Next week will be exciting!

I’m feeling slightly better today. I managed to get in another good night’s rest last night after taking my last sleeping tablet. I just called the doctor and the receptionist has said she will ask him to call me back. He’s only in until 11AM today and I only called him around 10:30, so I hope he gets around to calling me back and will write a prescription for me. I’m also really hungry all the time, which is something the doctor did warn me about, but I’m doing my best to keep that under control with sheer will power. As if I have a lot of that. I am just trying to keep my 9kg loss in mind and hoping I don’t mess it up! I’ve brought my water with to work and already finished more than half of it. I can’t exercise as yet…my cough is still lingering and I become tired and short of breath very easily, so I’ll keep that on the back burner for a while.

I finished my antibiotics and no longer seem to need any pain medication as my muscle aches have subsided to an acceptable level. I still reach for the cough mixture or inhaler every now and then, but I’m using these less and less. Now if my appetite would subside, I could sleep like I need to and I could have my energy back I would once again be a happy camper.

Yesterday I intended to make a few lists. A shopping list, a list of things to be packed when we go to George next weekend…eventually I decided to make a list of lists I need to make, but as you may have noticed yesterday was a write off for me. I need to make a list of things to pack for George because I always end up forgetting *something* important. When I told Rudi I want to make a shopping list he said ‘We need everything’. No we don’t! I want to make a list of everything we specifically need plus a few items like a new electric toothbrush I want for myself.

Two more things have me excited. On Monday when I get paid I will be paying off the pathologist bill that I would only have finished paying in November had I stuck to the scheduled payments. After paying almost R2500.00 in the last two months the outstanding balance is less than R900.00. I will also be paying off everything *I* owe on my second credit card. I will be DEBT FREE save my car and our new TV (of which I am only paying half – around R2500.00.

What will I do to celebrate? I’m going to get my new tattoo. I’m pretty sure I’ll have enough money left over once I’ve paid everything. I’ve decided to have the following one done below the butterfly I already have on my right shoulder (it will be between 5 and 6 centimetres across):



I know the starting price for tatoos where I will have it done is R350.00. I think they will most likely charge around R500.00 to do it for me as it's not huge and not very intricate. I'm not sure if they will ask an extra fee because the design is not their own, but they shouldn't. I'll most likely only have it done when we return from George after next weekend.

I can't wait! Pay day, freedom from debt, a trip to George and then my tattoo!

A good nights rest - Priceless

I'm back at work today, with no impending doctor's visit.

I took a sleeping pill last night and slept like a baby! When I woke up this morning I felt like a NEW PERSON. I never realized what a huge impact sleep deprevation had on me. Last night I still felt very weak and felt like I didn't even have enough energy to raise my arm, let alone myself. Even Rudi was taken aback by how chirpy I was this morning. If he could tell the difference and actually commented on it - it's vast! I'm still coughing quite a bit today, but I'm hoping that this is just my body ridding itself of whatever is left on my lungs.

Speaking of noticing differences...I'm SO happy that I've lost 9kg, but I really still feel like I look the same as I did 9kg ago. Wenchy wrote about the same kind of thing. She's lost over 20kg already, but didn't feel like it was making a difference to her appearance. I know that I must look better, but I really don't see it myself. Nobody really comments on my weight loss anymore since all the people I see I see almost every day. I'm sure if I ran into someone I haven't seen for 3 months they'd say 'WOW'.

I can't believe that we are going to George next weekend already! We've been planning and waiting for so long now that it seems impossible that the time has arrived! I spoke to Nellie this morning and they are just as excited! I'm working this weekend so it will be a lovely break!

