Last week I had an appointment with my new GP and she ordered a bunch of bloodwork so she could get baselines for a lot of different things. Having not seen a GP regularly since approximately 2007 I was pretty sure that the bloodwork would reveal that I was dying. Alas, I am not dying. As a matter of fact I appear to be pretty darn healthy. My Vitamin D is a little low so I need to start taking a supplement more regularly again, but this isn't hugely surprising since I live someplace where there isn't regular uninterrupted sunshine for 5-6 months a year and for a few of those months it's too darn cold to spend much time outside even when the sun is shining. Plus it's not nearly as low as it was a couple of years ago so that's good too.
Related, here is a bit of info on Vitamin D deficiency. It's extremely common in people that live in winter weather climates and I've heard it's near epidemic proportions for people who live in the US and Canada. It takes a simple blood test to find out if you are deficient and you can purchase the supplement relatively inexpensively and over the counter (at least here in the US).
I'm glad everything came back fine and that I'm not dying. I was sort of hoping that there would be some sort of medical explanation for my insomnia/exhaustion, but there does not appear to be. But that's ok, and I'll address it at a different appointment a little bit later.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Ewwwww!
Hubs and I share a lot of things. We have a communal sock drawer. We wear a lot of the same t-shirts. We have dog boots and a jacket that we wear when walking the dog or taking him out. We don't even mind if the other takes a sip out of whatever the other is drinking. It's safe to say that after nearly nine years together we've exchanged a lot of cooties. But I draw the line at toothbrushes, so to eliminate the possibly of this happening I buy two different colors and assign one to each of us.
The other night we were getting ready to go to bed and I saw something that disgusted me. Hubs was using MY toothbrush. I immediately pointed this out to him, to which he replied "mine is the red one and yours is green." And I was like "no, mine is the red one and yours is green." At this point he pointed out that we'd been using the same toothbrush since I bought these ones around the beginning of December. I was disgusted. He was unbothered.
I am happy to report that we now have new toothbrushes and that he knows which one is his.
*****
To further illustrate the differences between hubs and me, I give you this example. Hubs handles all of our financials*. This is something that he does really well, even keeping an old fashioned check register (something I haven't done since approximately 2002 when my bank introduced online banking) and then balances to the online banking total weekly. Whatever, he handles everything, and I don't dispute his methods. Anyway, yesterday morning he was paying some bills and was getting visibly frustrated. The source of his frustration? Apparently the balance he showed and the balance the bank showed were off. How much were they off? Ten cents. Not 10 dollars. Not 100 dollars. Not 1000 dollars. A dime. Ten pennies. One tenth of one dollar. To me this is literally no big deal at all. None. Back in the day when I actually kept a check register, I didn't get stressed until there was a disagreement approaching $100. To be within a dime would have been a cause for celebration. To him, one penny is a crisis.
I chose this as a good time to go grocery shopping so I could get out of the house, since the alternative was to pour over a bunch of financial crap to find a dime. I'm not being dramatic or exaggerating when I say that I would prefer dental work to this task. Thankfully, by the time I got home he had found the offending dime and everything was balanced to his satisfaction.
*I always am "in the know" about all of our finances, he's just the one who's responsible for making sure the bills are paid on time, transferring money to savings, etc.
*****
Addendum to my Welcome, 2016 post:
When I wrote about my October-December reading, I had a feeling that I was leaving something out, and sure enough, I did. I left out The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. This book was a gift from a friend who thought I'd enjoy it. First off, the book isn't religious at all. You could just as easily replace "heaven" with "the afterlife" or similar. Essentially the book follows the narrator after his death as he meets five different people whose life he impacted, some of which he didn't even realize. It's a really good book (and a quick read!) that makes you realize that as you go about your life that the people you meet can change the trajectory of your life, sometimes without you even realizing it.
With the addition of this book, met my reading goal for 2015!
The other night we were getting ready to go to bed and I saw something that disgusted me. Hubs was using MY toothbrush. I immediately pointed this out to him, to which he replied "mine is the red one and yours is green." And I was like "no, mine is the red one and yours is green." At this point he pointed out that we'd been using the same toothbrush since I bought these ones around the beginning of December. I was disgusted. He was unbothered.
