I've had a migraine since yesterday and I'm barely hanging on at this point. Hopefully I'll be feeling well soon and not fuzzy from drugs or laid out in bed.
I must say, the preventive drugs are doing nothing to help and the migraine medication is a joke. Vicodin is hardly worth using at this point.
The good news - I don't have Jury Duty on Monday! YEA
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Bolder BOULDER
Did I say? Jake ran the Bolder BOULDER with The Girlfriend. It's a 5K race (6.2 miles?) in Boulder, Colorado that did not kill him. I'm pretty happy about that part.
Since he's a football player, and they are known for bursts of speed not stamina, surviving is a good thing. He did well, but I don't remember what his time was. I'm sure he will tell me again.
Since he's a football player, and they are known for bursts of speed not stamina, surviving is a good thing. He did well, but I don't remember what his time was. I'm sure he will tell me again.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Good Prom Picture
This is one of the ones I took. The Girlfriend's parents took pictures too.
See? Much better!
There's another one here.
Monday, May 26, 2008
The Horrible Prom Pictures
I had to show you how absolutely tacky the prom pictures were. I don't know if they did these on a green screen or what but the background belongs behind a cheap fish tank.
And he paid for these!
I think I like the pictures I took of them better.
Late May Blues
Today is the end of my weekend and I'm getting sick. Normally this would be okay, I'd try to survive work while sneaking my illness under the radar of the boss-man - he doesn't like sick people one tiny bit. Anyway, I've enjoyed my weekend and now I have to go to work feeling very under the weather. My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton, my sinuses are pressurized (or something like that) my throat is swollen and a little sore, my back hurts, and I'm whiny. Hopefully, a good nights' sleep and lots of coffee in the morning will solve my problem.
This is the kids' last week of school and Friday is a half day. They are already 'checking out' because they're just not interested anymore. Matt still has to turn in a major Biology project and take a test in that class on Thursday. Lindsay is basically just riding the 'end of third grade' train. She's obviously going to pass, but next year she'll actually have to work. I'm not sure how that is going to go. She thinks that life should just be handed to her since, well, she's the baby, the only girl, the princess, Daddy's little girl.... you know the type. I'm not sure what's up with Jake. I know he's passing - we can see the older two kids grades online - but I don't know if he has anything stressful going on these last few days.
Rob doesn't start his summer classes until June 16. He's taking Calculus again. This time it is weekdays from 7 - 9AM. It might just kill him, having to get up and function that early. I'm not sure that early morning is the right time for that level of math. We'll have to pay $400 for his summer classes, his financial aid has run out for the year. On the other hand, my student loans are almost certainly maxed out for my Bachelor's degree as of the end of this coming school year. I will have hit the $43,000 mark. I have no idea how I'll finish school after the loans run out. I need to call my advisor and have them look at my transcript, they can let me know exactly what I need to take in order to graduate. I refuse to get depressed over school this summer.
After a short break - we had to let our brains relax a bit - Crystal and I are going to have to really ramp up our plans to launch our business by the end of summer. We've finally come up with a name and a website. We just have to purchase the website, register the business name, get the licenses issued, order business cards, launch a marketing campaign (her forte', not mine) and start pulling in a few customers. We may even launch a little earlier than planned. The good news is that we already have all of the software, computers and equipment we need. We'll only have to spend money on the licenses and marketing at first. Wish us luck.
This is the kids' last week of school and Friday is a half day. They are already 'checking out' because they're just not interested anymore. Matt still has to turn in a major Biology project and take a test in that class on Thursday. Lindsay is basically just riding the 'end of third grade' train. She's obviously going to pass, but next year she'll actually have to work. I'm not sure how that is going to go. She thinks that life should just be handed to her since, well, she's the baby, the only girl, the princess, Daddy's little girl.... you know the type. I'm not sure what's up with Jake. I know he's passing - we can see the older two kids grades online - but I don't know if he has anything stressful going on these last few days.
