I was just making the bed, and I realized how much I love it! I mean, with age comes appreciation of things I would never have thought much of in my early 20s: my precious shiny new stainless steel appliances, for instance.
But the bed. Oh the bed! It is a fairly well used Sealy Posturepedic bed, queen size. Waaay too small for us, the dogs and the daughter, which is usually what ends up in it every night... But I have equipped it with a thick memory foam mattress pad and glorious super luxe 600 thread count linens. Those linens with their cool crispness are such an everyday thing now, I forgot how my dear husband's old polyester blend used to feel like. Not. The. Same.
So if you can, get luxurious sheets. And a memory foam mattress pad. It makes a bed into a haven. And I am getting old :-)!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Work day
Today it will be mostly work. I just sent S off to school with K, and I am ready to go. I have a few different projects, none which is really big, so if I am lucky I might finish up fast and be able to clean the house a bit as well.
I went to see my regular doctor yesterday, and you can tell what a difference in experience it is compared to Dr Q. I thought it was weird I could have an inflammation in the temporal artery, since it clearly says every where I read it should have cleared up immediately after starting steroids. My discomfort started after starting the steroids...
Well, after some more testing and probing Dr B said it was actually the nerve, not the artery, that is inflamed. That is great news, since it at least can't kill you or make you go blind! It is still a pain, but at least I don't have to freak out. I have had some really bad problems with an inflamed nerve in my hip for almost a year now. It can get sooo painful, but not even a strong pain killer help. This thing might come and go, but he said for some reason certain nerve pain can be helped with anti-seizure medication, the kind used for Epilepsy. Many people with MS and diabetes can have pain from nerves, and I guess it was discovered that anti-seizure meds can be of help. I told Dr b I feel like I am medically cursed or something, even though I know it is just the lupus causing all this, and he kind of shocked me by saying he thought it was a miracle I was even alive after all I have been through! Not really what I needed to hear... I have had Dr B as my doctor for 9 years now, so I trust him and he knows me very well. I just got a little taken aback. My glass is always half FULL, I believe you can't be all depressed all the time, then what would that do to you? Positive thinking have helped me through my 20 years of being sick. It does work.
I was reading up on the condition, called Trigeminal Neuralgia, and it sounds like I am pretty lucky it isn't worse. Dr B think the steroids actually have triggered it, since they apparently can cause irritation of the nerves sometimes, The medication, Lyrica, he gave me, and it sounded pretty bad, like it would make me all sleepy and dizzy, but I took it 2 hours before bed time and didn't notice anything at all, so that is a good start. I am suppose to increase the dose after 2 days, and then again after another 2. Hopefully I should feel better after 2 weeks he said, and then I can stop taking it. We will see. I am just happy I don't have to worry about going blind any more!
I went to see my regular doctor yesterday, and you can tell what a difference in experience it is compared to Dr Q. I thought it was weird I could have an inflammation in the temporal artery, since it clearly says every where I read it should have cleared up immediately after starting steroids. My discomfort started after starting the steroids...
Well, after some more testing and probing Dr B said it was actually the nerve, not the artery, that is inflamed. That is great news, since it at least can't kill you or make you go blind! It is still a pain, but at least I don't have to freak out. I have had some really bad problems with an inflamed nerve in my hip for almost a year now. It can get sooo painful, but not even a strong pain killer help. This thing might come and go, but he said for some reason certain nerve pain can be helped with anti-seizure medication, the kind used for Epilepsy. Many people with MS and diabetes can have pain from nerves, and I guess it was discovered that anti-seizure meds can be of help. I told Dr b I feel like I am medically cursed or something, even though I know it is just the lupus causing all this, and he kind of shocked me by saying he thought it was a miracle I was even alive after all I have been through! Not really what I needed to hear... I have had Dr B as my doctor for 9 years now, so I trust him and he knows me very well. I just got a little taken aback. My glass is always half FULL, I believe you can't be all depressed all the time, then what would that do to you? Positive thinking have helped me through my 20 years of being sick. It does work.