I am happy to report that we now have new toothbrushes and that he knows which one is his.
*****
To further illustrate the differences between hubs and me, I give you this example. Hubs handles all of our financials*. This is something that he does really well, even keeping an old fashioned check register (something I haven't done since approximately 2002 when my bank introduced online banking) and then balances to the online banking total weekly. Whatever, he handles everything, and I don't dispute his methods. Anyway, yesterday morning he was paying some bills and was getting visibly frustrated. The source of his frustration? Apparently the balance he showed and the balance the bank showed were off. How much were they off? Ten cents. Not 10 dollars. Not 100 dollars. Not 1000 dollars. A dime. Ten pennies. One tenth of one dollar. To me this is literally no big deal at all. None. Back in the day when I actually kept a check register, I didn't get stressed until there was a disagreement approaching $100. To be within a dime would have been a cause for celebration. To him, one penny is a crisis.
I chose this as a good time to go grocery shopping so I could get out of the house, since the alternative was to pour over a bunch of financial crap to find a dime. I'm not being dramatic or exaggerating when I say that I would prefer dental work to this task. Thankfully, by the time I got home he had found the offending dime and everything was balanced to his satisfaction.
*I always am "in the know" about all of our finances, he's just the one who's responsible for making sure the bills are paid on time, transferring money to savings, etc.
*****
Addendum to my Welcome, 2016 post:
When I wrote about my October-December reading, I had a feeling that I was leaving something out, and sure enough, I did. I left out The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. This book was a gift from a friend who thought I'd enjoy it. First off, the book isn't religious at all. You could just as easily replace "heaven" with "the afterlife" or similar. Essentially the book follows the narrator after his death as he meets five different people whose life he impacted, some of which he didn't even realize. It's a really good book (and a quick read!) that makes you realize that as you go about your life that the people you meet can change the trajectory of your life, sometimes without you even realizing it.
With the addition of this book, met my reading goal for 2015!
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Today
Today I had my appointment with my new GP. I didn't particularly like her but I didn't hate her either. So I think I'll deal with her because finding a new doctor in my insurance network and within a reasonable distance from home is a pain in the butt. I don't know what I was hoping for but I guess I wanted somebody to actually listen, and beyond the questions that the computer wants her to ask, and she really didn't do that. But I left with orders for a bunch of blood tests (thyroid, blood glucose, Vitamin D, and a few others that I can't remember at the moment) and that appointment is on Saturday morning.
Some of the blood tests require fasting and she asked that I abstain from alcohol for 48 hours before the test. You get one guess what's sitting on the table beside my computer at this very moment. :)
I got home from my appointment and checked my mail. In the mail was a baby shower invitation to my sister's baby shower. She knows I'm not going and I don't know why she wasted the postage to send me an invitation. I wish her all the best, I really do, and I hope it's a fun time, but my mind is made up about not going, and that's not going to change.
On a related note, she (pregnant sister) called me this afternoon and asked if I would please come to her fancy 3D ultrasound with her on Saturday. Because apparently non-medically needed ultrasounds are now a thing? This is where it's really hard to balance being the big sister and taking care of myself. Honestly I feel like crap that I told her no. There was no good choice on this one. Either her feelings were going to be hurt or I was was going to put myself in a situation that no good could possibly come of it. I really am excited for her but no. I just can't do that. So I chose myself and told a little white lie that I already had plans for Saturday morning. Then I scheduled my blood draw for Saturday morning so I really do have plans. I really am ready for her to not be pregnant anymore.
Finally, my hot flashes are kicking it up a notch again. I pulled the trash and recycle to the curb tonight in shorts and a t-shirt. It was approximately 20F (-6C) outside. It felt good. And my neighbor told me I was too young to be wandering around on a January night in summer clothes.
So that was my day. Well, work too, of course.
