Monday, August 07, 2006
Well, so much for the prednisone.....
The improvement in mobility and lessening of neuropathy was all too brief. By Friday, I was back to that awful awkward stiff-legged walk, heaviness in my chest, and those nasty random sharp pains in my lower legs and feet that feel like being struck by lightning. And the fatigue is as a bad as ever. I could not get out of bed until 1:30 yesterday! Thank goodness there hadn't been a showing scheduled for the afternoon. I'm only halfway through the summer, but I'm going to have to find some way to endure the rest of it, and perhaps even longer depending on when this house sells.
The right SI joint is growing more and more painful despite doing my exercise faithfully. I really wish I'd been able to get those injections in June. By the time I get moved, I'll probably have to start the PT, osteopath and physiatrist stuff all over again (assuming Sioux Falls has such specialists). Argh.
Well, at least I did have showings on Wednesday and Thursday. Have not heard back yet on whether the person who was trying to get financing obtained it or not. I think I will call the realtor on Monday. Still trying to decide whether we should fly Dan back out here Labor Day weekend. The practical part of me says to save the money in case we still have a long wait until the house sells. The selfish part of me says screw the money, this is my marriage we're talking about, and it has been entirely too long since I've seen Dan.
Still waging the battle of the weeds in the yard! If only I had the stamina to just go out there and spend a whole day back there, I could get it all done and relax. But since I can only pull weeds for a half hour or so per day, I never really get caught up. At the moment, I've got the grass pretty much weed free and am working on the areas around the bushes where the cedar mulch is. The gravel and patio areas have been sprayed with weed killer, which has been probably 75 percent effective. I'm gonna have to go around again sometime soon to get the stragglers. And yesterday, I decided to clip off the neighbors plants that have been growing through the fence into my yard. I don't understand why they planted bushes and trees right up against the fence anyway. The front actually looks good since I fertilized it. I'm using a different brand of weed killer (it's not pet-friendly) in the front gravel areas and driveway, and it works very well. The only real eyesore out front is the damaged tree, but I don't have the cash to replace it, so it will just have to do.
Ok, I have tried the new Boost nutritional drinks made for diabetics, and I just don't like the taste as well as their high protein formula. So I will drink the remaining boxes of the diabetic formula and not buy any more. Besides, I tend to use a High Protein Boost as a full meal replacement whereas the Diabetic Boost only has enough carbs to make it a snack. I could see, though, where the diabetic formula would be handy to keep around for those times where you need just enough to bring your energy level back up, like, say, after a workout. I will say that all the formulas of Boost are pretty damned pricey, and really, the most practical thing would be to just eat a healthy diet. If only that were possible for me. Between the gluten free products, the supplements, the organic food and the Boost, I'm one expensive woman.
Speaking of expensive food, Friday I went to the health food store. My friend was nice enough to drive because I was pretty wiped out. I did buy what I went for, but also took a detour to the bulk foods section. Found some dried papaya there. I really miss the fresh papaya I had in Hawaii, and I knew this would not be nearly the same, but I was curious as to whether it would settle my stomach like the fresh stuff does. I bought a small bag and split it with my friend. It tastes pretty decent, so I might have have some for dessert from time to time and see if it has any effect on my tummy.
Watched a couple of movies with my friend Friday night: the original "Sabrina" with Audrey Hepburn and "The Truth About Cats and Dogs". I've seen both several times, but that was a good thing because my brain was too fried to comprehend any complicated plots. It's a bit of an odd combination to see them back to back, but one could do worse. Last night I watched "Insomnia". I thought it was very good but not great. I found myself wishing they had gone a little deeper into Al Pacino's character's psyche and made Robin Williams a little less innocuous in person. He was plenty creepy on the phone, and that was cool. I would watch it again, but probably not several times.
Did finally hear back from the COBRA administrator, and she has gotten things straightened out with our flexible spending account company. So now I can start submitting the $900 worth of qualified medical expenses I incurred during June and July. That is, if I can find the proper forms. I'll be glad when I am done dealing with these FSA guys. They have been a major pain in the ass the past few years we've had them. Dan will qualify for FSA benefits with his new employer next year, but it will be with a different company, one I hope will be easier to deal with.
