It's Nice to Be on Vacation

Is there anything better than opening your eyes in the morning and realizing that you don't have to go to work today? Ahhhhhhhh.

I made a short supermarket run before, after a really good Wii workout. I hit 30 minutes on the Fit and then bowled and also hit some baseballs. Needless to say, everything hurts, but I'm experimenting with regular Tylenol to see if it has any effect. So far, so good.

I just had a nice long conversation with the bride-to-be, and it looks like all her plans are starting to come together. This is fun! And will be, I suppose, except for the paying for it part. We're currently looking at October 24, but the date is not yet 100% set. The funny thing is that she and the SnL have looked at wedding venues literally all over the state of New Jersey, and it looks at the moment that they're going to be married in the same place, the same room, where the Hubs and I were married 32+ years ago. Pretty amusing, I think. A very nice place, somewhat on the elegant side. We had a cocktail reception wedding -- not a sit-down meal -- and it looks like they're leaning that way as well.

Speaking of the wedding, I've come to a very big decision for me: I'm going to start coloring my hair. Tomorrow, in fact. I have very short hair with a nice touch of gray across the front, but I have no interest in looking like the bride's grandmother. So I'm getting it colored -- my own color -- and tomorrow, Ray (who cuts my hair) and I will develop a plan so that come next October, I have enough hair for him to do something with on the day of the wedding. Oh, and I've lost about four pounds, which means I have until April -- my goal date -- to lose six more. We'll see if that's do-able before I start thinking about another ten, and I'll see where I am in April before I buy a dress. Yes, a dress. I really want to wear a dress, and not pants. As always, the shoes will be my biggest problem.

If I get a decent picture of my new hair tomorrow, I'll post.

Done!

School's out for summer! (Which were the exact words the principal used to dismiss us from the final faculty meeting. Oh yeah, and the words from an Alice Cooper song, of course.) He let us out by 11:30 this morning. Very nice.

Which caused me to learn that I do actually have the energy in the middle of the day to do other things, as opposed to coming home from work and collapsing. I got all my laundry done and put away, so I can start the summer with a clean slate. I tidied up my car and the living room. I decided to cook myself some dinner.

I know! Me!

Well, I've been thinking about how I was going to eat intelligently this summer, which I do intend to do, without going on any kind of actual plan, because I never want to get caught up in obsessing over food again. It turns out I did eat well today, so far only about 1000 calories (which means I can finish the Coffee Toffee Frosty in the freezer; I'm not a fanatic.) Anyway, I went to the produce market in town, which also has a fabulous fresh fish counter, and made some tilapia with veggies on it in a parchment paper packet in the microwave. I could have that every night, but I think they say you shouldn't have fish more than three times a week because of the mercury and stuff.

I could even do some Wii yoga tonight, but I'll be horrified enough when I step on it tomorrow and see my weight in the morning, I don't need to see my after-dinner weight. Perhaps a bit of bowling or golf might be a good toe-in-the-water to see how my shoulders and elbows take it.

Massage in the morning, and then I need to pick out my first book of the summer. I have ... counting ... about 15 books on the piano bench, and a few more ebooks, and one coming from my sister. I know I won't read them all, but I like knowing that I'll get to a lot of them. Some are YA novels, which I'll either love, or toss aside after the first few pages, and three big books are the Mary Stewart Merlin/Arthur trilogy, which I read many years ago and loved, and I'd like to try to re-read.

I'm going to go sort out the dry cleaning to see what I need to take in tomorrow. Whatever I get cleaned (shirts, for me) will just sit in the closet, ready for September, because I like to wear only denim shirts in the summer (I have six or seven) over a tank top. And jeans. Voila, my summer wardrobe is complete.

More tomorrow from the exercise front.



watching THE GOLDEN GIRLS :: ENTRY #2074
READING: ----- by -----

Don't Go Looking It Up!

When I was growing up, we had a World Book Encyclopedia in the house, which my father thought we should have for research purposes, or something. My mother was right on board with that, but for her, the World Book was the place she looked up all her symptoms to see what she had now. I have often thought that my mother with free access to WebMD would have been a frightening thing.

When K got sick in high school, and we finally got to the right specialist, he said to me at one point during the exam "Now don't go looking it up on the Internet!" Well, I waited a couple of weeks but then I did look it up and what I found out was that he had written some of the articles I found, so I didn't learn anything scary or new because he had already told us everything.

Now, last night, being tired and all, I did not go looking up fatty liver and all that, but I did this morning once I got to school, and the most amazing thing happened: I learned enough about it to realize that I am most likely okay, in fact, fine. Usually, you go to WebMD or someplace and then sit around all day waiting for your organs to die one by one and your limbs to fall off. No, this is much, much better. Here's what I got:

1. Lots of people have fatty liver.
2. High liver enzymes can be caused by acetiminophen (Tylenol) or cholesterol-lowering medications (in my case, Pravachol, which I've been taking for over ten years).
3. A small number of people with fatty liver will develop a form of NAFLD, which is Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. A small number of these people will develop NASH, which is Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, a form of inflammation. For some of these people, when the inflammation goes away, it will leave scar tissue.
4. A buildup of scar tissue decreases liver function. This is what cirrhosis is.

Okay. So the only thing we know I've got now for sure is increased liver enzymes. The CAT scan could well show few or no fatty deposits, and no scar tissue. My biggest problem may be finding out that in addition to aspirin, ibuprofen, and whatever Aleve is, I can't take Tylenol either, which would totally suck, but it won't kill me. And maybe have to change to Lipitor or something, or maybe not; my cholesterol's been pretty good. So that's where I stand, and I'll have whatever tests I need and see the doctor again at the end of February.

