Sundays are for...

Having Einstein Bagels all to myself to eat everything bagel-y goodness.

Mondays are for Muggles...No more antivirals!

Today at 10:42 a.m. we celebrated the very last dose of antivirals! If I never have to wake up repeatedly in the middle of the night to take medications it will be too soon. However, I remain SUPER grateful that I was able to get on the meds right away, as I think that is what helped keep the virus under control and keep the really severe pain at bay. 

So back to our regularly scheduled programming. The Momcat is flying in on Wednesday (yes, again, because she's awesome like that) so I'm taking Friday and Monday off work. Thus lots of crafting goals below.

Goals for this week: 

1. Work out three times. 
2. Get house put back together.
3. Get more sleep. 
4. Make 3 bowls.
5. Make 5 notebooks covers.
6. Make 5 table runners.
7. Start quilting baby quilt.
8. Hem pants. 
9. Do one thing to reduce stress.
10. Embrace my birthday week. There is no need to panic. 

Surely I can do these things, yes? 

Festive for Friday...Taking it Easy

Oh thank goodness it's Friday.

Festive! this week:

- The meds the doctor put me on for shingles seem to be working! Since I started them in the first 72 hours, it kept them from spreading, and the pain has been confined only to that area. I saw the doc again this morning and she seemed really happy.

-My shingles provided endless glee to my coworkers today with fodder for bad jokes about how I'd be going to a "shingle's bar" this weekend. Luckily they also provided me with donuts.

- I've already done my grocery shopping for the next week! Although that was largely out of desperation since I was completely out of milk which would have been a crisis come coffee time tomorrow morning.

- Since I went grocery shopping tonight, I went to the salad bar at the grocery store for dinner. Yummo!

Why yes, I am eating my salad while lying down. 

-Since then, I've been on my couch, with my salad, a cat and Lois the Kindle reading a new book that I checked out from the library: The Happiness Project. Which I had on hold and seems to have arrived at a good time since it's all about how to be happier and less stressed.

Picture taken in Salzburg, Austria a year ago. But still a festive shot of Lois. 

Less-than-festive! this week:

-Yeah so the shingles still really suck. I ended up going home at lunch time yesterday after wearing a camisole that wasn't loose (it wasn't tight, but wasn't billowy, either). I thought I was going to throw up from the pain. It was seriously awful.

- When I found swollen lymph nodes under my arm on Tuesday night, I had a total freak out. Like called my parents in the middle of night because I thought I had arm pit cancer freak out. My parents, the cancer researchers, were finally able to calm me down and then informed me there was no such thing. Of course then Daddo mentioned that you can have cancer in your lymph nodes. Fail.

-I'm frustrated because this is the most random disease ever. I had no idea that a three inch strip of skin could cause THIS much pain.

-I am SO sick of the timer going off on my phone every 4 hours and 45 minutes to remind me to take the antiviral. Again, I'm very grateful to have the drugs, but waking up in the middle of the night sucks.

-Waking up now is especially un-fun since the other medication makes me really dizzy. Which is why I only take it at night. But doc told me this morning she wants me on it for the full 60 days.

-While eating my delicious salad tonight, I managed to drop chopped broccoli down the inside of my shirt. Twice. This is what I get for eating a salad while laying down and balancing a cat and a kindle, trying to keep everything off of my side.

Shingles suck.

So all of my regular readers (or all three members of my immediate family, that is) may have noted there was no Monday is for Muggles post yesterday. And that is because I spent yesterday going to the doctor and then researching frantically on the internet because I have shingles. Which means the happy little chicken pox virus that has been sitting dormant in my body since kindergarten has decided to come alive and make me sick. And the doctor said it is likely from stress causing my immune system to be run down.

Awesome.

And more stress entered my life yesterday when someone in the office quit. Effective immediately. Awesomeness continues.

I'd put a picture but no one needs to see the scary shingles rash (other than the people in my office that I made look at it, or the Momcat who I insisted on sending a iphone picture to). I guess I could put a picture of me clutching the medications I'm on now. Or a picture of my phone timer going off every 4 hours and 45 minutes to remind me to take the antiviral. Or a picture of me trying not to panic about when the pain will start, or hoping that we got me on the medications in time and are being aggressive enough to ward off the pain part.

Or a picture of the 17 items list I made last night with all of the things I can think of to reduce stress, since clearly that needs to be part of the plan.

Instead, I include a picture of one of my cats, because cats help reduce stress.

Yup, Friday the cat never causes stress. Ever. Except for when I'm sleeping and he pokes my head until I lift up the covers so he can snuggle in under my arm and I hold his paws in mine like he likes. 

So, goals for this week: Figure out how to reduce stress and take my drugs every time the timer goes off.

Pancakes!

 Last week when the parentals were here I was whining about how I miss the N-boy making pancakes on the weekend. The momcats solution: pancake mix! Duh! So today I made pancakes all by myself for the first time ever. I even added more blueberries for extra festiveness. Yum!

Festive for Friday...Shark Tank

Festive!
--I remembered that Shark Tank is on tonight! I'd never seen this show until the Momcat and I watched it last week and I loved it! I loved the meanness and snarkiness of the sharks, and how they squash the hopes and dreams of the applicants! But then it's even better when they invest and fight each other to get the deal.

--I'm trying a hot yoga class for the first time tomorrow morning. I used to do yoga back in college, but haven't done it in years. Even better, coupons we found at Starbucks at half off. I really hope we don't die.

--The days are getting longer! I know they've been doing this for a while now, but it wasn't until this week that I really noticed it on my way to and from work. Yay for daylight!

Less-than-festive:
-- Another round of the sickies seem to be going around the office. I've been hand sanitizing like crazy and crossing my fingers that I don't get sick again.

--My cats have not learned to do any household chores. I keep hoping I'll come home and find laundry done and dinner made, but alas.

In conclusion: Any week where my biggest complaint is that my cats don't do laundry is a good week.

Three Things Thursday: Vitamins, Spinning and Book Club

1. Gummy vitamins for adults are possibly the best thing ever invented. The only bad part is that I want to eat more than the full dosage because they're so yummy.

2. Spinning classes have resumed with the start of the new semester. I'm doing Tuesdays and Thursdays again this semester. Favorite quote for the day from the instructor, Chris: "It's a work out, friends, not an easy out."

3. We had book club last night and, for what I think is possibly the first time EVER, everyone in attendance had completely read the book. We have a strict policy that you should attend even if you didn't read the book, as we spend about two minutes discussing the book, twenty minutes choosing the next book, and two hours on catching up/gossip, but still. Everyone read the book AND it was Stephen King's 11/22/63 which was a looooong book.

And the best part about Thursday....tomorrow is FRIDAY!