Pampered Chef invite

I had my Pampered Chef party tonight. Man I love that stuff!! It motivates me to cook, which is always a good thing when you're trying to eat right. ;-) I don't have nearly as many items as I want though! At some point, I'd like to become a consultant, if for nothing else than to buy stuff for my own kitchen. lol We made barbecue chicken pizza. SO good. Not low carb, but it was planned so I didn't feel guilty. It was very quick and easy... my kind of cooking!

I'm gonna put this out there... I'm not closing out my party until Sunday. If you would like to order some PC, I'm inviting you to order under my show. I don't care if it's $5 or $500 worth. You can order online and have it shipped directly to you! It would really help me out and who doesn't love PC?! =) Just go here and click "shop online." Enter my name as the host and shop your healthy heart out. (Leave me a comment with your email addy and I'll email you my full name. I moderate comments before they are posted so I'll email you and delete your comment so nobody will ever see your addy.)

I love all the home party type businesses. I've sold Partylite, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Avon and thought about several others. lol I recently discovered Thirty One and fell in love. Someone at work is selling it I believe and I want the whole catalog! Cute stuff. Obviously, I also love PC. I could spend SO much money on all of these products. I might need a 2nd job so I can get my fix. haha!!

Do you like home party businesses? Which ones? Do you sell anything?

Better night

Tonight was a better night. The day started out kinda crappy because I had to get up early and go by Occupational Health and went through a bunch of junk there and I have to get up early tomorrow to deal with the same junk, but I'm much better emotionally right now. I had a good night working my 6 hours. I'm pretty tired, but hoping that as I get well physically and get back into working, that I'll get used to it again and won't be so tired. Talking so much really wears me out. I can tell that I strain a lot more than I used to do. I still have a lot of work to do on my voice, but hope to get better quickly. *crossing fingers*

I ate well before work, but on the way home I was SO hungry and knew I didn't have anything to eat at home, so I stopped and got a burger and fries. Ugh. My eating is so off lately. I do good for a meal, then bad, then good... I need to get back on track and stay there. I had been really good at logging my food in a notebook and it kept me motivated. Gotta get back to that.

I haven't gotten any "formal" exercise this week, but work is busy and I'm constantly on my feet and walking and pulling and all that other nursey stuff so it's better than sitting on my butt all night. It might not sound like much, but after I graduated school and started working, I lost 15 pounds without changing anything else. Nursing is a very physical job and although it doesn't take the place of planned exercise, it does help to keep me active. Gotta work out my gym routine too. I just got my schedule for the next 6 weeks so I'm gonna try to sit down and plan out my exercise. Schedule it like appointments and see how well that works. It's a process... lol Right now I just have a calendar for work nights and appointments, but I think I might try to write in my exercise days and times too.

Ok.. off to bed so I can get up early and take care of big company politics. Sigh. Hope everyone has a great day!

How do you plan your exercise? Do you have it all written out or just wing it? 
Do you have a fitness/diet log and if so, what do you use? (I just ran across Fitbook and found it interesting. I might try to get one for me and the Junior one for my daughter that wants/needs to lose some weight. I think she would enjoy doing that with me.)

Back to work

I went back to work tonight for the first time in months. It was a little overwhelming, but I'll be back in the swing of things in no time. I only worked my 6 hours and I'm glad because I do NOT want to go backwards, healthwise. The thing that bothered me was that a few people had attitudes toward me. I just don't get it. I didn't enjoy being out of work for so long or feeling like crap or going to so many doctor appointments. I wouldn't wish any of the past few months on anyone. I was glad to be back! I mean.. it's work, ya know, but I was still glad that I was healthy enough to go back. I try not to let what others think bother me, but I have to work with these people and I hate feeling the way I do right now. I'm mad and hurt. Blah. It just reconfirms how much I want to find a new job. I love most of the people I work with and that's what has kept me where I am, but I'm so ready for a change. I just don't like it and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend a day more than I have to being miserable. I love nursing, but not where I am. Especially now... why would I want to work somewhere, where people that should be glad I'm back, give me looks and make smartass comments. I hope they never have to go through serious health problems, and until they do, they need to NOT f'n judge me. Yeah.. I'm mad.

