Oh.. I so needed a day off. I am so thankful for yesterday. I stayed home all day and did odd things around the house, painted a bit in the hall way, did some dishes, and just slowed down. It was wonderful!!! I really think I just needed a day off to not feel so overwhelmed by everthing! I am better...
What a week.
This week seems like a blur to me now. It has been non stop - and my work week starts tomorrow. It's been so busy, but I feel like I have accomplished so very little. My foot has hurt off and on for most of the week. We have been at the hospital so Elijah could get chemo at least 4 hours each day - and we were there for nearly 10 hours today. I am exhausted and stressed. I think Britt and I both are. We are both snappy. I think I cried three times yesterday. I have just been overwhelmed. I am going to bed early tonight. I know. I am whiney and I need to go to bed.
Elijah starts daily shots tomorrow. He was pretty sore earlier from his surgery, but seems to feel better now.
My house is a wreck. I think Tuesday will be a housecleaning day. I hope so anyway. I just haven't had the time or energy to do much of anything in the house this week.
Good news though.. Insurance has approved Elijah's treatment in Philadelphia! Once his stem cell harvest is complete, we should get a better schedule of what is to come. I had a good talk with my sweet friend Lisa yesterday and she reminded me that all of this will happen in God's perfect timing and I need to just relax and let him drive for a while. I have a hard time with that. I need to pray that God help me to be a little bit less of a control freak. Pray that God helps me to keep my mouth shut every once in a while and let Britt talk. I need a day off.
Gallery and More
Gallery of Hope was Saturday. It was lovely, though crowded and very stressful. I think it went well, but am not sure how much money we made. it was still a lovely evening and one I was proud to be part of - even in a small way.
I seem to have hurt my foot - again. I went to the ER on Sunday but was really not satisfied with the answer they gave me. I put my boot back on and now my foot feels better. I need to go back to the foot doctor. I am at work today and feel okay being here in my boot.
I did something I really shouldn't have done - but I am glad that I did it. a few years ago Britt and I attended a 10 week class at our church called Alpha.They ended up in a bit of a bind and needed another small group leader. I said I would do it. What was I thinking? I had to get up and speak in front of about 30 people. YIPES. I was so nervous. I think it will be good for me though. It already feels great to be involved in Church again. We love our Church and not being able to go on Sundays has been bugging me and Britt.
oops
I made the mistake of weighing myself today. Yuck. I guess I should have gotten a starting weight 7 days ago when I began this. I am sure that I am down some, but was still disgusted to see how much I weigh. My wedding ring is sure thankful that I have done this.. Now it stays comfortably where it belongs on my finger whereas before I had days where I couldn't wear it at all. So.. now I have a point of reference for next week. Day 14 is where I have decided to go to before I make a decision to continue or move on to something else. It's still going well - even though last evening I was very hungry for some reason. Not really hungry, just had the munchies in a bad way!
Elijah has clinic today but I still have aspirations of getting my room and the den completely cleaned.
Burritos, por favor?
Okay.. I have to figure out a way to have a burrito or something on this new low carb way of eating. I love mexican food and have been craving it. Probably because I know I can't have it.. Tortillas, rice, etc. I have to admit that even the nasty premade sandwiches in the cafeteria looked appealing this afternoon. I did well - again. Day 5 and still going strong. I am still eating lean meats and veggies for the most part. 5 days without diet coke. I am shocked that I am not biting heads off!!! ha ha. It's going well. I am glad I am doing this.
Work has been particularly exhausting this weekend. We have been so busy the past two days. Nice weather means lots of accidents. When the accidents slow down, flu season will hit and we will be bombarded with that again. I love my job though. One more day and my work week is done.. I love the three day work week.
Tomorrow i am hoping it will be slower so I can research how to make a low carb friendly burrito! ha
Day 4 and still hanging in there...
So far so good. I have not had a carbonated beverage in 4 days and I have also been successful at limiting my carb intake. I have eaten primarily lean protein and veggies for 4 days now. I am feeling retty good, to tell the truth. I am, however, refusing to step on the scale at this point. I am going to judge how well this works on how my clothes fit (or fall off) and how I feel. I swear my face is already clearing up quite a bit. I was shocked.. I mean, I still have a few leftover things to deal with, but for the most part, my skin looks pretty good! Well, good for me anyway. I have been drinking tons of water too. I am still sticking with it.. I will not give up or pass any judgement on the effectiveness of this new way of eating until I have done it for two weeks. That's my committment to myself.
Can I use my superpowers in this room?
We have always said that Elijah is a superhero. Frankly, because he is! Yesterday he had this little stretchy spiky rubber hat thing. He was making up all kinds of stuff about it.. I sat and listened for ten minutes.. "If I put this on my leg, it gives me the power of super speed. If I put it on my arm, it gives me the power of invisibility. If I put it on my head, it gives me the power of supreme knowledge". He did all of this and demonstrated each one. He has such a great sense of humor. I just laughed and laughed. Britt and I were trying to figure something out with the table for the classroom, so I asked Elijah to put on his supreme knowledge hat and help us out. He laughed at me as though he thought I really believed the hat would give him the power of supreme knowledge. Silly Mama.
The week Elijah was diagnosed, he had to have a bone marrow aspirate. They sedated him prior, thank God. When he started to wake up he was very drunk and extremely amusing. He kept Lora (his nurse) in stitches the whole time. Making up songs about his pulse ox light, telling Britt and I that we had three noses, etc. The best one though - and the one that was just a brief glimpse in to what Elijah would be capable of over the course of the next three years.. He looked at Lora and said "I have a question. Is it okay if I use my superpowers in this room?" She gave him permission and he's been using those superpowers ever since.
It's getting there!
I feel pretty good about the strides I have made towards organization today. The classroom space is nearly up and ready to go. All of our supplies are put in their place, the new table is in there, and the world map that I bought is hung on the wall. I think it will be good for Elijah and I both to have a place to do our school work without the distractions of the rest of the house. Just having all of our school stuff in one place instead of all over will be great too.
I started eating better yesterday. I am trying to follow a lower carb way of eating. I am fully addicted to carbs, so this is a huge challenge for me. I just need to cut out the sugar and the processed flour products that I eat. No more diet coke, either. Diet Coke is like crack for me.. I think I may have mentioned that a time or two! I am going to do it this time. The first two weeks will be the hardest, but also the most rewarding. So.. prayers are appreciated! I have done Weight Watchers several times but never seem to have the desire or will power to stick with it so I am trying something completely different. I feel positive about it, but also don't have that "oh, this will be a breeze" mentality - Maybe it's really time.