Step 1 - take tiny bite of one Weight Watchers Chocolate Caramel Mini Bar (acquired as a freebie at LAST week's meeting...)
Step 2 - take BIG bite of apple
Step 3 - chew
Step 4 - chew
Step 5 - chew
Step 6 - swallow
Step 7 - burp (optional)
Repeat.
YUM.
Seems the plug on my retention issue has been pulled and now it's all draining out, thank goodness. I have a 9.8 pound loss this week, a mere week after reducing THAT MEDICATION (Lyrica) in half. Tomorrow, I get to cut it again by half and eventually I will be totally off this med. WOO HOO!
And I don't know what's up, but I am feeling REALLY GOOD right now. Lots of energy, maybe a little too much because I seem to be driving a couple of my co-workers a little batty with my exuberance. Perhaps even a friend or two - I seem to recall sending a rambling email off yesterday.....something about fondue.....I know I must've sounded crazy.
I think it's a combination of coming off that drug that just made me lethargic, and the B12 injections in my system, nearly 10 less pounds on the frame again, my new love of my 34 oz. insulated coffee mug that I can get refilled at the cafeteria for the same price of a 20 oz. coffee, the steroids that I was prescribed for the pneumonia.......I just don't know. I'm sad that this is the last day of the steroids because I truly do feel better when they are in my system. My joints don't hurt, I feel more limber and more enthusiastic about getting some exercise.
I even took a short walk around campus yesterday. You guys up North are going to hate me for what I'm about to say. I'm sorry. But yesterday around noon was GORGEOUS. It was about 66-67 degrees outside, sunny. I walked out the front of the building and one of the campus frats was having a cookout in the plaza. Students were milling about, birds singing, just lovely. I walked across campus to take some paperwork to another office and then walked to the back of campus to check out what the crowd at the pool looked like because I am considering doing a lunchtime swim a few days a week.
I've even been a lot more productive at work, getting the piles of bills paid that arrived with the piles of books for the beginning of Spring semester.
After work, Tal picked me up and we went over to our weigh-in. Then we went to one of our favorite restaurants (or would that be one of the many locations of our favorite restaurant?)because their half-price hot wings deal ends in a few days. :-) Which reminds me, I still have some leftover hot wings in the fridge......
Adorable, isn't she?
Boy, I'm going to make you wish I never discovered how to embed YouTube videos now, aren't you? Well, if you don't like it I'm gonna come kick your ass.
I mean, I'm gonna kick your butt. Sorry, Mom.
I hate the taste of LifeBuoy.
Lord have mercy- it's when I see videos like this that I'm ashamed to be a white chick:
Bless their little Paula Abdul wanna-be butts!
Tal had a good night at WW this evening. I didn't even go. I just decided I couldn't face the scale tonight after last weigh-in. December 20th's weigh-in had me FINALLY getting to and going over a 50-pound loss. Jan. 7 - the scales showed me 23 pounds heavier.
I know, I know - it's partly the medication that is causing the weight gain, and partly me feeling like "If I'm gonna gain weight anyway, why should i even try?" I know, it's not the best attitude and I'm trying to fight this attitude.
It's been a busy week - first day of classes on Monday and once again students needs books. We did our usual potluck munchies Mon. and Tues. I think I was pretty good - I used light mayo and double fiber bread for my ham sandwiches and ate veggies with hummus instead of chips. I took some delicious cookies - Raspberry Angel Cookies - which are pretty light. They are made from one box of angel food cake mix, 3/4 cup of sugar-free raspberry jam (I used Polaner's seedless) and 3 TBSP of mini chocolate chips. Drop by round tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet, bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes. Oh, so good! You want them to get lightly brown to preserve that lovely pink color. You get about 3 dozen cookies from this recipe, which - for you WW followers - I calculated to be 1 point per cookie.
Since I'm the accounting assistant, and we're selling lots of books, I've got lots of money to count. I tell you, it's a pretty depressing feeling to be holding $10,000 in cash in your hands and know it's not yours. :-) Fall semester, it can be over $25,000. Wonder how long I could make that stretch down in Mexico?
I left my cell phone at home yesterday morning and I had this fear that my doctor would try to call with my test results from Jan. 2, so I called her office instead and left a message with her nurse. The nurse called me back later with the blood test results. Good news is that I don't have arthritis (I'm guessing she was looking for lupus or something?) but I am anemic and have a Vitamin B12 deficiency. What does this mean? I have to now take iron supplements and will need B12 shots. As I sit here typing, beside me on a TV tray lies a box that contains three vials of cyanocobalamin and 40 3ml syringes with some ominous-looking needles on the ends. Guess I get to test my meddle and see if I can administer my own shots. I figured it would hurt less to do that than to pull out my wallet and pay $15 each time I need an injection to have it done at the doctor's office. I told the nurse that I took out my own stitches (all 2 of them)from my leg a couple of days ago and she said, "Oh yeah, if you did that without passing out then I think you can handle giving yourself a shot."