In the meantime, I moved the router in the family room, and now I can Wii to my heart's content and it doesn't interfere with the Hubs' Internet. I had an excellent workout last night, 32 minutes and it burned about 150 calories, which I think is pretty good. And that's only with maybe ten minutes of aerobics. I need to do lots more of that, but I have some hearing issues with the free step program. That's the one that let's you just watch TV while you step, with a beat from the Wii remote to guide your pace. But I can't always hear the beat, so I need to work on that.

No news yet on getting my desk moved, but the new librarian is going to come in next Wednesday morning for a little bit of an orientation with me. The SCM will be out that day. His last day is next Friday, one week from today.

Home, evening. I may not do the Wii after all, but I did walk a vigorous lap around the building this morning -- inside -- so I did get some aerobics in, and I even got a chance to ask a phys. ed. teacher more about using the heart monitor thingy. So now I just need to collapse, although if I can still move in an hour or so, maybe then ...



WATCHING FRIENDS :: ENTRY #1971
READING: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke

Nobody Knows ...

.. the tired I feel.

I actually had to take a break second period today -- so that's like 8:45 -- and go down to the faculty room and close my eyes for twenty minutes. I set the alarm on the phone and yes, it woke me. I fell asleep sitting up on a couch in the faculty room. As much as it pains me, I may have to try to go to sleep tonight at ten, which means no George Lopez, but I gotta be a little pro-active here.

In other news, I went to see Resnick the Gut Doctor today and he said, among other things, that I need a CAT scan of my liver and I need to keep losing weight. Because he suspects there are fat deposits in my liver, which could lead to, among other things, cirrhosis, and I want to tell you, I am not having that. I haven't consumed as much alcohol in my life as your typical sixteen year old, for one, and for two, I haven't been overweight long enough for it to kill my liver. I realize the Resbnick is being diligent, and that's what you want your doctor to do, but I am not having this. Anyway, no emergency; I'm having the CAT scan on President's Day -- February 16 -- when I'm also having blood work, since it's all fasting so a day when there's no school is best.

As for me, as soon as I talk to R, which should be in ten minutes or so, I'm jumping back on the Wii Fit, because it is certainly the cause of my recent loss of about five pounds. I need to do it every day, if I can, instead of three or four times a week, and it's just too bad if it interferes with everybody else's Internet. (Although I just moved the router a little while ago, so maybe that problem is solved.)

Anyway, I hear the Hubs in the kitchen, so that means he's not on the Internet. I can probably fit in my body test before she calls. I wonder how much the pastrami sandwich I just had weighs? I didn't eat the bread, I swear!


WATCHING FAMILY GUY :: ENTRY #1970
READING: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke

Sunday Night

Yes, yes, my birthday is tomorrow. But if we were going to do a family dinner or anything it would have been today because it's easier on a weekend. What actually happened was that R has spent the afternoon here and she and K are out now picking up the Chinese food (for me and the Hubs) and the sushi (for them.) Which is just fine with me. I had thoughts about going to a vegan Chinese restaurant we often go to for occasions, but I just didn't want to deal with going anywhere on the icy roads. R, who will of course have to drive home on the icy roads, is a very good driver, and I won't be with her so I won't be anybody's nervous passenger. I'd rather just stay in.

Of course, there's school tomorrow, and the chances of the parking lot being sanded are zero because they just don't do that. They plow the lot and the sidewalks, but no sand, so the parking lot will be treacherous. We had snow all day yesterday, although not much, and freezing ice all last night, and anything that melted in the sun today -- and the temps never really got to 30 -- is freezing again now that it's dark. So tomorrow won't be good, but I don't have far to go, either driving or walking, and teachers calling out makes a day of work more likely for K.

I managed to get in another good workout today, although I did the yoga in the morning and the rest of it in the afternoon. I guess I'll try to squeeze in the yoga, at least, tomorrow morning. I've got my clothes out already, and I expect to get my lunch put together tonight too.

Did I mention that the boyfriend's mother's birthday is Tuesday? Odd, eh? Two years younger, I hear. That should make for an interesting future conflict for the kids.

Okay, food's here.



WATCHING E! :: ENTRY #1961
READING: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke

Time

I just now realized that I wrote this entry at school this morning and forgot to post it. This coincided with K going down to put in a wash and finding a dead mouse in the basement. She reacted as if this was someone she knew personally. Hey, she didn't want the mice in her room, and there are no mice in her room. I went downstairs and scooped it into a box and took it outside. A mother's work is never done. Anyway, earlier today, I wrote:


Today is cousin Edie's birthday; she's 92. The unquestioned matriarch of the family now, it seems, but she is beyond knowing that. For some people, Alzheimer's comes on very slowly, but she was fine, more or less, until maybe four years ago, after which her decline was steep. The good news is that she no longer remembers the pain of losing her husband and older son. The bad news is that she no longer recognizes the son who comes to visit several times a week. But she's happy when she sees him, even if she doesn't know exactly who he is.

Ah, no intention, really, of making this sad, although it is, of course. I just wanted to say Happy Birthday, since there's no point in my calling her and saying it in person. On to something else.

Another by-product of the working out is that I'm drinking a lot more water. I don't generally like to drink water, but apparently I enjoy it after exercise, which who knew, because I would have to have exercised extensively before now to know. Dr. Resnick will be very pleased with me, I think. At the very least, my kidney function test should come out better.