I was reading up on the condition, called Trigeminal Neuralgia, and it sounds like I am pretty lucky it isn't worse. Dr B think the steroids actually have triggered it, since they apparently can cause irritation of the nerves sometimes, The medication, Lyrica, he gave me, and it sounded pretty bad, like it would make me all sleepy and dizzy, but I took it 2 hours before bed time and didn't notice anything at all, so that is a good start. I am suppose to increase the dose after 2 days, and then again after another 2. Hopefully I should feel better after 2 weeks he said, and then I can stop taking it. We will see. I am just happy I don't have to worry about going blind any more!
Monday, April 9, 2007
Annandag Påsk
I took S to the pediatrician this morning, toting along a fresh pee sample, Luckily it seems she doesn't have a UTI; she will just need some hormone and steroid cream down there for a while. I am glad she don't have to take any antibiotics, they always do a number on her stomach even though I load her up with probitoics.
I am going to leave her with L this afternoon when I go to see my doctor, just in case they decide to send me for any tests or anything. She will have a great time at L's! And I think L has a little Easter basket for her as well. I told her not to give her any more candy; she had an overdose yesterday!
I talked to S's pediatrician, Dr L, about S's picky eating habits. I know he went through the same thing with one of his own kids, so he can relate. It sounds like I don't have to worry, but you know, I do anyway.
She just don't eat what I consider to be a balanced diet. No vegetebales (french fries is NOT a veggie, whatever you say), and she doesn't like pasta, rice or potatoes. Pretty much just chicken nuggets, hot dogs and maybe a PB&J sandwich... She likes fruit, and I make her smoothies loaded with fruit she normally wouldn't like on its own. I mixed in frozen strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, banana with a small yogurt and some orange juice. She loves it!
I also try to feed her baked chicken nuggets made out of white breast meat, rather than those ... things... they call nuggets at fast food places. I also varies the hot dogs between all beef, mixed, and turkey. The only grains she really eats is bread, so I try to either bake or buy only whole grain bread for her. She drinks fat free milk, likes yogurt and some cheese. But that is about it. Not much to work with at all!
If I try to introduce something new she freaks out. So I guess she will starve half the time in Sweden, since my family tends to serve home made "husmanskost". Or maybe this will be a great opportunity for her to start "branching out" a bit.
Oh by the way: I booked the last things for our Sweden trip: the flight from Stockholm to Visby, the ferry from Visby to Nynäshamn, as well as the hotel in Stockholm. We ended up with the Hotel Tegnérlunden after all. As you can see on this map the location is be pretty goodI got a good deal and they threw in a free fruit basket and mineral water that will be waiting for us when we get there. Not too bad all in all, I think.
Map of the area where the hotel is
Hotel Tegnérlunden
I am going to leave her with L this afternoon when I go to see my doctor, just in case they decide to send me for any tests or anything. She will have a great time at L's! And I think L has a little Easter basket for her as well. I told her not to give her any more candy; she had an overdose yesterday!
I talked to S's pediatrician, Dr L, about S's picky eating habits. I know he went through the same thing with one of his own kids, so he can relate. It sounds like I don't have to worry, but you know, I do anyway.
She just don't eat what I consider to be a balanced diet. No vegetebales (french fries is NOT a veggie, whatever you say), and she doesn't like pasta, rice or potatoes. Pretty much just chicken nuggets, hot dogs and maybe a PB&J sandwich... She likes fruit, and I make her smoothies loaded with fruit she normally wouldn't like on its own. I mixed in frozen strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, banana with a small yogurt and some orange juice. She loves it!
I also try to feed her baked chicken nuggets made out of white breast meat, rather than those ... things... they call nuggets at fast food places. I also varies the hot dogs between all beef, mixed, and turkey. The only grains she really eats is bread, so I try to either bake or buy only whole grain bread for her. She drinks fat free milk, likes yogurt and some cheese. But that is about it. Not much to work with at all!
If I try to introduce something new she freaks out. So I guess she will starve half the time in Sweden, since my family tends to serve home made "husmanskost". Or maybe this will be a great opportunity for her to start "branching out" a bit.
