Category Archives: Health

Just a teensy update

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Terri | Comments Off

My emotions have been all over the place lately!

I found out last week a family member has an illness that I’m not supposed to be worrying about (advice from my mother), but I am freaking out over it.

The Saints won the Superbowl!

This week marks a year since I lost my HeartBandit.

Kahuna is sick, and I’m afraid he has pneumonia again. He’s promised to go to sick call this morning and I’m trying to be patient and not contact him to see if he’s gone.

I had another medical test yesterday and am dealing with the afteraffects of it today. Ouch. Hopefully this is the last test. I had to have it because something showed up in another test and because I’m having ‘elective surgery’ I have to be ‘healthy.’ Sigh.

My stitching has been holding me together. With that I’m still stitching on Home of a Needleworker.

I didn’t stitch last Thursday because we went out to the street market with the dogs. Harley had an accident while there and it just put me out of stitching mode when we got home. She’s okay, just a little bruised in a couple of places. (Updated: Harley got barely stepped on and because she was crowded by people and very large dogs she freaked out, got herself wound up in her leash like a yo-yo, and body-slammed herself into the street. I was standing across the street with Jasper and it was scarry watching it and not being able to stop what I knew was about to happen. I was worried that with her tied down on the ground she would get really stepped on or attacked by one of the other dogs.)

I didn’t stitch last Friday because we went to the opera! La boheme. Front row seats. Nice surprise from Kahuna.

I didn’t stitch much on Saturday because I had errands to run, salon appointment, sitting in the pharmacy for an hour, etc.

So last night I decided to just keep on going with what I’m working on since I’m enjoying it soooo much. I’m in love with GAST Sable that I’m using for the roof and the upper and lower border. I know I’ll be using it again in something. It reminds me of mink, chocolate, warmth, and right now ‘roof shingles’ 😆 I think it would be great in a quaker design.

I don’t feel too terribly bad about not switching to my next project because I am almost finished with Quaker Needlework Treasures anyway.

This Saturday is another stitchy Saturday up north and I’ll be working on Summer Queen.

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Posted in Puppies, Stitching, surgery

What to stitch next?

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Terri | 6 comments

I don’t know what I did but yesterday late in the afternoon at work my right wrist started bothering me. By the time I left I could barely use my right hand to drive home. It was hurting me so much by the time I got home I seriously contemplated taking some of Kahuna’s ‘left over’ oxicodone. Needless to say we didn’t make it out to town to pick up the puppies’ new clothes. Plus, I couldn’t find my brace so didn’t sleep all that well last night because it bothered me when I turned in certain positions. So this morning I’m pooped and very much glad it’s Friday. It’s still bothering me, but not near as much. In fact, I haven’t taken any sort of pain killer.

Anyway since it hurt to move, I didn’t stitch. I thought about trying it but was worried the constant, repetitive motion might make it worse since I don’t know what I did to hurt it.

Instead, I dug around in my stash looking at smallish patterns for my new project, while watching Vampire Diaries. Here’s what I’ve narrowed it down to:

Chessie & Me – Love Liberty

Katidid – Come Gather

Little House Needleworks – Home of a Needleworker (too!)

Little House Needleworks – Necessities Sampler

Sheepish Designs – Eagle

Little By Little – Black Heart Samplar

Lilybet – Spots

Ewe and Eye and Friends – Primitive Sheep

Blackbird Designs – Grand Old Flag

I had 3x this many pulled when I first began going through them! 😆

Now, which one should I stitch?

6 Comments

Posted in Injury, Stitching

Hellooooo? Is anyone still out there?

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Terri | Comments Off

So, what have I been up to that’s kept me so busy I couldn’t post? Ummmm, I can’t remember further back than last week.

Doctor appointments galore! I had my last appointment on Christmas eve, believe it or not. The vampires were well fed when I left the hospital. So much so that I felt faint, had to have juice, and Kahuna had to feed me before we drove off. Now I need to e-mail the surgical nurse and get a surgery date.

