How You Doin?

How is everyone doing now that the holiday weekend is behind us? Good, great, grand?

My last few weeks have been a little nuts so pardon the lack of blogginess. I started a new job a few weeks ago and getting back into the groove of working kind of wore me out. I hadn't worked since the accident in March, so it was very tiring to work 8 hours then have energy when I got home. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't napping all the time around the house, I maintained a schedule. But, doing the laundry and dishes is different than running around an office and being on top of my game, ya dig? I'm used to it now, or should I say I've learned when to go to bed to be ok the next day.

This last week was kind of crappy. I woke up on Monday morning at about 3am with a migraine. I thought my right eye would pop out of my head. I took my medicine for it and went back to sleep. Tuesday morning I started throwing up. Usually the vomiting only happens right when the migraine started, so I figured this one would be nasty. Well, nothing stayed down on Tuesday. NOTHING. Wednesday I got up and went to work and had the same issue. Not even water stayed down. On Thursday, I got up and went to work and attempted to eat a bagel and drink some iced tea. It stayed with me for about 20 minutes then it escaped me, just as everything else did. I left work early and went to the ER. I told them what started out as a migraine appears to now be a stomach flu.

As they pull me back to get the bloodwork started, the phlebotomist tried four times, yes, four times to get blood out of my arms. The veins kept pushing the needle back out. Its not really comforting when you hear the phlebotomist say "oh shit" grabbing a bunch of cotton swabs and applying pressure to your arm. The nurse got an IV hooked up and she was able to get blood. They told me I was incredibly dehydrated and thats what was causing the problem. The Dr comes in and gives me a shot of Zofran for the nausea. It was about ten minutes later and I happened to look down at my chest and it was fire engine red. And itched really, really bad. So did my back. I hit the 'jeopardy' button for the nurse to come in and she does, asks me what the problem seems to be... my response? I seem to be allergic to Zofran. She looks, gasps, runs out of the room and gets the Dr. He runs in and then I just see people frantically putting things into my IV. After they were done, I looked at the Dr and said, "Can I go home? I had better luck just yakking it out there."

Thursday was also a big day for me- I started school again. I haven't been since March either. This time its a little different since I am doing all my classes online. I didn't get a chance to sign on on Thursday, given the aforementioned circumstances, but I signed in on Friday and ended up completing all 9 modules for the introductory (required) course. Two credits down. Now, only umpteen to go! My hope is to be completed with my MBA in three in a half years. We'll see how I fare. One of my friends (and loyal reader) already is attending school there and loves it. The way they do their semesters is attractive to me. Its a 6 month semester, I pay only once for the term and its as many credits as I can take during that 6 month timeframe. So if I take 48 credits in a six month time frame, then I am that much closer to my degree and only paid my tuition once!

I lost some weight last week though! Ha! Not the way I wanted but I look at it this way- every time that I am sick, my stomach can't hold much the few days afterwards and its very keen on the "you're full" notice. So, if I can stick with it and not force myself to overeat like all of us tend to do, I should stay on the same track.

I found a great Miso Soup mix at the store in the organic section. Its only got 60 calories and for a store bought make it at home version, its not bad. Next time, I'll probably doctor it up with some fresh mushrooms and some more fresh green onions. I bought the Japanese Style Miso Soup Cup-  http://www.edwardandsons.com/es_shop_miso.itml

I made a little rice to go with it, since my man now has the stomach flu that I had earlier this week. We didnt have a big dinner, but it hit the spot. I think for the price, I might trade out the Miso Noodle Soup cups that I get at Safeway for those. I can get a little rice and add it to the soup to make it a little more filling and I normally have some chips with it. I found some rice chips that were made with sesame seeds and sea salt in the organic section at the store that were pretty tasty- especially if you like the taste of toasted sesame seeds. I am always looking for new things to try for lunches since that is usually my biggest meal of the day and I snack when I get home.

Since football season is upon us, I bought the materials to make my home made salsa this week. That way, we can have some fresh salsa for the first day of the season! Salsa is a great alternative to salad dressing to save some calories, especially if you know exactly what is in it because you made it yourself. If you haven't tried the Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burger, its fantastic on a 100 calorie sandwich thin with avocado and some home made salsa. Put a little salad on the side and you got yourself a healthy dinner.

We've also been buying the Newmans Own Organics Thin Crust Pizzas. They arent huge, especially with the thin crust, but they are a great lunch for the both of us. We usually do that or some variation of either the Boca Chick'n (on the 100 calorie thin with lettuce and pickles) or the Morningstar Farms Veggie Corndogs with sweet potato fries or tater tots for an easy lunch on a weekend.

I need to get back into the groove of exercising, preferably back on the mountain bike. I am proficient with it, I know how to do it and I know how much I enjoy the wind on my face when I'm riding. Its supposed to rain in the next few days, so I might go after I get home from work, since I can do ten miles in about 45 minutes and still be home and showered before my man gets home from work.

Hope all of you are doing well and had a safe holiday weekend!