The Mick Stood Me Up!!!

Ok, first of all...I don't get stood up!!! EXCEPT THAT I DID!!! He was there when I arrived at the gym. I went to the locker room to change, came back out, and he was GONE!! I was even ready 10 minutes early! He had even called earlier in the day to confirm our session! WHAT IN THE WORLD???!!! Well, I dunno what to say, except he BETTER BE THERE MONDAY!! And he has some answerin' to do!

In other news, I feel so much better than I did. Here's why:

I got rid of this

And this

Started drinking one of these every day

And have been taking these vitamins, minerals, and enzymes twice a day

All I eat is protein and cooked vegetables, and I have lost 7 pounds in two weeks. By the way, two Wednesdays ago I decided to go off his diet and have a nice spaghetti meal at Olive Garden. I had it with meatballs, the salad and breadsticks. Uhmmmmm...I paid for it for two days. Lots of pain, almost no energy whatsoever, and had some more personal issues. CRAZY, because how many times have I had that same meal and not had any trouble? LOTS! I learned my lesson, and I haven't "cheated" in 10 days. That's the longest I've EVER stayed on a "diet." I go see Alternative Medicine guy (aka Doc Brown) again today. We'll see what he has to say now, and what direction I am headed.

Honduran Hauntings or Mexican Mishaps???

Where to begin? I spent many high school holidays and summers on mission trips to La Pesca, Mexico. It's in the middle of Mexico on the Gulf coast. Guess what their main industry is...fish (if you don't know spanish). We had many fish gatherings with the locals after long days of home repairs, church repairs, and Bible studies. We had a joke, because my dad would incessantly say "Don't drink the water" then, turn around and say, "Make sure you're drinking enough water." We would bring LOTS of bottled water.

Then, I lived in Honduras after college for 6 months helping out with various projects in various places (preaching school, local medical/dental/nutrition clinic, mountain villages, hospitals for the sick, hospitals for "crazy people", orphanages, etc.). Also, there was my motorcycle wreck in Honduras, where I made a judgement call that may not have been "good judgement" (Drank some water of unknown origin given to me by a local woman just after the wreck). My thought was that if there was going to be a problem, it would be a "24 hour" problem, and I would just deal with it. Who knows where this came from, but the good doctor is 99% sure I have had a dormant parasite for a VERY LONG time, and it's now active.

WHAT??!!??!! I haven't been to Mexico or Honduras in 15 years!!! He said, "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you were there." OY VEY!!! SERIOUSLY???!!! Yes...seriously. I am now taking enzymes to get rid of the little booger. It can take several months. My diet has been changed to protein and cooked vegetables only. Good thing I like protein and cooked vegetables :-) Everything else "could" cause irritation in the infected area, and the good doctor wants to reduce that "possibility," which is fine with me. Also, no sugar, because the little booger likes sugar. Roger that...no sugar. No need to encouarge it...eeewww!

There were other things. I have two areas of pain, the other is the stomach muscle spam the hospital surgeon suspected several weeks ago. Also, I'm low on certain minerals, vitamins, and immune system levels. Taking minerals and vitamins to boost that up to normal. And, the good doctor is also a Chiropractor, so I had some "adjustments" in my neck and back. Talk about holistic! I still have some skepticism with this holistic/alternative/homeopatic treatment, BUT he hasn't done anything to harm me, and he makes the most sense out of anyone so far. I still have other appointments with other doctors to rule out a few more things. Just gotta keep praying and puttin' along.

SERIOUSLY??? A PARASITE???!!! YUCK!!!

"Dude, I am seriously messed up! Why did you marry me?"

Kevin: "Are you serious?"

Me: "Yes! I'm sick all the time, and look at all these 'psychological traumas'!"

Kevin: "Because I love you! What are you talking about? You're not sick all the time."
(Notice there was no comment about the "psychological traumas"...HA!)

I started filling out the holistic doc's packet-o-questions yesterday. I have to list everything medically/clinically that has ever happened from braces to cancer. THEN, there's the section on psychological traumas. It seems that as a child, I had quite a few (and by few, I mean many) medical problems. I hadn't thought about all that in a LONG, LONG while. (Did I mention it's been a while?!!) And, I have NEVER just sat down to write it all down and look at it. It was/is just life. Now, it's life on a piece of paper, and it looks overwhelming...on paper. Hence the question to Kevin. The paper says I'm a complete train wreck. Now that I think about it, his dad was a train mechanic, repairing the train's breaks. Maybe, that's why Kevin feels comfortable with me...it's familiar territory...HA!

Anyway, I'm also keeping a food log. It's very detailed, from time that I eat to what I eat broken down into the different food groups. No casseroles this week...OR I could attach the recipes...I'll think that through a bit later.

Ok, that's all for now. And for the record, I'm tired of not feeling well!

(When I looked up pictures of train wrecks, there were also photos of Mel Gibson, Brittany Spears, Kate plus 8, Murdoch, Lindsey Lohan, Charlie Sheen...well, you get the idea!)

