Help! I've got wedding brain! The bride's not even wearing white, and this is what I did to a gift!
The cats are helping me keep it real. Senior cat contributed early morning barks in several locations, for example. Junior cat continues to remind me several times daily that she could potentially starve if I fail to replace the missing kibble immediately.
We went to a nearby little nature-oriented fair yesterday, and got to meet this great therapy dog. I mean, he was huge, and the sweetest boy, yes he was. Then we witnessed some heated words between the people staffing 2 adjoining environmentally-friendly booths, with the native plant lady telling a clean energy guy that she'd been listening to what he was telling people, and he was full of something something. There was a live geologist on site with several dozen kinds of rocks, but he was really involved explaining something to a park service person, so my beloved didn't get a chance to ask questions. Also, I found out that a family down the street is having a baby in October!! Yay!
What's the haps at your place?
64 comments:
I'm sorry about the repeated cat barks, Kathy! That wrapping is gorgeous, and appropriate for any occasion.
The blood test I got on Thursday left a HUGE bruise on my arm, and I didn't notice it until yesterday, and I spent the whole weekend in sleeveless shirts. Fortunately, it's really obvious what it is or folks would be asking if I were a druggie or if my husband beat me.
Am anxiously waiting for word from the imaging center about if they need me to come back in or if I have the all-clear. In many ways, I'd like them to call me back in so that I can get comprehensives for the next few years.
Am also anxiously waiting for the results of the blood tests.
I hate anxious waiting.
Proof that whining works! Blood tests came back negative for celiac and Lyme. Whew!
yay, Liz!
Hooray, Liz!!
What a relief, Liz!
(And that gift looks beautiful, Kathy!)
Nearing 5:00 and still no word from the mammographers. {nibbles fingernails}
Regarding my late whine on last week's post:
Since blood work showed nothing, I'm now going to try boring solutions to fatigue (it doesn't feel so much like sleepy as it does tired/no energy): get more and better sleep (duh), make sure I am drinking enough water, not so much caffeine, more consistent exercise. Most of those things are more difficult in the summer, but I should be able to get a little more sleep. This feels like it's been going on and increasing ever since January, which--not coincidentally--is when I started the job. But I really love the job and have no interest in being solely a stay at home mom again, so I need to find a better solution than stumbling through my days and plopping on the couch at every opportunity.
AW: I"m baking my favorite cake for my delayed birthday celebration.
Favorite cake! Hope everything else helps, too, Esperanza. There have been some big changes the last few months, and I am glad your job is making you so happy. xoxo
Liz, they are always slow when there is nothing to report. Just sayin', hope that is what it is.
Yay for the good news, Liz, and fingers crossed for more to come.
I hope your changes help, esperanza.
:) NL
p.s. and I love the gift wrapping kathy!
NL, I saw the sea glass jewelry place! And found a piece of (tiny) sea glass of my very own--one in Rockport and one in Marblehead. Our air bnb was maybe 1/4 mile from all the shops in Rockport. The weather was amazing, and silly Texan got sunburned when she should have known better. (I did sunscreen but tried to get away without a hat at commencement. Sitting in the sun from 9AM-12:30PM = esperanza requires a hat). I waved all around while riding the commuter rail toward the big city, thinking that surely I would wave in your direction.
You know, esperanza, I've heard from several friends (who were all discussing having issues with their energy levels) that it took them a while to build up their stamina when they've started back to work. If it's that, I've heard that it gets better. I'm sorry it's taken so many months, at this point.
AW: we went to a goodbye party for snakes today! Our museum had a temporary exhibit with real snakes (all native to our province), and today was the last day. There was cake!
Esperanza! I love everything you just wrote.
esperanza! Me too!!! :)
Thanks for the wave (that made me smile so much-- actually, I'm still smiling!).
Sorry about the sunburn though! But yay for sea glass!
and yay for snake cake (boy, that doesn't sound right, but, hey, it rhymes!)
:)NL
Showered with special eczema soap, lotioned with special eczema lotion. Itching somewhat relieved.
Still no word from mammographer.
YAY for snake cake! Yay for sea glass! Boo for sunburn.
A sendoff for snakes! tres cool.
