I haven't talked about this on here yet, but I haven't been doing so great.
It started over a month ago, I guess. I started to have more shortness of breath and I was getting breathless just doing normal tasks around the house. I kind of did a 'wait and see' with it, because a few days after it started I had my hospital follow-up appointment anyways.
At my appointment, my PFT was not good. My lung functions are right back to where they were before the hospital, which is not encouraging. I called Jarrod over lunch that day, crying, because it's just so frustrating. You do everything you're supposed to do, but sometimes it's just not enough. It's just so hard...
We tried a short stint of steroids, and those seemed to help, but not for the long term. I had another follow-up last week and my PFTs were the same. So any progress I may have had while I was on the steroids was short-lived.
We decided to do another stint of prednisone and switch the steroid inhaler I'm on to see if that could help. After a week or so on the new one, I think I'm a little better, but I'm not sure if it's helping enough. I was starting to wheeze quite often, which is not normal for me, and that has pretty much ceased. So that's good. But yesterday was a bit of a weird day; it started out rough, and I wasn't breathing too well, then I cleared out some gunk and felt better, and was able to manage 3.0 mph on the treadmill last night! I don't even know the last time I was able to do that, comfortably. So that's encouraging, maybe I really am starting to make some headway.
The plan is for me to call and check in with my doctors next Monday. I hope I can continue to improve my exercise tolerance through the weekend and that, in turn, will help improve everything else.
You know, this whole "rough patch" has been difficult on me and Jarrod. I feel like our lives are sort of on hold. We're trying things to see if I can improve, and if I can then that's great and we can get back to normal, and if I can't... well... that's not great news. My lung function is around 25%, which is extremely low. It may not sound like a lot, but trust me there is a huge difference in how I felt at 30% versus 25%. If it stays that way, that also means we need to start talking about transplant again because I'm just that much closer to needing one. I mostly keep those thoughts at bay and am not worrying about them until I need to, but it's a truth that needs to be aired. If we can't turn this train around and this is just where I'm at now, it will have a broad effect on many aspects of our lives.
But for now, I'm hopeful. We haven't exhausted every option available. If we have to, I might need another hospital stay. It would suck to have to go in again so soon, but it's happened before. Most recently, when I was out of the hospital, I was nearly back to baseline. So I have a hard time believing that in 4 weeks after, something happened that was so drastic to cause me to lose 5 percentage points and make it so I'll never gain that back. Maybe my steroid inhaler, which I've been on for 4+ years now, stopped having much effect on me anymore. Maybe just switching that up is all it will take, who knows.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
Hamilton
I am excited to say: I scored us some tickets to see Hamilton!
Single tickets went on sale this morning at 9am. I almost forgot about it, but I checked in around 9:30.
For those unaware, Hamilton has been the hottest show on Broadway since last year. Everyone says it is a really great show, and the music is great. It's finally going on tour, and tickets sell quick. The Fox (of which I am on their email list) excitedly announced—what feels like a year ago—they were one of the US cities chosen for the tour.
This morning was just nuts. I heard there was a line at the box office with well over 400 people that went on for blocks. Trying to buy them online was a chore in and of itself too.
I was immediately placed in a "virtual waiting room" due to the high demand. It said DO NOT refresh your browser, it would automatically refresh as I moved up. I had no idea where I was at in the queue, I could have been #30 or #800 for all I know. Eventually, I was shown the calendar with the performance times to choose from. The Saturday shows were already sold out (mind you, this was less than an hour after tickets started.) Oh boy...
I picked a show, and picked the cheapest seats available, and then got an error screen of sorts saying "Unable to reserve your seats at this time. Please try again." blah blah blah. I tried, and tried, and tried, with that message coming up every time. The system was just that bogged down. It said to try calling Metrotix too, which I gave a shot, and got a busy signal. No surprise there. While I tried, 3 more shows sold out.
Finally, over an hour and a half later, after trying different dates and different sections, after receiving that message I don't know how many times, I got a screen with two seats on them. I had no idea where they were, but I didn't care at that point. At first, I honestly didn't even know what date I ended up with because I had tried so many different combinations. I clicked to Proceed. Then the countdown began, the god-awful "you must complete your entire order in 8:00 minutes flat or you lose your seats" countdown. I had my wallet next to me, prepared for this. Except, turned out, the password I thought was correct was not working. Aaahh! So, still while the 8:00 minutes is counting down, I had to do a Forgot Password thing. Log into my email I used for this. Get the new password. Sign in. Type in my credit card number. And press send, lest I end up back in the perpetual "unable to reserve your seats at this time" mess. I feel stressed out just remembering it!
But I did it! Whew. It's weird because it feels like an accomplishment, haha. I bought the tickets, and we are going, and I'm stoked! I told my friend I bet they would be sold out by the afternoon, and I was right on that one. By 2:00 pm, they were gone.
5 hours to sell out 23 performances. Wow.
Friday, October 13, 2017
Proud dog mom/nerd
I am quite the proud dog mom!
Last Friday... I groomed Josie. And I am so stinkin' proud of myself.
