Ladybug Studio

Making time…

I hate when I make a commitment to do something and forces beyond my control cause the plan to fail. Yesterday I had planned to run at the gym after work. I am trying to get on a regular schedule and don't need any setbacks at this point. But, an all day stomach ache put an end to that idea. Just walking was miserable, so I knew running wouldn't be happening. Rats.

This week is a little bit busy so fitting two runs in won't be easy. This afternoon is tennis, so that rules out Tuesday. Wednesday I have a pedicure after work, but not until 5:30. So I could run right after work and plan on a quick shower at the gym before the appointment. Then I could go again on Friday, thereby getting in the two runs as I had wanted. That just might work.

Weekend review…

Friday

In my effort to do more cardio exercise, not to mention the fact that Friday is Pizza Night, I went to the gym immediately after work. Since I had already run twice during the week, I thought I should mix it up a little and visit my old friend Robocop, the extreme elliptical machine. He did not disappoint. I managed 35 minutes while keeping time to various songs on my iPod. I've been listening to audiobooks while running, but I thought Robocop needed more inspiration. I burned enough calories that I didn't feel as much guilt while eating my pizza that evening.

Saturday

Tennis round robin was a no-brainer for Saturday morning. The weather was dry and about 10 degrees warmer than the previous week. At one point the sun came out and shone on us and we began complaining about the heat. I guess we're never quite satisfied. I played three sets, two of which ran into tie-breakers, and was plenty tired when I left. I think the cardio during the week zapped some of my energy.

After a quick shower and lunch, I drove over to the  Mall at Millenia. Tom opted to stay home as my main focus was a Spring Color Forecast makeup event at the Mac Cosmetics store. It was probably a good thing he did as I was in the store for over an hour having my mug prettied up. The store was jam packed with people most of the time and loud music was playing. While my makeup artist did some pretty interesting stuff with my eyes, I didn't feel that I learned anything. Even with a hand mirror, it was hard to see what she was doing and it was too loud for her to explain anyway. Of course, I ended up buying a bunch of stuff. Several new brushes really ran up the tab, but good makeup brushes are worth it. They will last for years if given proper care.

I wandered in and out of a few stores, but it's mostly window shopping in that mall as far as I'm concerned. I bought a Lemongrass Ginger candle at Williams-Sonoma and treated myself to a chunk of salted caramel cashew bark at Godiva. Man was that delicious. Good thing we don't have a Godiva store nearer than Orlando. I'd be in a lot of trouble, that's for sure.

When I got home, Tom was tired of hanging out at the house, so we drove to Melbourne. We had some Best Buy Reward Zone certificates that were about to expire, so Tom used them toward some CDs, then we went to Smokey Bones for dinner. I am trying to be good food-wise these days and there weren't a lot of healthy items to choose from. But I decided on the grilled salmon with a teriyaki glaze and steamed broccoli and was seriously and pleasantly surprised. Very delicious. I highly recommend it.

Sunday

We were supposed to mountain bike on Sunday. In fact, I had declared that unless it was snowing or someone was bleeding from their eyes, we would be at Econ at 2:00 on Sunday. But when no one else from our group committed to the plan, it sort of fell away. Tom had baseball practice on Sunday morning and after running around for a few hours, declared that he wouldn't mind skipping the bicycling. I had plenty to keep me busy at home so I agreed.

So instead of bicycling I spent my time cleaning the house, then washing my car. Ugh. It was such a grungy mess, too. Between the recent cold weather, various activities, and the whole Christmas/freelance hubbub, it's been several months since it had seen a wash bucket and sponge. The wheels were the worst. But it's shiny and sparkly now. In fact, it's too clean to drive.

Pace yourself…

What? It's Friday already? Where did the week go? I don't remember it being particularly busy or interesting. But there's no denying that I haven't updated since Monday.

Well let's see… I've been to the gym twice to run on the treadmill. I am up to 30 minutes straight now, with a five minute walking warm up and cool down on either side. The pace is pretty slow, but I'm okay with that. The thing I like about the treadmill is that it keeps me at a steady speed. Outside, I might run too fast and then not be able to go very far and end up disappointed in myself. But I will have to figure out a way to pace myself as Stacey is interested in running with me. We'll probably start once this chilly weather moves away.

I've actually found a gadget that might do the trick:  miCoach, by adidas. It's a heart rate monitor with a pacer unit that connects to any MP3 player (though not required). It measures heart rate, distance, pace, stride rate, calories burned, and elapsed time. There is real-time audible coaching, based on your personal workout plan. I've suggested to Tom that it would make an ideal birthday gift.

