Monday, September 30, 2013

WENT TO SEE THE RA DOC TODAY

I went to see my RA doc today.  She says I need to reduce stress, take better care of my neck, sit at my ergonomic desk, and get more sleep.  Wow, if I could do all that, I would have to stop working.  I do have to get better at reducing stress.  It is a catch 22.  My feet hurt too much to walk the dogs so I don't get the relief from walking the dogs.  Any ideas?  Let me know.


Until tomorrow...

Sunday, September 29, 2013

FLARING? YES OR NO.

For the last few days I have been really tired. Falling asleep watching TV, kinda tired.  Falling asleep at 2:30 in the afternoon.  Then yesterday my left foot began to hurt. Then today my left middle finger began to ache. Then the bottom of my feet began to feel pain. Seems like all the signs are there.

Until tomorrow....

Saturday, September 28, 2013

BRENDA'S BIRTHDAY

Today was Brenda's birthday. She turned 55 today. We tried to make it special but today was not a great day. First I had a work thing that took all morning. It was not a pleasant work thing either.

Then we went to my neighbor's Celebration of Life. If you remember my neighbor's husband passed away unexpectantly a month ago. It was a charming ceremony. We stayed for two hours but then we needed to leave. We had not had lunch and were starving. We took public transportation to the gathering and on the way home there was traffic.  We thought we would never get to a restaurant. Finally we got to the restaurant and it was not open yet. We ditched that idea and went to another place. We ate a ton of food. Then we went across the street to the market and got a small dessert.  When we got home we watched a movie "Snitch".  The day ended on a good note.

Until tomorrow...

Thursday, September 26, 2013

ANOTHER RENTAL CAR

My car is in the shop again today. Last time they forgot to replace my brakes. So today my brakes got fixed. That meant I got another rental car. I went to the same rental place because my body shop has a deal with them. Since it had been one week since the last time I was there, they recognized me. Actually I think they felt sorry for me. They remembered me as the van lady. (Last time they only had a van and a truck available. I took the van.)  This time I got lucky and got a fancy car. A Nissan Altima with keyless ignition. How fancy is that? Frankly I find it scary. You mean I can start a car without a key? And the key can leave the car and the car can continue running. Wow!  All I can think is how many ways I lock myself out of a running car with that set up. 



This car was nice and drove well. Basically it got me where I needed to be for the whole 1 gallon of gas I used.  My car is fixed and the brakes feel fine. Safety is my first concern.

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

ORACLE TEAM USA WINS!

So exciting!  Oracle Team USA wins the whole kit and caboodle!  The whole shebang!  The whole enchilada!  The whole series!

For those of you who didn't see it.  The race was nail biting!  At the start Team USA gets off the start and immediate dips in a wave.  Uh oh!  Will they recover?  Yes!  That could have been a disaster. Right away Oracle Team USA gets it together and pulls ahead.  They have the faster boat and they took off and never looked back.  They outran the Kiwis (Team Emirates New Zealand) and the Kiwis could never catch up.  Team USA finished 500 meters ahead.  9-8 Oracle Team USA!


USA Today photo

Now they are giving out the 34th Cup and soon the decision will be made where the next America's Cup will be raced.  I think it should be on the West Coast again!  I am hooked!  It would be cool to see it in person.

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

AMERICA'S CUP FEVER

Today I worked at home so I could watch the America's Cup race on TV.  It was so exciting to see the boats come close and see Oracle win twice.  Tomorrow is the final race. Whoever wins, wins the whole thing.  It has been a good, but long, run.

GO Oracle!

Until tomorrow...

Monday, September 23, 2013

WORKING MY BUTT OFF

This past weekend while my brother was visiting, I had a big project to do.  I ended up doing it after everyone went to sleep.  I worked from 10 - 1 on Saturday night.  9 - 1 on Sunday night and then got up at 6:30 am to finish it up.  I am kind of exhausted.  Almost falling asleep now watching TV at 10 pm.

Until tomorrow...

Sunday, September 22, 2013

VISITOR IN THE HOUSE

My brother is visiting this weekend.  His partner was here for a while but he left this morning.  My brother has helped get some things accomplished.  We got my bike hung up.  Today we hung a shelf so I can put my bike things in one place. My helmet, lock, lights, etc.  They all need a place to live.  Now I just need to get the front wheel back on correctly!

