I was interviewed for this issue of Commodore Free magazine. - my interview is the last article (Gaelyne Gasson, VCSWEB.com)
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
31 March 2008
A few thoughts
Last week I ordered a backrest massager for my office chair and it arrived this afternoon. It's not like Rod's which was a whole long pad that does from the back of the neck and all the way down to the thighs. This is just for the lower back, although you can move it to work on other areas. This one is just perfect for me though, and makes my chair that much more comfortable. I'm hoping that the massage for it will help with 1) my bronchitis, 2) the osteoarthritis, and 3) the lymphedema I have in my back. Oh, and just because it feels good too. :-)
I have an appointment to have my HBA1C test on Thursday morning this week. Basically it's a check up with blood tests for my diabetes. It includes the HBA1C (which says how much sugar has been in your blood stream over the last 3 months), tests for cholesterol, and for me, a test of my iron too, since I finished taking the iron supplements a couple of weeks ago. I was taking the supplements because the last lot of tests I had showed I was anemic again. I've been having problems with anemia for about a year now. I'm pretty sure with the way I can drop off to sleep so easily that the iron will once again be down. I drift off at the computer so often it's really not funny, and I know it's not related to high glucose levels because it happens whether my readings are high, middle of the road or normal.
I've been working on a website that will be selling locally produced honey (in fact, I should be working on that right this minute, but I've a list of things I've wanted to write about it and decided to get it out of my system today). My client dropped off some of his honey in various sized containers so I can sort out shipping details for them, and naturally I had to sample at least one of the honeys. (grin) He dropped it off on his way to work in the morning and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I decided to be VERY brave and try a drop on my usual breakfast of 1 slice of crumpet toast with a bit of peanut butter. The reason this was brave is because there's hardly anything I can eat in the morning that doesn't push my glucose levels up over the threshold. This is why, for anyone who's noticed I have nearly the same breakfast everyday, I tend to stick with one or two things I know don't cause me too much trouble. So the day I tried the honey out, I put a small drop of honey with the peanut butter and quite enjoyed having something a little sweet. Well, blow me over with a feather, but my after breakfast BGL was lower than usual! I have found I have to make sure it really just a DROP (about the size of my small fingernail) otherwise my BGL really will go high, but if I only have a drop, my BGLs are in the mid 6 range (or around 120 for the USA readers). What a pleasant find!
In the exercise department, I am trying to increase my steps for my walks to about 5,000 steps minimum. That way it should be easier to hit the recommended 10,000 steps per day as the other half would be from other activities around the house.
It's interesting as I find the longer I've been going for walks, the more active I become otherwise. This can only be a good thing as it in turn burns even more calories and also helps improve my whole attitude.
And I know I used the word exercise up there, but I intend to replace that word in my vocabulary with 'play'. In the afternoons or evenings, I play on my Gym ball. Exercise is a definite 4-letter word and should be banished. I'm much more likely to go PLAY than I would to go exercise, even if they are both one and the same. It's my perception of the activity I'm trying to change so that it's something I do because I want to and it brings me pleasure. And yes, I've smiled and even cracked up when I've been playing on the gym ball, so that's good. It is fun.
The other thing I've decided to change when it comes to 'play time' is not doing actual counting of various moves. Instead I have a digital clock that also displays seconds, so I've been aiming for 1 minute on each activity. Later when I have more confidence I can built up to 1 and a half minutes and increase from there. I'm probably doing more reps than I would if I were counting, and it keeps that feeling of 'exercise' away. I'm playing with the ball doing sit ups for a minute - I'm not obsessing over how many I do. I just keep going as best as I can until the minute is up. So far this change is helping my attitude and helping me to look forward to having a good play. Just don't ruin it by telling me it's good for me. ;-)
I have an appointment to have my HBA1C test on Thursday morning this week. Basically it's a check up with blood tests for my diabetes. It includes the HBA1C (which says how much sugar has been in your blood stream over the last 3 months), tests for cholesterol, and for me, a test of my iron too, since I finished taking the iron supplements a couple of weeks ago. I was taking the supplements because the last lot of tests I had showed I was anemic again. I've been having problems with anemia for about a year now. I'm pretty sure with the way I can drop off to sleep so easily that the iron will once again be down. I drift off at the computer so often it's really not funny, and I know it's not related to high glucose levels because it happens whether my readings are high, middle of the road or normal.
I've been working on a website that will be selling locally produced honey (in fact, I should be working on that right this minute, but I've a list of things I've wanted to write about it and decided to get it out of my system today). My client dropped off some of his honey in various sized containers so I can sort out shipping details for them, and naturally I had to sample at least one of the honeys. (grin) He dropped it off on his way to work in the morning and as I hadn't had breakfast yet, I decided to be VERY brave and try a drop on my usual breakfast of 1 slice of crumpet toast with a bit of peanut butter. The reason this was brave is because there's hardly anything I can eat in the morning that doesn't push my glucose levels up over the threshold. This is why, for anyone who's noticed I have nearly the same breakfast everyday, I tend to stick with one or two things I know don't cause me too much trouble. So the day I tried the honey out, I put a small drop of honey with the peanut butter and quite enjoyed having something a little sweet. Well, blow me over with a feather, but my after breakfast BGL was lower than usual! I have found I have to make sure it really just a DROP (about the size of my small fingernail) otherwise my BGL really will go high, but if I only have a drop, my BGLs are in the mid 6 range (or around 120 for the USA readers). What a pleasant find!
In the exercise department, I am trying to increase my steps for my walks to about 5,000 steps minimum. That way it should be easier to hit the recommended 10,000 steps per day as the other half would be from other activities around the house.
It's interesting as I find the longer I've been going for walks, the more active I become otherwise. This can only be a good thing as it in turn burns even more calories and also helps improve my whole attitude.
And I know I used the word exercise up there, but I intend to replace that word in my vocabulary with 'play'. In the afternoons or evenings, I play on my Gym ball. Exercise is a definite 4-letter word and should be banished. I'm much more likely to go PLAY than I would to go exercise, even if they are both one and the same. It's my perception of the activity I'm trying to change so that it's something I do because I want to and it brings me pleasure. And yes, I've smiled and even cracked up when I've been playing on the gym ball, so that's good. It is fun.
The other thing I've decided to change when it comes to 'play time' is not doing actual counting of various moves. Instead I have a digital clock that also displays seconds, so I've been aiming for 1 minute on each activity. Later when I have more confidence I can built up to 1 and a half minutes and increase from there. I'm probably doing more reps than I would if I were counting, and it keeps that feeling of 'exercise' away. I'm playing with the ball doing sit ups for a minute - I'm not obsessing over how many I do. I just keep going as best as I can until the minute is up. So far this change is helping my attitude and helping me to look forward to having a good play. Just don't ruin it by telling me it's good for me. ;-)
Sun 30 March Update
08:14:01 8.0 / 144 Fasting.
11:34:49 7.6 / 136 Post-Bfast
12:48:28 6.7 / 120 Pre-Lunch
15:16:45 7.6 / 136 Post-Lunch
16:45:54 6.1 / 109 Random Felt shakey after driving
Scratchy: No win. 3756 steps
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: scrambled eggs and 2 crumpet toasts
Tea: 2 slices pizza, some cheese & onion bread
Notes: First time driving car (in Australia) today. Two things to adjust to (aside from driving on the other side of the road, which isn't all that hard to do) are having the switches for indicators on the other side of the steering wheel from what I'm used to, and on this car, the gear change is in the middle of the two seats, and on the left hand side for the driver. As I suspected, most everything else came back fairly easily and naturally. We went to the Tafe parking lot and I was able to go up and down the rows several times and practice turns, and generally get used to the brakes and handling. Then I drove to Colonnades (aka the Mall) and did some driving around the main parking areas and practiced parking in a few places and backing out. Then we did my walk through the mall and checked on prices and sizes of shipping boxes for my honey client, and picked up a few essentials. Back to the car, and I drove to Maslins Beach (where we used to live) and then to the parking lot by the beach. We snapped a few pics and then I drove all the way home. All told, I got in 70 minutes driving towards my required 50 hours. I'm very pleased with my first experience. I played with the gym ball for about 15 minutes tonight, mainly trying to counter act the extra carbs I had during tea tonight.
