DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 243.  I forgot to write yesterday that one of the things the doctor told me was that the pain in my hand was a clot in my vein.  When I was in the hospital I had many IVs for various reasons.  At one point I had 4 IV catheters in my arms and hands.  Where this IV was has left a blood clot in my vein.  I had no idea this could happen.  It is quite painful.  It is especially painful when I use my hand to do something like carry something heavy or do any heavy work.  The vein gets inflamed and swollen.  The doctor said it is nothing to worry about.  It will take months to go away.  He said hot compresses can help when it hurts.  This was good news!

This morning I woke up and decided to clean the whole house.  Top to bottom (almost).  I dusted, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, washed the floors, cleaned the kitchen, and picked up.  Then I did some laundry and ran the dishwasher.  The house is so clean.  I still have some areas that need picking up but it is nice to have a sparkling home.  It brings such joy!

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 242.  I went to the doctor's office today.  It is my check up after having meningitis and the flu.  I told him that my back and neck were still hurting a lot.  He told me that many folks (especially a person like me who has an autoimmune disease and health issues) will feel pain for a long time.  He said it may take over one year for the pain in my back where the epidural and spinal tap were done to go away.  That also includes the pain in my neck.  I also told him about the problems with my eye and how it gets blurry at the end of the day.  He says that is probably from the meningitis too.  The only part that has gone away is the headaches.  Thank goodness.

Lucky is doing better.  Poor baby had a bad day yesterday and last night.  We all deserve a good night's sleep tonight.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 241.  I had some extra time today coming back from a client's office.  I stopped by Trader Joe's and bought my favorite grain mix to make for dinner.  Then I stopped in at Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Who doesn't love Bed, Bath and Beyond?  I had seen some of their outdoor stuff.  I wanted to check some of it out.  I love my outdoor stuff.  The colors are yellow, mint green, teal, dark blue and white.  I have striped seats on my bench, a green pillow on the same bench, a yellow umbrella on my picnic table, and mint green Adirondack chairs and table in the backyard.  I wanted to get something to put on the deck to put my feet and a glass on.  Right now my glass has to be put on the ground and the dogs drink out of it.  I found this:

I think it matches really well and looks great.  It will make it nice to sit outside and read a book or eat lunch.  I get so much joy on my deck.

The fish look great.  I think I saved them once again.  Poor fish...

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 240.  Lucky is having a hard time of it.  Her oral surgery yesterday went well but she seems to be in a lot of pain.  She doesn't understand what is going on and is confused.  She has a lot of energy and I am trying to keep her doped up a bit to keep her out of pain.  This morning I fed her and she vomited it back up so I have to be careful about what and how much I feed her.  We went on a walk today and she seemed to like that.  We ran into her boyfriend (a neighbor I swear she would move in with in a minute) and you would have never known she had surgery yesterday!  She was jumping and running. 

It has changed the whole tone of the house.  Happi is really anxious with Lucky walking around in pain.  Lucky is walking around crying but doesn't want to be picked up and doesn't want to go outside.  I don't know what to do to make it better.  Then Happi starts whining and I don't know what to do for her.  It is hard to work from home when I have two dogs so anxious and unhappy. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 239. Poor Lucky.  She is really unlucky right now.  She had her dental appointment today.  We had to get up early in the morning and hurry over to the vets office.  She was not too happy about getting up early and not being fed.  She was happy to be at the vet's office because we went for a little walk beforehand. 

I left her there all day.  The vet called me mid-morning to tell me I made a good call.  Over a month ago I took Lucky in to the vet's office because I felt she was not feeling well and I thought it might be her teeth.  The doctor looked at her teeth and said he didn't think her teeth were too bad but once he put her under anesthesia, he might see something different.  Well, he did.  He said I was right to bring her in when I did and I was really in tune with my dog.  She was probably in a lot of pain because she had infected roots in her teeth.  He was going to have to remove 3-4 teeth.  He ended up taking out 3 teeth and an incisor.  My poor little Fang has one less fang!  He said it was sad he had to remove so many teeth but she would be so much happier once those infected teeth were out of her mouth.  Unfortunately she has genetically bad teeth and gums.  Nothing I can do about it. 