I don't know if I've ever really talked about Josie and her grooming needs on here before. In efforts to make a blog post out of this, I'll share, but I'll try not to bore you to death.
So when we got our little cairn terrier, I was oblivious to the special grooming needs of a cairn. I did a lot of research and learned she is supposed to be "hand stripped" which is a term for pulling (aka, stripping) out dead coat. It sounds weird and painful, but it's not. The old hair will come right out with a gentle tug. With the proper tools, the old dead hair comes out while any new, good hair stays in place.
Now, I should make a note here: most cairns are not groomed this way. Unless they are show dogs most cairns get taken to the groomer to be trimmed or clipped just like any other small dog. For 97% of people, this is fine (and certainly MUCH easier), but there is a consequence to doing it this way. The hair follicle grows differently than ours and over time, trimming it off—instead of pulling it out and allowing a new one to grow in—will soften and damage the coat. Cairns are supposed to have a harsh, weatherproof coat, and cutting the hair almost surely gets rid of that texture and rain-resistant benefit.
I've searched far and wide, and there are virtually no groomers around here who will hand strip a dog. It is extremely labor intensive, and I determined that if I wanted her to have a natural, proper, hand stripped coat, I would have to do it myself. I actually enjoy it too. It's kind of calming and a bit like creating a sculpture. If my allergies and lungs could tolerate it, I might have switched careers to groom dogs, but that's just not a good idea.
I cannot tell you how many hours I've spent thinking about and agonizing over what to do about Josie's coat. I want to keep it rough and how it's "supposed" to be because I do like that look. It looks more natural, there's better color variety, and I like the harsh feel of it. Plus, it's much better for her skin to get rid of the dead hair.
Over the years, I've taken her to two different groomers in town. I became frustrated with the first one, then tried a second one. I started to groom Josie a little more myself, then would take her to my second groomer for her to tidy her up. She did a good job, but I started to worry way too much of Josie's coat was getting clipped.
Back in May, at the cairn terrier event at Purina Farms, I met one of Josie's Instagram friends from California. She was the sweetest lady and gave me a crash course in grooming Josie the right way. It was amazing, getting a hands on lesson, and I started to think I might actually be able to do this!
Since May, I've worked on Josie here and there, small areas at a time. I finally bought a grooming table, which was pretty much the final 'tool' I needed to fully commit to this.
Last Friday was the day! After about five or so smalls sessions, about 30-45 minutes each, on and off the table, we finally finished! And I think she looks really good! It's not perfect, but I'm still learning.
I'm just so darn proud I can do it! There are still some areas I trim with a scissors, because battling with her to tug out her hairs just isn't worth it. Most of it comes out easily, but some of it does not. Some areas, like her belly, are very very sensitive and simply don't need to be stripped, they can be trimmed up.
I've been smiling at her every time I see her, knowing this is the product of my hard work. She looks very cute, and she also looks like she lost a few pounds with so much of her hair gone haha.
Here's the before and after:
Last Friday... I groomed Josie. And I am so stinkin' proud of myself.
I don't know if I've ever really talked about Josie and her grooming needs on here before. In efforts to make a blog post out of this, I'll share, but I'll try not to bore you to death.
So when we got our little cairn terrier, I was oblivious to the special grooming needs of a cairn. I did a lot of research and learned she is supposed to be "hand stripped" which is a term for pulling (aka, stripping) out dead coat. It sounds weird and painful, but it's not. The old hair will come right out with a gentle tug. With the proper tools, the old dead hair comes out while any new, good hair stays in place.
Now, I should make a note here: most cairns are not groomed this way. Unless they are show dogs most cairns get taken to the groomer to be trimmed or clipped just like any other small dog. For 97% of people, this is fine (and certainly MUCH easier), but there is a consequence to doing it this way. The hair follicle grows differently than ours and over time, trimming it off—instead of pulling it out and allowing a new one to grow in—will soften and damage the coat. Cairns are supposed to have a harsh, weatherproof coat, and cutting the hair almost surely gets rid of that texture and rain-resistant benefit.
I've searched far and wide, and there are virtually no groomers around here who will hand strip a dog. It is extremely labor intensive, and I determined that if I wanted her to have a natural, proper, hand stripped coat, I would have to do it myself. I actually enjoy it too. It's kind of calming and a bit like creating a sculpture. If my allergies and lungs could tolerate it, I might have switched careers to groom dogs, but that's just not a good idea.
I cannot tell you how many hours I've spent thinking about and agonizing over what to do about Josie's coat. I want to keep it rough and how it's "supposed" to be because I do like that look. It looks more natural, there's better color variety, and I like the harsh feel of it. Plus, it's much better for her skin to get rid of the dead hair.
Over the years, I've taken her to two different groomers in town. I became frustrated with the first one, then tried a second one. I started to groom Josie a little more myself, then would take her to my second groomer for her to tidy her up. She did a good job, but I started to worry way too much of Josie's coat was getting clipped.
Back in May, at the cairn terrier event at Purina Farms, I met one of Josie's Instagram friends from California. She was the sweetest lady and gave me a crash course in grooming Josie the right way. It was amazing, getting a hands on lesson, and I started to think I might actually be able to do this!