Normal life.. maybe?

Last Thursday I went into work to do some education on things that had changed since I have been out of work. I wasn't feeling well, but wanted to get it out of the way because I am going back to work this week. Yep.. finally! I'm still not 100% since getting this recent cold, but I do feel a lot better. At the advice of my nurse educator, I had the Dr write me a note to work 6 hours per shift, instead of 12, this week so I don't have a relapse (hopefully!) Luckily, I am able to do this because for the next 2 weeks I will be on "orientation" with another nurse to get back into the swing of things before I'm on my own again.

I'm nervous about going back. I'm glad, but things change quickly around there and I'm afraid I'll be too far behind. I'm also worried about a few of my coworkers that probably think badly of me for being out so long. I wish they understood that I didn't enjoy being out for so long. I didn't WANT to be broke or not be able to walk without being winded or have a tube shoved up my nose and down my throat to look at my vocal cords. I didn't enjoy any of that. I would've rather been miserable at work like the rest of them. lol But I guess I can't worry about what others think. I had to do what was best for me.

I've gotten really behind in blogging and reading other blogs. I think part of the reason is that I haven't been doing so good at eating or exercising. I haven't been motivated and didn't feel like writing. I didn't fall off the wagon, but I'm not the driver right now either. Starting tomorrow, I will get back on it. Maybe getting back to "normal" life will help. Summer will be here before I know it and I want to wear a bathing suit and look the best I can when I go to the beach! I don't want to look back at all the time I wasted. So I will STOP the cheat meals and snacks and bites. I will START exercising regularly again. I enjoy it, but it's so hard to get back into when I've been out of the routine. It's been nicer outside lately, so that does help. I'm going to have to figure out how to work exercise into my work schedule again. I had gotten used to just doing it when I felt like it because I didn't have anything to work around. I need to do it though. No excuses!

I'm gonna try to catch up on some of your blogs now. I feel so out of the loop! lol Send me good thoughts tomorrow night! =)

Still around

I'm still around. Last week I was pretty busy. I went to the speech therapist and did some vocal exercises with her. I actually heard my real voice for the first time in months! I have to work at it to talk right though and surprisingly, it wore me out. So I was working on that and getting laughed at by my kids when my voice would go out and I'd have to kind of do this "ohhhhhhhmmmmm" thing to get it back. Gotta love it. lol

So Monday afternoon I woke up (yeah, I'm still on vampire hours) and got ready. Hubby and I were going out to dinner. Well, my oldest had plans so we ended up taking the youngest with us. I started feeling bad. I had a headache, sore throat, and just all sinus-ey. Hoping it was just allergies, we went to dinner. Later that night I had the worst pain in my stomach. I just KNEW I had the awful stomach bug that my daughter had earlier. The stomach thing only lasted a few hours though. Currently, I have a head cold, sore throat, fever, and cough. Please send me good thoughts! I was JUST getting ready to go back to work and this happens. I hope it goes away quickly. I can't handle another serious bronchitis thing like I just got over.

Ok.. I'm going back to sleep. Just wanted to post a quick update. Hope everyone is doing well!

Superbowl Sunday!!!

It's Superbowl Sunday!! The best day ever... especially if your team is in it (and wins!) Go Steelers!!! That's what is on my mind today. Well.. that, and the fact that my Bug has a stomach bug. =( But we are gonna think positively on this post. She's feeling a little better than she was earlier this morning.

We'll be chowing down on wings, dip with celery, pork rinds, and maybe some pepperoni chips and flax chips, and mixed nuts. I might make tortilla pizzas or naked cheeseburgers and maybe a salad. I'll have to see what kind of mood we're in when dinnertime gets here. I also have plenty of Mich Ultra and the amount consumed will depend on how the game goes! lol

What will you be eating on this glorious day?

Just call me all 7 dwarfs

Quick! Name them before you read!