Some of the blood tests require fasting and she asked that I abstain from alcohol for 48 hours before the test. You get one guess what's sitting on the table beside my computer at this very moment. :)
I got home from my appointment and checked my mail. In the mail was a baby shower invitation to my sister's baby shower. She knows I'm not going and I don't know why she wasted the postage to send me an invitation. I wish her all the best, I really do, and I hope it's a fun time, but my mind is made up about not going, and that's not going to change.
On a related note, she (pregnant sister) called me this afternoon and asked if I would please come to her fancy 3D ultrasound with her on Saturday. Because apparently non-medically needed ultrasounds are now a thing? This is where it's really hard to balance being the big sister and taking care of myself. Honestly I feel like crap that I told her no. There was no good choice on this one. Either her feelings were going to be hurt or I was was going to put myself in a situation that no good could possibly come of it. I really am excited for her but no. I just can't do that. So I chose myself and told a little white lie that I already had plans for Saturday morning. Then I scheduled my blood draw for Saturday morning so I really do have plans. I really am ready for her to not be pregnant anymore.
Finally, my hot flashes are kicking it up a notch again. I pulled the trash and recycle to the curb tonight in shorts and a t-shirt. It was approximately 20F (-6C) outside. It felt good. And my neighbor told me I was too young to be wandering around on a January night in summer clothes.
So that was my day. Well, work too, of course.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
New look
Over the weekend I decided that I needed some change in my life. That I needed to do something on impulse and just for fun. So I cut off my hair. Like six inches of it. And colored it. It's fun and I really like it, though I was hoping that the color would turn out a bit more red.
It's been a long time since I've taken the plunge and done something like this. I need to get back in the habit of doing things like this. For fun. Just because I want to.
Is anyone else impulsive with their hair or has ever made a drastic change to it? Or is it just me?
It's been a long time since I've taken the plunge and done something like this. I need to get back in the habit of doing things like this. For fun. Just because I want to.
Is anyone else impulsive with their hair or has ever made a drastic change to it? Or is it just me?
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Welcome, 2016
This is going to be somewhat of a catch up post. Sorry if it's a bit disjointed.
October-December Reading
I intended to blog monthly about the books I read that month as a measure of accountability for one of my resolutions for the year. Then I got super busy. To close out 2015, I read the following books:
2015 Year In Review
The good:
*****
2015 ended pretty uneventfully, but for the first time in a really, really long time I didn't enter the new year by giving the middle finger to the previous year. I was stretched and challenged so much in 2015, but I also grew so much. I'm starting 2016 with a feeling of lightness and hope. So on that note, my goals for this year are:
2016 Goals:
October-December Reading
I intended to blog monthly about the books I read that month as a measure of accountability for one of my resolutions for the year. Then I got super busy. To close out 2015, I read the following books:
- The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
- Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
2015 Year In Review
The good:
- I survived the birth of two nieces, the pregnancies that led to them, and the pregnancy of my third sister.
- Hubs started a new job/career. Yeah, I know this one isn't about me, but I can't help but think that this wouldn't have been possible if we had kids or were still in the midst of infertility.
- Hubs and I are growing closer together. Infertility really did a number on our relationship, but we survived, and now we're making up for lost time. We're working on communicating better and I'm working on doing a better job of sharing my feelings with him. My default strategy has always been to retreat within myself to deal with hard stuff, but I'm working really hard to move away from that.
- Amazing friends. Both friends I know in the flesh and those who I know online and haven't met (yet).
- Hubs and I prioritized ourselves and our needs in relation to family expectations and obligations, particularly during the holiday season.
- So many pregnant sisters.
- My dad had a heart attack and it hit me pretty hard that my parents aren't going to live forever. I mean, I understand that we are born, live, and die, but this was the closest I've come to losing either parent. (He's doing great now!)
- Survive the birth of both of my nieces without going off of the deep end-YES! With a "bonus" pregnancy to boot.
- Continue to feel what I'm feeling.-I think I did a pretty good job of this. It wasn't easy, but I did it.
- Continue to hit the gym. For the first six months of the year I did great, then it became sporadic. Run a 5k or 10K. Nope. Because the truth is that I hate running.
- Read two books per month-See above.
