Wearing: flannel Paris cat pjs
Watched: Star Trek, Pirate Radio
Currently reading: Demon Ex Machina by Julie Kenner, Return to Labyrinth- Volume 3 by Chris Lie
Listening to: Jonathan Coulton
Eating: tiramisu wafers and dried fruit: strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, pineapple, papaya


Plans for today included relaxing after a busy weekend in my pajamas and paying my overdue property taxes. Both accomplished to supreme satisfaction.

Edit: Oh, and thanks to shadesong and canellaphile for linking to the lesbian gamer wedding: http://offbeatbride.com/2009/10/lesbian-gamer-wedding/#referrer
I really loved the Companion Cube cake and all of the details. Totally check this out; it's really beautiful and geeky and exactly the kind of thing I would have done with enough time and resources for a wedding.

Meeting goals:
Scheduled EEG for Bree during the holiday break, so that's one less thing to worry about.
Got a few neglected chores taken care of, as well.
Lost ten pounds in one month!!! My nurse practitioner Diane is so proud of me. At this rate, 2 pounds per week, I should reach my immediate goal by Christmas, and my ultimate goal by my birthday. Thank you, Grandma Doreen, for the early Yule gift!
The Wii Fit has been the perfect solution for holiday fitness. Today's BMI, weight, balance tests, and training went so well. I'm really getting tha hang of things, and I'm even running! I can really see the difference that 35 minutes of aerobics, 10-20 minutes of warm-up/cool-down exercises have made. Plus, I walked the two miles from the office at a leisurely pace.

Medications:
The Lexapro is doing wonders for me, seriously. The exercise is keeping me from falling asleep an hour after taking it, but I am allowed to take a short nap if necessary. Diane suggested taking a break from writing and computer activities to get a glass of water or stretch my legs if I start to feel drowsy. As for the inhaler and Meclazine, I am happy that I only need to use them as necessary. My asthma is mostly related to my allergies and/or exposure to cigarette smoke, but strenuous exercise used to bring on attacks, as well. Which is another reason why I'm loving my new morning routine. It lets me build up my strength and balance, improves my posture and lung capacity, and allows me to gradually increase the length of workouts without feeling out of breath all the time. Which translates into being less reliant on the inhaler...
Like I said, Diane is happy with me. She cautioned against eating after 9pm, but otherwise was satisfied with my progress.

Meniere's:
We discussed continuing my meds and using the Wii in lieu of Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy, since it provides the same sort of re-training for my nervous system as conventional OT/VRT. On Wednesday, I met with the otoneurologist, who shared my results with her. It is very likely to be Meniere's Disease, since the progression of my symptoms match up almost with textbook accuracy. My hearing loss is sensorineural in nature, which means that I will require further evaluation and a hearing aid. Cochlear implants are generally advised for those with hearing loss in both ears. Scheduled the MRI, plus follow-ups with both doctors. Depending on the results, he may order an EEG for me, as well.

On a funny note, though, the doctor's office today had complimentary condoms for males and females, plus dental dams. So, of course, I pocketed some. LOL
(I think my husband will be as amused as I am.)
Reminds me of my college days, back when I was a shy virgin having to knock on the freshman boys' doors and distribute origami wallets containing condoms and breath mints. LOL

Money matters:
And, finally, the money has made it into our account. Of course, it was a year-long struggle to get to this point. So, I can breathe easier, knowing that I can avoid foreclosure and still be able to purchase holiday gifts and formalwear. We'll send the asset recovery guy his cut, plus a nice gift for being so very helpful.

Not a big fan of husband being on my computer so much. Just saying. The computer has been on all day, mostly because he's been playing on Facebook. While I am a little miffed that I haven't used my computer much today, I'm not really angry at him. However, it goes without saying that I'll be happy for him to GO BACK TO WORK. LOL

My left ear, unsurprisingly, only hears half of what's going on and has difficulty distinguishing between certain consonants. Since I have perfect hearing in my right ear, I'm not a candidate for a cochlear implant. So I most likely will have a hearing aid. However, he'd like to rule out a few things, so I'll be having an MRI done in Dec. Joy.

Turns out that I needed to schedule a follow-up for Friday before the doc can authorize the prescription, which is fine. She knows how I generally react, so I most likely will not need to be seen for another three months. So I'm still good through the holidays, and then reevaluate at six months. Tomorrow I get my hearing test out of the way. Still haven't heard back about Bree's EEG yet, though. I'm hoping to schedule it for the winter break, since she really doesn't want to get behind in her schoolwork. As it is, I'll have to call them both in for the Friday before the wedding.