Yes I mean it!

Ok.. ready?





Happy- The ENT appointment went well. No cancer or anything else bad that shouldn't be there. Yay!! The scoping wasn't nearly as bad as I was imagining! Plus, it was kinda cool to see everything from the camera after the Dr was done looking.

Sneezy- The numbing medicine has worn off and now I'm sneezy, snuffy, and sinusy. Oh and my throat is sore too.

Sleepy- Yeah, I haven't been to bed since 10pm last night.

Grumpy- Well, only a little bit. Hormones and the ups and downs of all this health stuff. Plus I have to go to speech therapy because one of the common causes of this lingering laryngitis is because you get used to straining your muscles to talk and after the infection or whatever is gone, you have to retrain your voice. Another common reason is "silent reflux." I've never been prone to heartburn, in fact the first time I EVER had it was when I was pregnant with my first daughter, but ehhhh. I'll give the meds a try. (Plus I have to go back to work, which is good, but it's work! lol)

Dopey- I'm normally kinda loopy anyway, but I'm reaaaally tired and it's getting dangerously dopey in here....

Bashful- My throat is kinda red and irritated. That'll have to count.

Doc- Well, I'm a nurse... you know, the one that's with the patient for 12 hours and does all the work?! hehe

How many dwarfs did you get right?

ENT in the morning

I have to go to the ENT doctor in the morning. I admit, I'm very nervous about what's going to happen and what he's going to say. I'm usually ok about Dr appointments, but this one is getting to me.

In case you're new around here, here's a quick recap...

On Oct. 23rd I came down with a cold, including laryngitis. That turned into bronchitis. I was VERY weak and fatigued, had shortness of breath, and a cough. After the cold symptoms disappeared, I still had the weakness, shortness of breath, and laryngitis. My lungs were clear on xray and I had very little wheezing, but for me to walk to the kitchen to get a drink wore me out. It was awful!! I went to my family Dr several times, then to the pulmonologist a few times. Last week he referred me to the ENT for my laryngitis since the other symptoms are gone now. Yes, that's right.. I haven't had a full voice for over 3 months!! It's crazy.

So tomorrow I go see what the ENT Dr has to say. I don't know if they're going to scope me to look at my vocal cords tomorrow or not. I'm assuming that's what they'll do to see what's going on. That's what the Pulmonary Dr said too. I just don't know when to expect it and I think know that's part of why I'm so anxious. Then of course, there's the thought of some camera on a tube being shoved up my nose. Yeah.. so not ok with that!

Being a nurse (and even beforehand) I've always been a pretty good patient. I'm friendly and try to do what I'm told (assuming I agree with it. You have to advocate for yourself!) But I swear they may have to knock me out. lol I had a flu test done once. The kind where they stick a culture stick up your nose, past the point where anything should go, and omg that was terrible! Of course, I had another kind done during this most recent fiasco when they had to flush saline up both sides and back out. I guess it was like how a netti pot would be. I personally don't see how anyone could do that to themselves! Fluids shouldn't go up your nose. They just shouldn't. Sorry.. got kind of off track there.

Being anxious, I'm feeling munchy. I'm NOT hungry and I know that, but I sure wanna munch. Stupid emotional eating. There's no junk food in the house, but there are things that are too high carb for me, even though they are healthy. Like that banana that's calling me. I love banana and peanut butter. Technically I could have half, but even though I'm on maintenance and can have higher carb stuff in moderation, I try to stay away from it for blood sugar reasons. I decided to have celery and peanut butter (and some with whipped cream cheese) instead. Go me! =) Good thing I don't have any nuts. I'd eat the whole jar. And THAT'S why I didn't buy them. I usually do ok with them, but last time I went overboard. Figured I needed a break from them.

Ok.. I think I'm gonna take a xanax and just try to relax and not think about tomorrow. I'll update sometime after the appointment. Please send me good vibes! I don't want any bad news. I really don't know WHAT I want them to tell me, because if they don't find anything, that would suck too. lol