Steps: 5258
30 March 2008
Sat 29 March Update
08:13:43 6.7 / 121 FastingScratchy: no win 3262 steps
12:05:54 5.5 / 99 Post-Bfast
14:44:47 7.8 / 140 Post-Lunch
19:59:29 4.4 / 80 Pre-Tea
23:04:54 6.2 / 111 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: 2 eggs w/ bacon, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: porterhouse steak, 1 small baked potato, salad.
Notes: spent day going around in circles trying to get a website update going. It took all day to sort it out, so I feel like I haven't really accomplished much. Other than that, the rest of the day was quite nice. It's a bit chilli out tonight. Took my walk early this morning.
Steps: 6223
Fri 28 March Update
10:57:25 7.2 / 130 Fasting Wow - slept in!Scratchy: no win.
13:20:48 7.4 / 134 Post-Bfast
14:42:49 5.8 / 105 Pre-Lunch
19:20:11 7.4 / 134 Pre-Tea
23:45:58 9.3 / 168 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: large salad w/ tuna and cottage cheese
Tea: chinese $5 meal at Central Market Food court
Notes: Went to Breastroke meeting, went to see ASO Plays Deep Purple. The concert was great, and it was a real pleasure to see Jon Lords (founder / keyboard player for Deep Purple). However, Lords didn't play for the majority of the DP songs (he did for his concerto portion). While I enjoyed it immensely, the one or two songs that had the keyboards included along with ASO had so much more depth to them. It's a shame the other songs didn't have this even if it were someone other than Lords on keyboard. I suppose this would be a huge ask for anyone though, what with the original artist in the wings. Still, very excellent night. And our dinner out was top notch too. Gotta love a cheap meal that's practically all you can eat.
Steps: 8018
Thur 27 March Update
06:49:03 6.7 / 121 Fasting woke up early coughingScratchy: no win. 6075 steps
11:10:20 5.9 / 107 Post-Bfast
15:43:57 5.2 / 93 Post-Lunch
18:51:50 4.7 / 85 Pre-Tea
21:55:57 6.6 / 118 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: sausage roll and cottage cheese
Tea: pork chop (large) with thin sliced, 3x rinsed potatoes, gravy and onions
Notes: Was a bit rainy this morning and Rod suggested I go with him to school and do my walk at Colonnades (aka 'the mall'), so I did. I was at the car before Rod was finished with his class so since I'd bought some microfibre cloths, I used one to 'dust' the inside of the car, and to clean the windows inside and out. Gee those work really well. I'm just amazed by them. I played on the gym ball this evening and am very pleased with my whole day's glucose readings. Didn't sleep well last night (kept waking up with this dang cough I have), but because of it I got a fair amount of work done on a couple of web sites this morning.
Tomorrow we are going to the city to see ASO Plays Deep Purple. Really looking forward to it. I'll go meet up with the breastroke girls and Rod will pick me up from there. We'll have a cheap meal at the Central Market food court and then go to the concert.
Steps: 9920
Wed 26 March Update
04:26:21 10.9 / 197 OvernightScratchy: no win. 5120 steps
08:19:07 6.9 / 125 Fasting 2c green tea at 4am
11:36:48 6.5 / 117 Post-Bfast
17:28:19 5.3 / 96 Pre-Tea
21:37:00 7.9 / 142 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: 2 low carb tortillas with cheese and guacamole. Cottage cheese.
Tea: KFC
Notes: Had Rod meet me at Coles after his classes. Played on exercise ball twice today (after lunch and after tea). Vacuumed.
Steps: 6901
Tue 25 March Update
09:13:01 8.6 / 155 FastingScratchy: no win. 5097
13:14:35 7.2 / 129 Pre-Lunch
17:56:54 7.8 / 140 Pre-Tea
21:20:49 9.7 / 174 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: ham & mayo twist from Bakers Delight. Ate it on way home.
Tea: nachos
Notes: My brain seems to be in neutral today. I just can't seem to get moving. Have a papercut on my palm that is getting quite red and infected looking. I tried in the last two day to use a spray on bandage but that doesn't seem to be working so have put antibiotic ointment on a cotton ball and put this over the cut, and wrapped hypafix around my hand, just to keep it protected. The nurse came this morning to look at my dressing, which she changed. She'll come back on Friday. Rod has classes all day.
Steps: 8824
27 March 2008
Easter Monday Mon 24 March Update
08:22:37 7.7 / 138 Fasting
11:10:36 9.7 / 174 Post-Bfast
13:36:59 6.9 / 125 Pre-Lunch
22:06:53 11.8 / 212 Post-Tea
23:38:44 9.4 / 169 Bedtime
Scratchy: n/a (no walk)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: chicken and large tossed salad
Tea: 2 slices pizza
Notes: Finished reading Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Very good book. Watched the Neighbours Catch-up recording that we made on Sunday. Watched all 2hrs 45 minutes of it, and am finally caught up with it so I can watch current episodes. First I've been up to date with it since before Christmas. Again, spent day trying not to be too productive so Rod could get his homework finished. Was easy to do as had bad cough and a very sore left side. It finally eased up in the late evening when I used the massage thingy over my chair. It seemed to help break up the congestion. Had to have RDNS come and change my dressing as it was it becoming saturated. The infection that had started last week appears to be contained with the antibiotics I'm taking.
Steps: 3559
Easter Sun 23 March Update
09:23:46 7.1 / 128 FastingScratchy: No win. 4742 steps
12:43:10 4.8 / 86 Pre-Lunch
16:22:44 7.2 / 130 Post-Lunch
19:56:54 6.7 / 121 Pre-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and drop of honey
Lunch: scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: steak with grilled capsicum
Notes: Went for a longish walk in the morning and spent rest of the day reading and trying not to be productive so Rod could get his homework done.
Steps: 9153
22 March 2008
Sat 22 March Update
07:41:30 8.7 / 156 FastingScratchy: $7 on $2 3865 steps
10:45:25 6.5 / 117 Post-Bfast
19:20:20 4.7 / 84 Pre-Tea
22:08:20 8.9 / 161 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: 2 eggs, bacon, 2 crumpet toasts
Tea: sweet chili garlic prawns, bread rolls.
Notes: Took early walk and even then the shopping centre parking lot was totally full of cars. (Sun and Mon are holidays so people go a bit nuts stocking up on stuff). Had stuff for kids ready to mail but post office wasn't open. It'll keep.
Came home, had lunch, then ended up napping in the afternoon. One minute I was here, next I was just out.
As grocery store would be closing for 2 days, we went shortly before closing time in hopes of picking up some good mark downs. We got some strawberries, some marinated steak for tomorrow, sweet chili garlic prawns (which we had for tea tonight) and other misc stuff. They didn't have much meat left so they must have marked it down earlier this year. In years past we've practically stocked our freezer with months worth of meat at half to a quarter of the regular price. Alas, not this year though.
When we got home, I felt really hot and just 'off' so I checked temperature. 37.6 (my normal is 36.4). I guess the sleepiness and fever are all part of my body fighting off the infection.
We had tea and tonight I'm getting my BGL and diary stuff up to date again. Have already dozed off once though! Have made a cuppa coffee and will see if that helps.