*****
2015 ended pretty uneventfully, but for the first time in a really, really long time I didn't enter the new year by giving the middle finger to the previous year. I was stretched and challenged so much in 2015, but I also grew so much. I'm starting 2016 with a feeling of lightness and hope. So on that note, my goals for this year are:
2016 Goals:
- Renew my commitment to exercise.
- Take better care of myself, health wise.
- Continue reading for pleasure. I think I'll set my goal for one book per year for 2016, because I'm already feeling like the year is going to be busy.
- Be more present in my daily life/try to filter out some of the distractions.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
A few odds and ends
- I overheard a conversation at a coffee shop where three middle aged women were talking about grandkids. Apparently one has "a real bitch" of a daughter in law because she "hasn't given her any grandkids yet" after three years of marriage. I practically bit my tongue off and maxed out my shut-up filter to not stand up to that vile woman on behalf of her daughter-in-law. Because 1) her son and daughter-in-law's reproductive plans are none of her business and 2) how does she know that they aren't already trying and having trouble.
- Being that my shut-up filter was already maxed out, I was in no mood to listen politely to the pro-life coalition (or some crap like that) lady when she approached my table with religious literature and started her speech. So we had a nice conversation about women's rights and how if she wanted to use her religion as a guide for medical decisions for herself, that's fine, but she shouldn't use it as a justification to judge other people for their choices. I did most of the talking and by the time I was done with her she didn't know whether she was coming or going. The look on her face really was priceless and I think that she realized that whatever speech she had prepared or "facts" on her flyer were not likely to convince me to switch over to her position.
- My dog had to have a tooth pulled on Monday. I was a nervous wreck the whole time I knew that he was in surgery. It's ridiculous how stressed out that I was about the whole thing. He's doing great now, other than having an upset stomach from his antibiotic, which is making my already terrible sleep even worse.
- My sister hasn't mentioned the whole gender reveal thing again. Maybe she realized her poor timing. Unlikely, but one can hope.
- On a related note, I only have seven weeks (plus or minus a bit) left of having at least one pregnant sister. To say that it's been a long 20 (and counting) months is an understatement.
- Our weather has been unseasonably warm which means that my seasonal allergies, which I usually get a respite from during the winter, have lingered longer than usual. I'm beginning to wonder what it feels like to not be congested. Thankfully it's supposed to get colder this weekend.
- I finally decided that after nearly four years of living in this city that I needed to find a GP. After wading through the insurance website's list of doctors that were accepting new patients (which was not user friendly) I found one that met my criteria and scheduled an appointment. My appointment is next Wednesday. I have no idea why this appointment is causing me anxiety. Probably because the last time I tried to find a new GP to start the infertility referral process, I walked in and she was visibly pregnant, which made a conversation about trouble getting pregnant super awkward.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Christmas
I never did truly get in the Christmas spirit, but it turned out to be a nice, quiet Christmas anyway, which was exactly what we wanted and needed. If nothing else, it was a great excuse to cook an awesome meal and share a bottle of wine. Plus, any day involving presents, the Die Hard movies (my favorite Christmas movies), and spending a whole day with hubs and few distractions can't be completely bad.
There was a minor kick to the uterus when my sister decided that she would do a gender reveal as her gift to the family (when did gender reveals become such a big deal anyway?). But thankfully I found out via text and didn't have to fake excitement over the phone. To be clear, I am really excited for her, I just would have preferred to not be reminded of her pregnancy on Christmas day.
Christmas 2015 won't go down in the record books as amazing. Nor will it go down as terrible. But hey, after the last few Christmases being really tough, I'll take it.
There was a minor kick to the uterus when my sister decided that she would do a gender reveal as her gift to the family (when did gender reveals become such a big deal anyway?). But thankfully I found out via text and didn't have to fake excitement over the phone. To be clear, I am really excited for her, I just would have preferred to not be reminded of her pregnancy on Christmas day.
Christmas 2015 won't go down in the record books as amazing. Nor will it go down as terrible. But hey, after the last few Christmases being really tough, I'll take it.
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