my scramblings & ramblings
Lisa Schroeder (lisa_schroeder) has this cute little this-or-that survey on her Web site.
You know I can hardly resist a survey, so here goes:
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Today is my first day of Copyediting I, through the UC San Diego Extension course. I already did one of my assignments, which was to introduce myself on the classroom discussion board. There are several readings for me to complete before the end of the week. I can’t even believe I’m back in school again, even if it is an online course. There will even be quizzes and a midterm. Oh Lord, help me.
Update on the sore throat situation:
Friday, my doctor’s office called and said that he wanted me to get a CAT scan. A CAT scan. Eek. I would have been okay with it, except my insurance has a $500 deductibe and then they only cover 80% of the cost. He also wanted me to see an ENT (ear/nose/throat) specialist. It just so happens that my co-worker’s father happens to be one of the most respected ENTs in the city. She called him and told him my situation. They got me an appointment for today. In the meantime, my doctor was kind enough to give me a prescription for Darvocet once he found out how much ibuprofen I was taking to edge off the pain.
The ENT told me to hold off on the CAT scan. If I was all swollen and stuff, it wouldn’t do any good and would be a waste of my money. That was a relief, and I need to call my doctor and tell him that.
I took three Darvocet Friday night over the course of about six hours or so. I slept and slept and slept on Saturday. There were points that my throat felt like–okay, you know how it is when you want to cry and you’re trying not to? That pressure? That’s how I felt. My ears, too. Ouch. Three more Darvocet kept me feeling pretty sleepy Saturday, and I woke up Saturday night, at around 730 or so. It felt like there was a gigantic cotton ball in my throat. I knew that if I could somehow pull that cotton ball out, I’d start to feel better.
Sunday morning, I woke up and realized I was able to swallow. SWALLOW! There was virtually no pain, and I was just.. amazed. I’d forgotten how it felt to feel somewhat normal. I’d been eating very little lately because it’s just been too miserable to get anything past my fiery throat, so when my friend Angelo bought me dinner at Ponderosa last night, I kinda sorta pigged out. It was SO nice to talk without pain, to eat without pain. It still kind of hurts when I yawn, or if I swallow too hard, but it’s not like I’m yawning or dramatically swallowing all the time, right?
Today, I went to the ENT. After listening to me describe my symptoms and examining me, he said that although I am starting to feel better, he was going to put me on acute status. That means that the second I start to feel anything like I have the past several weeks (If that happens, it’s possible that I am actually healting, but time will tell), save today and yesterday, to call and he’d see me right away. He also said that he is concerned about my tonsils, but not to the point where we need to talk surgery. He did say that tonsils and wreck havoc on the entire head system, including ears. He mentioned that I could be healing–and that at the early stages, my symptoms could be going away but the tissue won’t be healed for a long time–or things could be quieting down just for a bit and could flare up really badly again. And as I said, the pain is not completely gone. I know I’m not out of the woods yet, so I’m keeping his business card close, just in case.
I’ve been making it through the day with no painkillers at all, but I am still taking a Darvocet at night, because I don’t want to take any chances and be awakened by crazy pain. So, that’ s the update so far.
Oh yeah…. I really hate it when big pills decide to go CROSSWAYS down my throat. OUCH.
Aidan is still up North. I called today and he was being REALLY naughty! My mom had to put him in time out and at one point, Aidan got mad and started yelling “I WANT MOMMY I WANT MOMMY.” I’m thinking “Um, sure, but if I was there, you’d be staying in time out because you were not acting nice!” Lots of drama, especially when he is tired.
My appetite has been sufficiently supressed. The Psuedovent is doing it. There is a warning in the patient info thingy that says DO NOT TAKE APPETITE SUPPRESSANTS WHILE TAKING THIS MEDICATION or something like that. And when I asked my pharmacist friend Angelo last night at dinner, he said something about there being some appetite suppressing agents in the Psuedovent. So, in addition to not eating much due to being in pain, I also haven’t had much appetite. I got on the scale tonight before my bath and in clothes, I weighed 107.
I haven’t been below 110 since the summer of 2006. I wonder if I can keep this up? Last year this time I was definitely bigger. My jeans are falling off of me these days. I’m not complaining.
