ladyamber

 

So far, 2014 has really just been a series of highs and lows for me. To wit, while I've gotten a new phone, the first one was stolen before I'd had it a week while I was at work. I also just got a new debit card, and I lost that last night. Maybe I just need to declare a restart on the year.

 

I'm also not on my meds right now, which isn't helping. Since the hubby now has insurance, I need to go in to see the new PCP, so my script ran out. I hate brain zaps. >.< On the plus side of that, the asthma flare-up I've had recently is now under control thanks to an ER visit and Singulair, so yay.

 

Anyway, just thought I'd give an update on things. I'll try to be more active, especially since I now have LiveJournal on my phone. :3

I can really tell I'm hitting my 27th year of life. My body's falling to pieces.

Two things have precipitated this opinion. For the last week, my shoulder has been aching to the point I can't move it very well anymore. Moving paperwork at work actually makes me cringe. This past weekend, I actually asked my mom to give me a Cortisone shot (steroid injection designed to reduce inflammation when injected in joints, for those who aren't aware of what Cortisone is), which took care of a lot of it. And now I'm on glucosamine for my joints. Great.

The second thing that's just driving me crazy are my teeth. I have horrible teeth, I always have. I inherited my mother's soft enamel, and since I haven't had consistent dental coverage for years, I also haven't been able to get regular maintenance on my teeth. Which means it's not surprising I had two molars crack on me.

The entire right side of my face hurts off and on right now, thanks to the damage. I'm probably in for a lot of root canals, if they don't just yank them and put in implants. If I can afford them. While my husband and I are doing a lot better financially since he got a job as a caregiver, it's still going to take a long time to pay for this.

And the pain's getting worse. So, guess who gets to call the dental college in the morning to set up an appointment? =_= Joy and rapture.

I don't talk a lot about what goes on in my life. I guess I don't really think that the little bits of my everyday existence are worthy of documentation, I guess.

I'm still on my diet, and I've lost 40 pounds. I'm actually back to the weight I was when I met the hubby, which is rather nice. :3 I fit back into twelves, which feels like quite an accomplishment! I still have another 30-40 pounds to go, but I'm feeling quite a bit better since starting it.

Things... haven't been going that well fiscally, unfortunately. I'm still working the long-term temp job, and the hubby actually got a job as a caregiver this month, but we're still fighting to stay afloat. So... I'm going back to school. Taking an online course for medical coding and billing, which should pay a helluva lot more than my current positions. And if I'm going to be doing oodles of paperwork like I do now, it'd be nice to get paid the going rate.

So.... that's what's going on in the World of the Squirrel right now. Don't know if I should update more often, but given I did the first module of my course this evening, it felt like a good time to do it.

I have officially lost 13 pounds since starting this change. I feel a lot more energetic, and OMG my pants fit! YAY! This makes me happy.

I am getting tired of drinking most of my meals, though. Thankfully, I won't have as many shakes with my next order as I did with this one, so that'll change. I'm looking forward to the Chocolate chip cookie bake I'm getting.

Besides the diet, I'm feeling better about things in general. The hubby's meds are getting changed, and we're finally caught up on bills without asking for help from family. You have no idea how happy this makes me, and it leaves me very, very relaxed.

Also, my temp job got extended through the end of August. Hopefully, they'll hire me outright afterwards. **crosses fingers** We can hope, right?

I hope everyone out there's having a great day!

So I kinda sorta stopped posting the foods I've had during the day because I was at work and such. Doesn't really conform to an obsessive paying attention to what I put in my body. Regardless, though, I've lost seven pounds on this plan, and feel a lot better than I have in months. So, yay!

Though last night I went off the plan for an evening. Barbecue put on by my workplace, followed by an hour of intense beach volleyball. I think I worked off the extra carbs I inadvertently put in my system, yeah?

Regardless, I'm back on plan this morning, starting with a shake and working my way to BBQ bites. It'll take a bit to get back to the ketosis, but I'm willing to work at it. I feel too good to want to stop with this diet after only a week.

Today started really well with my morning weigh-in.

4 pounds. Gone. Just *pfft!* Nowhere to be found.

So that made me quite happy. :3 Anyway! On to meals!

Meal 1: French Vanilla Ready-to-Go shake
I wanted something easy, and let's face it, you don't get much easier than shake 'n' drink. Still not the best in the world, but drinkable.

Meal 2: BBQ Bites
These actually took me awhile to eat, but just because there's so many of 'em in the package. They're sort of like BBQ-flavored puffs, and pretty tasty. They're just also filling enough that it's hard to snack through a whole bag like you do with, say, chips. Or popcorn. Or cheese puffs. I don't like 'em as well as the pretzel bites, though. Maybe I'll try the cheesy nacho bites next month.

