February 15th – Flan!!!

I am going to start this post about my sister in law because that was requested. Whenever my mother in law asks me if she can make me anything I always request the same thing. Flan. For over 15 years I have requested that, maybe even closer to 20 years. She made it once and she has never made it again. So this weekend she asked me what I wanted, so I asked for flan. She did not deliver, but my dear sister in law decided to make the flan. My favorite cake is a red velvet cake and I wanted to eat some earlier this week, but it is too much so I bought one to bring over to my in-laws. We decided to go over for dinner on Sunday and  wanted to make it a spectacle. We asked my mother in law if she had flan or at the very least a red cake for Valentine’s Day. She did not so we then proceeded to get our flan and cake from the vehicle to bring in. Everyone seemed shocked that my sister in law made flan and that was the joke that she could accomplish it. She is an accomplished amateur food eater capable of finishing off her plates 75% of the time. Something like flan should be a piece of cake.

A comment was also made that I have made no mention of hockey either. Over the last 3 days we have played 2 games. We had a game on Friday night where we came back from 3-0 and won 6 to 3. We made a goalie switch during the game and the team rebounded for 6 unanswered goals. The team plays differently when Xavier is in net and play with more aggression and confidence. During the game after we scored 2 goals one of the Dad’s was screaming 4 more goals. Somehow we managed to score 4 more. Xavier had an opportunity to try for a goalie goal but the ref blew the whistle really quick. He practices catching the puck dropping it and shooting it, but the ref blew the whistle as soon as he caught the puck. He tends to not give up rebounds so the red blew the whistle. Today it was his turn to start and we ended up in a 0-0 tie. In his game today I found that he was fighting the puck a bit, as he was not absorbing the puck cleanly and was giving up rebounds. After the game he said he had difficulty seeing as they adjusted the lights and they were brighter there. I am sure that no one else would have noticed as they all thought that he played well. I had noticed that he was not as clean with his saves even though he did not let any goals in. We have another game tomorrow and then 2 more games next weekend. So far this year he has 4 shutouts, but he should have 7 at this point as he has had 3 games with questionable goals. On the bright side he has learned to say thank you when parents say good game to you afterwards instead of pointing out his flaws. I am surprised still at how everyone seems to know who he is. At the tournament there were players on the other team that spoke about him and he mentioned that all of the refs knew his first name and spoke to him on the ice. In today’s game he tried to prevent one of his team mates from getting a penalty by blocking him and stopping him from talking. The player ended up getting a penalty even with Xavier trying to intervene. Xavier is clearly my son and takes after me and is always looking to improve on his flaws. He evaluates his game and looks to improve. They had someone count shots in the game and it was so elevated. The other goalie tried to tell Xavier that the count was right but he disagreed. When I told him my number he said that sounds more accurate. Whenever the goalie touches the puck they count it as a save. Xavier knows better.

I can now confirm that the motility pills seem to work well. It makes eating much easier and i tend to not throw up as much if I take it as it prevents the food from sitting in my stomach too long. Spain has reached out to me again looking for more information so I will try and get them as much as I can do I can give them the information that they need. The initial consult costs some money so I am not sure if I would do that if the clinical trials are successful. I would not be able to both from a logistics point of view as I am sure that Princess Margaret would notice laparoscopic cuts in my stomach. I will treat it as an alternative if things go south. Besides that I am doing well. Tomorrow we will be going to my parents for Chinese New Year and my parents want to make a ridiculous amount of food. I told them that I can not eat every thing that they are trying to make. I am sure that they will not listen and we will see what happens. Ok the bright side my weight is trending upwards and it seems that the fluid buildup is either under control or manageable. I will need to keep this up once treatment starts because it is not going to be easy.

QHM