I’m now the only admin support in my office. Other paralegal was ‘let go’ last week. It has been rather fun at work since I had ‘use it or lose it’ vacation time. Did I mention I’m the only admin support in my office. I was ready for this week to get here so I could collapse.

I’m fighting a cold right now. I.refuse.to.get.sick!

I’ve been stitching on Summer Queen. I need to take a photo to prove it though, don’t I.

Went to see Sherlock Holmes and Avatar this past weekend. Love them both. I was ready to sit through Avatar a second time, I enjoyed it so much.

Last but not least, we’re adding to our family. Meet Jasper.

He’s *visiting* with us right now to see if he’s a good fit for our family. He’s already turning into a ‘momma’s boy.’ He has been eating ‘raw’ at his foster home and we’re going to try to keep feeding him that way on a periodic basis. Harley will benefit from it as well. So, I had to go grocery shopping when Kahuna came home today and Kahuna said he stood at the door and whined while I was gone. He’s a sweet 3 year old boy. AKC color is ‘seal.’ That’s black to non IG peeps. He’s a rescued boy who’s old mom and dad kept him outside during the day and when they went to bed at night he slept in a plastic crate in the living room while they were snuggled in their comfy bed down the hall. They traveled a bit much to keep him so they gave him over to rescue. He’s been at his foster home for a little more than 3 months.

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Posted in Puppies, Stitching, surgery

Barium…it's what's for breakfast!

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Terri | 5 comments

and lunch and supper. Yum! Not. I have a CT scan on Monday so have started ‘prepping’ for it. Not being one for ‘flavored’ items, drinking berry flavored barium for breakfast immediately kicks in my gag reflex. Actually, just smelling the stuff got me started.

I had a psych appointment on Tuesday. Nothing like drudging through all 50 years of your life — starting at the moment you were born — with a stranger. Needless to say with some of the skeletons in my closet this has been a rough week for me. Not sleeping, or if I do immediately go to sleep waking up at 3 a.m. and not being able to get back to sleep.

I have several more appointments to make between now and December 14th. On that day one of my doctors will decide if I’m ready to be referred for surgery during January.

Today Kahuna and I are going to see ‘New Moon.’ Housing shut our water off at 6 a.m. this morning and we’ve already been showered and shaved, filled our tubs with water for the toilets), had our breakfast, entertained Harley (an all day affair, anyway), and are nursing a cup of coffee while we play on our respective computers. I intend on spending the majority of today (while not at the movies) watching college football, DVRd stuff, and stitching (working exclusively on Summer Queen). I’d like to start up a “goodreads’ on my facebook, too, but that might wait until tomorrow since I won’t be able to leave the house.

Although I haven’t posted it here (I don’t think?) Harley smacked Kahuna in his left eye a couple of weeks ago and tore his cornea. At his last appointment this week he was told it’s as healed as it’s going to be, and there’s a wrinkle in the cornea. He’s having vision problems because of it and they’re talking LASIK surgery….again. This will be the 3d time for that eye…his good eye. Sigh. He’s undecided about having it, but has set an appointment with the doctor who did the first two (he’s the eye doctor for the San Diego Chargers) and I think he’ll decide based upon that opinion.

We’re headed to Disneyland on Thursday for our almost annual Thanksgiving tradition. There are rarely any lines for any of the rides on that day and they serve turkey and dressing at the major eateries. We try to eat at the Blue Bayou for lunch (but this year we waited too late to get reservations) and in downtown Disney at Brennan’s for supper to get our Louisiana fix every year. We did manage reservations at Brennan’s and may even head over there for lunch and get a poboy. I love Disneyland, especially this time of year. The carols and fireworks in the evening even make me cry and miss home. Kahuna and I are both still kids enough that we have a good time, just the two of us.