Meal 3: Swiss Mocha Shake
IT'S LIKE A BLENDED COFFEE DRINK. I made it with ice and blended it in the blender, and OMNOMNOM! SO HAPPY! I get excited about the small things sometimes. :3

Meal 4: Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar
...what? I wanted something cookie-ish. :3

Optional Snack: Celery with peanut butter
I actually didn't know this yesterday, but if I get really hungry, there are a few snackies I can have. This is one of them. Mmm, tasty.

Lean & Green: Baked Chicken with Fresh Spinach
I'm a bigger fan of spinach than I am of most iceberg lettuce, and there was a lot of fresh spinach at the store today. So yay, spinach! Oof, full.

Meal 5: Peanut Butter Soft Serve
A bit more trouble than it's worth as far as preparation is concerned, but incredibly tasty for all that. On the fence about getting this again.

Today, I started on a lifestyle change.

I refuse to call this thing a "diet," because it's really not. I'm changing how and what I eat, as well as how active I am, and what I think of myself. I'm doing this thing because, to be frank, I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, yanno?

So. Day 1.

Weighed myself in at 210 pounds. I really wasn't surprised I'd broken the 200 pound barrier; as I said, not feeling good, right?

With the beginning stage of this lifestyle change, I have to eat these "meals" I get from Medifast. Five of them a day, and a "Lean and Green" meal as well for the 5&1 plan. Now, before people start flailing at me, these aren't something I'll always and forever have to eat. It's just to get me through the fat-burning stage, and I'll be able to be entirely on normal food when I hit maintenance. As for the fat-burning, the meals are developed so that I get around 72 grams of protein a day, so while I'm burning off fat, I don't lose lean muscle, which is what happens when someone starts to yo-yo.

Anyway. Because these meals are a little odd and could taste weird, I think I'll go ahead and rate them here. It'll definitely remind me what I like, at least.

Meal 1: Eggs, scrambled.
Not particularly thrilled with them. They're bland and the consistency is bizarre (I have issues with texture sometimes, and this is weird enough to set my teeth on edge). And since I really can't add a bunch of salt to get them to taste right, I'm not sure I'll be ordering these again. Blegh.

Meal 2: Cherry Pomegranate Shake
I actually really liked this one. Reminds me a bit of a virgin daiquiri mix, only not so tart that I can't drink it. And blended with ice, it was quite tasty. Definitely going to get this again.

Meal 3: Chocolate Mint Crunch Bar
One thing I'm happy about; the "chocolate" meals on this program have so little actual cocoa powder in them that I can actually eat them. Which is all of the yay. And this particular bar tastes like the peppermint patty cookies you get from the Girl Scouts. Which I adored. This is on my list to reorder, totally. It's candy in a healthy form!

Meal 4: Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks
I was hesitant about this one, because I don't generally like pretzels. They're too salty and dry for me. These pretzel sticks, on the other hand, are relatively fluffy and flavored with cinnamon and a small touch of sugar, and they are incredibly tasty. This will be something I reorder, most definitely.

Lean & Green: Lean Hamburger with Salad
All I can say is: **omnom**

Meal 5: Ready-to-drink French Vanilla Shake
Hrm... about the same as those SlimFast shakes you can get. Not horrible, but I think I like the Dutch Chocolate ones better. The flavor lasts a little longer.

I'm also drinking ALL OF THE WATER EVAR, as I'm quite thirsty for some reason. Shockingly, though, the bloat from my girly time (yes, I'm starting this during girly-time, I'm so weird) is going down rapidly. My capris fit properly, yay!

If people want me to, I'll go ahead and make a weightloss filter for my journal. Please, let me know what you think, and if I should put this all under a cut.

Let's hope this works, eh?

ETA: And before I forget, starting measurements.

Measurements	Starting
Right Bicep	14.75 in
Left Bicep	15.25 in
Right Thigh	26.75 in
Left Thigh	26.75 in
Waist	44 in
Bust	43.5 in
Underbust	39.5 in
Neck	15.5 in

For the last five months, my husband and I have been trying to start our family. While doing this, we've had discussions on a lot of things involving the health and well-being of any child we bring into the world, and these conversations have made me realize something. I have a very complex view of the world and how to raise my child within it.

I believe in the strength of a woman's body. When I do get pregnant, I plan to give birth at home or in a birthing center, with a midwife. I am relatively low-risk when it comes to giving birth, barring my depression. I plan to discuss my options with my midwife when I become pregnant, and do my best to deliver my child in a healthy and safe environment.

