This weekend...

I had a lovely Thanksgiving meal at Aunt Lavonna's house. Great food that I've been eating all weekend.

I've been cleaning and cleaning. I wish I had three of me, but alas it isn't to be.

Tzipi is thrilled that her birthday is so close. We hung streamers and made cookies. I figured the more I do today, the less I have to do this coming week.

I'm tired and I've done quite a bit. I wish the house looked better than it does, but I've been so busy baking and cooking, that the house is lived in. The floors are mopped, the bathroom is spotless and even the toaster oven got TLC.

Each time Tzipi gave me lip about not stopping what I was doing and meeting her needs right away, I said, "who am I doing this for?" She looked at me and said, "me". She loves to make me feel bad whenever I say no, "you hate me" is her reply. It stings, but I know it's just that good ol child power struggle. She was a princess today though and only had a couple issues. She was a big help too.

I know my house will be spotless when the kids are grown, but I would like to have company over once in a while without having to work so hard. This too shall pass, all to quickly. I'll do my best to enjoy it while I can.

He will eat ANYTHING!

I'm not kidding. Our Siamese cat will eat anything. He ate a piece of donut from Tzipi's mouth, a piece of bread, he licked my oatmeal bowl clean this morning and he ate a piece of potato.


I had another male cat that ate broccoli and other veggies, but a donut?!?!

Things improving...

13 days into treatment...

The Super Foods or as I like to call it, green slime has helped fix a major problem. It's not something I like to talk about... but I want to say that thanks to this disgusting stuff that is thick and sandy I am shall we say, regular, for the first time ever. Without pain when nature calls. May seem like a simple problem, but trust me it has plagued me for my whole life.

I still have lots of pain in my spine and head, in the right-side where the shingles had the outbreak, and have pins and needles as well. My left leg and hip hurt too, but in a different way. I'm supposed to start the second anti-viral med soon and I'm hoping since it's supposed to deal with the inflammation-causing virus, I'm hoping it will deal with more of the pain.

I can also tell a difference with my focus and thought process. I still struggle with memory, but my focus is sharper and I can stay on task a bit better.

I'm trying to cut down on my anxiety medicine, but I'm not happy with the results. I am having more stress attacks, but once my system levels out I hope to see improvement here as well. I'm supposed to see my primary on the 30th so we'll talk about these things then.

I did a technical presentation on Viral Neuropathy for Toastmasters and it went very well. With power point and everything! It was cathartic to talk about it to my friends.

Lazer

Yes. We have a second cat. Was this planned? Not really. But I couldn't let a kitten freeze to death.(And it's thanks to Facebook that I found out about him). So we have a beautiful Siamese kitten. He's about 9 weeks old and he was starving when he came to our house. He didn't hide like most new kittens. He instantly started cuddling and eating. He slept in our bed on the first night. Other than dealing with our grouchy Old Maid, Bunny who wants to hunt him instead of mother him, things are awesome. He is a busy little guy and it's hard to get a straight on picture of his beautiful blue eyes. We brought Bunny into bed with us so she realized that we still loved her. I've asked Zee to work extra hard with her so she continues to feel loved. She's not cuddly, but she sleeps with us. Tzipi has claimed Lazer as her own, so it all works out. Tzipi is so happy.

The decision is made

Well, I thought I'd still be a Stampin' Up rep and I'd just have to meet last quarter's quota in addition to this quarter's quota, but I was wrong. I tried to log in, not so much. I emailed Stampin' Up, and they let me know I could request an exception due to medical illness, but I decided to accept what is. So I'm officially just down to one job again. It was a lot of fun and as much as I'd love to continue doing it, I just can't. I loved doing it, but I just can't physically do it. If I ever decide to stop working full time, at least I know what I can do and do well. I have some great tools that I wouldn't have otherwise and I have some great memories.

A less confusing picture...

Sometimes you just gotta...

Suck your toes...

By Golly I think I did it!

Well, in spite of the brain fog, I feel like I did a good job on the test I had at work today. I was really nervous. But I had 4 hours to answer 100 questions on a subject I have been DOING for 3 years. There were a few questions that had me stumped, but it was open book.  I struggled with finding where some of them were, but I had plenty of time to go through the book and find the source. It's a BIG book too. It's not brightly colored with fun pictures like back in school. It's just lots of words. I'm visual, so needless to say, NOT MY FAVORITE BOOK! I went over and over each answer, and I looked up the ones I felt doubtful about and tried to find their origin in the book. I'm not sure when I find out my grade, but not having too much pressure once I realized how much I could get done, I took my time. I took 2 hours. I'm very proud of myself regardless of my grade. And it's over! YAY!