Did finally finish reading the entire "Chronicles of Narnia". Excellent stuff, particularly "The Last Battle" with its surprise ending. What I don't really get are the freaked-out parents banning their children from the Harry Potter material, stating that it is somehow the work of the devil because it features magic and mythical creatures. Of course, if these parents had actually read the books or seen the movies, they would know how absurd that belief is. This is merely the stuff of good story-telling, plain and simple. Yet children are encouraged to read "Narnia" and/or watch "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". Yes, I realize that Aslan is a thinly disguised Jesus, but there are still plenty of mythical creatures and magical occurrences to compare to "Harry Potter". I hope than when my nieces are old enough to read them, they will enjoy both "Narnia" and "Potter".
So now I have a gap in my summer reading. I have medical texts I should be perusing with a review for But You Don't Look Sick in mind, but I am too stressed to get much out of anything complicated right now. So I looked through some of the books that used to belong to Dan's uncle and picked up James Herriot's "Dog Stories". Fifty canine short stories; I think that's more my speed right now. I may also read the other four Herriot books in my bookcase after this.
Talked to Dan today; he has toured a few more homes. One that we thought had real possibility was a disappointment. It had photographed well, but when he saw it in person, he noticed there were dents in the walls that needed patching, lots of stains on the carpet, and the kitchen was at least 30 years old and nothing had been updated. He thought it would work as a fixer-upper only, and we're trying to avoid those. He's gonna go to a few open houses today and let me know if he sees anything worthwhile. He was also happy to report that he found out that the local grocery DOES carry gluten free products, but you have to know where to look. Apparently, they're in a certain section cut off from everything else. And there aren't a lot of choices, but it's better than no choices at all. What I could do is get whatever I can from the regular grocery, and if they are missing anything vital, I can pop into the health food store once a month for the rest, which is pretty much what I do now. Dan says he's hardly seeing any supplements, though, so I may have to mail order those.
Good news: I FINALLY finished the 2002/2003 photo album! Yayyyy! Now I can get to work on the 2004 pix, which will easily take up an entire album. I already have all the photos printed out and have determined which ones will go on which page and have written titles and captions. I still need to do layouts. Basically, when I'm scrapbooking, that amounts to figuring out what background paper, stickers or other items will go with the photos on each page. After I've done layouts for each page, then I finally start putting the pages together in chronological order. So maybe the next time I see my mother-in-law, I can actually show her the stuff from our trip to Hawaii.
Have had more than enough typing, even with lots of breaks. Gonna go see what Chip D. Dog is up to.
The right SI joint is growing more and more painful despite doing my exercise faithfully. I really wish I'd been able to get those injections in June. By the time I get moved, I'll probably have to start the PT, osteopath and physiatrist stuff all over again (assuming Sioux Falls has such specialists). Argh.
Well, at least I did have showings on Wednesday and Thursday. Have not heard back yet on whether the person who was trying to get financing obtained it or not. I think I will call the realtor on Monday. Still trying to decide whether we should fly Dan back out here Labor Day weekend. The practical part of me says to save the money in case we still have a long wait until the house sells. The selfish part of me says screw the money, this is my marriage we're talking about, and it has been entirely too long since I've seen Dan.
Still waging the battle of the weeds in the yard! If only I had the stamina to just go out there and spend a whole day back there, I could get it all done and relax. But since I can only pull weeds for a half hour or so per day, I never really get caught up. At the moment, I've got the grass pretty much weed free and am working on the areas around the bushes where the cedar mulch is. The gravel and patio areas have been sprayed with weed killer, which has been probably 75 percent effective. I'm gonna have to go around again sometime soon to get the stragglers. And yesterday, I decided to clip off the neighbors plants that have been growing through the fence into my yard. I don't understand why they planted bushes and trees right up against the fence anyway. The front actually looks good since I fertilized it. I'm using a different brand of weed killer (it's not pet-friendly) in the front gravel areas and driveway, and it works very well. The only real eyesore out front is the damaged tree, but I don't have the cash to replace it, so it will just have to do.
Ok, I have tried the new Boost nutritional drinks made for diabetics, and I just don't like the taste as well as their high protein formula. So I will drink the remaining boxes of the diabetic formula and not buy any more. Besides, I tend to use a High Protein Boost as a full meal replacement whereas the Diabetic Boost only has enough carbs to make it a snack. I could see, though, where the diabetic formula would be handy to keep around for those times where you need just enough to bring your energy level back up, like, say, after a workout. I will say that all the formulas of Boost are pretty damned pricey, and really, the most practical thing would be to just eat a healthy diet. If only that were possible for me. Between the gluten free products, the supplements, the organic food and the Boost, I'm one expensive woman.
