I hope I'm not upsetting anyone over what I'm about to say, because I loved seeing all of my family members, but I am very glad that Christmas is over. We have so many Christmas celebrations to attend and by Saturday, I was downright exhausted. And not, like, normal-person exhausted, but CF-related-running-myself-into-the-ground-I'm-going-to-get-sick-if-I-don't-stop exhausted. I slept or laid around practically all day on Saturday, but it wasn't enough. I'm finally feeling a bit more up to snuff today, but wow I was running low on gas.
But Christmas was great. It was really nice visiting with everyone, especially my cousin Megan from the Watson side, who I haven't seen in ages. We have a tendency of missing each other at family get-togethers, either I'm there or she's there but we're rarely both there. So that was nice, and it was great meeting her boyfriend.
Saturday was a ruff day, pun intended. Friday night was when all of this rain started, and it all began with a whole bunch of thunderstorms. Josie's storm anxiety has gotten worse, and I was up for a while trying to deal with her. It's hard, and a long story, but we have tried about everything we're supposed to do but it doesn't seem to help a whole lot. I have a couple ideas for our next steps, but yeah. Off and on Saturday there was thunder and lightning, so she was stressed out pretty much all day. Poor thing.
But it's back to real life now. I have to work all week except for New Year's Day, which is typical. Though I'm pretty sure if the newspaper said We're foregoing our usual Weekend Edition due to the holiday (for Christmas, too), I doubt anyone would mind. But that would be blasphemous; the news must go on!
Jarrod started his week off by having to replace our garage door opener. Fun fun fun... He determined it was unfixable and we needed a new one. It started acting up Christmas Eve, he took the dog out Christmas morning to find the door had actually only half shut and been half open all night long. But at least the new one has a keypad, which is something we kind of missed from the Wentzville house.
As you may recall, he also replaced our garbage disposal last month, and next month we'll probably be needing a new hot water heater. So we're pretty tired of things breaking around here. It's all hitting about the same time, isn't that always the way?
In better news, I have been out of the hospital for 6 months! Woo hoo. However, I am on an antibiotic right now. I started it last week because I was coughing more and more, especially waking up at night. I don't think I had two-consecutive nights where I didn't wake up coughing in well over two months, so I was pretty darn tired of it. I'm hoping this gives me a small 'boost' and I can continue my stay out of the hospital. I can't say I'm feeling a ton better at the moment, but I'm hoping it'll help.
It's funny, though, because CF is such a huge roller coaster ride. I completely acknowledge that I am only prolonging the inevitable. I still think it's a good choice, because as I've said before, the less I need IV antibiotics the better. The more time that I can stay away from antibiotics in general, the better it will be for me and the less resistance I will have to these meds. But still, eventually I will go back in, which would be the lowest point of the roller coaster, and then I will go back up a sharp hill quickly, stay on top for a little while, then slowly descend over months and months until my little roller coaster car comes to the bottom of another hill. And then it's back up again!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
15 Books in 2015
I continued my book reading challenge this year, and upped the ante by one. And I even reached my goal in November! I plan to keep on track with matching how many books I read with what year it is, and am planning to read 16 books next year. I'm not sure when I'll reach my threshold, when it'll be too many books, but so far I haven't had too much trouble reaching my goals. It's one small thing in my life where I actually set a goal and attain it.
Without further ado, here were the books I read in 2015 and a few thoughts on each:
Born to Bark—The big reason I read this book is because it's about a cairn terrier, and it was a joyful story about a feisty little dog.
Everything Is Illuminated—I liked the movie, but I had a hard time getting into this book. The main reason was the writing style, which was very different and full of run on sentences, conversations, and paragraphs. The style did not help the story, it hindered it. Would not recommend, but if you're up for a quirky movie, check that out.
Memoirs of a Geisha—This one was good, it's really interesting to read about the geisha culture from long ago. The story is fiction but based very much in history.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns—This book was supposed to be the créme de créme of graphic novels, along with Watchmen (which I loved), but I found this one hard to follow due to the extremes in illustration.
The Martian—When I finished this book I said "It'd make for a good movie", and little did I know they already were filming it (Matt Damon wouldn't have been my first choice for the character.) This book is Apollo 13 meets Castaway. Really good modern sci-fi.
The Rosie Project—Not sure what I expected from this one, but it didn't really wow me like it did for many other people. A guy creates a test to find the perfect woman for him, you can probably guess how the rest goes. Intriguing characters, an easy read, but not mind-blowing.