Tuesday we had doubles league and that went fairly well. I was on the winning side all three sets so I advance a court next week. Hopefully I can stay there for a bit. Other than that, I've been watching the Olympics. The time difference is problematic though. Most of the interesting stuff is televised too late. By 10:00 I'm ready for sleep. I stayed up watching the men's figure skating finals last night and man, I am suffering for it today.

Valentine's Weekend…

While it might have been a red, white and pink weekend for many people, it wasn't much of one for us. Tom and I aren't a mushy, romantic couple. I don't see wasting money on a card that will be thrown away within a week and I don't really need any candy or flowers. Neither does Tom. Though I did make Strawberry Cream Cheese Cookie Tarts yesterday and give them five stars. Absolutely delicious and very easy, too. Somehow I managed to destroy the kitchen…

Friday was another cold rainy day. I don't know why it seems to rain every Friday, making tennis Saturday morning a big question mark. But it quit raining early enough and there was a breeze, which dried the tennis courts.

I nearly didn't go though as it was 43 degrees when I left the house. I managed to find a pair of running pants that had pockets and I put on a fleece jacket. More layering would have been a nice idea. Plus a hat and a scarf. It was really cold! Despite that, about 16 of us showed up for tennis. Mary Ann was there too, keeping us paired up and playing. I played 5 sets in about three hours, then decided it was high time to go home and get warm. I spent the rest of the day with a space heater at my feet.

The Olympics just aren't grabbing me yet this year. Highly unusual. I love the Olympics and particularly the opening ceremonies. I didn't make it through the whole show this time. The time difference had a lot to do with it, I'm sure. After the parade of nations, I watched for about another half hour then gave up and went to bed. The events aren't holding my interest either. I will read a book during commercials, then keep reading even when the coverage is back on. While I love watching the figure skating and some of the skiing events, I really prefer the summer games.

Stitchless…

No exercise yesterday. I had considered going to the gym and doing the elliptical trainer, but ended up going home instead. So often, ideas that sound like good ones in the morning turn into lousy ones by day's end. Driving straight home to lounge around was too tempting.

I had my follow up with the dermatologist this morning. She was glad to see me looking so much more uniform in color and much less itchy. I still have some small flare-ups, but nothing I can't handle. Hopefully they too will go away soon. The biopsy didn't reveal much. Just confirmed that it was dermatitis and that it was healing. My little stitch was removed and that made me very happy. I have been amazed at how much pain and discomfort that tiny thing caused.

Change of plans…

Tennis was rained out yesterday. But I didn't take advantage and go home and nap, which would have been nice. No, I went straight to the gym and ran on the treadmill.

I hadn't done that in a very long time so I didn't have any great expectations about the outcome. My initial plan was to walk for five minutes, then run for five minutes. At that point, I was free to walk again. But after five minutes I felt that I was doing okay, so I decided to keep going until I had run for 10 minutes. Ten came and went, as well as 15 and even 20. Though my legs and lungs were okay, I went back to a walk at that point and for two reasons. The most important and imminent being that my gum had completely disintegrated into a puddle of goo and I was in serious danger of choking on it. Bleh. The second reason is that I didn't want to do too much too soon. Shin splints aren't much fun.

I felt victorious and virtuous when I got home. After a nice warm shower, snuggled into my plushy bathrobe, I thoroughly enjoyed (and deserved) a good hour with my latest Kindle download, Scarlett Fever.

Tasting good…

I am totally hooked on spaghetti squash these days. This may be the first time I've ever become obsessed with something healthy! But it's so easy to cook and fun, too. The best part is fluffing out the strands after it's done. I'm keeping it simple, naturally. I just cut the squash in half, lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and guts, lay it cut side down on a plate, cover it loosely with plastic wrap and microwave for seven minutes. (I'm buying the really small ones - 2 lbs, I think)

Next, I dress it up with salt, pepper, spray butter and parmesan cheese. The last two times I've made it I sauteed mushrooms in butter with chopped garlic. Very yummy. Makes a huge plateful of guilt-free deliciousness. I don't have to share either.

I'm thinking of taking it up a notch next time with some freshly grated parmesan or romano. Also, since I'm trying to stay healthy and lo-cal, maybe I will saute some zucchini along with the mushrooms. I can try out the julienne feature on my mandolin. Fun!

Bad taste…

It was a pretty good weekend overall. Though it didn't exactly start out with much promise. Friday afternoon it began raining and it was predicted to rain through the night. Which would have put a stop to any tennis plans for the next day. But by 7:30 that evening the clouds were through. Saturday morning was grayish, but it wasn't raining and a pretty good wind was blowing, which would dry the courts in time for play.

Problem turned out to be that wind. It was blustery and strong, which made tennis rather tricky. The only positive spin is that no one had any advantage. We all shared in the disadvantage. After three sets I decided that I'd had enough.

