MRI and Dresses

I saw this dress on the web... I really liked it. If I ever have to buy a pretty dress for some event, I'm going to look for one like this one.

I had my MRI today. I feel, um, kind of funny now. I guess, being in a very small noisy enclosure for 40+ minutes and getting Gadolinium injected can do that to a person. It's funny, but I didn't think about the MRI at all before hand, nor did I think about the previous one I'd had, but when I got there, I had an instant, fairly sharp memory of the last one. I remember there were two technicians the last time, and they kept telling me to lay VERY still. There's a speaker and microphone in the machine so they can talk to you and you can talk to them. It was loud and I swear I can feel the atoms in my body being pulled into different positions while the machine clunks and thunks.

I'm not claustrophobic, and mostly I use the time to rest, but I don't think I want to sign up for another MRI soon. I have a question.... I've only had two MRIs on my head/neck... When it's on a different portion of your body, like your knee, or lower back, is your head in the machine too? If any one reads this who has had an MRI on a lower part of your body, let me know!

Results in a couple of days. Hands are feeling a little extra numb now, so I am glad I did it.

Exercise

It's important at every age!

Oh, yea, I skipped aerobics class last night, but I went to work out today. And! I'm going to have a few sessions with the personal trainer at the gym so he can show me how to lift weights correctly and use all those machines. I have been working with a friend after the T/Th Zumba class and doing some weights (usually only 10-15 minutes), and that's good, but I should probably be spending at least 2-3 hours week doing weights. That'll be a goal, but who knows how long it will take for me to attain it.

sitting

I'm at home sitting, taking a moment. I was going to go to aerobics, but then traffic sucked, and I'd forgotten my pants and I needed to go home first. I knew that since 1) I'd be really late and 2) I'd be home with food, I probably wouldn't make it to my class. It's good.

I have 2 more things to get done by tomorrow... I haven't assessed them yet to know how long they'll take. I'm sure I can get one of them done in the morning... I should look at the other one tonight.

It's kind of crazy, I'm really busy, but less busy than last year, but I feel like I have less time than last year. Maybe I'm mis-remembering, but I feel like time is just flying by.

I'm doing a ton of writing for work right now. I'm enjoying it, but it does suck up the time.

I had several good posts in my head, but now they are gone. Alas.

I think I'll go look at one of the tasks and see if I can knock it out.

Oh... I had a dental cleaning today. My dental hygienist and dentist oohed and ahhed over my gums. Go floss! Go electric toothbrush!

Hurry up!

Come down from the mountain and make the damn announcement already.

All I want for Christmas

Announce it and tell me the details, please!

Everyone is a critic

We saw a woman wearing a pretty dress and I asked twoK if she liked the dress. She looked carefully and said, "If she had a different hairstyle, I'd like it better."

Sent from my iPhone

You've come a LONG way baby!

K aka twoK eats about 40 peas a day now.

Also, I have figured out how to blend up really tasty things involving spinach, peas, or broccoli in the blender. I usually do one of the first two and our nanny often does the 3rd one. twoK will sometimes eat broccoli for the nanny, but NOT for me. We're working on it.

Excellent!

I've been watching with interest as Swistle worked to make extra nutritious muffins and was excited when she debuted the recipe. Yesterday, I made the muffins. (I've been craving pumpkin lately.)

I went for maximal nutrition! I put in 1/2 cup of flax 'cause I misread the recipe. It was the first time I'd ever baked with flax seeds... I love it! I had whole flax seeds and had to try and grind them. I put them in the food processor. It took a long time to get them to look like "meal" rather than seeds. I'm guessing there are better grinders out there for this type of thing, but, eventually it worked.

I dumped all wet and dry stuff together in the mixer (because my girls were helping me bake; I had no control and two bowls were way too complicated!) and the muffins came out just yummy. So, if you're like me and get confused by two bowls, it doesn't seem to be necessary. I mixed and mixed it for a long time until it was very battery.

Swistle notes that her silicone muffin pans leave a scorched flavor. I haven't experienced that. I oiled and floured the silicone pan. No sticking and no scorched flavor. These muffins are very moist, and very filling. I only made 12. They are HUGE. I'm guessing 400-500 calories per muffin. They are great for eating before going to a workout class.

