so there IS a reason (or two)

i've spent much of the last few months frustrated. with myself, my body, my lack of energy or motivation to do anything at all.  

i've stayed busy, accepting babysitting jobs here and there and teaching a few piano lessons all while working 40+ hours a week. that's true. and i've attempted to make time for friends and family time in all that, but sadly have failed to do that as much as i wanted to.

and i have been tired. and i have been sick for what seems like an extreme amount over the last 10 months or so, but the last couple of months have been especially vicious.

and i've been sooooo frustrated. by being sick and tired. and being tired. and being sick.

so when a mere week after being out of work with a stomach bug that i won't detail here i woke up with a fever of 102.8 (which is pretty high for someone whose norm is 97.5) i was mad. my throat ached, but so did my whole body, and i was freezing. so i was a bit unclear whether i was dealing with strep, flu or the plague, but i knew whatever it was i was not a fan.

and i couldn't leave the bed, until my husband came home after lunch and insisted i call my doctor so that i could go there instead of a walk-in clinic.  he drove me mainly because i was in no condition to drive.

the nurse practitioner who saw me couldn't tell me exactly what was going on because both the flu and strep tests came back negative.  however, she visually diagnosed strep, put me on an antibiotic to deal with that, and told me that this was clearly a mean illness of some sort because "i've never laid eyes on you, but you look like you feel awful".

i did.

and that feeling (and fever) didn't go away for several days, and even when it did, i.was.exhausted.

anthony insisted i call the doctor, who responded "if you still feel this way on tuesday, come in for a mono test".

fast forward to tuesday and the myriad of tests they actually ran...and the following day when i got the call.

not only do i have mono that's been hanging around for an undetermined amount of time, but i also am severely anemic.

well, ok then.

lots of things cleared up with just those words. i'm not being lazy, there are actual medical reasons why i cannot bring myself to work out on a consistent basis even though i desperately want to be moving.

i often fall asleep on the couch these days is because i have reasons to be tired!

i've been taking iron for a week now, and anthony told me yesterday that he can already tell a difference. as for me?  yes, i still fall asleep on the couch once in awhile, but its for 20 minutes, not two hours. yes, i'm still exhausted, but exercising isn't out of the question. i finally am starting to get a tiny bit of "me" back, and for that i'm excited. and grateful.

i'm grateful that the tests she ran for more serious things have not materialized as anything (at least not yet--and i don't expect them to). i'm grateful that for the issues i'm dealing with there is a somewhat simple fix. i'm grateful that i have a co-teacher who is understanding that sometimes i just need to sit for a few minutes (usually with one or five children clamoring to be on my lap...and that's ok). i'm grateful that the acute antibodies weren't present in the mono test, so i CAN work...and that none of my students seem to have caught anything from me.  i'm grateful that when my job description changes in a month or so i should be back to feeling normal again. (i've been interim teaching the pre-k class since april 1, but go back to the admin team and add teaching music to all the classes in mid-august).

it could have been worse.
it could have been different.
and without a case of strep from hell, i would never have discovered that these other things were going on.

so with that said...thank God for a case of strep throat.

xoxo

thursday's ten: the non-suggested 5k edition

times i wouldn't suggest running a 5k

when you've been sick with the flu 3 out of the last 5 days.
when because of your back being injured for 6 weeks followed by the flu, you haven't trained even once in the last 2 months
when it's classified as an off road adventure
when your asthma is acting up
when you stayed up until 3 am with a girlfriend eating junk and watching tv
when you are used to temperatures over the mid 60s (in tennessee) and you are now set to run in 40 degree northwestern kentucky weather
when rain is also predicted
when your tennis shoes are so old they aren't really great for running on any surface anymore, much less non-paved surfaces
when you forget to take your inhaler until halfway up the first hill (thank GOODNESS i had borrowed a spibelt to carry it in and was able to remedy that quickly!)