Steps: 9861 so far
Fri 21 March Update - Good Friday
08:37:49 8.5 / 153 FastingScratchy: no win. 3020 steps
11:06:34 8.4 / 151 Post-Bfast
12:52:23 6.2 / 111 Pre-Lunch
15:54:30 6.9 / 124 Post-Lunch
22:00:17 8.7 / 157 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: sausage roll w/ cottage cheese
Tea: fish & chips
Notes: As the shops were closed, I walked to the service station on the corner of South and Sherriffs Roads. Didn't buy anything (no scratchies), but it was a pleasant walk and I noticed there's a Salvation Army store within walking distance. Will have to check it out. Had a very quiet day otherwise.
Steps: 6039
Thur 20 March Update
09:12:00 6.8 / 122 FastingScratchy: no win. 2676 steps
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: Wendy's hotdog with garlic butter and mustard
Tea: KFC
Very long day. Up early, planned quiet morning, but didn't happen. I forgot Jayne (my nurse) was coming today. My dressing even wetter than it was on Tuesday, and the wound has a greenish discharge again. So, had to phone doctor. He gave me last appt for the day at 7:10. Took quick shower and got ready to leave with Rod, who had an eye doctor appt so we had to leave early. While waiting to see someone at Centrelink I sorted the documentation so the copies and originals were together. I had a much more 'clued' person helping today. So now all the 3lbs or more paperwork has been sent off.
I picked up a few things and grabbed a hotdog for lunch. Once Rod finished his last class, we went to the DMV where I had all the forms filled out and had my photo taken for my license which will be mailed to me. We had to stop at the bank where I needed to pick up my credit card. Was great timing as I needed photo ID and still had my passport in my purse from earlier in the day. From there we took it easy for an hour then headed for my GP appt. I now have a 1 month supply of ciproxin and hopefully it will knock this infection off.
After, we went to Woodcroft to get groceries and then Rod dropped me at the chemists while he went to KFC to pick up our tea. We ended up finding a good parking place to watched the annual fireworks at the shopping centre just up the road from us. It was a nice display, and then we were home in only about 2-3 minutes.
Steps: 9617
Wed 19 March Update
07:43:13 6.7 / 120 FastingScratchy: no win. 6341 steps
10:28:28 7.1 / 128 Post-Bfast
19:08:30 4.6 / 83 Pre-Tea
22:39:14 8.8 / 159 Post-Tea
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: lemon chicken & noodles w/ Rod at Food Court
Tea: Yiros
Notes: I passed my Learners! Spent all afternoon at Colonnades. Copied all the USA disability forms, had appt with Jen, then wasn't able to turn in disability stuff yet because original documentation needed to be sighted. Didn't get out of there until after 5pm - was locked in and had to be let out. Spend evening collecting all the original docs.
Steps: 8186
Tue 18 March Update
07:08:40 6.2 / 111 FastingScratchy: No win. 2927 steps
11:12:24 6.8 / 122 Post-Bfast
15:44:27 9.0 / 162 Post-Lunch
22:09:20 6.5 / 117 Post-Tea
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB and tiny amount honey
Lunch: tuna and noodles, salad
Tea: honey soy chicken & veg stirfry over low carb noodles
Notes: Up early so got walk in before nurse came. Dressing a bit wet, but we think it was from the shower. Did heaps today. Tomorrow is test, appt with Jen, and then Centrelink to turn in USA disability forms.
Steps: 10521
21 March 2008
Catching Up
This is my current favourite photo of my grandson Ricky. I've been so busy lately I didn't get a chance to have a peek at the pictures my son uploaded to me on the 8th until today. Gee, bad Granny. I've put the best of the batch up on flickr if you'd like a look.
When you take a test over here, they phrase it as "I just sat my (insert test name here)". So, I sat my Learners. And passed the first time around with 100% correct. The kids in the class room clapped! It was so funny.
The girl I was taking the course with, Kirsty, the daughter of friends of ours, failed the first part of the test (8 give-way questions) and was devastated. You have to pass these 100% before you can go on the the 42 multiple choice questions. The test costs $25, and she didn't have enough to re-sit the test, so when I finished with mine, I went and found her and encouraged her to go try again, and loaned her the money to do it, telling her I believe in her. And I did, too. And she passed!! I'll tell you, I think it gave me a greater satisfaction that I helped her to try again and succeed than my own score. I guess it's just the Mom in me.
That was Wednesday morning, and taking the test required a whole lot of personal ID, and as you know I've been working on the USA disability forms which also required a heap of ID that had to have official copies made and so
I planned to turn in this paperwork on the same day. That way I only had to have this stuff out of the house for one day instead of two. So the rest of Wednesday was spent photocopying all of the USA forms I'd filled out (well over 50 pages worth) and waiting to see someone at the Australian equivalent of DSS (which we're so PC it's called Centrelink). I got in finally and it was nearly 5pm. The person said she wouldn't stamp my health documentation copies unless I had the originals which is no problem - except I didn't have the originals with me. So that didn't get finished but at least it was 'started'.
Thursday morning I completely forgot that my nurse was coming to change my dressing. I'm down to only 2 days a week now that she comes these days. Anyway, bummer... I had a LOT more exudate and the wound once again had a green discharge. The psuedomonas infection is back. I had just finished the antibiotics just 36hrs earlier too. So I had to ring the doctor up and explain this all to him. He gave me the last appointment of the day so he could give me another script. This is a controlled antibiotic so I had to have an office visit and he had to call in to get approval for it. So my appt
was for 7:10 in the evening. The worst bit was he complained I'd left it a bit late. It's not like I can see this wound, and when it's only dressed twice a week... oh, never mind. It was just annoying. And I can't blame him for being a little annoyed as well.
Thursday afternoon I had the original records and started my afternoon waiting again to see someone at Centrelink, but I used the waiting time to sort the papers so the originals and copies were right together. I had a different person this time and she was thrilled I was organised so much as to save her a lot of work. And she even gave the official stamp to stuff I took in that I couldn't provide originals for, such as all the case notes from the RDNS nurses who take care of my wound. (The originals belong not to me but to the RDNS). So 3 pounds of paperwork, forms, documentation, etc are now on their way through Inter-mail first to Hobart Tasmania and then will be sent on to the USA overseas disability SS office in Manila. It's done. Whether it's approved or not is out of my hands and not my worry. It's nice to be able to see my dining room table again. I'll tell you, I was so sick of those forms and their complete lack of sensible English. I was required by law to apply for this, but given a choice, I sure would have skipped it.
After that was sent off, I met Rod and we went over to the DMV where I got my photo taken for my new license. YAY! I will finally have some Australian photo ID besides my passport. We then went home for a couple of hours and then back out again for my appt with the GP. I now have a 1 month supply of Ciproxin. This infection better not develop a resistance to that, because after that, I think we'd be talking about IV antibiotics. We then went grocery shopping.
In Australia, EVERYTHING is closed for Good Friday. It's the only day of the year that even the pubs are closed. So even though all the grocery stores will be open on Saturday, it didn't matter, shopping for groceries was nuts with a zillion people all out doing the same thing. Rod then dropped me off at the shopping centre where the chemist (drug store) is
and went to buy KFC. We met up later and found a good parking spot at the same centre for fireworks. Our local shopping centre has had fireworks on Thursday before Easter for several years now (aside from last year when they cancelled 5 minutes into the show). We had a great spot this year and the show lasted about 10-15 minutes. The great thing about our parking spot was that we were able to literally drive straight home. We had parallel parked on the road, and as we live on the same street (several blocks away) we only had to get through one traffic light (which gave us a green light - so very rare) and a couple minutes later we were home unpacking our groceries and had our very late dinner. I racked up over 9,000 steps yesterday, and more than 10,000 on Wednesday.