Oh by the way: I booked the last things for our Sweden trip: the flight from Stockholm to Visby, the ferry from Visby to Nynäshamn, as well as the hotel in Stockholm. We ended up with the Hotel Tegnérlunden after all. As you can see on this map the location is be pretty goodI got a good deal and they threw in a free fruit basket and mineral water that will be waiting for us when we get there. Not too bad all in all, I think.
Map of the area where the hotel is
Hotel Tegnérlunden
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Easter Sunday
What a nice day today have been! We started out by sleeping in - an extremely rare event for K! All was still until 9:30 AM. I just laid quietly in bed and listen to husband, daughter and dogs snoozing away... Quite nice actually!
After that we got ready for our Easter lunch, S looked like she was a spring vision in a cute pink and yellow linen like dress from GAP. It warmed up nicely and the sun shone brightly!
We had a nice meal, feasting on Easter ham and prime rib. S, the super picky eater she is, only ate bread and pumpkin pie, but that was to be expected I guess.
After that we drove around looking at the new houses that have been popping up lately.
A quick stop at home to change into something more comfortable, then we took the dogs and went over to the office.
S had her little egg hunt outside and got her Easter basket, and K and I both worked. We went for a few walks and had a small dinner before heading home for the day. K is soo tired he just couldn't work anymore. He just needed a night on the couch, even though he really has a lot to do.
I have to call S's pediatrician first thing tomorrow, she definitely has a urinary tract infection, the poor thing. I was wondering starting on Friday what was up when she all of a sudden had to pee frequently and didn't make it half the time. It became very clear yesterday what was going on, so I got her some diaper pants so she don't have to feel so bad, and also loaded her up with cranberry juice, which is suppose to help a bit. But I have a feeling she will need antibiotics for this one. So I guess it will be a day of doctors visits tomorrow, since I need to see mine too.
Those beta blockers they gave me are really making me feel weird, and I swear they are making my heart jump once in a while, a very uncomfortable feeling. This entire head thing has freaked me out so much I am almost not thinking about it, since it just is so scary. But it is hard not to, since it tends to take over. Scary.
After that we got ready for our Easter lunch, S looked like she was a spring vision in a cute pink and yellow linen like dress from GAP. It warmed up nicely and the sun shone brightly!
We had a nice meal, feasting on Easter ham and prime rib. S, the super picky eater she is, only ate bread and pumpkin pie, but that was to be expected I guess.
After that we drove around looking at the new houses that have been popping up lately.
A quick stop at home to change into something more comfortable, then we took the dogs and went over to the office.
S had her little egg hunt outside and got her Easter basket, and K and I both worked. We went for a few walks and had a small dinner before heading home for the day. K is soo tired he just couldn't work anymore. He just needed a night on the couch, even though he really has a lot to do.
I have to call S's pediatrician first thing tomorrow, she definitely has a urinary tract infection, the poor thing. I was wondering starting on Friday what was up when she all of a sudden had to pee frequently and didn't make it half the time. It became very clear yesterday what was going on, so I got her some diaper pants so she don't have to feel so bad, and also loaded her up with cranberry juice, which is suppose to help a bit. But I have a feeling she will need antibiotics for this one. So I guess it will be a day of doctors visits tomorrow, since I need to see mine too.
Those beta blockers they gave me are really making me feel weird, and I swear they are making my heart jump once in a while, a very uncomfortable feeling. This entire head thing has freaked me out so much I am almost not thinking about it, since it just is so scary. But it is hard not to, since it tends to take over. Scary.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Easter Egg Hunt 2007
S getting ready for her turn on the field
We had a very fun egg hunt this morning! It was a bit chilly, but nothing at all what they had promised. We went out for breakfast first, and we were ready at the park when Peter Cottontail, a.k.a. The Easter Bunny arrived with the conquistadors. As I mentioned before, the egg hunt is part of the Desoto Heritage festival.
A conquistador with the field full of eggs in the background
In 1539, Hernando de Soto, the Spanish conquistador, landed at what is now Shaw's Point here in Bradenton Florida, and began his 4,000 mile search for El Dorado, the legendary lost city of gold. The De Soto National Memorial marks the site and each spring, a month-long gala celebration, The De Soto Heritage Festival, is held to commemorate De Soto's landing.
