Holly’s Happenings

Because of all of the stressful things that have been going on lately, I’ve had some MAJOR sleeping problems. I don’t care if I’m so exhausted that I can’t hardly keep my eyes open, it seems like the minute I lay down to go to sleep, I’m wide awake and my brain won’t stop spinning!

My hubby has been wonderful lately, though! Since he’s currently not working he’s been taking care of the kids in the morning and trying to let me sleep in if I can. As much as I appreciate the thought that he’s doing this, he’s not the best at making sure the kids do what they’re supposed to do in the mornings!

I’ve tried making the coffee a little stronger in the hopes that that might help me wake up in the mornings better, but that hasn’t worked. And even if I do sleep in later than normal, I still spend the bulk of the day dragging butt rather than getting the things done that need to be done around here! Sometimes I wonder if taking something like the Orovo Super Vitamin/Multi Vitamin would help any! I just feel so BLAH lately! No energy to do anything and even if I do have some energy, I just have no desire to do anything!

I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m honestly not sure if I want to…LOL! At the end of the week last week I was having some stomach problems and I put myself on a “diet” of unbuttered toast and black tea for about 24 hours. Whatever the problem was, that seemed to have fixed it.

Then tonight while I was doing the dinner dishes, out of the middle of nowhere, BAM, my stomach is all messed up again and I can’t keep anything down. Thankfully I have a very wonderful husband and kids who took over dish duty for me. I made myself some toast and a cup of tea and they stayed down. I’m on another “round” of toast and tea, hoping that will stay down, then it’s off to bed in the hopes that when I wake up tomorrow all will be well again…LOL!

UGH! I don’t like being sick, not one bit!

What a week this has been! Nothing bad really, just busy, and the upcoming week is going to be even busier! My husband started shut down week today, he’ll be working 12+ hours a day for the next 7 days as his company goes into a factory during their shut down to fix their current equipment and install some new equipment. His company does this a few times a year for different factories that they have contracts with. It makes for a long week for the guys working, but the paycheck that comes from it makes up for it! They just don’t like the fact that they have to wait a month to get the check…LOL!

I’ll be spending this week getting the kids ready for their big trip and getting my house cleaned up so that I won’t be embarrassed when the guy who is coming to watch the dogs while we drive the kids to their sisters gets here. It’s not that the house is a mess, it’s just been a while since I’ve done major cleaning like dusting and washing the floors.

Being busy is a good thing though, it means that I’m up and moving and getting some exercise, so to say, and it also means that I won’t be snacking and munching like I do when I’m here at my desk. That’s always a good thing because it helps in the effort to shed a few of those extra pounds I put on over the winter. The next step in my effort to shed the unwanted pounds is some sort of diet supplement like Fenphedra. But that’s going to have to wait until after I get this next, insanely busy, week out of the way!

My daughter is 12, but quick to remind me that she’s just a few days away from turning 13. From the day she came into this world she has been a little on the petite side. When she was born, she was so short that we actually had to purchase a couple of preemie outfits so that she had something to wear that wasn’t falling off her tiny frame.

Other than having a case of double pneumonia at the age of 4, she has been the picture of health. She’s out going, active and participates in several different sports in school. Yesterday she had a doctors appointment and was weighed and measured for the first time in a few months. She was THRILLED to find out that she finally passed the 5 foot mark, even if only by 3/4 of an inch, but she was very upset to find out that her current weight was 110 pounds. Even though the nurse showed her that she’s actually right on the mark for her height and weight, she was not happy!

When we left she immediately went into the “I have to go on a diet, I need to exercise more and you REALLY need to buy me some diet pills so that I can lose some weight”. While I do empathize with her feelings, I spent the bulk of the night trying to convince her that she really is not overweight! We went online and I found other charts that showed her that for a girl of her height, her weight is perfectly fine. Although she didn’t buy that part, she did agree with the fact that at 12 going on 13, diet pills probably aren’t her best option.

It’s a sad fact of today’s society that many young girls are pressured into feeling that they are overweight, when in fact they really are not. Too many young people are obsessed with being as thin as they can with no care or concern as to what future problems this obsession can cause for them. As parents it is our responsibility to make sure that our children are given information about how important it is to eat nutritious foods to keep their bodies healthy! When they become adults, if they still feel they need to take supplements to help them with weight loss, the choice will be theirs.

I’ve worn glasses for all of my adult life and the last few years of high school. Wearing glasses honestly has never bothered me, and I’ve even gone to the point of buying prescription sunglasses so that when I’m out and about I can see clearly too.

