Planning

Would it be wrong to say that I am already planning my flower beds and plantings for Spring in my head? I can't help it... we're done with Christmas and soon will hit the New Year, but I'd rather be getting ready to get my clay pots out and start hitting the green houses. (If I did it now... they would all be closed anyway.)

I guess my southern California blood still runs strong through my veins that I want to be planning on my garden. I don't really know what I will be planting this spring as it depends on how I will be functioning "medically" by that time of year. I see 3 of my doctors in January and we will soon be deciding what issues will be taken care of in the coming months. We can only wait and see at this point... but I haven't scheduled anything with my orthopaedic surgeon yet. And that depends on how well I continue to walk and move about until my right knee tells me that enough is enough.

This past week has been a tough week for me. I have been coming out of being in a "hypo-thyroid state" and all the great side affects that come with it. I'm still cold, but it has gotten better in the last week. I am still very sleepy, but I am able to function with a nap. And as far as my tummy feels... I still have issues with feeling well. I get queasy so easily. I also have to be vigilant with Aleve to keep my body aches in check or I become an "unhappy camper" in  zero to 60 in a blink of an eye.

It's been an adjustment to get used to being at home. I don't miss the stress of getting to work every morning, especially with the snow and ice we've been having lately. I don't miss the constant pressure of meeting percentage numbers all the time nor the constant surveillance of my supervisor monitoring every little action, email or call I made and wanting me to justify my work. (It drove me to distraction and took time away from what I was doing.) I don't know if I will look for something else or not... I will have to wait and see.

~Suzanne

Freezing

Yep... I said it's FREEZING!

Actually... for December, the weather has been quite good. Only a few days of severe weather. Most of the month has been rainy with a few good days thrown in here and there. But for me, it doesn't really matter as I have been in a Crazy state of Hypo-thyroidism and I am nothing but COLD and sleepy.

Poor DH is sleeping in the guest room so he can have a fan blowing on him since I have the heat cranked up and 25 blankets on the bed. My feet are so cold that they keep me awake... distracting me from being able to fall asleep. I have a thick fleece throw that I use during the day, all bundled up with a wool pashmina wrapped around my arms and chest.

I am happy to say that yesterday was my "labs" day and today I started back on my synthroid. I can't wait for this to build up in my system and get back to a semi-normal state. I find that I have short bursts of energy and then I have to sleep... at least 2 hours at a time. I am trying to get myself on a normal schedule since quitting work... but it has been impossible to get one started as of yet.

I am grateful to DH for allowing me to be home while I go thru this medical stuff. He was right in wanting me to stop working. I would not have made it. Along with being cold, I have a terrible lack of attention span and short term memory as of late. And I am cranky from time to time. I am really working on trying to recognize my crankiness and redirecting myself... not easy in this state.

So... I am keeping on... and dealing with a foggy brain while trying to do the basics at home. Yikes!

Thanks for reading... Please stay blessed!
~Suzanne

I went!

My doctor requested that I attend a dietary education class for diabetes as part of my "education"in dealing with being a type 2 insulin diabetic. It wasn't something I was looking forward to at all. I almost didn't go... I hadn't slept well and was feeling quite cold and sluggish with being in my hypo-thyroid state lately. I am very glad I went.

It was nice to have a discussion almost one on one with someone who is also diabetic insulin dependent. She did give me some tips about things I had never known. How to deal with having a low blood sugar and that I should only have 15 grams of carbs to bring it back up... 1 glass of juice should do it. Even though I want to eat and drink everything in sight to get rid of that low. And she explained how to do carb counting and how many carbs to have per meal. Good stuff to know.

I came home and was getting ready to have lunch. I gave myself my lunch time shot and sat down to wait for the 15 - 20 minutes I am suppose to wait before I eat. I was so exhausted that looked at the computer screen for about 5 seconds before I fell sound asleep... and stayed zonked out until 5:30~ That's ridiculous! I sure wasn't planning on doing that for my day. I had stuff to do... and zonking out wasn't on that list. I have an ultrasound scheduled this afternoon on my thyroid and labs scheduled for Monday and then I can start back on my Synthroid.