Confessions and Such

Not too far into this new year, and I already have confessions...woah! Not too bad though. I was going to quit blogging. I was getting bored with it, so I thought I'd be done. Well, things are getting interesting again, so I want to be able to look back and see how I made it through. Still no answer on what's causing this pain. I've decided to go to a holistic doctor. You know the kind. A whole body work up to include what I eat, how I sleep (or don't sleep), how I exercise, what causes me stress, how I relax (do I even do that??), etc., and then he comes back with some kind of way for me to "find my Zen" (just an expression people...nobody freak out). Herbal this and that, maybe accupuncture, maybe nutritional changes, Yoga...who knows. Several friends swear by this, and since conventional medicine ain't workin', I've got to try something. My mom went to one of these docs for a while, as did her best friend. It helped both of them...my mom with her diabetes, and her friend with digestion. To control cholesterol, my dad is a vegetarian because conventional medication causes too many side effects. So, I guess the nut ain't falling far from the tree :-)

The Mick is working with me at a much lighter pace, so as not to aggrivate my issues, but still keep the workout routine going. I haven't weighed in a couple of weeks, so I have no idea how that's even going. Don't want to really. Walking helps the pain, for whatever that's worth. I've been trying to get about 30 minutes a day, but sometimes I just can't. I made it through my work week. Glad to have today off.

I have a "packet" coming from the good doctor, and I've had to start logging what I eat. Should be interesting!

Who Knew I Could Do This An ENTIRE Year

I started training with "The Mick" a year ago already! I had a couple of breaks in my routine throughout the year because of health issues, but I didn't quit, which had been my way of life before this year.

Here are some observations:

1. I'm EXACTLY the same weight I was this time last year...LOL!

2. One of my trainers is a dirty old man, while the other appears to have been trained by the KGB as a killer.

3. I'm not afraid of all the crazy freaks that kiss their biceps goodnight before bed anymore, and will proudly lift my 15 lb weights next to them any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

4. I was WAY more out of shape than I expected.

5. I can do WAY more than I expected.

6. "Change" is the worst word in the English vocabulary...next to "Discipline" of course...bah!

Some accomplishments:

1. No more thyroid medication

2. No more blood pressure medication

3. Lost 2 sizes in my waist.

4. Successfully changed many bad eating habits.

My one and only goal:

KEEP GOING!

The Answer? Let's Hope So

I went 16 years without being in the hospital. This is a HUGE accompishment for me. But, alas, the streak is over. My stomach was hurting so bad this week, I just couldn't take it anymore. I went to my doc, who said to go to the ER to get admitted. UGH!! BOO!! But I did. When it was time to admit me the hospital was so full, I went to this holding area. It was blocked off by curtains, and I was so high on morphine, that it didn't bother me at all. I heard so many interesting things through the curtains. One lady cursed every time her IV machine beeped. Another poor lady had had a stroke, and was very weepy (very sad). One woman had a blood clot and was trying to convince the docs to let her go home so she could go to her Christmas party. (If you don't know, if the blood clot moves, it could go to your heart or head and KILL YOU...that didn't seem to bother her! CRAZY!!)

I made up for the CT scan I didn't have last week with another round of contrast. This time though, it tasted like syrupy Crystal Light. Not false advertising this time...see

And these people were able to find a vein for the IV and several blood tests. Those other guys last week were morons!!

Anyway, bottom line is everything looked normal. The surgeon said he wasn't confident that the gall bladder was the problem, and it seemed more muscular in nature. It's like a muscle spasm in my stomach wall that won't let go. He gave me a MILD muscle relaxer to "break the cycle", and GUESS WHAT...it's working! My first meal, after not eating for the first 24 hours of my lovely hospital stay, was graham crackers and chocolate ice cream..can't beat that!! I've had 4 real meals since then with no pain whatsoever. This is incredibly exciting for me. I'm off for the next two weeks from work, so I will be resting in a winter wonderland of complete meals trying NOT to gain back each of the 10 pounds that I've lost...eeek!

God Fills Holes

A RANDOM LADY PAID FOR MY BREAKFAST THIS MORNING!!! God filled a hole!

I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with my stomach. Still having pain when I eat, so they are still running tests. Today's adventure was a CT scan. To prep for it I had to drink bari-Yum...NOT! They gave me two bottles with deceptive labels...Creamy Vanilla Smoothie and Apple Smoothie.

I had apple for my bedtime snack, and vanilla for breakfast. As if that wasn't bad enough, THEN the chaos ensued! To have a CT scan you have to have an IV, so they can inject the dye that lights up the desired test spot. As the tech was "trying to find a vein", he was also updating me on current events and told me he was "like a bartender without the drinks." After 4 sticks, and 4 misses (go figure, since current events were more important than his job today), I got up and refused the scan. I'm sure I don't have to explain the pain I endured in my hand, wrists, and arm. I marched over to my doc's office, issued a complaint, and told them I would redo the scan but NOT at the same place. Needless to say, they were MORE than understanding and helpful.

I decided to go to IHop for some French toast. I was feeling alone, angry, in pain, and really wished I had someone with me. I thought going somewhere where I could at least people watch would help settle me some. About halfway through my meal the waitress says to me, "Your ticket is taken care of today in hopes of a Merry Christmas." I said, "SERIOUSLY?!?!?!!!" She smiled real big and walked away. I'm thinking, "Do I know someone here?" "Is this a random IHop holiday thing?" "Is this a joke?" "Do I look homeless today, and in need of a meal?" I start looking around, trying not to look obvious, but of course, how could I not...lol! I see an older lady looking at me from across the way, and she says "Merry Christmas" and walks away. Talk about getting all misty-eyed, and being filled with peace...WOW! God filled my hole with generosity, grace, peace, mercy, love, and the comfort of knowing everything was going to be ok.

May I highly reccommend people watching at IHop ;-)