BUT

if you choose to still do the 5k after ALL that?

it may be awesome
it may be fun
it may be the worst time you've ever had because you ended up HIKING in the woods on a single file trail instead of running a 5k (guess that's what they meant by off road)
there may be gorgeous scenery

you may feel an enormous sense of accomplishment just for surviving
it may be something you want to do again, at least once in awhile :-)

coming out of my (you guessed it) sick fog to post some exciting swag news

seriously, i'm sick again. although i'm on the upswing now, i've been running a lovely fever and having general flu-like symptoms for the last 3 days.

BUT i just read this and had to come post it quickly.

Starting on November 1st, the Swagbucks Swag Store will be bringing you lower prices and limitless rewards. (and they even make sense now. $5 gift cards are 500 swagbucks, $10 gift cards are 1000 swagbucks, etc, etc. the only exception is amazon $5 cards which will still be 450 swagbucks!

You can now snag even more rewards, because the old monthly redemption limits (except the $5 Amazon.com Gift Card which bums me out slightly) will be gone. You’re still limited to 2 rewards per day, but you can get as many repeat cards as you want! 

this means i may actually get a $10 and $25 amazon card or two each month in addition to my normal 5 $5 cards. this means christmas shopping just got WAY easier. and free-er.

um, if you haven't signed up for swagbucks yet, you really should. click on any of the links in this post and (a) you'll start earning free gift cards by doing very simple things and (b) i'll get referral bucks when you search on sb!

oh, and there's a new program where if you go to stores you normally shop at (like itunes for example...) and purchase something you get swagbucks. it varies how many sb you get per dollar spent,  and you don't get instant gratification. but i just got 18 swagbucks in my account for using an itunes gift card (therefore spending NO money) to buy a 8.99 album last month. check out the shop and earn tab to see what stores are featured!

thursday's ten or so: the fall 2012 sickly edition

the funny thing about working with children is that you pick up more bugs than you would normally. and even though i've worked with children in some capacity since about 2000 (at daycare while i was in college)...somehow the children at my new preschool are giving me a whole new "welcome basket" worth of stuff. 

in the last 4 weeks, here's what's happened (this also should explain why i haven't blogged much recently, ha)

1. i got the stomach bug that had ripped through the school. no surprise since i had cuddled sick babies 3 days before.
2. anthony got the stomach bug, only his lasted approximately 3 times as long as mine did. sorry, babe.
3. my back was in the process of going out. while pushing a child's wheelchair one beautiful friday afternoon, it gave up. turning around to stop a child from ingesting paint while pushing wheelchair...not a good plan
4. anthony got a sinus infection*
5. my back continued to be awful, and my hip joined in on the fun. approximate age: 148
6. i started getting a sinus infection*
7. my back finally started getting better with chiropractic visits and lots of ice packs...yay. (and as of tonight it's ALMOST back to normal)
8. i ran a low-grade fever off and on for several days
9. today i went to the doctor with a suspicion. sure enough, i have pinkeye. oh joy.

there's no telling what's next. but you know what? i still love my job :-) bless those sweet little germ carriers.

*obviously we can't blame the preschool for the sinus infections...but there have definitely been some plagues on this house! 


on another note: today my friend natasha and i got tickets to the P!NK concert that's happening in nashville in march. she pointed out later the irony that the day i get pinkeye we got pink tickets. ha. 

hey, it's ok (2.21)

hey, it's ok


...to take a day off when it's handed to you (rather than going into the office of your other job even for just a couple of hours)
...to alternate bouts of productivity with moments of rest 
...to keep the kleenex box next to you at all times (today that's not just ok it's necessary!)
...to reorganize a kitchen cabinet 3 times in one afternoon
...to be likely to organize said cabinet again in the near future
...to not have blogged in a long time (oops)
...to have discovered that we really like annie's boxed mac and cheese on occasion
...to be sort of addicted to juicing
...to wonder if the laundry will completely overtake us one of these days


(go visit amber's amazing blog and join up with your own list!)

Oink, Oink (maybe)

It began Sunday morning.

I was scheduled for praise team at church and woke up stuffy and sneezy. Somehow I still made it through rehearsal and two services. Then I led a 2-hour rehearsal with the youth choir.