And less Crohnish today, I think. I guess I ate some things over the holiday that had to work their way out of my system (which I don't mean the way it literally sounds.) It started with eating the Hubs' soup the weekend before, and continued on through rice pudding with raisins and small handfuls of macadamia nuts. Actually, I think the macadamia nuts went well. It was the finocchio that got me. (This is pronounced fenookie in our third generation half-Italian home. It's fennel. We slice up the bulbs and roast them, and then, whatever's left after Thanksgiving dinner is a snack for me. But maybe not so much in future.)

... Later ...

So now let's hope that the mouse thing isn't going to keep me awake tonight. My evenings are carefully structured to lull me to sleep, so the last thing I needed was a little adrenaline surge, not to mention a trip outside in the 35 degrees with no socks or jacket. (But I did put on shoes and a sweatshirt.) The real question is, if I'm so sleepy all day at work, why can't I just fall asleep when I want to at night? Hmmmm?


WATCHING RACHEL MADDOW ON MSNBC :: ENTRY #1925
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Challenge

I think the hardest part of waiting two and a half years to retire is going to be staying awake.

I wasn't tired during the whole Thanksgiving break, even though I was having trouble falling asleep, because I could sleep later in the morning. I got up at 5:30 today (and had a wonderful workout), and now I can hardly keep my eyes open. (It's only 15 minutes earlier than my old routine, so it's not that. I need to sleep until eight is what the problem is.)

Anyway, the SCM is out, and it's a testing day, which means that the schedule is all jumbled up, and the person who assigns the substitutes took mine away for two of the periods I really needed him to be here. So when I needed to step out for a few minutes, I locked the library doors and went. I was just lucky there were no kids here at that particular time. But it worked out okay for me, I guess.

I need to make a CVS run after school; there's two-for-one on packs of hearing aid batteries this week, and if I don't get there early in the week, the size I need is gone. And another item or two. K said she was going to campus to work and to talk to her professor, but I imagine she'll be home for dinner.

R did not come by yesterday, choosing instead to spend the day with her sweetie just hanging out. For some reason, I think my children think this bothers me, as in I need to have them around all the time, or at least know what they're doing. Neither is true, of course. What I want is for them to have their own lives. Do I feel the need to talk (or email or something) with R every day? Yes, I do, because she lives alone, and someone who lives alone should touch base every day; it's a safety thing. If and when the time comes that she lives with the sweetie, I'll assume that he knows where she is, and if she'll be late, etc. etc., and if she's missing, he'll call me. I didn't speak to my kids every day when they were away at college because I knew they had roommates or friends who had the brains to call someone if they were missing.

My tired brain is starting to make less sense, I think. Six minutes until the bell (late today because of the testing) and then twenty more until the late afternoon person gets here and I can go. I need a nap, which I will avoid, even though not taking a nap yesterday didn't help me fall asleep any earlier. (Oh, okay, maybe it did. I fell asleep around one instead of two.)

I didn't look for the trainer today because of the strange substitute situation mostly, but I have worked out a good routine for the Wii Fit, based on stuff I found online here and there. So my questions are really about my hurty knee and my sore neck/shoulder, and what to do about those. I'll see what I can do in the next few days.

Later, home. Not only have I done more exercise today than I have in one day since I was maybe twelve, I've been drinking lots of water. Dr. Resnick will be so proud of me.

Many of the packages I was expecting arrived today, most of them Christmas gifts. But one was my replacement Mickey Mouse watch



(I put the lip balm there to show you how big it is. It's a big watch.)

and one was the supposed best sports bra in the whole wide world, Oprah's favorite sports bra! Aside from being bright blue and looking something like the breastplate on a German opera singer, the fit was terrible. Searching on the Internet for a sports bra will make you believe that anyone over a double-D simply does not take part in any sports-type activity, and not many double-D's either. But instead of just sending the blue bra back to Amazon, I called the company it actually came from, and the woman on the phone was very helpful and nice, and I'm sending it back to them and have already ordered two different ones from their website directly, and with a coupon code even. We'll see how that goes. All the sports bras I see in stores look like they were made for nine year olds, or Polly Pockets.

I'm going to sip some more water now, and configure my iPhone to play soothing sounds when I try to fall asleep later.


WATCHING KEITH OLBERMAN ON MSNBC :: ENTRY #1924
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Still Standing

It's taking all the effort I can summon up to stay in my chair and not lie down on the couch. Or the floor. Flat would be nice, but I can't risk a nap, as much as I'd like one. Ever since that late phone call on Tuesday, I've had trouble falling asleep before one or two in the morning, and since it's back to work tomorrow with a 5:30 wake up call, no nap for me today. Maybe it'll help.

I have been the busy bee. I got all the laundry done and put away yesterday, including things that needed to be laid out to dry, which I avoid when I can. The living room remains orderly. Starting yesterday, but mostly today, I froze lots of lunch portions of all the leftovers, as well as the stuff that wasn't left over so I had to make more. K and I did get to Target today a little after nine and it was empty, so the returns got done, as well as a few more gifts bought.

