Vacation Monday
07.30.07 (7:08 pm) [edit]Today was the first official day of my husband's vacation. It's a gorgeous sunny day out there and looks like it's going to be nice all week. We had a quiet day. My husband went to Costco and bought three of these very sturdy heavy duty steel racks. They were really heavy and pretty expensive, but man they are incredible. He's using them in the garage to organize all of the stuff out there. We don't have a basement because we're right on a granite outcropping. They would have had to dynamite this property to put a basement in, so this house was built without. We haven't missed a basement too often, it does force you to keep your belongings trimmed though. That's where my husband has a bit of trouble. He comes from a long line of self-proclaimed pack-rats. He keeps everything and has a naturally built-in hoarding gene. He likes to keep stuff "in case".
The problem with keeping too much stuff "in case" is that if you don't have it extremely well organized, you can never find that item when you finally do need it anyway. You end up going out and buying another one because the one you know you have is buried deep within the rest of the stuff you're keeping for that "just in case" moment. Purge man, PURGE!
So he's setting up some great racks for all his stuff and that will hopefully once again clear up the garage so I can go out there without nearly breaking my neck on some junk on the floor. He's also going through everything so he can throw out what needs to be thrown out! YAY!
When we someday move into a bigger property (so I can finally have some horses) we're getting a three car garage and possibly some outbuildings. I think that would be appropriate for my husband's "junk lust" :) Then he could truly indulge those spontaneous garbage day finds and the "free firewood" signs he would love to entertain....and with that kind of space I won't go crazy trying to get him to get rid of stuff as fast as he finds it. I have this rule about getting rid of something for every new thing you get. He's not very good at it! Someday...you'll see *sigh*...horses and a three car garage... :P
More Guests
07.29.07 (11:00 pm) [edit]Wow we had another bout of guests today for supper. It's getting to be a habit every Sunday. This time it was friends of my husband's that came by. They're a military family and he's about to go off to Afghanistan to fight for our country. Seems like feeding him a steak was the decent thing to do...and his wife and two kids! They really enjoyed themselves and seemed to enjoy the supper just fine. I made salad, devilled eggs, barbecued sirloin, rosemary mushrooms with pearl onions fried in bacon grease and cognac, and mini red-skinned potatoes. They brought the chocolate cake! What a great meal...and we have leftovers.
I just read an article that said that every two pounds of beef is equivalent in energy usage to driving around in your car for two to three hours. It has that kind of impact on the environment in the form of greenhouse gases. We now ONLY have beef when we have company. Seems we're having more company these days! It's just such a nice thing to serve to company...a big juicy steak. These were one inch thick from the butchery nearby. They turned out beautifully too.
I'm coming down with a cold and have a stuffed nose, itchy eyes and I was coughing up a lung last night and this morning. I'm sure I'll be the same tonight. If it's allergies it's odd that it's affecting my lungs so much, so I'm going with summer cold as my guess, but I could be wrong. Allergies can be pretty nasty, and it is ragweed season.
My husband and I are on vacation this week and now that the meal for the army dude is done, we can finally RELAX, well I guess my husband was relaxed already but now I can relax now that these people have come and gone. It's funny how when you know company is coming you can't relax until it's over with. My husband has collapsed from exhaustion. He may have been relaxed about the guests (unlike me) but he did most of the work on cleaning the place before and after the guests left. We're both pretty tired. I was going to do some other online surfing but I'm getting so tired. Maybe tomorrow.
So Sleepy
07.29.07 (12:42 am) [edit]I want to post about my day, but I'm so tired that I'm just not able to. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be more awake! :)
Rainy Week
07.27.07 (7:07 pm) [edit]It's been a gorgeous week, weather-wise. We've had some heat and some humidity that is making the clouds roll in today. It's been building all week, getting hotter and hotter, just in time for the weekend. And then next week it's supposed to rain here all week. We'll be on vacation and many people would be bitter about rainy weather on vacation, but not us.
My husband and I love a good warm sunny day, but we're also very happy enjoying ourselves inside if it's raining too hard out. Rain is so great for all the trees and the garden that we just don't mind...except for the migraines.
