Thursday, June 30, 2011

Totally tubular

I really wish the MRI tech had said that. It would have made my day.















Yep, i had my brain scanned yesterday. Before you scroll all the way to the bottom to see what the results are, I haven't gotten them yet. I'm assuming that I'm now waiting on a call from my doctors' office to come in and discuss the results and next steps. This annoys me a little (although I understand the reasoning), because I'll be out of town for a week, starting this Saturday. Who can wait that long for results of a medical test, without going bonkers!? Not this girl.

So, the "process" was nothing like I was expecting. First, I realized as I was walking into the hospital, that I don't like hospitals. I don't know why. They give me the creeps, much like motels do, but that's because just about every scary movie ever made takes place in a motel.

















After the creepiest check-in process ever, I was finally greeted by the MRI tech, who was quite possibly one of the nicest men I've ever met. He locked up my purse in a locker and got an IV going (to squirt the contrast agent into when the time came). I want to say this didn't bother me (heck, I've donated blood tons of times), but something about the thought of having the IV in my arm for an extended amount of time made me feel a little claustrophobic, in a weird way.

After the IV insertion (is it just me or is that a gross word?), we headed into the MRI room and I got to lie down at the mouth of "the machine" (dun dun dunnn), and the tech put hearing protection in my ears and what he referred to as a "helmet" around my head, and pushed the button to send me inside the tunnel of doom. This normally would have probably freaked me out, but I was only sent in up to my shoulders (thank goodness!).














The tech (I really wish I had gotten his name), told me to stay as still as possible. Ok, first of all, the one thing in life that I am literally incapable of doing is staying still. I was chomping at the bit after five minutes. Also, the minute you tell someone to stay as still as possible, every inch of their body will itch. Why is that!?

Now comes the part I was totally unprepared for. I was aware that there would be loud noises (hence the hearing protection), but there were different noises and they came in spurts and lasted different amounts of time. Some even included vibrations. I don't get this part because if the thing you are lying on is vibrating, you're technically not staying still. But whatever.

After a long looonnnggg time (probably really only about 20 minutes), tech dude came in to put the contrast into the IV. I was seriously waiting for some sort of strange reaction, like foaming at the mouth, or turretts (however you spell that), but all was cool. The noises and vibrations went on again for another long looonnnggg time. I was getting the worst itch on my chin. Oh man, was I ready for this thing to be over!

And then it finally was and the tech guy took out the IV and sent me on my merry way. He didn't discuss any part of the results with me. I got a really quick glimpse, but it was far away and the screens were small. Good news, though, I do have a brain. That much I could tell. On my way back to get my purse I mentioned how it seemed to take longer than 30 minutes (which is what he'd told me in the beginning) and he said that the brain scans are the quickest. There was a guy in another MRI room we passed whose scan was going on an hour. I can't even imagine lying still for a whole hour!

So, no results yet. I know, this story has a lame ending. Hopefully the results will be here soon.


In the meantime, a dog story about my little turd puppy. She's decided that, in the middle of the night, she really wants me to be awake. If I take her out (which I always do because if she pees in my room one more time, I'm going to birth a cow and I'll be even more pissed if she does it because I didn't take her out when she asked me to), she'll pee, but it's not like she goes out and pees like she really had to go, like when I have to pee in the middle of the night.

So anyhow, last night she had me up at 2am and then when my alarm went off at 4am, I wanted to push snooze, but it's clear that my days of pushing snooze are over. She was a-rarin' to go! Until, while I was getting ready for work, she was napping.
It's a good thing I'm cute, because Mom has that look in her eyes like she's about
to scream.




















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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Just eat it













Lately I've had some..."internal struggles". Mainly, discussing things with my brain...like affording life, if I should adopt a dog, what to have for lunch, why the sky is blue...you know, the normal things.

For the past couple of weeks I've been craving baked goods and soda; two things I don't consume on a regular basis. I try to be healthy, although I see nothing wrong with having a sweet treat every day. Life is too short to deprive yourself of that, says I. Normally I'll have some M&M's or a handful of chocolate chips; nothing crazy. Lately, however, I want a cookie the size of my head or a cake (yes, the whole thing), or a batch of cupcakes. Truth be told, I've indulged in a giant cookie a couple days of the week after lunch. But then after dinner I want another..and then for breakfast. What's wrong with me?! (No, I'm not pregnant).