I believe in the usefulness of modern medicine. If, God forbid, something happens when I am in labor, I believe that having a back-up OB/GYN to perform a Caesarian is both important and a needed part of giving birth responsibly. I do not plan on killing my child for a Cause, and there are times (approximately 7% of births, according to WHO) when medical intervention is necessary in childbirth. I am grateful we live in a world where C-sections, epidurals, induced labor, and medical interventions exist for times when they are needed.

I believe in the importance of inoculation. Smallpox is gone from our world because of the mass inoculation of the world during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. We have the ability to vaccinate against polio, measles, rubella, mumps, and all manner of horrendous diseases. I also believe that it is of the utmost importance that we use the power of inoculation. Yes, there are risks when it comes to vaccines. The risks are greater when you allow your child to catch these horrible diseases. Those who quote the dangers of Mercury in vaccines do not realize that 1) the human body contains mercury naturally, and 2) vaccines have not been made with mercury (Thimerosal) since at least the early 90s. Those who quote vaccines as the cause of autism have not done their research on the disease itself, as it first presents signs at the same age you inoculate your child for MMR. I have met children who developed autism despite their parents not inoculating for fear of that precise difficulty. The reason we still have polio in our world is because, thanks to the personal choice to inoculate your child or not, we will never be able to eradicate another health risk.

I believe in the phrase "kids will be kids." Children diagnosed with ADHD at the age of three are not ADHD; they are being three-year-olds, overstimulated by the amazingness that is life. Children bored in school are not being taught the way they learn, and medicating them into a stupor will not help them or their grades.

I believe that mental illnesses are not the end of the world. I will never understand why TV portrays mental illness as the worst thing in the world. It is an illness that affects the brain, like bronchitis affects the lungs, diabetes affects the pancreas and body function, and cancer affects your way of life. Mental illnesses can be chronic or acute, like clinical depression or PTSD. But if treated like any other illness, any of these can be lived with. Just like any other illness.

I believe in the power of modern medicine. My husband and I both have diagnosed and confirmed mental disorders. He is bipolar; I have anxiety and depression. I acknowledge that the medication we take for these issues is a lifesaver, and allows us to have a normal life. If, when my child is of an age, they are diagnosed with a similar disorder, we will choose therapy and, if needed, medication to help them live a normal life.

I believe in denouncing the agenda of Big Pharma. Medication is a tool to help combat the realities of disease, regardless of what the disease is. Medication should not be used to correct every little thing that's wrong, from prescribing antidepressants to deal with a death in the family to ADHD medication for a child just being a child. Medication should be affordable, and also should be used sparingly. If one medication does not work, stop using it. Don't throw other medications after it to get rid of the side effects.

I believe that sexuality and existance are not binary. There are men and women in the world. There are intersexed individuals. There is the genderqueer, the bisexual, the homosexual, the pansexual, the heterosexual, the asexual. There is the transgendered. There is the cisgendered. There are the polygamous. There are the monogomous. There are the swingers, there are the loners. There are the kinky and the vanilla. There are more lifestyles out there without a name to them. And all of them have a place in the world. Even if I don't know what that place consists of.

I believe there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. And I believe all of it deserves thought, consideration, and the chance to be heard without instant rejection, because it is outside the realm of my experience. My Savior sat with the lowest of the low and the highest of the high, communed with them, shared their food, heard their stories, smiled at their laughter.

At the very least, I can strive to do the same.

As some of you know, I've been working on a novel with aliasheist for awhile now. It's been slow-going, mostly because the story has been evolving so much since we made certain decisions about it a little over a year ago.

Well, I'm really proud of myself this evening, because the first chapter is finally written, and it weighs in at 11,111 words as of right this moment. (That number amuses me, don't ask me why.) That may seem like a lot of words for a single chapter... actually, it is a lot of words for a single chapter. But it flows well, and has been sent off to the beta reader for a glance as I continue to Chapter 2.

This story is taking a long time to write. But I'm really enjoying it.

I'm not sure I've mentioned this here before, but the hubby and I now have two cats. Sierra, who we adopted while living with the hubby's family, and now Simon, a half-Siamese loudmouth black cat I got from a coworker, who we're now thinking is part Maine Coon just because of his size. Enjoy a picture of the giant fuzzball, seen here:



As of right now, he can stand on his hind legs and place his paws on top of our countertops. Because of this, he thinks he rules the roost. Not so much... :3

Hubby: Simon, why did you get in my seat? I just left for a minute.
Simon: **contented blinks**
Hubby: Is it warm, is that why you insist on always stealing my seat?
Simon: **blinky-blinks**
Me: It is time he faced the truth that all cats must face: "I am bigger than you." **picks up Simon**
Simon: **squeaky mournful mew**
Me: Love you too, fuzzball.