I started wearing a loop recorder for my heart about a week ago.
I am wearing it b/c I started getting palpitations about a month ago that became more and more frequent. Docs think it's either b/c of anemia (b/c I changed my diet to vegetarian) or could be hormones or could be any other number of things.
I don't get pain when I have the palps. but I can't breathe when they happen...and it's just kinda annoying.
I wear the recorder with electodes under my right collar bone and one under my left breast.
They are wired to a looping recorder that constantly records 1 minute and then re-records over it...
When I have a palpitation I push a button on the recorder so that it records 1 minute before pushing the button and 40 seconds after. After recording, I call a number and transmit the reading through the phone. It's strange... somehow it sends an EKG through the phone that can be read on the other end...
Interesante...really it is.
Anyway, this is similar to the Holter Monitor which is worn for 24 hours, but Holter Monitors are good for people who have their symptoms daily so that it is almost guaranteed that they will be able to record their symptoms within the 24 hour timeframe... The benefit to the Looping monitor that I wear, is that since I do not have my symptoms everyday, I can wear it for longer than 24 hours, upping my chances of being able to catch and record my symptoms when they happen.
The downside to the Looping recorder is that I have to wear it for 30 days, and I am allergic to the electrode pads sticky stuff. They supplied me with hypoallergenic ones as well, but I am also allergic to those.
They are shipping me out some pediatric pads so I can try them out... It's soo itchy and painful. I get welts after taking the pads off, and they get itchy and start to blister. Above is a picture of one of the welts that has reduced significantly (is no longer raised) and it's funny, b/c it looks like a smiley face.
Went to the container store, bought a friggen truck load of stuff (literally) and brought it home.
Now the house is a mess... - I decided to clean out my closet and drawers to reorganize all my clothes. There was a point in my life where everything in my closet would hang in order of color and the hangers were evenly spaced. I wasn't always like that, but I'd like to get back there. Life was so much easier with that kind of organization. Right now I have piles (no joke) of clothes on the floor that include seasonal, donation, sell, trash, PJs, undies... My plan is to wash EVERYTHING, regardless of the fact that they are already clean... and then refold and hang everything. We bought some HUGE see-through storage bins so I can store big items and rarely worn items. So hopefully, I can manage those.
- We bought some kitchen cabinet/closet organizers that help us to utilize more vertical space, since that always seems to go to waste.
- We are redecorating the loft. Before we used to have Mike's desk and a bed in the loft. Also I had a card table as my desk, since I couldn't seem to fit anything else. The loft is big but since Mike's desk was so big, we had to design around the desk which meant leaving the desk in the middle of the room and the bed in an odd place in order for me to have a small wall to keep my desk. I will post the many designs we've had in the loft in pictures after all is said and done.
- We have decided on a final plan for the loft that includes a portion of the room, soley for the bed which will be seperated by sheer curtains. Then we are going to buy 2 of the same exact L shaped desks and place them on either side of the remaining portion of the room. Centered on the wall in front of the desks will be a TV and entertainment center. Between the 2 desks (in front of the bed) will be a sitting area (hopefully).
- We also recently bought a 40" Sony Bravia LCD TV for the den downstairs. It was one expense we splurged on. We have not bought a tv since we met and my TV is almost 6 years old and it's dying. It's sad how short lived they are.
Anyway - with all this organizing going on, I've finally decided to roll it over to wedding planning. I really need to get on the ball since there's really little relaxing time left. 9 months and counting...
We at least booked the honeymoon. We will be going to Tahiti, Moorea & Bora Bora for 10 days. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Something to look forward to--- destressing on the islands in solitude. *happy sigh*
It's funny, b/c the last time I got my blog rating was in July and it was rated PG13, with the following words:
* pain (14x) * crap (3x) * sex (1x)
I don't get it. Suddenly the amount of times I said PAIN & CRAP has gone down, and apparently the word 'sex' has disappeared. (well, not now since I just typed it of course).