Since May, I've worked on Josie here and there, small areas at a time. I finally bought a grooming table, which was pretty much the final 'tool' I needed to fully commit to this.
Last Friday was the day! After about five or so smalls sessions, about 30-45 minutes each, on and off the table, we finally finished! And I think she looks really good! It's not perfect, but I'm still learning.
I'm just so darn proud I can do it! There are still some areas I trim with a scissors, because battling with her to tug out her hairs just isn't worth it. Most of it comes out easily, but some of it does not. Some areas, like her belly, are very very sensitive and simply don't need to be stripped, they can be trimmed up.
I've been smiling at her every time I see her, knowing this is the product of my hard work. She looks very cute, and she also looks like she lost a few pounds with so much of her hair gone haha.
Here's the before and after:
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Done with meds
I've reached the end of my latest hospital stay/doing home meds. I had a PFT today and it was the same as last week. Which... is a tad disappointing, that another week's worth of medicines didn't really move the needle. However, I do feel better this week, as far as getting around easier. So at least there's that.
I'm not quite back to where I'd like to be, and in looking at my numbers, I see the last time I reached over 0.90 was a year ago. For all of this year, my baseline has been comfortably parked at 0.88. I realize, that's only 0.02 less, but that's still a big deal to me. Every little bit counts, and I'm gonna keep trying for over 0.9 as long as I can.
But, I know that keeping up with my exercise will give me the best shot I have of reaching those kinds of numbers, and even if they're unattainable, my quality of life will remain greatly improved because of it.
The problem with exercise is that the progress is so gradual it's barely noticeable, you know? Ugh, it sucks. I think, by nature, we like to see results in the things that we do. And I think this explains why it's just so damn hard to stick to an exercise routine or even get started in the first place. I've realized it's also a challenge for me since I go through this virtual reset every six months when I have to drop everything and go in the hospital, or even when I end up sick it becomes hard to exercise; it's hard to form true, lasting habits when that happens.
We also aren't very good at remembering things, like the day to day stuff. Hardly anyone, with probably the exception of some individuals on the spectrum, could tell you what they had for dinner two weeks ago. Likewise, it's hard to always remember where we started, versus how far we've come when it comes to things like exercise or whatever life improvement you might be pursuing. It's hard to see the benefit of working out for ten minutes more, versus calling it quits a little early and skimping here and there. But in order to gain ground, one must stay diligent.
I'm not quite back to where I'd like to be, and in looking at my numbers, I see the last time I reached over 0.90 was a year ago. For all of this year, my baseline has been comfortably parked at 0.88. I realize, that's only 0.02 less, but that's still a big deal to me. Every little bit counts, and I'm gonna keep trying for over 0.9 as long as I can.
But, I know that keeping up with my exercise will give me the best shot I have of reaching those kinds of numbers, and even if they're unattainable, my quality of life will remain greatly improved because of it.
The problem with exercise is that the progress is so gradual it's barely noticeable, you know? Ugh, it sucks. I think, by nature, we like to see results in the things that we do. And I think this explains why it's just so damn hard to stick to an exercise routine or even get started in the first place. I've realized it's also a challenge for me since I go through this virtual reset every six months when I have to drop everything and go in the hospital, or even when I end up sick it becomes hard to exercise; it's hard to form true, lasting habits when that happens.
We also aren't very good at remembering things, like the day to day stuff. Hardly anyone, with probably the exception of some individuals on the spectrum, could tell you what they had for dinner two weeks ago. Likewise, it's hard to always remember where we started, versus how far we've come when it comes to things like exercise or whatever life improvement you might be pursuing. It's hard to see the benefit of working out for ten minutes more, versus calling it quits a little early and skimping here and there. But in order to gain ground, one must stay diligent.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Eclipse Day Has Arrived!
Wow, that was incredible!
It's 2:20 as I write this right now, and the eclipse is still happening. It's almost over (23 minutes left), but the moon is still passing over the sun.
At 11:48 this morning is when it got started. I went outside, and sure enough, you could see a tiny blip over the sun where the moon was!
As we neared totality, the temperature dropped a few degrees as they said it would, and it was noticeably more comfortable outside. Today was hot and humid, but it was amazing that the clouds stayed away for the most part. Initially the forecast wasn't looking good, there was a good chance it would be cloudy. But pretty much the whole time it was clear, and though there were clouds in the sky, they weren't blocking the view.
So initially, as stated in a previous blog, I wasn't planning to take a photo during totality. Or any photos, really, since I would need a special filter the rest of the time. That all changed on Friday...
On Friday, my supervisor sent out an email to myself and other photogs in the company saying if we hadn't gotten filter material from him, he still had some. I didn't realize he had any! I ran by work and picked some up, in case I changed my mind.
I cut it out and got it in place yesterday, set my camera up to the specific settings I wanted it at, and was ready to test it out. I wasn't sure if I'd get any images or not, but as the moon was moving over the sun I figured I'd give it a try.
So this morning, I got it set up on a tripod, out on the deck, and started testing things out. Amazingly, it worked! Not only was I getting images to show up, they were actually GOOD. You can even see some sun spots.