5 Comments

Posted in Life, LSU, Stitching, surgery

How long does it take you to make major decisions?

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Terri | 11 comments

I’ve been contemplating whether or not to blog about this but I figured since this is who I am, I may as well.

Believe it or not, that’s the major decision — whether to post about it — not what I’m about to post 😉

I have decided, after two years of discussions with my health care providers, to have bariatric surgery. I fought it vehemently the first time it was suggested — two years ago. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t feel 100% comfortable with my primary care provider (PCP), or if I was in denial, but I said absolutely not.

Last year, I got a new PCP. She was very close to my age, from the south, and we talked for almost 1/2 an hour before we got to do the business of my annual well-woman visit. I was thrilled to find out she had just gotten here about a month before so I knew she’d be around awhile. I’m one of those people who just dumps every little thing that’s been bothering me into my annual exam. I don’t know if it’s a military family member thing or not, but it’s just darn inconvenient to get a doctor appointment so I feel like if I’m not in major pain, I can just hang on until it’s time for my annual exam. One of the things we talked about was my weight, and my blood pressure. I really detest taking the pills and talked to her about what I needed to do to get off them. She was the first person who ever explained to me, in terms I could understand, exactly WHY I was taking them!!! This was when she mentioned having bariatric surgery and I balked. I think she might have ‘gotten me’ because she talked to me about the different methods and asked me to seriously consider it over the next year and talk to her again at the next annual exam. I saw her a couple of times during the year following that exam, and she remembered me, but never brought it up again.

Then this year, right before I was scheduled to have my physical, I got an UTI — and a new male PCP — who I didn’t like. I knew the other person was still around, so while I was at the appointment for my UTI I asked the Dr. to schedule me for lab work and my mammogram so I could have the results back when I wanted my annual physical to take place. Since I knew the other woman was still around I hit the check in desk before I left and asked if I could schedule an appointment with her after my lab work was scheduled back.

When I got to my exam, before we started the actual physical part, we talked. She pulled up my lab work and told me my cholesterol and triglycerides were excellent (ha ha Kahuna!!) but my blood sugar levels had started to rise. I knew this was going to be the case, because I can feel it. She asked me if I had done the research she had suggested last year and because my blood pressure isn’t changing, and because my blood sugar is going up, she scheduled me for a consult.

When I got to that hospital I was thoroughly taken back by the way I was treated. Most of the time over the past 29 years I’ve felt like I was on a conveyor belt in a factory when it came to dealing with the hospital and appointments. This was not the case here. The only other time I’ve been treated so respectfully was when I was seeing the doctor about my hysterectomy. Maybe it has something to do with the specialty clinics, but other areas of the hospital really need to take note of it. Not once did I feel any humiliation, embarrassment, etc., during my appointment. Face it, going to the doctor can be a real humiliating experience, no matter what your reason for being there.

This was two months ago. Since then I’ve been poked and prodded in new ways. I’ve had more Dr. appointments in the past month than I’ve had in a year. I’ve even had more appointments than I had when I was ‘gearing up’ for my hysterectomy. I have many more appointments ahead. The approval process for surgery through the military hospitals is more stringent since it is an elective surgery. The military just doesn’t ‘do’ elective surgery. Because I have been approved, it one more sign to me that this is a wise decision on my part.

What are my hopes for this? Do I want to be a beauty queen? Nope. I don’t want my family to have to take care of me because of some weight related health issue. It scares me that I could go full-blown diabetic. I don’t want to lose the ability to see.

What are my fears? I really only have two…that I will fail, or that I will lose too fast.

Because of the amount of weight I need to lose, and my current healthy state (ha!) I am able to pick which of the three surgeries available most appeal to me. Because of my fear of losing too fast, I am leaning more toward the laparoscopic banding than the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or Sleeve gastrectomy. Of the other two the Rowx-en Y scares me less.