Friday, I won a $20 gift certificate to amazon.com from the Wise Bread Forums! Now I have $45 to spend there, and no clue what I want to spend it on. Well, I have some ideas, but I haven’t decided which one(s) to go with yet.
I find myself once again addicted to that damn Poppit game on pogo.com. Son of a bitch. I won’t even bother linking it because then I’ll GO there and end up playing for another two hours. Argh. Stupid fun pointless cute games.
I should go to bed. I was up late last night, had a horrible time finding my way to the doctor’s office today (wasted so much gas, grrr), and I just need more rest. I definitely don’t want to relapse and go back into that horrible pain again.
Good night.
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Happy 2008, everyone. I have a feeling this year is going to be amazing for me. 🙂 Let’s see why:
– I’m moving to Chicago
– I’m marrying adamselzer ♥
– Aidan’s 5, the best age EVER
– I have a new computer
It’ll be even better if this sinus pain or stuff would clear up.
Today was a so-so day. Healthwise, I was in the worst pain by far all day. Ibuprofen worked enough to make me very sleepy, but didn’t really knock out the pain. I called my doctor to see if he’d have mercy on me and prescibe me something to help me sleep, but I haven’t heard from him yet. Will try again tomorrow. Cause it gets infinitely worse at night, I don’t sleep, I’m miserable, and I am crap all day at work because of it.
I hope this thing clears away soon. The Psuedovent I am on is supposed to be thinning out this stuff, and making it come out of me, but I swear, things have gotten worse. My ears feel like they are perpetually on fire. And my eyes. People look at me and go “do you have pinkeye?” They’re red and all gunky and just, blah. I’m hoping that means things are draining and moving in there, but we’ll see.
Went to the dentist. That’s always fun. I have to get two fillings. Last time I went and they told me that, the cost was frightening and prohitibitive. This time, it didn’t seem so bad. I should probably get it handled before I move, because who knows how long I’ll have to wait for insurance after then? Other than that, my teeth look good, she said. Yay.
My dentist office is cool. I go to The Gentle Dentist. At my appointment today, I sat in a massage chair, and the hygenist and I chatted about Rachael Ray as the Food Network played above me. I got cherry toothpaste for my tooth polishing.
I think I should probably get my eyes checked too, and maybe get some new glasses. The problem is that my insurance says everything is “discounted.” Nothing is “covered,” actually. I’m a little bit wary, because there is no information about the size of the discount or anything.
newlifeinstpaul has been requesting that I post my recipe for macaroni and cheese, so here goes:
Ronni’s Macaroni & Cheese
elbow macaroni (or whatever shape you prefer)
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
shredded mild cheddar cheese
grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
shredded Mozzarella cheese
2% milk, or evaporated milk
butter
salt
vegetable oilBoil the macaroni with butter, salt, and oil until desired firmness. Drain. Add the macaroni back to the pot, and turn on low heat. Add butter and milk. Gradually add cheeses, stirring as you do so. Once you have desired cheesiness, season to taste. Enjoy!
Very easy, very yummy.
Hmm. I had some other stuff, but now that the drugs are kicking in, the fuzziness is taking over and I am not quite sure of what that other stuff was. Well, one is that I am reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. So far, it’s delightful.
Lucy’s been awesome lately. She’s so chill these days, and I now LOVE having her in the room with me at night, or anytime I am in here. One of my favorite things to do is to lie on my tummy, and to have Lucy lie on my legs and purr. It’s so relaxing. Now, she’s taking a bath. :O
Brr! Cold! Temps in the teens and low 20s. But tomorrow, things are supposed to warm up again. Yay.
Yesterday was awful, it went SO SLOWLY! Today was a little bit better, except when the ibuprofen made me really sleepy. Tomorrow’s Friday, which means I’ll pop by the library on the way home, and possibly the grocery store to get some wine. Wine is really good at helping me sleep. 🙂 Then, I’m going to enjoy my weekend of nothingness. Well, sort of. I SHOULD take down the Christmas decorations, as Christmas officially ends January 6th, but I probably won’t. We’ll see how I feel. I really want to get better, so I may simply rest.