Well, I guess I am hooked on the Wii Fit, but it's probably the healthiest addiction I've ever had. I am feeling good in terms of energy and such, but certain parts of me are just always sore. For example, I can't have a bad back for 35 years and cure it in two weeks of working out, and my feet hurt because my feet hurt. I know that as I learn to do the exercises in better form, some of the hurting will go away, and even what doesn't, well, it's still good for me. It wouldn't hurt if I could talk to a human trainer about it (as opposed to the trainers in the program, of whom I'm getting a little tired, I can tell you); I wonder if I could talk to the trainer at school. I know there is one, but I have no idea where he even works, or if talking to him about this is available to me. I mean, for all I know, he's only there after school to work with the athletes. I'll have to see what I can find out about that.

So, other than everything hurting, I feel pretty good. I've been Crohnish here and there for the last few days, but nothing serious, I think, just a blip. I've experimented with some foods I've been careful about, which may have aggravated it a bit, but on the whole, doing well.

Back to the book mines tomorrow.


WATCHING TCM :: ENTRY #1923
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Did Everybody Have a Nice Day?

I hope you all had the day you wanted. I had, basically, the day I've always wanted: Thanksgiving without aggravation. Yes, the pumpkin pie was awful, but the Hubs ate a piece anyway, and I made two nice ones this morning.

I had pumpkin bread for breakfast, toasted, with butter on it. We went to the Hubs' aunt and uncle's for lunch, and had the world's best leftovers, because Aunt is the world's best cook, still, at nearly 80. The pumpkin pie I had there was excellent, and was made by her 17 year old granddaughter, so I'll have to see later how mine stacks up. Right now, I've got a plate of veggies (mostly gone(, cornbread stuffing (never had that before, Niece tried it out), and sweet potato/marshmallow thing (saved for last.) I have my sister's rice pudding in the fridge for dessert (a little vanilla soy milk on that should be delish), and of course, for when I get peckish in an hour or two, pie.

***sigh***

(I'm eating a brussels sprout now. Pray for me. I love the sprouts, but I think they will not be good for my situation. We shall see.)

So I had a lovely two days, although the oddness of the ILs was in the air this morning, but I know it's that they're getting old. Without details, they change plans and assume that everyone else is cool with that, has no other plans, no other life. Partly, this is because the FIL was a chief executive-type, and this is indeed what they assume, and partly because they're old and they forget. The MIL told me today she's going to have to have a knee replacement, and although the surgery doesn't scare her at all, she teared up at the thought of not being there to look after the FIL every minute. He is much less mobile and much more dependent on others. I can see why she's worried. If she waits until summer to have it done -- she has no timeframe yet -- we can all pitch in, but if she has it sooner than that, I think their one grandson, who is out of college but not settled into a good job in his field yet (although he works) may have to go live with the old gentleman while she's in rehab.

I didn't sleep well again last night but was at least able to sleep until 8:00. When I got up I was too tired and sore to move, let alone exercise, but I did a little this afternoon when I was showing the whole thing to my sister. K's been relaxing with the Guitar Hero for the last hour or more before starting on a project for school, so I guess I'll get another shot at it when she stops to eat and get to work.

My mission for the weekend is to pack up leftovers in lunch portions so I can just grab them in the morning and go. I'm not going near a store unless I can get to Target really early on Sunday; I have a few things to return.



WATCHING K Playing Guitar Hero :: ENTRY #1922
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Jumbled

I wrote a fairly long entry this morning after I got to school, but I'm not going to post it because there's just more in there than there needed to be. The Reader's Digest condensed version is that I did get up early today to exercise, which went well, but I hadn't fallen asleep until 2:30, so I was exhausted and Crohnish. I felt basically crappy all day, but since I'm working on a pledge to smile more, I wasn't in a crappy mood. I've decided not to go to work tomorrow because I'd rather not be sick for Thursday, and I can take better care of myself at home than I can there. This way I can catch up on my sleep, Wii at leisure, bake my vegan pumpkin pies, and maybe get a chance to go find a desk lamp somewhere because not having one is driving me crazy, not to mention blind.

Ooh, that really was condensed.

I just stopped typing a minute and called in, which the above typing reminded me to do, and really, I always feel like they don't believe you for a minute when you call. Although when I would call last year and tell them that I'd be out for a week at a time, they seemed sympathetic. Anyway, I called, and I'm not going. So there.

And now I'm going to lay my weary body down. See you tomorrow.

WATCHING TWO AND A HALF MEN :: ENTRY #1919
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

No Catchy Title

I can't even think of a title tonight, and I'm not even particularly tired. I don't get to say that often, you know.

I ran around like a crazy person after school today, picking up a couple of Thanksgiving needs I couldn't get yesterday, and looking for a desk lamp or bulb. I have this wonderful lamp, an Ott-Lite, so the light is more natural, but the bulb went out and the only place I can get one is online, $17.99 plus shipping. Now, you'd think that someone who spent $56.00 on a turkey wouldn't find that a big deal, but I know I can get a whole new lamp for less than that. Except I can't. I went to four stores today, including the store where I originally bought the lamp with the bulb problem and I couldn't get a bulb or any other lamp for my desk.

It was very frustrating, so I had to come home and eat lots of pizza. (You know. I had to.) But I just finished my workout (ho ho, it makes me laugh to say that), so, all gone pizza! I can dream, can't I? I'm thinking of trying to do it tomorrow morning, first thing, since that felt good the other day, but it may take more organization than I possess to do that on a workday.

And that's that. I haven't actually started reading the book I have listed down there; I've been working with some new software which has been keeping me busy. And thinking about Christmas stuff. Maybe I am tired after all.


WATCHING FAMILY GUY :: ENTRY #1918
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Wiiiii!

Here I am, thanks to Cosmic, who created her impression of me on the Wii! I haven't gotten to it yet today, but I hope to a little later. And yes, this is exactly what I really look like.