Liz, glad the itching is down. I say, no news is good news. (knock wood.) If something was off, they would have contacted you by now. For some reason, they tend to forget that people who have encountered problems in the past need to know NOW, instead of in a letter in a week or so.
The specialty items from the Japanese store (for the pre-wedding picnic) are acquired. My lists, they are weird.
Liz, is your special eczema soap over-the-counter? If so, would you mind sharing the name? Mini has a terrible case right now.
I agree with kathy a that no news is good news.
Hi pixies!
Yay for beautiful box decorating, kathy! Nice! I hope the rest of your results come back with good news, Liz. I hope your energy levels build up soon, esperanza. I love the send-off for the snakes, QWP, but I wish they didn't have to go. It sounds like they were popular!
I'm starting to come out of my jetlag and have gotten over the head cold I picked up on the way home. The visit to Scotland was simply fantastic. Great group of people, great location and accommodations, and our group leader did a marvelous job. Iona was stunningly beautiful. I was in the UK for a total of 11 days. No rain. None. Our five days on Iona were sunny and warm. I got a sunburn on one of our hiking days. Who gets a sunburn in Scotland??? :)
It's good to be home with hubby and the kittens. I'm sooooo glad I didn't have to go right back to work. Now...sabbatical!
Oh, what a great trip, Sue! And now, home for sabbatical. :)
W: more barkage. It is senior cat, who is currently hiding. Poor old girl.
Welcome back, Sue, and I'm glad you're over your cold and have reunited with husband and kitties.
Oh, poor senior cat! I hope she's doing better today, Kathy.
W: the weather report says "blowing dust." It's the 1930s prairies outside right now. So much for my gardening aspirations today: I'm not going out there again until the wind dies down. (Walking to and from preschool involved stinging eyes.)
Also W: we need to work at home on the whole "not freaking out at school when another kid is sitting in the one spot where E likes to sit during circle time" issue. I talked it through the preschool teacher afterwards (we're practising at home, so that E has an easier time at preschool), and she said, "Academically, E could be starting grade 2 next year. Socially...it's a good thing you've decided she's doing a second year of preschool next year."
AW: I sat in E's spot at the dinner table, and she recognized that I was helping her practise, and so she sat in my spot instead, without losing her cool. We decided that Mr. Q will sit in her spot at suppertime.
The news is still giving me heartburn.
But! I think I have a pretty good shopping list for The Picnic! Which is totally a first world problem, plus I keep remembering more things.
Oh, good strategy, QWP, doing practice at home.
There's all kinds of learning, QWP.
AW: generally boring news at the dermatologist
W: one biopsy, which would not be bad except it's right where my glasses rest on my nose. (It's not for anything scary--either something completely benign or something easily removable)
Oh, and late-breaking news from last night, my Vitamin D is persistently low. Anyone have any experience with this?
No experience with that, no.
Good work on the practicing, QWP!!
Welcome home, Sue!
Of course you're obsessed, Kathy, good to have something beautiful to focus on in these troubled times.
My mam is fine, check in again next year due to family history.
Yay on the mam!
I know not from Vit. D, either.
On my little grocery run, there were pineapples. So those are going on the list, too. (For my son's 5th BD, he said he wanted to take all his friends to Hawaii! So we had a backyard luau, and I decorated yellow balloons to look like pineapples. Aloha!)
Sorry about the ongoing bark troubles, kathy. Hope senior kitty is feeling better. Yummy pineapples!!
Yay on the mam result Liz!
Great idea to teach/learn about stressful situations with E, QWP.
I haven't heard of Vit D deficiency either. :(
Ah! So your vitamin D levels are low, esperanza? It's a pretty common thing this far north (Canadians all have to supplement our babies with D drops, because our breast milk doesn't produce enough). Does your doctor have you on a supplement now? I've had to do both supplement and enriched foods, because I can't have seafood (but, if you can have seafood: fish oil! But also egg yolks, and enriched stuff!). You might also need to make sure you're getting enough calcium, because if your vitamin D is chronically low, then your body might not be absorbing enough calcium either.
W: super low air pressure system = head feels like it's going to explode.
QWP, yeah, it's a constant tug here between protection from sunburn (hi, I'm a pale person) and Vitamin D. Doctor said it's very common, and she routinely checks it. I've been trying 1000 mg/day since September, which brought it up slightly. She's recommending 10,000 once a week. I drink fortified milk, too. Eggs, unless they are in dessert, are disgusting (one of my many food texture issues), and I'm not a huge fan of seafood either. "Mild Deficiency" was what the lab report said. Check again in 3 months.
