Thursday, April 23, 2009

Friends

When I started blogging here, it was just so my sister could read about my daily life and know what was going on with me, since we live about 1,200 miles apart from one another. Heather had me on her little blogroll thing on the side, so the people who read her eventually ended up here. (I'm sorry). I really mostly talk about nothing. I like to tell funny stories about the things that I've done that have been less than wise, or the things that have happened to me. Weird stuff happens to me a lot. Most people think the stories are funny in real life, so I figured I'd entertain my sister with them too. Then people started sticking around. They started commenting and laughing with me and it was like I had made new friends.

One of my new friends, Della, just found out that she had a miscarriage.

I don't have children. I have nieces and nephews who I love more than I thought I could like a snot-vomit-poop machine...but that's not the same. I have never had to experience the excitement of finding out you're pregnant, then the devastation of something going wrong.

All I can say to Della is that I'm so sorry. You are my friend and I'm sorry. I know it's not enough...but know that we (your online friends you may never meet) love you and we are thinking and praying for you. Because that's what friends do.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Post number 102!

About a week ago I noticed that I was getting close to post number 100! WOW!

But then I forgot.

It was clearly very important to me! :0

So, today, when I signed in to post, I realized that I missed post number 100 so instead I'll just celebrate post number 102.

Seriously...I can't even imagine that I'd have enough to say to fill 102 posts. errm. riiiight.


Today is Administrative Professionals Day, and although I serve mostly as an Ophth. Tech, I also serve as our Administrative professional. The Clinic Manager got every Administrative professional a little flower-boutonniere-corsage thingy to wear. Lucky for me, I wore the junkiest scrubs I could manage today. I feel sort of like I'm wearing a crown encrusted with 1,000 diamonds in my pajamas. yay! I do appreciate the gesture. It's nice for someone to thank you for how hard you work...but my boss (in my department) thanks me for my hard work at least once a week. I'm lucky that way. Also? Flowers make me sneeze...so the idea of having a little bundle of flowers approximately 5 inches from my nostrils doesn't exactly make me excited for the onslaught of sneezes that are in my future.

In other news, there was a very interesting lecture on eating disorders during lunch today. I was actually pretty impressed by the information presented. It was very thorough. I quite enjoyed it as I crunched on my salad while everyone else was eating Indian food. It was okay though, because I find most of the offerings of Indian food catch up with me soon after I've swallowed.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment. I'm not very excited. I always thought that dentists, proctologists, and gynecologists must be major sadists or something. And seriously, can you think of 3 more horrible places to have your hands in? Mouth, bottom, tootie-ta. See! I told you. You're snarling your nose up now, aren't you?

Speaking of tootie-ta's. I have one more story before I go. When I was about 18 I was having some sort of kidney pain or something. It was only on one side (which pretty much rules out kidneys) and it wasn't constant. It came and went like the north star. (well, honestly, I think the North Star is pretty constant, isn't it?) Anyway, I went to the doctor and after a series of questions they decide they need to do a pelvic exam. I was like, umm okay? Thinking that I would just lay down and they'd just poke on my belly or something. NOPE. The nurse pulls out a sheet and says, "Take your clothes off and wrap up in this sheet." I was like, "Take what?" She looked at me--clearly unamused by my shyness--and repeated "Take your clothes off and wrap up in that sheet." I said (probably a little more panic-y than I meant) "what clothes?" and she so kindly informed me that she meant MY clothes. I said, again pulling her from the door she was trying to exit, "Which clothes?? ALL of them???? WHY???" The nurse informed me that the doctor wanted to "invade my private space and make me horribly embarrassed then talk about me when I left." OK. maybe that's not exactly what the nurse said. But I was not having it at all. I waited until the nurse left and counted to ten. Then....I gathered my things and RAN out of that doctor's office.

Funny thing was I never had anymore side pain after that.

Monday, April 20, 2009

I SO wasn't trying to be secretive...

