Plague Update: 2 Weeks, 5 Days

I guess you've noticed I haven't been posting. In all honesty, I haven't been doing much of ANYTHING. And I do mean that quite literally. Not even getting off the couch -- which means my poor little booger has had to be a little more creative these last few days... er... weeks, really.

The week before last, I took her down to her Grammy's to hang with her grandparents while the hubby and I did some recovering. And cleaning. Lots of cleaning. I still wasn't feeling all that great, but I was doing a little better, so I decided "Let's paint Ava's closet!" Dumb. Very dumb. Not unusual, though, I'm very sorry to say. But the closet looks pretty good. Even if I did nearly kill myself doing it.

I spent all day Saturday on the couch, because just getting up to go to the kitchen was exhausting. And then I spent all day Sunday there too. Monday, I finally managed to get some energy, so I worked on a few projects, then drove back to Charleston to pick up my booger. While I was there, I decided I wasn't getting better, so I got my Z-pack filled and started the antibiotics. Then, we drove back on Tuesday, even though I felt totally MISERABLE. Wednesday, after Ava got mad at me for sitting on the couch all day, I went to the doctor again. Tests were all fine. No technical problems. I was almost praying for a positive test. Thankfully it wasn't the pregnancy test. Neither me, nor Ava, nor her daddy are quite ready for that yet.

But on my way back from the doctor's office, I called my parents and begged them to drive up on Thursday to help with me with Ava for the rest of the week. BEGGED. And Jake's aunt came through again for me -- her daughter came for a few hours and played with Ava for me, and then took her to church while I slept for a few more hours. I am extremely blessed, I have to say.

But still it was all weird. I felt miserable, had absolutely no energy, I was sleeping all night and all day, and was opting to sleep instead of eat or shower. (The hubby was probably thrilled, I can tell you.) And then Wednesday, when I was at the doctor's office, I noticed I had started a cough. I thought, "Oh, hey, maybe this is the last step in getting this crap cleared up." Apparently wishful thinking.

Last night I coughed until I threw up. Twice. I was up all night, and my poor hubby actually stayed up with me and brought me water and fixed my shower ( <-- Southern lingo there, folks!No vise grips were used, promise!), and even pulled out my pajamas and rubbed my shoulders at 3am. He was really amazing last night, so I had to give him props and kudos.

And then I did it again today. So I called the on-call doctor. I mentioned that I was coughing up thick liquid, but it was clear with nothing in it, and immediately, he says, "YOU HAVE ASTHMA, AND YOU NEED TO GET THAT UNDER CONTROL IMMEDIATELY!!!"

I thought, um... DUH, man. I almost lost a lung a few minutes ago.

I didn't know what to think of the asthma prognosis, since I already know I have asthma, and I usually know when I'm having problems. Apparently up until just recently, my asthma had been very predictable. But he wanted to put me on the steroid that my GP suggested, so I thought, okay, what the hell, why not? He also gave me a cough syrup with codeine in it, Advair, and put me back on Singulair. Actually, he made me start the Singulair while I was on the phone with him. He also said that the reason I had no energy, that I couldn't get off the couch was because my body wasn't getting the oxygen I needed. When you start wheezing, you're already at 60% of your normal air capacity, which isn't very much, when you think about it.

But I have to tell you, I already feel like a new person. Hopefully that's not entirely the codeine talking. I even cleaned my refrigerator tonight! (It needed it desperately, okay???)

I finished off my last antibiotic today, too, took the codeine syrup, the Singulair, and the steroid, Prednisone, and I haven't coughed hardly at all over the last few hours, and I even got to eat without seeing my meal again later. So overall, I feel a LOT better. Finally. Just pray it continues, would you???

The on-call doctor actually told me I shouldn't fly to Iowa for Thanksgiving, though. And I know I'm feeling fine now and all, and that could change, but honestly it would be a lot less stressful to be in Iowa. My parents need a break from Ava, honestly, and I can't blame them. She's full time plus. And the in-laws will have a lot of energy to devote to her, plus all the extra relatives. The hubby's family actually spends all of Thanksgiving together -- Wednesday night through the weekend. So there will be tons of people around. And not being in my own house means I have a lot less responsibility. There won't be projects or maintenance items or lists to complete. Just minor stuff that, if I do continue to feel better, won't be a problem for me at all. And I'll get to COOK. I'm really excited about that.