I'm currently feeling a migraine brewing. My face is all warm and turning red. The hot red face is a sign of the migraine, which should strike just as the clouds open up and the weather gets rainy. My husband is off work but had to make a trip to Costco to get some stuff for the weekend. We're having people over on Sunday for supper and so he had to get some stuff for that. He called me to tell me that HE has a headache brewing too. I wonder if he's also getting a migraine. That would be terrible. Even if it's just a regular headache, we're both going to be in some pain tonight and that's no way to start a vacation!
Tonight I'll take some extra THC (Nabilone) and maybe even a Tylenol to keep myself from suffering. It will mean no reading...not even the comic book book! It's just too hard for me to concentrate when I'm all wasted from the extra THC. I may be able to flip through my latest tattoo magazines though...they arrived yesterday and I haven't looked at them yet. That might be just about all I can handle on the extra THC. Of course if I have a migraine, I'll just want to darken the lights and rest my eyes...I'm a load of fun aren't I! :)
Awesome Book
07.26.07 (8:25 pm) [edit]I'm reading a book about comic books. It's called "Understanding Comics The Invisible Art" by Scott McCloud. It's a comic book. It's a comic book about comic books. If all of my text books had been written this way in high school I would have made it to university instead of college! Seriously it's the easiest book I've ever read and it's blowing my mind with how informative it is. VERY cool.
All of my interest in comics stems from my interest in tattooing. Basically the information I'm going to learn from this book will help me to think about cartoon art in a whole new light. I've only read the first chapter and I'm already blown away by the ideas the author has put forth. Very cool that a comic book can make me think so much! Like I said, if all my text books in school had been written this way I'd be a freakin' genius! I am a VERY visual person and learning is hard for me, especially now on all this THC, if it's just written word. I do so much better with diagrams and images.
I am all stretched out in bed and I'm thinking about making myself a snack. I love snacking in bed! I once had my whole family in stitches because at a family get together I started a story with "So the dog and I were eating cheesecake in bed the other night..." The idea of eating cheesecake in bed had not occurred to them apparently. I said "Don't laugh until you try it!" My sister-in-law said "I don't even know how I would have the time or the ability to eat cheesecake in bed, but it sure sounds decadent!" Exactly...so as I was saying, I am considering a snack in bed tonight. Cheese and pickles I think. :)
Finished Finally
07.25.07 (11:09 am) [edit]It takes me forever to finish a book these days. The medications I'm on make it very easy for me to get distracted by just about anything. On top of that I find the storyline of most books VERY hard to follow again because of the medications (THC). However, last night I finished my book on gang tattoos. YAY!
What a great book it was too. It was called "Gangs and Their Tattoos" by Bill Valentine. Basically it's the story of prison and street gangs as they emerged in the US. The tattoos are the identifying markers and the book explains the meaning behind the tattoos as well as giving a history of the gangs as they emerged. You would be shocked if you knew how organized and HUGE prison and street gangs can be. The book also says that street gangs are really the "wannabe" gangs of the underworld. Gangs like the Bloods and Crips are subordinate (according to the author) to gangs like the Mexican Mafia and factions of gangs like the People's Nation. The book explained how the heirarchy is set up and how almost all of the major gangs are controlled by leaders who are in prison for life. Amazing. You'd be amazed at how similar to the military these gangs are in nature. Recruitment, training and pay are all benefits enjoyed by gang members. They pay taxes and rent out turf to rival gangs...they are completely organized, and very brutal.
So my main interest in this book was to prepare myself, as a bourgeoning tattooist, for the requests of gang members and to be able to recognize them when they arise. I do not wish to do "gang" tattoos but it will be unavoidable in some cases because I simply won't recognize them as such. I wanted to be able to understand what elements are commonly seen in gang tattoos and what could be mistaken for one. I not only want to avoid doing them unwittingly, I want to prevent my regular customers from accidentally choosing a gang style tattoo to keep them from accidentally getting themselves in trouble.