Rob doesn't start his summer classes until June 16. He's taking Calculus again. This time it is weekdays from 7 - 9AM. It might just kill him, having to get up and function that early. I'm not sure that early morning is the right time for that level of math. We'll have to pay $400 for his summer classes, his financial aid has run out for the year. On the other hand, my student loans are almost certainly maxed out for my Bachelor's degree as of the end of this coming school year. I will have hit the $43,000 mark. I have no idea how I'll finish school after the loans run out. I need to call my advisor and have them look at my transcript, they can let me know exactly what I need to take in order to graduate. I refuse to get depressed over school this summer.
After a short break - we had to let our brains relax a bit - Crystal and I are going to have to really ramp up our plans to launch our business by the end of summer. We've finally come up with a name and a website. We just have to purchase the website, register the business name, get the licenses issued, order business cards, launch a marketing campaign (her forte', not mine) and start pulling in a few customers. We may even launch a little earlier than planned. The good news is that we already have all of the software, computers and equipment we need. We'll only have to spend money on the licenses and marketing at first. Wish us luck.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Happy Birthday To ME
I turned 36 today. It was a good day.
Jake took me out to breakfast, just the two of us. I haven't spent a lot of time alone with him in a long time so it was very nice.
Matt figured out how to put new ring-tones on my phone without my having to pay $2.99 each for them. He even used one of my favorite songs to make three different ring-tones.
Lindsay played "Happy Birthday" for me on her keyboard and got me one of those laser-cut glass cubes that lights up when you put it on a base.
My mom bought me a new purse (YEA) and a bunch of little things to go in it.
My neighbor got me a cherry-themed gift package with cherries, lip-gloss, a candle, tic-tacs, and cherry vodka, etc. Awesome gift - I love cherries.
It was a very good day. Thank you Lindsay. Thank you Jake. Thank you Matt. Thanks Mom. And thank you to everyone else who remembered to call, email, or send a card. I appreciate it all.
Jake took me out to breakfast, just the two of us. I haven't spent a lot of time alone with him in a long time so it was very nice.
Matt figured out how to put new ring-tones on my phone without my having to pay $2.99 each for them. He even used one of my favorite songs to make three different ring-tones.
Lindsay played "Happy Birthday" for me on her keyboard and got me one of those laser-cut glass cubes that lights up when you put it on a base.
My mom bought me a new purse (YEA) and a bunch of little things to go in it.
My neighbor got me a cherry-themed gift package with cherries, lip-gloss, a candle, tic-tacs, and cherry vodka, etc. Awesome gift - I love cherries.
It was a very good day. Thank you Lindsay. Thank you Jake. Thank you Matt. Thanks Mom. And thank you to everyone else who remembered to call, email, or send a card. I appreciate it all.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Tornado
Yesterday a tornado blew through Northern Colorado and did serious damage to Windsor, a small bedroom community about seven miles from where I live, as well as to some other smaller communities in the area. The result, while not as severe as seen in some of the southern states, was devastating to residents. Tornado's don't normally come this close to us; I haven't seen one of this magnitude so close to home in more than 25 years.
We have some friends that live in Windsor. Thank heavens they are fine. One of them experienced some damage to their home and at least one of their cars was severely damaged. Neither of the families we know there have power and it could be out for another five or six days. Again, they are fine. My brother-in-law was not so lucky. He was working outdoors in Windsor yesterday when the tornado came and was hit in the head by some debris. We still don't have all of the details yet but he is still in the hospital. We are keeping him, along with my sister-in-law (the hubby's little sister) and their children, in our thoughts.
When the larger tornado was sighted, along with several smaller ones even closer to our home, all of the schools went into lock-down and the students moved to the interior of the building. I kept in touch with my boys via text message for a little while until they were told to turn their phones off but I could not contact my daughter. All of my children go to different schools, and while I know that they were safer there than anywhere else they would have normally been, I was still terrified. At one time, a tornado was sighted not a mile from Jake's high school.
When it was all over, we knew our friends were safe and I knew my children were safe, I drank a glass of wine and fell asleep on the couch at 8 o'clock. I was drained. I had watched several hours of news, saw the pictures, listened to resident's recount the event, and it was just too much, knowing that it was so very close to us.
I am keeping all those affected in my thoughts, please do the same.