Then I went home and took a nap. I took my temperature upon entering my house and it was 99.7, so no big deal. 2 degrees is nothing to worry about. (my normal temp is 97, not 98 like most people)

I went BACK to church a mere 3 hours after leaving, and helped the teens sort grocery bags full of Thanksgiving meals for families in this city who wouldn't have Thanksgiving any other way. It's a wonderful thing our church does each year.

I sneezed approximately 135 times during the 3 hours we were there. (I truly don't think that's an exaggeration...believe me, there are witnesses). At some point, one of our 7th graders started turning around and giving me a high-five after particularly impressive explosions.

We went from there to A's parents house to watch the Colts and Patriots play...ohmygosh what an amazing game...and I continued sniffling and sneezing. Not quite as much though, because I had stopped at Walgreens to get some meds to help. Unfortunately, the meth users have made it impossible to get the good stuff at 8:30 pm on a Sunday night...because the pharmacist is gone and it's unlawful for anyone but the pharmacist to give me my one box of hope. So I got the not-quite-as-good stuff and made my way.

When I got home I took more drugs and waited awhile to go to bed. I hate not being able to sleep because I can't breathe, so I thought if I got tired enough I'd be able to sleep.

So I went to bed around 1, and woke up at 5.

I was FREEZING. (and the heat was on full blast)

I was thirsty.

So I stumbled downstairs and poured a glass of sweet tea that I had made the night before.

It was at this point that I realized I was burning up (even though I was freezing) and that I was awfully achy...so I decided to take my temperature before taking a drink of the tea.

101.8

Yikes.

And you KNOW that with all the hype about swine flu I *knew* that's what it was.

I was too weak to do anything except text A and my friend Mattie (who works in the office I'm temporarily at) and tell them that I was running a fever and wouldn't be leaving the house today. Mattie's response was "I hope it's not the swine flu!"

(well, that wasn't her only response. she also brought me chicken soup and throat coat tea, both of which I am VERY grateful for!)

For the next 4-6 hours my fever fluctuated between 101 and 102 and I fluctuated between sleep and delirious texting. Finally around 9 or 10 am I googled "swine flu symptoms" and thankfully landed on a pretty informative site.

Note that it's a site from the UK. They apparently are a little less stressed out about piggy flu than we are around here. I'm glad. I scrolled down to the symptoms part and read them.

It said:

If you or a member of your family has a fever or high temperature (over 38°C/100.4°F) and two or more of the following symptoms, you may have swine flu:

• unusual tiredness,
• headache,
• runny nose,
• sore throat,
• shortness of breath or cough,
• loss of appetite,
• aching muscles,
• diarrhoea or vomiting.

unusual tiredness? check
headache? my head felt like it could roll off my body from the weight. check.
runny nose? do the 30 tissues in bed with me give a clue to this? check
sore throat? hell yes. check
shortness of breath or cough? eh, not more than usual
loss of appetite? check
aching muscles? oh my word yes. check
diarrhea or vomiting? thank goodness no.

Yeah, according to that list I might have the swine flu.

Thankfully the site also said that it's pretty mild for most people and gave this checklist of reasons to go to the doctor:

Call your GP directly if:

• you have a serious existing illness that weakens your immune system, such as cancer,
• you are pregnant,
• you have a sick child under one,
• your condition suddenly gets much worse, or
• your condition is still getting worse after seven days (five for a child).

So as long as I haven't gotten progressively worse by Saturday-ish, I'm good. None of that other stuff applies to me at all.

Thankfully my fever broke mid-afternoon and there have been no signs of it going sky-high again. I'm playing it safe and staying in again today, but it looks like this piggy flu (if that was indeed what it was) is not going to keep me down!

Plus, A brought and prepared dinner and then kept me company for awhile. TBS had a Family Guy marathon on, so between that and our two Macbooks we were set :)

However if I'm not back in the swing of things around the blog for awhile, you'll know there's a pig to blame.

Maybe when I get my appetite back I'll put some REAL sausage in one of my recipes. :P