I was talking about this with a friend of mine over the weekend. She's a corrections officer. She was saying that there have been a lot of problems with kids dressing "like" gang members. She said that average suburban white kids are accidentally getting gunned down now because they look so much like a gang member of their choice that RIVAL gangs are accidentally mistaking these kids for real gang members. Those really urban looking outifits that suburban kids like to wear are actually mimicking gang styles. Mimicking too well is not a good idea when it comes to gangs. My friend was saying that parents today have no idea of the underworld that lives parallel to our own and that when their kids look too "street", they put themselves at risk for things that they have no idea even really exist. Something to keep in mind when you're telling your kid that those super baggy jeans look ridiculous. They also look like a world of trouble if you're not careful. Leave gangsta to the gangstas. :)
All of that to say that I have learned a hell of a lot about gang life and now I need something to cheer me up! I am now reading a book about the art of making comic strips. I want to be able to produce comic cells or comic book characters with relative ease when I get tattooing and so I want to brush up on all my artistic skills. Drawing is by far my most natural artistic talent, but I want to tweak it. So I'm going to read about the ins and outs of comic books and see if I can learn some new things. It will be a nice light snack compared to the last book! :)
Mellow Night
07.25.07 (12:29 am) [edit]I'm having a mellow night. Today was nice and warm, though not too sunny. I got chatting today with a friend of mine on facebook. He was telling me about guitars. I used to play guitar years ago. I was asking him about them because I am kind of thinking I might try to get back into guitar now that I have the time.
I know I am also getting into tattooing, but that's a different form of artistic expression, just like photography. I enjoy photography almost daily...but I still want to do tattooing. I will enjoy using a guitar to play music around the campfire or just while sitting at home by myself. I like the idea of learning something I already knew how to do too! Seems like it won't be as hard to remember how to do it.
I had a guitar years ago but it was borrowed from my uncle. He took it back while I was still learning how to use it and I didn't get another one to replace it because my parents wanted to attach a lot of strings to the purchase (pun not intended exactly!)...Anyway, my parents wanted to have a bunch of rules and things attached to the purchase and so I said "fuck that" and went without. I was such a rebel!
Of course many years have passed and only now do I finally feel comfortable enough in my life and have enough time on my hands that I can finally get back to doing what I enjoyed so many years ago...and maybe get back to playing guitar by the campfire.
I'm going to have to wait obviously before I'll be able to afford a guitar, but eventually I'd like to get one of my own and learn again. I think I'll get an Ovation with the nice rounded back so it's comfortable against my hip. I'll need a strap and a case too...and a tuning fork. I'd probably get a video on how to play guitar to refresh my memory. I still remember a lot of the chords and stuff, I just kind of forget how to read music and stuff. It will come back though...it would be nice to be able to sing again while playing. :)
Surprise!
07.23.07 (5:09 pm) [edit]Today I feel pretty darn good. That's a big surprise to me because we had guests over yesterday. That usually knocks me on my butt for two days or so. Now I'm not ready to run any marathons or anything, but I don't feel like I did too much yesterday. That's a huge deal for me. I'm very used to being completely useless after a night with friends. Not so this time. I don't know if that's because of the prolactin supplements (bovine ovary) or not.
Speaking of the bovine ovary (Bountiful Breasts) product, it is making my breasts grow...but very slowly. In fact it's not perceptible at this point, but it is something I can feel because they are itchy and sore often. I suspect that it will take a year or more to show any real growth especially since I'm not taking the protein powder shakes that they suggest you take to grow boobs. I'm not in it for the boobs, but the fact that I can feel some growth does tell me that prolactin is being made...and that's what I'm trying to achieve. The prolactin is what is supposed to help with the MS.
Has it helped with the MS? Well let's just say this, it's helped dullen and lower the frequency of my migraines, at least temporarily, which I believe are a direct result of the MS. It has, according to my mother, my mother-in-law and my husband made me more energetic and seems to have improved my mobility. I am still befuddled by the other drugs I take but I would say that there have been no side effects aside from breast tenderness and itchiness from this supplement so far. It does according to others seem to be helping me be more energetic and my own experience is that I find myself not as tired as often. I also "feel" like doing more. That's maybe the best part...it makes me feel more like getting out and doing stuff.
