Love, Erika

Is it time for a random post?

Wow, I have been a bad blogger..... I have been soooo busy lately and yet can find nothing to say, one of those times.....

• we tried a new restaurant today for take-out--Amato's. It was yum-o. I would go there again! Honestly I spent so long feeding Drew pieces of cheese bread that it took me forever to eat my own lunch. He sure did love it.
• It rained for 2 days straight so today was the first chance I got to work on the mulch pile again.... did I ever mention that MULCH DAY came last week????  Yeah we have a huge pile of mulch in the driveway and I'm working dutifully to get it put away.
• I came down with a UTI on Monday so I called the doctor's office all in a breath of desperation as soon as they opened at 8am on Tuesday morning, "CAN YOU GET ME IN ASAP????"  I do not play around with these things. Need antibiotics!!!  They had to give me something lame (amoxicillen) because I'm breastfeeding but thankfully it's working. Would have loved some CIPRO but I don't think I can take that. :)
• I am a GTA widow. :)  But it's fine, I'm happy to see him having fun.
• Finally picked up Drew's portraits from Sears and they did the "oh lookie, the lab printed some extra portraits.... you can buy them for $20 today" trick..... ugh!!! I hated watching her make an obvious point to throw them right in the trash, but I'm not falling for that trick!  (my friend Karen would have died at that point, you must be strong!!!)
• Actually, if I had been smart enough I would have not bought the extra portrait sheet at the time of ordering and just waited until I picked up the pictures and bought the $20 worth at that time. It was quite a nice selection of prints/sizes for $20.  Note to self for next time!!
• I did some good deals at CVS already this week, but I'm holding out for tomorrow since it's the new month of May and the new catalog is out! Not getting my hopes up because NONE of the 4-5 stores in my area ever have much of the sale product in stock, but IF they do, I have some sweet deals planned out. Also going to Walgreen's tomorrow, they have some good free things going on there like Lady Speed Stick, Zantac, and Reynold's Wrap (if it's on the shelf).
• Last week was so crazy with all the hot weather and I was always on the go in the car, in the stroller, working in the yard, going for walks, it was just constant. Thank goodness spring is here and there are things TO DO!!!
• Need toothpaste? Watch your sales fliers because May is going to be THROWING FREE TOOTHPASTE at you!!!!  There will me more free toothpaste than you can possibly use. Just watch.
• Mamma's got a clean car!  My in-laws gave me a booklet for some free car washes which is so awesome, and I also bought myself a clean car kit so I can keep the Rav4 looking beautiful. Tire Foam is probably the most amazing thing I have ever used, it's a thing of beauty.

• There's been a hawk hanging around our yard the past couple of days.... I'm hoping he's hunting either the mole or the chipmunks..... either one would not hurt my feelings AT ALL. I cheer him on!!!! I discovered some new holes in my flower beds so I have the chipmunk have-a-heart traps set. Although I would not be opposed to some REAL traps at this point. WE ARE NOT GOING THROUGH THIS AGAIN THIS YEAR.

I'm off my meds....

Have I mentioned my blood pressure lately? Well, it's been awesome. Just a few days after Drew was born, my Rx for my blood pressure meds that I had been on throughout my pregnancy ran out. So I called my OB office to get a refill and they would not do it, saying that now that I had delivered my BP needs to be managed by my regular doctor. So I trudge into HER office, not having seen her for an entire year and she not even knowing anything about my pregnancy or anything. Long story short, my blood pressure has been so great being OFF the medication that she told me I don't need to be taking anything unless it shoots back up for some reason.

It's one of those medical mysteries that you sometimes hear about, where a woman has a particular health problem, and the pregnancy strangely "cures" her of it. Who knows if I am really cured, but it's been 2 months now and I have not had any medication for it and it is still really low. I can't explain it, but it's wonderful!   Maybe not being at my dumb job has something to do with it. :)

120/80!

Not much going on around here lately, just trying to get thru the work week. I had a GREAT blood pressure reading today, 120/80. I was really happy to see that. I also found some new Smart Start cereal at the grocery store with lots of BP-friendly stuff. I haven't eaten any of it yet.  Every little bit helps!

So as to not leave you completely empty-handed today, I posted a new quickie review on Cravings. Bon Appetit!

sniff, sniff ::SNEEZE:: [cough]

I'm surviving. It's been a reallllllly long time since I last had a cold or anything. Very unusual for me!!   Today wasn't too good for my BP because last night I had to break down and take a cold medicine (decongestants are notorious for raising blood pressure) but I HAD to do it. Couldn't breathe. Took half a dose, breathed wonderfully for the night and most of the morning, then got to work and realized I forgot to take my BP medicine this morning. DOH.  So got home and took it as soon as I could, and then just for kicks to see what these circumstances had actually done to me, we took my blood pressure and it was 140/90. <shrug> Not too bad considering.