I've had Vitamin D issues too. Actually, my doctor jokes that I can always tell, because I get these weird skin sensations that almost feel like when shower water hits a sunburn. Then, she'll check and it's low. But then again, it's usually low, so I don't know..... I have done the 10,000 mg thing before, and yes to what QWP said about calcium too.
:)Neighbor Lady
Thanks, NL. I'll look into the calcium business, too. I don't have the weird skin sensations (I don't think so, anyway).
Oh! The cleanser is Neutrogena ultra gentle hydrating cleanser. Supposed to be for face, but I used it on my whole body. Doesn't foam, feels lotiony
Followed up w gold bond ultimate eczema relief skin protectant cream after I got out of the shower while still wet.
Then touched up before bed with neosporin eczema essentials daily cream.
All recommended by national eczema association
Thanks, Liz. When she was smaller, the doctor advised that we just not use any soap at all. But...um...stinky little girl armpits are making that unworkable. Hers is always at its worst in the spring.
On the NEA website there is a list of products they have approved https://nationaleczema.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/NEA_Brochure_SoA2014_v4.pdf?x34464
Liz on iPhone
One thing NOT on their list is anti-perspirant. I had been using Toms of Maine, but it stopped working and I've gone back to Dove Sensitive Skin, which works pretty well. But I'm guessing that stopping moisture from getting to one's pits may be counter-productive eczema-wise.
I obviously should not be left alone long with my list for the picnic, because I just added artichokes. They can be served chilled, and make a great graze and chat food. (If you like artichokes; heavy concentration of Californians at the picnic, and the artichoke capital of the world is not that far away.)
Costco has HUGE jars of artichokes.
Oh, I'm getting the jarred marinated artichoke hearts already (for the pasta salad)! Was thinking of steaming and chilling some fresh ones, too; healthy and delish. (The hard parts of leaves aren't edible, but the soft parts? Mmmm.)
Liz, re: armpits, she's using an Arm & Hammer deodorant with no issues. Armpits have never been a trouble spot. She's all about the backs of knees and insides of elbows, which made me think it was heat rash when she was a baby. We do unscented detergents, which I've grown to like anyway and now find regular ones to be overpowering.
I got nothing on artichokes, though
A lifelong friend of MotB (basically a family member) was left off the picnic list by accident. But now he's got an invite, and he accepted! I think that's it for the picnic list.
There will only be so many artichokes, and when they are gone, they are gone. It's possible some people don't like them so much, but my son does. ;)
I love fresh artichokes. My mom always steamed them and served them with breadcrumbs sauteed in garlic butter. Drool. I'm the only one in my house who likes them, so I hardly ever eat them. BUT every so often I find a can of unmarinated artichoke bottoms, and then I fry up some bread crumbs and GO TO TOWN.
Esperanza, all my rashes seem to be on the bony joints, rather than in the nooks, except for one where my underwire was rubbing.
Rash currently on top of ankles, knees, elbows, one shoulder, the knuckles at the bases of my biggest and littlest toes on both feet, the knuckle at the base of the middle finger on my right hand, and under one breast.
ITCH.
Mini's seems to be triggered by a nasal allergy attack, which always happens in the spring. Then the eczema goes nuts, mostly on the fleshy parts. I'm so sorry you're so itchy, too.
Poor Mini. And thanks.
Because of the one under my breast, I did something today that I haven't done in decades.
I went outside of my house without a bra on. Now, I'm wearing a dress with a very fitted bodice, and I checked with MS before I went out to ask him if he could tell, but still.
Decades.
Wow. It would be decades for me too. That must be some serious itch.
Even more decades for me... I've sometimes used large bandaids under the underwire, when there's irritation.
My son's coming by later to see the setup for sound at the wedding site. Which is apparently not much of a setup -- speakers, and a jack for input from the sound equipment someone else brings. He understands what they'll need to bring, and I don't.
We have to go later than planned, because the preschool is having graduation today! Aww.