Whatever it is actually doing, it is making me hopeful that I may one day be asymptomatic so I am going to continue taking it. There is absolutely no dollar value high enough for something that gives an MS patient real hope...even if it is a "breast enlargement" pill!
Sunday Night Exhaustion
07.22.07 (11:11 pm) [edit]Well the visit from my friend went well. We ate outside and the weather was perfect for outside eating. We had marinated chicken breasts and grilled peaches and we had my chorizo and melon salad, which turned out better than ever before because I used extra 5 peppercorn blend on it. Adding the extra pepper added some heat which really went well with the fruit. Mmmm!
Anyway, the visit went very well and I enjoyed talking with my friend, who is a corrections officer, about my tattoo book dealing with gangs in prison. We had a great chat about that and she had a good long look at the book. She was very interested in the book and its information. She said that Canada currently is just starting to see gangs in prisons, but that it's important to be on top of it as they emerge.
So we had a really nice visit. We fed peanuts to the chipmunks outside as we ate our supper. We enjoyed the weather and the company. It was a lovely day, but I have MS and what seems like a lovely day is usually followed by two days of terrible fatigue, so we'll see how I do. Was it worth it? Of course, it's always nice to have good memories and the only way to keep having them is to keep making them, as far as I can see. But for every great memory I have I also have the memory of two days of fatigue and pain that followed...so I am enjoying the glow of a nice visit and dreading the price I'll pay for it.
Low Battery Day
07.21.07 (10:10 pm) [edit]Today was one of those days when it was gorgeous outside, perfect really. We were outside for a short while...but it got too warm for me and so I went back inside. I'm really tired today. I have been lying in bed for about an hour because my legs have been wobbly and my brain has been tired.
Tomorrow a friend is coming by with her boyfriend. She's bringing the main course of our meal and then we're supplying the salad and dessert. It's funny how you have friends who you go all out for and then you have your "comfy friends" who can come by when your house is a mess and you don't have much going on and it's just fine with them. I like those friends and that's who is coming by...someone who will be happy eating outside on the picnic tables or just off her lap somewhere! We'll still clean up and make a nice salad, but we're just buying dessert and she's bringing the sangria! (I still can't drink but my husband can)
So my husband and I are going to tidy up the place a little and then make a salad but we're just getting a flan from Costco for dessert and we're not making appetizers or anything like that. Should be a nice mellow meal. We'll cook on the barbecue and we'll eat out on the picnic tables...should be nice and sunny out there tomorrow. I wish all my visiting guests were as easy to please as this one.
Slept in Too Late
07.20.07 (4:07 pm) [edit]I'm on a lot of drugs today. I have been having a lot of pain from my period and then last night I had a migraine. That sucked. Anyway, today I slept in until 2:00 in the afternoon. I'm so screwed for sleeping tonight. It's going to be like 6:00 am before I sleep tonight. We'll see how it goes, but I hate when my days get all spun out by weird sleeping patterns.
It absolutely poured all night here. There's a rainfall warning for flooding and I'm sure that most of my neighbours with basements are currently trying to dry them out. Having already lived in the country when I was younger, I knew a basement in the country was as useless as "tits on a bull"! They just flood every time there's a heavy rainfall. So this house was purchased without a basement...making it nice and dry during all these rainstorms we've been having. It's funny seeing the pumping trucks coming to clean out everyone's basements after this kind of heavy rain. Sump pumps are running at maximum today I'm sure.
My husband has his work cut out for him this weekend. He has to update his CV with a whole bunch of relevant information. Once he gets his new job we're going to buy a new car. We need a car with all wheel drive so I am hoping he gets something relatively comfortable with AWD. Of course he wants a Suburban, but they're not actually that safe, so I'd prefer a Mercedes. I have no idea what we'll end up with, but a small Mercedes diesel would be appropriate for work and for family drives and it would be inexpensive on fuel. I really can't see us having a Smart car in the winter (we've been thinking about a Smart car). Realistically I think that something with AWD is basically a necessity because of where we live. A nice sleek looking black Mercedes would be nice :) I'm going to start shopping! :)
Shhhhhh...
