Terra
sounds like you had a busy day yesterday. my favorite color is purple also.
did you get your walk in.
Michelle
Glad you don't mind the drive. I really need to get back into exercising. Probably tomorrow.
Laura
How was the Jersey Boy's?
Happy and Annie
Hello I'll catch up later with you two.
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Yesterday went very well. The doctor came in before I was put to sleep and asked me what was going on. I told him. He found diverticulosis. This is treatable. I still don't know the difference between the two. "osis or itis" No polyps this time. I'm good a to go for another 10 years. Itis should be a form of infection, such as tonsillitis. I have a diet sheet to follow now as to what foods to eat and not to eat. for the diverticulosis.
I'll be going home today.
I'm sore this morning but I'm sure it's from the procedure.
Good morning. Last nights Rick Springfield and Pat Benatar concert was AMAZING! My best friend and I had so much fun...just like teenagers again! I sang and hollered so much I'm horse this morning.
Rick looks amazing! It was a warm night in Cincinnati and he took his shirt off the second song and played the rest of the show shirtless...let's just say, this ole girls heart was racing! lol. Pat is still tinny and has that amazing big voice.
We got home at 1:00 a.m. DH just left for work. I am catching up here. I plan to work this morning for a couple of hours on my portion of the performance review. I worked late Monday night and so all I need to put in today is about 2 hours and I can save 1/2 a vacation day and get the performance review out of the way. Other than that I'm piddling around the house today and taking a nap this afternoon.
Ceejay: I am glad to hear you are on this morning and that the test was clear for polyps. My husband has diverticulosis. He is able to manage it well with avoiding certain foods. There is a lot of discussion about if staying away from seeds and kernels is helpful. DH knows if he eats those things he has a lot of trouble and pain (even runs fevers is there is an infection due to those getting stuck in a pocket of the bowel) so he just stays away from them. His thought is I know when I feel good and when I don't so I'm going to do the thing that makes me feel good.
Just rest today and you should feel 100% tomorrow.
Terra: I am so glad that you like the Walk Away the Pounds DVD. I enjoy them when I use them. I have one that I can choose a 1-3 mile walk.
Shad: First I want to say thank you to that lovely country you live in for giving us Rick Springfield! !
It sounds like you had a nice time on your trip. The locket sounds lovely and it earned you "points" too! lol
How many days of work left? 2?
Laura: Congrats on the loss at WW. Hey, a loss it a loss! How was "Jersey Boys".?
Terra - Sounds like you had a busy day yesterday. Glad you like the WATP dvd - no excuses now, LOL!
Ceejay - Glad all went well yesterday. I had to look it up: Diverticulosis occurs when small, bulging pouches (diverticula) develop in your digestive tract. When one or more of these pouches become inflamed or infected, the condition is called diverticulitis. Guess that means you better stick to the special diet to avoid the "itis" one.
Susie - Sounds like a great night out for you! RS looked great - I looked it up and he's 64 years old!!! Unbelievable. I still remember seeing him on the soap General Hospital all those years ago! Enjoy your half day off.
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I enjoyed the movie "Jersey Boys". As I thought, it being a movie and with Clint Eastwood directing it, it was definitely darker and more in depth than the stage show. (Stage shows like that one, IMO, they're mainly about singing and dancing, not drama.) But the music was great and I did learn a bit more about Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. How much was distorted for dramatic purposes, I don't know, but it was good. I did, however, think that the acting by some of the 4 leads was lacking - but then again I believe 3 of the 4 have done the stage show and not a lot of screen work. Also, they sure didn't age the characters like they could have. With all the makeup advancements available, they really missed the boat on that. Christopher Walken was in it and he's always entertaining.
That's about it for me. No plans for tonight. Back to work and I'll check back in later.
Still pretty dizzy today. I couldn't get in to see the doctor yesterday, but I have an appointment for 11:30 today. It does sound like an inner (or middle) ear infection. Just so annoying because other than the dizziness I feel fine...not even any ear pain, but I'm concerned about how exercising will affect the dizziness...so I'm hoping that the doctor gives me the all clear to exercise.
Last night, I went to a Weight Loss Surgery Support Group, which my insurance (and doctor) require prior to having surgery. It was a very welcoming group. Approximately 20 people were there, 5 "pre-ops" and the rest were anywhere from 2 weeks to 10 years post-op. It was very inspiring and educational to hear from the people who have had surgery, the tremendous amount of weight they lost in their first year (typically 80-150lbs), and the regain (which was anywhere from 0-20lbs). People shared their challenges as well as what they're doing successfully, all really good information.
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Shad - Good luck with the last document. Only 3 more days, right?
Laura - Bummer that last report wouldn't export to Excel. I used to hate it when that happened. Is it too many rows of data? Does Excel still have that 72,000 (or whatever) row limitation? Like you, I still remember Rick Springfield from General Hospital too. Dr. Noah Drake if memory serves me correctly. And I think I still remember all the words to "Jessie's Girl". Glad you liked "Jersey Boys", even if it did miss the mark in a few areas. I really like Christopher Walken. It would've been funny if he had a line saying he needed more cowbell (from a Saturday Night Live skit many many years ago).
Terra - Good for you for doing WATP! That's wonderful!! It's a nice alternative to walking in the heat and humidity. Sounds like you had a very busy day yesterday with all that running around. I hope your doctor appointment went well.