As the morning progressed, and my photos were turning out far better than I expected, Jarrod pointed out that maybe I should rethink things. Ahead of totality, we could remove the filter, prep my camera, and get it all in place so once it happened, all I needed to do was press a button. So that's what we did, and it was nice having Jarrod here to help me with it, otherwise it surely would have taken longer.
In the final 5 minutes of the partial, it was noticeably dark, in the middle of the day! I had Pink Floyd playing in the background (because I'm a nerd haha) and as the final song on Dark Side of the Moon, "Eclipse," played, we were watching and watching as the moon seemed to speed up to cover the sun. Then the glasses went black, and when I took them off, it was incredible.
The sky was a beautiful dark blue, like at dusk. I was trying to take it all in, looking at the horizon to see the colors of the sunrise, and also keeping my eyes to the sky. I snapped my pictures, checked the viewfinder to see they were in the frame and all was good, and stared in awe. I almost cried, my eyes were tearing up I was so moved. The feeling this provokes in indescribable, and it's different for everyone. And there are some that aren't really impressed, too.
It still went by quick. I wish I could have stared at it longer, but time is fleeting, right? If nothing else, witnessing this proves just that: 2 minutes and 28 seconds flies by way faster than you think. As I tried to revel in the last moments, it became clear the moon was moving away, the diamond ring was about to appear, and it was time to put our glasses back on, and to recover the camera.
I took a few more photos as the moon continued on, but soon decided to take my camera down. I was excited to download my photos to my computer. Though they looked good on the viewfinder, sometimes it's another story once you look at them in larger scale.
But they all turned out amazing!
I am so glad I did get those photos. Taking a photo is a very technical thing. There is planning and there are so many settings you can change and tweek to get the perfect photos, essentially: it takes hard work to get it all right. It's hard to explain that to the average person when you just say "Hey I got this photo!" but that's part of the excitement and, I don't know, accomplishment behind it. These images were taken by ME, not someone else, and that is very special to me.
Today is something I will never forget. I might even try to travel for the next one in 2024, to experience it again. It will pass through southern Missouri, and that's a fairly short drive compared to most. The Missourian got a photo of some people here from France, from Spain, and my doctor had a couple staying with her from Holland to see this. I was skeptical about the crowds they kept claiming would come, but I guess it's true. And I guess you could count me in that club too, if we do travel to Cape in 7 years.
What an amazing day!
It's 2:20 as I write this right now, and the eclipse is still happening. It's almost over (23 minutes left), but the moon is still passing over the sun.
At 11:48 this morning is when it got started. I went outside, and sure enough, you could see a tiny blip over the sun where the moon was!
As we neared totality, the temperature dropped a few degrees as they said it would, and it was noticeably more comfortable outside. Today was hot and humid, but it was amazing that the clouds stayed away for the most part. Initially the forecast wasn't looking good, there was a good chance it would be cloudy. But pretty much the whole time it was clear, and though there were clouds in the sky, they weren't blocking the view.
So initially, as stated in a previous blog, I wasn't planning to take a photo during totality. Or any photos, really, since I would need a special filter the rest of the time. That all changed on Friday...
On Friday, my supervisor sent out an email to myself and other photogs in the company saying if we hadn't gotten filter material from him, he still had some. I didn't realize he had any! I ran by work and picked some up, in case I changed my mind.
I cut it out and got it in place yesterday, set my camera up to the specific settings I wanted it at, and was ready to test it out. I wasn't sure if I'd get any images or not, but as the moon was moving over the sun I figured I'd give it a try.
So this morning, I got it set up on a tripod, out on the deck, and started testing things out. Amazingly, it worked! Not only was I getting images to show up, they were actually GOOD. You can even see some sun spots.
As the morning progressed, and my photos were turning out far better than I expected, Jarrod pointed out that maybe I should rethink things. Ahead of totality, we could remove the filter, prep my camera, and get it all in place so once it happened, all I needed to do was press a button. So that's what we did, and it was nice having Jarrod here to help me with it, otherwise it surely would have taken longer.
In the final 5 minutes of the partial, it was noticeably dark, in the middle of the day! I had Pink Floyd playing in the background (because I'm a nerd haha) and as the final song on Dark Side of the Moon, "Eclipse," played, we were watching and watching as the moon seemed to speed up to cover the sun. Then the glasses went black, and when I took them off, it was incredible.
 |
| Almost there! |
It still went by quick. I wish I could have stared at it longer, but time is fleeting, right? If nothing else, witnessing this proves just that: 2 minutes and 28 seconds flies by way faster than you think. As I tried to revel in the last moments, it became clear the moon was moving away, the diamond ring was about to appear, and it was time to put our glasses back on, and to recover the camera.
I took a few more photos as the moon continued on, but soon decided to take my camera down. I was excited to download my photos to my computer. Though they looked good on the viewfinder, sometimes it's another story once you look at them in larger scale.
But they all turned out amazing!
I am so glad I did get those photos. Taking a photo is a very technical thing. There is planning and there are so many settings you can change and tweek to get the perfect photos, essentially: it takes hard work to get it all right. It's hard to explain that to the average person when you just say "Hey I got this photo!" but that's part of the excitement and, I don't know, accomplishment behind it. These images were taken by ME, not someone else, and that is very special to me.