Oh, and, we were out of white sugar so I used mostly brown sugar with a little powdered sugar (3/4 cup brown 1/2 cup powered). I read on the web you can substitute 1 and 3/4 cup powered for 1 cup sugar.

how many

How many different subjects can I cover in a post I make in 15 minutes?

1. Tonight, MWH and I are going to see Harry Potter! With friends! I am excited. In the past, I've always re-read the book, or the book right before the movie so I'd have a reminder of what was going to happen and the background. I didn't have a chance this time.

2. I went to the neurologist yesterday. He took my numb hands and my concerns seriously. He decided we should do another MRI on my spine just to see if anything had changed in 9 years. He isn't doing a brain MRI, but in reflection, I don't think my symptoms really warrant it. I'd like one, but first, let's see what the spine shows. Hopefully nothing. This doctor thinks my numbness might be related to carpal tunnel. I doubt it, but again, let's see. We'll look at the MRI and if it doesn't show changes, he recommends I get tested to see if it is carpal tunnel. I'm good with that. I'm hoping for no changes on the MRI, but I doubt carpal tunnel is the answer. We'll see.

3. Work...Last weekend, I didn't work. This week, I felt a little stressed because I felt behind. This weekend, I'll try to work about 2-4 hours and we'll see how I feel. This week, I had a little less time for work because 1) meeting former supervisor for coffee and 2) the doctor appointment. If 2 hours on the weekend makes the week go a little smoother, I'm okay with that. We'll see. Or maybe I just need to get better about making sure I have 25 hours during the week to work FOR SURE.

4. We have less than a month until school starts. This is crazy. I am NOT ready. I like summer.

5. Three-a's show just ended. I need to go get us breakfast. I covered 5 topics in 10 minutes, I didn't get 15 minutes after all.

Note to self 7-21

Dear Self,

How come you let me write that note when that very afternoon our hands got more numb than they have EVER been. In fact, they are so numb and are also weak. I feel pretty good energy-wise, but I can't type very well. I went to Zumba today, and tried to take it easy. It was very hot in Zumba. It is not hot outside.

While I was Zumba-ing, I felt good (hey and our knees didn't hurt), and now, I feel no worse, but my hands are still really numb. So numb that they are weak. I've dropped (or almost dropped) a lot of stuff. This morning, I called and got an appointment with the neurologist.

It's been almost 12 years since the numbness started. I last saw the neurologist ~10 or 11 years ago. She had done an MRI and said, you're fine, don't come back unless you get worse. I have never felt "worse" so I haven't gone back. I did lots of googling in Scholar.google.com and have several articles I want to take with me. I would like to have another MRI to learn if the areas of demyelination have grown or changed.

I guess, this extra-numb hands thing could be related to how hot it was over the weekend, but I've not had numbness that has been this bad and lasted when I cooled off. Usually, I feel CRAPPY. Who knows, maybe it's nothing. We'll hope for nothing.

Okay, we should pack the little girls up and go to the grocery store.

Love,
Me

Both

I now think I have something a teeny bit wrong with my right knee and something wrong with my back. My back, is getting somewhat better. My knee doesn't hurt very much, but when I bent down last night to pick up crayons, I put some stress on m right knee. I felt it. I will continue to take it easy in class until I know for sure my knee is recovered.

I will work on having more interesting posts soon.

Oh! Dinner last night was good. I didn't follow that recipe exactly, as I didn't have Chevre cheese, and next time, I need should cut the zucchini/squash into smaller pieces.... I really liked it and will do it again, but I liked the broccoli creation better.


Picture 1

Picture 2

Note to self

Dear Self,

Every spring, as it warms up, you freak out that the numbness thing is getting worse. Every summer, as you adjust to the heat, you realize it is okay and you aren't getting worse. When you are adjusting, you are tired and your hands hurt. Your muscles are very sore and sometimes you just can't really even move. I mean, you can move, but you don't want to move.

This summer, it was all better by July. I can't remember if it was all better a week ago, or two weeks ago, but your energy is all back now. Your hands are still numb in the summer, because it is hot, but it is not extra painful (like in spring).

Read this when you are worried next spring. It should be better soon.

Love, Me

Sent from my iPhone

Tonight

I think I'm going to try to make a variation of this.

I'll let you know how it tastes!

More Summery!