I am trying to get started on a couple of Christmas gifts even tho I have yet to decorate for the holiday. I don't know that we will, DH has been working so much that I don't have the heart to ask him to bring all those boxes from the basement loft area and have to take them back down once I am done, only to have to bring them out again in 3 weeks to take it all down. I have a few things that I have purchased in October and November that will help with the holiday spirit... but I don't know that I will be doing an entire 6 foot tree with all the lights and bows this year. I hope that next year will be different and I have more energy to do all the fun stuff we do around here for Christmas.

Thanks for reading!
~Suzanne

A Little Bit "Trying"

I am happy to say that I am once again a stay at home wife. DH has begged me for the last 8 or so months to stop working because of the stress level of the job. I finally listened when I had used up all of my sick leave and then used a week of vacation time while I was on bed rest for a relapse on a medical procedure that was done in April.

Now that I am home...  it's been a little crazy around here. I seem to have a never ending honey-do list and seem to drive DH just a little nutso with wanting to get things done. Things are starting to get done and I am happy to report that I have a crafting area set up in the guest room. I haven't had a designated craft area for over 10 years. I am quite excited about it. And I can't wait to share some of my upcoming projects.

I am also working on my health... and it seems to be taking a toll. I have finally seen an endocrinologist and she is treating both my thyroid issues (and possible recurrence of my cancer) and my diabetes. Dealing with both of these issues at the same time has thrown me for a loop. Changes in medications have left me with extreme fatigue and extreme coldness. I find that I only have just so much energy and require a huge amount of sleep. I have more tests this week and labs next week. I can't wait to go back on thyroid meds and start feeling good again.

Thanks for reading! Please stay blessed!
~Suzanne

Finally Home and Loving It!

My last day of work was last Thursday... and I am so thrilled to finally have it over with. As I worked part-time during my last month, the expectation of keeping all my work the same status quo as I did while working full-time just about undid me. I had a supervisor who had very unreal expectations and a very domineering yet subtle devious manner who would email digs and make rude remarks in front of my coworkers caused me to take in the hostility and render my back almost useless with holding all my anger in... needless to say, every night, my back pain was off the charts!

My farewell from work was lovely. I had started to bring home my belongings a few days earlier so I ended up with only 2 small boxes of stuff to carry out on the last day. There was a "dip social" at 10:30 that was moved to our large conference room to become a going away party for me! There were so many good things to eat... including frosted brownies in my honor. There was a lovely card and a very generous gift card to Hobby Lobby wishing me well as I returned home to work on getting healthy and work on crafts.

So now that I am home... I have been a little busy with cleaning and putting the house back in order. We are trying to pare down a little bit and make things a little easier for me to do the upkeep. We shall see just how well I do as I have just discovered from my doctor that I am now out of remission for my papillary/follicular thyroid cancer and we are beginning the work of getting me back to a state of repression. (I knew when my last doctor, tho I loved him, had not made a good move when he changed my levothyroxine dosage.) I am dealing with fatigue and coldness and hoarseness and unwanted weight gain. I want to sleep all the time and simple things like doing dishes or cooking and shopping are kicking my tail.

I am doing a little work on getting the guestroom retro fitted to be my crafting studio. I am very excited about that. It's a process as I have to ask DH to go through his things and move them downstairs to the basement. He isn't using the space as an office anymore since changing jobs... he doesn't have to bring paperwork home anymore. I am excited to start creating again and having space to do it. I used to work at the dining room table, but since DH bought us a new set, I hesitate do anything other than eat at that beautiful table.

I've been doing more cooking in the last month. It's been a little bit of a challenge for me to think of new things to make for dinner. I need to start chronicling what I do and discover in the kitchen... like I did in the early days of this blog. We shall see if I can get it together to do that, too! So... there you have it, the latest in what's going on around here... and the hopes I have in the coming months as I readjust to becoming a stay at home wife again.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
~Suzanne