I got her home and they said I had to get the bandage off her leg at 7 pm.  I tried.  I swear I tried.  She was not having it.  I finally called my neighbor to come help me. I held her head so she would not snip at him while he cut it off her arm.  She scratched the heck out of my arm.  She was so scared and it hurt when he was removing the bandage.  My neighbor was so brave because she was putting up a fuss.

I gave her some cottage cheese and a pill pocket with some pain medicine.  She is sleeping now.  I also talked the doctor into giving her an injection of antibiotics that lasts 10 days.  That way I don't have to give her any other medicine.  Whew!

I have also started to decrease the prednisone that I am taking.  This has been a multi-year job.  I was originally at 20 mg.  I was down to 9 mg.  Now I am down to 8.5 mg. beginning Sunday.  I am excited to start to decrease my dosage.  I also began taking Plaquinel again.  Since I can't take Enbrel anymore, I am happy to change my medicine.  I will see how this goes. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 238.  I feel like my life is on hold right now.  I am waiting for the City to get back to me about the hearing date.  I am waiting for the foster/adoption organization to get back to me about my intake.

My sister-in-law just invited me to my nephew's graduation.  It was very sweet of them to include me.  I am not sure if I can attend or even if there would be room for me to attend.  Unfortunately where my brother lives there are no hotels you would stay at in the vicinity.  But right now I am on hold from making any plans.

I have said before I do not do well when things are up in the air and I want to make plans.  I want things to happen so I can move on.

One thing has been settled.  I am not taking the new client.  Due to circumstances, I have decided to go in another direction.

Today Happi had her rabbis shot and tomorrow Lucky gets her teeth cleaned.  Lots of dog stuff this week.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 237. I went to the movies with my friend H.  I finally went to see Zootopia.  I originally planned to see Zootopia the weekend of March 4th.  Since I was ill I didn't get to go.  I had to put it off.  Now I finally got to see the movie I have been waiting for.  I love animated films and this one did not disappoint.

I loved all the characters and the story line.  I recommend it highly.

Then in the evening I watched the season opener of Game of Thrones!  Awesome.  It makes me so happy.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 236.  Today I decided to go shopping.  I have very few pants/shorts/capris that fit.  I got to the store and I immediately found some capri pants that fit in a few different colors.  I got tan, white, yellow and dark jean. I work from home so I tend to wear jeans a lot.  Then I found a nice patterned pair that are good enough to wear to work.

I saw some shorts in different lengths.  I got a jean pair in Bermuda length and a jean pair in shorter than Bermuda but not mini shorts.   They are different shades of jean.

I tried to find some slacks but there were none.

Then I bought a Magic Bullet.  I love smoothies but I hate cleaning out the blender.  There are so many parts and I can't put it in the dishwasher.  When I am running out the door, I don't have the time to clean it out.  My doctor told me about the Bullet and I checked it out.  It was on sale so I bought it.  Almost all the parts go in the dishwasher.  It has three different size cups.  I can't wait to use it.  I need some almond milk to make a smoothie.

When I got home I went through all my pants and tried them all on.  I put 13 pairs of pants, shorts, capris in the give away pile because they no longer fit.  It felt so good to get rid of pants that no longer fit and now I have room for my new clothes.  I also folded my pants in the new way.  I have been folding all my clothes in the Konmari Method.  It is great to have my clothes so organized so I can see what I own.  I have been tackling it a little at a time.  First my underwear, pajamas, short sleeved shirts, long sleeved shirts, and now my pants.  I still have my t-shirts and socks.  I dread doing it but once it is done, I am so happy. 

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIvE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 235.  I need to get some sort of book for organizing when to mail out birthday cards each month.  I buy birthday cards sometimes far in advance.  Then some times I forget that I have them.  Then I am at the card store one day after the person's birthday looking for a card.  Forgetting that I bought a card four months ago.  I just bought a greeting card organizer.  That is a book that you can put cards in by month so I don't lose them.  Yes, I still send greeting cards.  I think people enjoy getting greeting cards.

My sister-in-law wrote a post today that talked about dawdling.  My dog Happi is a dawdler.  She will start to walk real slow when we get close to the house.  Or if I take her on a short walk because I am in a hurry, she will start to walk really slow, stopping at each crack, leaf, pole to sniff.  It drives me crazy.  I am in a hurry and she could not walk slower.  The reason I know she is dawdling is we will get close to the house and she will turn in another direction and start to pull me and run in the other direction.  Oh, she has plenty of energy.  She just wants what she wants.  Little brat.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 234.  Prince.  Is gone.  I can't believe it.  57 years old.  Possibly from the flu.  Wow.  He was such a great entertainer.  I saw him years ago at least once.  He was amazing to see live.  They are dying so young.

