No need to come back any other day! Or place. I’m just done with this crap. (Rant continues….)
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Next injection, Day 1
Health and medical crud to follow, read at your own risk….
Epidural etc updates…
On Day 5 after the epidural I was doing ok; not great, but ok, and still optimistic. On Day 6 I had physical therapy (pt) for the first time since having it done and it went downhill from there. Really. Yes, I know pt is THE thing that’s supposed to help, but it seems that it may actually have been hurting me. Figures. Even before I had the epidural, we’re pretty sure that we traced my setback to pt, although we couldn’t figure out what could possibly have caused it as all we had done that day was body mechanics- ensuring proper movement doing every day tasks. After the epidural, we actually did them again, and did squats. About 30 minutes later, the pain in one thigh was quite noticeable, and by that evening, it was as bad as it had been before the epidural, if not worse. We decided to suspend pt until my follow up with the spine specialist, and decided that if I am to continue, I see another therapist in town who may be better able to help me. She’s got more training in certain things and I’m just that special.
Had an MRI done of the neck and cervical spine which shows something which I’m pretty sure it did not show when I had the last one nine years ago. I should get out to pick up the report tomorrow (and my new glasses), and hopefully I will get an appointment scheduled with one of the doctor’s at the orthopaedics office. I’ve been seeing a PA but the epidural not lasting and the neck stuff makes everyone think we should step things up and see the MD. I can’t disagree.
Fall continues here in the Green Mountains. It’s started to get below freezing some nights. The basil on the deck is done. I’m going to try and cut the mint back and see if it will come back in the spring. Some mornings I wake up and see the frost on the grass and it’s beautiful, but it reminds me of what’s coming and I’m not quite ready for that yet. I’m so grateful we have an attached garage for the cars; I couldn’t imagine having to start deicing now and continue to do so through March or April. We change the clocks this coming weekend and I am NOT looking forward to that! I wish we could just do away with daylight savings time and all this back and forth nonsense.
Tomorrow I pick up my winter stock up from the butcher up the road. Some briskets, which I’ve discovered are easy and tasty to make (thanks, Mom!), boneless turkey breasts (that may be from monster birds if I heard him right!), and some burgers which we can do as long as we can get to the grill since they’re quick and easy. A couple of pork tenderloins. I’ve been getting chicken breasts from the supermarket of all places so I’ll pick up another family pack when they next go on sale. I think I forgot to get just plain ground beef. But I can get that whenever.
I’m trying to cook more. I made crab cakes last night and tomorrow we’re having mustard balsamic chicken over roasted veggies. On Thursday I’ll be making short ribs, possibly in the crock pot, but they’re for dinner on Friday night. I’m not sure what I’ll make for dinner Thursday if we don’t go out. Dinner on Saturday will depend on if we have guests. If we do, maybe early Thanksgiving. If we don’t, I don’t know yet.
How is it almost NOVEMBER?!?!!?!?!
Epidural, Day 5
It’s now five days since I’ve gotten the epidural. I wish I could say that this has been a miracle for me and I’m pain free; alas, I cannot. However, it has been an improvement so I can’t say that the procedure was in vain. Which is good. I think I would have lost my mind (what’s left of it anyways) if I had gone through all that and not felt any better at all! So yes, it’s better. Not perfect, but better, and I will happily take that. Plus there’s still another week to go where I may/will see additional improvement as the medication continues to do its thing. I have hope back now, that this will continue to improve and I will get better. It was a little rough for the last couple of weeks (sorry, Husband!) when the pain kicked up and my ability to deal with it dropped. When the pain gets like that, particularly after several days, let alone weeks of it, my head begins to get foggy. I have memory holes. Not like long term memory holes (those are a different issue!) but short term, like forgetting to do something or buy something that we had talked about minutes earlier. At the farmers market I left TWO stands having paid and then forgotten to take my food. One I remembered and went right back for, the other totally escaped me until I got home and unpacked. It’s disconcerting- because you don’t know what else you may have forgotten!
