Planning For The Holidays

Today I had a painful day.  My foot doesn't seem to be getting better or less painful.  I thought the stupid air cast was supposed to make it feel better!  It is not!  It still feels like a sharp, hot knife is being plunged though the ball of my foot with each step.  I find this whole thing frustrating.  Wearing an air cast is annoying enough but then to have my foot hurt anyway, well, it doesn't make it worth it.  Especially during the holidays.

I was going to have a holiday gathering between Christmas and New Year's at my home but now I am rethinking the idea.  I can't imagine organizing a party with this stupid cast.  I have not even bought a tree or done any decorating.

Tomorrow is a new day.  Remember I have a project to finish!

Wrapped the Presents, Hung the Lights

Today was a productive day!  I finished my book for book club, hung the lights on the outside of the house, and wrapped some presents!  Now before you get concerned about me hanging lights, I hung them in a very easy way.  I wanted to hang lights under my windows so I opened my windows and hung the lights out the windows.  I used tacks to hang them.  No silly ladders or reaching up.  Just hanging out a window.  They look great.  Glittery snowflakes.

Oh, yeah, the cable guy came today and FINALLY fixed the cable!  We have a new cable line coming into the house and we can view Animal Planet!  yeah!  I had to put the book shelf back together.

Then tonight I wrapped the presents.  I want to get some of the presents in the mail tomorrow.  I am using USPS.com to get them ready to mail so all I have to do is drop them off at the post office. 

And of course, I finished my book club book.  I had to read more than 100 pages.  It was a good book.  The House on Salt Hay Road.

Then to top off the day, I Skyped with my family to celebrate my nephew's 1st birthday.  His cake was so cute.  I got to see my cute niece! 

I have to go give myself my Enbrel shot.  Have a nice night!

Rudolph and Christmas

I am sitting here watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  The other reindeer just called him names and told him he could not join in any reindeer games.  So sad.  Sweet little Clarice is so nice to him and then her bigoted father makes her walk away.

I am so glad I had most of my Christmas shopping done before this foot thing happened.  Really says something for planning ahead when you have RA.  I keep thinking I should be stressed but I am not.  I finished all my shopping for my family today. I had one Christmas gift and one birthday gift left to buy.  Finished it today.  I had the best sales person at JC Penney. She was so nice.  I was looking for something not too expensive but that looked nice.  She showed me something that was on sale and she gave me a coupon too!  I can't tell you what it was because some of my family members read this blog.  It made the shopping experience very pleasant.

I have also been working on an art project for some family members that may get sent on time for Christmas.  They weren't going to be for Christmas but if I get them done, I can send them.  When I finish them and send them I will show you a photo.  I don't want to ruin the surprise!  I have been painting and designing for some time.  I had to design the whole thing in my head first, then buy the supplies and paint them.  It has been fun!

I am thinking of baking cookies but I am not sure I have time or energy.  I figure it is something I can do sitting down.  I guess I should decorate first and buy a tree and decorate that too.  I keep thinking of all the standing that entails and I lose interest.

The Island of Misfit Toys!  My favorite place.  A Charlie in the Box, a spotted elephant. Tee hee.

Well, tomorrow the cable guy comes to fix our cable.  Another thing checked off the list of things to do!  Gonna finish watching Rudolph, Hermey, Cornelious, Clarice, and the Abominable Snowmonster.

Hope your Holiday preparations are stress-free!

What A Pain In The Foot

Okay, I have a boot, that is supposed to make me feel better. Well, it doesn't.  My foot hurts just as much as before.  The boot is a pain in the, well, foot.  I have to take it off to drive (I know, at least I can drive!)  and then put it back on to walk.  It is just very inconvenient.  Especially today when I had to run three errands. Put on boot, take off boot to drive, Put on boot to walk, take off boot to drive, put on boot to walk.... get the picture. 

On to more productive things!  I have to get better shoes.  I am not allowed to walk barefoot or in flip flops (never wore flip flops!) or flat slippers anymore. I used to have these really great slip on shoes that I loved. I can't remember the brand unfortunately.  If anyone has any great ideas of brands of shoes or slippers that have work well for them, I would like the help.  I need to get some new sneakers also.  The doctor told me my sneakers were bad.

Thanks for any help you send my way!

