Sunday, November 22, 2009

MEDICAL APPT BREEDS OBCESSION

So here I sit on the sofa watching my man sleep, hearing Loki snore, as we get ready to get ready for his big day tomorrow. He is going to have a colonoscopy at the Vets tomorrow and in about an hour he starts he yucky part. He has been really good about the not eating, and has downed lots of water, some chicken broth and some tea. He is tired, weak and cold already and the late morning started with an aura. He promised me he'd bea baby about this, but so far he's a trooper.

We are staying home today and even though I am supposed to take care of our fellowship meeting, I am leaning toward staying here with him. It isn't like I don't have loads to do and, well, you know.....

So I have taken a shower and packed my purse and another bag for the trip. I have obcessed to an interesting point. I bought a book for the occasion and I am real excited to read it. But I have been following a routine of music, art and study and I decided on how to keep to that. So I packed a study guide on physics, shorthand, a empty notebook and an inspiration book from my mother. I think I will put it in the trunk just to feel better. You know, in case we stay over nite or something. Not!, but that is the way my mind thinks. We don't watch TV, and if he sleeps, I need to keep quietly busy.

I also have taken an extra book for him and some tatting and crochet. That is a must for my sanity. Somehow just having them in my purse helps. I have 2 clean hankies, my jewelry and a shaw packed. The more I feel ready for any situation, the better I am. And what is the truth here? I am just concerned about my man. And how will I probably be spending my time - lovingly watching him breathe, like now.....

Friday, November 20, 2009

SUCCESS!

Today is the best day of getting done what I had planned on, plus+ in a very long time. And I would have not thought it possible when I got up this morning. I was up at 3:30 am just feeling miserable, again. My left side hurt immeasureably, both the leg and shoulder. DH switched me places, and as I tried to sleep on the sofa for the next hour, I even started blaming the fish for not being calm enough. I finally came in and out of sleep until the alarm went off at 6 a.m.

I proceeded late with my morning routine,which upsets all the furries. So, DH is off to work and I finally started to move. All furries and basics were taken care of finally in the morning routine, and I convinced myself that if I don't do my exercise next I lose the timing and suffer for it later. So I exercise and then play the piano. This schedule change has been good for me. Since the piano bench is moved out so I can do chair aerobics, it makes sense to play when I move it back to place.

After the interruption of a good friend, with a nice visit, I was back to making puppy food and starting supper. Supper was my invention of a pizza made with corn tortillas and all the vegetables in the fridge. I prceeded to package the yogurt I made yesterday, make an Amish Friendship bread starter and set some dough for Sourdough rolls for Thanksgiving. While I was doing all of this I listened to 3 adudio lessons on Literature and one on Music Theory. Just before my husband was home I was able to get out my Botanical Illustration book and do 2 drawings. IT WAS A GREAT DAY!

While I was eating a snack before our Fellowship mtg I looked up some easy cheese recipes for Thanksgiving. found some super easy ones and I am psyched! I have to watch my eating. When I hurt alot - I eat alot! I am down to 125 and would like to lose another 5 pounds.

So even tho there wasn't any sewing done - it was a great day of progress!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

IT GOT STRANGE

So much got done today, but not in any way that I imagined. We had poached eggs for breakfast and I felt good enough to make them and get the kichen clean afterwards, and the rest of my morning routine. DH did his exercises and started his day. More spoiling continued after that.

I am severely into plants. I love to grown veggies outside and flowers in and out. I work at being able to grown things all year around. One of the ways that I do that is by having a cold frame. I have had a lot of success with them in the past, with tons of fresh greens all winter. I have not done this the last 2 years or so, because of the pups. Loki kinda killed the cold frame when he was a pup, and where it used to be, is the place Ming loves to sleep and lay outside.

But i wanted this year to be different. DH and I decided on a new place for it that I could still access from the back patio in bad weather and about a week ago he turned over the soil for me. DH hates farming - and all plants, including houseplants are considered farming. I have explained that since I have learned no till gardening we only need to do these things 1 time. ( I think that helps.)

