Thanksgiving Weekend

Well, the long Thanksgiving weekend is coming to a close. Granted, I still had to work on Friday, but the extended weekend for most seemed to fly by quickly.

I'm not the first person to point this out, but every year I find it extremely ironic that we go straight from a holiday where we give thanks for what we have, to a day where we suddenly forget that we were thankful for anything at all and are out to find the best bargains for things we don't have. The disconnect is astounding. And lately, the two tend to overlap, though I was glad to see some retailers scaling back this year on the Thanksgiving Day sales.

I myself did some Christmas shopping from the comfort of my recliner, with a blanket on my lap and Josie curled up at my feet. I almost went out, but it was cold and rainy and staying put, not standing in line, warm blankets, and a sleepy pup was a much more attractive plan, haha.

Saturday was a nice relaxing morning, and I ended up going out to a couple local businesses downtown. I didn't find any gifts, but I did stop by my new favorite coffee shop Jennie & Grace, which is owned and operated by fellow CF-er Carla. The coffee there is delicious, seriously, you should try it if you're around and craving some. Then, when I returned home... Jarrod had everything pulled out from under the kitchen sink when I walked in the door, so something was not right. Everything was soaked and he discovered the garbage disposal was broken and had been leaking slowly in our cabinet underneath. Oh goodie. So, we would need a new one.

And while he was at it, he figured he might as well replace the kitchen sink. Back when my parents remodeled their kitchen, they updated their countertops and could no longer use their original sink; they went from a normal sink to one of those under-mount kind. They gave us the old one, which was better quality and had one of the sides deeper than the other, and it's been sitting in our garage ever since.

So we are currently without a kitchen sink, or a dishwasher since that's all the same plumbing. The giant hole in the countertops where the sink used to be is kind of weird. We've been paper-plating it with leftovers and dining out, not much cooking. Luckily we have the small sink in the bar downstairs, so we do have the capability to wash a few things but nothing too crazy since it doesn't have a disposal on it. We're currently waiting on the new disposal and faucet to come in from Amazon. Yay for being Prime members and getting this stuff in two days! I'm also very thankful for a handy husband. Plumbing isn't exactly his favorite thing, but after doing all of the plumbing in the basement I'm pretty sure he can handle this one.

Snowy Saturday Morning

Upon checking the weather this morning, I discovered the very-distinct-line between rain and snow was upon our town. I opened the curtains and decided to lay in bed and semi-watch for the snow to arrive.

Sure enough, in about 15 minutes, the wet sloppy snowflakes began. So we officially had our first snow of the season. It wasn't much, but I don't think Josie enjoyed it while she was out.

I contemplated going to get coffee this morning. Last week a friend and I caught up over coffee at a new coffee shop in town, and it was delicious. But in the end I decided to haul out my espresso machine and [attempt to] make myself a cappuccino. I haven't used it in a while, and afterwards I remembered why I would rather just pay someone to make my coffee drinks.

I asked for an espresso machine a couple years ago for Christmas with the hopes of enjoying coffee shop-quality drinks at home, for about 10% of the price. I have a cheapy espresso machine, as far as those go; they can run into the hundreds and hundreds of dollars. So it's nothing spectacular, but I suppose it does the job. But it's all so involved. Getting out the coffee grinder, grinding the beans; setting up the machine, making espresso, steaming the milk, then the huge amount of cleanup because you just dirtied 8 different things just to make one cup of coffee. I am not good at steaming milk, which is pretty much the key to the latte or cappuccino. I can get the milk to bubble up, but they dissipate quickly, and within 10 minutes of completing my drink, it's cold, which is really disappointing when you spent more than 10 minutes setting up and making the darn thing. I can't gulp down espresso in 10 minutes, neither would I want to; it's a drink to be sipped.

So yeah... back on the shelf for the espresso machine, only to be pulled out in six months when I once again forget how time-consuming and involved the entire process is for very little reward.

A couple days ago was Josie's "Homecoming Anniversary." I originally called it an adoption day, but I realize some people might find that misleading since she wasn't "adopted" from a shelter. But yeah, I can't believe it was three years ago that we brought our little dog home!