Today is Good Friday and a holiday. I'm doing my best to not accomplish a thing today. Rod and I have this ying-yang thing. When one of us is being productive the other is spinning their wheels. Well, he has some major homework due on Tuesday so he's the one who needs to be productive. Me, I'm on holiday and have watched soaps, gone on my walk, and am farting around on the computer doing fun stuff that's not work. And that's what I plan to be doing all weekend too in between naps. :-)
Speaking of naps, I was just dozing off and I haven't even sent uploaded this yet!!!
19 March 2008
I Passed! I got 100% right!
Tomorrow I can go get my Learners license! Yay!!!!
PHEW! First you have to pass the 8 Give-Way questions and then if you pass, you go on to 42 multiple choice questions. You're allowed to get up to 10 wrong, but I managed to get all of them right. (Does Happy Dance)
And that question I mentioned a few days ago here was one of the questions I asked. I didn't choose to drop the oldie relative off at the train station, but it still gave me a giggle when I read it.
LONG day. We've both been out since 8:30am today and only just got home around 5:30. I have to go back to Centrelink tomorrow to turn in my US disability stuff. They want to sight the originals of my tests and lab results and stuff. Fortunately that's no problem and Rod has a class so I can just go in with him. Then when I'm done, I can go to the DMV and get my piccy taken for my license. :-)
PHEW! First you have to pass the 8 Give-Way questions and then if you pass, you go on to 42 multiple choice questions. You're allowed to get up to 10 wrong, but I managed to get all of them right. (Does Happy Dance)
And that question I mentioned a few days ago here was one of the questions I asked. I didn't choose to drop the oldie relative off at the train station, but it still gave me a giggle when I read it.
LONG day. We've both been out since 8:30am today and only just got home around 5:30. I have to go back to Centrelink tomorrow to turn in my US disability stuff. They want to sight the originals of my tests and lab results and stuff. Fortunately that's no problem and Rod has a class so I can just go in with him. Then when I'm done, I can go to the DMV and get my piccy taken for my license. :-)
17 March 2008
Mon 17 March Update
Scratchy: n/a
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Lunch: sausage roll, cottage cheese
Tea: cold meal. tear-apart cheese bread, cold ham, cold seafood extender, tomato wedges, tossed salad
Notes: They say it's the last day of the heat wave. One can hope. No walk today. It was already 30 at 8 this morning. Found a program that will let me program it to show an alarm after a specific amount of time, so have been using it to allow myself to work on various things for only a specified amount of time. It's helped keep me focused. No cool change yet as of 10pm.
Steps: 4213
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
01:01:01 6.6 / 118 BedtimeBreakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
07:41:53 6.4 / 115 Fasting
10:49:32 9.2 / 165 Post-Bfast
18:37:26 5.0 / 90 Pre-Tea
21:38:17 8.5 / 153 Post-Tea
Lunch: sausage roll, cottage cheese
Tea: cold meal. tear-apart cheese bread, cold ham, cold seafood extender, tomato wedges, tossed salad
Notes: They say it's the last day of the heat wave. One can hope. No walk today. It was already 30 at 8 this morning. Found a program that will let me program it to show an alarm after a specific amount of time, so have been using it to allow myself to work on various things for only a specified amount of time. It's helped keep me focused. No cool change yet as of 10pm.
Steps: 4213
Sun 16 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 2661 steps. I think my step counter is also suffering from the heat. Did power walking at the grocery store in air conditioning.
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Lunch: scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: 2 slices pizza, tossed salad
Notes: I'm hot, it's hot. Tuesday is supposed to be much cooler (under 30c). C'mon Tuesday! Although I got up a couple of times to go to the loo, I did sleep better last night in that I didn't wake up with an allergy attack. Napped this afternoon too. And no allergy attack. Sad though, I really liked the pillows we'd been using -- but not if they're going to give me asthma.
Steps: 4477
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
08:15:26 7.1 / 128 FastingBreakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
11:18:29 9.2 / 166 Post-Bfast crumpet toast w/ PB
12:24:45 6.7 / 121 Pre-Lunch
15:01:09 8.3 / 149 Post-Lunch scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
19:32:53 4.9 / 88 Pre-Tea
22:33:55 9.8 / 177 Post-Tea 2 slices pizza, tossed salad
Lunch: scrambled eggs, 2 crumpet toast
Tea: 2 slices pizza, tossed salad
Notes: I'm hot, it's hot. Tuesday is supposed to be much cooler (under 30c). C'mon Tuesday! Although I got up a couple of times to go to the loo, I did sleep better last night in that I didn't wake up with an allergy attack. Napped this afternoon too. And no allergy attack. Sad though, I really liked the pillows we'd been using -- but not if they're going to give me asthma.
Steps: 4477
15 March 2008
Sat 15 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 3617 steps
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Busy morning. Did 3 loads of wash and hung it all up before I had my morning walk. Stopped at a garage sale and picked up an ornate photo frame (metal lattice with roses) and a complete wok set (wok, all racks, lid) for $3 total. Not bad! Worked on the honey site a little bit today. Went to take nap and had more of a coughing than napping session. As an experiment, I have moved the feather pillows out and substituted fibre fill ones to see if that helps because it's beyond a joke these days.
Time management has really been a real issue for me lately. I feel as though I just can't keep up with everything no matter how hard I try. There are some things I really truly enjoy - reading various news feeds, and I like to take my time with these and read those things that are of interest to me, but then I seem to get behind on other things. Having to take time out for naps doesn't help either, really. What I need is a 36 hour day!
Steps: 7640
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
07:38:30 11.7 / 211 Fasting
11:45:31 5.7 / 102 Post-Bfast crumpet toast w/ PB.
This is also Pre-Lunch reading.
15:01:55 8.1 / 145 Post-Lunch 2 eggs, 2 crumpet toast and bacon.
Forgot to drink any green tea. Whoops!
19:22:57 5.8 / 105 Pre-Tea
22:11:32 5.4 / 97 Post-Tea cheap steak and a large salad.
Hardly any carbs. EXCELLENT results!
Busy morning. Did 3 loads of wash and hung it all up before I had my morning walk. Stopped at a garage sale and picked up an ornate photo frame (metal lattice with roses) and a complete wok set (wok, all racks, lid) for $3 total. Not bad! Worked on the honey site a little bit today. Went to take nap and had more of a coughing than napping session. As an experiment, I have moved the feather pillows out and substituted fibre fill ones to see if that helps because it's beyond a joke these days.
Time management has really been a real issue for me lately. I feel as though I just can't keep up with everything no matter how hard I try. There are some things I really truly enjoy - reading various news feeds, and I like to take my time with these and read those things that are of interest to me, but then I seem to get behind on other things. Having to take time out for naps doesn't help either, really. What I need is a 36 hour day!
Steps: 7640
14 March 2008
Fri 14 March Update
Fri 14 March
Scratchy: $7 on $2 2597 (grocery store power walking)
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: tossed salad, 2 low carb tortillas w/ cheese & salad, cottage cheese
Tea: fish & chips
Notes: Took my walk at Woolworth's in Reynella today as needed something from the discount pharmacy next to it. I finished adding phone numbers to both phones tonight. Quiet day otherwise. Was drowsy and found myself dozing off at the computer quite a few times today and tonight. My glucose readings were excellent today, aside from my after tea results. Did invoicing today too.
It's cooled off considerably tonight so for the first time in days, I have all the windows open, but because it's night time, our metal shutters are down which I HOPE will help keep the dust blowing in to a minimum. Is nice to get a break, but is supposed to be hot again tomorrow and right through till next Wednesday.
