huh

I was able to see the surgeon yesterday for the cyst. I'm on antibiotics AGAIN. I hate those with a passion. Mainly because you already have something wrong and you get to add an upset stomach to it. I was under the impression that when I was in the ER they removed a whole sweat gland to remedy the infection. The surgeon I saw yesterday told me differently. Not that I would have known what was done. The previous surgeon never sent the info to my GP and I was doped up on painkillers the whole day so it's a big blur. The Dr. I saw yesterday said all that had been done was a lancing (which I had to dress open for about a month ouch). He said they cannot remove a duct while there is an infection. It can only be done as an operation once my infection is completely gone. There's something to look forward to in the fall :) He also told me I have two cysts and its next to the scar where I had the last one. I asked him if he could just do something to make it go away. Nope. Take the antibiotics and he will see me next Thursday. Lovely. The nurse tried to convince me that was a good thing. She said had he lanced me again it would be more uncomfortable. Yeah okay. I will say that everyone in the office was super nice. A friend recommended them and boy was she on target. I will have to super thank her. They say me a whole seven days before the other Dr. I made an appointment with, and they too were booked until next Wednesday. Today we are having an employee retreat. Team building exercises. I usually hate those because you have to play silly games. I will be optimistic about it though. It is at a site I have been dying to see the inside of so that is pretty cool. Our local college built a Technology Center and it is supposed to be state of the art. I'll take my camera :) I have an idea someone was up late playing WOW because Mr. Man has hit the alarm several times and is usually up by now. I guess fighting dragons is tiring work. I wouldn't know. The only games I play on my PC are Sims, Bookworm Adventures and Scrabble. We are each unique dorks. On the diet front I roasted a chicken and ate way too much, so I am sadly a pound heavier this morning. That was dumb. I'm kicking myself now. The event today is providing breakfast and lunch. I forgot to put a freezer pack in so I'm trying to figure out how to do my shakes. I will probably just bring packs of mix and use the bottled water they provide. I'll bring a big bottle of water just in case they don't have it but I can't imagine they won't. I've decided I'll do six shakes today to make up for yesterday. I'll let you know if it works. As I'm typing this I can't help but think that nobody will read it..and that's okay. I need to get back to the real reason for the blog. There are a lot of social causes I want to talk about and will get back to doing so. It's supposed to be a "smattering" of what's going on with me and full of what's going on the world. I need to return the blog to what it was meant for. In the meantime please follow the link to EMPATHY, since Matt is doing just that and is a terrific read! Toodaloo! and have a great day!

Its working!

A big good morning to all! Sometimes people really surprise you in a good way. A while back my pastor asked me to chair an outreach committee at church. Another member of my church extended an offer to work with me. I have a million ideas, but she has the experience of being involved in a lot of committees. Perfect match. She suggested that on Communion Sunday, which is the first Sunday of the month at our church, we do a food basket collection to benefit a local food pantry. We all agreed that this would go perfectly with the idea of Communion. After all, people used to donate food, etc to the needy before there were those nice little envelopes included with the programs handed out in church. I must tell you that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We were at the church last night and there was so much collected it wouldn't fit in a laundry sized wicker basket! The best part, as my husband pointed out, was that it was good stuff! Usually people tend to donate food they don't want. This food in the basket was full of really good food. It goes to prove that if you ask people to help they may just surprise you by responding with more than you asked for. The next thing I'd like to work on is an Alex's Lemonade Stand. I have to start by asking for help building the stand as well as putting together a list of local events to register the stand at. Next on the agenda- first of all as I said previously I started my Medifast program on the 25th of May. To date I have lost 9 lbs! I wish I had done this sooner. It really does fit perfectly with my busy schedule. I only wish I had purchased all shakes. The soups are actually pretty good but it's hard to make them at work because we don't have a kitchen with a sink. I have to rinse everything in a bathroom sink and that just doesn't work with a dirty soup bowl. The shake cup is a snap to rinse though. Just as I was starting to really get into the groove of the diet I broke our Magic Bullet blender. First a seal ring then 1 blade, then 2. I panicked. Shakes that you mix by hand are nowhere as good as on a personal blender. I started trolling Ebay and Amazon for a new mixer. I came across a Tribest Personal Blender. It usually retails for about $80 which is steeper than my old one. I happened to find a like new, used one for $49 and ordered it. They also had a travel case and 16 oz. mug which my old one didn't. Well let me tell you I love it! Included with the mixer are travel lids. Kind of like sippy cups that fit in your car's cup holder. All I do now is mix a shake, take of the mixer blade attachment and replace it with a sip lid. Done and out the door. If you need a blender look this one up. The reviews were awesome. Okay I'm done my product endorsement. If at any point you decide to try the Medifast I would suggest looking on Ebay etc. It will save you a lot of money. That way, if it's not for you, you lose less money. Today I have to try to schedule an outpatient surgery, so If I can get an appointment I may be AWOL this weekend. I seem to always have problems with my skin. Between the psoriasis, allergies and recurring sebaceous cysts I have decided my skin hates me for some reason. I've had outpatient surgery for this before. Last time the abscess was really badly infected. This one isn't so recovery should be fairly quick. I am a little stressed because I just don't have time for this right now. Work is really busy and I already used all my accrued time for the Bronchitis last month. I have an appointment for next Thursday, but a friend gave me the name of a surgeon who may be able to do something sooner. I'll find out today when I call. Cross your fingers for me :) I just noticed my primrose is blooming! Yeah!!!! I love my garden...I love my life! I hope you all have a terrific day!