We have some friends that live in Windsor. Thank heavens they are fine. One of them experienced some damage to their home and at least one of their cars was severely damaged. Neither of the families we know there have power and it could be out for another five or six days. Again, they are fine. My brother-in-law was not so lucky. He was working outdoors in Windsor yesterday when the tornado came and was hit in the head by some debris. We still don't have all of the details yet but he is still in the hospital. We are keeping him, along with my sister-in-law (the hubby's little sister) and their children, in our thoughts.
When the larger tornado was sighted, along with several smaller ones even closer to our home, all of the schools went into lock-down and the students moved to the interior of the building. I kept in touch with my boys via text message for a little while until they were told to turn their phones off but I could not contact my daughter. All of my children go to different schools, and while I know that they were safer there than anywhere else they would have normally been, I was still terrified. At one time, a tornado was sighted not a mile from Jake's high school.
When it was all over, we knew our friends were safe and I knew my children were safe, I drank a glass of wine and fell asleep on the couch at 8 o'clock. I was drained. I had watched several hours of news, saw the pictures, listened to resident's recount the event, and it was just too much, knowing that it was so very close to us.
I am keeping all those affected in my thoughts, please do the same.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Spring '08 Soccer Season Ends
To be totally honest, I have no idea how many games Lindsay's team won or lost during the eight week soccer season. All I know, is that during this last game the weather was beautiful! So beautiful, in fact, that I got sunburned. How nice is that? I wore shorts and a t-shirt to the game and during half-time I laid down on the grass and closed my eyes. I could feel the heat but it was nice and I dismissed those pesky thoughts of heat = burn. My forearms, thighs above the knees, and face are all rosy red and sore. When will I ever learn?
This morning my family had breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my parents. We hadn't done anything with them as a group in a long time and I didn't even get my mom a Mother's Day card. I'm horrible, I know. So, we all met at 8am - translation: Crack of Friggin' Dawn - to have yummy breakfast and shop for way-too-cute stuff in their store. Lindsay has recently discovered grits - not something you find in every restaurant here, by the way - and she loves them. She likes them with butter and gravy. So do I. Coincidence? I think not. So, she had grits with her breakfast and this afternoon when we went to the grocery store, I bought grits and I'm going to make them, with gravy, for breakfast tomorrow. When we got home, I looked up the recipe for the hashbrown casserole that the Cracker Barrel makes. We all like it and I've never quite been able to make it right. I figure actually following a recipe might just be the trick.
The hubby is in high stress mode after finishing finals week at CSU. He will have to take Calculus again over the summer so the stress level should shoot up from FREAK OUT to EMERGENCY level during, what should be, his easy semester. The summer class is held at the what-the-hell-were-they-thinking hour of 7AM, Monday through Friday for two hours a day. If that doesn't kill the summer semester students, I don't know what will. The good news is that he doesn't have to buy another book...? Yeah, we'll go with that.
We only have nine days of school - 12 1/2 if you are counting the number of days until freedom - so I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how to manage the summer for Lindsay. I think yoga will materialize, though not for several weeks. Swimming lessons with The GirlFriend might be once a week - if that - starting near the end of June. Our community pool will open in a week but it will, no doubt, be freezing cold because they refuse to turn on the heater. It will be early July before jumping in the water doesn't pose the risk of heart-stoppage. Summer is so much fun here.... I'm hoping to schedule a few play dates for Lindsay with her soccer friends. Matt is capable of watching them at the park next door to their school for an hour or so once a week. (Yes Matt, I'm making plans for you!)
Hope your Saturday turned out as glorious as mine did - sunburn and all! I know I will enjoy sleeping in tomorrow and the best thing? I get to sleep in next Saturday! NO SOCCER! (Oh, and next Sunday too - it's my birthday.)
This morning my family had breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my parents. We hadn't done anything with them as a group in a long time and I didn't even get my mom a Mother's Day card. I'm horrible, I know. So, we all met at 8am - translation: Crack of Friggin' Dawn - to have yummy breakfast and shop for way-too-cute stuff in their store. Lindsay has recently discovered grits - not something you find in every restaurant here, by the way - and she loves them. She likes them with butter and gravy. So do I. Coincidence? I think not. So, she had grits with her breakfast and this afternoon when we went to the grocery store, I bought grits and I'm going to make them, with gravy, for breakfast tomorrow. When we got home, I looked up the recipe for the hashbrown casserole that the Cracker Barrel makes. We all like it and I've never quite been able to make it right. I figure actually following a recipe might just be the trick.