Speaking of rest, I should try to do that now. The meds are kicking in hardcore now, and I want to lie down. I have to pay a bill first, though.
Till next time!
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That’s all for now.
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Today, I went to a new doctor. I needed one closer to home, and one that wasn’t so insanely busy. I like my old family doctor, but it just wasn’t working out for me anymore. So, this new guy. He is totally cool. Spent at least 30 minutes with me, explaining what was happening and why I felt so bad. He drew diagrams and everything. Told me what he was going to do for me now, and then next steps to take if these didn’t work out. Basically, I have a chronic sinus infection. Chronic because it’s been going on for more than six weeks. The pain is due to all the drainage, my throat apparently looks like a cobblestone road, and the stuff that needs to drain is too thick and it’s all bunching up in my ears. Now I’m on this medicine called Pseudovent 400 for the next month. It is not an antibiotic. It should thin out the stuff that’s too thick to leave me alone. It cost me more than $50, so it had better work! If that doesn’t work, I have an antibiotic in reserve called Levaquin. I’ll be on that for three weeks. If THAT doesn’t work, then I’ll have to go in for a CAT scan, to make sure there isn’t a cyst or something harboring bacteria. So, here’s hoping that I will get better, and SOON. For real this time. At any rate, this new doctor is very cool. Any one who allows hair band music to be played in the office can’t be bad.
The past week was incredible. Spending my birthday and Christmas with Adam was perfect. PERFECT. He spoiled me, too. I spend a great deal of time alone, I forget how nice it is to have someone bring me a cup of Earl Grey with four sugars (yes, I know, Rosa, my SYRUP) just the way I like it. And it’s nice to have someone to cuddle with. I also forgot how many more dishes 2 to 3 people can create. I shudder when I look at my kitchen. He made this grog stuff in the Crock-Pot that smelled amazing, but I’m scared at how hard it will be to clean up.
Adam got me the last Leven Thumps book, so now I have all three of them. Win!
Christmas and all was really amazing for me. Sunday night, Aidan and Adam (adamselzer) got to bond. Here they are being cute together:
They listened to Alpha Butt by Kimya Dawson a lot, and we watched Christmas stuff, and Adam and Aidan got into their stockings. We also had dinner at Outback Steakhouse, which was quite the yum. On the way to dinner, it snowed a bit. Here’s Aidan trying to catch a flake:
Aidan would NOT go to sleep Sunday night. I finally just left him in his room. He got up and turned the light on and made a hot mess, which he will need to clean sometime soon. I went to get his stuff out of the closet. There are bells on the closet. The bells jingled. I heard him gasp and go “Santa?” It was the CUTEST THING EVER. But my child is way too smart, he figured out it was me. I hadn’t even been trying to trick him or anything, it just happened. But to hear that little gasp and … “Santa?” Awww.
Monday morning, we all got up and opened gifts. Adam got me a very pretty sweater and this Rent hardcover: [link]. (He also took me out to eat 39385349 times). Aidan really had a great time opening things.
I got this awesome tea from Rosa. One is cookie-flavored. Mmm.
Monday morning, Adam, Aidan, and I to my mom’s. On the way there, we stopped at a Flying J so Adam could get my stepfather some lottery tickets. Adam bought ten for Greg, and one for himself. Adam won $1 on the ticket.
Mommy’s was a lot of fun. Andy (crimsonghost_oh) and Chris (zenosidal) was there, and Aidan was running around and it was chaotic and crazy.
Dinner was yummo. Once again, my mac & cheese was a hit. But my dressing was too dry. 🙁
newlifeinstpaul, this one’s for you:
After dinner, there was a small exchange. Andy gave Aidan a Cleveland Browns fleece shirt, which Aidan LOVES, and he gave me a bag of Cheetohs. I’d been craving Cheetohs for quite some time now, so that made me happy. THEN he gave me a brand new HP Pavilion dv6000 Entertainment PC. Um… whoa? Of course, it’s an investment, which means I need to write a kick ass book. 🙂 🙂 🙂 It’s so nice not to be chained to my desk anymore. I am now posting from my futon, and I should probably go ahead and move to my bed. w00t!