My mom always told me that if I'm craving something, it means there's something in it that my body needs. I use this to my advantage pretty often. My reasoning for eating frozen yogurt or ice cream? Calcium!

This morning as I was packing up to head to work, I grabbed my salad for lunch out of the fridge and instantly realized it's not at all what I want for lunch. I had a salad yesterday and I was starving in .2 seconds. But, since I don't have much money until Friday, I reluctantly took it with me. I was also going to take a half peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the road (I went to work late today and it was my morning snack time). I opened up the cabinet and realized that we have no bread. I was seriously sad. What will I have for a snack?

On my way to work, I really really started craving a muffin. I went back-and-forth with yes, I'll stop and get one to no, I don't need it. And then you know what I realized? I'm having this crappy salad for lunch and I had oatmeal for breakfast. Hell yes, I'm getting a stinkin muffin! One of the grocery stores on my way to work has fresh-made muffins every morning. How could I resist that? Trying to decide which flavor was a struggle, but i decided on lemon poppyseed.
You totally want one now, don't you?



















And oh man, I put that first bite in my mouth, and literally I melted. Literally. I had turn up the AC. It was the most amazing thing ever. You know what I realized? I don't feel bad about it at all. I wonder what was in that muffin that my body needed. I'm assuming it's not an entire stick of butter. That muffin was way too delicious to not be full to the brim with buttery goodness.















 

I wonder what kind of funny blog searches will bring up this post if I include this word: Foodgasm

:)

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

More ideas than money






















The response was overwhelmingly positive for my etsy shop idea. Thanks everyone! I've already set up a shop (picked a name, made sure it wasn't already taken, and opened a new account). The idea for the name came to me as I was doing my nightly tweeting/catching up/trying to fall asleep last night. Normally ideas like this come to me in the shower but I guess last night I just got lucky (that's what she said!).

LittleSliceOfAwesome...coming to a web browser near you!

Now I just have to figure out how to purchase the supplies. I'm thinking it's going to take a couple of months, purchasing a little here-and-there on paydays. (unless I can find someone who has a good sum of money to loan to me...or to donate :) I'll definitely let you know when my "grand opening" is. I still need to figure out a goal date and how many of which items I want to start out with. I sure am glad most of you have dogs! ;-)


Unfortunately today I have no new dog photos. After kickboxing last night I didn't have the energy to put into picture-taking, so a few Googled dogs will have to suffice.



I totally want to train Pippi to open the fridge and bring me a snack.















No, this is not Pippi. Don't let the ears fool you :)

















This one  made me laugh out loud.

















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Monday, June 27, 2011

To etsy or not to etsy


















You know when you talk about doing something, jokingly, and then the more you think about it, the more you start to consider actually doing it?

Throughout the years, I've had a handful of people tell me that I should sell something I've created. And I've created a multitude of random things that I like to call "hobbies" (because "random things" just doesn't have the same ring to it): blankets, quilts, non-slip headbands, paintings, doodles, "wall art"...

And then, on Saturday, I had a fantastic idea. I walked into the fabric store, did a little shopping, and left with a bag of stuff, for around $25. After some pinning and sewing and toiling, I created something new, and I had to tell the world (via Facebook, of course).













I had the idea ever since I posted about ordering some collars from etsy. I mean, how hard could it really be? And, knowing me, I'll probably be switching her collars several times a week, so if I make the collars, not only will it be cheaper, but I can make them look however I want. Also, holiday collars! So I did a little research and decided to try it for myself. *Ta da*! (Note: with the $25.00 that I spent, I bought enough supplies to make at least four collars. That's right. A little over $6 each! That means the lady I bought the collars from on etsy was making about double the profit per collar).

After Jeremy mentioned something about me making a collar for Rocco next, I got to thinking, and last night posted on Facebook





I meant it as a joke, really. Who would buy my hobbies? I mean, really. But then it occurred to me...isn't that what etsy is, really? People buying other peoples' hobbies?

And so, I'm going to start doing some research about possibly selling my hobbies. I don't expect to make enough money to live off of or anything, but until the state quits taking away any chance of my getting a raise, I think it will be good for some extra spending money, you know, for food and gas and stuff. Etsy does charge.
"It costs 20 cents to list an item for four months. When your item sells, you’ll pay a 3.5% transaction fee."
 Doing a little "fake math," this sounds pretty reasonable to me. Am I crazy? Would you order some fun things from my shop? Any advice or experience in this realm to share with a newbie? (If you think I'm completely crazy, let me know. Don't let me make a bigger fool of myself than I already do on a daily basis).