Ben & Jerry's.  Have I mentioned how much I love Ben & Jerry's?  Today the supermarket near me had the new vegan Ben & Jerry's frozen dessert.  They can't call it ice cream because it doesn't have milk.  It has almond milk.  They made vegan Chunky Monkey, PB & Cookies, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Coffee Carmel Fudge.  YUM!  I bought one of each and 2 Chunky Monkeys.  Chunky Monkey has always been my favorite.  I came home and started eating a pint.  Delicious.  Yummy for my tummy.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 233.  I am anxious about two things.  I am waiting for a potential client to get back to me.  I sent them a contract but I have not heard back from me.  I have a hard time when things are unsettled.  I just get anxious and have a hard time concentrating on things until I hear an answer.  If I knew I would not hear an answer for a month it would not bother me at all.  But usually I hear about these things right away and now it has been three days.  I just want to know one way or another.

I am also waiting for the call from the agency about my intake for being a foster/adopt candidate.  I don't know how long it will be before they contact me but I think they said a week or so.  I have been jumping each time the phone rings.

I just want things settled.  One way or another.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 232.  I have been trying very hard to keep in touch with friends and family.  I have been texting some family members and some friends.  I have been posting on facebook when I have something to post.  I call friends now and then.  Last Saturday I was literally on the phone most of the day with one friend or another all day.

I find it easy to keep in contact when I have some news.  It is harder to keep in touch when nothing is going on in my life.  I have one friend who rarely calls me or emails me.  She will text me once in a while.  I am usually the one who contacts her.  We have talked about it and she is fine with it.  She says her life is just not that exciting.  I have more news to contact her about.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 231.  It is hot here.  It was hot yesterday and today it is hot again.  My poor Lucky is so unhappy.  She hates the heat.  She paces and moves around.  She lays down in one place and then one minute later she moves to another place.  She cries and whines.  She wants to get in my lap and then growls at me.  She wants to play with Happi and then growls at her.  Lucky wants the cool air to return.

We all want the cool air to return.

Go Warriors!

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 230.  Today I started clearing out my backyard.  With all the rain we have been getting my backyard looks like a jungle.  Even the dogs don't want to go out back and do their business.  The part I cleared out (the right side) looks good.

I have a lot of work to do to make the backyard look good again.  A bit at a time!

I invited some friends over for a pizza making party.  I have been trying to think of a way to have people over and cook something that people will want to eat.  I realized that people love pizza and love it more when they can make it!  I figure they can bring some cheese and whatever meat they want to put on their pizza and I will supply the sauce, veggies and pizza dough.  Plus it is fun to make pizza.  They are coming in a few weeks. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 229.  Today was a day of good news.  I guess the fortune cookie I got on Thursday was right!  Good things would happen.

Yesterday I sent my application in to foster/adopt a child.  I am still excited about this!

I got good news about Happi's lab work.  All her labs came back fine.  Her urine was diluted but it has been like this for years.  I am going to talk to her regular doctor on Tuesday because he was not in today.  But so far all clear.

During my morphine induced haze a month ago I filed an appeal with the city about an assessment on my home.  I can't even remember what I wrote  I was so drugged up with pain killers.  Today I got a response from the city.  My appeal was approved.  I have been given a hearing.  I am not sure what that means but I think they are going to hear my case.  That is really exciting!

I also contacted that potential client.  I was unsure about taking the job.  I spoke to her and found out that my reservations were unfounded.  I now feel secure in taking the job.

I ended up talking on the phone to a bunch of friends today and got very little else done.  It was good to catch up with friends! 

All this good news!  I told you the fortune cookie was right!

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 228.  Today I took Happi to the vet. She has been having urinary accidents in the house.  They ran all sorts of tests on her urine, blood, poop, etc.  I get the results tomorrow.  Fingers crossed.

While I was at the vets office another 3-legged dog had a poop accident and fell on the ground.  His person was trying to pick him up off the ground and hold onto his other dog at the same time.  There were about 5 people in the waiting room.  4 of them quickly got up and went outside.  None of them offered to assist the man who was struggling.  I jumped up and asked the man if I could help by holding his dog's leashes so he could help the dog that fell in the poop.  He seemed grateful.  I was disappointed in the 4 people who left and didn't ask the man if he needed assistance.  I guess they could not stand the smell of dog poop!

