An Even Bigger Adventure or Countdown to Thanksgiving

In 2003-2006, I was working for a state agency that required me to travel between a third and a half of my life. Dad died in 2001, we'd sold my parents' house in 2003 and Mom was in a nursing home, then passed in 2004. My husband had a seizure in 2004 and was told he couldn't drive for six months. And I got the crazy idea in my head I could get by on less than six hours of sleep a night.

Needless to say, my immune system was a wreck. My asthma started acting up, the allergy tests came back I was allergic to EVERYTHING (seriously!), I could not lose weight and my family doctor kept pumping me full of antibiotics, because I have a heart murmur and there was concern if I let my near-constant strep throat go untreated, it would damage the defective heart valve further.

So, yes, it sucked to be me. This continued on until 2011. I finished my eighth (that's 8 folks) round of antibiotics last week and I got fed up with it all. I'd asked my doctors about a systemic yeast infection several times before and both smiled, with the unspoken "Don't worry your pretty little head."

I did massive research and found said systemic yeast infection has the side effects of bloat/inability to lose weight, high blood pressure (taking a med for that), high cholesterol (taking a med for that) and inflammatory allergies, most specifically mold (took three allergy shots a week for seven years). Jeez, Louise, does that sound familiar? This correlated over multiple sites, not just the ones selling supplements and stuff.

TOMORROW, I am starting a "colon cleanse" specifically designed to get rid of that yeast infection. I will also be taking a pro-biotic to repopulate the good bacteria in my gut. I will also be starting a diet that is more strict than the South Beach Diet. This is the tough part.

I will be eating lots of salads, vegetables and lean meats. I will NOT be eating:

Breads, grains, cereals, corn, rice, pizza crust, pasta, etc. My husband took me to say goodbye to pasta last night at Olive Garden's "never ending pasta bowl" promotion. The nix to starches includes potatoes. *sigh* I also won't be eating:

Yeah, that includes the extra cheese I had them put on the pasta and the pizza buffet I ate at Old Chicago Friday, saying "goodbye." Now, they have several things I can still eat, as does Olive Garden, but I sure will miss it. I can, for whatever reason, still have butter.

Another thing I'm supposed to avoid is fruit. This is killer. I got one apple, one pear, a small container of watermelon and the smallest package of cherries at the store yesterday to savor today. For tomorrow, the sugar in the fruit would feed the nasty yeast in my gut. *sigh*

Another thing--what uses yeast to make it yummy, besides bread? That's right, kids, beer and wine. Now, my parents were alcoholics, so I rarely indulged, but better believe that I had a glass of wine at Olive Garden.

The hardest, most difficult, suckiest part of this whole thing is:

That's right. No CHOCOLATE, no refined sugar (Stevia is the only sweetener I'm allowed), no Hersey's Dark Chocolate with Almonds, no DeMet's Treasures Dark Chocolate with Carmel, no Mounds bars, no--I think I'm going to cry. :::pardon while I have a moment of mourning:::

I SWEAR I can do this, because you know what? I only have to do it for eight to ten weeks. I can eat lean meat, lots of salad (most dressings have vinegar and sugar, so I got some hummus and will flavor some mayonnaise). What's at the end of November, kiddies? That's right, Thanksgiving! Oh, the mashed potatoes, the pies, the dressing, the, well, everything! And I'll be feeling better, I'll have lost weight, I won't have to take three prescriptions a day, my allergies will be better (Fall is bad because of, you guessed it, leaf MOLD and pollen) and I'll be "cured" of my sugar cravings.

So, I promise not all of my postings will be about cravings or how my doctors will probably call me crazy, listening to hacks on the interwebs. I will challenge them to re-test me after this is done to see if it works. But, after all these years of doing it their way and trying to fire up my immune system, I'm going to try to soothe it down. This is also called an anti-inflammatory diet. It will help prevent stuff later on, like, well cancer.

Pray and think good thoughts for me, okay? I'm going to need help to not dream of chocolate for a while....

Some life rules and decisions to share

This was posted from a friend on Facebook last week and it really struck home to me.

Also, Patty Pote, who at one time was my boss and is also a writer, posted this recently:

"You weren't created to be a failure. Sure some things may not have worked out and there have been some disappointments. But all these things helped guide you in a direction that was meant for you. Your life has purpose and significance. Try to be patient if it isn't all crystal clear just yet. For now, just know that you weren't created to fail."

Some good stuff, huh?

I need a good kick in the rear now. I've procrastinated and missed several job opportunities in these past few weeks that I regret. I've sat goofing and watching bad TV, while playing computer games rather than writing. I surf the web and Facebook, drilling down on related links, instead of getting my fat butt in gear to write and rewrite the half dozen stories I have going and transcribing my notebooks.