We also ran a bunch of errands.  Costco, Lowes, supermarket.  I got the ingredients to make a really good salad for dinner.  It is a Mustardy Kale Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato and Apple.  It was super easy to make and took no time at all.  Brenda was not so convinced when she saw it being made but she ate more of it than anyone! 

He was great taking little Lucky for a long walk.  Lucky loves going for long walks and I can't always take her.

Until tomorrow...

Friday, September 20, 2013

WE HAD BABIES!

Yesterday Brenda went down to the pond in the backyard and thought she saw fish babies.  She called
me and told.  I was not sure I believed her.  Baby fish?  Nah.

Then today I went to feed the fish and there was a flash.  It was for just an instant out of the corner of my eye.  If Brenda had not mentioned the babies, I would not have even thought about it.  Then there it was again.  A white flash.  A baby fish.  About the size of a piece of orzo pasta.  Then I saw another flash but this time it was orange.  Another baby fish.  This is so exciting.  At least two baby fish!

When we moved into the house I had a pond expert come and clean out the pond.  At that time we had a lot of fish; about 27.  After he cleaned it out we had some babies born.  It was exciting but we didn't notice them until they were much bigger. Probably because we had some many fish.  This is just so exciting because they are SO little.  My babies are having babies.

It is also exciting because after I cleaned the pond I mentioned to Brenda that we should go buy some more fish.  Now we don't have to.  Our fish have had baby fish!  I guess cleaning out the pond is worth the trouble if we get baby fish out of the deal.  Or maybe it is just a coincidence?

Until tomorrow...

Thursday, September 19, 2013

RENTAL CAR

I had to take my car in to the shop today to get it fixed. Over the weekend I was driving at dusk and I turned on my lights. When I usually turn on my lights my dash lights also come on. This time I got nothing. Complete darkness. It was  weird driving and not being able to see the speedometer or clock or odometer or radio.  I have a manual transmition so it was weird to not be able to see my tachometer.

So into the shop it went. I had to get a rental car for the day. The rental car place ran out of cars and I
Had a choice between a truck and a minivan. I chose this giant Dodge Grand Caravan minivan. It could have held half of my family!  I felt like I was driving a school bus.  Huge!  I normally drive a little red convertible.

Anyway, I made it home alive and with no accidents. My dashboard got fixed. Next week my breaks need to be fixed. If it isn't one thing it is another!

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

ENBREL INJECTION

Today I had to give myself my Enbrel injections. I do two injections on the same day. I still use the syringes that have to be mixed. I do not like the pre-filled pens; they hurt and leave these giant bruises.

Speaking about bruises, I have this giant bruise on my left thigh that has made it hard to do my injection. I can't inject on or close to the bruise. I tried to inject above the bruise but for some reason that hurt. Then I tried below the bruise but that began bleeding. After three tries I finally found a spot to inject. That was the first time I ever had that problem.

My other thigh was a piece of cake.  I am so happy when the injections are easy and painless.

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

WRONG DAY

Today I took my car to the shop very early in the morning.  Then I went over to physical therapy.  I showed up at physical therapy and went to  sign in and Oops!  Wrong day.  Hate when that happens.  Thank goodness no one saw me.  Of course I could have slept an extra hour this morning.

I get frustrated when I get my schedule wrong.  I spend time each night organizing my next day.  If I don't, I have a hard time in the morning when I am not quite awake.  Take two tomorrow morning!

Until tomorrow...

Monday, September 16, 2013

NEW HEALTH CARE LAWS

There are new health care laws going into effect soon.  Some have already taken effect. 

My question is can anyone keep these changes straight?  Does anyone know about these changes?  Does anyone understand any of this?  I mean, I am a fairly intelligent person.  I have a graduate degree.  I am completely confused.

Supposedly small business owners are supposed to send out a letter by 10/1 telling their employees about health care options.  But then I get a notice telling me (as a small business owner) that I don't have to send the letter since the government changed its mind.  Do I send the notice or don't I send the notice?  Who knows.