I slept until almost eight this morning, at least sort of, for me, so when I got up I did not pass go, did not collect $200, but got dressed immediately and went to Whole Foods to get a turkey. I don't know if I mentioned it, but R and K were after me to order this year's turkey from a farm -- there is actually a turkey farm fairly close by -- so that we would get something locally raised, no preservatives, etc. I agreed, but never remembered to go order it; I probably would have had to order it in July. But K saw free-range, chemical free turkeys at Whole Foods the other day, so that was the next best thing.

Of course, I assumed it would cost more than a Butterball, but I didn't give it much thought until I looked at the label and saw that my just-under-fifteen-pound turkey cost over $56.00! So today, when I ask you Am I crazy or what? feel free to go with a resounding YES! If my father can see this wherever he is, he is appalled and horrified. Hey, it was only a few years ago that we stopped getting the free turkey from Shoprite. (You know, x amount of dollars worth of receipts over x number of weeks and you got a free house brand, or a Butterball for 29 cents a pound.) Thanksgiving around here is nearly as expensive as Christmas.

K was flinging out gift ideas for people I need to buy for today; I was madly scribbling them down. All I need now are ideas for ... let's see, my husband and children and my in-laws, who are of course, the biggest gift receivers. But it's nice to have all the others taken care of, even if I have a little shopping to do. I don't mind the shopping; it's the ideas that are hard.

So I have many errands to run after school tomorrow, which all could have been done today if the stores here were open on Sunday, which they are not. And yes, we also don't pump our own gas in New Jersey; it's not a custom, it's the law. Things are strange here, I'm thinking.

I'm thinking that if they cut open my brain after I'd dead, preferably not before, they will find that it's about 45% I Love Lucy. There's a marathon on this weekend, and I've had it on in the background for hours and hours, both yesterday and today. And I've been watching these same shows literally since birth. I still think it's funny. So there's today example of brain damage, I guess.

And IT'S SPIRIT WEEK at school. Yay. This used to be such a big deal for me, when I was junior class advisor, and now I just want them to leave me alone. But I will wear school colors Monday and Tuesday, and my football jersey on Wednesday. (Seniors buy football-jersey-like shirts to wear for Spirit Week, all with their class year on the front for the number, and they go get their names on the back. One year, I had a shirt made with my number -- 71 -- and my name on the back. I also have both of the girls' shirts, so I could wear a 99 or an 02, if I so chose.)

It must be officially winter today, because the Hubs made soup. I think I'll have some for dinner, and if I don't die (veggies, beans, etc.; smells heavenly), I'll take some for lunch tomorrow, too.


WATCHING I LOVE LUCY :: ENTRY #1917
READING: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Waiting ... Again

I'm telling you, my picture must be on a poster that's been distributed to every kind of home service company all over north Jersey with the caption: WARNING! DO NOT ARRIVE AT THIS WOMAN'S HOUSE ON TIME! OR DON'T SHOW UP AT ALL! Only the cable people (believe it or not) and the heater-a/c people ignore it, but everybody else just toes the line.

It's ten of five. The construction company rep who's coming to give me a price on the closet has ten minutes to go, but I don't believe anyone's coming, and I would really like to get on with my life. The Hubs is teaching tonight and K is at class, and I wanna Wii! And then I wanna take off my bra! Is that too much to ask after a long day at work?

Anyway, Hamlet was quite good. It can be a very difficult play to watch, and all the kids weren't great with the language, but they all got all their lines right and they made an excellent effort. The girl who played Hamlet was not the best actor the high school has every produced, but damn if she didn't nail all the soliloquies, so, points for her. And very well staged; staging is really the forte of the teacher who runs the drama club. Up to their usual high standard, I thought, but next time, if I may paraphrase Shakespeare In Love, a comedy, perhaps? (But not Twelfth Night because they did that last year.)

Oh, the doorbell ...

Well, he came and it was before five and you knew I was OCD, right? Anyway, a pleasant fellow; they'll email me the estimate in a day or two. An easy one-day job, so with any luck, affordable as well.

And now it's after five, and I must take off my heavy shoes and my jeans and put on something exercise-y and the little grippy slippers I got so I don't fall off the Wii board, and get a-movin'.

WATCHING WIFE SWAP :: ENTRY #1914
READING: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Mouse (and Other) Tales

So the Mouse Guy was here this afternoon and did the voodoo that he do, and now we'll see what happens. He was a lovely young man, which is a good thing, because I think he'll be a semi-regular here for a while, as I got the year's contract and we'll probably be seeing him every two or three months for the year. Ick, right? And I've got more cleaning up to do, although he says it will be two weeks or so until they're all gone, but it will be diminishing until then.

Not that I am ever moving out of this house while I live (which would involve packing on my part), but here's what I'd like: a new house with the entire framework of it to be poured cement. Think of it, this is a house that would withstand any hurricane or earthquake, and have incredible insulation. And no holes for anything to get in that you didn't invite through the front door. I'm just saying.

K is not feeling so well today, a result, I think, of going to class the last two nights in the damp, along with what my mother called "low resistance." It's that old immune system again, which stress will always affect in anybody, but she really has a tendency towards it. Here's hoping she rests it out over the weekend, since she's taking her comps next week, which are the final exams, so to speak, of a graduate program. Anyway, she was napping on the couch off and on all afternoon, so I didn't get a chance to look at my new toy, which is Wii Fit. Yes, yet another attempt by me to do something for my aging and aching body.