My Tootsie Been Diagnosed

Okay, I really don't feel well physically but emotionally I feel much better because I finally have a diagnosis on my foot!  At the crack of dawn this morning I went to see the BEST podiatrist and she figured out what was wrong with my foot. I have pain on the top of my foot by my toes and on the ball of my foot by my toes.  I got some x-rays and she poked around (almost made me cry!) to try and figure it all out.  She spent a long time explaining things to me.  I had no idea that folks with RA are more prone to these types of issues; I was destined to have these problems.  She used the old medical adage,  "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." What that means is that if you’re in an area where horses are more common, when you hear hoofbeats outside, it's much more likely to be the sound of horses, not zebras. The idea is that when a patient presents with symptoms that are consistent with a common disease, but are also consistent with a much less common disease, you work under the assumption that it is the more common disease until you can confirm it.  What she said about me is that I am a zebra.  I told her "welcome to my world."  I have always been a zebra since I was diagnosed.

I presented with either a stress fracture or Morton's Naroma.  I went for x-rays and I had no stress fracture.  I also saw that I have very little deterioration in my toe joints which is good.  That meant Morton's Naroma.  She gave me a shot of lidocaine and steroids.  It hurt a bit but not as much as I suspected it would.  Then we waited while we talked.  Then the pain got worse.  Tears were in my eyes.  She started poking around again and said that because the pain was also in the ball of my foot, I also have capsulitis.  That means wearing a boot for 4 weeks.  Yippee!  How did she know that was what I wanted for Christmas?  

If I add up how many weeks I have worn a boot this year, I think it comes to more than 20 weeks.  That would be 5 months, almost half the year.  At least it is not surgery which was my fear.  I didn't want to have surgery over the holidays, well, I didn't want surgery at all.  There is still a chance I could have surgery if it won't go away or if it keeps coming back.  But we will have happy thoughts that the boot will work! 

There you go, the latest diagnosis.  No more walking barefoot around the house.

Makin' Mistakes

Waiting until tomorrow and I go to the doctor's office.  I can't wait to get some relief.

I made a mistake today.  It was a big mistake.  I am not happy when I make mistakes, especially big mistakes.  I know we all make mistakes and it is natural to have a slip up every now and then.  It is just hard when other people don't see it that way.  Other people who think that every thing I do must be perfect.  Who is perfect?  Not me! I make mistakes, that's who I am.

Going to sleep to get ready for the podiatrist.  Yeah!

100 Posts and Cable Needs A Fixin'

This is my 100th post!  When I started this adventure I wasn't sure how far it would go.  It has gone pretty well so far. I enjoy the writing and I think you all enjoy the reading.   

Today is the day I go see the doctor about my foot.  Update to follow!

CABLE, need I say more?  We have had problems with our cable for a long time.  I mean years.  Some of our channels pixelate when the wind blows or it rains or the fog blows in.  It is annoying when you want to watch Animal Planet and it doesn't come in.  Or Bravo and it pixelates so much you hear about 1/3 of the words.  Over the past three months it has gotten worse and now when you try to watch Animal Planet it doesn't even pixelate, it just gives a message that says "call your cable company".  I finally got fed up and called the cable company and got someone to hear me.  I have tried to get the outside line replaced for years.  The guy that came last week changed the cable box and the outside line but the channels still didn't come in.  No Animal Planet.  The cable guy could not check one of the inside cable outlets because I had a bookshelf in the way.  He left me with a bunch of new cable wire and I promised to move the bookshelf over the weekend.  I moved the bookshelf and changed the wire, still no channels. 

I called the cable company and the cable guy came back out.  He checked the outlet behind the bookshelf and then changed the cable box yet again.  Still no channels.  Then he ran a cable line directly from the cable connection in the garage to the box and voila! Animal Planet appeared.  So it turns out the cable outlet behind the bookshelf is the problem so I need to have a new cable outlet put in.  It isn't the best solution but it is the fastest solution.  At least my annoyance with cable will be over.  For all the money I pay each month, I want to watch all the cable channels I pay for!   Now I am waiting for the guy to arrive and finally fix the problem.  Now when I am sick and lying in bed, I will be able to watch Animal Planet or HSN or any channel I want without being annoyed that the movie I want to watch will not come in.  Yeah! 

What is your favorite channel to watch?  Mine is probably USA.  I love Psych, loved Monk, really like a lot of their shows.  I am a character.

Dining Out

After writing, labeling, and stamping almost all the Christmas cards for this year, we decided to got out to dinner.  We had this restaurant.com coupon I got from last year's white elephant party.  I read about this restaurant online that had my kind of food (locally grown, organic, vegetarian/vegan options) and it took the coupon.  I also read some of the reviews and they were mixed. I was not expecting Tavern on the Green and we didn't get Tavern on the Green so I was not disappointed.