On the other hand, I made two bracelets and two necklaces out of projects I'd done years ago that I didn't like. I deconstructed them (tore them apart, LOL) and added some more beads. I'd post a picture, but my camera isn't cooperating. I also packed up two boxes of craft items I will never, ever use and got them mailed out today to a company that sells stuff on consignment.

That was another decision I have made over the past week. Inspired by my buddy Pam Asberry, I'm going to start an etsy store. Problem is, the camera. I just deleted about twenty pictures from all angles and distances that were horribly blurry. But, I do have a handy father-in-law that sells stuff on line and several friends with really good digital cameras that might be able to help me.

Yet another decision is that after I finish the eighth round of antibiotics so far this year (!), I will go on an "anti-yeast" diet, based on produce and lean meats. Problem with that is I'd have to give up chocolate and breads, which are like major food groups to me. *sigh* Pray for me.

And another reason why I haven't posted in a while is that I made some decisions about my fiction writing as a result of my Maggie contest critiques. I've made the decision to publish on-line and postponed my deadline to do all the things necessary to upload AT LEAST TWO of my stories until later in February 2012, around my birthday. The judges' notes told me I'd cut too much from the beginning of SEVEN DAYS, in my quest to get the word count to meet traditional publishing standards. Since I'll be self-publishing, that won't be as much of a concern now, will it? I can go back and explain the situations that seemed unclear to the judges and move up some of the revelations. This is a HUGE relief to me. I sent my thank you note to the judges last night.

I will be renewing my Romance Writers of America membership, despite the fact that they don't consider self-published authors as meeting their standards of "professional." This upset me until I realized how tied in they were to traditional publishing. Things will have to change in the next year. I may go ahead and send queries out to a couple of agents just to send in and get my PRO pin, but I'm betting there will be some fireworks. I want to watch the fun. Maybe stir some of it up by sending a letter with my membership renewal asking the organization to justify my dues.

Did I mention, when I was working for the State of Indiana, my nickname was "Troublemaker"?

So, you may see a little less of me on the interwebs, since I soon have to find the dreaded "day job." I also have to get going to get some more things out to a resale mall where I have a booth with another friend. I've been selling some antiques and household things we haven't used in years there and some months it's paid off, some months it hasn't.

I'm paring down my life. I'm desperately trying to be more productive and meet goals. I'm going to be healthier and more active. But, I will still love to hear from each and every one of you who visits, comments and politely kicks my big butt to get it in gear. What are your goals for the rest of the year?

 

This is your brain on antibiotics

Okay, in the past couple of weeks, I've made some colossal blunders. I'm blaming the second round of Minocycline from my ear/nose/throat doctor. To be fair, if I survive this and it works properly, I won't have to have surgery on my upper sinuses, which appear to keep re-infecting me. Doesn't mean I have to like it or its affect on my life and my writing.

Among the clusterf@cks:

1. I missed my dentist's appointment this morning, despite having the reminder notice taped to my door and the reminder phone call. I know exactly why and I told the receptionist after I apologized and rescheduled--I was convinced it was on Tuesday, not Monday. *sigh* Again, Dr. Bath and the staff, please accept my humble apologies and I WILL see you tomorrow at 11am. (Watch Julee as she quadruple checks where she wrote it on the note, remembering she also has to swap cars at the mechanic's.)

2. I got mixed up between my Maggie Award entry (Georgia Romance Writers contest) which is due this week and the stuff I sent for the Molly Award entry a few months back.
        a. Well, the first entry, I attached a screenshot of the PayPal receipt for the payment, but I'd saved it as an rtf file and it was too big, so it wouldn't send.
        b. The second entry, I sent to the address for the Molly Award coordinator at like 3am, after too little sleep. Again, please accept my humble apologies and thank you for letting me know so I could send it correctly before the deadline. (Watch Julee as she quadruple checks the Sent Mail file for my Gmail account.)

3. I risked my unemployment payments by posting on the State job search website that I was currently self-employed as a writer, member of Romance Writers of America, working on several manuscripts, entering contests, etc.
        a. I did this because several employers in our area WILL NOT consider your application if you are currently unemployed. They do this by requiring you to input your current work phone number (I put my cell phone number) before you continue with the application process and by setting their searches to look at dates of employment.
        b. I told the truth to the woman from the Unemployment Office that I have not sent to an agent or editor, I am still in the writing/editing stage and so I am not really self-employed, but had to put something down to even have my application considered. She sounded sympathetic, though repeated that I should not do that. (Watch Julee as she edits her resume for the fourth time to make her writing sound like an outside activity. *sigh*)

So, if you notice I'm posting a few too many cute kitty pictures on Facebook or I don't respond right away to an email or post, please smack me upside of the head, virtually or physically, because I'm probably distracted by the bright, shiny objects in my stoopid antibiotic brain. I always joked the meds lowered my IQ by at least 20-30 points. Good thing I normally qualify for Mensa. Please accept my humble apologies. I should regain my normal mind in approximately eight to nine days. Unless, I have to take another round for surgery......