bummer

I wanted very badly to post yesterday from work, but as most of us know things never go as planned. Yesterday ended up being helacious. I already know today will follow suit. I am doing at huge check run at work and there is a baby shower that is somehow supposed to fit into the scheme of things as well. If I can find the time today or tonight I will be posting. There is a really great book I will be posting about.... hope I got you curious enough to check back! Have a great day!

My garden 2007

The link is here for the photo gallery. Big shout out to my husband for all his help.

purty

As promised here is my yellow calla lily.

Good things coming :)

I know it's been forever and a day since I've posted. As you know I changed jobs in February. I love my job, but had some problems with a situation that existed before I started with the company. I am determined to find a way to fix it. Anyhoo as I was approaching my 90 days I got waylayed by the bacteria fairy. It started with an abscess, for which my Dr. gave me a strong antibiotic and prednisone. This lowered my immune system (didn't help what it was prescribed for) and knocked me down with Asthmatic Bronchitis. After one week of feeling better I did some weekend yard work which exposed me to mold (old mulch), back to the Dr. on a nebulizer and a week of bed rest on a different antibiotic. Then it was back to the dermatologist for the abscess and a steroid shot, which still hasn't helped. I'm past caring about that. She said I'm just going to have them again anyway. I had been scheduled to go to a time management seminar for a month prior and really wanted to cancel. Boy am I glad I didn't. The speaker was amazing! Her name was Laura Simms. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and was told she had a year to live. Well that was years ago. She was so inspiring. There are a couple of bad habits I have and things I've really wanted to change lately. It was really getting me down in a funk. One of the things she kept saying was, "Life by the yard is really hard. Life by the inch is a cinch." An exercise she had us do was to pick a stranger in the room and do the following: Pick something you've been meaning to do..something very specific. For example you wouldn't say finish my home renovation. You would commit to finishing the bathroom. That's an inch not a yard goal. Next you had to pick a date approximately 21 days ahead. Then you picked a time to either email or call the person. She told us that you are 70% more likely to keep a promise to a stranger. You only stand a 30% chance of keeping a promise to someone you know. I guess knowing those close to us are more forgiving has something to do with it.5 The group I sat with decided to triple team. The three of us will check in together on June 25. About 2 weeks or so ago I ordered a big box of Medifast food and it has been sitting there staring at me. I couldn't motivate myself to pick a date. Since getting married I have gained about 25 lbs. It has been really depressing me lately. Well this was my commitment to my group. I pledged to start the program withing the next month. Here is the amazing part. I woke up the next day and decided to just do it instead of picking a day to do it. I would rather call someone in 21 days and say I lost 15 lbs. then say I picked a date to start. Well I've made it through my first 24 hours and it really isn't that bad. Sure I'm hungry but those small jeans in my room will be worth it. I visited Puck's Blog and was blown away. His before and after photos are amazing and really what I needed to motivate me. I have it bookmarked, so if I start to waver it will help. When I start losing maybe I'll get brave enough to post my weight loss numbers. I don't have the guts to post my start weight right now. I've made a to do list of things I've been putting off. I know that if I can do this it will serve as a catalyst for the rest of the list getting done. I ordered my stuff of ebay and it ended up being 185 including shipping for my first month instead of the 250-275 the medifast site charges. I wanted to make sure I would really do before sinking that much money into it. Besides I live in Lumberton, NJ the ebay capitol of the US....okay I might have something to do with that :) On another topic I've been planting in the yard like mad since my house restriction has been lifted by my mother hen husband. (actually I greatly appreciate him caring so much). I planted about 80 bulbs. If I get my anti squirrel cayenne pepper today I hope for most to survive. I also added primrose, blue flowing grass, guara (pink flowering) and foxglove as well as some new lily colors. I will have red, peach, white, lenape, dark purple, orange and stargazers this year. I also have calla lilies in flame (red & yellow), 2 pinks and yellow. Pink roses, baby blue flowers (forgot the name), azaleas, begonias, pink carnations, strawberries, perriwinkle, ive, a lilac bush, hollyhocks and irises round out the crowd. In the spring there's hyacinths in purple, pink and white and tulips in red/yellow combo, white, pink and dark red as well as daffodils in white and yellow. The forsythia bush doesn't seem to want to bloom this year. The oregano, chives, basil, sage and rosemary all came back nicely though. Along with the bird bath and 3 sets of wind chimes I love my yard. The way I look at it its less work for Dave and you can never have too many flowers in your yard! I'll be posting some flower pics, hopefully later today. I really hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

stay tuned

If you haven't totally given up on me yet....I am back, hopefully for good this time :)