Society for the Preservation of My Sanity

I went to that new GP Monday. I like him okay. I mean, didn't DISlike him, but he didn't like knock my socks off with his bedside manner or House M~D-like diagnoses. He ordered some fasting blood work, so I had to go back yesterday morning for that.

I warned the nurse. I am the most difficult stick you'll probably ever have. I always warn people ever since the notorious Seven Tries For One Tube fiasco when I was 21 and pregnant with Corey.

Apparently, I have all of the worst characteristics for veins::: small, deep, crooked, flexible (they roll away from the needle) and to top it off, I have skin like leather. Especially on the backs of my hands where lab techs love to stab once they've determined they'll never find a vein in my arm...it's so thick there, it once peeled the thin plastic coating off the needle!!

Sheesh.

So after a full 10 minutes of searching my arms, wrists and hands, she decides to go for one in the middle of my forearm. Right where it's nice and bruise-able. (nope. no pix, but maybe later...)

Got a call about the results this morning. My TSH is fine, which is good, but since he switched me from the ArMoUr thyroid med to a synthetic, that could very well change. He DID seem to understand my concern with fiddling with the dosage considering all the trouble I've had finding a workable dose.

We'll just hafta see how it is when he rechecks it in 6 weeks.

He was familiar with my endo and told me he was glad I was using that one as he was the best with insulin pumps. That was good to know!

Anyhow, so the TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is okay, but my glucose was "a little high", which could mean anything from 200 on up, I guess. So now he wants me to come in and do a urine test for ketoacidosis.

Good grief! Don't they know I can test for that myself (and DO whenever my sugars are running high)??? It's like when you get a new nurse in the hospital and they have no clue about living daily with diabetes and the leeeeast little thing freaks them out.

I've had finger sticks over 200 at my endo's office and they never bat an eye as long as my HemA1c is good. (that's a blood test that measures the average glucose level over about 3 months' time) They know that blood sugar fluctuates ALL THE TIME and just because it's above range doesn't mean I'm going to die any minute. Ya know what I mean?? Or does that not make any sense?

Anyhow...since I have to pick up the test results to take with me to the endo tomorrow, I guess I'll pee in a cup for them. I mean, y'know? If I DID have ketones (dangerous by-product of having high blood sugar -- and left untreated can be very dangerous) yesterday, it's not going to do any good to test for it tomorrow! Argh.

Okay...what else?

Oh...I told ya'll Tommy was going to get rid of his cell phone and use the one they'd provide at work for him. The reason he hadn't already done this is because the cell service they use at work is pretty pathetic. That is one thing NeXtel's been good about...plenty of towers and very little down time. Oh, and when T first got his about 7 years ago, they were the only ones with two-way capabilities.

That was the thing that made him keep his Nex. Most all the other guys had them too and it was just SO much easier to two-way than to dial, wait for an answer, maybe get through...or not...and have to leave a message...that MIGHT get answered...or not.... Get the picture?

So...since Nex has become such a royal pain to deal with, and since they'd upped our bill so much, he was going to take the plunge and use the cruddy work cell. He was getting SO whiny abou it!!

I can understand, but good grief!! We needed to cut the cost already, but then he decided to get rid of it to cover the cost of the (so far, non-existant) dsl. But he has like almost 200 contacts in there. All but probably 1% (or less) were work contacts, too.

But all that aside, the big news is that he's talked the super into signing with Nex. The contract for the work cells was up, so Tommy explained to him how much the cruddy phone would impede his ability to get things done. The super told him to go get some prices.

What's really stinky about it, though? The deal they got was FIVE free phones with 2000 shared phone minutes and unlimited local two-way, free nights and weekends....all for about $150 bucks!!!!

Our bill? For three phones, two sharing 1000 minutes, the other with 500 minutes, unlimited two-way, free nights and weekends?? Has been almost $200 bucks ever since the contracts ran out and they showed how they treat loyal, long-time customers.