And, of course, no post-weekend post is complete without...dog pictures!

When Mommy puts sheets back on the bed, it just doesn't
seem challenging enough, so I help her out.















My life is so rough. I had to keep track of Mom while she
cleaned the house and the car. It's not easy being her
shadow.


























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Friday, June 24, 2011

An unspoken understanding: fitness class style (cont'd)

After the unfortunate incident of most of my first post from yesterday disappearing, I've decided that I want to try to resurrect it. I'm starting at the beginning, but feel free to skip down (obviously). All the new stuff is in black.


I like to switch up my workouts...a lot. I currently have memberships to two different gyms. The gym on campus I only pay about $12 a month for since I'm an employee, and I mainly use it for taking fitness classes. The gym by my house, I use for the regular old gym workouts (cardio machines and weights). I also partake in workout DVDs at home, run outside on occasion, and I'd like to get back into yoga (Why is taking yoga so damn expensive?! $10/class? I just can't justify that).











Since it's Summer, the fitness class choices at the campus gym are pretty slim, and new schedules begin and end way too often for me to keep up with. A new schedule started this week, and I was thrilled to see that Cardio & Pump was offered yesterday after work. I made it there (along with probably 30 other people. The room was packed!), and had a great workout.

I had some epiphanies along the way. It's pretty awesome to be able to get in a room with other people (mainly girls) and sweat it out.











Epiphany: We are like family
I know it sounds strange, but just hear me out.

Along with all the other "regulars", I set up my stuff in the front row of the room, right behind the instructor and in front of the mirrors. It's just sort of an unspoken understanding. The back of the room is typically filled with the people who are exercise newbies, or are younger (my gym is on a college campus). I remember the days when I didn't want to be in the front and make a fool of myself. Now that I'm old, I feel free to make a fool of myself any time I please. Plus, I think part of the reason we do this is to push each other. No one wants to slack off when others (especially the instructor) are watching.

During my fitness class workout on Wednesday, my water bottle fell over and spilled onto the floor. It took me a second to realize this, and by the time I reached down to sop it up with my sweat towel, the girl to my right had already thrown her sweat towel down to help me out. Do you know how much we sweat in these classes? Sweat was dripping off my calves, and she was willing to sacrifice her sweat towel for me! I think in fitness class terms, this means we're "besties".














A few months ago, in the middle of a kickboxing class, I got a wave of nausea. I stopped and leaned over and put my hands on my knees, waiting for it to pass. The girl in the front row next to me  stopped the workout to make sure I was ok, and asked if I wanted her to get my water bottle for me. This was in the middle of an intense combination of kicking, punching, and moving. She was willing to stop in the middle of her workout just to make sure I wasn't going to die. We're besties, too.

The funny thing about all this is that I don't know any of these girls' names and I've never told any of them my name. It's like we have this strange mutual understanding that once we leave the gym, we go our separate ways, but we'd have each others' backs if shit went down. It's pretty awesome.




And now, a little glimpse of how the dogs get their workout in while I get ready for work in the morning.
Rocco has no idea he's twice her size. He's constantly pinning
her to the ground. Notice her back legs fighting to push him off.























He likes to put his entire mouth around her head. I hate
this. She ends up all wet with slobber. Dogs are gross.























I'm pretty sure this is dog for, "I surrender".

















Holding hands and making nice....for about .2 seconds.


















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Thursday, June 23, 2011

My furry fashionista daughter

Since my earlier post today was  abducted, I decided to post about something entirely different. I was going to save this one, but for tomorrow I'll finish today's earlier post instead. (I'm still mad at you, Blogger. Poop on you.)

You guys, the collars I ordered were delivered yesterday! Also, they've been posted on the FairyTailCollars etsy shop. Remember how I had to custom order them? Well, the pairings I ordered have been added to the shop. Wahoo! (My inner artist is so proud).
Footprints in Sand
This one was a no-brainer. I looove this print. The original one for sale at the shop was on dark green webbing and was 1" thick (instead of the 3/4" that I ordered). While the green webbing looked nice, I am sick of people asking me if they can pet "him", so I wanted girly colors. My mom used to tape bows to my bald head when I was little. I haven't gotten that desperate. Yet. (Pippi is currently wearing this one).