The study I'm doing is measuring the effects of "undereating" on Insulin and Glucose in your body. It's basically Nutritionally-induced Insulin Resistance. They give me my food...I eat only and all of the food they give me...and then 3 times over a 12 week period I go into the hospital. The hospital stays are the worst! At first, while you're unpacking your little overnight bag and you're setting out your phone charger and you're fluffing your pillows and you're looking out the window at all the wonderful city lights you think, "Ahhhh. This is niiiiiiiice." But then, when they wake you up the next morning at 5:30 and start shoving needles into your veins and drawing blood every 5 minutes and injecting you with all sorts of things you start thinking that it's not so great. Then, when they start cutting into your leg, all the way down to your muscle and take a piece and you can feel that the doctor has gotten the instrument she's using stuck inside your leg and is tugging and tugging but can't seem to free the cannula, you start thinking...WHAT DID I SIGN UP FOR?!

But once it's over, you forget how bad it was...sort of like childbirth (or so I'm told). You'd really have to ask someone like Della about that.

Anyway, one of the side effects is losing about 10-15 % of your body weight *yippee!* and then I get paid at the end also. And let's not forget how much I'm saving by not having to buy groceries.

But I have been hungry. I'm not going to lie. And sometimes it seems that every stinkin commercial on TV is about food. I don't even like chocolate-covered brussell sprouts in a yam and coffee sauce, but when I see a commercial for chocolate-covered brussell sprouts in a yam and coffee sauce my mouth starts watering.

And in case you're wondering, no. that's not a real food. At least I hope it's not. Unless, of course you're the maker of chocolate covered brussell sprouts with a yam-coffee sauce...in which case...YUMMMM. ;0

Anyway, so, I'm holding steady at the 12 pound weight loss mark. (also just in case you're wondering...that is NOT 10 percent of my body weight...but thanks for thinking that!) I think my body has gotten used to the amount of food I'm eating now, so I just have to step it up with a little activity! Then I should start shedding some weight!

So, that's the study. Not as interesting as cancer research or trying to find a cure for a disease...but still...more interesting than chocolate covered brussell sprouts. :)

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Insert cute and catchy title here...

Good Morning. Yesterday I was in a horrible mood, so I didn't post anything. I started posting a whiny little rant, but I deleted it and went about my business of being mad and looking at people meanly.

Today, I'm feeling much better.

Also, yesterday, I forgot to eat supper. That has never happened in my life. I've never forgotten to eat a meal. never. But yesterday I did.

Also, I have found my love for Christian music again. I stopped listening to it for a while because I swore they never played anything you'd ever heard before. But yesterday I turned it on again, and every song was one I knew and liked. So I jammed to K-Love all day! I danced and sang and had a good ol' time while I was cleaning last night. If anyone could have seen me through the window, I think they would have thought I was crazy!

My study visit on Friday (last week) was okay. It's never fun, but once it's over it's not that big of a deal. The incision from the muscle biopsy isn't as sore this time, which is good. Last time I was limping around like a hobb-along.

Church for Easter was really really good. I really enjoyed it...but MAN was it crowded. They had also scooted the rows together a little more than they usually are, so I literally had my knees butted up against the seat in front of me. But it was good, nonetheless.

And, in other news...So far, since the beginning of the study I've been doing, I've lost 11.6 pounds. :) yay!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

It's Friday, But Sunday's coming!

I know...it's only Thursday...but I have to go to the hospital again tonight for an overnight stay for my study...so I won't be posting tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Good Friday. When I was growing up I knew what Easter was about, and why we celebrated. I understood that the sacrifice Jesus made was for me and I was thankful. And I celebrated Easter like any kid would.

Last year was the first year I really considered what Easter is. Last year was the first year I really tried to think about how it must have been to have been a disciple of Jesus when He was crucified. I tried to think about how God must have felt allowing such horrible things to happen to his son, so that we can life. I tried to ponder how Jesus must have felt, knowing the horrible things he was about to endure.