-1kg

I’ve been booked off work again today. Hopefully it will be the last time for a while. I’m feeling really run down and exhausted and so sick of taking pills it’s not funny anymore. The doctor said I’m starting to feel so tired because my body has been deprived of oxygen for so long now. Even a simple task like drying my hair has me feeling like I’m going to keel over. My chest was actually worse when I saw him yesterday than it was when I saw him a week ago. I told him straight that I’m not a lightweight and he’s going to need to bring out the heavy drugs in order to fix me. So I got a cortisone shot last night and a course of expensive antibiotics. If I’m not feeling better by Friday they’re going to have to do blood tests to see what is wrong with me. This morning my chest is feeling slightly less wheezy, but I’m still feeling quite weak and my muscles are still aching. I’ll rest again today as much as I can and take on the world tomorrow.

I think I figured out why the doctor took so long to fix me. He mentioned yesterday he used to be a pharmacist. No wonder he only gave me over the counter medication the first time I saw him! My regular GP usually whips out the antibiotics first thing. My regular GP is not nearly as friendly and doesn’t take the time to explain things as his colleague does, but he is close to retirement age and I’m going to have to find a competent replacement for him sometime soon.

The doctor has forbidden me to conceive while I’m on the antibiotics and after having the cortisone shot. He wanted to do a blood test to be sure I’m not pregnant before giving me the medication, but I assured him that I only just started ovulating and that I doubted there was any chance of conception already. I guess it will be abstinence for a while yet.

SO! I’ve lost 9kg so far! NINE! Honestly when I started this journey, 9 was never a number I thought I could get to. If I lose 4 more kilos I’ll beat my all time record of 13 lost in one go. I must say that lately the effort has not been much from my side. My appetite has gone for a loop since I’ve been sick and I’ve only really eaten small amounts to facilitate taking my medication. I just need to make sure that I maintain the weight loss once I’m well and get my butt into gear to lose more!

I haven’t been sleeping very well. I’ve either been too hot, coughing or very restless. This has also probably been contributing to my fatigue. Last night I lay staring at the ceiling coming up with a thousand ideas for a blog post. It would take me all day to write…and you all day to read, so I’ll spare you.

*yawn* I hope I can manage to get back to sleep now.

Stuff I forgot to blog about

The other night I had a dream that Rudi was cheating on me. Somehow in those dreams he is always doing it right in front of me and flaunting it. I can't even remember who it was with, but I woke up and was livid with him! I saw him lying there sleeping peacefully and wanted nothing more than to beat the living crap out of him. It took me a minute or two to realize that I had just had a realistic dream and didn't need to punch him in his sleep.

Last night after returning from our evening with Beauty Queen and SLK my car was giving me problems. I was SO upset. I bought my car in 2006 and have looked after it really well. I've taken it in for every service and made sure that extra parts are properly fitted. Nobody tampers under the hood except Opel. There was no problem with the car on the way there. I decided to drive home because Rudi had had a few to drink. Every time I slowed the car down to stop (taking my foot off the accelerator) the car would cut out. Repeatedly. It was so annoying as it was raining and dark and there were still quite a few other cars on the road. I had to put on my hazards repeatedly to warn people that I was 'stuck'. On the N1 Rudi told me to open it up and rev the car to 6000, 7000 revs. He made me do this a couple of times. Eventually started shouting at him because I didn't want to put the car into neutral while I was driving and he insisted that I do so. As we were almost home it seemed to stop cutting out. I was really freaked because I thought there is something serious wrong and that I would be stuck without a car, etc, etc. This morning the car was fine.

I spoke to CP about it and he said it was most likely a bubble in the fuel line. We had filled up yesterday and it's quite possible that there was a bubble somewhere that was causing the problem.

I am so sick of this rainy weather I could cry. We have had more rain this September in our region than we've had in 52 years. That's half a century! It's depressing. It's October already (a month into Spring) and it's still raining and cold. I'm SO OVER IT! They are hoping that the weather is going to clear up now and that we've seen the last of the cold fronts for a while. I hope so too.

I'm looking forward to Sarah's party tomorrow night. I still have to go and buy her a gift after work today. I still have no idea what I am going to get for her.