The book I'm reading on the Supreme Court is very good, but taking forever to finish, even though I feel like I'm reading a chunk of it every day. Very well written, if you're interested in that kind of thing. The book I'm deliberately avoiding, at least for now, is Twilight. For one, it doesn't interest me so much, but for another, I couldn't get my hands on it if I wanted to. I have three copies in the library (of book one, two of each of the others), and this is the book that made me have to learn how to use the library software to reserve books that are out for people, to create a waiting list. The three copies of the first book have gone out five times this week, and I had to turn down requests for it from the middle schools.

Busy day tomorrow, haircut and more kitchen cleaning.

WATCHING FAMILY GUY :: ENTRY #1910
READING: The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin

*sigh*

So I went to therapy, yada yada, and here's my big revelation of the day. Why is it that when I'm sick I'd rather keep it to myself instead of "being a burden" on everyone else? I've been trying to work this out for months, and I figured it had something to do with my mother, who coped much better with real illness than she did with hypochondria, which I supposed I had felt was a burden to me. Wrong! The therapist -- Ginny -- said something very simple that made perfect sense. Nothing to do with my mother. My illnesses are a burden to me. Duh. Well, they are. No wonder I'm afraid they will be to other people, too. Very simple, but I guess I never that of it that way before.

Yes, they are a burden, all this nickel and dime crap. None of it is life-threatening, but all of it is life-annoying, and I can't get a handle on it because it can literally take a different form every day. Last week an eye infection; I had no idea that was part of the mix, too. I read today that although weight loss is common with Crohn's, some people have weight gain instead. Well, I've been saying for years that I was gaining weight for no reason. There ya go.

I did get to mention y'all, though, because I told Ginny that it was the diary world people who convinced me that I'm not actually a hypochondriac (since my ailments are all real), as I always felt I was. One problem she didn't have to solve for me, so, thanks.

So, I am relatively bummed, but hey, that's why I'm going to therapy. I'm also considering talking to the doctor about a mild anti-depressant. I've never really been ready to take that kind of med before, but now, I just feel tired of struggling every damn day to feel good when my body is fighting me back. The struggle wears me out (oh hey, fatigue is another Crohn's thing, I found out today) and makes me much more susceptible to idiot interference, like anyone I feel is standing in my way or making me feel worse (aka, The Martian.)

I was good today, though; I called the hospital and got the name of the Crohn's support group and even called. The woman I spoke to was very, very nice and helpful, but unfortunately the group is not meeting during the summer. But I'll go in September, I already have it on my calendar.

I also got in nine holes of golf after a three-hole warmup game, and two games of bowling (on the Wii. You knew I didn't go outside or anything.) I'm getting much better at both of the those, but I can't play the tennis at all. I'm not only bad at it, it really hurts my arm. Oh, I even finally made another appointment for physical therapy, going tomorrow.

I think I'm going to try to get back to some reading tonight. I have to see if the eyedrops I'm using have worked well enough to clear up my vision for reading. The computer seems to be much better, so maybe the book will be, too.

Oh, I did actually take some garbage out of the basement this morning, and I bagged up a bunch of old (unmarked) videotapes. I did this to get to our old stash of vinyl record albums, so I could start getting the USB turntable I got for Christmas connected and get that project going. What I found was that almost all the record sleeves are mildewed -- ew -- although the actual vinyl records seem okay, but every album of mine that I found, I have on CD, or I've downloaded the mp3s in the last few years. Hmmm. Seemed like such a cool gift, but in reality, not all that useful to me. I only brought two of my albums upstairs: the original Broadway cast recording of Peter Pan, with Mary Martin, an album I've owned for at least 50 years, and the Temptations' Greatest Hits. I'll have to go through my John Denver more closely, but if I'm only missing a song or two from an album here and there, is it really worth the whole process? Looks like I may be working on a lot of the Hubs' albums, which he probably won't even want. (He is definitely not someone who gives a gift so you can use it to make something for him. And he doesn't listen to mp3s, so I'd have to burn each one as a CD for him, which he would then listen to and give back to me. Not the general idea.)

I am so rambling. Tomorrow, doctor, nails, physical therapy, and a trip to DSW (shoe store) if I can squeeze it in.

WATCHING FRIENDS :: ENTRY #1800
SUMMER BOOK #3: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Catching Up

Okay, let's see.

One of the interesting revelations that yesterday brought me was that hey, not only do I find sharing my vacation with K to be somewhat lacking in alone time, so does she! Well, whaddaya know. Really, I should have figured that one out. So this morning, after I got up slowly and attempted breakfast -- not working out for me lately -- I went out and did some errands and things so that she could have the house to herself for a while when she got up. And she wasn't going to want to go to K-Mart with me (where I got those sports tools for the Wii, more on that to follow), or to get my car washed, and so on. We were actually home together for a brief time today, since she went out while I was home, and then I had the other doctor to go to, and then a pedicure, and then she was gone to class.

It also turns out that the edge I was teetering on a few weeks ago is still just under the surface. I let a few things get to me yesterday, although I didn't blow my top and got myself back under control, and I came close to letting someone have it at K-Mart this morning. But that's what made me realize where I am, so I'm working on it. I don't like feeling this way. The near-constant sinus headache is also not helping.