I won’t go into what other appointments I’ve already been to, but Monday marks the day when I have to start making some more major changes in my eating/activity lifestyle. I’m thinking my surgery will probably be in February. I am scared to death!

11 Comments

Posted in Weight

Almost there!

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Terri | Comments Off

In a phone conversation I had with my dad last Sunday (Father’s Day) I discussed getting ‘old.’ When he asked me how old I was going to be I could hear my mom telling him in the background and for a split second I panicked! I didn’t want to say it out loud — not because it made me feel old, but because it freaked me out how old my turning 50 makes my parents!

I have sort of given up on adding to my ’50’ list! I can’t think of anything else I want to put on there. I figure if things pop into my head, I’ll add them. I have been working on the list though. Today I have an appointment with my nice tattoo guy 😉 for my ankle. I’m also going to show him a couple of elements for a possible 3rd tattoo. Just a little something for Bandit.

The fair is in town and we’ve been twice. We buy tickets through the base that gets us in everyday, for very little money. So far we’ve seen Patty Smythe (love that old broad!) and the B-52s. That concert was a blast! Tonight we’re going to see Clink Black….gotta get me some cowboy eye candy. I like his music, but the best part will be all those tightly wrapped Wrangler butts (did I say that out loud!?!). Yummmmmmy!

I was concerned the fair being here would interfer with my weight loss efforts, but even though I’ve ‘endulged’ I haven’t gone overboard and I’ve still managed to lose almost 9 pounds this month. Better yet, I tried on several pairs of jeans I’ve been hoarding in my closet and I could get in to 3 of them. I’ve tossed them in the wash and we’ll see how that goes after the dryer shrinks them down.

So, did anyone run out and buy a Maya Banks book? Next up is J.R. Ward. I’m getting ready to start her books over… in about 5 minutes.

P.S. While leaving the fairgrounds Wednesday night Kahuna asked me to start stitching again. He wants me to enter something in the fair next year 😀

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Posted in Reading, Weight

Howdy neighbor

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Terri | Comments Off

Today is June 1st and I have started a major countdown. Actually the countdown has been ongoing in the back of my brain since the beginning of the year, but today it’s serious. My birthday is coming up (so’s my anniversary). Now for the past 49 years it’s never bothered me that I’m having a birthday. I’ve never been one to care about telling anyone my age, and actually I still don’t mind, but this year my birthday is actually scaring me. I think I’m about to have my mid-life crisis!! 😆

To celebrate this momenteous occasion, I’ve decided to keep with the BIG number theme. Between today (not my birthday) and my birthday in 2010, I’m going to accomplish 50 things. I’ll be posting that list in a few days.

I’ll be upfront now and state that two of those things involve something I’ve let go of over the past 6+ months. I’m going to attempt to post to my blog at least weekly and I’m going to be getting back in contact with two very dear women I’ve neglected horribly over the past 8 months. You two know who you are 🙂

Things are going okay with Kahuna and I. His race season started out with a bang and he has two races done fo this year. Miss Harley Quinn attended the second race with us and was quite the hit with the men. She’s a definite hunk magnet 🙂

I found out last Thursday that my hours were going to be cut at work and I’m determined to look at it as a good thing. When I was originally hired 14 months ago it was for 30 hours a week. The paralegal I work with has just now been released to return to work for 6 hours a day so I’m ratcheting back to 30 hours a week starting today. I’m planning on taking major advantage of it….I went to the gym, straight from work today. I’m thrilled to death that my plantar faciatis is completely gone. I had it for 18 months!!!! Anyway for the past two weeks I’ve managed to drop 5 pounds just cutting back on some bad eating habits I’d picked up. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish adding in the exercise. Kahuna and I have hit the weights a couple of times of the past couple of weeks, but now I’m going to crank that up as well. I hope someone is still reading my blog and will volunteer to help keep me honest and keep posting.

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Posted in Fitness, Puppies, Weight, Work

So, where was I? Oh, yeah!

