Thursday, March 21, 2013

Nothing sinking this ship (149.2)

Warning: brief whine session ahead
I am so tired of being cold.  I am tired of my winter clothes.  I'm tired of wearing tights all the time. I miss wearing summer sandals. I'm tired of paying a stupidly high utility bill (I don't keep our house cold like a lot of people--I like to be comfortable in my own house. But it's not THAT warm, and I always have to wear a sweater & socks).  I'm tired of being cold at work; I need to just buy a space heater but I keep hoping the weather will warm up and I won't have to buy one (but I'm done waiting and I'm getting one ASAP).  I'm sick about how cold it's going to be Palm Sunday, when we have our Easter egg hunt at church.  IF we even have it.  It's supposed to rain too. 

I know I'm preaching to the choir. I'm sure you're all just as anxious as I am for spring weather to arrive.

Whine over.

So I'm doing really, really well. 

Sophie was sick yesterday with a touch of a migraine and a tummy ache.  A friend at work told me about her niece who started getting tummy aches once a month about a year before she started her period.  Sophie will be 12 in May, hasn't started yet.  I'm now tracking her tummy aches to see if there's a pattern, so we can be aware of it. 

I stayed home in the morning with her, then came to the office at 11.  Mark didn't leave for home until 1 pm, so she was by herself for a couple of hours, which she is fine with and I am too. 

Mark had a back procedure yesterday (steroid injections).  The radio frequency procedure (where they burn the nerve around his spine) he had 4 months ago has worked well, but it's starting to wear off.  He's been having more bad days recently.  He had this procedure done to carry him the next two months; he can get another RF at 6 months (the nerve grows back).  I stayed with him at the doctor's office (Sophie was home another 2 hours by herself) during the procedure because he was nervous and wanted me there.

I had a conversation with my mom about the insurance settlement from the car wreck she had (with my kids in the car) almost 2 years ago.  She was very upset because the attorney said she'd get $3600 after they pay all the expenses and attorney's fees.  That won't cover what she's had to pay out of pocket.  She has back pain from the accident.  She has not been seeing a pain doctor, which I told her to do months ago.  Insurance doesn't care how you feel; they care that you can prove your injuries through doctor visits.  Needless to say, she's not settling for that amount.  Who knows how it will work out--it's not my job to fix it and I'm not worrying about it.  (They settled with us last month, and we got more than that for the kids.)  Even though I'm not worrying about it, I'm still upset for my mom and hate to know she's going through this. 

Then last night Luke & I went to a friends house to hang out with our core group of church friends. My close friend Paula and her family moved to Iowa in December, and they were here for their spring break.  It was wonderful to be back together with everyone.  We laughed and laughed and had so much fun.  These are the kinds of friends where you can be apart but pick up right where you left off when you get back together.  Our kids are all big enough to play upstairs by themselves (youngest is 3) so we had adult time around the dining room table.  It was fabulous.

None of this sank me.  Not one bit.

I feel really good today (other than being cold).  My food is in line.  I was able to be around pizza and dessert last night and have no issues.  I had salad and two slices of cheese (more on cheese in a minute).  I allow two slices on my program, since that small an amount doesn't trigger cravings for me.

On the cheese, I think I have to stop eating it all together.  I have digestive issues a few hours after eating it and it continues into the next day.  I really only eat cheese on pizza and grilled cheese.  I don't eat it every day.  Other than Starbucks lattes, it's the only dairy I eat.  So it shouldn't be too hard to give up.  It's just a mind shift that I need to make.

I bought a kleen kanteen water bottle, which I love.  I didn't buy the sports cap at first, but found that unscrewing the cap, which takes longer than a typical bottle because it has a longer "thread," was taking too long.  I know that sounds ridiculous.  But I like to drink all day at my desk, and taking the time to unscrew the cap was getting annoying.  I won't leave it open on my desk--too risky around my keyboard and paperwork.  So I ordered the sportscap from Amazon and love it.