The hubby is in high stress mode after finishing finals week at CSU. He will have to take Calculus again over the summer so the stress level should shoot up from FREAK OUT to EMERGENCY level during, what should be, his easy semester. The summer class is held at the what-the-hell-were-they-thinking hour of 7AM, Monday through Friday for two hours a day. If that doesn't kill the summer semester students, I don't know what will. The good news is that he doesn't have to buy another book...? Yeah, we'll go with that.
We only have nine days of school - 12 1/2 if you are counting the number of days until freedom - so I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how to manage the summer for Lindsay. I think yoga will materialize, though not for several weeks. Swimming lessons with The GirlFriend might be once a week - if that - starting near the end of June. Our community pool will open in a week but it will, no doubt, be freezing cold because they refuse to turn on the heater. It will be early July before jumping in the water doesn't pose the risk of heart-stoppage. Summer is so much fun here.... I'm hoping to schedule a few play dates for Lindsay with her soccer friends. Matt is capable of watching them at the park next door to their school for an hour or so once a week. (Yes Matt, I'm making plans for you!)
Hope your Saturday turned out as glorious as mine did - sunburn and all! I know I will enjoy sleeping in tomorrow and the best thing? I get to sleep in next Saturday! NO SOCCER! (Oh, and next Sunday too - it's my birthday.)
Monday, May 12, 2008
Not Quite Back In My Groove
My Mother's Day went well, I hope yours did too.
I made my own breakfast, but that's okay. My kids still think I always want scrambled eggs and they always get shells in them. A gave me a card she made in school with a three-dimensional teacup on it and a real teabag in it. It was some sort of spice tea and she's finding out from her teacher what sort of tea it was. Jake gave me a $25 Starbucks card. I haven't been there in a while so it will be nice to go again. Matt did homework all weekend and I consider that a fine gift.
I was a lazy bum today too. I did two loads of laundry. Since our dryer is on the fritz I've been hanging clothes outside and I feel like that was enough of an accomplishment. Oh, I made dinner too. I've been avoiding actually cooking dinner from scratch for a while, I don't know why. I made Spaghetti Carbonara because it's easy and the kids love it. Other than that, I've been working on an upcoming blog post that took me three days to put together.
I've felt good today, no headache, just a little stiffness in my neck. I think the only side effect I'm suffering from the Inderol is some mild dizziness, well, maybe some decreased energy too. I'll have to be careful when I drive.
Lindsay has stickers on all of her days so far. There have only been two school days since I started it but she is really excited about being ready on time. She's losing one of her teeth right now and she's afraid she will lose it in her sleep, and either swallow it or it will end up in her bed. She hasn't lost a tooth in a while so this seems new to her.
I made my own breakfast, but that's okay. My kids still think I always want scrambled eggs and they always get shells in them. A gave me a card she made in school with a three-dimensional teacup on it and a real teabag in it. It was some sort of spice tea and she's finding out from her teacher what sort of tea it was. Jake gave me a $25 Starbucks card. I haven't been there in a while so it will be nice to go again. Matt did homework all weekend and I consider that a fine gift.
I was a lazy bum today too. I did two loads of laundry. Since our dryer is on the fritz I've been hanging clothes outside and I feel like that was enough of an accomplishment. Oh, I made dinner too. I've been avoiding actually cooking dinner from scratch for a while, I don't know why. I made Spaghetti Carbonara because it's easy and the kids love it. Other than that, I've been working on an upcoming blog post that took me three days to put together.
I've felt good today, no headache, just a little stiffness in my neck. I think the only side effect I'm suffering from the Inderol is some mild dizziness, well, maybe some decreased energy too. I'll have to be careful when I drive.
Lindsay has stickers on all of her days so far. There have only been two school days since I started it but she is really excited about being ready on time. She's losing one of her teeth right now and she's afraid she will lose it in her sleep, and either swallow it or it will end up in her bed. She hasn't lost a tooth in a while so this seems new to her.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
An Icky Day
Today was not a great day.