She's snoozing next to my feet right now. The snow has stopped, but it's very cold and windy outside, so I think we're going to stay in for most of the day and stay warm :)

Efficiency

I strive to be a very efficient person in my daily tasks. Every morning, while my breakfast is cooking in the toaster or in the microwave for three-point-five minutes, I proceed to get out all of my morning pills, which takes about two minutes of my time. Or I'll make coffee. In the shower, I hate having to wait for the soap to run to the end of the bottle, so I will usually buy soap pumps or turn the bottle upside down even if it's not running low; it takes seconds off of my time otherwise wasted waiting for the soap to come out. If I have multiple errands to run and stops to make, I will map out the best route in my head ahead of time so I can maximize drive-time. By nature, I walk at a fairly good pace (I'd never make it in the South, people there like to take things slow and easy... haha.)

It's something that is ingrained in me, somehow. Maybe it's something I picked up from my parents. Maybe it's because subconsciously, I want to make the best use of my minutes since I have to dedicate so many of them to treatments and taking care of my CF. Who knows.

But having a lung disease does not allow for efficiency.

More and more, I find myself getting winded when I'm walking, and I have to consciously slow down my pace. I wouldn't say I'm rushing, just walking at a decent speed. But, I also have my short legs working against me and it always takes at least 1.5 steps for me, when it might take someone of average height 1 step to cover the same distance. But I have to make myself walk slower, nonetheless, so I don't put myself into a coughing fit.

Sometimes, if I'm sick, I have to go about my entire day at a slower pace and again consciously, deliberately slow myself down.

And I hate it.

I really don't think I'm trying to cruise through life without stopping to smell the roses, but all of this made me wonder: maybe I am? Should I quit worrying about constantly saving a minute here and there? Part of me says No, those minutes add up, and part of my says Jamie, you're being silly, let it go. Why not worry about the other minutes your ARE actually wasting?

Sometimes my dog will remind me to literally stop and smell the roses. Or an evergreen bush—there's something interesting about one of them that she always has to stop and investigate. She always makes me smile when she does that. Am I missing out on other opportunities to smile in life?

Super duper checkup!

I had a checkup in Columbia today, and it was great! I'm so happy and really proud of myself and my hard work.

Last time I was there in August, my lungs were not so hot. I was having FEV1's of 26%, which is not cool and not where I want to be. In addition to that, I wasn't feeling that great either. I didn't have a ton of energy, at least not the normal amount I was used to, and I got short-of-breath easily. Of course, it was to be expected with numbers like what I had.

Despite having such low lung numbers, I just didn't feel sick. I hadn't caught anything, neither did I feel it necessary to do antibiotics at the time. My doctor agreed, and I resolved to try and beat this on my own. I knew it was going to be tough, since I didn't have a lot of wiggle room per se.

The other problem I had was my weight was down, which could have very well contributed to my lower lung numbers. I've experienced that before when I was at Cardinal Glennon. There was a time my weight was down and I was basically told "Either you get your weight up on your own or we're going to really get serious about a g-tube." I put the pedal to the metal, ate a bunch of ice cream, added in extra calories, and gained weight.

But for the past two months I've been really struggling. I would gain a couple pounds, then lose it immediately the next week and be right back at square one. It was hard. I know I've said it before, but it is exceedingly true, gaining weight for me is just as hard as it is for others to lose. So if you know how it feels to lose 2 pounds, then gain back 3 in a week, just put that in reverse and you have my situation; it is just as frustrating and hard to deal with.

I've been working really hard to get more calories in my day. I was also working to keep up with walking on the treadmill to get my lungs breathing better, and a couple weeks ago I finally started going back to the gym on a regular basis. And things were starting to improve.

Finally in the past couple weeks, my weight started to come back up. And when I hopped on the scale today in clinic, I was glad to see it hadn't changed; even went up a little.

Then I did my PFTs and was so relieved that my numbers were back in the 33% area, and I even reached 1.00 (as in one liter of air in the first second [FEV1]).

In addition to that, it was time for my yearly oral glucose tolerance test, which I completed last Friday. The results were good and my blood sugars are normal, so once I again I have avoided diabetes for another year! So that was a relief.

So yeah: my weight is up, my lungs are better, I'm not so short of breath, my blood sugars are in check, I got my flu shot (Did you get yours!?), all good news all around! I am elated. I realize that this won't always be the case, and there will be times—as there have been in the past—where despite everything you do, things just don't work out and CF messes up your life. But for now, I'm going to bask in the joy of today and my good news.