07.19.07 (2:29 pm) [edit]I'm so mellow and quiet today. I haven't got a lot to say. Had to take some extra drugs to deal with pain from PMS. Time is distorted and my mind is in stasis. My eyes are red and puffy in places. It's funny how with all this time, I've managed to post in simple rhyme. :)
Crampy
07.18.07 (5:22 pm) [edit]I have cramps today. Ugh. It's PMS...I get it (apparently*) every month but some months are worse than others. This month I'm super bitchy and having really bad cramps. Grrr. *shakes fist at world*
After I finish blogging I'm going to go read some more of my gang tattoo book. It's really excellent. It is teaching me all kinds of interesting symbolism and gang imagery from both street gangs and prison gangs. Very very interesting. I find the street gang stuff even more interesting than the prison gang stuff because street gang tattoos are more likely what I'll get asked to do. I am learning what initials mean and what symbols are claimed by what groups. What I am also learning is the history behind some of the gangs and why the tattoos are used and what they represent for each gang. Very cool. Prison and street life is actually surprisingly organized in its own way. Rules are much more strictly enforced and respect is earned slowly. Good book!
My husband is getting us Chinese food for supper tonight. There's a really good, authentic Chinese food place nearby that sells wonderful Canadian/Chinese and traditional Chinese food. They don't use MSG and the food is prepared by people who seem to really care about the quality of the food...that's nice for a change. The sushi place only cares when the main chef is working...go on a night when the main chef isn't working and good luck with your sushi! The Chinese place is owned by a nice family and seems to really be popular within the local Chinese community. I am very much looking forward to my meal.
*according to my husband!
Job Prospects for Hubby
07.17.07 (4:55 pm) [edit]My husband met with his friend today about the job she has for him and basically now he's got to do some rearranging of his CV and then he'll be good to go...literally. He's so looking forward to moving his career forward. I'm very happy for him because this work will be more what he's interested in and he'll have more reasonable workload...and make more money! :) That's always nice too.
He's going to start work in September and since his friend is in charge of hiring the technical person, he's got the job. All he has to do is give his CV to the HR people next week and they'll do the rest. Once he's got his offer in hand he'll give his notice and take some time off for himself in between the two jobs.
His new job would involve him having to work in the city proper and so he'd have to take a bus in the mornings, after driving to the nearest park and ride location. That would be different for him. What would also be different is that he'd be done his work day at 4:30 pm! His day would be much less stressful and much more enjoyable because he'd be doing work he enjoys.
Things About Today
07.17.07 (4:17 pm) [edit]Today I'm lying in bed. The dog is lying next to me and the parrot is on my shoulder. She's almost asleep. The dog is asleep. The smoke detector has been beeping "low battery" for most of the afternoon. I can't get at it to change the battery. I need for my husband to do it and so I try not to let the noise bother me, even though it goes off every thirty seconds.
I spent some money today on my credit card...but then I felt bad and so I put even more money down on my credit card than I spent! YAY, net gain! So now that I don't feel as guilty about my purchases, I can tell you what they were!
I bought myself a pair of jeans from Sinful Clothing ...they're the ones with the angel wings on the bum. I also got a couple of T-shirts from Sinful as well. The other thing I bought was a fleece jacket from LL Bean. They have the greatest fleece jackets...I already have two of them. I got a third one because they introduced a new colour that I love that's a deep berry colour. The fleece is more of a "basic" layer...not very exciting but really important to keeping me warm. The jeans were a total indulge nce though as were the T-shirts. At least I paid for my shopping spree in advance though so I won't have any horrible nasty surprises when the bill comes! :) In fact, I paid it down even more than I spent so I should be good.