We woke up at 7 and got Lindsay ready for her soccer game, minus the shin guards, socks and cleats. She wore flip flops and I wore sandals because it was supposed to be almost 60-degrees and I didn't think we'd freeze. We left the boys asleep and went to breakfast. This has become a ritual; we eat out either before or after the game because during football season, we eat out after every game and she deserves the same special treatment as her brothers. The hubby, Lindsay and I really enjoy this time together since there are normally one or both boys around to tease and taunt her. I took my new beta blocker with breakfast and prepared for the nasty side effects but it took hours for them to kick in.
When we got to the soccer fields, the wind was flowing off the mountains and it was ice cold. If the wind had stopped, the game would have been enjoyable. But no. My ears were sore when we finally were able to get in the car and my feet were ice.
My niece's first birthday was this afternoon and I did not make it. I was so tired, still in pain, and cold that I refused to move off the couch. I had some mild chest pain/discomfort earlier in the day and my toes fell asleep - yep, my toes. I also took another Vicodin this afternoon. This medication will be interesting.
Jake didn't go because he had just gotten back from a six mile run with The GF. They are training for the Bolder BOULDER, a 10K run that is held on Memorial Day, in Boulder (like you couldn't have figured that out yourself), every year. Jake is nuts. He's a football player and they are known for their strength, not their stamina. When they got back he took a shower and then they went out to lunch. I'm sure it's much more fun to have lunch with your girlfriend than it is to watch your one year old cousin smear cake all over her face.
Now, at the end of my day, I had enough energy to call up my mom and get ready for bed. I've read all about the potential side effects of the medications I got and am really disturbed with the unexplained weight gain that is possible. I've lost weight over the past 10 months and I would like to continue since my first real goal is now only 33 pounds away. It will be interesting to see what happens to my weight over the next month.
Sorry to complain so much.
We woke up at 7 and got Lindsay ready for her soccer game, minus the shin guards, socks and cleats. She wore flip flops and I wore sandals because it was supposed to be almost 60-degrees and I didn't think we'd freeze. We left the boys asleep and went to breakfast. This has become a ritual; we eat out either before or after the game because during football season, we eat out after every game and she deserves the same special treatment as her brothers. The hubby, Lindsay and I really enjoy this time together since there are normally one or both boys around to tease and taunt her. I took my new beta blocker with breakfast and prepared for the nasty side effects but it took hours for them to kick in.
When we got to the soccer fields, the wind was flowing off the mountains and it was ice cold. If the wind had stopped, the game would have been enjoyable. But no. My ears were sore when we finally were able to get in the car and my feet were ice.
My niece's first birthday was this afternoon and I did not make it. I was so tired, still in pain, and cold that I refused to move off the couch. I had some mild chest pain/discomfort earlier in the day and my toes fell asleep - yep, my toes. I also took another Vicodin this afternoon. This medication will be interesting.
Jake didn't go because he had just gotten back from a six mile run with The GF. They are training for the Bolder BOULDER, a 10K run that is held on Memorial Day, in Boulder (like you couldn't have figured that out yourself), every year. Jake is nuts. He's a football player and they are known for their strength, not their stamina. When they got back he took a shower and then they went out to lunch. I'm sure it's much more fun to have lunch with your girlfriend than it is to watch your one year old cousin smear cake all over her face.
Now, at the end of my day, I had enough energy to call up my mom and get ready for bed. I've read all about the potential side effects of the medications I got and am really disturbed with the unexplained weight gain that is possible. I've lost weight over the past 10 months and I would like to continue since my first real goal is now only 33 pounds away. It will be interesting to see what happens to my weight over the next month.
Sorry to complain so much.
Friday, May 9, 2008
I Could Open A Pharmacy and More Whining Than Anyone Should Be Allowed
I had a doctors appointment this afternoon for refills on my pain medication - I have headaches a lot - and it was interesting. My doctor is retiring, the man my whole family has been seeing for 17 years is ditching us for a more peaceful life. It's a bummer. In preparation for his coming freedom, he merged with a larger practice that includes four doctors and four PA's. This whole change has me a little freaked out. Thank heavens he took his two nurses with him to the new practice, and they aren't retiring.