Speaking of expensive food, Friday I went to the health food store. My friend was nice enough to drive because I was pretty wiped out. I did buy what I went for, but also took a detour to the bulk foods section. Found some dried papaya there. I really miss the fresh papaya I had in Hawaii, and I knew this would not be nearly the same, but I was curious as to whether it would settle my stomach like the fresh stuff does. I bought a small bag and split it with my friend. It tastes pretty decent, so I might have have some for dessert from time to time and see if it has any effect on my tummy.
Watched a couple of movies with my friend Friday night: the original "Sabrina" with Audrey Hepburn and "The Truth About Cats and Dogs". I've seen both several times, but that was a good thing because my brain was too fried to comprehend any complicated plots. It's a bit of an odd combination to see them back to back, but one could do worse. Last night I watched "Insomnia". I thought it was very good but not great. I found myself wishing they had gone a little deeper into Al Pacino's character's psyche and made Robin Williams a little less innocuous in person. He was plenty creepy on the phone, and that was cool. I would watch it again, but probably not several times.
Did finally hear back from the COBRA administrator, and she has gotten things straightened out with our flexible spending account company. So now I can start submitting the $900 worth of qualified medical expenses I incurred during June and July. That is, if I can find the proper forms. I'll be glad when I am done dealing with these FSA guys. They have been a major pain in the ass the past few years we've had them. Dan will qualify for FSA benefits with his new employer next year, but it will be with a different company, one I hope will be easier to deal with.
Did finally finish reading the entire "Chronicles of Narnia". Excellent stuff, particularly "The Last Battle" with its surprise ending. What I don't really get are the freaked-out parents banning their children from the Harry Potter material, stating that it is somehow the work of the devil because it features magic and mythical creatures. Of course, if these parents had actually read the books or seen the movies, they would know how absurd that belief is. This is merely the stuff of good story-telling, plain and simple. Yet children are encouraged to read "Narnia" and/or watch "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". Yes, I realize that Aslan is a thinly disguised Jesus, but there are still plenty of mythical creatures and magical occurrences to compare to "Harry Potter". I hope than when my nieces are old enough to read them, they will enjoy both "Narnia" and "Potter".
So now I have a gap in my summer reading. I have medical texts I should be perusing with a review for But You Don't Look Sick in mind, but I am too stressed to get much out of anything complicated right now. So I looked through some of the books that used to belong to Dan's uncle and picked up James Herriot's "Dog Stories". Fifty canine short stories; I think that's more my speed right now. I may also read the other four Herriot books in my bookcase after this.
Talked to Dan today; he has toured a few more homes. One that we thought had real possibility was a disappointment. It had photographed well, but when he saw it in person, he noticed there were dents in the walls that needed patching, lots of stains on the carpet, and the kitchen was at least 30 years old and nothing had been updated. He thought it would work as a fixer-upper only, and we're trying to avoid those. He's gonna go to a few open houses today and let me know if he sees anything worthwhile. He was also happy to report that he found out that the local grocery DOES carry gluten free products, but you have to know where to look. Apparently, they're in a certain section cut off from everything else. And there aren't a lot of choices, but it's better than no choices at all. What I could do is get whatever I can from the regular grocery, and if they are missing anything vital, I can pop into the health food store once a month for the rest, which is pretty much what I do now. Dan says he's hardly seeing any supplements, though, so I may have to mail order those.
Good news: I FINALLY finished the 2002/2003 photo album! Yayyyy! Now I can get to work on the 2004 pix, which will easily take up an entire album. I already have all the photos printed out and have determined which ones will go on which page and have written titles and captions. I still need to do layouts. Basically, when I'm scrapbooking, that amounts to figuring out what background paper, stickers or other items will go with the photos on each page. After I've done layouts for each page, then I finally start putting the pages together in chronological order. So maybe the next time I see my mother-in-law, I can actually show her the stuff from our trip to Hawaii.
Have had more than enough typing, even with lots of breaks. Gonna go see what Chip D. Dog is up to.
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