Black and white

I went to Flower Child for lunch today and had some yummy veggie soup that had chilies in it.

steaming

I'm not totally sure about this as a work outfit; it seems a little short, but I get compliments about how cute it is so I'll go with it on a Friday.

Flower Child-ing

I love this place. Not feeling so great, no leftovers, here I am. And the woman at the counter recognized me. At least she didn't call me "allergy girl." Out loud.

chicken, sweet potatoes, beets and avocado

black and tan

I suck at life

I don't know where my day turned but I'm ending feeling stabby.
 

I felt super hungry all day and hadn't planned for it since I wasn't so much the day before. After eating a small microwave lunch (Bistro moroccan turkey), I ate half a bag of sweet chili chips. So not good. For my waistline. Totally good in my mouth.
 

I haven't been to the gynecologist since whenever that was that I had the herpes outbreak that they decided wasn't herpes after I thought I had it since I was...well, my boyfriend--the first guy I lived with--got it and he hadn't been with anyone else ever and I had the symptoms as long as I could remember so I was diagnosed in a round about way...but then undiagnosed. I'm guessing that was a couple years ago because I was supposed to get a mammogram and never scheduled it.
 

Anyway, I finally scheduled my well-woman exam. I can't remember the last time I had a male doctor for this. I had trouble finding the office since I have no idea what I did with my note. At least I remembered to fill out the paperwork yesterday.
 

I found the office and waited a while. I liked the doctor. He came in to meet me and talk and then came back after I changed into that stylish paper outfit we all know and love. Or something.
 

The good news is that he said everything looks normal.

The meh news is that he said that herpes test can confirm a diagnosis but not rule it out so I probably do have it.
 

The bad news is that I'm totally disgusting. I mean, he said it is common but...I mentioned the two round spots I have below my bra line. I was planning to see a dermatologist because they are getting bigger and actually ran into each other. He said it sounded fungal and when he saw it he said it is probably ringworm.
 

What?! I'm walking around with fucking ringworm for a hella long time! He told me ringworm is more commonly flaky and on the surface (yep, I had that once a LONG time ago) but this was deeper version. I "get" to use my extra yeast infection lotion--you know the little tube that comes with the actual yeast medicine application--for a few weeks on the spots. O. M. G. I'm smearing hoo-ha cream on my torso. FML.
 

So now I don't have to go to the dermatologist but I still need to go for my mammogram. Y. A. Y.
 

On the way home, I stopped at Sam's Club. I needed something but I couldn't remember what so I walked around. I found what I came for and some groceries and stuff.
 

Now, if you shop at Sam's, you know they take debit but not Visa. Except at the had pump. Weirdos.
 

I recently got a new card from my bank and put it in my wallet. Except that now that I was at the register I realized I had replaced my debit card with a new credit card. So I had the old and new credit cards but no debit card. Well shit.
 

I had some cash so I took what I could pay for and left. Upset of course. What the hell is wrong with me?! I wanted to get home to find the card I had set aside to shred. Thankfully our shredder died a long time ago so I still had the card.
 

You'll never guess where it was.

I put it in the money part of my wallet when I activated the new card. Yep.
 

I had the debit card with me the whole time. I. Am. Awesome.
 

I suck at life.
 

I suck at photos too.

What I wore

 

What I ate (Lundberg rice with Applegate sausage)

The pie and the elbow macaroni

Is almost the holiday weekend. We will be attending the neighborhood progressive pool party. My internal dialog killed me today. I wanted to go to the gluten free bakery for treats because YUM and everyone else will be eating yummy things so why not me. But...I shouldn't go to the bakery because I'm a size (ahem, or two) larger than last year. It sucks!

 

I went under the mental guise of getting pizza crusts, which I got. Along with vegan blueberry muffins, cupcakes and cookies. And an apple pie! I don't know why this was so appealing but...fourth of July...apple pie...

 

I went to Whole Foods for a green juice to make up for my treats I bought but hadn't even eaten yet. Then I was on to Walgreens to pick up my prescription. Although I had finished the juice, I was hungry.

 

I sometimes go to Pita Jungle when I go to Walgreens so I went. I thought I'd probably take some leftovers. Or not.

When the food runner brought my plates, the veggies looked good but the chicken tikka masala looked different than usual. I waited for the waiter and he said they had changed it so I requested that he confirm my allergens again. He came back and have me the okay so I started eating. The cabbage did not speak to me so I stayed removing it and saw this.

 

An elbow macaroni. Wheat. WTF.