I made a decision and sent in my forms to foster/adopt a child.  I am real excited.  I thought about it since Tuesday night and I realized that even though the information changed a bit, I was still interested and excited.  I am moving forward with the process.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 227.  I had a meeting with a potential client today.  I have to think about whether I want to work with them or not.  Nothing bad happened but sometimes after a meeting I am just not sure.  Maybe it is a vibe or a feeling.

A friend gave me a belated birthday present today.  It is a lovely bag.  I like it because it is big enough to hold my Ipad.  I like to be able to carry my Ipad if I want to in my bag.  I spent some time at her place hanging out this evening.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 226.  Another day of finishing the BIG project.  It is finally done.  My client sent a text message with emoticon of a smiley face with big red cheeks.  He is really happy.

Today was my friend C's birthday.  I sent her a card, called her, texted her and bought her a cute present that I have to send her.  When she was in NYC she got me a very sweet 9/11 mug with the 9/11 tree on it.  I used to work in the World Trade Center and it holds special place in my heart.  It was a very thoughtful gift.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 225.  I worked for so many hours today I was still in my pajamas at 4:30pm.  I even ate my lunch while on the phone with someone.  There was no break all day and into the night.

I went to an orientation this evening about foster/adoption of a child.  I have been thinking about this for a while and I wanted to get more information.  I have a lot to think about after attending the meeting.  It is a big commitment.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 224.  This week may not be too exciting to write about!  I am going to be working like a, I don't know what works a lot of hours and really hard, like a beaver?  a bee?  a woodchuck?  That is what I am working like.

I am concerned about Happi and I am trying not to think anything bad is wrong.  Two weeks ago Happi was throwing up a few days in a row.  I didn't think that much of it because she is eating a lot of grass.  But I am concerned that her stomach is so upset. I keep hearing it rumble and gurgle at night.

Now she is having urine accidents in the house.  I can count the number of times Happi has peed in the house on one hand in 10 years.  Now she has peed four times in the house in just over a week.  This is not like her.  Poor baby.  I called to get an appointment for Friday morning to get her checked out.  A few years ago she had a high protein in her urine and she was having to pee a lot.  It cleared up after a few months.  Maybe this is happening again.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 223. This week is going to be all about work.  I am finally feeling a lot better and I have to get back to some projects that I let lapse.  Today I have to edit a large document.  It is due to my client on Monday.  At the same time I have a super large multi day project that I am working on with a deadline of Wednesday.

So today is all about getting me and the dogs food and getting to work.  Not too exciting I know but it feels really good to feel well enough to get back to work after 6 weeks of being ill.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 222.  Today I had a lunch planned with a friend but she canceled because of the rain.  I went to run some errands and ran into a friend I had not seen in a long time.  He was eating brunch in a restaurant and I sat with him while he ate.  I was nice to catch up.

I took a nice bath while watching a favorite TV show. 

I watched a Grandma.  What a good movie!  It was moving and funny at the same time.  Lily Tomlin was great.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 221.  Feeling better today.  Finally ate solid food.

I went to a team building activity today with a client's staff.  They had everyone to go to a place where everyone paints the same picture.  There is an artist who leads the group and tells everyone what to paint.  At the end, everyone gets to take their painting home.  Mine turned out fairly well.  I plan to hang it in my home.

I think it is pretty good!  Considering before this the only painting I did was finger painting and painting a cabinet.  I am proud of it.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 220.  I woke up feeling better from my bout of food poisoning.  I have to give three presentations for my client today and then I have a baby shower to attend.  The presentations went well.

The baby shower was for the friend who I went to dinner with on Monday where I got the food poisoning.  I didn't tell her I got food poisoning because I didn't want her to feel bad.  I probably got the food poisoning because the food was bad but also because my immune system is so bad right now with the meningitis and the flu.  My immune system is a mess.  At the shower she sort of pushed and I ended up telling her on the side.  I didn't want to make a big deal about it.  I was not eating the food at the shower because I was not eating solid food yet.

