10.11.09
Sunday morning
I am tired this morning, really tired. I am on a new medicine regiment at the moment, beyond the allergy shots I am already on. For a while back now, I have been having trouble with my legs. They have been itchy and blotchy, and me being the stupid person I am have been itching. It first presented it as a problem in maybe April, and then went on as a bother for a couple of months. My mum helped in Sweden and told me about a cortisone lotion I should use. It worked wonderfully and the problems finally went away. Now, fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. It all came back and came back in full force. The last week has been torturous and neither calamine lotion or cortisone lotion would help. My oh so sensitive husband told me “Oh, I am sure that is a parasite-infestation.” Gee, thanks honey, as if I wasn’t freaked out already as it was….. Idiot. For all those degrees he has, he can be really tactless and dumb once in a while.
So, I haven’t been able to make it to the doctor’s office, due to my tight school schedule, but since Fall Break started Friday, I could finally go. I made it there and didn’t have to wait TOO long to be seen. Unfortunately, I got Dr. N. I usually see Dr. Q, but for some reason he was not there, and I got stuck with Dr. N. Now, this is the lady which told me that I had a hole in my oesophagus after I fell in figure skating and severely bruised my ribs, and sent me home with anti-acids. So I don’t trust her at all. But nevertheless, I was kinda forced to deal with her, since I am not going to have a chance to go to see the doctor until Thanksgiving. So, anyways, she saw me, and diagnosed me with dyshidrotic eczema. Which, by the way, is a completely impossible diagnosis; dyshidrotic eczema affects ONLY the hands and soles of the feet. But I do believe it is a type of eczema, so I am taking the medication and using the lotion she prescribed anyway (after reading and realizing that this medication cures a multitude of different eczema). So far, it is working. No more itching, and as far as I can see, no new red spots.
We are going skating today, roller skating, and then Tuesday we are going skating in a real ice rink. It is nerve-wracking, seeing as how I have not been on the ice for over a year. Hubby is back to taking lessons, so he is skating on a regular basis again, but I can’t, due to my school-schedule and work. Weekends belong to D, we all know that…….. But as said, I am finally stepping onto the ice on Tuesday. I am super excited, and a bit nervous. I already know my feet are going to be hurting like hell of course.
We are having company over tonight too, which is always refreshing. I will be making meatballs and potatoes, very Swedish.
09.29.09
Recent stuff
Today was my first day at work. It was intense, since there was so much new stuff to learn, but it was exciting. I think I am going to fit in very well there. I also had my first walk-in tutoring student! Terrifying, but gratifying. We did math 70, so it wasn’t killer stuff, but I was so nervous going in! There is a girl at work who doesn’t seem too happy that I am there, since I am her replacement. She’s a bit snippy, which makes asking her questions about the work I am supposed to be doing a bit hard. Unfortunately my boss has me working with her for another three weeks. Oh well.
Now, about the hair. I love it. It looks great, and I have gotten SO much positive feedback from my peers at school (making me a bit suspicious about how they thought I looked before….. ahem…. 
) It does make me look older, definitely, and hubby wasn’t too happy at first. I think he has come around now. What is it with men and long hair? Seriously? Anyways, we cut like 13 inches, which will be shipped off to locks of love. It’s pretty high maintenance though, which I guess I am going to have to get used to.
School is fine, a bit intense though. I had three tests last week (geography, math and BioLab) and three this week (American History, World Civilization and Environmental Biology). I did pretty well on the ones last week (120, 85, 100) and today my AmHis test was pretty decent. I have the two others before 10 am tomorrow. Eeek! I am terrified.
I also have allergy shots tomorrow again, and then Friday before we go and pick D up from school. Oh joy. Oh well, only 4 more years of this to go!
We are starting to compile Christmas/Birthday lists for everyone. D has already decided what she WILL get (yeah right) and it is some type of electrical scooter. Ain’t gonna happen. Maybe a regular one though, one of those you kick? I guess we will see. I would like to get her books, since she doesn’t read nearly enough, but I know it will just be a waste of money. The ban of removing things from our house will stand though. The things she gets here will stay here. Funnily enough, most of her stuff has somehow made its way to her mother’s house anyways (I told him this would happen). It is sad that we now have to search her bag for things she tries to sneak out. But it is necessary, since she NEVER brings it back! Somehow she has managed to sneak out an entire Lego Coast Guard Set (in pieces I am guessing), because she knows she is not allowed! Sigh…. And I am the bad guy for realizing it….. Of course.
Anyways, back to schoolwork!
09.23.09
I got the job!
I got it! I am so excited. I’ll probably work for like 6-10 hours a week, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, when I’d usually have a sleep-in. I might also do Thursday afternoons for a couple of hours. I will work mostly in the office and at the front desk, but pitch in with tutoring if it is needed. They also have tutoring-clinics 8 times this fall on Saturdays, so if they need some extra help, I’ll be called in. I will mainly be answering phones, filing, helping students to fill out forms, and answer questions. I start Tuesday morning at 8!