 

I ate my veggies (I was hungry, going on hangry) and the waiter finally came back. He thought I didn't like it. I told him about the wheat and I couldn't eat it. He brought me done tea to go and they picked up my check. Gah! Why do I eat out?

 

Why do I eat at all? I can't remember the last time I went more than a day without gas, bloating, constipation, and/or diarrhea. I'm pretty sure that has something to do with my weight gain but it sounds like an excuse.

 

After returning to the office for a while, I went for my monthly visit for the drug trial. Vitals, blood and urine, oh my. I asked about my MRI results and she said she would get them and email me.

 

Next I went to see Dr. Q for some adjusting. My back on the left lower area was so tender. He asked if I was taking magnesium and I said I've had too much digestive issues. (Magnesium supplements can cause diarrhea for some people, like me.) He recommended a topical magnesium (a nickel size amount daily) so I bought this.

 

Somehow I ended up reporting complaining about my sweatiness and odor. He recommended a specific roll on sold at Whole Foods, so I went there next.

I bought the one that looked most like his description but I'm pretty sure this isn't it. I think it is supposed to be taller and not a crystal. Sigh.

 

I was hungry going in and we all know that is a big mistake but I really needed to pee before going home so that is how I ended up at Whole Paycheck while hungry.

 

And I got some margeza sausage for dinner and made our with some Lundberg lentils and rice. I added green olives to mine. Not bad. The rice and lentils didn't really do it for me but I liked the sausage once it was out of the casing. Because casings are gross.

 

You know what else is gross? (You've been warned...)

 

I have to wear tops that cover my chest. I wore this today. It's fine and comfortable (I LOVE these shoes) but it sucks trying on everything looking for something to cover my freakiness.

 

I keep getting these gross things on my chest area, kind of like acne but it doesn't seem to be preventable or treatable and it takes weeks to go away and then it starts again. This has been going on for years. I'm so DONE. I can't figure it out. This is the worst so far--FOUR of them. FML.

Those aren't moles.

My awesomeness can't be contained.

 

Too much food

It never (almost never?) happens to me. Most places modify so many things right off my plate that I get less food than I pay for. A few places give me enough (of the right types of) food to feel full and satisfied.

I've liked my few visits to Flower Child near my office. It doesn't look like a lot of did but it's a good combination of protein and veggies and sweet potato so it usually works for me. (Some days, I'm extra hungry. I don't know why. It just happens that I'm starving all day.)

Today I tried the soup, a bean and vegetable with a tomato base. I had the chicken with 2 sides instead of 3. Wow.

Flower Child lunch

The soup is filling. I took part of my plate to go. I can't even remember the last time I did that. Every place people usually end up with leftovers are the places that give ask the filler did I can't have. So I eat ask my food and leave empty handed.

I can't believe I'm writing about something so mundane. But there it is. My life. Reduced to something everyone takes for granted and I don't experience anymore.

I have leftovers!

thought it was cute but not so sure...

For dinner, I made zucchini noodles (zoodles) using my spiralizer with marinara chicken and green beans. The chicken was too shredded for this dish so I wasn't thrilled but it was alright.

And leftovers for lunch...

Tree sabotage

Um, the tree tried to keep me from leaving work today. Mick is out of town on his Alaskan fishing trip so I left work a little earlier than I would have. My boss had left about ten minutes earlier. But I didn't get to leave because this...

Can't leave!

So I let the guys who were still there know. One was heading to a game so he had friends pick him up. The other lives about as far away as I do but in the opposite direction. I started calling tree removal services but there aren't many that will come out at 5:30 on a Friday. I found one on the fifth call.

In the meantime, the other guy was calling the boss, who wanted to know if we had people to pick us up. The issues (off the top of my head) with this short-sighted (but common suggestion apparently) is that I would not have my car for the weekend, I would have to have someone drive me all the way home to let out the dogs so I couldn't just go stay with someone nearby, and I would have no way to get to work on Monday. Someone asked me if I could just go to a bar nearby. One, the closest business is a half mile away so the nearest bar is probably about 3/4 mile away. And it is HOT out there. Second, what kind of plan is that? I can't stay at the bar until Monday. I have no one to let the dogs out. The bar will close and kick me out. Great sentiment but terrible plan.

So we waited and they came and took the tree and the boss came and paid for it and I went home and let my poor pups out.

Thanks guys!

It was late. I was hungry. I made this quickie dinner. It wasn't great but the chicken salad and the Kettle Crinkle Chips I ate with it were good. I wouldn't buy the pupusas again though. And I have some left that I kind of need to eat. Sigh.