Well, we were going to do it last Sunday, then Wednesday, Saturday, and finally Today. I could tell DH was not happy with helping me, but he is a lovin' man! I explained that him with a spade it would take 20 minutes, me with a trowl it would take about 2 hours. So after his shower we went out to assemble the cold frame. He would dig a trench one partition ahead of me and fortunately there were only 6 panels and the lid. So after each panel was in place and dirt surrounded it I fortified it with duct tape. 20 minutes later we have a cold frame. All I have to do now is consult the Almanac for planting days.

After this I started to get ready for the Drumming Session we had planned to go to. As I got ready and came out, I noticed that Mister looked really tired. And adding to that we had just found out that we had to facilitate a meeting tonite and that he had about 2 hours of work to do today. I opted that we stay home. He felt real bad, but I really believed it was for the best and we can drum on our own later.

Now is the weird part. He looked tired. Remember that.He started by running the sweeper in the house and I made coffee. He settled into work and I got comfy on the sofa and worked on writing down the new Tai Chi exercises I am implimenting into the Monday class. All of a sudden I was gripped by the pain that I had talked about in my last post, this morning. It was in my shoulder, thigh, hips and elbows. Finally, I gave up, after I took some Cammomile and Aleve that DH brought to me, turned off my laptop and covered myself up, lying in a semi ball on the sofa. The weird part - he was tired, remember - I slept 2 hours. I woke feeling much better and he never slept and looked great. Go figure.

So at his suggestion, we went to eat Mexican, got elbow braces for me and a vaporizer for the bedroom. He is lying down as I write this, just before we go to facilitate the fellowship meeting. I am wide awake and feeling pretty good. As I said before - GO FIGURE!

Too Early and Too Late

So here I am up before the rest of the family. Even the pups are asleep. My DH is up and down, in and out of slumber. I have been having a lot of physical pain lately and it has been taking more of a toll on me than I would like. I have not been able to just plow thru it all day lately, especially in the last few.

I am having pains in my left thigh, my elbows and my left shoulder, occasionally the right. Sitting up helps alot of it and also keeping warm and well armed with Aleve and Cammomile. But it doesn't leave for long. I am by far better in the mornings, the more I move around the better. This is when I do the most house work, so that is to my benefit. I have not done dinner for several days now. My DH has been wonderful, too wonderful, too easy for me to sidestep things. Smile.

Thursday I went to Ladies Aid and the afternoon was consumed with the decision making of what to do with the money we made at the bazaar. Decisions still aren't made and the whole procedure was and is still very frustrating. I seem to come home exhausted from Ladies Aid. I am glad my officer-ship will be up next month.

So that night I think we did sandwiches. I came home and wanted to do something special for my DH and rid off the desk in the library so he has a place to write. I worked on tidying that room. But it seemed like after that, my energy was spent. On Friday we got take out and on Saturday he cooked out - my fav! I am the most spoiled wife!

Things came to a head for me yesterday though when I realized that I had let things go so much that I was out of pup food, we had to buy yogurt because I had not made it, and horror of horrors, I had no hard boiled eggs in the house. So I went about doing all three! We watched 4 comic sequences of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which was a great laugh, but by the end I realized I had not turned off the pup food, and wasnot able to package it last nite.

So here I am this morning, getting ready to "dress to shoes" and realizing that I have to maybe go to smaller baby steps on some days in getting things done. Of course, I am referring to Flylady.net techniques and I am seeing how progress is ify and I need to go a little more by the flow of my body, if I am to keep up and get things done.

I think alot of this could be fixed by working more in both control journals. I need to better see all the tasks that need to be done - which ones that can float and which ones that cannot also. Then I have to work on the holidays. All the shopping is done, but the making is hardly started. I need to divide the tasks into steps, so I can do a little at a time. Then I can seize the moment, instead of thinking something will take forever and not doing it at all.