Tonight I saw a brilliant movie. I decided to try out a local theater that plays a lot of international and indie films. I'm not REALLY into either, but I've heard raves about the movies shown at the Montgomery Cinema's in NJ, so I thought what the hell, I could use a night out by myself, why not catch a movie.
I saw "2 Days in Paris" It was so funny but so real. I've never seen a movie quite like it actually. There are few subtitles, b/c the setting is Paris, France. If you don't like subtitles, you'll still like this movie, the subtitles are funny! The acting was brilliant. It was almost like observing life, in it's true form, not acting.
I'm starting to sound a little corny and not making much sense, just go see it if you can!
If you can't, below is a preview ;)
When I got there, there is no line, there is actually no customers at all at this theater. Interesting. But Alas, I walk into the theater, medium popcorn and cup of coke in hand and I'm greated by 10 old couple head turns. YAY! I hope I made the right choice here.
Anyway, the movies goin and there's this part where a girl is in a towel and this old man behind me starts running off at the mouth, "Pussy, show us some Pussy!!"... and his gal pal is trying to shush him, and he says, "No, I want to see some Pussy!". Okay, I'm sorry, but I really don't like that word, and really I don't know if it's even going to allow my site to be accessible from offices now with that lingo on there. Eck...
It was a little awkward, b/c I was sitting all by myself in the row in front of him and I had no one to rant to about this vulgar man. And honestly, I felt a little violated by him even though we couldn't really see each other. ECK.
It was an odd experience, but the movie made up for it!
I'm really feeling the joy of all that is Fibromyalgia tonight.
I don't understand, I have yet to figure out a pattern to the pains I get.
I used to keep a log. What day it was, what time, what the weather was like, what part of my body was hurting, how long it hurt etc...
No pattern.
Sometimes I would ache a day before a storm, and some days I wouldn't. Sometimes I wouldn't get any aches until after a storm, and sometimes I wouldn't get any pain at all. Sometimes when it's a beautiful perfect day, I ache.
I believe it has something to do with a change in barometric pressure, for better or for worse. Whenever theres a big change (i.e. bad weather to good or vice versa).
For years I thought I had RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis)...and so I was told by ppl for so long. But after many blood tests, the RA factor was low. There was no test actually proving to me that I had it. Finally, my wonderful, out of the box thinking doctor referred me to a Rheumatologist. Seems like common sense, but I had no clue what was wrong with me.
I had this tender points test given to me, and I was tender in 15 of the 18 points. It was really strange, b/c when the doc would push on those points it hurt really bad. Like someone digging their finger into a pressure point on your body. After lifting his hand from the tender point I would have a lingering feeling as if he was poking a bruise. I thought this was normal and that everyone felt those pains. I was wrong.
Anyway. I have learned to manage and deal with the pain. It can be debilitating at times, but I take pain meds (such as Tylenol etc...) to help and heat always works really well for me.
When it's really bad, I prefer to sleep through the pain so I don't have to deal with it, so I pop some Tylenol PM or Flexiril and out I go.
My fibromyalgia keeps me up most nights. I never really get a good nights sleep. I am out for at least 8 hrs each time. But according to a sleep test I took, I get less than 30mins of TOTAL cummulative REM sleep. Ah well - I'm alive and still kickin'.
I can deal.
I think the whole point of writing this was to express how happy I am that Tylenol PM was invented. I just popped a few and can't wait to get to sleep.
Last night we held a Board Game night at our place. It was fun.
The night started out a bit slow, people trickling in between 7:30-8:30. Sitting around munching on snacks/chips and some pizza.
We started out playing a game of ye ole Scrabble.
Then moved on to Cranium Pop 5 or something. It took longer than expected to actually figure out how to play, but once it was underway, it was pretty interesting. It's funny watching what people will do to try and earn their team some points.
We wound up only making it to one last game for the rest of the evening. And that game was Apples to Apples. By far one of the easiest and most fun games I've ever played.