On the way home I stopped at the Garden Street Publix, with fingers crossed, hoping that they would have my beloved International Delight Dulce de Leche coffee creamer. Sadly, they did not. My store quit carrying the flavor, thought the company still makes it. They said they didn't sell enough of it. While I continue the hunt (coworker who lives in Orlando is checking her store) I have been trying out new flavors. So far, nothing is pleasing me.

Now, part of the problem might be this darned Prednisone I am taking for the rash. In addition to stimulating the appetite, it has been known to affect the taste buds. I did notice this week that my usual Lean Cuisine lunches weren't tasting good any more. Even Friday night pizza didn't excite me. And we all know what a pizza hound I am. So the problem is compounded. Because I'm hungry all the time, but nothing is satisfying, I keep searching for more to eat. This I do not need.

I actually started weaning back the Prednisone myself over the weekend. Now that the rash is under control, either because of the medication or because I quit taking the calcium chews, I have decided that I just don't need the heavy doses any more. In fact, I was going to mention that today at my follow up visit with the dermatologist, but the appointment had to be rescheduled for later this week. Hopefully when I go she will take the stitch out of my left arm. That tiny thing is causing an extraordinary amount of pain for its size.

Anyway, back to Saturday. I picked up a package of sushi at Publix for my lunch. Nothing fancy, just a California roll, but it tasted pretty good. I ate half and saved the rest for lunch on Sunday. The rest of the day was spent at home. I watched some TV, had a nice nap and worked on the computer. A little bit of everything, I suppose.

Sunday was very similar. I ran some errands early and got them out of the way. Then again with the lounging, but without the nap this time. Then computer work again. Keeps me balanced, right?

The only sad thing is that Tom is sick again. I know! He is ALWAYS sick! Try living with it, really. He started getting a really bad sore throat early in the week, which turned into a cough. I've gone back to sleeping in the TV room. So he wasn't up for going out to dinner, which we generally do either Saturday or Sunday evening. This is the third weekend in a row that we haven't gone out to eat. I really miss restaurants.

Anything else…

Ready to hear about something other than my rash? Me too!

Too bad I don't have something interesting to say. Other than work, not much has been going on around here. Let's see… well, my other favorite subject is tennis. Despite the fact that it rained all day Monday and most of Tuesday, we were able to get out Tuesday afternoon for doubles league. I was rusty at first and seriously considering taking lessons again on the basics, but finally warmed up and was playing well and making good points by the end of the night. I was just one point below the highest scorer, so I was pretty pleased overall.

It's official - there will be a tennis tournament at this year's KSC All-American Picnic. They are offering men's, ladies', and mixed doubles again. Last year there weren't enough signed up for the ladies' event so they canceled it. Debbie has asked me to be her partner and I'm willing, as long as it works out. Otherwise I will be looking for a mixed doubles partner. I had a good time last year and it will be even better this time, since I will know what to expect.

Better…

Things seem to be finally improving. Which is awesome because I don't how much more I could have taken. By the end of the work day on Monday, I was nearly insane from the itching. My arms were the worst and instead of simply itching as they had been, the sensation had become a prickling, burning. Nothing could touch them, so I had to ditch my jacket. Even the light rain was miserable.

Once I finally arrived home with my new prescriptions, the first thing I tried was the new cream. Amazingly, it actually helped. I was practically dancing with joy! The rest of the evening went much better and I was able to skip the nightly oatmeal bath and sleep with Tom in the master bedroom. I had been camping out in the TV room for so long, I forgot how amazingly comfortable our bed is. I did wake up a few times scratching my arms, but overall I slept better than I had been. The stronger dose of night time antihistamine probably had something to do with that.

Yesterday morning I noticed a marked improvement in the appearance of my arms. While the red was still pretty bright, the swelling of the rash had gone down a lot, making my arms a little less topographical. This morning, even more improvement. Hurray!

I still look like a walking contagious disease, but I'm feeling much more human. Or I would be, if I didn't have a stomachache today.

After discussions with the dermatologists and some friends, I am tentatively blaming this whole mess on the calcium chews with vitamin D I purchased a few weeks ago from Sam's Club. I bought and started taking them on Saturday, January 16. Gradually the following week, the itches started, in a fairly mild way. And then kept ramping up, as I've explained ad nauseam.

I had been thinking back, trying to consider any new soaps, perfumes or foods that I had recently purchased and remembered the calcium chews. I last chewed them on Friday. I imagine it would take a few days to get out of my system. Which seems to match the fact that I am now starting to see improvement. I think the next step might be to see my allergist and asked to be patch tested with this particular item in mind. I would really like to know what caused this horrible reaction.