Let the healing begin

OK, for those sci-fi nerds out there, remember the scene where Daniel puts Sha'uri in the white Egyptian Alien technology bed that glowed white and she came out all nice and alive in Star Gate the movie? THAT would be soooo nice! (PS. Mili Avital, this actress? She's Israeli)

But that's science fiction. This is my third night on the medication and I can feel it doing stuff. Pokey is a good way to describe it. Nausea too. But that could be my GI tract getting repaired from the green slime. My brain fog has been really intense today. But it's doing something. Just want to keep you updated. Obviously my boring and lame car post got no response. So I'll stick with current events. :-)

Tzipi sewed her first pillow with the sewing machine. I'm so very proud of her. I hope we can spend many hours sewing Barbie fashions. She's a very good learner. I have to say I am very impressed.

Azariah is eager for Hanukkah. He's always about the next party or family event. I need to bring his focus around for Thanksgiving so he can make some awesome art for us. (I love his drawings) He's doing really well at school. He has nearly finished his homework that is due Friday. I'm so proud of him. On top of it!

Avi worked doing landscaping again today. He enjoys getting out and working. Tzipi tagged along with toys and had a blast. She's a good little helper, when she's not tired and cranky.

By the way... what is the plan for Thanksgiving. I heard Lavonna was going to host it at her house, but I haven't heard anything more than this. I'm not a last minute gal. I've been buying the things I need to make my first walnut maple pie, and we're talking weeks away. So if we can start a thread on Facebook or something, I'd be grateful. :-) I guess I will. OK... Off to Facebook I go...

My first car

 

My friend's daughter just got her first car. I got all nostalgic when I got to thinking about my first car. 1981 Honda Prelude. Such a fun car to drive! I bet the 'ol girl is still going. Daddy bought her for $500.00 at a car auction dealer place. He talked the guy down from $650.00. It's not a practical car for a family, but it was perfect for a single girl. What was your first car?

Whataday!

See all these test tubes???? These are all mine. 

OK, not really, but close. 12! 12 vials. That's crazy! The lab tech said the most he's done on someone smaller than me was 15 vials and she was 17 years old. I heard the ocean and felt pins and needles in my arm. I pushed myself, but what else is a girl to do?! Plus I was hoping that my Endocrinologist would call in his RX for my kidney infection and I could fill all my prescriptions at once. That didn't happen. I'm hoping I can go at lunch tomorrow and get my new meds filled.

I guess the best way to explain what is happening to me, is that the doctors (in April when I originally developed the shingles) just prescribed enough viral meds to force the virus (herpes zoster) into smaller clusters. They fled throughout my system wreaking chaos and damaging my nerves. Doctor Taylor with the NeuroSensory Center of Austin says that once I take the anti-viral meds, it will take somewhere around 6 weeks to start seeing improvement. He said that these 6 weeks will be difficult but that with the immune support I'm also taking in the form of a topical creme, a liquid mega vitamin, and a food supplement; I should start seeing my life return to a better quality. The anti-viral meds will encapsulate the virus but only my immune system can eradicate them. He said that he and his associate, Dr. Stewart, had found that virus' are to blame for much of what people are simply treating the symptoms. We will see, in six weeks, if this is the case for me.

I'm totally not looking forward to feeling worse before I feel better, but I'm looking forward to the end result. I will still need to monitor my spinal syrinx and make sure that doesn't get too big, and I want to make sure my thyroid stays healthy (which a lot of the new boosters I'm taking will do). It's been a long road, but I've learned a lot through this whole trial.

On another note...

Hobby Lobby is a large store right? It's overwhelming. I'm normally exhausted after I go since there are so many things to look at and so much store to cover. Well, watch out people! It's getting bigger. That's right. They are in the middle of a remodeling. This store in Amarillo will be the THIRD largest out of 500 with Oklahoma's store being the headquarters and the largest. Don't believe me? Go check it out. It's a mess right now, and you can tell they hired a whole bunch of new staff to handle the demand. I went to get some birthday stuff for two little girls I know and golly was I shocked! They hope to get it all finished by Christmas! I wish they paid a lot because I would so love to work there. Oh well, I'll just shop there. :-)

Fun in Austin

See this? It's delicious.

See this? It's yummy too!


Notice how dessert is first and "dinner" is last? It didn't come this way, but WOWZA! What a treat! Everything we ate was super! Just right. Not too much. Just right. My favorite thing was that I was able to eat dessert without worrying about caffeine! I'm still sleepy! Woohoo!

I think Leelee and I are still a bit loopy from such a long drive. I am looking forward to a great nights' sleep. I hope everything runs smoothly at the doctor's office. We find it in time. They run their tests. They find the solution to my problems. And the rest is fun!

It's really dark out, or I would talk about Austin's landscape.

My brain is mush. Bed is calling. :-)