It’s breathtakingly beautiful up here in the Green Mountains of Vermont! We’re finally truly able to appreciate the beauty of the change of the season. Last year was nowhere near as colorful as this, plus we were just settling in AND dealing with the insanity at the other house AND I was still commuting weekly. I don’t really remember last October. This year is oh so very different. We feel settled now. in the house and in the area. Jobs, not so much, but we’ll get to that. Now that I’m starting to feel better I may actually be able to look in more earnest than I have been. I may have said this before; it’s hard to look for a job or think about a job when you can’t think about working an 8-hour day doing ANYTHING without fear and wanting to cry. Now that I’m starting to feel better, I may be able to do this. First things to do- 1) figure out what help I still need from other people; 2) figure out what it really is that I want to do! Yeah, that little thing.
So now it’s 5 pm and this is the first time today that the pain had picked up to more than just a dull ache. I’m good with that. Considering by this time a week ago I was already running out of spoons and brain-power, that’s a good thing. To be fair, I’ve done a whole lot today- changed the bed linens, run three loads of laundry, pulled everything out of the truck so we could pick up my new chair, and sorted through and labelled 9 of the giant Tupperware tubs we have still in the basement from the move. My winter project is to go through them all and have a solid idea of what is where, and clear out and donate what we can. Now I just have to make dinner and then I can collapse. Then we’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Epidural, Day 2
Today is the second day since I had the epidural done. Yesterday was a GOOD day, better than I have been in months, pain-wise. Today is a little bit less so, but to be fair I’ve also done a whole lot more today than yesterday (like a full grocery shopping and a mess of other errands). Plus it’s damp and raining out, which always makes me ache more. I’ll still say it’s a little better than it has been so I’m grateful for that. I was supposed to get a follow up call from the doctors office today which doesn’t seem to have happened. Not a big deal since I’m feeling fine. I hate that I have to wait up to two weeks to know how this is going to work for me and even then there’s no way to tell how long it will last! But I managed to get all the errands done without skipping anything but the post office which was in the other direction and not urgent. And I’m making dinner! I’ve already prepped the vegetables to roast, and am going to do baked chicken breasts with a maple mustard sauce.
Finally Friday!
It’s finally freaking Friday, for which I am VERY grateful. But each Friday still makes me cranky that Elements has closed and I don’t have my weekly dinner there any more. Meh. Fuckers. It’s also Labor Day weekend which means two things- I have Monday off and where the holy heck did this summer go?!!?
Yesterday was a wash. We had some issues with the bank and financing for the house so I left work around lunchtime and headed home to help the Husband untangle the mess. We’re just waiting for a final confirmation in writing and then I think we’ll be all good. For now. I didn’t get any walking done.
Afternoon update: The mess is straightened out, and we’re back to exactly where we were before. Which is just fine.
Still have more work than hours in the day, and more things to do than days in the week, but I’ve got to keep plodding along as best I can.
When can I get a vacation??
5 weeks (minus a day)….and it just got real.
Yesterday was 5 weeks until we close. I had a long, really long, post typed up, and it disappeared into the ether. Note to self: quick draft does not auto-save.
I was just told that HR is supportive of my request for remote working and it should really just be a paperwork formality from here on in. (It’s subject to review on a regular basis, based on business demand, and I need to be able to come into an official location with reasonable notice for face to face meetings. All of which I had expected.) So yeah. We should now be able to set a move date.
I’m trying to increase my walking. My goal for this week is to do 1 mile a day. And then gradually increase stamina by increasing what I do consecutively. Yesterday I did .5 mile before lunch, another 4/10 in the afternoon, and then 3/10 to top off the day. That’s 1.2 miles across the day. Not bad for me at all. It’s almost insignificant compared to my friends who are doing marathons and the like, but I’m trying not to compare myself to anyone but me. And compared to me last week, I’m doing great!
I’ve done 2/10’s so far this morning; I had intended to do more but the Boss called when I was in the back and I had to race back to the desk to call him back.