Last week was a very busy, fun week. I forgot to document the picnic (for my work) we went to and then to cap off the week, we went to our wonderful friend's house and swam and hung. The little girls are getting so much more self-sufficient. Both MWH and I actually got to have a conversation with our friends. I think it might be a milestone. Woo!

The whole time

The whole time my knee has been hurting, I've been wondering if this was happening again. At first, I thought it was my hamstrings being tight. That might be contributing to the problem, but now I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the problem isn't in my knee, but rather, in my back. This site about sciatica is really interesting (to me).

I probably have to start jumping a little less in Zumba. I definitely have to strengthen my back for a while before trying to jump again. Argh. I don't like this getting old thing. I don't like it one little bit.

Summery

Another pun! (This is a summary.)

We went to a friend's house and roasted marshmallows and ate s'mores! Yum.

Then the next day we went to the beach. It was super fun and I love our beach tent. Did I tell you about it last year? I will have to check later and post a link to it if I didn't. (I will do it when I am on the computer, not the iPhone.)

I continue to work to reign in work. I did okay this week except I was working on stuff that was "volunteer" work, so I couldn't count those hours as billable and had to work a little extra to work my minimum billable hours. It's okay. That volunteer stuff is mostly done for a while.

If I had written this post yesterday, I would have said my knee was getting better. But, then I played chase at the beach. Oops. It hurts in a new and different way now. I will rest my knee until Tuesday, and then assess if I can go to Zumba. I NEED it to get better. (That was a pun too.)

Sent from my iPhone

Just for the record..... (part 5,675)

I really detest this line of marketing.

Sears Christmas Lane: Buy More Save More Now*

It's even documented here on #31.


*The more you buy, the MORE YOU SPEND. It's that simple. We don't need more crap in our lives.

Does it work?

You know I'm on an anti-aging kick. My aerobics teacher told me about this product:




I got some... it was about $10. I figured, if it worked, great, if not, I had a new lotion.

I think it's working. MWH thinks it's working. I won't be taking pictures to document the change here, but it's been worth the $10 in my opinion. Noticeably firmer skin in at least 3 places. Wooooo!

Summary

It's summer. I will do a summary (hey, that's a pun in case you hadn't detected it) of what we've been up to lately.

1. I'm working on 1) not working all the time 2) cutting down the time I spend in FB and the blogosphere, 3) spending more time with the girls.

2. Trying to socialize more. The other week, I took the girls over to a friend's house, and another friend brought her kids, and the girls and all the kids played. The Moms and I walked. It was fun. MWH had to help out because her husband was ignoring the kids. Her husband was going to watch the kids, but another parent came over needing some help with something and he got busy. My girls were running around with (pretend) swords and it was crazy. They had a blast, I think there were 9 kids total at the house, but it was a little scary to watch. I was glad MWH was there.

3. I'm working on two papers and my colleague is working on a third one to submit to a conference. I'm trying to not let work take over my life. So far (just one week), I've done an okay job on not letting it take over. Baby steps!

4. I kind of hurt my knee in Zumba. I did something the teacher doesn't recommend, but is fun. My knee was pretty sore on Friday. It's been feeling better each day since. I am going to take it easy on my knees until it's all better. It doesn't really hurt any more, but it kind of is a little tender and reminds me it's there. I think it's a muscle (or a ligament) and that it's not very bad. That's my hope. I have a very bad back. I don't want bad knees too.

5. This week should be a fun week. We have an event we can bring our kids to at work on W, and then MWH and I are going to take F off and play with the girls. It'll either be a beach day or a local amusement park depending on how hot it is. It's been really wonderful weather lately... we had one short heat spell (only bad for two days).

6. I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can remember now.

two accomplishments and a new goal

The carpets are cleaned. I wanted to make sure I got them cleaned this month. I am so excited that I did it. Last week, I didn't think I'd ever get the time to get it done, but then over the holiday weekend, I did a little cleaning and it made me excited to have CLEAN carpets. I remembered to call yesterday and I got an appointment for today. I can cross it off my list now. Clean Carpets

So much fun to cross things off the list!

Oh, the cleaning place used kelp as the all natural product to clean.... I'm going to tag this post GREEN because of that.



I emailed off one of my 3 papers last night. [Another one is off the list too... TRB] This morning, the person I was writing it (JR) for told me it was very nice. Though it doesn't sound like it's high praise, we often don't get a lot of positive feedback around where we work, so I'm taking it as a good thing. This was the first time I've done anything for this person, so I'm glad to get the positive feedback.