The only pieces in the game are cards, Green ones and Red Ones. SOOO FUNNY.
We wound up playing from about 10pm-3am in the morning. Literally...There is no exaggeration there.
We wound up playing all the cards provided in the game. INSANE really.
It was quite hillarious.
It was the first time any of us had played the game, so WOO HOO, it is a keeper.
Mike & I were planning on painting all the doors in our house (some 17 or so) today, b/c they are still primer colored, but I just don't think that is going to happen, considering I woke up around 3pm today.
Ten on Tuesday : "Ten things I will NEVER do again" Edition
August 8, 2007
It's sliiiightly late, but heregoes anyway.
(In no particular order, of course)
#1 : get another tonsillectomy. Not because I can't get another, but because I WON'T get another one. The truth is, those damned tonsils can grow back, and if they do, then they are fierce mothafatha's and I'll just leave them be. That was hell, and I ain't goin' back.
#2 : brazillian wax. That's right ladies, and what gents out there read this, I will NEVER get a brazillian wax again. Maybe that's too much information for ya, but in case it's not, let me just dive in a little further (no pun intended)... but, it sticky, it's hot, it's wax. And there's a reason our body DOES NOT produce WAX down there, it's because, it just simply DOES NOT belong down there. OUCHHHYYYYYY. Not worth the effort, IMHO.
#3 : go out of the country on a guided tour. I went on one this year to Italy and I can honestly say, it wasn't all that bad, but if I had my choice. No TOUR. No TOURGUIDE, No TOURBUS, No TOURGROUP. Can you believe that people in their 70's and up still get in catty little fights like women over who sits where during dinner?!
#4 : Lose touch with my nearest and dearest friends. If you can see from my previous post, I lost touch with a lot of friends and in the end, was left with none when I became single. Luckily I made tons of new friends...but those friendships I now hold close to my heart and I will never let them go. We will work through thick in thin to keep things in the good between us!
#5 : LOOK when a coworker tells me to look at a girl in a tight white jumpsuit at work wearing a hot pink leather thong underneath it. What the FOCK?!
#6 : dye my hair blonde. I did this back in 2001. It was 'okay' for back then. I would never do it again. First of all, I could never get away with it, since I'm asian, and it makes my hair all hard like straw. ECK. (However, I did have a hotpink streak in my hair when I was in HS for a short period of time, I didn't say I would never do that again. Muuuhahahaha)
#7 : Drive to Ohio. Dude, if you've gotta go, get on a jetplane and fly the 1 hr it takes to get there. It's worth the money. Unless you are going with a friend who is your twin in hysterics the entire drive. I had a blast when I went, but I would never choose to do it again.
#8 : Pull over when someone is chasing me in a car. I did this when I was in college and super naive. A truck full of mexicans were following me and a college gal pal of mine around Virginia and we just kept laughing at them, b/c seriously who follows 2 girls in the late-teens? Uh. duh. Crazy psycho's is who! Yeah, we learned that shortly after we pulled the car over and they did the same, and proceeded to get out of the car and walk towards us. AHHHHH
#9 : Put both of my legs in the air while driving a car over railroad tracks. Yeah, uh huh, another stupid thing I did in college. A gal pal of mine told me and my roomie to do this as we drove over railroad tracks... so one night we were driving and came across a set of railroad tracks, we gunned the car over the tracks and lifter our legs. Just as the car came crashing back to the ground from being suspended in mid air, we were back up again, b/c there was a 2nd set of tracks right after it. Hop hop hop... my car was a rabbit that night. We did a nice little 180 in mid-air. came crashing down, started laughing our asses off in hysterics b/c we scared the shiat out of ourselves, and why the hell do we listen to anybody who is in college?!
#10 : I will NEVER attempt to make cinnamon toast in a toaster oven again. I tried it once, started a fire, and made myself the laughing stock of the neighborhood. Never Again.
Blog Talkers #32 : What I miss most about being single.