Today is something I will never forget. I might even try to travel for the next one in 2024, to experience it again. It will pass through southern Missouri, and that's a fairly short drive compared to most. The Missourian got a photo of some people here from France, from Spain, and my doctor had a couple staying with her from Holland to see this. I was skeptical about the crowds they kept claiming would come, but I guess it's true. And I guess you could count me in that club too, if we do travel to Cape in 7 years.
What an amazing day!
 |
| My photo! |
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Rosie the Roomba
For anyone who's ever thought about buying one, I thought I'd share my experiences.
I finally broke down and bought a Roomba over a month ago. I'd been contemplating it for over two years. Vacuuming the house is something that is physically really hard for me to do. So it falls on Jarrod, but it was easy to forget about. We were lucky if we vacuumed the house every two weeks.
Enter Rosie the Roomba, fondly named after the Jetsons' robot maid. She has been cleaning my house ever since, and it's been great. I am really, really glad we finally got a Roomba.
But, it's not exactly a no effort thing, not quite "set it and forget it." Unless you buy a higher end model that has "whole home/multi-room cleaning", you still have to make a point to move the Roomba and charger room to room. The reason is that the Roomba only has so much battery life, and it is 'supposed to' return to its dock when it knows it's finished cleaning. If you were to just set it loose on your whole home, it would surely die of a dead battery in some random spot. Unless you live in a studio apartment that is like 800 sq. ft., most all homes are too big for the Roomba to attempt to cover in one go (again, unless you get a more expensive model.)
We bought a middle-of-the-road model that we felt would suit our needs, and I got a great deal from an Amazon seller. One of the options I wanted was the "tangle-free rollers." The rollers aren't made of normal bristles, but instead these rubbery teeth that whisk up dirt and hair. For those with a pet, this is practically a must-have.
To use it properly like I just described, I made myself a schedule for which room to move it to, and what day. Our Roomba came with a "virtual wall" that creates an invisible line the Roomba will not cross, which is essential for splitting up our kitchen from the rest of the living area.
It cleans well on all surfaces; tile, wood, carpet, it does great. What I really love about it is that it gets under the hard-to-reach areas, like under your bed or under your sofa. It also happens to fit perfectly under our bedroom furniture (the dresser, the night stands, all of it) and I love walking in the bedroom to find it cruising along from underneath our bed to underneath my dresser.
But there are some cons. You definitely have to pick up your space before you use it. If there are shoes or toys laying on the floor, it will either run them over or shove them around. I left a pair of shoes in the laundry room once and it sucked up the laces; luckily I pulled them right out, but still. There are also horror stories of Roombas smearing dog poo around because it cleaned while the owner was at work. There is a schedule function on it, which I have yet to use since I work from home, but that option is there. Say you want it to clean while you're at work, again, you have to make sure you're room is all picked up before you leave the house.
It cleans in a non-sensical pattern, not in straight lines like we would. I do think it misses spots occasionally, even though technically it's not supposed to, but I am not overly concerned because it will get to it next week. And if this does happen, it's primarily in our large living room, not in the bedrooms. For our hardwood, I still dust mop every couple weeks to pick up whatever it may have missed. Futhermore, since it is a round object, it doesn't always get into tight corners. So the dust mop takes care of that. There are times it gets fixated on an area and keeps coming back there 4-5 times, which I don't understand but whatever.
It pushes my floor lamp around, which is sort of comical to watch, but a tad annoying. The base isn't heavy enough to keep it in place. It bangs into things sometimes, too. Sometimes it is really good at sensing it is approaching an object and it slows down and gently taps it, and then other times it just runs right into it. It does better with solid things like walls and such, but not so much with skinny table legs.
Josie was wary of it when we first got it, but she never barked at it or was really scared, so that's good. I think the most annoying thing for Josie is once she finally finds a comfy spot to lay down, she has to get up again because suddenly the Roomba is headed her way, haha.
Overall though, I'm very glad to have it. Our floors are probably the cleanest they've been—consistently—in a long time. The dust bin, though much smaller than a full sized vacuum, always has a good amount of dust and dog hair in it, so it cleans really well. There are no more colossal dust bunnies or piles of dog hair under our bed, which is great. It's a very clever machine, and I've watched it work itself out of tight spots before.
To sum it all up, I'm very happy with it, though it does have a couple drawbacks that mainly revolve around it running into furniture and having to put your room back together when it's done. But the ease of use and convenience outweigh those, for me.
If you're thinking of getting one, my best advice is to do some research. Not all Roombas are created equal, something I didn't realize before. There are 5 current models offered, though you will still find plenty of older ones no longer in production on Amazon. There is a budget model, but based on my research, it sounded like the cheaper models constantly banged into everything, where the higher models do better sensing the room and slowing down as they approach something. There are almost always some super duper Black Friday offers on Roombas, but many times it's on cheaper models or, on Amazon, out-of-production or open-box stuff. If you just want a Roomba but don't care about the options, Black Friday is your best bet. If you do want to be more picky, like myself, do your research and watch Amazon prices, and especially the "other sellers."