Everything culminates in a huge parade on April 28th, we attended for the first time last year and had a blast! We will go this year as well, and friends of us are having a private party in conjunction with the parade, so that should be fun.
When the Easter Bunny arrived the conquistadors were throwing beads from the ship, and all the kids went wild. S got a lot of them, and she also got a commemorative Desoto Coin from one of the conquistadors, which she was very proud of.
S hold up her commemorative coin
She even got to say hi to the Bunny himself!
S and the Easter Bunny
After that it was time for the hunt. Everyone ran out on the field (they have separate hunts for different age groups). S immediately knew the drill and soon had a basket full. You had to open all the eggs before leaving since there were tickets for special prices in some. A lady from the local newspaper took our picture, so we will see tomorrow if we made it in print, I will post the picture if I see it!
S and I getting ready to watch the older kids get their eggs
We left feeling we had a great time. It really was a great family fun time!
Friday, April 6, 2007
Oh my!
I have mentioned before that I have this increasing uncomfortable pressure in my temple on the left side. Well, last night it was just so bad I knew I had to go to the doctor today. It was just starting to be too scary.
My regular doctor wasn't in, so I had to see Dr Q. He is alright, but kind of young and unexperienced. I could tell he was a bit nervous, especially since he know I have such an extensive medical background. Finally he consulted with a couple of the other doctors, and they think I have something called Giant Cell Arteritis, or temporal arteritis. It is an inflammation of the arteries that often occurs in the side of the face near the temple.
Well that makes sense, since I am currently having inflammation in an artery in my right leg, and I have had similar inflammation in other arteries as well. I also have lots of enlarged arteries, especially on my stomach, from the blood clots. I guess the body starts trying to find new ways around blockages and that is why I have all these new, big arteries. That is what they said.
So they did some blood tests and put me on beta blockers until next week when I will see Dr B. Usually the treatment for this Giant Cell Arteritis is large doses of steroids, which I am already on... so I am not sure if they will do anything else. He said the beta blockers would help with the throbbing. Unbelievable! I feel I must be medically cursed or something...
At least it isn't a blood clot. That would have been way more scary. But apparently I can go permanently blind, have a stroke or aortic aneurysm. Not to mention there is no cure, just long term steroid treatment! I sure hope Dr B has something more to give me next week, this is just too much. Apparently it is very rear that anyone under 50 get this, and being Scandinavian increases your chance of getting it. I had never even heard of it before
My regular doctor wasn't in, so I had to see Dr Q. He is alright, but kind of young and unexperienced. I could tell he was a bit nervous, especially since he know I have such an extensive medical background. Finally he consulted with a couple of the other doctors, and they think I have something called Giant Cell Arteritis, or temporal arteritis. It is an inflammation of the arteries that often occurs in the side of the face near the temple.
Well that makes sense, since I am currently having inflammation in an artery in my right leg, and I have had similar inflammation in other arteries as well. I also have lots of enlarged arteries, especially on my stomach, from the blood clots. I guess the body starts trying to find new ways around blockages and that is why I have all these new, big arteries. That is what they said.
So they did some blood tests and put me on beta blockers until next week when I will see Dr B. Usually the treatment for this Giant Cell Arteritis is large doses of steroids, which I am already on... so I am not sure if they will do anything else. He said the beta blockers would help with the throbbing. Unbelievable! I feel I must be medically cursed or something...
At least it isn't a blood clot. That would have been way more scary. But apparently I can go permanently blind, have a stroke or aortic aneurysm. Not to mention there is no cure, just long term steroid treatment! I sure hope Dr B has something more to give me next week, this is just too much. Apparently it is very rear that anyone under 50 get this, and being Scandinavian increases your chance of getting it. I had never even heard of it before
Långfredag
This day is somewhat of a red day here for a lot of people, but not like in Sweden. The schools are already on break this week, and a lot of businesses (corporate) are closed. But other then that, things are as usual.