What do you most enjoy, or miss, about being single?
Huh, good one. I have to admit, I could be stereotyped into one of those girls who has never actually been single. But there was this one time back in 2004. I was single for a whole 8 months (before finding my fiance, of course *wink*).
What I miss most is hanging with my friends, who were single at the time too. We had so much fun. We went on mini trips to everywhere together and just had a blast being single and being friends. I can't honestly remember the last time I had such a great friend bonding time.
My last relationship lasted about 5 years and during that time I had absolutely NO FRIENDS except for the guy I was dating. How BORING is THAT!!! Finally, I had a moment of freedom and it was a blast!!! I MISS THAT! I miss the single girls and guys that I was friends with. (Go figure, I'm still friends with all of them, except now they are no longer single.) hehe... now we do 'couple-stuff' which is just as fun :) and my new dude allows me to have friends. What a love. *lol*
Do you buy brand name or generic "no name" items when you grocery shop? Are there any brands that you are completely loyal to, no ifs and/or buts?
Honestly, I don't buy all brand names or generic items. Sometimes, if the price is right and I know I'm getting a decent quality item, I'll buy the cheapest. I also believe in the slogan, "You get what you pay for".
I'm not a coupon cutter, though I really wish I was. It's something I will have to force myself to do, and once the coupons are cut, they get shoved into a pile or a bag and are never seen again. And everytime I go shopping I think about the coupons I spent many minutes of my life (that I will never get back) cutting and shoved in a bag and could've used for a something at that moment.
It's a horrible vicious cycle that I can't seem to get myself out of.
Cutting coupons is actually very relaxing, once you get into it.
Ten on Tuesday : "10 Nicest Things People Have Done for You" Edition
July 25, 2007
Wow. I think this edition is going to take quite a lot of thought, and even though I've technically had an extra day to think about it, I just don't think I will be able to write about 10 different things and stick to those...but here goes anyway.
(in no particular order)
#1 : This has happened on multiple occasions and everytime it happens, I get a little teary eyed. I'm sure most women can relate to this... Have you ever been in line at a department store and it's coupon day, and 'What the Hell!' you didn't get the memo. I mean, the BIG memo, like the 75% off coupon day memo. You're standing in line surrounded by a sea of women with carts spilling over with clothing and the like. Why does everyone have so much SHIT in their carts?! It's COUPON DAY, and you don't have a coupon. So sad, you feel so dissed. I mean, like REALLY dissed. You hope that when you get to the cashier and she/he asks you if you have a coupon and you say no, that the person standing behind you in line doesn't notice. Because how can you be so STUPID. Then suddenly, the customer who stands at the cashier now, in front of you, finishes checking out and turns to you and says, "Do you have a coupon? If you don't, here, take mine." And you thank and thank and thank her over and over and over and over until eventually you feel weak in the knees and fall the the ground and kiss her feet.
#2 : I've always had a love for music. I am not a famous musician, but I love to perform. I used to play the alto saxophone in Junior High. I was the only girl who played the saxophone. I was one of the better players and the boys would get a little jealous when my teacher would praise me. So... when it came award time, all the boys went up and got special awards, and I didn't get any. I was sad, and I felt like such...a girl. Then, at the very end of the ceremony, my teacher announced one last award. One super special award. It was the 'Unsung Hero Award' and my band leader gave it to ME and praised how wonderful of a musician I was, and how committed I was to making beautiful music and how I would never brag and I was modest etc...and that I should be praised for that alone. Being a great musician without having to tell people I was. She was a wonderful instructor.
#3 : My boyfriend loves me for who I am. Not who I was, or who I will be. He loves ME. It is quite amazing. I couldn't ask for anything more. I have dated men in the past who I thought loved me for me, and when I saw through all the bullshit I realized why they really loved me, whether it be for the way I looked, my 'exotic' ethnicity, my musical talent, my age, or the fact that I was a girl who just wasn't going to 'hurt' them. I have finally realized what true love is, because of the way my boyfriend loves me. This is the nicest thing he has ever done for me...love me the way I am.
