Author: Sarah
You know I love posting photo dumps and about my cats, so enjoy these on this lovely Saturday.
I have so many more pictures of Bear & the pictures I do have of Klaus are mostly of him asleep. He just moves so much! By the time I pull out the camera, he’s already gone. He has people to see (no, he doesn’t) and things to rip to shreds.
Or:
2023 is turning into the year of Strange Medical Shenanigans
Seriously, it’s been crazy. My back saga has ended, but now I have had a weird itching situation going on for almost a month. I went to the doctor, had some bloodwork, and I have a bunch of markers for allergies that I’ve never had before. I’m still waiting on some results for other tests.
I’ve already decided that if I’m suddenly allergic to cats, I will absolutely be itching for the rest of my cats’ lives. And probably longer, because I will almost certainly never say no to a stray Shane brings home.
I’ve also had a super cool resurgence of my GERD and I was having trouble swallowing. So last week I had an endoscopy and it turns out that my hiatal hernia grew while my esophagus had a narrow bit that they expanded. No overly bad news, though. I’m going to the Gastroenterologist later this month to talk about if I should get surgery to fix the hernia, add more medication to my lineup, or if I should explore food sensitivities.
But honestly, it’s fine. I will cop to crying about the itching once, but overall this year is still going really really well. I’m just looking at it as a year of getting a healthy baseline – I even went to the dentist for the first time in awhile just to get back on the dental health bandwagon. I’ve started improving my diet, stretching, going on walks, and getting my back ready for weightlifting, etc.
Outside of the medical shenanigans, life is wonderful. My relationship is truly thriving, my cats are amazing (as always), we made a reading nook in my office, and my job is going swimmingly. It’s wild how much easier life is to handle when your work isn’t stressing you out to the max.
I’m off to take some Benadryl and bathe in Calamine lotion. Maybe mixed with Oatmeal-based lotion.
-S
I have good days and bad days. Luckily, the good days are overtaking the bad, and my current bad days are what were passing for good days. So I’m healing, at least. I just have to stop doing stupid stuff and re-injuring myself. I sat in my computer chair for an entire work day on Monday and am now on day 2 (it’s currently Wednesday) of working from my bed.
I’ve been going to a chiropractor, and it’s honestly been a lifesaver. I never thought I’d go to a chiropractor, but that first session felt almost like a miracle. My back was instantly so much better, and even though that didn’t last for more than a couple of days, it was amazing to be out of pain for those days. The last session was less helpful, but I still got some relief.
I’ve gotten to spend a ton of time with Shane and the kitty cats, and I’ve been forced to slow life way way down, so I’m making the most of it. The cats take shifts laying on the bed with me when I have to work from there, which is pretty sweet.
Coffee and Crows is still fairly far off my radar because I have approximately 1.8 million things I want to do when I can. I’m hoping for a summertime return, though.
My 2023 goals of “get healthy, get moving, get thinking” have been blocked by a string of back problems because apparently my back decided that 36 is the new 95. I can barely walk today, so moving is a fairly difficult goal to reach.
BUT I have gotten my eyes checked and scheduled gastro & dentist appointments. I feel like those appointments are key in figuring out the path to Health. I’ve neglected myself for a couple of years, so I need to make sure everything is in good working order.
Anyway, since I have to write my blog posts on my bed, I haven’t. I’ve pretty much taken Coffee&Crows off of my plate for now. I have nothing to blog about since all I’m doing is watching playthroughs of Prey & the Dead Space remake and reading. Oh, I did watch my first season of American Horror Story – it was the 1984 summer camp one. I really liked the over the top goofy/horror-ish-ness of it all.
I hope your April is going way better than mine.
~S
PS – I’m on Lemon8 so come find me if you’re over there too.