Bandaids usually exacerbate any itch that I have. Like right now. The bandaid on my nose is driving me nuts. I'm supposed to keep the biopsy site covered, but I think the bandaid may be irritating my nose such that I'm going to have a bigger ouchy than I did in the first place. But if I take it off, my glasses (which are highly necessary) will rub on it. Thinking of removing it while I sleep tonight to give my skin a rest.
Esperanza, check in your nearest pharmacy to see what other coverage options they have.
There is such a thing as a hypoallergenic bandaid. And the nurse (PA?) suggested that paint-on liquid skin stuff.
Gee, I wonder where Mini gets her sensitive skin?
Hmmm...it's a real mystery.
Folks, I am going to stop what I am doing right now and take a shower and slather on my special eczema lotion and hope that all the itchiness would just fireplacing stop already. Also the sneezing.
Allergic to only cats and dogs my Aunt Fanny. I AM ALLERGIC TO THE WORLD.
Score: I found several packs of cheerful appetizer-sized napkins hidden here and there -- bought long ago for another event, but perfect! They are joining the growing tribe of Necessaries.
The liquid bandage works, but as I recall, is kind of ouchy when applied. Here's to quick healing.
Still waiting on the GAL report. Feeling anxious. Mother's Day was really hard with the lack of celebration from my kids. One of them did make a nice Instagram post, but not even hugs or anything from the other two. Toddler baked a coffee cake with me--she, at least, still enjoys spending time and doing things together.
((((PK)))))
((( PK )))
OK, so my son has figured out what he needs, sound-wise, and arranged to rent it. Yay. And he'll want to store some stuff at our house, since it is close to the wedding site, all OK.
And, this weekend he wants to come over and build some stands for something. Plus he said he needs to make a "photo booth" for the wedding, and I do not even know what that's about. All the building of stuff falls into his dad's jurisdiction.
Yay, they love the gift!
Oh, PK. So many hugs. I hope that the GAL report is helpful (and that the GAL recognises the blatant parental alienation that's been going on).
AW/W: E and I got through our eye exams unscathed, and she still doesn't need glasses (all the issues are borderline, and he's cautious about overcorrecting with growing eyes). But apparently I have a small, benign lesion on my right retina. He looked back through all my files (I've been with this same clinic for my whole life), and I guess that it's been there and inert for a very long time (and none of the other optometrists there have found it to be notable), but somehow he's wondering (based on some research he's doing, and collaboration with a colleague who is a gyno) about the connections between all the benign growths in my body. So, apparently he's doing some further consultation and forwarding the stuff about my eyes to my family doctor.
QWP, that is sort of intriguing, though I'm sorry you have to have an intriguing thing.
Hugs to PK.
W/AW: I played Bunco with the neighborhood women tonight (AW). I lost (W). But, if you lose, you get the $5 back that you paid to play (AW).
I have no idea what bunco is. But it seems generous to return your losses!
Slowly laying in more picnic supplies; so far I have stashes in 5 different places. Not.Even.Close. to done. But AW, I just found some foldable canvas box/carriers that will be handy! (They were under the stashed GS cookies.)
Bunco is a dice game that requires exactly zero skill. It's all luck. Which means that it's a fun game to play while (a) drinking; and (b) talking about other things. This group doesn't do much drinking, but lots of visiting. I got my money back for winning the least number of hands.
Hooray for helpful stashes and laying in supplies.
QWP -- Bleah about the benign been-there-forever thing in your eye suddenly becoming the object of attention. Hate when that kind of thing happens, and hope the recommendation is just, let's keep an eye on it. (So to speak.) xoxo
I'm sincerely trying to be cool about the wedding in real time, just chug along ticking things off my list. And, that's working! I've solved a bunch of outstanding problems so far this weekend.
But I am not the only person here who's a little obsessed. My beloved just bought this giant heavy pot for cooking one of the dishes up at the picnic site. [Yes, he says this will fit on the propane burner he bought a while back, for the same dish.] My daughter is fretting about clothing, wondering if a nice sundress is good enough for the VERY casual picnic...
My mind is also boggled by the US having lost a great deal of standing among traditional and strong allies in the last week or two. Lot of damage out there, in addition to the horror show at home. It took many decades to build and sustain those alliances. And now we are seen as unreliable partners, taking only a very short time to get to that point.
So hell yeah, we're focused on the joyful wedding. xoxo
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