If I haven't exhausted the topic and you have any more questions, just ask! :)
I finally broke down and bought a Roomba over a month ago. I'd been contemplating it for over two years. Vacuuming the house is something that is physically really hard for me to do. So it falls on Jarrod, but it was easy to forget about. We were lucky if we vacuumed the house every two weeks.
Enter Rosie the Roomba, fondly named after the Jetsons' robot maid. She has been cleaning my house ever since, and it's been great. I am really, really glad we finally got a Roomba.
But, it's not exactly a no effort thing, not quite "set it and forget it." Unless you buy a higher end model that has "whole home/multi-room cleaning", you still have to make a point to move the Roomba and charger room to room. The reason is that the Roomba only has so much battery life, and it is 'supposed to' return to its dock when it knows it's finished cleaning. If you were to just set it loose on your whole home, it would surely die of a dead battery in some random spot. Unless you live in a studio apartment that is like 800 sq. ft., most all homes are too big for the Roomba to attempt to cover in one go (again, unless you get a more expensive model.)
We bought a middle-of-the-road model that we felt would suit our needs, and I got a great deal from an Amazon seller. One of the options I wanted was the "tangle-free rollers." The rollers aren't made of normal bristles, but instead these rubbery teeth that whisk up dirt and hair. For those with a pet, this is practically a must-have.
 |
| Josie meets Rosie :) |
To use it properly like I just described, I made myself a schedule for which room to move it to, and what day. Our Roomba came with a "virtual wall" that creates an invisible line the Roomba will not cross, which is essential for splitting up our kitchen from the rest of the living area.
It cleans well on all surfaces; tile, wood, carpet, it does great. What I really love about it is that it gets under the hard-to-reach areas, like under your bed or under your sofa. It also happens to fit perfectly under our bedroom furniture (the dresser, the night stands, all of it) and I love walking in the bedroom to find it cruising along from underneath our bed to underneath my dresser.
But there are some cons. You definitely have to pick up your space before you use it. If there are shoes or toys laying on the floor, it will either run them over or shove them around. I left a pair of shoes in the laundry room once and it sucked up the laces; luckily I pulled them right out, but still. There are also horror stories of Roombas smearing dog poo around because it cleaned while the owner was at work. There is a schedule function on it, which I have yet to use since I work from home, but that option is there. Say you want it to clean while you're at work, again, you have to make sure you're room is all picked up before you leave the house.
It cleans in a non-sensical pattern, not in straight lines like we would. I do think it misses spots occasionally, even though technically it's not supposed to, but I am not overly concerned because it will get to it next week. And if this does happen, it's primarily in our large living room, not in the bedrooms. For our hardwood, I still dust mop every couple weeks to pick up whatever it may have missed. Futhermore, since it is a round object, it doesn't always get into tight corners. So the dust mop takes care of that. There are times it gets fixated on an area and keeps coming back there 4-5 times, which I don't understand but whatever.
It pushes my floor lamp around, which is sort of comical to watch, but a tad annoying. The base isn't heavy enough to keep it in place. It bangs into things sometimes, too. Sometimes it is really good at sensing it is approaching an object and it slows down and gently taps it, and then other times it just runs right into it. It does better with solid things like walls and such, but not so much with skinny table legs.
Josie was wary of it when we first got it, but she never barked at it or was really scared, so that's good. I think the most annoying thing for Josie is once she finally finds a comfy spot to lay down, she has to get up again because suddenly the Roomba is headed her way, haha.
Overall though, I'm very glad to have it. Our floors are probably the cleanest they've been—consistently—in a long time. The dust bin, though much smaller than a full sized vacuum, always has a good amount of dust and dog hair in it, so it cleans really well. There are no more colossal dust bunnies or piles of dog hair under our bed, which is great. It's a very clever machine, and I've watched it work itself out of tight spots before.
To sum it all up, I'm very happy with it, though it does have a couple drawbacks that mainly revolve around it running into furniture and having to put your room back together when it's done. But the ease of use and convenience outweigh those, for me.
If you're thinking of getting one, my best advice is to do some research. Not all Roombas are created equal, something I didn't realize before. There are 5 current models offered, though you will still find plenty of older ones no longer in production on Amazon. There is a budget model, but based on my research, it sounded like the cheaper models constantly banged into everything, where the higher models do better sensing the room and slowing down as they approach something. There are almost always some super duper Black Friday offers on Roombas, but many times it's on cheaper models or, on Amazon, out-of-production or open-box stuff. If you just want a Roomba but don't care about the options, Black Friday is your best bet. If you do want to be more picky, like myself, do your research and watch Amazon prices, and especially the "other sellers."
If I haven't exhausted the topic and you have any more questions, just ask! :)
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Scheduled checkup
I had a checkup in Columbia today. I went into it thinking all would be fine, but not so much...
My PFTs are really down. They are almost exactly at the pre-hospital levels they were in January, before I went in that time.