Wearing glasses and prescription sunglasses was never a problem or a “fuss” until this trip. But trying to remember to keep my sunglasses handy and switching back and forth between them and my glasses honestly was a huge pain! And it got even worse the past couple of days because for some reason one of the lenses in my sunglasses keeps popping out on me.

It’s times like this when I wish I could afford Lasik surgery! It would have been nice not to have to keep switching back and forth between my glasses and sunglasses or even to have been able to wear a cute pair of regular sunglasses and then just put them up on my head for the times when the sun would go under the clouds and they weren’t necessary. Maybe I’ll start saving up my money and get it done this year. I know several people who have had Lasik surgery and have been so thrilled with the results! And I guess, if I have to be honest, it would be a nice change to not have a pair of glasses sitting on my nose all the time!

I’ve worn glasses for all of my adult life, I’ve accepted that it’s part of life, and for the most part it doesn’t bother me. About four years ago I let the eye doctor talk me into getting bifocals, which turned out to be a nightmare. I’m not sure if it was because of the style of the frames and location of the bifocals, but I absolutely could not wear them without getting major headaches! They tried to adjust the location of the bifocals two different times, but it just didn’t help. At that point, I resorted to wearing my prescription glasses for everything but reading and computer work, and that worked out well.

But lately it’s been getting more and more evident that that isn’t going to continue to work out. At this house my computer is set up in the family room, as is my husbands. It’s a decent sized room, probably 18 foot by 18 foot, and besides our desks it also holds a recliner, the dogs couch, the wood burner and a large entertainment center with a 36 inch TV.

My desk sits directly across the room from the TV and I’ve found that if I wear my glasses so that I can actually see the TV well, I cannot do work on my computer at the same time because my glasses make the print on my monitor very small and blurry. But when I take my glasses off so that I can see what’s on my monitor clearly, I then can’t read anything that’s on the TV screen…LOL!

My husband says I need to invest in a good pair of magnifier reading glasses, which he’s probably right. But then I’ll have to go back and forth between the reading glasses and my prescription glasses depending on what it is I want to be able to see. I’m thinking it’s time for me to save up my money and look into getting LASIK surgery because this is just annoying!

I thought I’d give a list of the things that I’ve tried to help with the pain I’ve gone through with my broken tooth. If you have any suggestions other than the things I’ve tried PLEASE feel free to offer them because so far nothing has really worked and I just want to make it through today!

1. Temporary filling from the store
2. Medicated tooth swabs that numb the area and provide a short amount of relief
3. Ibuprophen in larger than normal doses
4. Rinsing with warm water as well as warm salt water
5. Mini ice pack, which almost sent me through the roof

I honestly wish I could have gotten ahold of a dentist today, but with it being Easter Sunday I knew that isn’t going to happen. So far that only thing that has given me more than a few minutes of relief is larger than suggested doses of ibuprophen. I don’t like taking over the counter meds in doses larger than you’re supposed to, but I just need to get some relief until I can get ahold of the dentist tomorrow!

So, like I said, if you have ANY suggestions of stuff to try that I haven’t listed above, PLEASE let me know! I’m doing OK tonight, but I have a feeling it’s going to be another rough night!

Yes, I have another headache today! So far it doesn’t feel like it’s going to go to the migraine stage, but it’s not a mild headache either. I don’t know what it is that’s causing me to have headaches to much lately, but I’m very sick of them!

We’ve had a couple of decent days weather wise here in NW Ohio, but that’s about to come to a VERY abrupt halt tonight! The current temperature right now is 45 degrees, but according to the weather man, it will be 60+ degrees COLDER tomorrow morning when you factor in the windchill! Yes, you read that right, I did say 60 (SIXTY) degrees. They’re calling for a morning temp, with the windchill, of 15 to 30 degrees BELOW zero! And we wonder why we’re all running around coughing and sneezing? But that kind of cold is just INSANE! Thankfully I don’t have class or anything tomorrow, but if my daughters school isn’t delayed or closed, I’ll have to take her to the bus stop tomorrow. Personally, I hope it’s at least delayed because I really don’t want to go out when it’s THAT damn cold! Tomorrow will be a good day for me to curl up in the recliner, grab my blanket and school books, and just spend the day studying! Especially after hearing my marketing teacher tell us today that we’ll probably be having our first exam next week.