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been trying to read 30 minutes a night no matter what I’ve been doing. I’m not quite at 100%, but I’ve definitely gotten to above 90%. This new habit of mine has really boosted my reading productivity. I’ve read 18 books already this year, and my reading total was 38 last year, so the pace is quite a bit faster. Even though I’m more focusing on consistency instead of how many pages I read or the amount of books I get through, this is the first time in awhile I’m not stuck in a reading rut. And I have to think about what I’m reading next. When I finish a book, I need to have the next one lined up. Generally, if I only have a few pages left, I don’t even count it towards the half hour, so I literally need to have my next book next to the bed. These are the next (non-audiobook) books ‘on the list’, I either own them or immediately available from the library. I love looking at other people’s book lists, so I hope you enjoy.
35 started out rough, but has become one of my favorite ages. I expect 36 to be one for the record books as well. Personally & professionally. The world is still going to shit, so there will always be that yawning pit of blackness in my stomach. But I want to focus on what I can control.
I hope there is a return to precedented times, that my mellow is not harshed, and that I keep learning, growing, and reaching all year long. I look forward to stepping out of my comfort zone, settling into this life Shane and I are building, and creating relationships that last with people I enjoy.
So here’s to 36! I hope you come along on my journey this year. It’s going to be fun.
-Sarah
I’ve never had one of these before, but y’all know how much I love lists that I may or may not follow through with. Shane made a few contributions to this, as well, without me telling him I was doing it.
So here goes 10 things I want to do this month.
I’m genuinely curious as to how many of these are accomplished this month. I’m aiming for all 10, honestly. Make it my first list with a 100% completion rate.
The Jacksonville trip is planned, as is the Target trip, and I’ve picked out my next journal. That’s 3 right there. Maybe I’ll look for a sushi place in Jax.
That’s right, my birthday month. Over the years, I’ve scaled back my birthday celebrations, but 2023 is getting a full month of shenanigans. In the last 4ish years, I’ve gone through some of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through. Somehow, I came out the other end happier and healthier than I ever have been. I think that deserves a month of celebrating.
I have always loved my birthday and will probably always love my birthday, but some years are more celebratory than others. This year’s feels like a huge win, and I plan on reveling in it.
Let’s be honest, though. I wasn’t a crazy kid even when I was a kid, so shenanigans will 100% be at the old lady level of shenaniganry.
I’m excited about spending this month celebrating everything I’ve overcome and have become in the past few years. I know the world is still very much shit, but I’m still here.
Our washing machine failed in a spectacular way last week. It just straight up stopped working in the middle of a load. In the machine’s defense, it had been acting squirrelly for a while before that, but I kept using it.
Before you ask, I do 98% of the laundry in our home, and Shane takes care of the dishes and cleans the kitchen most of the time. I’ve been told that’s not a fair trade-off, but I can’t overstate how much I hate doing dishes. I would do so much laundry to never have to wash a dish again. But back to the story.
So, during a rinse cycle, the washer just gives up the ghost. It tells me that it can’t balance the load and can’t go on. The clothes are sudsy and sopping wet. I take a break from reality and leave them in there thinking they’d at least drain a little before I put them in the dryer. I already know I have to rewash them, but I’m not putting that gross mess into my car. At this point, the washing machine completely powers down and refuses to turn on. Even after unplugging it and plugging it back in, which is the #1 way to fix all electrical problems.
So, I spent part of my Monday off (for President’s Day) in a laundromat. Which wasn’t a completely awful way to spend a few hours. That place was hopping – every bench and chair full (so I hung out in my car periodically), kids along for the ride with their moms, babies babbling, and what appeared to be a gang of single guys who hit up the laundromat every week. There was even a puppy someone brought in, and I got to play peekaboo with a baby.
I forgot how expensive laundromats are, though. It was $40 and some change for 4 loads of washing & 3 dryer cycles. And I didn’t even dry them completely, just enough to not be soaked in my car on the way home. I can’t imagine how much people have to pay a year when they don’t have a washing machine. I bet it’s enough to keep them from being able to buy one.
Anyway, the moral is to call the repairman before everything goes sideways. I’m currently waiting for a call back to schedule the appointment.
Adulthood isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.
Today’s post was supposed to be a photodump of camping pictures from my actual camera. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to go through those. Instead, here are some completely unedited shots from my husband’s phone (a Samsung Fold). Yes, he’s a better photographer than I am. No, I don’t want to talk about it.
Coffee & Crows 