Anyway, one of the nurses I'm familiar with called me back, took my weight (I lost another four pounds since my last OB/GYN appointment) and blood pressure and did the nursey stuff before leaving me to be seen by my doctor. When he came in, he was followed by another doctor, one that he hopes I'll be comfortable enough with to continue to see when he leaves. They ask why I've come in, I explain that I need a refill on my Vicodin prescription and tell them when my nurse midwife and OB/GYN last gave me prescriptions - you know, to make sure I'm not abusing... I gave their names so they could check - and we start discussing the cause of my headaches, what meds I use, how often, etc. For the record, the narcotics just don't work that well but I figured they were my only option because I thought I was having tension headaches.
We talked about muscle relaxants - they don't work, according to my file we tried them for a while about 7 years ago - and then they ask me to describe the headaches. Well, since I'm in the middle of a doozie at the time, I say, "They hurt." Duh. They chuckle, and ask very pointed questions. Picture, if you will, two doctors, one on either side of me, firing question after question... I felt like I was watching a tennis match. After I'd answered all their questions, they tell me I'm describing migraine headaches. I'd never wanted to say that they were migraines because, well, I don't know. Those are severe, debilitating and horrible. They told me that I was describing something severe, debilitating and horrible. I just thought I was being a baby.
So I walked out of the office with three prescriptions. One is a beta blocker to lower my heart rate - EEK - that apparently can cut the number of migraines in half and the remainder of them won't be as severe. Next came a prescription for something called Maxalt, which I'm sorry to say costs $116 for 6 pills - HELLO? Are you kidding???? They gave me four pills as samples - thank heavens. I also had my Vicodin refill. I didn't fill the Maxalt. I just don't have that kind of money in the budget. The samples will have to do.
My problem is that I've had a headache, migraine, all day long and I've fought it with Aleve, two doses of Vicodin, caffeine pills, coffee... I've thrown everything I have at it and it's only now going away. I didn't want to use one of those $20 pills on the first day I got them. See, I'm just nuts, but I knew if I could get through today, I'd be fine for a while.
By the way, beta blockers, scary. They lower your heart rate and blood pressure. I guess the point is to open up constricted blood vessels in your head and avoid the migraine in the first place. The side effects are a bit over the top. Lack of energy, dizziness - as in, use caution when operating a car or heavy machinery - weight gain (I don't need that), strange heat sensations when first going on the medication, and a diabetic warning regarding masking the effects of low blood sugar. This last one scares me, not because I'm diabetic, I'm hypoglycemic. My blood sugar drops at an alarming rate. During my glucose tolerance test a while back, my level was 49 at three hours. If I'd had the five hour test done, they said I would have passed out. Lucky me. To fight this, the doctors office told me to take the medication, called Inderal, after breakfast, and eat small meals throughout the day because the medication's side effects are similar to low blood sugar. EEK! I have to start eating right? Well, if it will help my headaches, I guess I'll do anything.
I know I ramble and maybe I haven't made sense, but in my defense, I'm feeling the effects of the last dose of Vicodin. Fuzzy can be fun. For the record, I couldn't lay in bed any longer, it just hurt more. I dimmed the screen on my computer so I could function while writing this, being upright and focusing on something else seems to help a little. When I was in bed earlier, I started to cry and that only makes it worse because it builds pressure in my head.
Anyway, one of the nurses I'm familiar with called me back, took my weight (I lost another four pounds since my last OB/GYN appointment) and blood pressure and did the nursey stuff before leaving me to be seen by my doctor. When he came in, he was followed by another doctor, one that he hopes I'll be comfortable enough with to continue to see when he leaves. They ask why I've come in, I explain that I need a refill on my Vicodin prescription and tell them when my nurse midwife and OB/GYN last gave me prescriptions - you know, to make sure I'm not abusing... I gave their names so they could check - and we start discussing the cause of my headaches, what meds I use, how often, etc. For the record, the narcotics just don't work that well but I figured they were my only option because I thought I was having tension headaches.