What else....oh yeah, the huge book order I made has arrived. For my birthday a friend of mine got me a really GREAT tattoo book that explains HOW to make a tattoo in the skin (difficult information to find if you've been looking). Anyway, the book had suggested reading for aspiring tattooists and what I did was buy all the books they recommended in the Tattoo book.
So I have a list of books I just got today and they all look FANTASTIC! They're mostly about how to draw, but one of them is a book about comics and it is written LIKE a comic book! It's illustrated...which is so perfect. It's a big book and would have been boring if it was written like a text book, but instead it looks really fun.
Another book is about pinstriping and detail painting cars, a theme that is very popular in tattoo culture. Flames are the key. The author of the tattoo book I read wants you to be really good at freehand drawing flames and flourishes. His suggestion was to study this book and do what it says, only to translate it for tattoo use. So the principles are what he recommends learning. Another book is all about dragons and how to draw them properly. Basically all these books are about principles of drawing, but they're so helpful on an ongoing basis as reference guides that the tattooist who wrote the first book recommends them to all aspiring tattooists.
One final book I got is all about Japanese tattoos and it's so pretty that I've put it in the living room as a coffee table book! My mom will be so thrilled. :) It's a gorgeous photo book that I think will be really lovely for ideas for Japanese tattoos. I'm hoping it gives some information as to the symbolism as well. Japanese tattoos have some "rules" about what can and cannot appear in a tattoo, so I'd like to learn those rules or guidelines so I can do authentic looking Japanese style tattoos if required. Lots to learn! :)
PAP results?
07.16.07 (3:30 pm) [edit]So I called my doctor's office today to find out if anything has happened with my PAP and HPV test results. The answer was truly lame. I talked to the "phone nurse" for at least five whole minutes and not only do I still not know my test results, I'm even more unsure of their competence than ever!
The nurse used a ton of "double speak" to avoid answering questions about my test results. However, I do not get the impression that she was trying to avoid giving me bad news. Instead, I believe she didn't have the results in front of her but figured they must be back by now because it's been over one month since I had it done. So she basically told me that I should call back in a few days and by then they'll have had a chance to ask my doctor about the results (or if they've even come in).
I asked about the fact that I should be booking follow-up PAP tests in six months if everything is fine. She said "No news is good news, so if he (your doctor) hasn't called it's probably fine."
What I think would have been much more clear would be if she has said this (Which I believe is what she MEANT to say):
"The test results from your PAP would go directly to your family doctor and he would then follow-up with you directly, especially with PAP test results...Dr. X doesn't take those things lightly. He is not in the office today, but will be in tomorrow or Wednesday, it escapes me at this exact second. Once your doctor has come into the office tomorrow or the next day, he will have a chance to look through all the test results that have been sent to him and he will hopefully have your results by now. I am unfamiliar with the HPV test you are asking me about, but since I am unsure of how long that might take, it is conceivable that your test results are back from the PAP and because the HPV tests were only going to take a week or two longer, he just figured he'd wait until he got both results before calling you."
Instead I got a lot of lying and deceiving and a lot of "non-answers". She does not have the results, so why bother lying? I mean all she needed to say was "The test was done, I see that by your records and your results should have been back by now, but your doctor will call you to tell you the results and set up any subsequent appointments. He will be in tomorrow or the next day (I'll check his schedule and let you know) and I will ask him then about your PAP and HPV test results and call you back promptly."
I can't believe how much she wanted to just avoid the whole conversation. Weird.
Weekend of Peace
07.16.07 (2:10 pm) [edit]This past weekend was the first weekend of the summer where I didn't have to do something. It was sublime. No appointments, no dinners, no groceries and because it rained we couldn't even cut the lawn. YAY! A perfect weekend for us both. My husband slept, Xbox'ed and ate junk food the whole weekend! I did the same except I watched TV and read my tattoo magazines. Sometimes it's just really nice to have a weekend of doing nothing in the middle of the summer.
It's funny because it's been fairly cool for July here. We've had a lot of rain, which is wonderful. I hope it continues. We've been really lucky. Weather is becoming more and more of an issue for people every year and it's great to be someplace where the changes are not causing fires or floods.