A Dog's Purpose—I continued my guilty pleasure for dog books with this one, and it did not disappoint. I cried multiple times and really enjoyed it. This book is about multiple dogs, and the ending is really satisfying.
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland—Some find this book delightful, I couldn't stand it. I've never been a big fan of the Disney movie, I don't know why I thought this might be any better. It's just SO darn weird.
The Girl On the Train—This was one of 2015's 'hot books' for the year, but I wasn't overly impressed. The story wasn't bad, but it was very dark. The main character was hard to sympathize with, and that's a big deal for me. If I don't find myself caring about the main character, then I don't really care what happens to them, ergo I'm not really hooked into the story.
I, Toto—This was a quick little read about the dog who played Toto, and it was cute and short. Kind of like the dog, haha.
To Kill A Mockingbird—I read this back in high school and wanted to re-read it now as an adult. The book still holds up, and some of the themes had more relevance now than they did back then. This one is a good one to revisit.
The Nightingale—I really enjoyed this one. It's about women living in France during WWII. Not much is written about all of the women who had to stay home while their husbands went away to war, so this was a great story about a different perspective of the war. It made me think.
Merchants of Doubt—This non-fiction book details how companies and organizations through the years have worked to sew doubt when scientists try to say their product/what they're doing is wrong. Example: big tobacco campaigning to prove second-hand smoke isn't bad, or politicians saying global warming can't be true. It was ironic that I started this book the same week Coca-Cola was caught paying scientists to say that sugar doesn't make you fat, diet doesn't matter, it's exercising that matters. It was quite the eye-opener, and I now see these scenarios playing out all the time. Highly recommend if you want to understand how big corporations and big government work these days.
Room—It's been a while since I've had a book grip me like Room did. A good suspenseful, interesting book that should make for a good movie.
City on Fire—Officially the longest book I've ever read at 944 pages. The story was kind of intriguing, taking place in 1970s NYC, which was a bleak time in the city's history. But it could have been cut down 200-300 pages easily, and made for a better, more refined novel. By the end, it was a bit of a bummer to realize I'd just wasted so much time reading this enormous book that I only found "intriguing." Read at your own risk, it's a long haul.
Without further ado, here were the books I read in 2015 and a few thoughts on each:
Born to Bark—The big reason I read this book is because it's about a cairn terrier, and it was a joyful story about a feisty little dog.
Everything Is Illuminated—I liked the movie, but I had a hard time getting into this book. The main reason was the writing style, which was very different and full of run on sentences, conversations, and paragraphs. The style did not help the story, it hindered it. Would not recommend, but if you're up for a quirky movie, check that out.
Memoirs of a Geisha—This one was good, it's really interesting to read about the geisha culture from long ago. The story is fiction but based very much in history.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns—This book was supposed to be the créme de créme of graphic novels, along with Watchmen (which I loved), but I found this one hard to follow due to the extremes in illustration.
The Martian—When I finished this book I said "It'd make for a good movie", and little did I know they already were filming it (Matt Damon wouldn't have been my first choice for the character.) This book is Apollo 13 meets Castaway. Really good modern sci-fi.
The Rosie Project—Not sure what I expected from this one, but it didn't really wow me like it did for many other people. A guy creates a test to find the perfect woman for him, you can probably guess how the rest goes. Intriguing characters, an easy read, but not mind-blowing.
A Dog's Purpose—I continued my guilty pleasure for dog books with this one, and it did not disappoint. I cried multiple times and really enjoyed it. This book is about multiple dogs, and the ending is really satisfying.
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland—Some find this book delightful, I couldn't stand it. I've never been a big fan of the Disney movie, I don't know why I thought this might be any better. It's just SO darn weird.
The Girl On the Train—This was one of 2015's 'hot books' for the year, but I wasn't overly impressed. The story wasn't bad, but it was very dark. The main character was hard to sympathize with, and that's a big deal for me. If I don't find myself caring about the main character, then I don't really care what happens to them, ergo I'm not really hooked into the story.
I, Toto—This was a quick little read about the dog who played Toto, and it was cute and short. Kind of like the dog, haha.
To Kill A Mockingbird—I read this back in high school and wanted to re-read it now as an adult. The book still holds up, and some of the themes had more relevance now than they did back then. This one is a good one to revisit.