We talked about muscle relaxants - they don't work, according to my file we tried them for a while about 7 years ago - and then they ask me to describe the headaches. Well, since I'm in the middle of a doozie at the time, I say, "They hurt." Duh. They chuckle, and ask very pointed questions. Picture, if you will, two doctors, one on either side of me, firing question after question... I felt like I was watching a tennis match. After I'd answered all their questions, they tell me I'm describing migraine headaches. I'd never wanted to say that they were migraines because, well, I don't know. Those are severe, debilitating and horrible. They told me that I was describing something severe, debilitating and horrible. I just thought I was being a baby.
So I walked out of the office with three prescriptions. One is a beta blocker to lower my heart rate - EEK - that apparently can cut the number of migraines in half and the remainder of them won't be as severe. Next came a prescription for something called Maxalt, which I'm sorry to say costs $116 for 6 pills - HELLO? Are you kidding???? They gave me four pills as samples - thank heavens. I also had my Vicodin refill. I didn't fill the Maxalt. I just don't have that kind of money in the budget. The samples will have to do.
My problem is that I've had a headache, migraine, all day long and I've fought it with Aleve, two doses of Vicodin, caffeine pills, coffee... I've thrown everything I have at it and it's only now going away. I didn't want to use one of those $20 pills on the first day I got them. See, I'm just nuts, but I knew if I could get through today, I'd be fine for a while.
By the way, beta blockers, scary. They lower your heart rate and blood pressure. I guess the point is to open up constricted blood vessels in your head and avoid the migraine in the first place. The side effects are a bit over the top. Lack of energy, dizziness - as in, use caution when operating a car or heavy machinery - weight gain (I don't need that), strange heat sensations when first going on the medication, and a diabetic warning regarding masking the effects of low blood sugar. This last one scares me, not because I'm diabetic, I'm hypoglycemic. My blood sugar drops at an alarming rate. During my glucose tolerance test a while back, my level was 49 at three hours. If I'd had the five hour test done, they said I would have passed out. Lucky me. To fight this, the doctors office told me to take the medication, called Inderal, after breakfast, and eat small meals throughout the day because the medication's side effects are similar to low blood sugar. EEK! I have to start eating right? Well, if it will help my headaches, I guess I'll do anything.
I know I ramble and maybe I haven't made sense, but in my defense, I'm feeling the effects of the last dose of Vicodin. Fuzzy can be fun. For the record, I couldn't lay in bed any longer, it just hurt more. I dimmed the screen on my computer so I could function while writing this, being upright and focusing on something else seems to help a little. When I was in bed earlier, I started to cry and that only makes it worse because it builds pressure in my head.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
I'm Boring - This One Is About My Hair?
I got my hair cut today and I'm so loving it. I was at work and walked past the glass entry way, catching my reflection, and decided that I looked... how should I put this... frumpy? The only thing I can do about the way I look at this moment is to cut my hair and I'm very happy with the results. Soon, I will be working on the rest.
Once the weather is a bit more stable around here - we have freezing nights, freak thunderstorms, 60 mile an hour winds - I'll start walking at night again. I loved walking in the warm weather last summer. I only lost about one or two pounds a week, but it was consistent and I felt good getting out of the house. I will also walk on Saturday and Sunday mornings and that way I can get some color in my glaring white legs. I'm freakishly pale, it can't be good to be this white.
When I came home and picked up the mail, I was shocked to find a jury summons with my name on it. I'm 35 years old and this is the first time I've gotten one. When I was younger I would have been happy to have the opportunity to serve. Now I'm thinking that if I have to miss work and get paid $50 for the day, I'm getting ripped off since I make way more than that. The other unfortunate thing is that the first day of jury service is on a Monday, and I don't work on Mondays. I guess I'll be busy that day - and not get paid for it. Oh, geeze! It's my kids first day of summer break too... What a bummer.
So much for feeling better about the haircut.
AND I HAVE TO PAY TO PARK THERE. Okay, I'm done. (Not really.)
Once the weather is a bit more stable around here - we have freezing nights, freak thunderstorms, 60 mile an hour winds - I'll start walking at night again. I loved walking in the warm weather last summer. I only lost about one or two pounds a week, but it was consistent and I felt good getting out of the house. I will also walk on Saturday and Sunday mornings and that way I can get some color in my glaring white legs. I'm freakishly pale, it can't be good to be this white.