The weird—and sort of scary—part about this is that I don't feel all that terrible. If you would have asked me yesterday how I thought this would go, I would have said "I think I'm doing alright. I'm not at baseline, sure, but I'm not totally coughing my head off all the time either. I really don't feel all that bad." When my doctor walked in today, she expected me to look in some sort of distress, having a hard time breathing, or at the very least figured I would be coughing a bunch. None of that is happening. Even though it would have surely alerted me to the fact that I am not doing so well, in a way, it's a good thing I'm not coughing my butt off right now and feeling so run down I can barely function.
So I wonder, to myself, if my slide has been so gradual that I haven't even noticed? This is a scary thought, because I am very in tune with my body. My doctors know that about me, too. Or am I possibly kidding myself a little, thinking I'm not all that short of breath, when in fact I am? Also not really a comforting thought, but maybe a bit more plausible. Because honestly, while I was running errands tonight, I was observing just how short of breath I am walking around in a store. Maybe it's more than I was taking notice, or maybe I'm simply making more out of it now that I know, by all accounts, I should be feeling more short of breath. Who knows.
But, alas, this does mean I will be needing a hospital stay fairly soon. Maybe next week, I'm not sure. Columbia is going to be absolutely nuts this weekend with move-in weekend and people flooding in to see the eclipse. I don't really want to deal with that, plus I want to watch the eclipse from the comfort of my own home.
Our game plan right now is we are waiting to decide our game plan, haha. On Friday we'll get the results from my sputum culture, which will guide us as to which medicines we should use. I don't know that a course of oral meds at home will do me much good at this point. Not to mention, every med we use is another opportunity for one of my bugs to grow resistant to it.
It's like Jarrod reminded me: a "tune-up" is exactly that, it's maintenance. It's not intended to always be a fix for a problem. It's been almost six months since my last tune-up and oil change, lol, and that's pretty much my norm these days: going in every six months. So I guess I'm due.
My PFTs are really down. They are almost exactly at the pre-hospital levels they were in January, before I went in that time.
The weird—and sort of scary—part about this is that I don't feel all that terrible. If you would have asked me yesterday how I thought this would go, I would have said "I think I'm doing alright. I'm not at baseline, sure, but I'm not totally coughing my head off all the time either. I really don't feel all that bad." When my doctor walked in today, she expected me to look in some sort of distress, having a hard time breathing, or at the very least figured I would be coughing a bunch. None of that is happening. Even though it would have surely alerted me to the fact that I am not doing so well, in a way, it's a good thing I'm not coughing my butt off right now and feeling so run down I can barely function.
So I wonder, to myself, if my slide has been so gradual that I haven't even noticed? This is a scary thought, because I am very in tune with my body. My doctors know that about me, too. Or am I possibly kidding myself a little, thinking I'm not all that short of breath, when in fact I am? Also not really a comforting thought, but maybe a bit more plausible. Because honestly, while I was running errands tonight, I was observing just how short of breath I am walking around in a store. Maybe it's more than I was taking notice, or maybe I'm simply making more out of it now that I know, by all accounts, I should be feeling more short of breath. Who knows.
But, alas, this does mean I will be needing a hospital stay fairly soon. Maybe next week, I'm not sure. Columbia is going to be absolutely nuts this weekend with move-in weekend and people flooding in to see the eclipse. I don't really want to deal with that, plus I want to watch the eclipse from the comfort of my own home.
Our game plan right now is we are waiting to decide our game plan, haha. On Friday we'll get the results from my sputum culture, which will guide us as to which medicines we should use. I don't know that a course of oral meds at home will do me much good at this point. Not to mention, every med we use is another opportunity for one of my bugs to grow resistant to it.
It's like Jarrod reminded me: a "tune-up" is exactly that, it's maintenance. It's not intended to always be a fix for a problem. It's been almost six months since my last tune-up and oil change, lol, and that's pretty much my norm these days: going in every six months. So I guess I'm due.
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Should I take a picture?
On a radio show I listen to, the guy was ranting about a tall person in front of him at a concert taking a video of a song. He was so aggravated, because it was blocking his view. He was almost yelling "You will NEVER watch that video! Never! Put your phone down!" And I got to thinking... he is so right.
Like almost everyone, I've videoed part of a song at a concert, or a moment I'd like to remember. In the moment, it seems important and like something I don't want to forget. But in reality, yeah, I maybe watch it later that night once we're home, but that's it. I've never gone back—months, years later—and spent my precious time watching old concert videos. Now that he's pointed this out, I might not take a video at a concert ever again.
Thanks to the ubiquity of smart phones, I think we all (not just young people) have a problem these days with trying to capture everything, whether it's photos or videos, instead of just living in the moment and taking it all in. I don't do this all that often, but I'm still guilty of it. And most times, you miss something because you're fumbling with your phone or trying to watch the concert on your phone screen, you are oblivious what's actually happening in front of you. I know that's happened to me more than a few times, and I'm guessing it happens to almost everyone.
It's an interesting problem. Long gone are the days of expensive cameras (not to mention, the cost of film) that practically forced the person to think carefully about how they used it. You didn't just take a picture of every single thing in your day, you took pictures of the important things. Now the opposite is true, we take pictures of everything. Is the deluge of photos we'll never look at again a good thing? Is it better to remember it all, than to just remember the important parts?