I have a new goal at work, to do really good work, but not to be obsessive, and to stop working all the time. I don't work full-time, and I'm not pursuing any advancement* at work right now, so why do I work as much as I do?

Part of the reason I end up working all the time is when I'm working on projects not related to my real interests. I find I don't work very efficiently on those projects. I end up trying to re-shape the project to meet my interests, and then having to go back and re-do things the way they actually should be done. I'm going to try to make sure I only pursue projects that I really like. We'll see what I can do... Wish me luck!


Okay... I have whiny girls who want dinner.




*I don't think I want to take on any more responsibilities at work until Three-a is in first grade, and even then, I don't know. I think I like the level where I am. I'm on the slowest career track EVER, but I don't feel the need to be totally an overachiever here. I want to do good work that is interesting to me.

They are here!

The carpet cleaners! I. am. so. excited.

need title

1. Last week, I got my eyelashes tinted. I am happy.
2. I kind of need my wedding ring sized.
3. We took the girls to the local Farmer's Market on Friday. We got a flat of strawberries (yum!), blueberries, corn on the cob, tomatoes, and salad.
4. I need my carpets cleaned (desperately!). I hope to make that happen this week.
5. I simultaneously like and dislike my work. I need a vacation. I have a lot to do this week. How come I NEVER EVER learn.... How come I never learn that once I'm done with one big thing, there is always another big thing?
6. Former supervisor is in the hospital with a (hopefully easy to fix) problem.
7. We really like the TV series Bones.
8. Must go clean the kitchen floor.

makes me happy

It makes me happy to see more and more talk about food and health from our first family.

July 1

Wowza. It's not going to be long until December 1 now. As my father used to say, it's the fourth of July, then it's Christmas, meaning time flies. He got it right.

Ah, Dad. Father's Day was much harder than I expected. We did a video iChat with my Dad last year, and he looked so good in the video. A little over 6 months later (January of this year), and um, well, he looked about as not good as you can look.

Okay, didn't set out to write about Dad, but I guess it makes sense that I am thinking of him. I called my Mom today, and I'm still trying to figure out when oNe and I go to see her. When I spoke to her today, she told me about my Godfather. My Godfather and my Dad shared the exact same birthdate. My Godfather came to my Dad's funeral. He looked great. Apparently, now he's not doing as well. I might take oNe, my Mom, and me on a road trip to see him. Is that crazy or what?

What else? Work... Finished two of the three things. Talked to the leader of the other thing I worked on and he said he'd look at it tomorrow. I asked enough questions to make sure he wasn't expecting me to work on the holiday... It sounds like he's okay with getting it to the client late. Let's hope he doesn't go all crazy and decide we need to get it to the client on Monday. The project leader is in a pretty good mood right now though, so maybe it will work out.

What else.... Oh yea, I have a new rule for me. No more eating tortilla chips straight out of the bag. I can eat tortilla chips, I just need to be conscious of HOW MANY tortilla chips I eat. I think chips out of the bag are my downfall. I haven't gained any weight, but I haven't lost the last 2-3 pounds I would like to lose. I have been thinking about portion size of foods since I read "most of us greatly underestimate the amount of food we eat and greatly overestimate the amount we move." I know I underestimate how many tortilla chips I eat.

What else... The kitties... B-cat is looking for C cat. C cat is older and we let him eat B-cat's food. We don't let B-cat eat C's food though. This makes B-cat a little angry. C has CRF and needs to eat so ..... Anyway, B just walked downstairs to make sure C wasn't eating his food. He peered around the corner to see if C cat was in there and he looked ready to pounce. C cat was not in there. It was very funny.

What else... oNe (7.5) takes showers all by herself now. It's very exciting! twoK is VERY bleach blonde from the sun--it's crazy. Three-a can take the little hand broom and dust pan and clean up under her chair after dinner. (YAY!) Three-a is almost 4. Yikes.

I have no more babies. I don't want more babies, I really like three, but it definitely is crazy that my babies are soooo big.

Yesterday, twoK said to me, sometimes I feel like a teenager. I said, "Whoa." She said, "I know, you don't want to grow up and be that big yet."

That's it for this random blog post. More later.