What I ate

What I wore

Raise your hand if you love grocery shopping

I needed almond milk and Whole Foods had some one day sales do I made my list and went after work.

What I wore to work

I recently read on somewhere about tips to save money at Whole Paycheck, most importantly,  to pick up the flyer in store for coupons. I did find a few coupons that were worth using!

I have so many veggies coming up in the garden that I skipped the produce section. I asked the meat counter guy about the fish special, a paiche which he said was in between the flavor and texture of a whitefish and other strong fish. I got some and some chicken breasts.

My finds included the elusive but occasional Way Better chili chips. My Earth Balance mayo and So Delicious coconut milk creamer were on sale. I used coupons for a Kit's Organic "brownie" bar, Pacific baked beans, and some So Delicious Almond Milk ice cream bars. They had a different Food for Life bread (than Sprouts) that doesn't say egg-free on it but doesn't have eggs; it is also gluten-free, yeast-free, and all that good stuff. They no longer have the oatmeal bars I was getting (so sad!) but they had these Simple Squares I will try. And today's big find: RAMEN! Okay, it's not like your ramen since there isn't a seasoning packet (actually, they had those but I couldn't have the seasoning so....) but it is 5 "squares" of ramen noodles made with rice instead of wheat. I'm going to make ramen. I'm going to make ramen. I'm going to sing this while I make my ramen. I'm going to make ramen...

And Buckwheat "frosted" flakes in the back!

Alrighty, are you tired yet? What?! We've worked all day, we went to Whole Foods and read a hundred labels...let's keep going.

Trader Joe's is next door, so I went there next before heading home. Trader Joe's can be hit-and-miss but certain things are on my list there: quick cook rice, rice tortillas (the Food for Life ones at Sprouts are pretty similar but MIGHT be slightly better), some of the nuts, the coconut milk ice cream (the only strawberry version I have found!), unsweetened dried cherries, and that artichoke antipasta stuff.

I got Mick some "real" ice cream too...

Today, I also found coconut milk yogurt (blueberry and vanilla only), some tapenade, pitted kalamata olives, and some frozen leeks. Because who ever has fresh leeks when a recipe asks for them?

You're not exhausted yet, are you? Now, let's drive home. And make dinner. I made fish tacos using some guidance from Mark Bittman, How To Cook Everything, including the sauce. Then I mixed some cabbage and avocado for a "slaw." Mick didn't have that part; he used cheese instead. And some canned refried beans (these are Amy's brand; TJ's has some good ones too) on the side; I just added some salsa for more flavor. Mick doesn't really like fish tacos but the fish itself was very good.

paiche tacos

Spring cleaning - Closet edition

My work environment has an interesting dress code. We wear business professional during the winter, October to May, and business casual during the summer, May to October. Additionally, we can wear jeans on Mondays (not Fridays) throughout the year.

When I lost all that weight after my food allergy and thyroid diagnoses! I had to buy clothes, especially for work, as I went down the scale. I went all the way down to 140, which is a size 6 or a small 8 for me. I didn't stay there long and headed back up the scale.

When I got up to 170 (not where I want to be, but, hey, this is where I'm at), I found myself at a size 10.  I have a closet full of clothes at varying sizes, but I could not find anything in a 10. Nothing. Well, I have some stuff that can go a couple sizes, like sweaters and Tshirts that are more fitted now!

And it was time to start dressing professionally. Huh. So I went to a couple of consignment shops to get a few slacks and jackets and ordered some dresses and cardigans online. I am reluctant to go all out because I don't want to stay at this size. On the other hand, I don't see my size changing and I like to find things that make me feel not-bloated.

A month or two ago, I remembered that my MIL had kindly given me a couple pairs of her size 10 pants when I went down the scale, and I had given them back to her when they got too big. It was weird, remembering that after several months of this nagging feeling I was forgetting something. I even talked to a few people thinking it would jog my memory. But that information had fallen into one of those holes in my brain...

Because of the multiple sizes of clothing in my closet, I'm having trouble finding an actual outfit to wear sometimes, so I I thought I should clean out my closet. There are a half dozen (at least) boxes in my closet, for Goodwill primarily, although some was just stuff that was too small I had pulled out already.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the second box and it was size 10 and some smaller size 12s. Doh. Yep, I boxed everything up and...Forgot. It. Existed. Ever. The next box was my suits! O.M.G. I have a wardrobe. Winter and summer. It needs some supplementary pieces, mostly tops, but I feel like I have an actual wardrobe now!