There is a very grungy K-Mart in the town next to B-Town, so I thought I'd make a quick check for the sports pack there, since it's convenient. I made my way into the empty electronics department and started looking around, at which point a male employee, maybe in his thirties or forties, started following me around, saying, rudely, "Hello? Hello? Are you looking for something?" I said I was looking for Wii games and accessories. He pointed me to a wall of games, and then said, again rudely, "The accessories are here" and pointed to another aisle. I found exactly what I was looking for, and asked him -- because he was still following me around -- if I could return it if it didn't work. "No," he said, quite firmly, so I put it back, and said "Why would I buy it, then?" He said that of course it would work, and I pointed to another set and said I had bought that but had to return it because it didn't work. And he said "Impossible."

So I said "Then I guess I'm lying to you. Bye." when what I really wanted to do was rip his smug head off and call a manager over. Fucking asshole. So then I went to another K-Mart in another town, picked up the same item and took it to the cashier, who said that of course I could return it if I wanted to, and that was that. I got it, it works, I was unnecessarily aggravated by an idiot. What was his point, anyway?

I liked the new eye doctor very much. She confirmed the other guy's diagnosis, but gave me stronger eye drops for it. She also explained his whole diagnosis; get this. The doctor had said something I didn't quite get for what I had, so I asked him to write it down. He said his assistant would write it down, and when I reminded her, this is what she wrote on the back of a business card:

Episcleritis
Blepheritis
Trichiasis

I said "I have all three of those?" and she said "Well, in that order."

Excuse me?

The doctor had said one thing -- episcleritis -- and hadn't mentioned anything else, and what was that supposed to mean: "Well, in that order"? Today's doctor explained. Episcleritis is the infection I have, a side effect of which is irritation of the inside of the eyelid, which is blepheritis. The last one, I'm not even typing it again, means I have an eyelash that is growing in towards my eyeball. Which I know; I've had this ever since the brain surgery and subsequent eye surgery (which was done by an idiot and has since been repaired.) Once a year or so, my optometrist removes the bad eyelash. Today's doctor told me what it meant and asked if I wanted her to remove it for me, which of course, I did. Yesterday's guy noted it on my chart but didn't think to do anything about it. (Takes two seconds to deal with.) So yeah, very glad I went to a better doctor. I liked her, and need to follow up with her next week.

R is currently waiting at the airport for a flight to visit friends over the holiday, a flight which I checked online so I know it's delayed. Sucks to be her.

So I had nothing in the house for dinner, and I stopped and picked up a box of frozen White Castle cheeseburgers. There are six in the box, which would probably be piggy of me -- although I've eaten six in one sitting fresh off the steamer; they're very small -- but I'm contemplating four. What's a little heartburn among friends?


WATCHING THE TWILIGHT ZONE :: ENTRY #1797
SUMMER BOOK #3: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

The first day of it, anyway. Btw, in case I don't say it enough, I heart all you guys out there. You know, just making sure.

I had a very lovely, relaxing, and accomplishing day. (You know it's not a day for me unless I can cross a task off a list.) I slept until seven and woke up to a quiet house, with the Hubs already gone to work and K not up for what turned out to be two more hours. I took a leisurely shower and got dressed, and then with my hair still wet under a baseball cap, took a quick run to CVS for something and then to a new Dunkin Donuts nearby with a drive-through window. And an incredibly cheerful and friendly worker at the window. I think I've found a new home.

I did my hair and make-up and still had time to kill so I made one more attempt to get the Wii sports pack that I'm looking for (with a baseball bat, tennis racket, etc.) and even though it was there on Sunday when I got the system, they were out of it today. I am officially giving up the search. It'll turn up someday when I'm not looking for it. Then another latte (hot this time) on the way home, and then the official start of the summer for me: my first doctor's appointment.

This was a mid-year checkup with the internist, the one I was wondering how I would confront over the situation this past winter when I was sick for a good long time before they diagnosed the Crohn's. I had felt that she was blowing me off; the Hubs just thought she was incompetent. I've already discussed this with Resnick, so I know that they weren't blowing me off, but I wanted to clear the air about how I had felt at the time.

Well. She came into the room smiling, clearly delighted to see me, and incredibly warm, taking my hand and telling me how good it was to see me well and how worried they had been when I was sick, and that she's been updated by Resnick on this week's possible flare and so on, and really: she just won me right over. She then proceeded to do what she's done any other time I had a concern (except for the Crohn's thing), which was to address it immediately and come up with a plan. I discussed my concern about one of my B.P. meds and she cut it in half. I talked to her about the estrogen etc. and she explained how the rest of that weaning off process will go. But really, get this one.

A bit of background first. My mother went to a doctor for several years who really was incompetent because he a) never took her off sleeping pills, and b) never told her to stop smoking. Now, I'm not looking for a doctor who's going to say Hey, you go right on doing that bad stuff you're doing! because that's just stupid, but the doctor did specifically tell me not to go on a diet. I couldn't believe it. (Her reasoning is that since Crohn's tends to prevent the body from absorbing nutrients from all the food you eat, cutting down to 1200 calories or so would be insane, since then I would really not be getting enough vitamins and stuff to be healthy.) She did suggest more activity, which I expected, and which will hopefully work better with less of the B.P. stuff.

I came home and took a nap, and then when K went to class, I fired up the Wii. Let's see, today I played tennis and golf -- what a frustrating game; why does anybody play it? -- as well as my usual baseball and bowling. I also did a target shooting thing. Whatever, I worked up a sweat, which is the whole point.