When do the major changes take effect?  Does anyone have a timeline that maps out all these changes and let's us know what we need to do?  Or is it all sort of organic?  You know figure it all out as you go along.  Sort of like Medicare or Social Security.  I tried to help someone who was turning 65 figure out Medicare and Social Security; I swear you talk about difficult!  I have an advanced degree and I felt like a moron.  I don't know how older folks figure it out. 

Well, there is my rant about the upcoming health care stuff.  I have health care but I don't know how it will be effected by these changes.  Or what those changes mean.

Until tomorrow...

HALF OF THE JOB DONE

I have been putting off a distasteful task for way too long now. Every month I need to invoice my clients. This is the most distasteful part of being a consultant and owning my own business.  I am behind two months of invoicing. Today I put aside everything and invoiced my biggest client for July and August. I am also on track to invoice them on-time for September. Tomorrow night I will start invoicing my smaller clients for the last two months.

I know my clients are good for it. I also know I should never get this far behind. Things get forgotten and I lose out. If I haven't written it down I can't remember every little phone call or document written. I always feel better once I get caught up. Then I promise I won't get so far behind again. 

I know what you are thinking. Don't I need the money? Heck yeah! I have been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul until I get paid.  More discipline is what I need. Or more time!

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, September 14, 2013

AMERICA'S CUP

Okay, I have gotten caught up in the America's Cup races. It is pretty exciting once I learned about sailing and how the races work. I could not understand why the races take months. But then I learned that there are "pre" races. They were called the Louis Vuitton cup races. The winners of those races go on to race in the America's Cup races.

The two teams racing in the America's Cup are the American team Oracle and team Emirates New Zealand.  Today team Emirates almost flipped their boat. Quite exciting and scary.  Team Emirates is ahead 6 to 0. They need to win 9 races to win the cup. There are only two races per day but many days it gets too windy and they cancel race two. The race for the cup could potentially go on for many more days.

When I was a kid I went to camp in Maine. We were taught to sail these little two person sail boats. Me and the other person sailed across the river and a storm kicked up and we had to be rescued. Then the next day a bunch of us took the boats to an island and we found a robbers lair. Yes, an actual robbers lair! There had been home robberies up and down the river and the police had been stumped as to how the robbers had been doing it. We were investigating the (we thought) deserted island and found some evidence that people had been living there.  Turns out the robbers were using the island to hide and stage their robberies. We quickly left the island and called the police. They set up a stake out and caught the robbers. We were written up as heroes in the local newspaper. Quite exciting for a tween.

That is my sailing story.

Until tomorrow...

DOWN TO 9 MG

Those of you who read my blog know that I have been taking prednisone for, well, forever. Or at least it seems like forever. More like almost 20 years.  At first it was 20 mg for the first 5-7 years. I looked like the Michelin Man. I gained 70 pounds and was SO puffy. I hardly recognize myself in my grad school graduation photos. 

Then I decreased down to 10 mg and I have been at 10 mg for last 10 years or so. Each time I tried to decrease further I would flare or get sick.  It just was impossible to decrease.  Until today.

Today I have gone one week at 9 mg.  I was trying to do it methodically. First a couple of days at 9.5 mg, the rest of the days at 10 mg. then some days at 9 mg and others at 10 mg. It was going great at first. Then my memory problems kicked in and I began to forget what days I was taking 9 and what days I was taking 10. "What the hay!" I said. I finally just took all days at 9 mg and now I am at 9 mg. 

Next I will decrease to 8 mg. Then 7, 6, 5.  I have been told that since I have been on steroids for so long I may never get off the steroids completely. I have probably ruined my body's adrenal glands ability to produce cortisone on their own. I will probably have to stay on 5 mg forever. This is the amount the body produces naturally. Hey 5 mg is better than 10 mg.

Now maybe I can lose the weight I gained. Wouldn't that be nice?  Only 58 pounds to go. Yippee!

Until tomorrow...

Thursday, September 12, 2013

RESTLESS LEGS AGAIN

If you have never had restless legs, consider yourself lucky. Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a weird disorder of the nervous system. For me my legs feel like I just can't keep them still. My legs will stay still for 20 seconds and then I have to move them. It is horribly painful if I can't move them. I have to almost constantly move my legs. It is annoying when watching TV or a movie.  Or on a plane.

My RLS comes and goes with no rhyme or reason. Today my legs will bother me and tomorrow they may be fine. Who knows?