I had a layout requested by a certain magazine that I am closely affiliated with, so right after work we trotted down to the post office to get it mailed, because apparently it was a last minute thing and they needed it ASAP. Then I got home, changed into my comfies, and turned on my computer and lo and behold, there was an email requesting ANOTHER layout, ha ha! So back into my clothes, packed up the other layout, and off we went again seeing as how tomorrow is a holiday. Oh well! I'm psyched. Both layouts that I really like.

Ugh, I'm sick

I' ve got it all: the itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing, stuffy and runny nose, sinus pressure and headache. UGH! I hope yesterday and today will be the worst of it so I'm not completely gross at Thanksgiving with Dave's family.

God hated me today.

Today's project was to blow all the leaves in the front yard (yesterday's massive undertaking was the backyard). And I don't know WHO I ticked off or what I did, but no matter which direction I was going in, the wind was always blowing right back in my face, along with a huge cloud of leaves. So I think God hated me today. I don't know why. I was just minding my own business, being a happy little homeowner. But really, it was so frustrating. Got it done, though, with Dave's help. FInally we just had to load them all into the 15-foot tarp and drag them off into the woods. Four trips. Poor Dave.   Here's a picture of the pile of leaves, you can see Moby just over the top in the front door.

This morning I made my almost-world famous Cheesy Sour Cream Enchilada casserole. I really really hate to cook. But I do it because I have to eat.  People say I'm a good cook but DANG I hate doing it. 

OH! I nearly forgot the best news of all. BP was 120/80 today! The magic number!!!  I swear I can't figure out rhyme or reason to it, why I have a good day or why I have a bad day. All I can figure is that I've been working my butt off the past two days (i.e. exercise) and maybe that is the secret!  Maybe I've been too concerned with my diet and not enough with exercise. Dave will read this and be like I TOLD YOU SO! 

(speaking of watching my diet, she says sarcastically) In just a matter of minutes we're headed to La Carreta for dinner! OH I CAN'T WAIT!!  I'm starving, and looking forward to a reward for all my hard work these past 2 days. Heh heh.   Watch for a new post on Cravings!

All right for a Wednesday.

Today I'm boring. Uneventful day at work (not a bad thing), and then came home and Dave and I ran some errands.  To the post office to mail off a layout to Paperkuts, woohoo! Just one. Then to check out what's new at B&E Scrapbooking because you know, it's right THERE next to the post office. :) I got these cute little Karen Foster Halloween license plates. Aren't they darling? This picture doesn't do them justice because they're SHINY and so vibrant. I had never seen them before. The owner is so cute, she recognized me and even remembered the things I asked about last time I was there. Then on to the grocery store where I tried to get some low-sodium things to eat. I try, anyway. My BP is just terrible the past few days. I realize I need to eat better, and exercise.

Holy Cow, It's Working!!

This is my second day taking the higher dose of BP medication and even though I'm still feeling pretty crappy as my body adjusts to it, my blood pressure today was

120/90

Bam!!  That is incredible!! The systolic is down 20 points from what it normally runs (or whatever increment it's measured in). Dave actually had to take it a second time because he thought he screwed up and was in utter disbelief that it could be accurate! But, it appears to be true. I hope the diastolic comes down also in the next few days.

Smokey Bones: 2 and a half stars

Today I got my copy of MM's All Men idea book which has a layout I did of Derek in it. Ha ha! This is going to make him laugh. And <shriek> I'm on the same page as the brilliant Chabe. Love it.

At work they had a Customer Service "Appreciation" luncheon (we use that term realllllly loosely) catered by Smokey Bones BBQ restaurant..... let's just say it was not the good NC BBQ I'm used to. I see on their website that they have a location in Greensboro! What the heck? Why would somebody go eat there when they could eat at Stamey's instead?  Cuz I know I sure will be next week when I'm there. Dave keeps asking me, "Can we get hushpuppies? Can we get hushpuppies?" Yes, baby, we can.

Today I started taking the higher dosage of the blood pressure medication, and I'm feeling a little dizzy and otherwise "off". (this is unfortunately, normal. Just how I felt when I first started taking it, takes 3-4 days to get used to it) This just further confirms my suspicion that the whole situation sucks!  Oh well. Like I said before, things could be much worse.

taking care

So this is what I have to keep up with these days.... my blood pressure. Boo hoo, I know, I know! The world's smallest violin is playing just for me. I realize in the grand scheme of everything that could be, this ain't so bad. I mean, if you're gonna have something wrong with you, this is pretty minor (assuming you take care of it, of course). Having diabetes or ESRD would be my absolute hell. I'm really glad I don't have that. By comparison, this isn't so bad.

So anyway, Dave takes my BP about twice a week, and I keep it all recorded on a little chart. And I take medication every day, and try to watch what I eat. That is HARD. I actually think it's harder to eat low sodium than it is to eat like you would if you were trying to lose weight. (although both diets seem to have the same effect)  But it's an ongoing thing and I try to take it one day at a time. The biggest problem has been cutting out frozen, processed convenience foods. I used to eat that stuff all the time! How wonderful! But ACK have you seen the sodium in those things?  I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole anymore.  (our Schwan's guy has been very, very bummed lately)

So that's me and this is how I take care.