I'm just trying to understand how...how was the memory of those clothes, those boxes, the packing of those boxes...how was that all just GONE from my brain? I'm so perplexed. I'm sure it's my MS, although I try not to blame things on MS when I can find any other possibility. But what...what other explanation can I find?

San Diego travel notes

We drove to San Diego for the weekend with Mick's friend R to meet up with another friend doing a 10 day brewery tour. Yep, I was the DD. Thankfully, we only went for the weekend.

The Westin is under construction. Jackhammer construction. Boo.

We met the friend and wife at Tipsy Crow for drinks.



I had Chopin (potato vodka), cranberry and lime.

We went to some brewery I've already forgotten the name of and had dinner from a food truck. They made tacos and fries for me. It was actually pretty good but also light. We 3 went for second dinner later at Hopping Pig. I had a beef and pork burger which may have been one of the best burger patties I've ever had. Plus caramelized onions. Yes please. And another Chopin and cranberry. Apparently no one has Tito's but they have Chopin.


MUST TRY!

We didn't stay out nearly late enough for R but I was wiped from this week and Mick was about to pass out from the ridiculous amount of beer they already drank so we called it a night.

The next morning, we met the friends at Coffee Bean where I got coffee to go with my almond milk I brought from home. The friend's wife tells us on the way to breakfast that she had seen a place with gluten-free and vegan options but decided on this place instead. A creperie. Mick and I almost started laughing. That has to be the epitome of what I can't eat. They were able to give me some fruit and bacon. And I had a yogurt I brought with me.


Breakfast

We split up since they were picking up another friend so we wouldn't all fit.


Want. Mick said yes. :)

We met at BNS Brewery where they drank a lot of these little glasses--I think a dozen or more each.


want those glasses, too

We had lunch at a sushi restaurant they wanted to go to.

the clock

The waitress was pretty good about helping me order but the guys also ordered sushi/sashimi for the table to share. I had a rainbow roll with shrimp instead of crab. This was my favorite thing I ate but I miss soy sauce. A lot. I should have run over to Von's to see if they had coconut aminos or chili sauce.

half my rainbow roll with shrimp sushi

The shared plate had a couple ponzu items in the middle and egg items as well so I watched carefully what was touching what. When there was not much left, R asked me to have some more but I couldn't. Mick actually knew what was going on and mentioned that the remaining items had contaminated items dragged across them (I would have just said they were touching, but he was right). I think it was just a defensive thing, since he felt bad that I couldn't eat it and he didn't think about what he was doing, but he kinda made some commentary about us being ridiculous. In reality, maybe I would have had more if there was sauce or something but the large pieces of just fish were not that appetizing to me after a few pieces.

The friends took off and we went to Seaport Village. I got some awesome stuff for my sister, and Mick and I got a few things too. He kept me from buying more for my sister. Voice of reason and all that. We stopped at Ben and Jerry's for a snack and they had 3 non-dairy sorbets so I had the berry and lemonade. They were very good together; separate, the berry was better.

Almost ice cream

That evening we met at Stone brewery with a couple more couples. I thought we were going to a garden but it was a beer garden. In case you don't know (I'm probably the last person in the world to figure this one out), a beer garden is a patio where you drink beer.

beer garden for real yo

We sat for dinner and the waiter helped me out with ordering. Since the rest of the table was ordering appetizers, I got ceviche without the chips. It was good.

I bet those quail were good...

They also had Brussels sprouts. The ladies who ordered them thought they were burnt. I thought they looked roasted but I couldn't eat them. So R and Mick tried them and said they were good. YES! Mick ate Brussels sprouts. And not just one. He thought the ladies were being ridiculous and tried to explain they could take the outside layer off and it's green inside. I pointed out the pancetta to him and he liked that too of course. Now he's a little excited that we're growing the Brussels sprouts.

dinner is served

My dinner was a prosciutto wrapped rainbow trout with brown rice and pan roasted carrots (in oil) topped with arugula. The fish was very good. The prosciutto was great except that I didn't want to eat the fish skin so I was peeling the prosciutto off the fish skin--messy. The carrots were surprisingly good and Mick had a few.

Since we were there to celebrate the friend's birthday, there was dessert ordered all around. And they had one the waiter was certain I could have and another he thought I could have. (One said g/f on the menu and the other didn't but we weren't sure why it wouldn't be.) So I ordered the safe one, a tapioca pudding with mango chutney.

I love coconut milk.

