Independence

Happy Independence Day to my American friends. And Happy Birthday to my independent (sometimes frustratingly so) loverly daughters.

Oh My - News and summer

Dear, I have totally disassociated myself with the internet I think. The stupid thing kept crashing all spring - we suspect there is a bad wire on the line somewhere, but once the technician showed up it's been working since. My brother has been here and we've been busy...sort of. There has been painting, sanding and staining of items as well as a clean-up that seems to not last long enough anywhere. But you don't want to hear about all of that.

I will start by saying that is has been a stressful spring. After my layoff I suffered from mild insomnia. When my severance ran out my employer submitted and inaccurate Record of Employment and my claim was threatened rejection for benefits. Over a 6-week period I had to keep contacting them and they submitted 2 more inaccurate Records; however, the last one only had a pay-out ommission, so I just reported it and requested they contact the employer with any further questions. My claim is still being reviewed, but the are at least making payments based on the information submitted.

Anyway, during all of this I broke out in...lets call them hives for now. Well, I had just read an article on bed bugs, so I freaked out and actually pulled my back during the ensuing 'investigation'. I finally got into see my doctor and he (erroneously) diagnosed me with scabbies. Ironically, I was the only one showing signs in my family and was totally confused by this diagnosis, but began treatment. After several weekly treatments that did seem to offer temporary relief I requested to be referred to a dermatologist who now has be on steroids for Lichen Planus. This may put a glich into my getting back on track.

Ummm, yeah...during all of this craziness and poisoning myself with nasty creams I did slip up. Come on...this is in my scalp, mouth, back, arms, lower legs and feet - very generalized but a classic case according to the dermatologist. In case anyone is interested it is extremely itchy on the skin and painful in the mouth. Anyway, one evening I was even 5 lbs over my goal weight. I began drinking my water immediately and was much more diligent about writing before biting. On Saturday I officially weighed and was 2 lbs under goal. I suspect I will really need to rely on tracking and planning to get through this - steroids and weight-loss don't often mix. It sounds too like the steroid treatment is 'phase 1' and that this disorder is not easily cured. I am being optimistic though - I can at least hug and kiss my family again.

Hope your spring was better. Take care, Candace

Quiet Blog World

Blog World seems relatively quiet judging by the blogs I follow. I guess I'm not the only one in a blogger slump. Hopefully this doesn't equate to a weight loss slump.

In fact, I'm not doing so badly. I've been having some rough times, buts that's mainly due to the case of Coco Mint 1 pt bars Weight Watchers sent me. I transfered 12 boxes out to locations already, ate 4 boxes (2 of which need to be paid for yet - reminder to self) and a few left to remove from my home premises. Why did WW send me a case of bars you ask? Well, they send all At-Work leaders product and I guess I was still doing an At-Work session at the time. Not anymore though and they are really just...yum...very good. I guess a kudos would be that I ONLY opened 4 boxes and I (sort of) shared with my 10 year old.

Other than that, I'm maintaining for the most part. Hoping to lose around 4 more lbs in the next couple of months. I'll let you know how that goes...