I had two tests today, and I think I did good on both of them. I definitely did well on the Geography test, but might have spelled the Czech Republic wrong. The Bio-LAB test was easier than I had anticipated.
So overall, a very good day. Very long, and I am totally beat, but a good day. Tomorrow I start my allergy shots, and I have a hair appointment at 3. It will be another long day away from home.
09.22.09
Excited!
I have a job interview tomorrow at 10! It’s at the school, another work-study program, but listen to this – they called me. I didn’t even apply for this position, they called me and asked if I’d like to work for them! It is in the Tutoring and Academic Success Center, so I would work in the office as well as help tutor students in like math and English (oh yeah, Swedish girl tutoring Americans in English. Priceless, I know…). I am super-excited about this, I really am. They called me due to my GPA. This hard work is finally starting to PAY off. Oh yes, I would actually get paid to do this.
So not only so I have two tests tomorrow to freak out about and be nervous for, I also have a really important interview. It was actually Joy, the lady in charge of TASC, who called me.
I had my second math test today as well, and I felt really good about it. Hopefully I will get the results fast.
Anyway, I probably won’t be able to let you guys know how I did until pretty late, I’m stuck in school until 5. If I can, I’ll sneak onto my twitter real quick in the library and post, in case I find out then and there if they want me or not. Otherwise, I’ll put it here as soon as I get home. Wish me luck! I have a huge day tomorrow!
09.20.09
Update
My darling sister noted yesterday that I don’t update this blog often enough. She is right of course, I don’t. In all truth and honesty, school is kiling me right now. I am fighting rather hard to try to keep up my 4.0, which my husband claims is near impossible. I’d like to try. But it does keep me busy and come weekends, I am so tired that I have been kinda neglecting this blog for a while.
Today we are having people over, for the first time in the new place. I’m excited, but also nervous. I am not a people person and I’m not very good at making new friends. We are only having three people over, but it is still nerve-wracking for me. Silly, I know. I don’t know two of the people that are coming, they are people hubby know from school, international students, one Swede and one Swiss.
I am a little nervous about meeting the Swedish girl. Appart from the Christmas fair and the consulate in D.C, she wil be the first Swede I meet here. Besides, just because she is Swedish doesn’t mean we will get along. There is a huge part of the Swedish population I don’t like. Anyways, I am cooking dinner for all of us. It will be a pasta dish that will be oven baked. I have never done it before, so I have no clue how it will turn out. I might do a chocolate cake for dessert, I haven’t quite chosen yet. I’m not that great when it comes to the dessert-department. I guess we’ll see later how it all turns out.
I have three tests this week, and three the following week too. This week it’s Math, Geography (maps) and Bio-Lab, the next week in Geography (climate and stuff), American History and Biology. It’s going to be an intense couple of weeks. I should also get started on my two research papers.
Anyways, lots to do.
09.03.09
Hair
Very late, tired. I am getting a haircut when I get my excess grant money, which should be in a week or so. I am donating my hair to locks of love. So I am going short this time. The goal is cut and color, and it will hopefully help to make me look a little older… I am VERY tired of people thinking I am 17…. I do like having long hair, but it is getting to the point where it is ridiculously long and takes a hell of a lot of work to manage. So I am cutting it off. This is the picture I am showing my hairdresser. What do you think? (And yes, it is Jayma Mays as Emma from the new series Glee)
Allergy updates
Today I went and saw my allergy specialist. It was the first time, so I was pretty nervous, but the nurses were really nice, and the doctor seemed okay (the little I saw of him. It’s really the nurses that do most of the work anyways…). It’s bloody expensive to go to the specialist, I’ll tell you. Sure my insurance covers 75%, but it’s still a pretty hefty sum. The allergy testing in itself was painful. They put 65 dots on my back an stuck me with needles and injections of various allergens. Though that was when the worst started. After the nurse had finished and left the room (they wait 15 minutes until they come in and measure the reactions) my back started feeling like it was on fire. I am serious! It also made me pretty aware of the fact that I have some pretty serious shit going on with my allergies. It was pure torture.
After 15 minutes, the nurse came in and started measuring the reactions, while she was giving off sympathetic noises. 24 of my “dots” exhibited reactions. Some of them was minor, like soybeans, but then there was the major ones too, like various forms of pollen. I already knew half of if, I had a test done as a kid, a smaller one, so some of it came as no surprise. What did surprise me, however, was my LACK of dog allergies. I showed very little to no reaction to the three dog tests they did, which is contradictory to the last test I did.