Steps: 7093
Scratchy: $7 on $2 2597 (grocery store power walking)
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: tossed salad, 2 low carb tortillas w/ cheese & salad, cottage cheese
Tea: fish & chips
Notes: Took my walk at Woolworth's in Reynella today as needed something from the discount pharmacy next to it. I finished adding phone numbers to both phones tonight. Quiet day otherwise. Was drowsy and found myself dozing off at the computer quite a few times today and tonight. My glucose readings were excellent today, aside from my after tea results. Did invoicing today too.
It's cooled off considerably tonight so for the first time in days, I have all the windows open, but because it's night time, our metal shutters are down which I HOPE will help keep the dust blowing in to a minimum. Is nice to get a break, but is supposed to be hot again tomorrow and right through till next Wednesday.
Steps: 7093
13 March 2008
Thur 13 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 3356
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 low carb tortillas w/ tuna
Tea: subway
Notes: Wow, what a long day. I had an early morning walk before the sun came up and before it got 'too' hot. I did his so that I would have a feeling of accomplishment at the start of the day. I did manage to finish answering an Email that was an interview for a Commodore publication, so that's good, but there's still a heck of a lot I wanted to do that didn't happen. We did grocery shopping tonight and basically stocked up so we shouldn't need to go out over the weekend.
Last week I ordered a Philips cordless phone set (2 handsets) from catchof theday.com.au and they finally arrived this afternoon. I think it will take me a few days to get the phone's address book finished, but it's quite a nice set of phones and we can use them as an intercom system too as well as being able to use it in speaker phone mode -- perfect for when stuck on hold. Good price too. Only $40 or so dollars plus postage and I've been pricing cordless sets for awhile now. Most are closer to the $80-$100 range.
LOL, Rod just called me using the intercom mode from the bedroom ... to find out the password for our old laptop. It's nice to know he's found it useful too.
I'm including some links below about the heatwave, and a few for my daughter to see as I think she'd get a kick out of them.
Steps: 9511
Heatwave Stuff:
Adelaide smashes heatwave record
Nine firefighters burnt in SA blaze
No guarantee of power for SA
Heatwave pressures emergency departments
Funny/Geeky Craft items.....
bunny brains
monster handbag
Funny test question for the Learners test ...
You are driving an older relative for an appointment and are running late. They ask you to go faster to get there on time. You should:
I laughed when I read #1, but by the wording on #2, the person writing up the questions obviously doesn't have any experience with 'older relatives'. Saying you won't go any faster is a certain way to get into a dozy of an argument. The correct answer should be 'Choose a safe speed and don't get drawn into a discussion about it'.
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 low carb tortillas w/ tuna
Tea: subway
Notes: Wow, what a long day. I had an early morning walk before the sun came up and before it got 'too' hot. I did his so that I would have a feeling of accomplishment at the start of the day. I did manage to finish answering an Email that was an interview for a Commodore publication, so that's good, but there's still a heck of a lot I wanted to do that didn't happen. We did grocery shopping tonight and basically stocked up so we shouldn't need to go out over the weekend.
Last week I ordered a Philips cordless phone set (2 handsets) from catchof theday.com.au and they finally arrived this afternoon. I think it will take me a few days to get the phone's address book finished, but it's quite a nice set of phones and we can use them as an intercom system too as well as being able to use it in speaker phone mode -- perfect for when stuck on hold. Good price too. Only $40 or so dollars plus postage and I've been pricing cordless sets for awhile now. Most are closer to the $80-$100 range.
LOL, Rod just called me using the intercom mode from the bedroom ... to find out the password for our old laptop. It's nice to know he's found it useful too.
I'm including some links below about the heatwave, and a few for my daughter to see as I think she'd get a kick out of them.
Steps: 9511
Heatwave Stuff:
Adelaide smashes heatwave record
Nine firefighters burnt in SA blaze
No guarantee of power for SA
Heatwave pressures emergency departments
Funny/Geeky Craft items.....
bunny brains
monster handbag
Funny test question for the Learners test ...
You are driving an older relative for an appointment and are running late. They ask you to go faster to get there on time. You should:
- Drop them off at the train station.
- Choose a safe speed and say you will not go any faster.
- Take the advice of a more experience driver and go faster where you can.
I laughed when I read #1, but by the wording on #2, the person writing up the questions obviously doesn't have any experience with 'older relatives'. Saying you won't go any faster is a certain way to get into a dozy of an argument. The correct answer should be 'Choose a safe speed and don't get drawn into a discussion about it'.
12 March 2008
Wed 12 March Update
Scratchy: No win. 4348 steps
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: salad with chicken and blue cheese, crackers
Tea: KFC
Notes: Had Learners permit class this morning. On way home, I had Dave and Kirsty drop me off at shopping centre. I posted a bunch of stuff out, and went to pick up the rest of my antibiotics, but they still aren't in yet. Came home and ate salad while watching TV. Now need to get some household chores done and do some work. the heat is really getting to me, although I'm fortunate that so far my forehead hasn't broke out in eczema this time around.
Hey have I mentioned it's hot??
Record heat and no relief in sight for another week
Record heatwave in Adelaide
Heatwave prompts trains to slow
Steps: 7503
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: salad with chicken and blue cheese, crackers
Tea: KFC
Notes: Had Learners permit class this morning. On way home, I had Dave and Kirsty drop me off at shopping centre. I posted a bunch of stuff out, and went to pick up the rest of my antibiotics, but they still aren't in yet. Came home and ate salad while watching TV. Now need to get some household chores done and do some work. the heat is really getting to me, although I'm fortunate that so far my forehead hasn't broke out in eczema this time around.
Hey have I mentioned it's hot??
Record heat and no relief in sight for another week
Record heatwave in Adelaide
Heatwave prompts trains to slow
Steps: 7503
11 March 2008
Tue 11 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 3670
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 3 min (Ramen) noodles & cottage cheese
Tea: stirfry with chorizo, fresh brocolli & oyster mushrooms. 6 mins on exercise bike.
Notes: Went to Lymphedema clinic this morning for assessment to see if I qualify for a study on two different types of massages. Sadly, I don't qualify as they require people with 200ml fluid in their arms, and mine are pretty good. It's my back that has the most fluid.
However, because their biometric machine also measures many other things, and I have all my previous reports, there's some stuff I'm really pleased about. For instance, using my first set of measurements in 2003, my muscle mass has increased from 45.2 to 47.6, my lean body mass is up from 47.8 to 50.4 (I assume with the word 'lean' it's better to have a higher amount, I could be totally wrong. My fat mass was 43.6 and is now 40.5, and my bone mass has increased from 2.66 to 2.77. My protien mass is 12.7 which is up from 12.1 -- I think this has to do with the protien rich lymph fluid so that's not a good thing, but it does highlight that it's increased. My intracellular fluid is also up from 22.9 to 24.2. I also have more body water this time around as it was 33.1 in 2003 and is now 34.9. I imagine that's something that varies a great deal from day to day though. Another section anaylzes body fluid in the arms, legs and trunk. Fluid has increased in both my arms and my trunk, but not to the degree I thought it would be. Right arm was 2.01 and is now 2.15, Left arm was 1.95 and is now 2.20. When I was in the Tai Chi studies, my starting and ending measurements for my left arm were also higher than the right, which is weird because it's my right side that had the mastectomy. My legs are in the normal range and haven't really changed much at all. My trunk was 16.5 in 2003 and is now 17.4 which is probably about the biggest difference. My fitness score is MUCH better. It was 73 and is now 79. Go me!
Used exercise bike for 6 mins an after tea, yet reading was still in the 8's. Very annoying.
Steps: 8732
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 3 min (Ramen) noodles & cottage cheese
Tea: stirfry with chorizo, fresh brocolli & oyster mushrooms. 6 mins on exercise bike.
Notes: Went to Lymphedema clinic this morning for assessment to see if I qualify for a study on two different types of massages. Sadly, I don't qualify as they require people with 200ml fluid in their arms, and mine are pretty good. It's my back that has the most fluid.