And it overwhelmed me. I spent most of last year's Easter weekend mourning Jesus' death. I spent lots of time sad and guilty about what I caused Jesus to go through. Then the Children's Pastor at our church sent out an email to all the volunteers. It said something to the effect of "some of you might be tempted to be sad today, because of what Jesus went through for you...but remembering what Jesus did for you be thankful. Be grateful and celebrate that you have life abundant now! Thank God for what He did, instead of being sad about it! Jesus WILLINGLY made the sacrifice for you, because he loves you!"

It was just the reminder I needed. So this Easter, I'll be celebrating that I have life abundant because Jesus willingly made a sacrifice of his life! I just needed a different perspective!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Random Ramblings...

So, since Sunday, (which I know has only been 2 days) I've lost 2.6 pounds. I hope that means that the rest of the 2 months are going to go exactly as I would like. :)

Also, I am starting to get not one, not two, but THREE fever blisters on my bottom lip. I felt them starting to come up before they actually appeared, so I think I might have knocked them out with Abreva. Man! that stuff is good!

And they're saying that it's going to RAIN on Wednesday. I cannot tell you how happy I am for two reasons: 1. It's not snow. 2. I love the rain and it rarely rains here, so I'm really excited about it! I might even have to play in it!

Yesterday was such a productive day for me. After work I went to Petsmart to get some dog food. I usually get the little bags and they don't last that long. I saw that they had the bigger 20 pound bags on sale, though, so I decided to live large and get the big bag! Super size it, please! So, then I started thinking on my way out about where/how I was going to store all this dog food! I ran over to Target and found this cute green rubbermaid-type containter for 4.99 and it worked gloriously. I was really proud of myself. :)
Then when I got home there was A TON of work to do in the house. About 10 years worth of laundry was calling my name along with a dirty house that I didn't get motivated and clean over the weekend. So, I worked and worked and worked my tail off yesterday. I didn't finish until around 8pm. WHEW! But when I did finish, it looked so nice! I also changed my roommate's sheets into some new ones she got as a gift and she didn't know. So when she got home from work last night at 10:30 she was surprised that her new sheets were on her bed! :)

Also, I think I am going to ask the girls' book group that we're doing to start meeting at a Star*bucks close to home, b/c it's just soooo much to have people over two nights in a row, and sometimes people linger too long and when we have stuff we need to do and don't want to shove someone out the door, it gets a little tricky. I wonder if that's rude or not...to ask everyone to meet at a central location instead of one person's house. hmmm.

Anyway...people here are wearing shorts today. The high was like 70. It's such a perfect day here today! Thank you GOD!!!

P.S. Thanks to everyone who reads here and comments. It's really really nice to have people respond to you. Y'all are becoming such nice friends! :)

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Changes are going to come...

So, Sunday I start this "diet". It's actually the second phase of a study I'm doing. But the short-story point is that they provide me with (real/regular, low-fat) food for two months...free...all my food. No groceries will be bought for two months. It's low calorie, low fat food. Portioned out for me...prepared and packed for me everyday. The main effect is not weight loss...but a side effect is. So I hope I lose some! I'm going to maximize my efforts to lose as much as possible during these two months...and then hopefully I'll have created healthy eating habits and continue eating right at the end of their two month period.

Also, I'm starting this Book/Bible study with some girls in my CommUNITY group. The book is, "Do You Think I'm Beautiful." by Angela Thomas. The gist of it is that God desires a relationship with us that is so intimate that we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, instead of defining ourselves by the "world's" standards. I mean, let's face it...I have terribly poor self esteem. There are so many things that contribute to this fact...and this study forces you to come to terms with the things that are hindering you from living a full life. We're just in the first week...and it's already good. I'll pass along what I'm learning every once in a while. :)

And lastly, I'm thinking about school more and more lately. I know I'm not quite ready to go back...but I think I'm starting to narrow down what I'd like to do. I used to think I wanted to do School Counseling...but the more I research the more I think I don't want to do that. For a long time I have entertained the idea of doing Occupational Therapy, but I've always told myself that I'm not smart enough to handle the science classes that OT would entail. After working where I work for so long now, and learning so much, and seeing that I can excel at science-y things...I'm starting to think I can do it.

Sorry for the boring material today. I just thought I would share what's going on in my life currently. :)