So… today I go back to work. A week of vacation and a day of work from home and today I go back. It’s going to be -1 when I start my mile walk from my parking lot to work. I’m … Continue reading
Sitting here in the livingroom smelling the remnants of yesterday’s fire, Christmas tree for company and Mythbusters on TV. Pumpkin pie and coffee… I started my work day early today trying to get ahead of any curve that might be coming my way when “normal” people come in. Something tells me it’s going to be a long day.
The flu brought on a flare. My fingers are not happy and my knee/ankle/foot combination are very very not happy. I’m thinking that working from the couch with my feet propped up on the coffee table might be my very best bet for the day. Yesterday my knee/ankle was very bad by the end of the day. Bear barely bumped my knee and I winced in pain. I sat on the floor watching the turkey for the last half hour of the turkey cooking time… watching to see if I could see the timer pop up.
The turkey was very very greasy. The skin wasn’t the yummy crispiness that Thanksgiving’s was. But it was a good turkey. The ham was ham. Dinner was really good, though.
Today, I’m thinking back over the last year, trying to psych myself up for the rest of the day and trying to be gentle with myself. Tiger Balm fills the air. I have checked the weather report fifty times. It’s not going to get cold. I’m almost as disappointed as my son that the weather refuses to turn seasonal. It’s going to be 47 degrees today. It’s going to top 50 again tomorrow. I really really want to see the cold and the snow. Logic dictates that there is lots of time for the season to turn cold but Christmas is Christmas and it was far from white.
The holidays are not over yet. There are still hours and hours of potential stress and festivities. Whatever you do, remember to be gentle with yourself. Be gentle with your body and take time for absolutely nothing… it can certainly pay off.
What did I learn from having the flu?
— be very VERY careful in a race situation. You come into contact with the germs of thousands of people and, an already compromised immune system, germs are germs.
— no matter what anyone thinks, the doctors, the CDC and the vaccine manufacturers all agree… the flu shot is reasonably effective in lowering your chances of the strains of flu that are included in the vaccine, not the ones that aren’t. It will not prevent the flu and anyone who comes up with the snarky remarks about you should have gotten the flu shot and you wouldn’t have gotten the flu if you would have just been smart and gotten yours is full of… um… themselves. BUT this is assuming that the CDC and the Doctors are a little more edumacateded up than Lucy Lou and Skippy down the street are.
— the flu sucks. All kidding aside, I don’t ever know if I have hurt in that really horrible all over hurt worse than the day I actually came down with the flu.
— when they tell you it takes a week or more to feel better, they aren’t kidding. It takes a week. And with RA tossed into the equation, the absolute exhaustion and continued run down feeling hangs on even longer.
If you have a compromised immune system… get the flu shot. The more variables you can take out of your health equation, the better your chances are of getting through the season without coming down with something that could land your butt in the hospital (or worse).
And… it’s time to get on with my day. I hope I’m wrong about what is going to hit the fan today with everyone out of the office… but… for now, I’m going to try to get done what I can while I can.
I hope you all had the Merriest of Christmases.
Posted in Christmas, flu, Holiday, rheumatoid arthritis
Okay… so today we drive up to packet pick-up. I’m hoping for long socks and arm warmers; I’m REALLY hoping for arm warmers (they are really neat). They have a store, go figure.
Last night I finally tried on the pants I’m wearing to race. They fit perfectly. I’m going to hunt up my tights for under them because 40 isn’t warm and they aren’t probably heavy enough for me to be overly happy even racing. But they fit and they are cute. I get my dry fit stuff in my packet today, so I will see what other cute crap I can wear with them.
My fanny pack is almost packed. I have to toss in my iPod and my phone and my camera and I’m good. I have my glovies (electronic compatible ones, naturally) and hand warmers and my own candy canes. Not that I’m terrified of having to face the same lessons that I learned at Run For The Water last year, but… yeah. I pray I don’t have to worry about watching them empty the last two water stations all over the ground as I approach. I hope I get a cookie or two. I hope I get a candy cane… or two. I hope I’m not swept. Even DFL beats DNF. I really really want to finish.
I’m mortified to announce that I actually did start taking my prednisone. Yesterday I took 3 because for two days my left wrist (NOT my problem child) was KILLING me. Right around the Carpal Tunnel place it burned and ached and was horrible. My middle three fingers started to stiffen and ache and I knew it was going to get very not pretty very fast. I hate taking them. I refuse to take them if I have any other options. With the race tomorrow and so much I still have to get done to get ready for Christmas and my project kicking back into high gear… I probably didn’t think as long as I might have done otherwise. But… my Rheumy did give me a script back in the spring when my finger (same hand oddly enough) went totally bat shit crazy on me and gave me a refill. I kept it because I’m scared and it’s a good thing to have on hand. So… I am treating myself and will catch up with my rheumy on Wednesday.
So here I am, up and at em, ready to go to packet pickup. I’m HOPING to spend a few minutes along the lake today taking pictures and enjoying the cold. Eh a girl can dream, can’t she?
Posted in Christmas, flair, Half Marathon, Holiday, Santa Hustle
Tagged flair, prednisone, Santa Hustle, Santa Hustle Cedar Point, Santa Hustle Cedar Point 2014, winter
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The little rodent was shoved out of his happy little home this morning only to determine we are going to have 6 more weeks of winter. As I sit here watching the fluffy white flakes drifting down and … Continue reading
So… I’m sitting here freezing even after my hot bath. It isn’t all that cold, but, yeah, well, it is what it is. Raynauds… the gift that keeps on reminding you it’s there… and MTX… and… eh…. More than that, … Continue reading
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