Andy had to leave. We waited ’til Greg got home to exchange everything else. Aidan was really excited:
I would like to note the sweater he is wearing. All this time, I’d been trying to locate an argyle sweater for him. Come to find out, he already had one that my mom had bought him some time ago. I was right, he DOES look handsome in one!
I got sweaters, pajamas, and a $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble from my mom and Greg. Perfect. Chris gave Adam and me cute Longaberger Christmas accessories. Aidan made out like a little bandit, as usual. 🙂 And you know what that little bugger insisted on playing with? This old parrot that repeats everything that he found in the garage. What the ever loving hell? Yes, he got tons of new toys and clothes (check out the two big bags by the tree. Both for Aidan, both full of toys), and he insisted on having that stupid parrot repeat everything he and everyone else said. Oh well. Kids. At least he was having fun. I should have gotten a picture of the parrot.
Greg scratched off the lottery tickets that Adam got him. Seven of the 10 were winners. Remember that Adam’s ticket had been a winner as well. Eight out of 11 lottery tickets bought at the Flying J were winners. What are the odds of that?
Later, Chris and Aidan (and all of the noisy toys, including the parrot) headed back to Columbus, and Adam and I crashed at my parents’. I slept horribly because I was in SO MUCH pain. My mom was warning me about taking so many ibuprofen pills, but I had to do something for relief. Christmas Day was kind of weird because it was the first year I didn’t have anything to open ON Christmas Day. It was still a nice day, sitting around and chatting and watching TV. The drive back was nice and clear. Adam and I got back to Columbus about 4:15 or so, and we spent the evening watching Arrested Development on DVD and drinking champagne. The champagne helped me get to sleep. The pain was still there, but I didn’t care as much.
Yesterday, I got a package from Ivy (swankivy)! This girl knows me so well. It’s hard to believe that next summer, we’ll have known each other for ten years. Here was the funny thing. Adam was taking me out to breakfast, and on the way out, I saw the mail truck. Something told me to stop and go to the mailboxes in my building. Adam stayed in the car and made a phone call while I went in. The mail guy saw me and said “You’re Davis! I have a package here for you!” Woohoo! It was the package from Ivy, and it was full of cool stuff such as a Bananagrams game! OH MY GOD. I LOVE playing anagrams, and I love bananas. How freakin’ perfect, right? And… and… she got me this book that’s supposed to be p*rn for women. It’s actually pages of really good-looking men saying things like “The game’s on. That means there should be plenty of parking at the craft show, let’s go!” The best part is that many of the nice, sensitive things in there are things Adam already does for me. *feels spoiled* She also got me 100 sticks of Nag Champa. I haven’t even used all the Nag Champa that she and Andy got me last year, and I have more. This makes me VERY happy. There was a journal, a copy of Firestarter (the book) and some really cool stuff for Aidan. I can’t wait ’til he sees what she got him.
I started to get a bit sad because well, I knew that the next day, Adam would be going back to Chicago. I drank wine, and he drank this special Christmas ale that Andy got him, and watched more Arrested Development. I thought to myself that I could get used to this. I need to go and buy wine. There is this cheap citrus stuff at Marc’s. I can get a bottle for $3.49. Yum.
Today was bittersweet. I was excited about the new doctor, but really upset about Adam leaving. I was grateful for the week we got to spend together (which certainly wasn’t long enough), but angry that it had to come to an end. When will it be time for us to NOT have to say good-bye?
I know that every day is a day closer to when we’ll be together. I know that he is in Chicago pounding those pavements and doing what he can to get me out there ASAP, and building up this new ilfe for us. And I’m here to spend time with Aidan and prepare for yet another HUGE life change that is coming up for me. But now, it’s hard. The good-byes hurt more every time. And my apartment feels so empty now. Sunday night, it felt so perfect.
The good thing is that I have a new computer to customize. And a book to write. It just recently hit me that I got to have a one-on-one consulation with an agent and she helped me plot out a book. That is beyond awesome. Those’ll keep me busy until I see him again… it’s harder when I have no idea when the next time will be, though. 🙁
Time to get off of here for now. The ole ear/throat pain is pounding, as usual, and work is NOT going to be easy tomorrow.
Ta ta for now.
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