing happened when my husband was hospitalized three different times in 2005 and 2006, and when my 35 yo son had a heart attack in a different state in November. I cannot imagine how one could find flaws in billing or match EOBs to paid claims. Or, frankly, why. I was just happy to be alive, and spent months recovering. I had no strength for such tedious work, and no interest in it. If we are ever audited or questioned about our medical bills, we will have to rely on their computer-generated bills.

- home made Asian peanut sauce**I would probably freeze it, but I don't see why it wouldn't keep for a week or so. - canned coconut milk **coconut milk freezes quite well, but again, I'd say a week or so. - canned chipotles in adobe sauce **it's pretty easy to tell when they go bad, 'cause mold grows on them (don't ask me how I know this) but as compumom said, it's just as easy to freeze them. - bread and butter pickles - once the bottle's been opened - chicken broth **I should think a week or so, you can extend that by taking it out and boiling it every 3 days or so, but again, it freezes quite well. - canned anchovies **unless they get mold on them or something, almost indefinitely if they're the type packed in salt. - canned tomato paste **it will separate/grow mold/smell sour if it's bad, it's easy to tell...but again, freeze! - jarred roasted red peppers**mold will tell you if it's bad, otherwise maybe a couple of weeks. - frozen chicken breasts once thawed in the fridge -**this depends on the "sell by" date when you put them into the freezer. Generally, however many days were left to the sell by date is the number of days you have left once you thaw them. So, if you froze them on Friday, and the sell by date was the following Monday, you should have 3 days, assuming you used proper sanitation and thawing methods. If you thawed them on the counter instead of in the fridge, the time decreases. - cooked chicken breasts**4 or 5 days, I guess...they won't be very palatable after that whether they spoil or not. - fresh salsa of tomato, cilantro, lime juice**It will lose the fresh flavor fairly quickly, maybe a day or two, but won't really go bad for a few more days. It will smell sour when it's bad. - yogurt sauce with lime juice, honey**That should stay good for at least 4 or 5 days, maybe longer. The yogurt will separate and get watery looking when it starts to go. - fresh chimchurri sauce **You'll lose the fresh flavor well before it spoils...I'd freeze it. - home made gazpacho**oh, 5 days to a week or so. You probably won't want to eat it before it actually spoils as it will start to sour. - home made tomato soup **"Cream Of"-3 or 4 days, no cream, about a week...for either, it freezes well. - opened canned black beans**I can't say that I've ever had canned beans left over from anything, so I've never tried. But I'd imagine they'd be o.k. for a week or so. All of this assumes, naturally, that the food is taken out of the can and put into very clean, sealed containers. There are very few foods, if properly handled and refrigerated, that you won't be able to tell if they spoil by smell, sight or a small taste. And, unless you have a problem with your immune system, even if you do eat something that is slightly spoiled, you should be able to handle it. Most of the time, if someone gets food poisoning it's because food wasn't properly handled or stored, not because properly handled and stored food went bad.

Ginger ale will lose it's fizz if frozen. I don't know how you are planning on serving not how long the reception will be...but given the fact of a punch bowl and maybe an hour reception, I would have the ginger ale and the pineapple really really cold and the sherbet frozen and mix it about 30 minutes before the ceremony...but I would freeze a ring mold of a mixture of pineapple juice and ginger ale with perhaps a few mint leaves....or some slices of lime....and pop that into the punch bowl to keep everything cold. Linda C

Google thrush and yogurt. Yogurt is supposed to help. I've read that you can also use it on your nipples. I got my own case of oral thrush shortly after I became pregnant with my second child. I found an on-line article that gave a recipe for vinegar and water rinsing solution. It helped get rid of the problem. You would be be able to use this on your nipples, but I don't think I would orally feed it to a baby. It stung like the dickens the first time I used it and it tasted bad. Constantly wearing a bra and breast pads keeps your nipples in constant moistness which allows the yeast to thrive. It helps to cut down on the conditions that allow the yeast to grow. I found it useful was to not wear a bra for a few hours a day when I was at home. I couldn't go topless so I would always wear an old cotton t-shirt or something. It helped. I know you've been to the doctor. I'd try a few more things and then contact a different doctor if something doesn't work. You may need to find another medication. If your pediatrician isn't listening, then I would find another.