We decided that I am going to get allergy shots, which will, in time, make me immune to most of the allergens. They will make me my very own special formula, and I will get it administered twice a week at first, and then after a couple of months, they will gradually decrease. In 3-5 years, I will be mostly symptom free, and will probably not need to eat allergy medicine. And if I am lucky, since this is to make me produce my very own antibodies, I will transfer my resistance to my children, so they will not have to live my hell. We do live in one of the worst allergy states in the country. Also, I would like my children to be able to play in the grass, eat tomatoes and apples, without having any problems. It would be nice… It is going to be expensive, but worth it. Also, imagine how much money we have spent over the years buying me allergy medicine….
Oh, I am allergic to nuts, most of them. Now I actually have it on paper. Not to shellfish though (I kinda hoped that I was… *blushes*). Also, I now have it on paper that I am allergic to raw potatoes, so from here onwards, hubby is totally responsible for peeling them. I have a doctor’s note!
08.25.09
Allergies
I have been so damn tired here lately. I never quite realized that taking 19 credits would be so terribly different from taking 12. It really is, and it is already killing me, and all this only within one week of classes! I have like another 17 weeks to go! It’s insane really. But I am making some new friends, which is cool.
I have been feeling rather crappy all day, and it is due to one thing; allergies. I have a wide array of them, food groups as well as environmental and animals. I have got an appointment at an allergy clinic here in town next week, which is why I am feeling so crappy now. See, they told me that I am not allowed to take any form of allergy medicine all the time leading up to my appointment, as it can screw up the results. I totally understand that, but at the same time, it is making my life a living hell. And it has only been one day. I have no idea how I am going to survive the next week and a half. If I could lock myself into a glass-bubble, I would. We live in one of the worst pollen states in the country. We have cats, which hasn’t been a problem, since I have been on my meds the whole time. We have carpet in the house (hello dust mites!). I go to a old community college, who are terrible at cleaning. Did I mention the fact that we are an allergy state and things will stay green until the end of November? I am allergic to the world. I hate it.
I can’t breathe, I am SO stuffy, my entire body itches, I have trouble sleeping, my eyes are watery and itchy, I sneeze all the time, the inside of my mouth and throat are itching like hell and it is all driving me nuts. How am I supposed to be able to focus on my 19 insane credits with this crap going on? And this is all after only 24 hours without taking any medicine. It’s 216 hours until my appointment, rough estimate. Can’t wait.
08.17.09
Another family member
And so we ended up with another cat, despite the fact that I said no more animals. We were at Petsmart to get food and litter for Gus, and the Humane Society had kittens there. We have been looking on their website for a while and were interested in an orange male kitten named Zoogle. He, however, paled in comparison to the energetic lady in the cage above him, who was climbing on the door of her cage upside down. Zoogle hid in the back of his cage when they came to feed him, this little lady tried to escape.
Our Gus is an energetic large male, and bored as hell. He loves playing, so we wanted to get him a playmate, someone who’s energy was up to par with his. Enter Roxie. She is about 14 weeks old, tabby, adorable, and isn’t afraid of anything. After only a couple of hours in her new home, she was chasing Gus all over the place. She is not fazed by him in the least, when he starts hissing at her, she takes a swipe at his tail. She spent last night running all over the bed, trying to gab and bite our arms, and pull my braid. We asked for a bundle of energy, and received this tiny Tasmanian devil. She’s perfect.
School starts tomorrow, I can’t wait.
08.10.09
Silly…
I have been in a bit of a right state today. I went to the doctor, after feeling like crap for almost a week and having fainting spells and no energy. I found out I have low blood-pressure, and it is scaring me. It basically means my brain isn’t getting the blood it needs to function properly, so it shuts down on me, causing me to basically black out and faint (I’m not letting it get that far though, I sit down before that happens). They don’t know what is causing it, but they did a lot of tests, and I will get the results Wednesday. I’ve been freaking out, feeling all awful (not being able to stand for more than five minutes really isn’t helping either), and haven’t been eating properly today. Which might not be too weird.
Anyways, when my husband left to go to training and take D to taekwondo, he asked if he could bring me something. He was getting the two of them salmon-cakes to make burgers, and wanted to make sure I ate too. So I asked him to get me comfort food, Hot Pockets or Paninis, lots of cheese, ham, warm, gooey, fattening, delicious. You know what he ended up getting me? Lean Cuisine Lemon Chicken with Whole Grain Risotto, broccoli and peppers. Lean cuisine 300 calories. Not gooey, fattening or delicious, and certainly not comfort food. It’s very healthy, and not what I was looking for in my moping, feeling awful, dreadful state. I don’t normally eat Lean Cuisine Lemon Chicken with Whole Grain Risotto, broccoli and peppers, even when I am feeling great. So why would I now? He was looking out for me, yes, I know, and it was very sweet of him. But seriously? Seriously?
And now, I got tattled on by a 10 year old. She looked in the trash and told hubby that I didn’t like my food, since I had thrown some of it away (mainly the broccoli, btw). He just came into the room to question me about it. Wow, boys are clueless and 10 year olds are annoying.