When I came home and picked up the mail, I was shocked to find a jury summons with my name on it. I'm 35 years old and this is the first time I've gotten one. When I was younger I would have been happy to have the opportunity to serve. Now I'm thinking that if I have to miss work and get paid $50 for the day, I'm getting ripped off since I make way more than that. The other unfortunate thing is that the first day of jury service is on a Monday, and I don't work on Mondays. I guess I'll be busy that day - and not get paid for it. Oh, geeze! It's my kids first day of summer break too... What a bummer.
So much for feeling better about the haircut.
AND I HAVE TO PAY TO PARK THERE. Okay, I'm done. (Not really.)
Monday, May 5, 2008
This Doesn't Happen Every Day - Thank Heavens
Today I was enjoying the beautiful weather we're having. I took a lovely afternoon shower and sat outside reading a good book (Strangers by Dean Koontz) under our Ponderosa Pine tree. I had just the right amount of sunlight and was loving it. Somehow I'd totally forgotten that it's time for the sap to flow... You can see where this is going, right? Sap dropped onto my freshly washed hair.
For those of you who don't know how to remove sap this will be educational and icky at the same time. I've discovered that sap can be removed easily by using any kind of cooking oil (corn, olive, canola, vegetable) and then washing with soap and water, but I'd only ever used this procedure on hands, feet and clothes - never my hair. The good news is that it works, the bad news is that it's gross. I rubbed oil in my hair, only where the sap was, and then washed it with lots of shampoo, combing it out as I went. Conditioner is, apparently, critical. I used lots of that too and let it sit for a couple of minutes before rinsing and combing.
Soon it will be warm every day and I won't appreciate it as much. We will start to complain about the heat when it reaches (oh, my!) 85-degrees? For now it is wonderful and I'm going to enjoy it. I'll just have to find a new shady area to sit and read.
For those of you who don't know how to remove sap this will be educational and icky at the same time. I've discovered that sap can be removed easily by using any kind of cooking oil (corn, olive, canola, vegetable) and then washing with soap and water, but I'd only ever used this procedure on hands, feet and clothes - never my hair. The good news is that it works, the bad news is that it's gross. I rubbed oil in my hair, only where the sap was, and then washed it with lots of shampoo, combing it out as I went. Conditioner is, apparently, critical. I used lots of that too and let it sit for a couple of minutes before rinsing and combing.
Soon it will be warm every day and I won't appreciate it as much. We will start to complain about the heat when it reaches (oh, my!) 85-degrees? For now it is wonderful and I'm going to enjoy it. I'll just have to find a new shady area to sit and read.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Prom '08
Jake went to prom last night with his beautiful girlfriend. I just had to share a picture of the two of them.
Jake thinks he's funny (or he was going to blink) but most of the pictures I took had something wrong with them. The GF's family took a lot of pictures and Jake bought pictures at prom as well - they'd better be good for the $35 he paid.
Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and that your week goes smoothly as Mothers Day approaches.
Picky?
I've gotten picky about the blogs I read these days. For a while I was reading some of the most popular bloggers but now I'm in search of those blogs that don't seem to have a big readership - or at least not a ton of commenter's. Don't get me wrong, I think those popular blogs are popular for a reason - those women are funny and write brilliantly - I'm just looking for something a little less... click-ish?
One of the blogs I began reading only two months ago is shutting down - a loss to the blogging world if there ever was one, but I can understand her reasoning. Her closing up shop has forced me to find a replacement and this is where I began to notice the 'club' mentality of the world of respected bloggers. Maybe that's because I'm not a part of their group? Because I can't see myself blogging for a living? I'm not as talented?
One of the blogs I began reading only two months ago is shutting down - a loss to the blogging world if there ever was one, but I can understand her reasoning. Her closing up shop has forced me to find a replacement and this is where I began to notice the 'club' mentality of the world of respected bloggers. Maybe that's because I'm not a part of their group? Because I can't see myself blogging for a living? I'm not as talented?
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