The shower was interesting.  There were no decorations.  It didn't seem like a baby shower at all.  It seemed like people hanging out.  The invitation didn't say she was having a girl or that she had a registry.  It was just strange.  There was a pink cake but it could have been a birthday cake or a anniversary cake.  There was nothing that said having a baby other than pink frosting.  No balloons or flowers.  No games or trivia.  Or weird candies that you have to try to figure out what type they are.  No guessing size or weight.  We talked about TV shows and movies we liked.  And books.

Their doorbell didn't work but they didn't put up a sign so two attendees actually went home because no one answered the door.  I almost gave up because no one answered the door when I rang the bell but I knocked really loud.  Then someone said I should have just walked right in.  How weird!  I would never walk into someone's home I don't know.  That is how you get shot these days!!

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND NINETEEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 219.  I woke up this morning and I am still ill with food poisoning.  It is just not stopping.  I had to get up and write another presentation that I needed to give this afternoon.  I pulled it together and gave two presentations this afternoon. My client said they were really good.

I came home and once again went to bed.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 218.  Oh, no.  At 3:30 am I woke up SO sick.  I mean sick with Food Poisoning.  It was evil.  I think the tofu was bad.

Thank you goodness I finished the presentation last night.  I had to give the presentation this afternoon.  My client said he could see I was ill but I was very good at covering it up because no one else could tell.

I came home and went directly to bed.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 217.  I am meeting a friend for dinner tonight.  She is a friend who used to live in my neighborhood but moved to Kentucky five months ago.  She is also pregnant with a baby girl.  This may be the last time we can get together for dinner until after the baby comes.

We decided to go to a fancy Japanese restaurant that I had never been to before.  I called and they said they could feed a vegan.  When we got there they really didn't have anything for me to eat.  I had a kale salad that we shared and a tofu/daikon dish.

It was great to catch up with my friend.  I am sure going to miss her!

When I got home I finished my presentation for the next day.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 216.  Another day of relaxing.  I finished up my chores for the weekend (laundry, sweeping, clean the bird cage, change the fish tank water, pay bills) and went food shopping.  Then I took it easy.  I have a work project to get finished but I got a reprieve since my client is ill.

I spoke to a friend on the phone.  At the store I bought some greeting cards so send for birthdays and upcoming holidays.  This week I have baby shower to attend.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 215.  Today was a slow day.  I wanted to lay low because I have a big week ahead.  It will be my first week back to visiting clients and I want to be at my best.  I have to make a few presentations and I need to be on my game.  I still have a little cough when I talk too much and I wanted to do my best to stay inside so it will go away.  I watched a few movies: One For the Money (which I think I may have seen before but could not really remember it well) and Dolphin Tale 2.  Dolphin Tale 2 was really cute.  I wonder if they will make a Dolphin Tale 3.  The ending was left open for another movie in the series.

I spent a bit of time speaking on the phone with a friend.  We had not talked in a while so it was nice to catch up.  I also got a sweet card from a friend.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN OF THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Day 214.  Yesterday was the last day of March. 

 March - My Passions

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

• Visit places I have never been
• Cook food (eat food) I have never been able
• Take lots of pictures
• Sit on a rock in a desert
• Take a road trip or mini adventure
• Camping, concerts, Things on the fly and unexpected
• Just follow your passion
• See the world!

I was unable to do any of the things on this list this month.  I was basically in bed for the entire month so unless the items on the list were watching TV, watching movies and sleeping, I didn't do them.  I will move these items to a later month.

On to April!

 April - All in the Family

“I've always loved the idea of not being what people expect me to be.”

• Be the one to call or email
• Reach out more to family members
• Schedule Skype calls with Reese and Greyson
• Call Mrs. Hebert more often
• Reestablish healthy bonds
• Plan visits with friends and family
• Post photos
• Be Adrienne

It was easy during my illness to stay in touch with my family.  People were texting and calling to see if I was okay.  When I was in the hospital there was a day I had to turn off my phone because there were so many people texting and calling that I could not get any rest!  It was overwhelming the concern and love people showed.

The harder part is staying in touch when it is a regular day so this will be my challenge.  Keeping up with folks when no crisis is happening. 

I got my taxes in the mail.  I am sitting here on a Friday night with a feeling that I have not had in a long time: I have nothing pressing to do.  No taxes to do, no house assessment to do.  I just have work to do.  It is a nice feeling.

Until tomorrow...