The friends were done but we knew R wouldn't want to call it a night, so we took the earlier suggestion of the owner of a shop at Seaport Village and walked from our hotel to the Top of the Hyatt. It was not a party scene but we had drinks and hung out for a while before heading back.

our view of the water

Today, we were going to Kono's for breakfast at the suggestion of Mick's friend we had dinner with last weekend. While he stood in line, R and I got coffee, then joined him. The lady behind us was certain they would be able to feed me. At least a fruit cup. Ha-ha. They use bananas so no. But the bacon was way better than the creperie. So I had about the same meal as yesterday but no fruit. And it was on the beach.

See his giant burrito?

We headed down to Mission Beach, stopped in some shops, then they sat at the bar at the Wave House while I walked on the beach. Because it's San Diego. And the beach. And sand. And awesome.

I'm no Beyoncé.

Before leaving, I had another ceviche. The waiter said it's local cod and he gave me veggies with it. Pretty good stuff.

ceviche

In case it looks like I ate pretty healthy the whole time, I also snacked during the whole trip on a bag of Way Better Sweet Chili chips that I finished on the way home.

A scar, a scarf, and eye surgery

Dr. P, the surgeon who performed my thyroidectomy, checked my scar and neck. He said it just has a little pink but has healed "perfectly." I do NOT have to wear a scarf anymore. He recommended I use Mederma SPF 30 every day on the scar. Also, if I will be in the sun longer, such as gardening, swimming, or hiking, I should still cover the scar with a scarf or something.

 

He also asked about my eyes and I explained what the other doctor has said about the lids being pulled back and that I have to tape my eyes shut when I sleep. Boo. He said that when my Grave's disease has "run it's course" I may need or want to have surgery on my eyes. He said the other doctor may not bring it up or not until later, but I should look at endoscopic orbital decompression. Basically, two bones meet up under the eye and along the nose. They can grind some off and then after the surgery, the eye "falls back" into the deeper area. There is some risk that the eye doesn't move as expected, but he feels it would give me some relief from the pain and discomfort.

It sounds totally crazy to me. I will look into it and decide how risky it is and how likely it is to hurt or help me. Later. It totally freaks me out that someone would be doing surgery near my eyes.

And I don't have to see him again unless I want to discuss or proceed with the surgery.

Sierra Bonita Grill Part 2

My girl B was off work so we met for lunch. I've only been here the one time but they seemed accommodating.

When I started asking menu questions, our waiter stopped me to let me know they now have a gluten-free menu if I'd like to see it. Apparently, one of the bartenders can't have gluten so they have kicked up their knowledge a notch. The menu was full of choices!

I decided to ask if I order something I haven't had in a restaurant in years now. Enchiladas. On the g/f menu. He said they could leave the cheese off easily. There were 2 chicken enchiladas. I chose the red sauce; it had a nice amount of spice.


Mmmm, half gone...

My friend reacts badly to tomatoes; there are tomatoes in the rice and there is flour and tomatoes in all the beans, so we both had seasonal vegetables. They were so good.

It's not cheap but not too bad for lunch. I would definitely go here again.

How to waffle

I've made this recipe many times but had less and less success, finally deciding it is possibly the fault of my waffle maker. Last week, we bought a new one, so I was nervous excited to try it again.

My husband Mick asked me if I was going to make "his" waffles now. Um. No. I am not making gluten pancakes on my waffle iron. The best part is that I really don't think I made waffles before, so I'm not sure what "his" waffles are.

I made the recipe (which has a lot of variations/choices) using almond flour, potato starch, applesauce, coconut oil, and water. I also use coconut oil on the iron. I initially forgot and put that oil in my mix too, so I had to double it to correct my mistake. That actually works well since I use an applesauce cup, just shy of a half cup so basically enough, so that it can be room temperature. The waffle maker comes with a cup so I know how much batter to use! Brilliant!

Mick liked them, said they turned out so good, but also had some concern that they are expensive. Yes, I guess a little, but it's so much better for me than having 2 waffle irons and doing my usual pancake process: mine, bacon, his, clean, carefully consider making anything else that day.

We went to his parents' house for nephew A's birthday. I knew they were having pizza so I made my own using the Gluten-Free Creations bakery pizza crust, pizza sauce, Applegate pepperoni, a couple of artichoke hearts, a portabellini mushroom, and Daiya mozzarella "cheese." Of course I forgot to take a photo but I did eat the whole thing. I thought it was pretty good (for me, not for people who can actually eat pizza) although I'm not a huge fan of how the Daiya melts, if we can call it that. But it tastes fine. I thought the crust was decent, cooked pretty well, just not a real thin crust pizza crust. And definitely not a thick crust pizza.