Posted on September 20, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

Thank you for your emails this past week. I’m sorry I turned off comments, but I just didn’t want to have a bunch of comments that made me feel like everyone felt sorry for me. I don’t feel sorry for myself that I’ve made this decision – in fact, I’ve had a great stressfree week, knowing what I had waiting for me the upcoming weekend.

This is the first Saturday in a long time that I have absolutely no obligations. The ONLY thing I have to do this weekend is go grocery shopping. That leaves lot a ton of room for catching up on my DVR’d stuff, stitching 😉 and maybe a load of laundry or two. I do plan to ride this weekend though.

Kahuna has been fighting off ‘pneumonia’ since the weekend before last. He finally went to the doctor and had his lungs xrayed this past Thursday. Thankfully they are clear. He got pneumonia (for the first time) in bootcamp 100 years ago and didn’t have it again until about 1999, when he got it twice in a 3 month span and has had it (what feels like) every other year since then. It scares me and I get all hovery and naggy about going to the doctor. So he’s hanging out in the garage doing some tweaking to his tri-bike instead of surfing like he really would rather be doing trying not to cough up a lung.

I watched the first episode of Fringe bright and early this morning and thought it good enough to keep watching it. In the past I seemed to miss out on a lot of early showings because we go to bed so early and everything is on at 10:00 p.m. here. That’s changed a bit since we finally broke down and got a DVR. I have a couple of West Wing DVDs waiting for me to stitch to today, and this afternoon will find me in front of the TV watching the LSU/Auburn game. Need I say . . . Geaux Tigers?

So, where was I?

Training – I finally bit the dust and rode on heavy traffic roads this week. The first attempt I swear there were a couple of times I actually closed my eyes and prayed that I wouldn’t get run over. There are a LOT of road-ragers living here that hate cyclists. I survived and will do it again this week – at a further distance. Kahuna goes with me and that helps me feel safe. At least if I get run over, I’ll have a witness 😉

Work – going okay. The paralegal who went out on extended sick leave 2 weeks after I started returned about 4 weeks ago to work 4 hours a day. It’s definitely taken a lot of work load off me and I’m starting to get a tiny bit into what I was hired for…personal injury litigation. I’ll miss the criminal work, though.

Reading – I’ll be updating my Books tab (up top) some time this afternoon. I have several things to add. I even read the Twighlight saga twice over the past month. I’m looking forward to the movie release in December. Have I said lately how much I love my Kindle? Right now I have some books by James Grippando waiting. I like his books that feature the character criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck. The first book in the series is The Pardon.

Stitching – working on French Alphabet Sampler this weekend. Before and after photos will be posted soon-ish. I’m pondering what to take with me to Hawaii next month. Probably Hannah Beebe since I’m embarrassingly behind (read = not even started) in the stitch-a-long I started and am thinking of also taking Mimi’s Tape Measure kit. I’ve also pulled out 3 things to have Jill Rensel frame and will make a final decision on that by the end of the weekend.

Stash – I added to my collection this week too. I’ve just now started collecting the Drawn Thread Chartpacks for Sampler of Stitches and received ABC and DEF. I also got Homespun Elegance Delivering Needlewares and Home is Where You Hang Your Needleswork; and Katidid Designs Come Gather (the colors match my dining room).

Puppies – they *trapped* a gopher this morning. It was on the other side of the fence and was a very brave critter. Every time it popped its head out of the ground Harley would spaz and bark like there was a grizzly bear over there. Bandit supervised the whole time. Kahuna said it even kept poking its head out of the ground at him when he was getting the trap ready to push into the tunnel. It was rather a large one as our gophers go and it’s now in the trash bin waiting on the Monday morning garbage truck. It was hard work and the puppies are now recouperating in the sunbeams coming through the windows.

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Posted in FAS, LSU, Puppies, Reading, Stash, Stitching, Training, Work

What is your joy?