The next one is awesome, too.
Ladies on Pink

The original one at the shop was 1" (instead of the 3/4" that I ordered), on black webbing. Again, I wanted a more feminine look.

And, because I have such a short attention span and plan on changing Pippi's collar daily, depending on my mood, I also ordered a removable tag holder so I can switch the collars to my heart's content. With these suckers, just take off the tags and put them on the new collar; no pinched fingers or ruined nail polish! You know I wanted to order all the colors, but settled for just the dark pink...for now.

What does Pippi think about all this stylishness?

She'll let you know as soon as the embarrassment of being dressed as a bunny wears off. (Apparently this is what my sister-in-law does to her while I'm at work during the day.)

I posted this picture on Facebook, and Kara suggested I send it to PetsWhoWantToKillThemselves.com. If, like me, you've never seen this site, it's hilarious. You must check it out. I did send this picture in and if it goes up, my life will be complete.


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An unspoken understanding: fitness class style

I'm extremely pissed off at Blogger. This post was about three times as long and included a great ending to the story, along with dog pictures. Blogger ate all of it. Yesterday I couldn't post pictures and today my long, though-out post is ruined.

SCREW YOU, BLOGGER! (that is all)




I like to switch up my workouts...a lot. I currently have memberships to two different gyms. The gym on campus I only pay about $12 a month for since I'm an employee, and I mainly use it for taking fitness classes. The gym by my house, I use for the regular old gym workouts (cardio machines and weights). I also partake in workout DVDs at home, run outside on occasion, and I'd like to get back into yoga (Why is taking yoga so damn expensive?! $10/class? I just can't justify that).










Since it's Summer, the fitness class choices at the campus gym are pretty slim, and new schedules begin and end way too often for me to keep up with. A new schedule started this week, and I was thrilled to see that Cardio & Pump was offered yesterday after work. I made it there (along with probably 30 other people. The room was packed!), and had a great workout.

I had some epiphanies along the way. It's pretty awesome to be able to get in a room with other people (mainly girls) and sweat it out.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Round is a shape

(I apologize for the lack of pictures today. Blogger is having issues....again...and won't let me post pictures. Poopheads.)

I feel like a blob. It started out with my decision to take two rest days this weekend since, technically, I'm not supposed to be working out at "full volume". Friday's workout was proof that I need to slow it down a little until whatever is wrong with my head is fixed.

So I took Saturday and Sunday off from working out and then on Monday I forgot to pack socks for my kickboxing class, so my two rest days turned into three rest days. I now store an extra pair of socks in my desk at work. You can't accuse me of not learning from my mistakes.

On Saturday I went to my best friend's house (who is six months pregnant). I had great intentions of eating healthy this weekend to keep up the trend I'd set during the week. And then...the cheese & crackers, double stuf Oreo Cakesters, and cookies from her neighbor happened. I can totally see how a guy could gain weight if his wife or girlfriend is pregnant. They were delicious, yes, but I pretty much did the same thing on Sunday, and on Sunday night I felt extremely gross. I was so pumped for kickboxing on Monday...and then came the socks incident. I've also been really craving carbs and sugary treats since this weekend. It's ridiculous. If I won a bunch of money, I'd install a frozen yogurt bar in my office.

I kicked butt yesterday, with four miles on the treadmill and some strength training, but still, one great workout is not enough to take away the blob-like feeling. I'm looking forward to the afternoon workouts the rest of this week. I'm going to try my hardest to rock them, or the anxiety may kill me.

Do you ever get in a workout rut that causes you to feel like a blob? How do you get back on track?


Also, I was pretty amazed yesterday that Pinky and the heart rate estimator on the treadmill were actually very close to each other in calories burned and in guessing my heart rate. Whenever I compared the heart rate, it was never off by more than about five, and there was only about a ten calorie difference in total calories burned. And I never entered in my age, weight, height, etc., nor do I hold the handles for it to measure my actual heart rate. It was kind of creepy.


Last night I was lying in bed before I fell asleep, watching a little TV and flippin Seinfeld came on. That was my cue to give up and just go to sleep.


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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

It was more like a nightmare


















I'm officially disturbed, creeped out, and disgusted. I had a dream last night. It involved a man. What man?


Was it

















No :(


Was it

















No :'(


Was it

















Nooooo. :',(



It was...
