However, because their biometric machine also measures many other things, and I have all my previous reports, there's some stuff I'm really pleased about. For instance, using my first set of measurements in 2003, my muscle mass has increased from 45.2 to 47.6, my lean body mass is up from 47.8 to 50.4 (I assume with the word 'lean' it's better to have a higher amount, I could be totally wrong. My fat mass was 43.6 and is now 40.5, and my bone mass has increased from 2.66 to 2.77. My protien mass is 12.7 which is up from 12.1 -- I think this has to do with the protien rich lymph fluid so that's not a good thing, but it does highlight that it's increased. My intracellular fluid is also up from 22.9 to 24.2. I also have more body water this time around as it was 33.1 in 2003 and is now 34.9. I imagine that's something that varies a great deal from day to day though. Another section anaylzes body fluid in the arms, legs and trunk. Fluid has increased in both my arms and my trunk, but not to the degree I thought it would be. Right arm was 2.01 and is now 2.15, Left arm was 1.95 and is now 2.20. When I was in the Tai Chi studies, my starting and ending measurements for my left arm were also higher than the right, which is weird because it's my right side that had the mastectomy. My legs are in the normal range and haven't really changed much at all. My trunk was 16.5 in 2003 and is now 17.4 which is probably about the biggest difference. My fitness score is MUCH better. It was 73 and is now 79. Go me!
Used exercise bike for 6 mins an after tea, yet reading was still in the 8's. Very annoying.
Steps: 8732
Mon 10 March Update
Scratchy: none
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: sausage roll & cottage cheese
Tea: chicken strips and noodles
Notes: Today was a public holiday. I spent the day watching Neighbours episodes I've got behind on. Had a stomach ache in the morning (very unusual for me) and was running a fever.
Steps: n/a
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: sausage roll & cottage cheese
Tea: chicken strips and noodles
Notes: Today was a public holiday. I spent the day watching Neighbours episodes I've got behind on. Had a stomach ache in the morning (very unusual for me) and was running a fever.
Steps: n/a
Sun 9 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 4560 steps
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 40 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: scrambled eggs and 2 crumpet toasts
Tea: pizza
Notes: Rod needed smokes so I said I'd go with him and get my walk in at Coles. He actually COMPLAINED that I walked too fast! That's quite an accomplishment for me. It felt good to charge up and down the aisles though, as it was air conditioned and just felt good to MOVE after being sort of lethargic from the heat. I really am not handling the heat too well, although at least this time my face isn't all broke out from the sweat (and since I stopped using shampoo).
Steps: 6428
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 40 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: scrambled eggs and 2 crumpet toasts
Tea: pizza
Notes: Rod needed smokes so I said I'd go with him and get my walk in at Coles. He actually COMPLAINED that I walked too fast! That's quite an accomplishment for me. It felt good to charge up and down the aisles though, as it was air conditioned and just felt good to MOVE after being sort of lethargic from the heat. I really am not handling the heat too well, although at least this time my face isn't all broke out from the sweat (and since I stopped using shampoo).
Steps: 6428
Sat 8 March Update
Scratchy: $3 on $2 3105
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 eggs, 2 crumpet toast and bacon
Tea: Teriyaki beef stirfry with veggies.
Notes: Took walk early. Tried caustic soda in the drain as toilet and laundry drains are acting up, again. Have a load of wash in soaking.
The caustic soda didn't work. I ended up having to build a 'dam' with old towels and used my mop to soak up water from the floor as the washing water drained and then squeezed the water into a bucket. NOT FUN! Actually quite hard work. Clothes dried fast but as it was 37c outside, that's not a surprise. Only hung out the sheets and doona cover on the line. The rest I had on the patio on drying racks. This avoided my having to spend a lot of time in the sun, which I'm supposed to avoid because of my antibiotics I'm on.
I think the unusual high BGLs are from the heat wave weather, so I'm not going to get ina panic about them.
Steps: 7511
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 eggs, 2 crumpet toast and bacon
Tea: Teriyaki beef stirfry with veggies.
Notes: Took walk early. Tried caustic soda in the drain as toilet and laundry drains are acting up, again. Have a load of wash in soaking.
The caustic soda didn't work. I ended up having to build a 'dam' with old towels and used my mop to soak up water from the floor as the washing water drained and then squeezed the water into a bucket. NOT FUN! Actually quite hard work. Clothes dried fast but as it was 37c outside, that's not a surprise. Only hung out the sheets and doona cover on the line. The rest I had on the patio on drying racks. This avoided my having to spend a lot of time in the sun, which I'm supposed to avoid because of my antibiotics I'm on.
I think the unusual high BGLs are from the heat wave weather, so I'm not going to get ina panic about them.
Steps: 7511
Fri 7 March Update
Scratchy: no win.
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: tuna on toast, cottage cheese
Tea: fish & chips
Notes: Another scorching hot day. Rang Lymphedema clinic about a trial they are starting and now have a Tues 10:30am appointment for an assessment to see if I qualify. Did grocery shopping. Bought fish & chips from the fish shop because it was too hot to cook our own.
Steps: 5123
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 42 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: tuna on toast, cottage cheese
Tea: fish & chips
Notes: Another scorching hot day. Rang Lymphedema clinic about a trial they are starting and now have a Tues 10:30am appointment for an assessment to see if I qualify. Did grocery shopping. Bought fish & chips from the fish shop because it was too hot to cook our own.
Steps: 5123
Thur 6 March Update
Scratchy: no win. 3999 steps
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 39 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: leftover elbow spaghetti
Tea: KFC
Notes: Another very hot day. Weather is supposed to be like this for over the next week. Woke up early and enjoyed the cool temps before the sun came up. Went on my walk early to avoid the heat of the day but forgot my water and sun hat. ARG. Didn't get half the stuff done I wanted to do today, but did make some headway on several different items.
To do today: answer mail, put photos on flickr, edit mp3s to make into ring tones, invoicing, honey website update
Steps: 8132
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 39 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: leftover elbow spaghetti
Tea: KFC
Notes: Another very hot day. Weather is supposed to be like this for over the next week. Woke up early and enjoyed the cool temps before the sun came up. Went on my walk early to avoid the heat of the day but forgot my water and sun hat. ARG. Didn't get half the stuff done I wanted to do today, but did make some headway on several different items.
To do today: answer mail, put photos on flickr, edit mp3s to make into ring tones, invoicing, honey website update
Steps: 8132
10 March 2008
I'm so hot... and no relief in sight either.
Running HOT for NINE more days
Adelaide bakes in 75-year heatwave
Someone please send me some snow to roll around in.
Adelaide bakes in 75-year heatwave
Someone please send me some snow to roll around in.
07 March 2008
Blue Tongue Lizard
As the name suggests, the blue-tongue lizard / skink has a very dark blue tongue. It looks a bit like a partial snake with incredibly tiny legs in comparison to the rest of its body.
This particular lizard visited and wandered all around my patio a couple of weeks ago. He was back again yesterday and even was brazen enough to sit looking in through the closed patio door. It gave me a chance to really get a good look at him since there was a nice piece of glass between me and the lizard.
I've never uploaded a video before, so hope this works OK!
This particular lizard visited and wandered all around my patio a couple of weeks ago. He was back again yesterday and even was brazen enough to sit looking in through the closed patio door. It gave me a chance to really get a good look at him since there was a nice piece of glass between me and the lizard.
I've never uploaded a video before, so hope this works OK!
This could be good for me...