I called the restaurant in the afternoon and asked if I needed reservations.  The guy who answered the phone said it would be a good idea.  I said we were coming in early at 5:00pm (we were skipping lunch) and he said it would be better if we came at 5:30pm.  That should have been a sign.  A BIG NEON SIGN.

We arrived at 5:30 and no one was there.  The place was completely empty.  Now I understand that we were eating early but still...  We sat down and looked at the menu.  We ordered and the first thing Brenda wanted they didn't have tonight.  The first thing I wanted, they didn't have tonight.  The second thing Brenda wanted was bacon wrapped prawns with white beans.  They told her that they could not get those ready for her until 8pm.  WHAT?!  They tried to explain that the prep would not be done for 2.5 hours.  We were dumbfounded.  They could not prep four prawns and white beans in 15 minutes?  Give me a break. Brenda says out loud What kind of restaurant is this?  Then the manager/owner came out and told us they would make one serving of the prawns and white beans for her.  Thank you!

As it turns out, my food was really good.  I was happy with my second choice, quinoa and tofu.  The restaurant finally had some other customers show up so we were not the only people in the place.  I would not go back but the food ended up being okay in the end.  Brenda had a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that was delicious but the rest of her food was so-so.  Final verdict: it was an experience but not one I would repeat.

Update on my eye: it is really much better.  Not perfect yet but much better.  Heading in the right direction.

Update on my foot: it is not much better.  It is not as painful because I rested it most of the day.  Tuesday is Dr. day.

Thanks for all your good wishes!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is over and I have eaten all the leftovers, it is time to get ready for Christmas.  Last year I was creative and made all our Christmas cards.  This year I went online and made a photo card with four photos.  Sent it to Walgreens and it was ready in an hour.  Today I printed the address labels and I am ready to go.  I just have to write the notes on the cards and off they go.

I am just about done with all my shopping.  A few years ago I bought an ornament and dropped it off to get engraved.  Each year we get an ornament with our names and the date.  This ornament will have photos also.

Gift giving has been a big discussion in our family this year.  Due to economic reasons and because folks are really busy, the gift giving talk has occurred.  Should everyone buy gifts for everyone or should adults buy just for the kids?  Should there be a grab bag gift giving situation?  Should there be a dollar limit?  We have a pretty big family so if you wait until the last minute, you will get stuck at Walgreens buying Christmas presents.  I suggested being creative with gift giving.  It is not about the amount of money spent on a gift, it has to do with the thought and the energy that went into the gift.  I would be happy with a drawing from my nephew or a bracelet from my niece rather than a sweater from Ross.  I would rather have a new turkey baster (ours died) than some do-dad that I don't need.

Anyway, tomorrow is Christmas card day.  That way I can sit with my foot elevated.  Good news: my eye feels much better today.

What does your family do about Christmas gift giving? 

My Eye, My Eye

World AIDS Day, December 1

Getting to Zero

I went to see an eye doctor today to see what was wrong with my eye.  I thought I had a blocked tear duct.  I was wrong.  I have a blocked oil duct.  I didn't even know eyes had oil ducts. I have inflamation under my eye where the oil is gathering and not releasing.  Doesn't this sound fabulous?  See below to explain:

Posterior blepharitis or rosacea-associated blepharitis

The most common type of blepharitis is often found in people with a Rosacea skin type.  The oil glands in the lid of rosacea sufferers secrete a modified oil which leads to inflammation at the meibomian gland openings which are found at the edge of the lid.

 

I went to the eye doctor after a few days of having a gritty and swollen eye. I had put hot compresses on my eye but it only made it hurt more.  The doctor tried to open the blockage.  You can only guess how one does that.  First he used this soft Q-tip type thing.  That didn't work.  They he took the Q off the Tip and used just the Tip.  Boy did that hurt.  Think: toothpick scraping against the inside of your eye lid.  Yup!  That is just what it felt like.  After doing that for about 5 minutes, he gave up. He was unable to open the blockage but he was able to make me tear!   Yeah! 

 

I left his office with my eye feeling worse than when I got there.  It did feel better during the rest of the day but now it hurts again.  Time for a hot compress. 

 

My foot still hurts and I can't see a doctor until next Tuesday.  I am trying to keep off my foot as much as possible.  Yeah, right, during the holiday season.  Just means more online shopping and movie watching!