EWWWWWW   >:-o


OMG. My brain hates me! What is that?! I don't find Jerry Seinfeld attractive, I hated his show, his jokes suck, and HE'S OLDER THAN MY DAD! It keeps haunting me. I wish I could scrub my brain with Ajax. My brain totally owes me for this one. I think somewhere along the line I really pissed karma off.

<shudder>



What's your problem? I dreamed about chasing
deer and eating your socks.






















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Monday, June 20, 2011

The month that broke the budget

June 2011...the month things went a little awry.













My goal was to pay off my credit cards in two years. (I don't have that large of credit card debt; less than $5k and most of it is from when I was unemployed when I first moved to NC). Well, now it's going to be more like three years, unless I win the lottery, or that huge pile of money falls in my lap like I've been hoping.

It's all June's fault. June made me do it. June made me adopt a dog ($165), buy all the necessities that being a dog mom entails ($53), and then buy more toys and training treats so that the dog wouldn't destroy my clothing or relieve herself in the house ($34 + $6 + $35), bring her to the vet ($46), buy her flea and tick, and heartworm prevention ($28 + $54), and custom-made collars ($30). June made me go to the doctor ($25), and buy that bottle of wine afterward ($4).

June also is making me get an MRI (for god-knows how much money), and go to the dermatologist (at least $60).

Dear Credit card, I'm sorry for your current balance and for the fact that I'll now need to transfer you to a zero percent interest card instead because your fee last month is the same as I'd spend for a cheap dinner and a glass of wine. I'm sorry, but June made me do it.

(and yes, you read that right up there...I buy the cheapest wine I can. I couldn't resist the $4 pinot grigio).

That's one adorable money pit in that mirror.























And now I ask you, is it bad that I really want to do some online shopping on the card before I transfer the balance? I'm feeling out-of-control. Someone stop me!


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Friday, June 17, 2011

The good news and the...other news

Well, you guys, I just got a call from the doctor and I was going to call it "good news", but at this point I'm really not sure. All my blood work looks "normal", which isn't a word typically associated with me, especially when it comes to health issues. The reason I'm not calling it good news, but rather just "news" is because now I get to have a super fun MRI of my noggin! Weeee!!

I hope they take one from above, so that I can see my eyeballs from this view.

















I've never had an MRI, but I do know that I'll need to remove any metal from my person. This means all six of my earrings will need to come out (three in each ear), along with my toe ring, which isn't adjustable and was crammed onto my toe using Windex (no, I'm not kidding), so that will be fun. I hope they can schedule it for sometime before the July 4th weekend because I was planning on maybe getting another ear piercing on vacation. Yes, this is what comes to mind when I'm told I'll need an MRI. Think of the important things first, people.

Am I worried? No. The doctor told me not to worry, and since I'm not exactly taking her advice to not work out "intensely" until the issue is resolved, I figure I should take her advice to not worry. That one's by far easier.

In other news!

This pretty lady's health is insured as of midnight tonight.














I feel much better knowing this. I wouldn't want something to happen to her like what happened to me when I first started my job. I was still in the 3-month trial period until my health insurance kicked in and I hit a deer on the road on my way to work. My airbags deployed and my brother came to my "rescue". He called the police non-emergency number to come get a report for the insurance company (which we didn't actually need, but better safe than sorry), and they asked if I needed an ambulance. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I almost yelled, "NOOOOOO!!!" Do you know they charge you now even to send the ambulance out, even if all they do is drive out to you, do nothing, and drive back to the hospital? True story. I don't even want to know what that bill would've been like. (A couple years ago, my stepdad had to be taken by helicopter from one hospital to another, maybe a 10-minute flight and that alone cost over $10,000.)

Ok, wow, that was quite a tangent. My apologies. I could go on and on about that subject, but we'll leave that for another post.

So, yay, pet insurance! And also yay, the toys I ordered over a week ago have been delivered to the house! And YAY, I ordered Pippi two collars! They ended up having to be custom-made, so I won't know exactly what they look like until I receive them. (Consider me high-maintenance if you must). I probably drove her insane, but she was extremely helpful and told me that I wasn't difficult even though I know I was. So, if you're looking for a cool collar and great customer service, I recommend Fairy Tail Collars (an etsy shop). (My personal opinion only).

I hope everyone has some fun stuff planned for the weekend. I know I do. (Other than sleeping in...ahhh) Also, good luck and an early congrats to Kara. I can't wait for pictures and updates on Einstein!














Happy weekend


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