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

BICYCLE TUTORIAL

This evening my neighbor came over and gave me a quick tutorial on my bike. 

First, he taught me how to take on and off the front tire.  I think I get it now.  I can take off and put on the front tire if I need to.

Then he taught me how the shifting works.  The left shift has three gears and the right shift has seven gears.  21 total gears.  But now I could actually get up a hill.

Lastly he taught me how to put on my lock.  A U-lock and a chain.  Gotta lock up the bike and wheel.  So complicated!

I feel much better now. More prepared.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, September 9, 2013

WATCHED THREE MOVIES

This past weekend I watched three movies.  Saturday it was so hot that we got burritos and sat in
front of a fan and watched a movie. 


First we watched Beasts of the Southern Wild.  The was an interesting movie. It was not a light movie. Brenda did not like it because it was one of those movies where everything was a metaphor. The beasts were not the beasts. The rising water was not only rising water.  Nothing is said straight out.

Then it was early so we watched The Debt.  I loved it.  Helen Mirrin is great in this movie.  Watching a 60 year old fight a 90 year old, that's all I am going to say! Very interesting story line about spies who did something and had to go back and fix it 35 years later.




After Brenda went to sleep I decided to watch another movie, Bachelorette.  It was a funny movie. I starred Kristen Dunst and Rebel Wilson.  It is a story about a group of girls who were friends in high school and one of them is getting married. The night before the wedding is the bachelorette party. It gets out of control in so many ways.







Until tomorrow...

Sunday, September 8, 2013

TRIED TO RIDE TODAY

Today I tried riding my bike. I haven't quite got the gear shifting down so I rode down the street and could not get back up the hill. Remember when you bought an item and it came with an instruction booklet? I bought a bike and it came with not booklet, no instructions. I find his frustrating.  Now I have to rely on my neighbors to teach me. 

I also tried to put the bike rack up in my garage. I need to hang the bike since we have no room for it. Also if we hang it it won't get banged around. I just wonder if I will be able to put it on the rack. It was easier to lift and put on a rack before I got the front basket installed.  The basket adds some weight to the front of the bike.

Until tomorrow...

Saturday, September 7, 2013

BICYCLE!

I am sitting here waiting for my bicycle to be finished. The bike guys needed to put on my fenders, basket (gotta have a basket), and seat lock. I am waiting at a lovely cafe where I had the freshest sandwich in a long time. The bread was so fresh they must have baked it this morning! Hopefully the bike will be done soon.

1 hour later...

I got my bike and it looks fabulous!  The lavender looks good!  The guy helped put it in the backseat of my convertible and off I went. When I got it home I ran into a stumbling block; I could not remember how to put the front tire back on the correct way.  These new fangled things are not like they were 30 years ago!  Finally after I tried 15 attempts and there was sweat in my eyes, I asked a neighbor to help. Turns out I tightened the thingies too tight.  In other words I did it too well!  Always an overachiever!  I got it all fixed and I took it for a test ride.  Then Brenda took it for a test ride.  She assured me that she was fine riding a bike (although she had not rode one in, uh, 40 years) and she almost immediately scraped the neighbors car and hit a parked scooter!  Scared me to death!  She needs a bike helmet for sure!


I finished putting on the water bottle holder and my cute bell and now I am good to go.  Of course now it is almost 100 degrees and no one wants to be outside.  Perfect timing! 

Until tomorrow...

Friday, September 6, 2013

GOT MY BICYCLE PARAPHERNALIA

Today I called and the bike shop has one bike in my size and color. They have to assemble it. Meanwhile I went and bought all The Stuff. The Stuff costs almost as much as the bike! Helmet, lights, cute little bell, water bottle holder and bottle, locks, and little Velcro thing to keep your pants from getting caught in the chain.  Oh, yeah and the thing to hang the bike in the garage. 

I better enjoy this bike!!

Until tomorrow...

Thursday, September 5, 2013

GOOD DEED FOR THE DAY

Today I was leaving a client's office when I looked down.  On the ground I saw what looked like a bank credit card.  I stopped and did a double take.  It could not be a credit card.  But it was.  It was also a transit card and another card.  I picked it up immediately and looked around.  No one was on the sidewalk.  I quickly tucked the cards in my pocket and looked around for a police officer.  I was in an area where there are lots of cops.