In and among all this, I also took care of a variety of phone calls and appointments. Oh, the task I accomplished was to adjust the window blinds and cords in the family room so that I can raise and lower them now without a lot of hugga-mugga, which will hopefully let me sleep a little later in the morning. See, I had the cords all tied up so they weren't hanging loose because I was afraid the cats would get tangled in them. Yes, that would be the cats that both died last year. Hey, I never thought of doing it until today.

I did not clean today, nor did I cook, so my record there is still clean.

Tomorrow: a haircut, and of course, a doctor, who is Resnick. Maybe a brief trip to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. I'm hungry.


WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS :: ENTRY #1789

Stop the Insanity!!

Oh, wait, the insanity stops tomorrow, at least until September. But it was in full force today. Get this: the SCM and I got into the library this morning and it had been re-arranged.

Here's what that means. Several posters, as well as a framed portrait of George Washington, were taken down, and left in random places. Some of the tables had been turned so that they were now sideways. Many smaller pieces, like the sign-in desk, were on the other side of the room. The small clock and the fire drill instructions were missing, at first. The photocopier was unplugged and moved over about eight feet. And the best of all: the ten or so stacks (each stack is one vertical six-shelf bookshelf) that we had left empty because of the flood a few weeks ago and the work on the ceiling to be done above it were filled with books. The books that we had arranged on carts so that we could re-shelve them properly had been randomly put on the shelves for artistic effect, the way you would arrange shelves at home, but never in a library, with some books facing forward, some on their sides, some at angle. Even weirder, several frames photographs had been taken from the SCM's desk -- he's a very good photographer -- and placed here and there, some in the stacks with the books, one on the so-called circulation desk.

WTF?

Several deep breaths later, we learned that the same architects who had brought us this nightmare of a library had been in on Saturday to take pictures of their beautiful creation. They wreaked all this havoc, and did not put a single thing back. (They also moved two chairs and a coffee table out of the lounge area and blocked the entrance to the computer area with them.) The principal knows, but was pre-occupied with graduation today (in? out? rain? shine?) and so I need to address this with him tomorrow. In the meantime, the SCM took lots of pictures.

(It was an indoor graduation, btw. They didn't set up outside, and then it never rained a drop.)

In other news, I picked up some Wii toys and have to return one thing -- the baseball bat/tennis racket/golf club thingy -- because it doesn't work. What surprised me was that I didn't really find a good store to get the stuff in; I started at Circuit City, which didn't even have one game, then tried Toys R Us and finally Best Buy, and wasn't happy with any of them. Target, where I started on Sunday, probably has the best stuff. Who knew?

And now my arm is very sore, but in a good way. But time to lie down anyway.


WATCHING KEITH OLBERMAN :: ENTRY #1787

Still Crazy After All These Days

But in a good way now, I think. Listen: I have done something very crazy today, although I would have to go some to beat yelling at my boss the other day, and it was nothing like that. I did something -- I bought something -- as uncharacteristic of me as if I had gone out and bought a mink stole. (No, I didn't buy a mink stole.)

I bought a Wii.

Understand, I have never played an actual video game before except for Tetris on a GameBoy years back. I have never played a full-size TV video game, I have never wanted to, I have never connected one for my kids ... none of that. But I started to think about this yesterday (I think), and since I am virtually unable to let a task fester in my head without completing it, I looked into it and then lo and behold, Target not only had them today, but they were on sale. My plan was to get the Wii, one of those brain-training games, and Wii Fit, but they didn't have the game or the Fit, so I got the Wii and a Mario game for the girls.

I have to tell you: this is a very cool thing. Who knew? First we made our little avatars (which are called Miis) and then we all took turns playing the game that comes with the system, which is the one I really wanted, the one that's five different sports. I played baseball, which I used to love to play when I could still move, and aside from the adorable graphics, there is actually a physical workout involved (which is what I was going for.) You actually sense contact with a ball when you hit it. K is playing golf at the moment, which is stressing her out; she just said "How does anybody think this is a relaxing game?" which I never understood about golf either. But she kicked ass at bowling before, which I will try later, and R liked the tennis. We'll see if the Hubs cares to get involved at some point; we made him a cute little gray-haired avatar Mii too.

It was, to turn a phrase, stupid easy to set up, which I was a little apprehensive about, but there are a zillion connectors on the back of my TV and I followed the directions and everything just worked, which amazed me. My only real problem now is that there is not a ton of free space in the family room, and the coffee table, which is really more like a low chest or credenza, is very heavy, but will have to be moved for extensive play. (I need to get a wider stance when I swing the bat. Oh, I'm getting a little nerf bat tomorrow.)

So this is my end-of-the-school-year present to me. I'll see if I can pick up the other stuff that I wanted at Best Buy or someplace tomorrow; I sure would love to get the games used, so maybe I'll go to Gamestop, too.

Tomorrow night is graduation, which looks to be an indoor graduation this year, since storms are predicted, and an indoor graduation in my school is not a pretty sight. The auditorium is too small and not air-conditioned, and the gym will hold the graduates and two guests per graduate, if you pack them in like sardines, and is also not air-conditioned. I've been to two indoor graduations in my years there. The first was when nephew JJ graduated, in 1992, and the only reason my mother didn't faint in the stands was that she was squooshed between me and my sister and there would have been no place for her to fall. A few years later, I actually had to speak at graduation, since we were dedicating the library to a former principal and I was introducing him, so I got to sit up front where there was room, not to mention some big fans. Indoor graduations suck big time, but at least I won't have to be in the gym, since my duty is in the nice cool office.

Okay, it's getting to be my turn.

WATCHING Wii GOLF :: ENTRY #1786