But the point is, I won't actually have much to do other than sit on my butt and recover. Plus my in-laws have lots of medical support on-hand. I think it'll be more restful than spending it at home or even in some ways with my own family, so I'm going.

Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know what was up. I'll be thinking about you over the holiday! Have a wonderful one!

Yah. It Finally Happened.

I went to the doctor. His best guess? Viral. It figures. So I'm not sure if I'm going to get the antibiotics filled or not. They did take blood to see if my thyroid is down-the-tubes. It would sort of explain the tiredness and the weight problem... and my Aunt has Grave's Disease and ended up getting her thyroid nuked. (Her symptom? She couldn't GAIN weight while eating ice cream in bed. That's a PROBLEM???)

But tomorrow, I'm making use of my butt-sitting time by driving my daughter to see her grandparents. It was supposed to be Thursday, but I'm just going to sit around and feel lousy, so why not be productive for a change?

Anyway, my mom and dad will be thrilled to see her... even if the accompanying Plague-ridden parental unit tags along.

I did still make it to my dance lesson today though, after I drugged up. I'm terrible, but I honestly didn't think I'd be feeling this bad today -- wishful thinking as usual -- and it's a 24 hour window beforehand to cancel. But I felt okay during the lesson, and I washed my hands immediately before. So pray that Ihor (EE-hore -- and no, I'm not making that up; he's from Ukraine; whaddaya want from me?) doesn't catch it. He'll KILL me if he does.

Anyway, I need my rest. G'night all!

(All? Really?)

PLAGUE COMES TO AN EN-- No, no, wait... yep. Still here. Damn.

Yeah, still sick, I think. It's kind of weird. I just didn't want to wake up this morning. That's pretty normal, I guess, but I cna usually make it to the gym before 11am. Today? Not so much. And my body still aches all over.

Problem is, I hate going to the doctor. Not because I hate being looked at. I guess I just hate not being well. I want to think, "Oh, it'll go away soon; I just have to tough it out." But it's been over a week now, and Cutezilla is not 100% happy with me spending my days on the couch. Considering, though, she's been fairly understanding.

But I made a deal with myself. If I can't do a normal workout, I'll go see the doctor. I think that's reasonable. Because today, I just didn't want to do anything, and jumping around seemed too much... and yeah, that's definitely a sign. Not to mention my joints hurt EVERYWHERE.

Going to bed early though. Maybe that will help out.

Christmas... And So It Begins...

Okay, yeah, it's true, I have already done quite a bit of Christmas shopping already. That's always the easy part. (Unless I'm shopping for hubby or my dad. They're both kind of tough, but in different ways.)

However every year, we always get to this point where someone says, "So... what do you want for Christmas?" And they actually want to know because I'm on their list. And my list is always about four items long or it has insanely expensive items on it. For instance, does anyone have any idea what King size sheets are running these days? Or maybe they were always this expensive, and I just never noticed... anyway, the fact remains, they are INSANE! The cheap sheets (250 count) are still $40 or something. I finally managed to find some beech jersey sheets for $70 that I didn't feel awful about putting on my Google wishlist.

But I think this year might go okay, because I want garden stuff for spring. I'm really excited about hopefully getting my aunts to give me some pointers on how to give my yard that "wild but not overgrown" look. But the growing seasons are drastically different between here and Iowa where my in-laws are, so I'm thinking gift cards are in my future this year. The bonus: they're easy to pack.

People are starting to ask what to get Cutezilla for Christmas too... but WE HAVE ENOUGH TOYS!!!! Seriously. Since I've been sitting on my butt all week (thankfully now feeling some better) the house is a WRECK, aside from the hubby's much appreciated attempts in the kitchen. I did swiffer the floors after he ran the Roomba -- a gift he gave me a few months ago, and as a domestic disaster, I adore it!!! But the kitchen at least looks somewhat together now. The rest of the house? Hurricane Ava struck.

But maybe next week will go better. I get to drop the booger off with the grandparents at some point, and the hubby and I get to pretend like we're free adults again! If I can quit sleeping all day, I'll do a lot better on the domestic-front though. I started back on the diet again today, so I think if I'm up to it, I'll be back at the gym tomorrow. (But we won't discuss how long it's been since I washed my workout clothes... and NO HUGS, if you see me at the gym!!!)