On the way to my car I ran into no cruisers so I decided to go to a police station around the corner.  A few minutes later I pulled up to what I thought was a police station.  It turns out it was a police union shop and a police uniform and supply pick up location but there were plenty of police officers in attendance.  I went up to an officer and told him I found a bank card around the corner and needed to know what to do with it.  He jokingly said "You didn't use it?  That is what everyone else would do."  I told him I am not like everyone else.  I am one of the few honest folks! 

He took down my information and asked me where I found it, etc.  Then he took the cards.  I jokingly asked him what was stopping him from using the card to go shopping?  He said he was well paid and didn't need to use it. 

So I guess I did my good deed for the day.  I hope the person gets their stuff back.  I sure hope they were not mugged or anything.  Maybe they just dropped it but it seems weird that it would be three cards if they dropped it. 

Until tomorrow...

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

DOG ON A PILLOW

First, I am feeling much better.  I am never quite sure what comes over me but I just feel like crap.  Today I felt better and went to see a client and ended up working all day.

Someone please explain to me why my little dog feels it is okay to lay on the fancy pillows on my "good" couch in the living room.  That little dog has beds all over the place that are made especially for dogs but does she want to lay on them?  NO.  She wants to wait until I am not looking and jump up on the living room couch and knock over the fancy pillows and curl up like a ball on top of them.  She used to jump up on the good chairs in the living room and fall asleep until we started catching the big dog (Happi) climbing up on them too.  Then it had to stop.  Happi has never climbed on furniture her entire life.  I guess she was feeling jealous that the little dog was "allowed" to be on the furniture.  I would chase the little dog off the furniture 20 times a day.  Once Happi started jumping on the furniture, that had to end.  I got some large Styrofoam pieces and put them on the chairs so neither dog can jump up.  Now Happi lays on the floor like a dog!  I am still working on the little dog.  Maybe she thinks she is not a dog?!

Until tomorrow...

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

STILL FEELING UNDER THE WEATHER

I tried so hard to get it together today.  I wanted to go to my clients and work but I could not.  I sat on the couch and worked on my laptop all day.  Okay, I really lounged on the couch while I worked.  Not good for my neck.

I am going to bed now to get a good nights sleep.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, September 2, 2013

SPENT THE DAY IN BED (AND NOT IN THE GOOD WAY)

After not feeling too good yesterday, I thought I would feel better today. Well, I didn't. I basically spent the whole day in bed or on the couch. I was a beautiful day too. I just could not pull it together. First I was achy and tired. Then I had an upset tummy. Then I slept some more. 

I ended up ding nothing I had planned. Instead I watched the entire season 5 of Nurse Jackie.  I just could not feel better.  Brenda kept asking what was wrong? And did I feel better? 

I am sure I will feel better tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

SLAMMED BY A TRUCK

Today we went to a park where there were food trucks parked. It started out as a nice sunny day but it quickly became overcast. We stayed for about one and one-half hours. Brenda had some really good fried chicken and I had the one vegan dish. It was a quinoa, potato salad with lemon vinaigrette. It was tasty just not filling. Then we shared a slice of plum/raspberry pie.  We were disappointed the kettle corn folks were not there. That kettle corn was really good a few weeks ago at the kite festival.

Then when I got home I was going to eat a bit and then go to REI to look at bike stuff. But I could not get off the couch. I had that overwhelming exhaustion, achy bones, my skin hurt (not from sunburn) and I could not stay awake. I slept until 5pm.  I have not had this happen in quite awhile. I didn't have it the day of the kite festival or yesterday when I cleaned out the pond. I am wracking my brain to try and figure out what is different. Today I wore shorts and I used sunscreen on my face. At the kite festival I forgot sunscreen and I wore Capri pants. Today I forgot to put my hat on right away. Last time I had my hat on from the minute I got out of the car. Last time I drank more because I brought my own food and ate popcorn which is salty. Maybe that had something to do with it.

For dinner I made this awesome roasted cauliflower, broccoli & sun-dried tomato salad with chickpeas. It is really tasty. I love me some roasted broccoli and cauliflower. All the ingredients just come together to have a little vegetable party in my mouth. 

Happy Labor Day!

Until tomorrow...