I think we need to clean a bit today, since I have so much work to do over the weekend. I do have a project that needs to be done today, but it is just editing and small. Editing tend to take half or less the time than translation, you just need to be very detailed and have a good eye. It is for one of my oldest clients, a translation agency in Portland, OR. We have been working on the same project for 7 years now, constantly updated user manuals for something called WARN winches. Most of these are used in front of vehicles to perform various winching tasks. Very exciting. But it has been interesting to be on such a large scale project (many languages) over the year. And I know a LOT about winches by now...
That is a huge benefit of my job, I tend to pick up all kinds of odd knowledge all the time, since I work on so many different things. I have done everything from private love letters, business correspondence, and web sites, to autopsy protocol, user manuals, and computer games. And everything in between. It's quite cool, actually. I have always been very, what is the word... "vetgirig"... you know, I have an inquisitive mind. I love learning about new things! Plus, since I don't chose the translation subjects, I get forced to learn about things I normally never would have. So for every year that goes by I just add to my odd knowledge.
I always thought I wanted to be a writer. That is why I got a degree in Communications with later the goal of becoming a journalist. While in school I realized it wasn't really for me, but I still loved to write, loved language. I just happened to slink into the translation business by accident (isn't that how most careers start?) When I made $800 my first day I figured this might be worth pursuing... Plus, when you have so many health problems like I do it is really ideal to be your own boss and be able to work from home and take on as much or little you can handle.
Barely 1 year after starting out I had to incorporate to get away from all the self employment taxes. Now I am an employee of my own coproration and since we don't have income tax in Florida I save a bundle by taking out distributions on my shares on top of my salary. It really helps being married to a CPA!
If someone would have told me just 12 years ago that I would move to the US, get married to an American, have a daughter, two dogs, own a house and my own business, I would have laughed myself silly. I would never have guessed!
I think we need to clean a bit today, since I have so much work to do over the weekend. I do have a project that needs to be done today, but it is just editing and small. Editing tend to take half or less the time than translation, you just need to be very detailed and have a good eye. It is for one of my oldest clients, a translation agency in Portland, OR. We have been working on the same project for 7 years now, constantly updated user manuals for something called WARN winches. Most of these are used in front of vehicles to perform various winching tasks. Very exciting. But it has been interesting to be on such a large scale project (many languages) over the year. And I know a LOT about winches by now...
That is a huge benefit of my job, I tend to pick up all kinds of odd knowledge all the time, since I work on so many different things. I have done everything from private love letters, business correspondence, and web sites, to autopsy protocol, user manuals, and computer games. And everything in between. It's quite cool, actually. I have always been very, what is the word... "vetgirig"... you know, I have an inquisitive mind. I love learning about new things! Plus, since I don't chose the translation subjects, I get forced to learn about things I normally never would have. So for every year that goes by I just add to my odd knowledge.
I always thought I wanted to be a writer. That is why I got a degree in Communications with later the goal of becoming a journalist. While in school I realized it wasn't really for me, but I still loved to write, loved language. I just happened to slink into the translation business by accident (isn't that how most careers start?) When I made $800 my first day I figured this might be worth pursuing... Plus, when you have so many health problems like I do it is really ideal to be your own boss and be able to work from home and take on as much or little you can handle.
Barely 1 year after starting out I had to incorporate to get away from all the self employment taxes. Now I am an employee of my own coproration and since we don't have income tax in Florida I save a bundle by taking out distributions on my shares on top of my salary. It really helps being married to a CPA!
If someone would have told me just 12 years ago that I would move to the US, get married to an American, have a daughter, two dogs, own a house and my own business, I would have laughed myself silly. I would never have guessed!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
eBay pain...
I just uploaded a few auctions with S's clothes from last summer. I usually use Turbo Lister to get everything up their smoothly, but today it kept insisting I had exceeded the weigh limit for the international shipping method I had chosen. The problem was, I didn't select international shipping... It is just too risky to ship internationally since you don't have the tracking capabilities you have domestically by using PayPal and pay and print shipping labels directly through them.
But finally I had no choice to choose an international option on two of the auctions, just to shut it up. Grumble! you can check out my auctions by clicking here.
But finally I had no choice to choose an international option on two of the auctions, just to shut it up. Grumble! you can check out my auctions by clicking here.
Easter Plans
It is tough making any plans for doing anything this weekend since K is so busy with taxes still.