We shall see.
But before I do the first one, I have to go to the doctor's office and have the first one administered and get instruction on how to do the subsequent injections.
Speaking of stitches.....the biopsy on my leg came back benign. It's just some sort of rash and does not require treatment. I don't know if I like that answer. It's SOMETHING - it may not be cancer, but I have these splotches all over my body and I want to know why. Which is what I will ask when I go there tomorrow.
Well, Mr. Gleck is passed out in the chair that is right in front of my desk and that looks like a good idea to me. I think I will take my "Plum Spooky" with me and try to get through a couple chapters before Mr. Sandman pays a visit. Or Mr. Gleck. Whichever comes first.
Say good night Seraphim.
Good night Seraphim.
:-)
My last post kind of brought up a debate that rages within the "Plum Crazy" fans of Janet Evanovich: Who do you think Stephanie should be with? Ranger or Morelli? Who would YOU be with? And, if they ever made these books into a movie or series, who would you cast as the books characters?
IMHO - I think Stephanie should be with Ranger. Morelli is starting to get domesticated and now that he's got that house he's gonna start longing for a wifey-poo and rugrats. That ain't Stephanie. Stephanie can't go a few months without losing her car one way or another - how's she going to keep up with a few kids? Nah, Steph has not a domestic bone in her body. I mean, c'mon - she keeps a gun in her cookie jar for Pete's sake! Martha Stewart would have several heart attacks over that!
As for me.....I'd go for Ranger, too. Dark, dangerous, Latin. Just makes me all tingly!
Excuse me for a moment..........
(While Seraphim's gone, please enjoy the soothing sounds of of Cyndi Lauper's "She-Bop", followed by a classic - "Pictures of Lily" by The Who.)
OK, back to business........if I were to cast a movie/TV series based on the book series, I would choose:
**America Ferarra as Stephanie:
Now tell me - doesn't this picture of him just SCREAM Joe Morelli??!?!?!
.........but I'm so freakin' in love with my freakin' awesome husband!!
To start off, GUESS WHO HE MET TONIGHT?!?!?! (answer below)
(Hint: Look at the books behind them........click on the picture if you can't see them..........NO, not the Social Sciences books, on the OTHER side!)
She was in Charleston tonight doing a book-signing for her newest "between the numbers" book and I was all excited about her being so close and the possibility of going up there to buy the newest book and meeting an author that I totally adore! I mean - I've read just about all of her books, not just the Stephanie Plum series of, what, 20 some-odd books.
But, alas, I had a cake class scheduled for tonight and wouldn't you know it I actually had people sign up for it! (Not that I'm complaining but if I DIDN'T have anything else going on I probably wouldn't have had ANYONE sign up for the class.
So, what did my freakin' awesome husband do? Lucky dog who had the day off (well, actually a teleworking day but he worked all night and slept most of the day) drove up to Charleston, stood in line and got an autographed copy of the latest book for me. He was #359 in line. And apparently he was also asked the question (on my behalf) - Ranger or Morelli? Seeing as he has not read any of the books, he had no idea what that meant. Since he didn't know the answer, he was given a sticker that said, "Plum Crazy" instead. Fine w/ me!
Another thing he did, as he was leaving the Barnes & Noble where the signing was being held, was snatch a bouquet of purple and white balloons with "Plum Crazy" on the purple balloons and a picture of the book on the white ones.
I called him as I was leaving the mall after class as I usually do to let him know I'm heading home and he says he had some GPB business to take care of and was heading home. Said he was at the "Circle K" about to get some gas in the car. I just assumed he meant the one in Pt. Wentworth just 8 miles from our house.
I got home, and he still wasn't there. I ate the food that I'd picked up, checked email, watched some TV and he still had not gotten home. I called him again to find out where he was, and he was about 1/2 and hour away. I said, "I thought you said you were at the Circle K." He said he was, and then I realized I just assumed he was at the one in Pt. Wentworth and probably was at one in Savannah closer to his work. He once again said he had to take care of some GPB business and would tell me all about it when he got home. I thought, "Oh no, he's got that exasperated sound in his voice and with him being out there so late it must be a real doozy of a GPB problem."
He gets home not too much longer, flops down on the chair in front of me looking beat. I said, "So tell me your problems." in my best therapist-like voice. He says, "Oh wait, I left something in the car I need to get out because it's supposed to be cold* tonight." Next thing I know, he's walking in with a bunch of balloons and I see the "Plum Crazy" on the purple one. "Plum Crazy"? Where on earth is a place called "Plum Crazy". What's that all about. Then I see the book and it hits me. I swear, I nearly cried.