DH has some Vet Clinic appts coming up so it is imperative that I am on the ball and the house is in order! One thing that I could do, that has just come to me, is to make supper in the morning. Then even if I have to refrigerate it - it is done. That is the time of day when my energy is waning. Then, if I am having a hard time all that would need to be done, is to re-heat. We got 2 new crockpots so I should not have to make puppy food as many times a week. There are things in place to save my energy, I just need to find ways to work with them - actually work with myself.

If I impliment some of these changes then I could use the down time for creative activities. Whether these be playing the piano, writing, reading or working on my Christmas projects, these things can almost always be done even when I am not feeling on top.

So------- thank you all for listening. Actually just writing this, things are clearer. Now, 3, 2, 1 GO!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

The Last Couple Days

The Last Couple Days have been incredible! So much as happened, or I have been happening?

Wednesday nite we went to the Big City and listened to Rita Mae Brown read from her new memoir book. She was absolutely delightful! DH got us the book (so spoiled I am) and we stuck around a little while, but realized that in no way would we be staying for a signature. My youngest nephew watched the children and Loki and eaten a package of cream cheese, package and all, that afternoon, so we were concerned. He ended up being fine.

We left 1 1/2 hours early, then found out we were at the wrong place. We rectified it in no time and I am grateful that my DH has a sense of humor about such things and is not afraid to ask for directions. All's well that ends well.

Friday was our last day baking Springerles at the church. Wow! On the last day we did only Lemon and only 6 batches. Scary that we can say only to 58 dozen cookies, eh? When all is said and done, in 4 days, in 2 weeks, we baked 380 dozen cookies. It was great. And especially it was wonderful that we got someone new involved. Hopefully she will carry on and this tradition will last somewhere.

That afternoon I came home and carved our Jack O Lantern. We have not done that before and it felt so good. One thing my Grandmother finally got thru my head was to make the holidays special in your home for yourself and loved ones. We don't have to have a lot of people, but we need to make the days special - all of them in some way.

Saturday was Halloween - and a special one to all of you. The Fall holidays are my favorite and this is no exception! DH and I spent the morning doing errands and visiting our friend at the bike shope. Then last nite we had pumpkin soup, watched 3 Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dh made popcorn. I am sooo spoiled! What a nice Halloween!

This weekend I have read Dan Brown's, The Lost Symbol. Wow - what a book. Fortunately I am married to someone that does not think reading at least 1/2 the day is a waste of time. Altho I did not quite 200 pages between Thursday and Saturday, I read the remaining, let's say at least, 570 pages, between last nice and noon this morning. Dan Brown can definately weave a tale and keep enough turns in a mystery to keep you guessing. Also, as with his other books. I feel that only the story is fictional, not the meaning. I am very interested in Noetic Science Institute now, and will be keeping up on their internet site. Not only does it let me look differently at today, but ancient times and the role religion has played in my life. There's a new world coming - inside and out for me I believe. More on this later I am sure.

In spite of my reading, we both got a lot of work done around the house and it is only 2. When I got up and about I was able to keep moving and not get overwhelmed because of my Flylady.net training. I had a sinkful of dishes, which is rare for me nowadays, as I usually have the kitchen in a ready state by the time I go to bed. Last nite with our celebrating and reading I let it go. I was able to do the dishes in about 15 minutes and the rest of the morning chores in about 1/2 hour. DH ran the sweeper and mowed the yard. I am on our 3rd load of laundry, with bed clothes etc and am still washing and drying.

We will leave the house later to go to the Concert Association and hear the Brass Band of Columbus. Music really revives me, and I am sure this will not be any different. Our last concert on Sunday last week was well worth it, and this I believe will be a lot of fun. Afterwards we have a fellowship meeting and then I am sure we will probably drop!

NANO starts today, and I course I have not written my 1700 words for the day. I am not too distressed. I figured on 2000 words a day, 6 days a week, it seems more practical. With the church Bazaar coming up tho, next sunday will not be a free day. But I will enjoy this one, and realize that the fact that I am writing on the blog is a good thing.