The Nightingale—I really enjoyed this one. It's about women living in France during WWII. Not much is written about all of the women who had to stay home while their husbands went away to war, so this was a great story about a different perspective of the war. It made me think.
Merchants of Doubt—This non-fiction book details how companies and organizations through the years have worked to sew doubt when scientists try to say their product/what they're doing is wrong. Example: big tobacco campaigning to prove second-hand smoke isn't bad, or politicians saying global warming can't be true. It was ironic that I started this book the same week Coca-Cola was caught paying scientists to say that sugar doesn't make you fat, diet doesn't matter, it's exercising that matters. It was quite the eye-opener, and I now see these scenarios playing out all the time. Highly recommend if you want to understand how big corporations and big government work these days.
Room—It's been a while since I've had a book grip me like Room did. A good suspenseful, interesting book that should make for a good movie.
City on Fire—Officially the longest book I've ever read at 944 pages. The story was kind of intriguing, taking place in 1970s NYC, which was a bleak time in the city's history. But it could have been cut down 200-300 pages easily, and made for a better, more refined novel. By the end, it was a bit of a bummer to realize I'd just wasted so much time reading this enormous book that I only found "intriguing." Read at your own risk, it's a long haul.
Friday, December 18, 2015
Friday Fast 5
- Today was a cold but sunny day, so it's not so bad. The piggies were out and about at Todd Geisert Farms when I stopped by to get us some bacon. It made me smile watching them trot around and play in the field.
- Jarrod and I went to the Star Wars opening last night. We were very, very excited; it's not every day that there is a new Star Wars movie. We decided to head to the theater about 40 minutes ahead of time, and good thing we did. The theater was probably about 80% full already! It was a relief that we ended up with good seats, and by 'good seats' I mean that we weren't sitting by any crying children, we weren't by anyone talking, we weren't by any obnoxious teens. Thank goodness. We both really liked it, I loved BB-8, and I'll leave it at that. Spoilers are easy to come by these days, and I am not going to add to that problem.
- Due to the movie, I have also had the Imperial March (the Darth Vader song) pop in my head multiple times a day all week long. It's getting a bit old...
- I've got all my Christmas shopping done, and I am very glad for that. And, I accomplished at least three-fourths of it online. The last thing I want to do is go out shopping this final weekend before Christmas. No thanks.
- Yesterday, I had errands to run and my final one was shopping at Aldi. I got there and realized I forgot my bags, then realized my quarter for a cart wasn't in my car—I usually keep one in the cup-holders for this purpose. I dug through my purse but didn't find one there either. I was disappointed, and resigned myself to the fact that I would have to grab two things I absolutely needed and could carry, and come back another time to get the rest. I got out of my car, and this older man said "Do you need a cart?" I said sure, and he pushed it my way and said "Merry Christmas!" and I replied "Thank you sir." It just really, really made my day. The prospect of having to return to the same store a day later... sigh... not fun. I tried to pass on the goodwill when I was finished, but there wasn't anyone going in the store at that time needing a cart. So maybe next time.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Going Solo at the Movies
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| I was having a bit of a rainy day too, Charlie Brown. |
I have been excited for The Peanuts Movie ever since I heard they were making it. And once I saw some of the first promo images for it, I was even more so. Half of the reason I love animated movies so much, aside from being young at heart, is because of the animation and the creativity. And the style they used for this movie made me smile, it just looked so darn cute and perfect for taking a flat cartoon to a 3D animated movie.
The movie came out a while ago, we never got around to seeing it, and I would check movie times almost every week to see if it was still there. Well, today was the last day before our local movie theater retired it to move on to a new film, so it was my last chance. The showtimes were 1:30 or 4:30, and the later time is cutting into dinnertime and when Jarrod would come home, so 1:30 or nothing.
After I ended up having a pretty crappy day at work, I decided I was definitely going to the 1:30 show right after my work day ended.
Not only did I go by myself, I was also the only person seeing the movie today. I think there were maybe 5 people there total, seeing other movies, based on the amount of cars in the lot. I had the entire theater to myself, which I find quite nice. This happened to Jarrod, myself, and Jeff once before when we saw Muppets Most Wanted. You can laugh as loud as you want, chat a little bit if you choose, and simply chill out like you were at home on your own couch.