With the New Year closing in, there are several things that I realize are must do’s in 2008! My husband started a new job a few months ago and starting January 1st we’ll have new health insurance, so I need to contact our doctors and make sure they accept the new insurance. I also need to get some term life insurance quotes to replace the life insurance my husband lost when he lost his job, and rather than just having life insurance on him, I’m going to get quotes for coverage for both of us.

And yes, he said he’d check it twice…LOL! But will it show that I’ve been naughty, or nice? I have a difficult time telling people what I’d like for a gift, I have had for a very long time. Mostly because I just don’t like people buying things for me. I’m a very picky person and it’s not easy for me to pretend I like something when I really don’t. I tried to tell him that anything would be just fine as long as it wasn’t exercise equipment. I had a bad experience on one of the ellipticals at a gym I used to go to, so I have this phobia about exercise equipment now…LOL!

I, personally, have dealt with weight problems most of my adult life, I also know many other people who have as well. Although I’ve never spent a large amount of time worrying about my weight, I do realize that sometimes it’s necessary to use supplements, along with healthy eating and exercise, in order to successfully lose weight. Some of the newer and more popular weight loss supplements on the market today are hoodia based supplements. Although I’m not familiar with hoodia products, I do know that there is a wealth of information on the internet for people that are interested in using it as a weight loss supplement.

When you’re younger there are many things you take for granted. For instance, when I was in high school and for a few years after I graduated, I had a beautiful singing voice. I sang in my choir in high school and in my church and I was also hired to sing at a few funerals and weddings. I always assumed that I’d be able to sing, so I took that for granted. Now that I’m in my 40’s and have smoked for almost 2/3 of my life, I have no singing voice left. The years of smoking as well as yelling have taken my singing ability away. I wish I had learned years ago how badly smoking and yelling would destroy my voice because I miss being able to sing!

Another thing that I have learned not to take for granted in the past few years is the health of my skin,I was always a basic soap and water girl. But right around the time I turned 40 I noticed changes in my skin, especially on my face, and started taking steps to take better care of it. Right now I’m thinking about purchasing some of the skinceuticals skin care products. I’ve noticed some new acne problems lately along with more wrinkles and want to do what I can to try and get them under control.

After 9 days of dealing with what has turned out to be the sinus infection from Hades, I’m here to report that I’m definitely in the final stages of this thing! I tell you, I’ve had many sinus infections in my lifetime, but I’ve never had one that was this bad or lasted this long! The doctor was finally able to give me some medications on Tuesday that have really helped!

Here are some other things that I have done that I also feel have helped. I made sure to drink TONS of water and stay away from milk based drinks. I drank at least one 6 ounce glass of orange juice a day, and I also drank one DanActive per day (suggested by a friend). The DanActive supposedly helps build your immune system. Now, although I kind of like yogurt, I have never been a fan of drinkable yogurt. But this stuff isn’t too bad. I drank the cranberry/raspberry flavored one and it was pretty good!

Thanks to everyone for listening to my whining about being sick the past week or so! Yes, I guess I am a big baby when it comes to being sick…LOL!
*MUAH*

And yes, I know that 42 isn’t that old, but being the age that I am has gotten me to do a lot of thinking lately. I think about the things that I need to change; especially things that I can change that will better mine and my family’s health. Vitamins and supplements are something that I know are good for my health, but I worry about all of the non essential ingredients that are in many of them. Thankfully garden of life offers a complete line of vitamins, supplements and even snacks that I know I can give to my family without having to worry about putting things into our bodies that are harmful or simply not necessary!

I was at school yesterday morning for my first class.  I woke up and was fine, I went to class and was fine.  About half way through class I started getting an achy feeling in my neck and throat.  By the end of class I wasn’t feeling very well at all, but I decided that I was on campus and I might as well make the best of it.  I went to the library to get some studying done during the break that I had between classes.  By the time I got to the library I knew something wasn’t good, but I wasn’t willing to give in yet.  I got out my laptop and my books and started studying.  All of a sudden I was in a cold sweat, and was soaking wet.  I happened to catch my best friend on IM and was talking to her and she convinced me that it really wasn’t a good idea for me to stay at school, that I really needed to get home and get some rest.  So I packed up and headed home.

