Usual Lazy Updates Post

As always too busy and/or lazy to write a full post.

• Indy is hanging in there- not losing any more weight and not vomiting or having diarrhea anymore. However we're now battling a resp infection (see IBD tab)
• Stetson's hips are worse although not painful (he gets the good drugs) and he recently was treated for an ear infection and skin infection. $$$$. Sigh. On a good note, last Wed was his 2 year anniversary surviving cancer and give that the average lifespan is 1-2 years with chemo and surgery I am blessed to have gotten to spend 2 full years with him
• School has less than a month left in this semester. All seems to be going okay but I feel like I'm at the edge of a breakdown on a weekly basis. Luckily many of my classmates are on the same boat so we support each other
• My artist finished up one part of my LOTR tattoo. There's more to be done but there's things that need to be paid for before that happens
• My sister and nephew are doing well and enjoying Japan. I still miss them but have adjusted to never seeing them so it's all good
• My youngest cat is now obese. It's stressful trying to get one cat to gain weight and the other one to lose weight
• My job is awesome. No complaints
• I ended up in the ED last Tuesday in excruciating pain and ended up passing 2 of my stones at the same time, in the same day. According to the CT there's only 2/5 left so I must have passed the smallest one without knowing. I'm really hoping the other 2 will come out b/c I would LOVE to avoid surgery in December
• I feel like I'm so overwhelmed that I'm not able to enjoy the holidays. Usually the time between Halloween and Christmas is a happy time for me, but I still haven't changed out the spring decorations on the mantle. Our only tree this year may be the little pre-lit white one from WalMart at this rate. I did manage to dress up as a box of Crayons to answer the door on Halloween though. Progress
• I ran a 5K just for the cupcake medal and free Gigi's cupcake afterwards (not sure if that was in my last post). I hadn't run in months so that was a rude awakening although I managed a 13min/mile

And  few pictures...

Large glasses of wine are good

My life

My not-so-little overweight food hoarder

Gigi's 5K

Baer's well visit

Post-ultrasound Indy

Box of crayons

Becoming an ED frequent flyer

The Stetson man on his 2 year post-cancer anniversary

The finished LOTR Ringwraith

Cats and I getting warmed by the fire

Five Things Friday

1. I am absolutely in love with Sudocrem. My sister first introduced me to it about a year ago as a possible treatment for my cystic acne, for which I've pretty much tried everything. I briefly gave it a shot (so I'm a little impatient) before finally going to a dermatologist and getting put on Spironolactone (miracle acne drug for me). My little jar of Sudocrem was then vanquished to the back of my bathroom cabinet until recently, when AB asked if he could try it for some chaffing. While it didn't make a huge difference for my acne, apparently it is a miracle cure for chaffing! Since then both AB and I have tried using it for various things and this is what it works wonderfully for (so far):

• Chaffing (for the third time0
• Razor burn
• Rashes of unknown origin
• Blisters
• Hot spots on my dog*
• Calluses on my dog's bony joints*
• My dog's ever-inflamed butt*
• Self-contained staph infections...on my dog*

*My vet was questionable about using Sudocrem on Stetson at first, but once she looked it up and read more about it, she jumped on the train with us- surprisingly Stetson doesn't lick it off; if it feels as good to him as it does to me on my post-running flabby underarm chaffing then I'm not surprised!

2. I'm giving Stitch Fix a try. I read a lot of blogs, and since it kept popping up over and over again I figured, why not? The worst that could happen is that I'd be out $20. Stitch Fix is like an online personal shopper; you fill out a [very] detailed profile, pay $20, and you are sent 5 pieces of clothing/accessories to try. You can choose to buy any, all, or none and mail back the rest within 3 days in a postage paid box. Whatever you do decide to buy you can apply the $20 towards, and if you keep all 5 items you get 25% off the entire box. You can do monthly "fixes" or just order one when you feel like something new. If you're a Pinner, you can give the company the link to your pinned clothing so they can get an idea of what you like. When you mail something back you have the option to let them know what you didn't like about it. I may end up not liking any of it at all, but I'll update once I receive my first box the week of August 30th. If anyone decides to try it, please use this link so that I can get a referral credit!