I also have been making smoothies more.  I put in a big handful of spinach, soy protein powder, coconut water and milk (the lite milk in a can, which has no sugar but some fat for staying power), and about a cup of frozen berries and pineapple/mango mix.  I had been using 1/2 a banana, but decided that was a bad idea b/c they are high in sugar and some people (Vickie in particular) have reported gaining weight when adding banana to their diets. I'm not having them every day, so I'm not worried about eating too much fruit. They are nice when I don't feel like eating food.  I can't taste the spinach, and this is a great way to get it into my diet.

My cough is almost gone, but my throat has been hurting the past two days and I'm all snotty again.  It's driving me crazy.  My mucas had a thread of red in it this morning, but I'm hoping I can fight it off (taking Vit C) and it won't become a full blown infection. I don't want to take another antibiotic.  And I definitely don't want to be sick again!

No workouts for me this week.  Again, it's the stinking cold keeping me (giving me an excuse) from going to the gym or getting on the treadmill at night.  Thursdays are when I can take a weights class, but Sophie's school choir concert is tonight so I can't go to class.  I am planning on making the yoga class Saturday's at 9 a routine, so hopefully that will happen this weekend.  I might get on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes after class, so that will be good.  I need the cardio and the release.

I'm also planning to go to the eye doctor Saturday and see if I can get contacts.  I have to wear glasses to read and work, and I'm tired of them.  I look much better without glasses--I've got this pretty new eyeshadow to show off!  It's been over two years since I last had my eyes checked, and I think my eyes continue to get worse.  I've never had contacts, but I have no problem touching my eyeball. 

Kids have spring break next week.  I'm taking Monday off, taking them to the dentist (I know, what a fun spring break).  Then they'll be with my mom a day or two, and not sure about the other day.  We have Good Friday off since the stock market is closed.  It's going to still be cold next week, so not much of a "spring" break.  Have I mentioned I'm sick of the cold weather? ha.

I have acupuncture tomorrow.  Can't wait.  It still helps me, a lot.

So that's the scoop.  I'm very thankful I am in the place I am right now.

9 comments:

Vickie said...

good to hear all your news.

good to track sophie, that is smart. one of my girls started in 8th grade and then other as freshman. I think I started the summer between 6th and 7th.

My female issues doc was concerned about my using soy on a regular basis. Sharla's trainer who is a nutritionist did not want her using soy at all since her mom had breast cancer. Sharla is using egg white protein. I am using Whey. I know I do not have a dairy problem. I have a cheese problem (like the mold that is part of the process, also can't do yogurt, food sensitivity test, mushrooms also showed on that test which are sort of mold related). I can do cottage cheese and skim milk too.

I had trouble being cold in SC when I wasn't cold at home (before I left). then when I came back, I was cold at home for several days. Now I am back to normal.

I WAS the only one at the car wash vacuuming her car in 32 degrees and no coat this afternoon. I was wind blocked by the car doors.

so glad you got to see your friends and relax.

write more about your husband's back so we know how he is doing with treatment. I know how much a back hurts when it hurts.

Vickie said...

So would that be contact bifocals or how would that work?

Vickie said...

Are there contact bifocals?

Hils said...

I know I'm not a big commenter, Laura, but I just wanted to say that your upward trajectory (downward with the weight, though!) fills me with quiet joy. And hope. Thanks for sharing your process.

Laura N said...

Thanks, Hils. Hope you are well!

Laura N said...

Eye doctor this afternoon. Probably will be multifocal contacts or monovision (one eye has a contact--that is what Mark does). I'm going to leave it to the doc to decide after he checks my eyes.

Vickie said...

Very interesting.

My guess is that almost no one I knew in college saw me without my contacts/with glasses nor without make up (like ever). Very different then.

Vickie said...

kids home today?

what did eye doc decide?

Laura N said...

No contacts. :( my far vision is too good to justify getting a bifocal contact--which he doesn't recommend getting anyway b/c they are expensive and hard to get used to. A girl at the eye doctor said she has them and hates them. She was wearing glasses.

My reading prescription had changed so I did get new glasses.