I had also rambled on yesterday about trying to figure out the cooking and feeding for once we’re in VT. It’s going to be VERY weird for me to be cooking nearly every day, and not being able to rely on Fresh Direct to delivery every week or two. I also need to figure out what’s going to be kept on hand for the backup plan, in case dinner is a flop. AND I need to figure out what to feed the Husband for lunch every day. So current dinner plan is one night each for: soup (may need to buy the Vitamix for this one), seafood, chicken, stir fry/wok, sandwiches/leftovers, salad and one night out. Lunches for me are easy- chicken breast with veggies and couscous and salad in a jar should easily cover me for the week. Not sure about the Husband. We’ll have to talk about that. Next thing to do is start gathering recipes in each of these categories so that I’m ready to go. I’ve already started doing this, mostly on Pinterest, with a board for each category/day. It’s not bad, and so far easier than bookmarks in the browser, but I suspect that it may become as unwieldy soon enough.
Continue reading 5 weeks (minus a day)….and it just got real. »
22-July Log
Breakfast: iced coffee with soy milk
lunch: raisin bran with soy milk (note to self: no flaxseed- I know it’s healthy but ewww…)
Dinner:
Snack: 1 peach
Water: 24 oz cup- 2
Office walks- 1
Another week…
Another week gone by in a whirlwind of activity. I think this month is just going to continue to be that way, and I best try to get into my zen about it NOW and just accept that’s the way it’s going to be and figure out how to deal with it. I’ll be back in NYC again on Thursday of this week. Have I mentioned how much I loath driving in NYC? It’s like bumper cars in a slalom with a little frogger thrown in for good measure. Ugh. At least that -should- be the last time for a little while. I can hope.
The chef from Elements and his sous and one of the waiters are down in NOLA for a seafood competition. And thanks to the joys of technology and twitter, we’re able to see at least some of what they’re up to. Of all the meals they’ll have down there, it’s the jambalaya at Coop’s Place and coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde that I’m oh so freaking jealous of. That’s the New Orleans meal I crave. One of these years we’ll get down there, just not in the heat of summer.
Now planning a trip to Ohio for October. See about staying in some cool places on the way back.
Cold brewed ice coffee ROCKS. I’m seriously loving making my own ice coffee. I just plan it into the weekend fussing and it’s not a big deal to make, and then the carafe lasted me the whole week- including Saturday! The coffee’s so good that I just add some vanilla soy milk, no sweetener, and ice and I’m on my way in the morning. This is so going to cut down on my Starbucks fix.
Time keeps on slipping…
Time keeps rushing by lately, with barely a moment to breathe. These last couple of weeks have been nuts to say the least. I’m hoping that after tomorrow things will quiet down and get back to the usual chaos. Make plans for a quiet weekend of running errands on Saturday and little else next weekend.
But the last week or so has been a whirlwind of activity. On Thursday I met up with a very dear old friend who with her family is making Aliyah, moving to Israel, this coming Monday, well tomorrow. They came in from Chicago a few days early to spend some time in NY. We were going to run an errand of importance but had to change plans since we weren’t going to make it in time. So instead we drove around Brooklyn, to a number of places down her Memory Lane, and in some cases mine too. It’s so, so hard, though, for me to think about Brooklyn or that time in my life without thinking about the one who was my best friend and how much I still her and her family, every day.
Moving on though. It was a little weird how parts of it were so EXACTLY the same as it was, and how parts of it are nothing at all like the memories. But sitting in front of The Y was downright spooky, though. That was weird. I left Brooklyn wanting Roll n’ Roaster. Tomorrow I see them off on their flight with Nefesh b’Nefesh, and then hopefully stay up- or maybe just wake up- to see the ceremony when they land.
Yesterday I got to spend the afternoon with my girls (yay Vimmen!), and some of their little girls. Good Goddess where does that time go? I’ve known some of them more than ten years, almost fourteen years really when we stopped to think about it. That was kind of wild. So we got together for an afternoon, something we don’t do frequently enough any more. Back in the day, nothing could keep us from our weekly date with each other. Even when we worked together. And now my princess has a mini-princess, and I get to be Auntie again! And that still makes me melancholic as I miss my boys- my little man would have turned 11 last month.