3. Canned pumpkin is the insanely cheap and easy solution to my dog's whacky bowel habits. Stetson has always had issues with his digestive tract, and since the cancer and chemo it's been even more off-kilter. We're constantly battling diarrhea and colitis so I finally took my vet's advice and started mixing a tablespoon of pumpkin into Stetson's wet food two times a day. Problem solved; the poor dog has regular bowel movements and no diarrhea! Amazing.

4. I have finally made it to Week 12 of the Couch to 10K. Running 30 minutes straight sucks; running for 54 minutes straight is miserable...but I can do it! Shockingly, my eating habits haven't changed a bit and yet I haven't even managed to drop another pound. Maybe it's the beer...

5. I haven't had a cupcake in 6 weeks. That's right, the self-diagnosed cupcake addict has managed to avoid those little handheld servings of yummy, sugary, calorie-packed, waist-widening, addictive goodness. Until tomorrow. Tomorrow I will be having one of each from my beloved Gigi's:

Italian Cream

Kentucky Bourbon Pie

Whole 30 Update

So...the Whole 30 for me ended up being a fail. I know, I know, I'm such a quitter. Days 1 & 2 went okay but by Day 3 I was so exhausted that I was dragging my way through work. I got a full 9 hours of sleep Wednesday night and by Thursday morning I thought I was dying. At no point did I really have any cravings, and as someone in the medical field I completely understand that my body was just reacting to the lack of sugar and carbs, but it was getting to be too much. Several of my coworkers on Thursday asked me if I was okay and I was informed that my face was puffy and my eyes red and squinty. I figured "Okay, I can do this" anyways. Friday morning I was even more exhausted and decided that I actually couldn't do it anymore.

Based on the book I know the exhaustion was supposed to improve but I hadn't run in over a week, my dogs were getting gypped on their daily walks, and all I could think about was my bed. To add to the frustration, I gained 2 pounds during the week. Yesterday evening I decided to treat myself to a Gigi's cupcake and this morning I was 2 pounds lighter. Go figure. I still recommend this program for anyone that wants to clean out their system- and I fully intend on staying away from dairy and white flour/processed foods as much as possible (aside from Gigi's) from this point on- but my body and my mind needs energy and I need to run! I have a 5k in October and I don't need my non-running sister whooping my butt.

Today I woke up early (for a Saturday) and headed to my 4th laser hair removal appointment. I've been getting good results in some areas and crappy results in other areas (they use 2 different lasers) so when I told the woman today she didn't hesitate to blast it all super-strength. For anyone considering having it done, it DOES work and I would highly suggest Katie at Wake Health Medical Group in Raleigh, NC. It's not the most comfortable thing (I have to hold a stress ball and I repeatedly jump off the table) but it beats waxing every month.

Most of the afternoon has been spent watching LOST reruns with my husband and...he managed to get my computer working! Yay! I almost bought a new one last night but I'm glad I didn't. It's missing a lot of programs now but he managed to restore it to an earlier date and so far, so good. I hope to get lake pictures on here shortly.

This evening I decided to cook dinner rather than go anywhere to eat. I still had a load of veggies in the fridge from Earth Fare last week so I sauteed those, dumped in some pasta sauce, and made a half/half mixture of whole grain penne and regular (my husband refuses to eat all whole grain so we have to compromise some). It ended up being chunky and yummy. Of course I had to add in a Hell's Belle beer from Big Boss Brewing (we had this same beer at our wedding) because I do love my drinks. Tomorrow I will start back with the running (cross fingers) so I don't get too far behind.

Our compromise

Squash, zucchini, onions, and red peppers in olive oil with salt/pepper

The mixture with some turkey meat balls

Best beer ever aside from Newcastle and Blue Moon

Preparation fo Whole 30

Tomorrow I start "The Whole 30" Program and I'm feeling a bit intimidated! I went to Earth Fare and Lowe's Foods to stock up on veggies and meat for the week, and the eggplant and kale is mocking me (bc I have no clue what to do with it). I'm also having a last hurrah of pizza, beer, and Gigi's cupcake. I am the stereotypical person who gives up something and therefore feels the need to eat all of it before I start. I am going to attempt to take before/after pictures, especially of my face (which ironically doesn't look as bad as usual right now), while I'm doing the program.

An amazing Gigi's cannoli cupcake