One of the problems that doesn't really help much with my back/side healing is that I have lymphedema (in Oz it's spelled lymphoedema), which is from having some of my lymph nodes removed from my underarm when I had treatment for breast cancer. Lymph nodes are like the 'clean up crew' of the body. They remove all matter of bacteria and junk from our bodies by way of a complex lymph system that's just below the skin. I am fortunate in that my right arm isn't substantially larger than my left, but when it's hot (we're in a heat wave right now), I have problems with pain and swelling in the arm. The major place where I have lymphedema though is in my trunk. Basically the whole right side of my back, around under my arms and a bit in the chest and my tummy isn't all tummy. Some it is swollen from lymphedema. This swelling happens when the system gets overwhelmed and just can't keep up with it's cleaning job and so more lymph fluid is sent to the trouble areas, but that fluid gets trapped and isn't able to drain properly as it does in normal people.
I am on the waiting list for my current lymphedema problems to be assessed, and have been since either October or November. I have an appointment scheduled tenatively for 16 May but if there are any cancellations, I might get in sooner. Once I've been assessed, I'll likely need to have massage therapy and/or laser treatments. Neither one of these are 'covered' and have to be paid for out of pocket.
That was the state of the situation this afternoon, but there may be something better - and sooner. A friend from the Breastroke group sent me a flyer via email about a new clinical trial at the Lympedema Clinic where it's a crossover trial. For one week they will do one type of massage 4 days a week, the next week no massage is done, and the following week is another 4 days of a different type of massage. As well it includes measurements throughout the trial and after the trial some lymphedema education. This treatment is absolutely free and is to assess if there's any difference in fluid reduction between the two different massage methods.
When I rang to ask about the trial, I told them about my history with the hole in my side and they didn't feel that this would exclude me, nor would the fact I have more fluid build up in my back/trunk than in my arm. So cool. Getting the lymph fluid to drain from my back would go a long way towards helping the side finally heal, so this could be just the ticket for me.
I have an appt next Tuesday morning to be checked over and see if I'm eligible for the study. It sucks I have to deal with this stuff, but how lucky am I to live in an area where there are clinical studies being done on a regular basis. The last one I was in was to see if Tai Chi helps improve lymph fluid movement and I learned Tai Chi... for free.
By the way this heatwave we're having has no end in sight - it's here for at least the next 7 days. Ugh!
I am on the waiting list for my current lymphedema problems to be assessed, and have been since either October or November. I have an appointment scheduled tenatively for 16 May but if there are any cancellations, I might get in sooner. Once I've been assessed, I'll likely need to have massage therapy and/or laser treatments. Neither one of these are 'covered' and have to be paid for out of pocket.
That was the state of the situation this afternoon, but there may be something better - and sooner. A friend from the Breastroke group sent me a flyer via email about a new clinical trial at the Lympedema Clinic where it's a crossover trial. For one week they will do one type of massage 4 days a week, the next week no massage is done, and the following week is another 4 days of a different type of massage. As well it includes measurements throughout the trial and after the trial some lymphedema education. This treatment is absolutely free and is to assess if there's any difference in fluid reduction between the two different massage methods.
When I rang to ask about the trial, I told them about my history with the hole in my side and they didn't feel that this would exclude me, nor would the fact I have more fluid build up in my back/trunk than in my arm. So cool. Getting the lymph fluid to drain from my back would go a long way towards helping the side finally heal, so this could be just the ticket for me.
I have an appt next Tuesday morning to be checked over and see if I'm eligible for the study. It sucks I have to deal with this stuff, but how lucky am I to live in an area where there are clinical studies being done on a regular basis. The last one I was in was to see if Tai Chi helps improve lymph fluid movement and I learned Tai Chi... for free.
By the way this heatwave we're having has no end in sight - it's here for at least the next 7 days. Ugh!
06 March 2008
A Million Things to do
I have all these things I want to do, and things I have to do, and other things I need to do. Sometimes it's really frustrating. Tonight for instance, I wanted to upload some pics Drez sent me of the baby to Flickr, and a few other pics as well, but it didn't happen and now it's too late to start anything new.
So many things I've wanted to write about, too. They all get written in my head and then lost in the clutter of my mind.
One of the things I wanted to write about though doesn't involve pics at all so I'll tell you about that, and as it's an experiment of sorts, it fits with the blog as well.
Over on DeviantArt, I was reading a journal entry by Sae, and she mentioned she was trying something new with her hair and gave a link. I read the article and had to try it for myself. The link is: Info: Shampoo Free
Wow, I wish I'd tried this years ago. Basically, you use a 1 Tablespoon of Baking Soda to 1 Cup water to wash your hair, rinse well, then use 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider vinegar to 1 Cup water to rinse your hair and then rinse that out. My hair has always been pretty lifeless and gets dirty looking within 26 hours. It bites. Well not anymore. One of the advantages of not using shampoo is that your hair doesn't get dirty as quickly. And she suggests using a sprinkle of corn starch and then combing it out if your hair gets a bit greasy looking. That works really well too. I would suggest 2 things though:
It makes sense in a way - not having eczema problems - I was just telling a friend of mine how I have allergies to just about every product on the market that has a fragrance in it, especially if it's a facial product. Well shampoo generally has a fragrance and the areas that break out first and take the longest to go away is my hairline and forehead. So using something that's only a single ingredient without a fragrance will probably be a big help. Wish I'd thought of that a lot sooner!
We are in the middle of a nasty heatwave. It's been a relatively cool summer, and funnily enough (NOT) the heat wave began on the first day of Autumn. We're expecting to have high temps all weekend and through out the next week. Ugh!
But at least I'm having good hair days and not bad. :-)
So many things I've wanted to write about, too. They all get written in my head and then lost in the clutter of my mind.
One of the things I wanted to write about though doesn't involve pics at all so I'll tell you about that, and as it's an experiment of sorts, it fits with the blog as well.
Over on DeviantArt, I was reading a journal entry by Sae, and she mentioned she was trying something new with her hair and gave a link. I read the article and had to try it for myself. The link is: Info: Shampoo Free
Wow, I wish I'd tried this years ago. Basically, you use a 1 Tablespoon of Baking Soda to 1 Cup water to wash your hair, rinse well, then use 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider vinegar to 1 Cup water to rinse your hair and then rinse that out. My hair has always been pretty lifeless and gets dirty looking within 26 hours. It bites. Well not anymore. One of the advantages of not using shampoo is that your hair doesn't get dirty as quickly. And she suggests using a sprinkle of corn starch and then combing it out if your hair gets a bit greasy looking. That works really well too. I would suggest 2 things though:
- Put the corn starch in a shaker container, like a recycled herb/spice bottle,
- Remove your shirt before sprinkling. Otherwise you'll get the corn starch on your clothes and that's annoying.
It makes sense in a way - not having eczema problems - I was just telling a friend of mine how I have allergies to just about every product on the market that has a fragrance in it, especially if it's a facial product. Well shampoo generally has a fragrance and the areas that break out first and take the longest to go away is my hairline and forehead. So using something that's only a single ingredient without a fragrance will probably be a big help. Wish I'd thought of that a lot sooner!
We are in the middle of a nasty heatwave. It's been a relatively cool summer, and funnily enough (NOT) the heat wave began on the first day of Autumn. We're expecting to have high temps all weekend and through out the next week. Ugh!
But at least I'm having good hair days and not bad. :-)
05 March 2008
Update 1 March - 5 March
Sat 1 March
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: chicken schnitzel w/ bacon, guacamole & cheese
Tea: silverside steak, salad, low carb noodles
Monthly lunch get together. Was only Erik and Anne but very enjoyable. Went to Cove Tavern in Halet Cove. Went shopping in the shopping centre afterwards. Came home, and Rod napped all afternoon while I waited for him to get out of the bedroom so I could clean it. Since the dust storm, I haven't slept too well as I've been waking up coughing and having a general allergy attack. So I wanted to do a thorough clean to remove all the dust and dirt that got in last week. I don't know when he got up from his nap, but I conked out around 4 or 5 and woke up about 6:30. So tea was very very late as I honestly felt getting a better nights sleep was more important to me so I spent the time working on the bedroom. During the process of cleaning I lost my pedometre, but fortunately I found it late last night.