But we managed to come up with some family time amidst the craziness. On Saturday we will start the day off with a nice breakfast out somewhere, preferable on the beach, but it might be too far to drive since we need to be at The GT Bray Park's Annual Egg Hunt at 9 AM.
The Easter Bunny arrives on a Pirate Ship and they throw beads to all the kids, it is part of the Desoto Heritage Festival.
The Easter Bunny arrives!
On Sunday we have reservations at the Stoneybrook Golf Club in Heritage Harbour. They usually have a really nice holiday buffet, and it kind of feels like going to a Swedish smörgåsbord, except no "sill" of course. They are casual and relaxed, but still nice enough that you want to dress up a bit. It will be a very early "dinner" since the 1 and 3 PM sittings were full, so we will get there at 11 AM. More a brunch for us, but that works too! They do a really nice Easter ham carving station.
After that we are heading over to K's office since he has to work, and I have arranged for a surprise egg hunt for S. Since nobody is there on the weekends except us, we have all the grounds to our selves. I got a bunch of eggs that have little toys and activities from the Disney Princesses, she will flip over that! My plan is to sneak out when she doesn't look, hide all the eggs outside, then go back in and tell her I think I saw the Easter Bunny outside, and we better go out and see what he is up to! Then we will "discover" the first egg, and she can hunt for the rest. This age is so great, they get super excited about stuff, and their imagination is soaring. So cute! After we are done there will magically be an Easter basket waiting for her inside that I made, that the Easter Bunny dropped off before he left... She is going to love it!
S's Easter Basket
But we managed to come up with some family time amidst the craziness. On Saturday we will start the day off with a nice breakfast out somewhere, preferable on the beach, but it might be too far to drive since we need to be at The GT Bray Park's Annual Egg Hunt at 9 AM.
The Easter Bunny arrives on a Pirate Ship and they throw beads to all the kids, it is part of the Desoto Heritage Festival.
The Easter Bunny arrives!
On Sunday we have reservations at the Stoneybrook Golf Club in Heritage Harbour. They usually have a really nice holiday buffet, and it kind of feels like going to a Swedish smörgåsbord, except no "sill" of course. They are casual and relaxed, but still nice enough that you want to dress up a bit. It will be a very early "dinner" since the 1 and 3 PM sittings were full, so we will get there at 11 AM. More a brunch for us, but that works too! They do a really nice Easter ham carving station.
After that we are heading over to K's office since he has to work, and I have arranged for a surprise egg hunt for S. Since nobody is there on the weekends except us, we have all the grounds to our selves. I got a bunch of eggs that have little toys and activities from the Disney Princesses, she will flip over that! My plan is to sneak out when she doesn't look, hide all the eggs outside, then go back in and tell her I think I saw the Easter Bunny outside, and we better go out and see what he is up to! Then we will "discover" the first egg, and she can hunt for the rest. This age is so great, they get super excited about stuff, and their imagination is soaring. So cute! After we are done there will magically be an Easter basket waiting for her inside that I made, that the Easter Bunny dropped off before he left... She is going to love it!
S's Easter Basket
Chrysler Sebring Convertible
If you buy the new Chrysler Sebring Convertible in Sweden, and you don't understand the user manual: blame me! I was part of translating it, and we just finsihed the project.
Since one of our cars is this particular vehicle it was kind of fun to do this project, I normally don't get too excited about any kind of car translation.
But lets just say that we probably will replace this car soon, and it will not be a Chrysler. Of any kind. You can interpret that however you want...
Me & K next to our Chrysler Sebring Convertible
This is my trusty Toyota Corolla (now with a Swedish sign in the front)
And this is the reason I got my car. S is only 3 months old here.
Since one of our cars is this particular vehicle it was kind of fun to do this project, I normally don't get too excited about any kind of car translation.
But lets just say that we probably will replace this car soon, and it will not be a Chrysler. Of any kind. You can interpret that however you want...
Me & K next to our Chrysler Sebring Convertible
This is my trusty Toyota Corolla (now with a Swedish sign in the front)
And this is the reason I got my car. S is only 3 months old here.
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