Friday, February 25, 2011

Adieu to you, February

My gosh, I have been away for almost the entire month. At least for this last week I have a solid excuse. I have a confirmed case of the flu! I guess I started getting sick last Saturday, slowly but surely and it ballooned until I was a coughing, hacking mess with a nasty fever and other bodily woes.

I had my Tysabri infusion on Tuesday morning even though I felt like a sad sack. We all knew I was sick but I didn't know just how sick I was. I probably should not have had the infusion that day but I just thought I had a bad cold then. I mean, I have MS and I generally don't get sick too often because of that highly functioning immune system.

The question everyone wants to know is did I get the flu shot?

NO!

I always, always, always get the flu shot either at work or at the doctor's office but I just somehow missed it this year. I signed up too late at work to get it and then my Dad died in November and I kind of fell apart for a while.

So I am on Tamiflu and an antibiotic and an inhaler to deal with my chest gunk. This is on top of the plethora of meds I take on a daily basis for MS and diabetes. I am getting tired of pills, but they are making me feel better. Hooray for that.

In other, more delightful, news:

1.) My A1C level has dropped from a 7.5 to a 6.7! This is somehow miraculous because I have NOT been testing my blood sugars regularly and my med regimen has not been all that regimented since my Dad died. (I know it's time to take my life back and test, test, test and watch what I eat and actually start dancing and exercising again.) I think my Dad sprinkled some fairy dust from Heaven into my blood during the draw the other afternoon. There's just no other reasonable and feasible explanation.

2.) I have a new part-time job. I joined Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator after first saying no to it, then pondering it, and finally jumping in with both feet. My first official workshop should be in about 2 weeks, well after I get un-flued! I'm looking forward to it.

3.) My mid-winter break is coming to an end but I am thankful that I have good health insurance, a great doctor, access to decent meds, and time off to recover. Thankfully, (knocking on particle board here) my MS has not acted up.

That's about it for February!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Happy February

Yesterday was not only Groundhog Day but, more importantly, it was a SNOW day for me. I was able to do some napping, loads of cleaning which my apartment needed, some beef stew making in the crock pot, and I made tons of Valentine's Day cards. That's my new non-caloric obsession: card making.

On Saturday I went to a scrapbooking get-together and made cards there. Then I started up with more cards on Tuesday night and continued that into snow day Wednesday. I have probably made upwards of some twenty cards for my valentine friends. I delivered most of them today and I still forgot some friends so more cards await in my future.

I had a Stampin' Up! card party at my good pal, BJM's house last week. (I had it there because my place is so little and there's not enough table space.) It was so much fun because we had a great demonstrator who even asked me to join her team! I said no for now but perhaps in the future it might be something I would consider. It was also a great time to order things because with every $50 spent you could choose something free from a variety of goodies. Then there were the free hostess gifts and just my regular ordering of new stamps and inks and such.

I have to admit I spent more than I normally would on myself but I don't do a whole lot of spending on *me*. I don't wear makeup (gasp) or wear fancy clothes. I don't travel anymore and I stay close to home, especially now with the winter weather. So in my mind, I figure that I deserve to get more goodies for myself. I have also justified some spending on stamps and such because I am making thank you cards for those who donate money, goods, or services to my MS Walk team.

Speaking/Typing of the MS Walk, we have (as a team) raised $750 to date and I am almost at $500 for my individual fundraising. I'd like to raise 3K this year which is a few hundred dollars more than last year. I'd also like to see the size of our team grow to include at least one male and more friends overall. I have high hopes for our team this year and I plan to do something different with our raffle baskets to get more money and more people buying tickets. My mind is awash with money-making ideas.

I hope this message finds you in good spirits. The sun came out today so I find myself feeling extra-cheery after not seeing it for several days. I do love a snow day but I like some sunshine as well.