Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A new toy

I have a new toy! It is so cool! I am making this post by voice. Woo Hoo!!! This is going to make my life so much easier, I hope. I think it will make writing papers go so much faster, and give me more time to play with my kids after I do my do my homework. Why didn't I think of getting one of these sooner?

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

TMI

Ok, this might all be too much information (TMI) for you so go ahead and close the window to my blog and come back another time when I've made a new post.

Ok, this is your last chance!

Ready?

Set?

ok, if you stuck around, just remember that you asked for it!

I think I am having perimenopause symptoms. There. I've said it. It's too late for you to turn around now! Hey! Get back here! Now that you know what's wrong with me, you have to listen to why I think that.

Yes you do.

I found a list of 25 symptoms of menopause.

No, I didn't just decide tonight that it would be a fun idea to find out how close I am to my last period (although I think that would be a really cool thing to know, and man would I really look forward to that day even marking it on the calendar and throwing myself a great big party, or at least I'd buy myself a three layered chocolate cake). Ahem, back to my story....

There's a reason. The reason is, I've been having symptoms. More than 17 symptoms to be exact.
How many symptoms should I worry about before I think it's a good sign that I'm beginning the stages of menopause?

Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
Irregular heart beat
Irritability
Mood swings, sudden tears
Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods,
shorter cycles, longer cycles
Loss of libido (see note)
Dry vagina
Crashing fatigue
Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
Disturbing memory lapses
Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
Itchy, crawly skin
Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
Increased tension in muscles
Breast tenderness
Headache change: increase or decrease
Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
Sudden bouts of bloat
Depression
Exacerbation of existing conditions
Increase in allergies
Weight gain Yeah, but that happened 6 years ago, and it really had to do with the last baby I had, so I don't think they will let me count that.
Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair Thank heaven's not this yet!
Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
Changes in body odor Please, if anyone notices this, let me know!?
Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
Tingling in the extremities
Gum problems, increased bleeding
Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor And uh, let me know about this one too, k!?
Osteoporosis (after several years)
Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing,' buzzing etc.

And many of these symptoms are VERY not pleasant and persistent and bothersome. Especially the one where I have periods in between periods, or the tingling in the extremities and the bloating.

What's a girl to do?

I don't want to go to my doctor for ... yet.... another thing. I've already seen her this year about the migraines and the depression... do I really have to keep visiting her and telling her a new sob story every time I go? Why can't, for once, I go to the doctor when nothings wrong and I have nothing to complain about? We could hang out, I could tell her my funny school stories, she could tell me some funny doctor/patient stories and then I could go home, without a prescription, without a big bill and without having to pour out my guts, or have a reminder that this is the year I turn 40. That'd be great. Thanks.

You asked for it.





Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Crazy Crunch!

Crazy Crunch with nuts
Crazy Crunch plain

Courtesy of my dear mother, a wonderful memory from my childhood, and now part of my own children's memories :)

Set aside in a greased bowl-
14 Cups of popped corn Add Image
1 1/2 C. mixed nuts

In a large pot on the stove bring to a boil-
1 1.2 C. Sugar
1/2 C. dark Karo syrup
1 1/2 square butter (3/4 Cup)
3 T. water

Boil until hard ball stage (checking in a bowl of ice water, you pour a little into the bowl and can use your fingers to form a solid ball). Remove from heat.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla when it's at hard ball stage.

Pour over popcorn and mix.

Dump out onto greased foil or wax paper to cool.

Enjoy!
I have a little bit of time here, while I wait for my highlights to take effect. Today is coloring day. I haven't colored my hair since that scary day in October when I decided that I wanted a warmer darker color for winter. It didn't turn out so great. I've been scared to go back to my old color, but afraid to go forward with another color and so I've been sitting and waiting and letting my grays grow long. I finally caved this week and bought a bottle of my old color. It's almost spring so I'm over the urge of wanting warmer colored hair.

This week is spring break for all of us in our schools. The kids are already bored out of their minds and Josh has a cold coming on. I hope he's well enough to spend the weekend up north with us. We are taking the little kids up to the bear and wolf centers. Jake is staying behind to take care of the dog and hang out with friends. I'm making my mom's Crazy Crunch to go with us. The kids are excited about that!

I did have homework during break, I have to put together a speech for my speech class. I got my power point about photography put together yesterday. Not exactly something I want to talk about, but also, it's something I know about so I can talk about it with relative ease and low script.

Well, I have to say things kind of suck since Jake turned 18. He's gone all the time. He's out very late on weekends. He is cutting the apron strings. Boooo. He also kept putting off registering for the draft so he was a felon here for a week. I hope they accept his late registration and don't fine him. I also hope it doesn't interfere with his qualifying for student aid or aid with his surgery. I hate letting go of control.

Ding! Time to wash! Bye!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Time for another update, I suppose :)
This morning, in a little bit, we are headed out to puppy play time at the Humane Society. Buddy loves chasing around little dogs. He's afraid of the bigger dogs so we have to be careful what playgroups we take him to. My husband, I'm sure, thinks I'm crazy to spend money to let our dog play with other dogs, but I think it's been important for his socialization and will help when we go out walking and run into other dogs on the path.
I'm volunteering 4 hours a week, through the end of March, in a couple of special education classrooms and it's been a really great experience so far. I'm learning a lot from observation and finding what kind of setting I would like to teach in, if given the opportunity.
Jake is still waiting on surgery for his ankle. He's scheduled for April 13. It feels years away, and that is hard. I wish he could be fixed sooner.
This week I have a presentation to give with my group in my drugs and alcohol class, about a visit we made to an AA meeting. We have this lady in our group that is seriously difficult to work with, so I hope things go well with our presentation. She likes to overpower everyone and is wanting to make our presentation into a lot more than it should be, or that the teacher has asked for.
We are expecting about a foot more of snow in the coming week. I am so sick of snow! I am ready for spring and color and walks and warm sun on my face! I was actually looking at scooters on Craigslist the other day. When we visited Utah last summer my sister took my kids out on her scooter and they had so much fun. I didn't realize they can get 80 miles to the gallon! I think I'd like one to get back and forth to school on, but Joel wants a motorcycle. We would never be able to agree on a motorcycle. He's into choppers and Harleys and I'm not. I don't want a big heavy thing. I want something light weight and easy to move around. Oh well, guess I'll just keep dreaming about my Jeep and the day I don't have kids to drive around so I can have one.