With all of this in mind, I've been pondering something: should I even bother to take a photo of the eclipse? The eclipse is less than two weeks away, and I'm really excited. I did some research about taking photos of an eclipse, because it's a tricky thing to do. If I did it, I would be using my good camera, not my phone. However, just like we have to protect our eyes during an eclipse (before and after totality) you also have to protect a camera; there are solar filters you need to use. Pointing a camera directly at the sun can cause major damage to the image sensor, and I would guess the same could be true for my iPhone's camera. Which means, the only time I might get to take a photo is during totality, when it's safe to look at the eclipse with the naked eye, and that will only last for 2 minutes 29 seconds. That's not a very long time. And it's something I will never, ever see again. And the photo probably wouldn't even turn out that good. My camera is a good camera, don't get me wrong, but it's still not a professional setup.
Initially, I figured I would take a photo of the eclipse, but now I don't think I'm going to. I might take a picture of myself, Jarrod, and Josie, in the darkness, but trying to get a good shot of the eclipse itself would take a lot of trial and error, in such a short window of time. I would rather just sit back and enjoy the moment as it is.
Initially, I figured I would take a photo of the eclipse, but now I don't think I'm going to. I might take a picture of myself, Jarrod, and Josie, in the darkness, but trying to get a good shot of the eclipse itself would take a lot of trial and error, in such a short window of time. I would rather just sit back and enjoy the moment as it is.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Friday's Fair Fast 5
Fast Five: Fair edition!
- Jarrod and I are not going to the fair this year. Anymore, if we don't care to see one of the main stage bands, we don't go.
- Plus, it's gotten more difficult for me to go to the fair. Being in the heat can really bother my breathing, so if it's ridiculously hot, it makes it hard. And there is the dust and dirt, and the second-hand smoke that sometimes you just can't get away from. I almost always have a really rough next couple days if we do go.
- Every year during fair season, I wonder to myself how pig scrambles are still a thing. I get it, it can be funny. But it's hard to ignore the shrieks and squeals of terror from the piglets. It is so obvious the animals are stressed out to the max with all these kids running around. I'm not a member of PETA or anything, but the event strikes me as kind of cruel.
- This year the fair has a moving 9/11 memorial thing as an exhibit. Four years ago, when we went to the Vietnam Moving Wall, a memorial replica that travels around the country, it was very somber, as I think all memorials are meant to be. The Moving Wall was set up at the fairgrounds, but it was the only thing out there at the time. It seems weird to me that you would visit this 9/11 memorial—at the fair. The exhibit is going to be set up by the north gate where you'll be surrounded by constant noise from the shuttle buses, all the loud events at the motocross arena, and crowd noise. I know this exhibit travels to fairs all the time, and it sounds interesting but, in my humble opinion, does not seem best suited for a fair setting (something I'd argue is the creators fault, not necessarily our fair board for bringing it here.)
- In a way, I guess enjoying walking through that exhibit could just come down to how easily you can tune out background noise. I can't, and it gets really, really annoying sometimes. I can't stand what I've termed "conflicting sounds," like when the radio and the TV are on at the same time and the sounds overlap. My brain tries to hear and process both. I am completely unable to tune one out. Some people, I've found, have no problem with this, and can focus on one set of sounds or not even notice the other one. It's for this reason, also, I've noticed that some people are less annoyed by ticking sounds or beeps or repetitive noises. There have been many times in my life where I point out an annoying noise, and someone is like "Huh? I didn't even notice that." while I'm going nuts like "OMG make it stop! How do you not hear that?!" It's fascinating, really, the huge difference between people.
So I ask you: can you block out background sounds? or are you like me? For this reason I've also begun to get very annoyed while shopping at Kohl's, because they have a different type of music playing in many areas (pop music in juniors, rock music in men's, lighter music in women's, etc.) If I'm standing in a spot where the two bleed together (which is common), it drives me bonkers and I have to move soon otherwise I get anxious and upset.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
#dogsofinstagram
Storytime!
So, Josie has her own Instagram account, if you didn't know that. She has over 600 followers from all over the world, most of them being cairn terriers like her. I know, it's mega dorky and probably lists me in the crazy-dog-mom column, but it's actually quite fun. It's hard to explain, but after a while, you kind of start to feel a connection with these other dog owners. Some dogs have actually started sending each other postcards in the mail. Back in May, I actually met a woman from California who is a sweet lady and owner of 4 cairn terriers (who follow Josie, and we follow them too.) It all came about because in one of her photos, she mentioned they were prepping for a trip to Purina Farms for a big event. I messaged her saying I lived nearby, and she wanted to meet up! It was great!
Today, one of Josie's Scottish cairn pals had a photo saying they were raising money for cystic fibrosis.
Record scratch... what!? Really? I had to reload the picture twice to make sure my eyes weren't making things up.
They had a link in the profile for their little charity type thing. I sent them a private message and got a reply from the dog's mom, who has CF. She was pretty excited I had reached out.
But wow. Like, what are the odds? How amazing, that I would 'meet' someone from Scotland with CF via my dog's Instagram account? Crazy.
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