Shopping this weekend for formalwear, yay! I think I'm more excited about getting a new bra, though.

Movement:
My new exercise routine is working out well, provided that I stick with it. 7am Wii Fit workout went well. I achieved some personal bests, and beat some of Bryan's scores as well. I still have some issues with my left ankle and knees, but did not experience knee pain today. This is my second week of training and balance exercises, and I'm seeing gradual results. I'm feeling more energetic, despite the fact that Lexapro makes me drowsy. My weight loss is steady, my BMI is looking good. Balance is near perfect. I can keep my balance easily with one raised leg in ballet positions or doing exercises; however, I cannot stand still on one leg for long. So maybe I will just pick a comfortable position next time when I take the daily balance test.

Meds:
On the topic of depression meds, I was happy that the recent episode of Monk featured a shout-out to Lexapro. This amused me to no end.
Also, I called my doctor about authorizing my refills, so that she can talk to the pharmacy. I'm most likely going to be on this medication for a very long time, so I'll need to remind myself each month to have her call it in.

Money:
Bryan transferred $100 over from the estate account so that we have something to work with until the rest clears, so I can go food shopping tomorrow. So that's good, since I'm almost out of food stamps. Next month, I go for my re-certification anyway, so I'll have to get all the paperwork ready soon. This is only a one-shot deal; our bills will eat it up, but at least we'll not have to worry about foreclosure on our house or utilities getting shut off around the holidays.

Mom:
Doing well, last time I heard. Glad that the doctors were cautious, concerning her heart. I'm going to touch base with her again today.

Medical:
Other than the meds, on today's agenda is scheduling Bryanna's EEG for the winter break. On Wed. I meet with the ENT for testing to pinpoint the source of my discomfort, vertigo, and deafness. After testing, we should have a better picture of where to go from here, i.e. hearing aids, surgery, cochlear implants, etc. So wish me luck.

My kids:
I finally figured out who Bryanna reminds me of, with her new haircut and clothes: Natty Gann.

Mom went in yesterday for a minor surgical procedure, but then started having trouble with her heart while she was coming out of surgery. So they kept her overnight for observation, and then finally released her last night. Everything is okay; I'm talking to her now, but I just wanted to say that I am so happy to hear that she's home.

Finally the bank was able to verify and validate with the MA courts, so tomorrow we bring in the death certificate and will be able to open the estate account. Apologized for inconvenience. So things are looking up. The check may actually clear before the wedding.

Also, my mom should be released from the hospital today, so here's keeping positive thoughts. I'll give her a call in a little while to make sure she gets settled in first.

Bree finished the homework on reproduction which was seriously freaking her out. (To the point where she didn't want to write about the male parts.) It helped that I had her pretend that we were discussing feline pregnancy. Now she's working on the other organ systems.

Other than that, today my mom was in surgery. Although it was a minor procedure, because of her heart, they have decided to keep her overnight for observation. My brother said that when he saw her, that she wasn't hooked up to machines or anything scary like that, so it seems like the doctors are just being extra careful. *hoping for good news*

My day had started out great, continued to be damned near awesome, and then I came home...
( details behind cut )I thought that I could leave the love of my life alone for half an hour to get dinner started, but apparently I should have listened to my horoscope today. It advised that I keep an eye on the Leos in my life. *sigh*
*bangs head against wall*

Word count, according to Microsoft Word: 729
Off to a slow start, but only because it was a busy weekend. Thankfully, I have some free time when Bryan goes to work. I've decided that after lunch will be my scheduled writing time. I know; I don't generally do anything on schedule, but this way I am guaranteed to have access to my own computer. (His wireless connection sucks, therefore he has been using my computer. *sigh*)

I want a laptop for Christmas.

Love lunalovegoddess

Loving the current storyline. Loving Sohmer's quote even more:

"A few minutes ago, a group of four 17 year olds walked into The 4th Wall for the sole purpose of making fun of comic books, graphic novels and the people who like them. For the majority of their visit, I managed to refrain from punching any of them in the head or opening my mouth…up until this moment:

Girl 1: So, like, was this always your dream? To open up a little comic book shop for dorks?
Me: Actually, no. My dream was to become an astronaut, but that was cut short when NASA discovered my secret.
Girl 1: Your secret?
Me: Yeah, turns out I love kicking ignorant teens who condescend to others. In the throat.
Girl 1: What?
Me: You want to come in the back room for a sec?
Girl 2: We should probably get going.

I think I've got a grasp on this customer service thing."

~Ryan Sohmer