#4 : I'm realizing that this list is going to take me forever. And so I will have to end the rest of the list like this...
#5 : My
#6 : Parents
#7 : Gave
#8 : Me
#9 : Life
#10 : without that -- i wouldn't be here writting this list which seems to have gotten a little of topic. NO?
Hmmm. I don't believe every dream has a meaning, though some do.
My current recurring dream is very scary and almost every time I have it, I wake up screaming.
I dream that I am hanging out in some part of someone's house and there is a man. He slowly turns his head to face me and stares, and in that split second that we make eye contact, he jolts towards me and is standing as close to me as you can possibly get to someone's face without touching them.
Then...I wake up.
I have NO CLUE what this dream means, except that maybe I have to face my fears of something. I hope I figure out what fear it is I have to face before I have this dream again, b/c it's pretty friggen scary...
After much stress about my current body image, I've decided to take a jump back into the Weight Watchers pool. Tummy tamer bathing suit and all. LOL
Today is my first day. I did good. Kept within my point range and I'm raring to go.
Thankfully, I have a gym membership and have been utilizing it. Unfortunately all I can really work on at the gym is Cardio and weights with my legs.
I have tendinitis in my shoulders so I won't be doing any toning there. ARGH...that's the most upsetting. My personal trainer tells me my body fat percentage isn't bad at all... He also says I have little to no fat in my legs. HA! Where was he measuring?! Anyway... I guess that means all my body fat is in the 'middle' WOO WOO, and my arms. Damn arms.
Oh and to add to it, the reason I got tendinitis is because I had weak arms to begin with and was put through an endurance test that lasted about 30 minutes. I completed it and well at that. But now...f'n shoulders.
That's my rant.
My 1st OFFICIAL Weigh In (WI) is next Monday, the 30th.
What are your opinions on the subject of giving personal information out in your blog entries? Do you use the real names of the people you blog about? Have you ever had a bad experience with someone getting 'too much information'? I'd like to know: Do the people that you blog about ever complain that you are blogging about them?
My opinions on the subject of giving personal information out in my blog entries is that, if I didn't want something known, I would most likely keep it to myself. But, in most cases I try to be as real as I can be, and that means coming to terms that hey...I AM REAL, so I do have embarrassing moments, and I do stupid things that I regret, and yeah, sometimes I do things that I am proud of.
I DO use the REAL names of people that I blog about. Most people who read my blog are people who already know me. If you happen to be one of those who stumble about... then you most likely don't know me, therefore the names of the people I blog about don't matter much to you. However, I will NEVER use someone's full name. There is some degree of privacy instated here. And as in 'real' life person to person conversation...most times just the first name is stated, eh?
The only bad experience I have had due to the info I've posted on my blog, would be a response to an entry I wrote when I was angry at someone in my family. The comments left were not all that nice. Luckily...I came to terms with my anger and deleted that entry and left the past in the past.
I haven't gotten any complaints from people about me blogging about them. I'm not such a bad person that I would blog so horribly about someone on my site.
#2 - I have major stage fright and hate attention.
#3 - #2 screws up my total enjoyment of #1
#4 - I love marshmallows. That includes anything in the flavor or, look of, smell of or consistancy of marshmallows.
#5 - I love crunchiness. If it is not marshmallowy, it has to be crunchy.
#6 - I tend to pack on the calories when eating a healthy sandwich, b/c I have to layer potato chips on top of it to satisfy #5.
#7 - I think I am growing - vertically that is
#8 - um, horizontally also
#9 - I love symmetry.
#10 - there are so many questions in my head at all times. Questions that I do not know the answer to and therefore, thinking of them over and over eventually the questions don't make sense anymore and I get tired, and then finally fall asleep
I just wanted to post this, b/c I want to participate in the Ten on Tuesday post sessions...