Midnite Shopping & The Cockroach Crisis

Last night, I went shopping at 11pm. For a change, it wasn't to Wal-Mart or Target. Garden Ridge is having a sale this weekend, and they're going to be open until midnight Friday and Saturday. Cutezilla and Daddy passed out cold, so off I went, and guilt-free for a change! It was so nice, being able to browse for a change. Cutezilla has gotten to the point where she wants to get down and explore... a lot. Since she has this chaos gene where apparently she's compelled to pull everything apart or out or off -- espeically out of bins or off hangers -- going out with her lately has been... challenging. picked up a few things for Christmas, and it was so nice to be able to look without being distracted with what she's handing me or where she's running off to.

When I got home, while I was on the phone chatting with a friend of mine (whoever thought a three hour time difference would come in handy?) a cockroach ran across the kitchen floor and freaked me out.

What was nice about this happening, other than my husband playing the gallant knight to my rescue, was that for once, I got to freak out without [hardly] anyone saying, "Oh my God, you're freaking out why???" And it's not because my friend's a girl. It's because she's from Charleston, which is infested with the damn things and she understands. It was so nice to be able to hop around like an idiot, totally freaking out while someone else on the other end freaks out a little with you.

My conclusion: The best friends you'll ever have either A) come to squash the bug for you, or B) freak out with you.

Halloween Pics!

Ava was really having a great time in her costume! And the family together! Our first family-themed Halloween ever: St. George and the Dragon!

Engineer Parenting vs. The Rest of the World

Cutezilla, while playing with a medicine syringe...

Hubby: Honey, that's called positive leverage pump. But you'll have to get someone else to explain pumps to you. I'm not so great with pumps.

Wifey: I can explain pumps to her. I've got a whole closet full of them.

I Got A Tattoo!

Okay, not really. We all know I could never pick ONE design and stick with it for for than 20 minutes, so I chose something a little more mutable. It's a henna tattoo! Every time we've been to the Carolina Renaissance Festival, I've been wanting to get one -- literally for years now -- and never got up the nerve (or the cash) to do it. But I did it! I love going, but this year, since the hubby and I are on the diet, we didn't get any beer or fried foods. The gianormous turkey legs are always good, but somehow it's not quite the same without the bread bowls, beer, and chicken-fingers-on-a-stick. Still, the place was packed, I got to play with the conact-juggling balls -- no couches were damaged or destroyed this time -- and the weather was gorgeous!

Still on my Ren-Faire To-Do List:
Palm Reading
SCOTCH EGGS

And of course I love my new tattoo. It's a little darker than the picture, now.

Odd thing is, I was looking at the design basics, and a lot of them look like what I used to doodle in my notebooks when I was in high school. I'd love to learn to do this stuff, but let's be honest -- I'm never going to find the time to do it. I'm a little bummed about that, I think.

I know I need to post pics from Halloween still, and hopefully my buddy Jake got a few good ones for me.

As for right now, I think I'm getting sick. I'm achy all over, and everything hurts, especially my neck. The problem with this, I signed up for another belly dancing class tomorrow. But hopefully I'll feel better in the morning.

A Little Product Review...

In the last blog, I mentioned I went dancing last night. Well, I forgot to mention that I also put on makeup. Nothing serious, just eyeliner, mascara, and a teeny bit of lipstick. Except I just bought some new lipstick, and apparently I picked up some serious stuff.

I needed something that I wasn't going to need to reapply, and RealSimple Magazine suggested L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail 16 Hour Lip Duo.

Honey, these people ain't whistlin' Dixie! I put it on last night around 7:30pm. When I got home, I washed off my face and took off the eyemakeup, not thinking anything about the lipstick at all. After listening to my booger babble upstairs for awhile, then start to scream for me, I finally wandered upstairs around 9am. We had a little breakfast; I drank some coffee, and after awhile I finally got dressed and made it out the door to the gym. Keep in mind, I hadn't looked in the mirror at all.

When I walked in the door, the girls at the front desk exclaimed, "Wow! I've never seen you in makeup!" It took me a minute to realize the lipstick was still there. And it was perfect. Exactly where I had put it on, and hadn't left a mark on anything! I gotta say, I was impressed.

The downside was, I bought this stuff, and actually had to ready the directions to put it on. Yeah. For lipstick. It's a two step process, where you apply the lip color, wait a couple of minutes, then apply a top coat. Apparently you also need an oil-based makeup remover to get it off, otherwise you end up like me today, trying to rub this stuff off as you're driving down the road.

But overall, excellent stuff. I put it on, and don't have to think about it again until... well, until someone reminds me about it. Which is awesome!