By the time I got home I almost felt delirious.   Ivaguely remember the drive home other than the fact that it felt like I couldn’t hold my head up.  When I did get home I grabbed the thermometer because I knew I had a fever and wondered how high of a fever I had.  Now mind you, during my adult life I think the highest fever I have ever had was just under 102.  Imagine my surprise when the thermometer read 103.7!  I was terrified!   I grabbed some Tylenol and an ice pack and headed to bed.  I slept for a little more than 2 hours and woke up, my fever had broke while I was sleeping and was down to 102.  I took some Ibuprophen this time and went back to bed.  By 5:30 my temp was 100.1.  I ended up sleeping on and off from 1:00 yesterday afternoon til 7:30 last night.  I got up for a few hours and ate something and laid back down around 9:30.  I barely remember laying down and the next thing I knew it was 5:00 a.m.  I feel better this morning, still out of it, but better.  I’ve already contacted my instructor for today’s class and let him know that I wouldn’t be in class today.  Being sick STINKS!  LOL

As much as I hate to admit it, I have no doubt that my asthma is getting worse. The last time I had an appointment with my pulmonologist he mentioned that if my asthma gets much worse he’s going to have to consider putting me on a portable oxygen concentrator. As much as I don’t like the thought of that, I know that there really is no sense in trying to fight it; it’s simply part of having asthma and lung problems.

One of the things that we lost when my husband lost his job was the life insurance that was provided by his employer. Although it wasn’t a huge policy, it would have been more than enough to cover the expenses if anything would have happened to him. After seeing commercial after commercial on the television lately about life insurance it’s made me realize that it’s something we need to seriously look into purchasing something on our own. Not only for him; but for myself as well.

As a parent of teens I have to admit that I fell into that “trap” of grabbing a quick and easy meal and make the kids eat their food before they get their treat. I remember the kids being excited about the newest Happy Meal toy and the thought of playing in the ball bit at the McDonalds play area. And I remember enjoying the few moments of adult conversation with the hubby while the kids were off playing.

Fortunately, for me, as the kids have grown their love of McDonalds has decreased. But I do wish that McDonalds had offered their new healthier choices when my kids were smaller.

I watched a very interesting story on The Today Show just a few minutes ago. This story was specifically about toddlers ages 3-5 and their love of McDonalds foods. It talks about how a survey was done on kids ages 3-5 offering them the same foods, one in unmarked wrappers and the other in McDonalds wrappers. In the study the food in the unmarked wrappers always lost the test.

The study included three McDonald’s menu items — hamburgers, chicken nuggets and french fries — and store-bought milk or juice and carrots. Children got two identical samples of each food on a tray, one in McDonald’s wrappers or cups and the other in plain, unmarked packaging. The kids were asked if they tasted the same or if one was better. (Some children didn’t taste all the foods.)

The study involved 63 low-income children ages 3 to 5 from Head Start centers in San Mateo County, Calif. Robinson believes the results would be similar for children from wealthier families. If you read the article on The Today Shows website it goes on to tell what percentage of the 63 toddlers that participated in the study chose the food in the McDonalds wrappers over the food in the plain wrappers. The difference is totally astonishing to me!

Towards the end of the segment they had a debate as to who was “responsible” for the children making the choices they did, McDonalds and its advertisers or the parents. While I do agree that advertisers do set the tone of some of their commercials more towards children, I hold parents to the biggest majority of fault. When our children are toddlers we, as parents, control what they do and don’t eat, where they do and don’t go and what they do and don’t do. It is our choice to pull into McDonalds and buy french fries and chicken mcnuggets. But I also feel that making the choice to go to McDonalds doesn’t have to be a bad choice, even if you don’t opt for their healthier choices in the kids meals. Enjoy McDonalds as a treat, but don’t rely on it for your meals every day. It’s a matter of choice, and it’s not a choice that anyone other than ourselves are responsible for! We as a country need to stop blaming others for the mistakes in the choices we make and start taking responsibility for ourselves!

After dealing with severe back pain for 2 days I finally gave in yesterday and went to my local Urgent Care Center. A few years ago I was told that I had a herniated disc in my back. For the most part since then I have had minimal pain, with pain bad enough to see a doctor maybe 2 times a year. Yesterday I was to the point that I didn’t have a choice about being seen for the pain. The doctor that I seen did a series of x-rays on my lower back and spine before deciding how he was going to treat me. I’m glad he did so because it cleared up many questions that I had. The first being that my spine is very healthy and in very good shape. He seen no evidence of a herniated disc at all.

So what I’m dealing with now seems to be a muscular problem that is being treated with muscle relaxers and rest.  And yes, I know that being on the computer isn’t resting “technically”, but I have a back support pillow in my chair and sitting is a way of resting my back, so