Posted on September 15, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

I have been going through a lot of personal stuff lately and really didn’t want to blog about it in case doing so became influential over what decisions needed to be made. Very little of it has been *bad* so to speak, just *stuff* that needed dealing with and decisions needing to be made. Most of it has been drudge, like cleaning out closets and dressers and giving stuff away, decluttering (still) my office and other areas of my house, financial decisions, etc.

My *litmus test* was whether or not the thing I needed to make a decision over gave me joy. It made some of the decisions very easy to make when I allowed only that aspect of it to rule. So, what is my joy?

First and foremost Kahuna. I don’t think I would be able to breathe if something were to happen to him.

The puppies. They always know when I need a snuggle – and even when I don’t need one they are still always there to love on.

Son. Not so much joy in that department lately. He’s trying to put a lot of guilt on his parents right now and we’re not buying it, but it’s still been difficult for me to deal with.

Reading. I’ve been doing so much reading since I bought my Kindle. I absolutely love it and wag it with me everywhere! Usually the most reading I do though is during my lunch break at work and then 10-15 minutes here and there.

Riding my bike. New joy! I don’t get to ride it as often and I’d like but I can see me continuing to do so for a very long time.

Swimming. A born-again-joy. I loved swimming in high school and am so glad that I’m back to it. Again, I don’t do it as often as I’d like and am trying to change that.

Stitching. Not any joy here at all. And herein lies my major problem.

I cannot live my life without the joy that stitching brings. It is the most calming factor in my life and I have solved many a problem while stitching. I have sacrificed this major joy for the running-biking-swimming thing and now the joy of those things is slipping away. So finally this weekend I decided that after October’s race, I probably won’t do another triathlon (I cannot say ‘never’).

The running is okay by myself because I don’t have to focus on anything around me…just run. Biking I have to pay attention or get run over by someone who either doesn’t know, or refuses to believe, that cyclists have the same road laws as motorists. Swimming I have to pay attention or I breathe at the wrong time and then there’s that whole drowning thing. Biking and Swimming are not something I enjoy doing by myself because of the social and safety aspects of both. There’s no one for me to train with here and I find that I don’t enjoy it. No joy.

So I’m going back to being a volunteer at Kahuna’s races and will become a dedicated triathlete widow (I’m even going to buy the T-shirt that proclaims this!) and all-around jockstrapper. I’ll ride and swim as often as I’m able and I’ll get back to stitching! It was amazing how relieved I felt when I finally made *that* particular decision.

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Posted in Life, Races, Stitching, Training

Are you enjoying the Olympics?

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Terri | Comments Off

I thoroughly enjoy watching the swimming, triathlons, track and field, etc., but the gymnastics this year has been full of drama and surprise. If you enjoy gymnastics, you may enjoy these:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBPjhB9d3jc]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tu-YAMiS5wA]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO_BnsrWMnI]

As a postscript. Thank you for your comments, and private emails, over my clothing dilemma. I especially want to thank Glenna for your link to junonia.com. I have looked at that site a hundred times, but they didn’t carry ‘true’ triathlon-wear. It looks like they’ve changed some, which gives me more options. One note about their triathlon shorts. They are NOT padded, so they’re really just compression shorts. I did receive some shorts from the site I posted about and they fit wonderfully. I ordered 2 different sizes and am pleased to say that I have to return the larger of the two and am going to exchange them for a smaller size. Still working on a top, but I think I have that figured out. In any event, can you hear the sigh of relief?

I went out on a very short (1 mile) bike ride with Kahuna this evening. He’s giving me pointers, which I really need. The main one is that I need to start riding every single day between now and the race — which by the way is exactly 2 months from today! Eek! I’m still wobbly, and he’s worried I’m going to piss off the more experienced racers. I don’t want to do that but a little part of me is thinking that this race *is* a beginner’s type race, so the more experienced racers should probably expect for we novice folks to inconvenience them somewhat…but again, I don’t want to do that.