My husband is this week meeting with an old friend who is going to get him a job. He's really looking forward to it. He's hoping the new job will be a sizable increase in pay, but more than that it will be something he will really enjoy. He's been working like a slave for a terrible company and it's going to come to an end soon. He just wants to be respected and appreciated. His current employer long ago forgot how to do that. I can't wait for him to get into something he enjoys. He's forgotten what it feels like to enjoy your job, and that's got to be demoralizing.
Grumpy
07.14.07 (8:57 pm) [edit]Good lord I'm grumpy today. Don't know what's up, I assume it's PMS or something. Lame. I hope it passes. Until it does I'm just going to be quiet about TBlog's outage. Lord only knows what kind of rant I'd go off on if I indulged my crappy mood! :)
Finally
07.12.07 (6:30 pm) [edit]Well it looks like TBlog is finally working for me again. What a crazy break of service that was!
Today I was able to get a seven minute workout on the bike. Not much, but it's twice as long as yesterday's! :) Now if I can just double that again, we'll be heading in the right direction.
Made a salad yesterday. It's got chorizo and tarragon, melon and canned artichoke hearts, topped with a vinaigrette dressing...preferably with a bit of mustard in it (the mustard balances against the sugar of the fruit and the saltiness of the chorizo). It's really good....mmm. You know I bet it would be good with mint instead of tarragon too. Just an idea...but the tarragon is awesome, which is funny because I don't usually like tarragon.
Still no phone call from the doctor about my PAP results.
No Real Explanation
07.10.07 (4:52 pm) [edit]Today for the second day in a row, I was only able to do 3 minutes on my recumbent bike. Not only that, but the tension setting which used to be "just fine" now feels almost too hard to even move. My legs were screaming after only a minute or two. There is something wrong with me. And it's not the MS. I'm exhausted...even compared to a couple of weeks ago. I thought that it might just be a "fatigue hangover" from MS and having a week off with my husband (vacations are usually much busier) but I have waited two days now for it to improve and it has not. I'm beat, even for me.
I feel like I did last winter when I had cold after cold after cold, but I don't have a cold or even allergies right now. I have spent the last two days mostly in bed and even though I was trying to do recumbent bike workouts both days, I was largely unsuccessful. Normally when I feel lazy or tired if I try to do a low-impact bike workout it actually helps me feel better and gives me a bit of a shot in the arm. It also helps me sleep better at night when I get a bit of exercise. However, this week so far I am not successful.
I hope that I start to feel better soon because it's really cramping my workouts!
I'm In Bed Again
07.09.07 (6:18 pm) [edit]So I'm in bed again. I spent most of the day in bed. I got up to go outside and give the parrot's leftovers to the chipmunks and that's about all I did today. I had some salad. I blogged and facebooked and I plan to read more of my book "Gangs and Their Tattoos" - Bill Valentine. It's an amazing read.
The weather today is humid and oppressively hot. What ever happened to "normal" weather? It's either freezing or it's roasting. Both are bad when you have MS. So today it's hot and muggy.
Having cramps today too for some reason. Ugh.
White Stripes
07.08.07 (11:44 pm) [edit]I had tickets for the White Stripes tonight and I couldn't make it because the weather wasn't going to be decent. Too cold is not something I can manage. However, it didn't end up being too cold and we ended up not going for no reason. Piss me off!
If we had tried to go by the time we realized it was not going to be too cold, we wouldn't have been able to get parked or get in by the time the show would have started.
I'm grumpy. :(
*Sigh*
07.07.07 (9:59 pm) [edit]So laid back today. I wish I was more energetic. Soon. The prolactin is definitely helping me. Many people have commented on how much more energetic I seem. I hope they're not just saying that. It really would be nice to fix this MS up so I can get on with other things. I'm quite over having it now. :)
Dinner Party
07.07.07 (3:08 am) [edit]Had a dinner party tonight...it was pretty excellent. Our friends came by and we had a great meal and some drinks (well not me...gall bladder attacks) and I'm absolutely exhausted. I'm going to spend the next couple of days just vegging out on the couch or in bed. I'm not doing anything from now on. ....until the White Stripes concert on Sunday. *sigh* I love the White Stripes but I would at this point like a break from all of this. I guess it distracts me from the whole cancer thing.