I'm so glad I went. The movie was very cute, sweet, and had a story with heart. I laughed, I shed a couple tears, and it was exactly what I needed this afternoon. I walked out with a smile on my face.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
1 Year Without Satellite TV
It's been one year since we cancelled our satellite TV. We have our local channels over the air via antenna, but that's it.
We don't miss it. At all.
I wrote all about it last year when we decided this was something we were going to do. We cancelled TV with the hopes of saving money, spending time in other ways, and to have less frustration. A year later I can say we have accomplished all of those things. Yes, we still watch things on our streaming services and all, but we have a much easier time just turning off the TV when we're not finding anything appealing to watch.
I also feel I have so much less aggravation now that I don't have cable channels. As I wrote about last year, I find the dirge of crappy shows the networks churn out aggravating. I don't want to watch them, I don't want to support them, and personally I feel better not putting our hard-earned dollars toward networks who create such shows. This year I also stopped watching the local TV news, and I am much happier for it as I've mentioned on here a few times. And I'm sure the not-so-noticeable blood pressure spikes and biological symptoms of anger and stress that came with all of that were not good for me.
We don't miss it. At all.
I wrote all about it last year when we decided this was something we were going to do. We cancelled TV with the hopes of saving money, spending time in other ways, and to have less frustration. A year later I can say we have accomplished all of those things. Yes, we still watch things on our streaming services and all, but we have a much easier time just turning off the TV when we're not finding anything appealing to watch.
I also feel I have so much less aggravation now that I don't have cable channels. As I wrote about last year, I find the dirge of crappy shows the networks churn out aggravating. I don't want to watch them, I don't want to support them, and personally I feel better not putting our hard-earned dollars toward networks who create such shows. This year I also stopped watching the local TV news, and I am much happier for it as I've mentioned on here a few times. And I'm sure the not-so-noticeable blood pressure spikes and biological symptoms of anger and stress that came with all of that were not good for me.
I've had occasions, like when I'm in the hospital, where I have cable again and each time I have the same reaction: Wow, I am really NOT missing anything. I realize some people love their television, and if you're a sports person this would never work, but for me I feel getting rid of cable has been freeing for all the reasons I just listed. I'm so glad we finally took the plunge, and as always, if you're thinking of taking the plunge too, I'm more than willing to talk to you about it.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Kohl's Comparison
In case you're ever wondered when was a good time to buy things at Kohl's, I did some math to compare.
I placed an order with Kohl's on Black Friday, and felt like I got some pretty good deals. (When I mentioned in my previous blog how I might have gone out shopping that day, I was going to only go to Kohl's, but decided to shop from the comfort of my home instead. Kohl's in town is always a zoo on Black Friday, with a line that stretches halfway across the store depending on your timing.)
Kohl's prices were, I felt, heavily discounted for their Black Friday sale. The extra coupon code for Black Friday was 15% percent off, and $50 order to qualify for free shipping. I ordered all of my things, got free shipping, and ended up with a total of $85 (plus some cents.)
I placed an order with Kohl's on Black Friday, and felt like I got some pretty good deals. (When I mentioned in my previous blog how I might have gone out shopping that day, I was going to only go to Kohl's, but decided to shop from the comfort of my home instead. Kohl's in town is always a zoo on Black Friday, with a line that stretches halfway across the store depending on your timing.)
Kohl's prices were, I felt, heavily discounted for their Black Friday sale. The extra coupon code for Black Friday was 15% percent off, and $50 order to qualify for free shipping. I ordered all of my things, got free shipping, and ended up with a total of $85 (plus some cents.)
Then on Saturday, their new Cyber Monday promo started offering a 20% off coupon and only $25 needed for free shipping.
I was curious if there would be a difference, so I rebuilt my cart today with the same items I bought on Friday. Most of the items had higher prices, ranging from 3-10 dollars more, but one item was $7 lower. Then I applied the 20% off coupon, and my total was brought down to $89. Black Friday prices saved me about $4.50, obviously not a huge difference.
So, in case you were ever curious, there's the math. Depending on what you want to buy, Black Friday might be cheaper, but most likely it's going to be a wash between the two.
I usually don't make such an effort to shop this early, but I don't know, I guess this year I'm kind of anxious to get it done and not drag it out for the next few weeks. I semi-enjoy shopping, but I wouldn't say I love it. And dealing with crowds this time of year is not really my thing.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
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 :)
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 :)
Thursday, October 22, 2015
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?
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?
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
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.
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.
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