Coming home

Coming home, I realize...

I don't look thin in this outfit. I had compliments on the top though. I like the color; everyone likes the little bling at the neck.

At least it's comfortable?

TGIF, motherfuckers. TGIF.

Dilemma (not the movie)

I like what I do to earn a living. I like the company I work for. I've advanced to a lower management position. I don't want a higher management position--I don't want to be in charge of critical decisions.

I was actually surprised that I got that promotion since I have a special arrangement for normal people hours rather than our required professional people hours. So I am allowed to work an average of 40 hours weekly rather than the 2300 annually that is required for my position. When you do the math, taking out the 8 hours allocated for each holiday and vacation day, you have to work about 45 hours a week to meet that requirement.

This was arranged when I started working here. I was leaving my previous firm for health related reasons and felt it was important that I have time to focus on my health. At various times, that means different things, but I frequently take time out of the workday for different medical appointments.

Usually, people in my position get a "senior" position before a management or leadership position. Somehow, that step was missed, so at my recent review, I was told that I would be recommended for that additional promotion.

It was approved and announced at a meeting.

And then my supervisor told me that the next boss up had put a stipulation on my promotion. I need to increase my hours to the standard professional amount. I need to work more hours to get the title of the position I'm already doing. W. T. H. They don't want to pay me more unless I give them more time.

But here's the thing. I'm exhausted. I'm stretched thin. I can't find time to do my errands, although I do some during lunch or right after work. I'm away from my house for 12 hours a day. To add an extra hour a day to my work schedule, I would have to skip or take shorter lunches AND come in earlier or stay even later. Taking shorter lunches means less errands get run and/or I don't feel so great. I can tell some (many) days that I have to get out or my body is going to give me trouble for days.

As if that's not enough, there is someone in leadership pushing for the telecommuting benefit to go away. We are currently allowed one work at home day a week, no Mondays or Fridays or right before or after a holiday or vacation day. I end up cancelling some of my telecommuting days for in-office meetings or other out of office activities that come up, so I probably work at home 3 times a month.

During my work at home day, I don't always get extra hours in. I'd like to say that I always get some extra hours since I don't have the commute. But really, I usually start early and end late; in between, there is usually something else--an errand that has to be run or something personal I need to catch up on. (Recent examples include car service and eyeglass adjustments.)

And here's the part I hate to admit, but it's just between us, right? Sometimes I just need a little extra rest. I'll lay down and close my eyes for a while. They hurt. All. The. Fucking. Time. Or my fatigue is getting the better of me. Maybe I've been dragging through for a couple of days. Some shut eye can make the rest of the workday so much more productive. It's a relief to take that break. But it's time I'm not working. (To be clear, I do not claim that time as work time, just as I wouldn't for lunchtime.)

My husband thinks they are bluffing, that if I tell them no, they would still give me the title. He thinks I should give back the management position if they don't back down. I think he's high. I'm valuable but not irreplaceable. I wonder if this is that male/female difference, why women get paid less, don't get as far or high. We undervalue ourselves while men think they are all that. I know I'm a big deal but I do work less hours than required (and I'm pretty sure I get paid less because of it although I don't know other people's salaries) so it's hard to be aggressive or demanding.

I "know" I have to* say no to the hours, but I don't know what else to say, how far to push...And I really hate to turn down the money if they won't concede.

*I believe we all have choices so when I say "I have to" I mean that I must do that because it is the best choice based on my priorities.

It's all old except the bracelet. :)

Trial update

Wear pants for doctor visits.

This was my quarterly/annual monitoring for the Alemtuzamab trial. I saw L, my care coordinator, for vitals and blood draw. She weighed me at 166.8, the heaviest I've been in a while. I am on my period of course.  I filled out a longish survey and peed in a cup.

I saw Dr. M for the physical testing. Nothing remarkable. My left eye's sight is fuzzy and I have almost no reflexes when he smacks my knees with the hammer.

I also saw Dr. G who, as usual, is pleased as punch about how well I'm doing. (Like it has anything to do with him, he's totally responsible for my awesomesauciness. YES, that's a word. Why do you question my vocabulary?)

And I am doing very well, especially when compared to many other people with MS or even compared with me at some points in my past.

L scheduled my MRI for Friday after work. I know! I have...The. Best. Friday. Nights. Try not to be jealous.