A Fresh Start

I'm feeling hopeful at the moment.

On Tuesday, I went to our gym and cancelled our membership. Our friends cancelled theirs at the end of September and frankly, we haven't been there in a month. The main reason we joined that particular gym was so we could work out with our friends, because everyone knows it's best to have a gym buddy and help keep you going. But since that was no longer a factor, there really wasn't any reason to stay at that gym.

Right after I cancelled our membership there, I signed us up at a different gym. I realize that might sound odd, since we've been lagging at our previous gym, but we both want to make going to the gym part of our lives. Last week, we went to check out this new gym right down the road from our house. Cleanliness and germs were becoming my biggest gripes of our now-previous gym because no one EVER wiped down equipment (obviously, that has to be a concern for me.) There weren't any wipes, to make it easy, there were only a handful of spray bottles with some sort of cleaner in them, and no one ever used them.

After visiting the new gym, which was clean and emphasized people wiping off the machines, our old gym looked grimy and kind of gross.

I think I'll feel more comfortable in this new gym, and it is most definitely more clean and less germy. Furthermore, it's right down the road from us. Yes, we live in a small city but still. We don't even need to drive through any stoplights to get there; if we don't want to we can take all roads through the subdivisions around our house! And if Jarrod ever wanted to, he could go before work because he wouldn't be backtracking and adding drive-time.

So right now I'm feeling hopeful. Maybe changing up the scenery was just what I needed to give me a new kickstart. I was recalling the other day how it felt to lift weights and how accomplished I felt when I could start to lift more. It was a good thing. And I can't deny that I felt better when I was lifting weights at the gym, too. I'm excited to start getting back to that. I've gone to the new gym two times, and I am hoping to keep my momentum going.

Our Experience with Greenies: A Cautionary Tale

Yesterday I bought a few of those Greenies chew treats that are supposed to clean a dog's teeth. I wanted to give them a shot because we are not good about brushing Josie's teeth. I always intend to, then something comes up or I really don't feel like it because it's such a battle with our dog. She does NOT enjoy it and wriggles and fights to get away, not to mention tries to lick all the toothpaste off or bite the brush when you're trying to reach the back molars. In the end, her teeth barely even get cleaned—though I guess 'barely' would still be better than 'never'. 

Anyways, I did lots of research about Greenies. If you're unfamiliar, they're a small toothbrush-shaped 'treat' you give your dogs that helps clean their teeth. It's not a hard treat but bendy and flexible and it's mostly made of wheat.

I'd heard the cautionary accounts about Greenies which ranged from 'my dog got sick' to 'my dog had to have emergency surgery because this thing got stuck and caused intestinal blockage'. As with anything, on the flip side, there are thousands of people who have no problems and their dogs love them. So what do you do? I went to Greenies website again yesterday to read about what they said about them, which in short is that Greenies are good for dogs, safe for dogs, with one important disclaimer that stands out to me: as long as they're chewed up correctly. 

The dog is supposed to chew on this thing and, ya know, chew it up, not bite it off and swallow it (ergo, intestinal blockages.) So I gave one to Josie last night... and she ate it in three chunks. Not cool. I tried to reach in her mouth and grab out the last piece, but it was no use. Then I began to worry a little. Thankfully, she showed no signs of illness within an hour; she hadn't vomited, she wasn't acting lethargic, and she wanted to play. We went to bed as normal, and I was praying she'd be okay, or that if she was going to get sick in the middle of the night, I'd wake up for it. She made it through the night and went to the bathroom this morning like normal. Yay. All good signs. 

I held back her breakfast just to be on the safe side. She was very confused and followed me around the kitchen a lot, hoping that one of these times I'd realize I forgot her breakfast and would go and get it haha. Poor thing. 

I thought we were in the clear but then around 11:00 she vomited. It was like it hit her all at once: she stopped dead in her tracks, head down, and eventually threw up. I called the vet and explained and they said to bring her by. We did blood work and an x-ray, which thankfully all came back fine. But based on her having a fever, plus large pockets of gas in the x-ray, the doctor said she probably has inflammation and gastritis. I've got some meds for her to help with her tummy and I'm going to watch her for a while and make sure nothing else crops up, plus encourage her to drink so her fever comes down sooner. 