I Forgot
07.05.07 (11:05 am) [edit]I forgot to talk about the other night! I went out with two old school friends from Facebook. We knew each other from when we were 13! It was sooooo much fun. I was so impressed...one is a senior partner and manager at a fortune 100 company...one of the top companies in the US. I won't name names. :) Suffice it to say that she was understated and confident...like you'd imagine her easily as a CEO...because she almost is one! Good for her. She's still single though. :( It's sort of easy to see why though...she's extremely confident and understated. That can be a turn-off to a man (or woman) who is not equally confident. Basically she's only going to be hanging out with men who are equally rich and powerful, and most of them want trophy wives. She's a heavy-set but beautiful woman. She will have a hard time finding her perfect man, but when she does...it will be so cool to be her! Rich, powerful and happy. She's already rich and powerful. I'd say that she's pulling in probably $500 K per annum, plus bonuses and stocks. I'm so happy for her.
The other friend has had a less charmed life but has also managed to succeed at her own business as a computer analyst. She's doing really well as well. She was married and divorced and now has a new boyfriend that seems to make her much happier. She looks fantastic...tiny, blonde and gorgeous like she always was. It's really great when you get to see old friends.
We all got reminiscing and telling stories and filling each other in on the details of our lives and those of our old friends as well. As the evening wore on we started talking about reunions and getting together again. Because of the fact that I have a lot of time on my hands, it sort of got suggested that I might try to get a reunion organized. I love organizing things like that so I'd be happy to do so. So now I have to call the school where we went together (our middle school) and see if we can hold the reunion there. If not, we'll need to find a suitable location near the school so people can find it easily. I will also get a group going in facebook to organize it once I know the scoop.
Vacation
07.05.07 (12:29 am) [edit]Well my husband is on vacation this week. It's been nice so far to enjoy the time together and get some stuff done around the place. We're having a couple of friends over on Friday for a dinner party. That will be nice. We're going to have steaks I think. We never eat steak except it seems when company comes over. I personally still think it's a really nice thing to do to cook up a rib eye steak on the barbecue for friends. We don't eat like that very often, but when it's for company it just feels like a nice thing to do. I know it's not the healthiest way to eat, but that's what makes it fun. It's a time to sort of be a little bad when you have a dinner party. Diets and budgets get bent and that's what makes it memorable.
We're going to have bruschetta, salad, mini red-skinned potatoes and rib eye steaks...and they offered to bring dessert. Perfect! I dislike making dessert so I always like to let someone else bring it if they feel so inclined. Of course if they hadn't offered to bring dessert we'd probably have gone with cheesecake. That's pretty much the standard dessert for me. I'm an expert cheesecake baker and so that's what I'd make...also it's just about the only dessert I know how to make! :)
Guilty Pleasure
07.02.07 (7:16 pm) [edit]My husband is out getting some meds for me and then he's seeing some of his friends in a whirlwind tour of the countryside! While he's out I'm blogging and then I'm going to go to bed and enjoy the peace and quiet! I don't often have an evening to myself and so I'm going to use it to read and catch up on the PVR. I can't wait.
Tomorrow my husband is going to the condo (our other property) to clear out the garden with some help from his mother. They're going to clean out the weeds and put down some weed barrier and then remove a bunch of flower beds so the condo corporation can manage the grass. The tenant is not doing the weeding and so the complaints are rolling in.
While my husband is doing that I'm going to have a day to myself in the middle of our holidays. I think I'll do some online shopping! :)
I'm so sleepy.
07.01.07 (7:58 pm) [edit]I'm so sleepy today...all day I've been just dragging my ass around. *sigh* Laptop in bed....TV on...magazines beside me...books beside the magazines...phone on the table. So much I could be doing. *snore*