Sun 2 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 eggs, 1 crumpet toast, bacon.
Tea: pizza (two slices instead of 3)
It was warm today so I defrosted the freezer that's in our fridge. I have a cute picture to go with it too. There was only a small amount of ice cream (homemade, low fat, low sugar, low carb) left so intsead of finding a place for it in the bigger freezer, I opted to eat it. I made comment that 'Life's rough when you have to defrost your freezer' and Rod said it'd make a great photo and caption, so I told him where the camera was and he took a snap. I still have to upload it to Flickr though.
I started out with lots of energy but as the day progressed, I seemed to drag. Rods been working intently on school projects this weekend.
Steps: 6586
Mon 3 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: pizza (1 slice)
Tea: pork stirfry
The RDNS nurse was very pleased with how wound is looking. I found myself rather subdued again today and turns out I was running a fever. My BGLs go with the fever as well (they were a bit high all day). Have been working on filling out forms for the USA disability. I'm still not done, and have been at it all day.
Steps: 4441
Tue 4 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 40 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 low carb tortillas w/ ham, cheese & onion
Tea: yiros meat and chips.
Had a morning appt with my GP to get the US disability forms filled in and the another for my L plates (having diabetes requires my doctor to certify I'm safe to drive). He renewed my cipro prescription which kinda annoyed me because the wound is much better, and I told him more than once I didn't think the cipro was working very well on the bronchitis. I was surprised he didn't listen to my chest. Ah well, it WAS an appt to fill in forms and we did get that accomplished. Walked home and spent the day still catching up from being away from the computer last week.
I received a beautiful butterfly postcard in the mail from Angelina in Finland today.
Tomorrow I have my L Plates class (like Drivers Ed but without the actual driving), then Jayne, my RDNS nurse comes in the afternoon.
Steps: 5412
Wed 5 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 40 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: cottage cheese & salad
Tea: elbow spaghetti
Had L Plate class today. Went well. Got all the questions on my homework correct. Learned a few things I was unsure about. Had Dave and Kirsty drop me off at Southgate plaza. I dropped in a prescription to be filled (the antibiotics the GP prescribed yesterday), and then did most of my 'walking' at Coles (a grocery store), walking up and down the aisles. It was very hot today so doing my walk in air conditioning was good. The nurse is still pleased with my wound. Next week we can go with just Tues and Thurs visits. I had another quiet day catching up. I'm almost back to where I was a week or two ago.
Steps: 5202 so far
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: chicken schnitzel w/ bacon, guacamole & cheese
Tea: silverside steak, salad, low carb noodles
Monthly lunch get together. Was only Erik and Anne but very enjoyable. Went to Cove Tavern in Halet Cove. Went shopping in the shopping centre afterwards. Came home, and Rod napped all afternoon while I waited for him to get out of the bedroom so I could clean it. Since the dust storm, I haven't slept too well as I've been waking up coughing and having a general allergy attack. So I wanted to do a thorough clean to remove all the dust and dirt that got in last week. I don't know when he got up from his nap, but I conked out around 4 or 5 and woke up about 6:30. So tea was very very late as I honestly felt getting a better nights sleep was more important to me so I spent the time working on the bedroom. During the process of cleaning I lost my pedometre, but fortunately I found it late last night.
Sun 2 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 eggs, 1 crumpet toast, bacon.
Tea: pizza (two slices instead of 3)
It was warm today so I defrosted the freezer that's in our fridge. I have a cute picture to go with it too. There was only a small amount of ice cream (homemade, low fat, low sugar, low carb) left so intsead of finding a place for it in the bigger freezer, I opted to eat it. I made comment that 'Life's rough when you have to defrost your freezer' and Rod said it'd make a great photo and caption, so I told him where the camera was and he took a snap. I still have to upload it to Flickr though.
I started out with lots of energy but as the day progressed, I seemed to drag. Rods been working intently on school projects this weekend.
Steps: 6586
Mon 3 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 41 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: pizza (1 slice)
Tea: pork stirfry
The RDNS nurse was very pleased with how wound is looking. I found myself rather subdued again today and turns out I was running a fever. My BGLs go with the fever as well (they were a bit high all day). Have been working on filling out forms for the USA disability. I'm still not done, and have been at it all day.
Steps: 4441
Tue 4 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 40 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: 2 low carb tortillas w/ ham, cheese & onion
Tea: yiros meat and chips.
Had a morning appt with my GP to get the US disability forms filled in and the another for my L plates (having diabetes requires my doctor to certify I'm safe to drive). He renewed my cipro prescription which kinda annoyed me because the wound is much better, and I told him more than once I didn't think the cipro was working very well on the bronchitis. I was surprised he didn't listen to my chest. Ah well, it WAS an appt to fill in forms and we did get that accomplished. Walked home and spent the day still catching up from being away from the computer last week.
I received a beautiful butterfly postcard in the mail from Angelina in Finland today.
Tomorrow I have my L Plates class (like Drivers Ed but without the actual driving), then Jayne, my RDNS nurse comes in the afternoon.
Steps: 5412
Wed 5 March
Learners Permit Theory Test Practice Scores:
Give Way Test: 8 of 8 correct (8 required)
Multiple Choice: 40 out of 42 correct (32 required)
Breakfast: crumpet toast w/ PB
Lunch: cottage cheese & salad
Tea: elbow spaghetti
Had L Plate class today. Went well. Got all the questions on my homework correct. Learned a few things I was unsure about. Had Dave and Kirsty drop me off at Southgate plaza. I dropped in a prescription to be filled (the antibiotics the GP prescribed yesterday), and then did most of my 'walking' at Coles (a grocery store), walking up and down the aisles. It was very hot today so doing my walk in air conditioning was good. The nurse is still pleased with my wound. Next week we can go with just Tues and Thurs visits. I had another quiet day catching up. I'm almost back to where I was a week or two ago.
Steps: 5202 so far
Cool. Blogging is good for you.
Blogging boosts your social life: research
Well duh, really. Even when I was a kid in school, I found keeping a journal helped me to feel more balanced and in control of life than the times I didn't journal. It also gives you something you can look back through past entries to find things you'd forgot, dates that went with events, etc.
I keep a daily diary entry on my computer and add it to this blog once a week or so. Daily if I have the time to do that, but often I get other things crowding in and it gets set aside until I do have a moment.
Today I'm catching up on reading after having been ill last week. I'm much better this week, but still playing 'catch up' on my usual daily activities while trying to squeeze in a few extra things along the way.
Well duh, really. Even when I was a kid in school, I found keeping a journal helped me to feel more balanced and in control of life than the times I didn't journal. It also gives you something you can look back through past entries to find things you'd forgot, dates that went with events, etc.
I keep a daily diary entry on my computer and add it to this blog once a week or so. Daily if I have the time to do that, but often I get other things crowding in and it gets set aside until I do have a moment.
Today I'm catching up on reading after having been ill last week. I'm much better this week, but still playing 'catch up' on my usual daily activities while trying to squeeze in a few extra things along the way.
So Sad
I just read that Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as numerous other RPG games and systems passed away today.
As my college years were spent enjoying all the thought put into playing role playing games and then later my kids discovered they enjoyed these too, I just feel like our lives wouldn't have been the same had it not been for people like Gary.
My condolences to his family.
As my college years were spent enjoying all the thought put into playing role playing games and then later my kids discovered they enjoyed these too, I just feel like our lives wouldn't have been the same had it not been for people like Gary.
My condolences to his family.
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