Needless to say, I'm not buying Greenies again and I'm going to return the two individual ones I have left. I hate to be yet another alarmist on the internet, but I wouldn't recommend these anymore either. Right now I'm kind of guilt-tripping myself as to why I ever thought this would be a good idea. I've been hesitant about these for a while, and I should have just stayed that way, steered clear, but it's over and done. No use dwelling on that. I'm thankful that Josie is okay and her problems aren't any worse. 

Friday Fast Five

Five little things!

Number One
Josie is now on a diet, haha. I've kind of felt she was getting a tad heavy when I picked her up, so I weighed her the other day, and she is about 2.5 pounds over where I'd like her weight to be. So we cut back her food and plan to play with her a little more. I know she's not that much overweight, but I figure we might as well get her weight back in range before it becomes a problem.

Number Two
I'm really becoming unhappy with Facebook. This isn't going to be the usual Facebook rant of mine, but I've been noticing more and more items in my feed that I absolutely DO NOT care about. More often than not, it is showing me posts of things people liked or commented on from other people's pages. Why would I care that my friend commented on a post from one of their friends, someone I don't know?

I think I know what Facebook is trying to do: they're showing you these in hopes that maybe you know this person too and will friend them. But I don't know these people, so I don't give a care. It's getting kind of old.

Number Three
This afternoon I played ball with Josie outside, and while I was sitting there a hummingbird came by and got nectar from the rose bush!

Number Four
Please allow me a quick whine about my CF... It is a beautiful day today, cooler temps are on the way! I would love to sit outside and enjoy it this evening, but the problem is so does everyone else... with their fire pits. Which then means I'm stuck inside. Or I'd like to open up the windows and air the house out, but I can't. Even being many feet away from a fire, if I can smell it, then it will bother my lungs. I can't be around fire in the slightest. Trust me, I wish I could. I'd love to sit around a fire on a cool night as much as the next person. It's small everyday things like this that remind me why I really dislike CF. *Sigh...

Number Five

I'm not a very emotional person, but I shed a few tears this morning as the moment of silence and beginning of memorial services in NYC and DC were shown on the morning news. For some reason, I was overcome with emotions about the gravity of that day. 

Follow-up: Something Unexpectedly Awesome

My dad called me saying that he had something to drop off for me.

When he came by, he had a blue T-shirt in his hands. It was for me. 

Remember that biking event that I helped out with, and the team that came through this year, raising money for cystic fibrosis? Turns out... they sent the bike shop owner a shirt with their team logo and with a note that they wanted me to have it. He passed it onto my dad this evening. 

How thoughtful! I was touched, and felt kinda special that they remembered me. I intend to post a picture to their Facebook page of me wearing it with a note of thanks. It really made my day. 

Godspell at Church

Did anyone else think of Godspell with the second reading at mass this weekend?

Dearest brothers and sisters: All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.   James 1:17

It's been a while since I watched the Godspell movie from 1973, and I really forgot how hippy-dippy it is; possibly because the last time I saw it was in grade school... I think. Micki, our music teacher, let us watch it on days when we had a sub or on "popcorn days", which were days we earned to watch a musical movie. This scene, out of context, is laughable. But great music nonetheless! Here's the video (email peeps, YouTube clips don't show up in the email, so you'll have to view the post on the website to see it if you want):

I Don't Have Time

I can't take credit for this idea, but I had to pass it on.

Instead of saying "I don't have time" try saying "It's not a priority" in its place.

• It's not a priority to clean my house.
• It's not a priority to check up on my family.
• It's not a priority to read a book.
• It's not a priority to just sit and talk with my spouse.
• It's not a priority to exercise.
• It's not a priority to keep myself healthy, or get healthy if I've been lagging.
• It's not a priority to do something I truly enjoy.
• It's not a priority to call you back.
• It's not a priority for me to pray.

Kind of changes the way it sounds, doesn't it?

Obviously, there are times where we simply "don't have time." But if I'm honest with myself, it seems the reason I continue to neglect certain things is because I'm just not making it a priority.

Pick something you've been neglecting and work on it. I already have something in mind for myself.