Apparently the "GPB" in his "GPB business" stood for "Getting Peanut's** Book".
OK, now you can say, "Awwwwww." And even though I probably shouldn't be kissing him yet, I just HAD to. Just a small, quick one to minimize his radioactivity exposure!
Well now that the excitement is over, I'm going to bed because it's been a long day, it's almost 12:30 a.m., and my alarms starts yelling at me at 5:41 a.m. (although most of the time I don't get up until 6:30!).
"
Good night all! Sleep well! (Meant for those who are probably already sleeping, too!)
-Seraphim "Plum Crazy about my man" Gleck
*As cold as it gets in the arctic Savannah area.
**Peanut, being one of many terms of affection between the two of us. We consider ourselves "two peanuts in the same shell" and will often say to one another, "I love you my Peanut." to which the other says, "I love you MY Peanut."
Welcome to radioactive day #2!
Monday evening, Tal and I were discussing how we were going to drive to work together on the days we went in the car together (days when neither of us have a doc appt. or I have cake class or Tal works from home) if I had to keep him at an arm's length. Neither car would keep me far enough away from him if I were to sit in the front seat as we drove.
So the obvious solution would be for me to sit in the backseat.
I kind of like this arrangement. I sit in the back on the passenger side of the car and Tal can see me in the rear view or if he turns his head to the right, and we can still have conversations. I took the headrest off the front seat and can see the road ahead. I discovered that there is an armrest/cup holder in the back that flips down between the back seats. I totally forgot about that feature! The back seat is just so much more comfortable than the front, especially if I push the front seat forward to give myself plenty of leg room. I tried to push the seat as far forward as I could and then lay the seat down to see if I could create myself a mobile chaise lounge but the seats do not align like that, like the seats in the Honda Element we used to have did (as pictured below):
You know, I really like being chaufferred around. Perhaps I'll make this a permanent thing. I do at times wonder if I may have been royalty in a previous life because at times I have this regal feeling and then try to get all bossy, like people should do my bidding. But the people I try to get bossy with have a tendency to put me back into my place really quickly. *sigh* It's not easy being a middle class princess. :-)
Well, I must be on my way....but not before THIS important announcement.
(See, Tal, THAT is how it's supposed to be done..... LOL!)
Friday....back in the front seat again.
- "Princess Seraphim"
.....my husband can be a real smartass.
So you know that I got my dose of radioactive iodine today. I get home around 6 or so, greet Tal at an arm's distance, and get busy cooking supper and working on 2 cakes for tomorrow.
A few minutes ago, probably about 11:20-ish, I go back to our bedroom to take a radioactive tinkle and notice a "Fall Out Shelter" sign hanging above my side of the bed.
If he wasn't already sleeping on the sofa tonight.........
Tal and I went down to Jacksonville on Saturday to burn up a Williams-Sonoma gift card from the in-laws and spend a little time at Dave and Buster's. While at D&B's, I saw a girl wearing this T-shirt and it totally cracked me up.
It's a shirt I would LOVE to wear to my doctor's office - OMG WTF is up with my health?!?!?!
Last Monday I went to my allergy doctor for a follow-up. While there, I asked him about these spots that I had. A couple of months ago I noticed a small spot on my right thigh just above my knee. I thought it was maybe a bug bite or something, so I didn't think anything of it. Then about a month ago I noticed it had friends, and was getting bigger. Over Christmas, I discovered that it had evolved into a family reunion on my legs, abdomen, stomach, and back.
So, I figured that if anyone would know what it was, it would be my allergy doctor. Well he took one look at the spots, said it was ringworm and that I would need to see my regular doctor.
Friday I went to my regular doctor, who said it wasn't ringworm and she really wasn't sure what it was but wanted to do a biopsy. She did a "punch", which means she used an instrument to punch out a piece of the flesh on the edge of the lesion. Don't worry, she numbed it before she did that so I didn't feel a thing. I didn't watch, though. I think that might have been a bit much. She did show me the piece. I found it a bit fascinating. This was a little piece of my body, about the size of a pencil eraser, floating around in formaldehyde in a little plastic container the size of a film canister.
She also ordered some bloodwork - 4 vials worth of blood was taken. She stated that she's concerned I may have developed an immunological disorder and wanted to do some tests.
So now, here I sit with two stitches in my leg and a mountain of anxiety over what this possible new ailment could be. I'm just hoping that whatever it is, it will tie together all the other stuff that's going on with me, is treatable, and can finally allow me to continue in my effort to improve my health.
Well I guess if I am starting the New Year like this, then it's GOT to get better. Right? :-)
OHHHH, it's getting late and I go back to work tomorrow after a week and a half off. Ugh, it's going to be tough.
Will update when I find out what's going on with the old bod!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