ARGH! Corey pays for his own service on our combined bill, but STILL that was waaay too much to be paying. And no, it's not always been that high. As each of our contracts ran out (and we just stayed with them on a month-to-month basis) the bill would go up. Grrr.

Tommy says he's going to haggle with them to rework my and Corey's plans so our bill will go back down. I sure hope he can. That's RIDICULOUS that they can get such a good deal for his work while sticking it to us that way!!!

Tommy is much happier about not having to basically take a huge step-back with his connectedness at work.

Other big news (to me, anyhow!) ---Casey has been doing so good with his school work! He's always been a reluctant student. Always looknig for the easy way, the quickest route to the end of the lesson. Knowing he had other stuff to do, he'd take off or get out a game, etc. and I'd have to get onto him. He'd say, "But you didn't tell me that."

Argh!

Anyway, he told me Monday that he was really interested in doing well at his school work now. Said he didn't know why, but he was just really interested in learning.

*jaw hitting floor*

I was pretty stunned. AND THRILLED!! What an answer to prayer!!

I spent some time working on some progress charts, lesson plans and record sheets for him. Today, he came flying in here (not all that unusual) and slapped a paper on the desk in front of me. "HA!", he said. It was his math paper. He was grinning ear-to-ear. On top of the paper was a huge "100%". He'd gotten all the problems right.

This is really such a wonderful thing in my book. Lord willing and it lasts, it will be a huge load off my mind.

Now, to just get myself in gear....

My New Year's Make-Life-Easier project is slow getting going, but I DID get a menu made up for this week. And have actually stuck to it!!! At least I've been able to do that much.

Well, and I got those plastic drawer towers and organized this catch-all corner beside my desk. During that process, I also cleaned out quite a bit of craft stuff from two of the cabinets. (hey, Liiiiindaaaaaa.... you KNOW what that means, doncha? LOL!)

But that's where it's ended. My bedroom's piled up, which I HATE. The kitchen is cluttered. DIshes are clean, but the bar is just cluttered! As usual by year's end, the desk in the kitchen is not even visible. I do have some plans to get rid of some clutter there, but it involves buying a four-drawer file cabinet and that just ain't gonna happen anytime soon. The living room stays in pretty good shape, but it's SO much easier to keep tidy without so much other junk in there...and what with the nice, new paint and all....

This room is tolerable, but I do have a bunch of empty totes to reassign. Tommy wants some for the shop. The others I need to use elsewhere in the house...but I haven't felt the desire to get into another decluttering project and put them into use.

Okay...so one last thing that's hopefully a bit more uplifting...

I've dragged out my old piano books and have been pecking around the old piano for the past few days.

Last Sunday evening Tommy and Casey went scouting, leaving just me and Corey at home. I asked him if he'd like to practice some songs with me. (oh, during Christmas at my parents, we discovered that Corey has quite nice singing voice AND he can carry a tune! my grandpa would be thrilled...and HIS grandpa IS thrilled!) It seemed to make Corey feel really good to learn he actually could sing, so he came to the piano and we sang til my voice quit. (singing the same part with Corey meant it was WAY high for me!)

I play by ear, for those who didn't know, and I'm really not very good, but when there was no one else to play piano at the various churches we've attended, my banging was better than nothing.

I can read music, but not very well. I started lessons when I was about 8, then at 11, I had to start playing at the church I grew up in...that meant the waltzes and minuets and theory books went by the wayside and I brought the hymnal to lessons with me.

Usually, my young piano teacher would "show" me how the song should be played, and then I'd pretty much just play it by ear from there. When I was about 14, she told my mom to stop wasting her money on lessons, that there was nothing else she could teach me. I was talented to be able to play by ear, but it hindered me in learning anything else.

Hmph! It wasn't the way it sounds, but I stopped taking lessons then.

Now, I am finding out just how much I retained, or maybe how well my memory is and I've been playing from the old lesson books. I'm very rusty, but have surprised myself with how much has come back to my memory.

So there's that. Whoopie. Whatever.

And before you fall asleep and drool on the keyboard, I will say goodbye.

Have a great evening!