Ceejay - I'm glad your procedure went well and no polyps were found so you don't have to go through it again for 10 years! I hope you're able to stick to the diet regimen to avoid the pain and infection that comes with the "itis".
Susie - I had a feeling you'd have a great time at the concert. Pat Benatar has an amazing voice and puts on a good show. Nice that Rick Springfield still looks great too! A few years ago, my ex and I saw Eddie Money in concert. He didn't take his shirt off (thank goodness), but at one point he lifted it up trying to be sexy. Shudder. That terrifying image of his jello beer gut is forever etched in my memory. If he had abs like Springfield, I wouldn't have minded. But sadly, he didn't and unfortunately I wasn't able to turn away fast enough. I just remember thinking, "Dude, no one wants to see that." Nice that you're able to work from home today.
Annie - I'd love to see photos of the grandbabes. Can you please post some when you get a chance?
Happy - Have the hordes of rude tourists left? Are they mostly there weekends and holidays or all week long?
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
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Hi ladies,
Very sorry I haven't posted in a while. Thanks for the nudge Shad. Something odd is going on with my internet service - not sure if it's the firewall or the internet provider but I am starting to "hang" more than I ever did and pages don't respond. Last time DH tried to tweek this he knocked out our internet for a day and a half.
Monday was the usual get up at the crack of dawn and get to yoga. She made us do hard things for a long time One of the poses she had us fold a blanket into a roll - think like a blanket type of Styrofoam pool noodle and had us lay on it with the blanket aligning our spine to open us up. As I was laying there, I got a sudden rush of sinus congestion. Finished my set, drove home, hit the farmer's market and we were supposed to go meet a friend for pizza but they called and said the pizza place was closed on Monday so we rescheduled. I did some things around the house. Tuesday I woke up and as I turned to get out of bed I was hit with a horrible bout of vertigo. The room was spinning so badly that I was highly nauseated and got sick. I could not stand without wobbling. I now realize that some of the yoga moves seem to upset the positional vertigo and even though the physical therapist said the sinus has nothing to do with the vertigo, it seems like I get a sinus problem as a precursor to a vertigo episode. I was supposed to work my shift at the thrift shop - called in sick and also much to my reluctance, had to reschedule my dentist appointment - tooth is still very sensitive. Holding my head slightly tilted up for the dentist to work on it, just aggravates the vertigo and I could not risk being nauseated. Each episode seems to be worse than the last. I had DH help me with the "reset" procedure and I went back to sleep until the nausea passed. Felt better when I woke up and got a call from one of the volunteers that I had forgotten I was supposed to meet to help out with our tag day collection drive (also known as Beggar's Day ) next month. Time to get ready for that. I drove over to the shop as it was important to meet with her. I'm glad I looked sick as several people commented on it. Did the reset procedure again in the evening and only had mild problems this morning when I looked down at the ground. I spent yesterday evening with some thrift shop stuff. I was going to help DH with the lawn today but that won't work if I can't look down. So instead I will focus on things around the house.
Michelle - I hope they find the source of your dizziness. That is no fun, especially if it compromised your exercise. The meeting with the Surgery Support group sounds like an excellent venture. Good to get opinions from real people who have gone through this and may share the same struggles or concerns that you have. I wonder if any of them have had problems with "head games" after surgery - especially when it comes to missing favorite foods or do you just hedge on the fact that you are not hungry so therefore things are not tempting? As to your question about the tourists - we have a steady stream until mid September. The locals just do their best to work around them
Terra - one thing I like about the WATP videos is that with the 1, 2 and 3 mile ones - you can fit in a workout to as short or as long as you have time for. Your quilt sounds like it will be pretty.
Laura - glad you enjoyed the movie Jersey Boys. I heard that some of the people in the movie were actually people who did the stage version. I'm sure acting on film is a bit different than a stage production so that might have shown in the film. Interesting point too that Clint Eastwood may have taken a different tact on the story line.
Shad - oh my S is such a gorgeous little girl!!! And I can see from the pictures that she does not suffer for a lack of toys - just like most kids. I think the locket is a wonderful idea - something precious that won't get tossed aside after 5 minutes. Glad you had a decent trip with the rellies. You have that right about good news not selling newspapers. We have our priorities all wrong - sad thing. That's why I bury myself in the cooking channel news New ways to make healthy things. Is this your last week at work?
Susie - glad you had a wonderful time at the concert. I love being a part of the excitement. Rick looks amazing - wonder how he managed to avoid the softening that comes with age? He must shave his chest too as I don't know of ANY post 40 year old man who doesn't have gobs of steel wool chest hair I really had to laugh at your turn of a phrase - creative writing - to describe your performance review. For a moment I actually thought you were taking a writing class
Ceejay - I'm glad they didn't find any polyps and thank goodness that is all over. I can never remember the difference between osis and itis - my sister said one is the disease and one is the condition - something like osis is the disease and when the pockets get inflamed because of the disease, the flare up is the itis. too hard for me to remember. I also heard that they were encouraging people to eat more roughage but that was because people tended to go too much the opposite way and eat little to no fiber which made the disease even worse. I guess you need a good bout of fiber to keep the insides scrubbed up properly. I tried to explain this to Mom but she said the inflammation pain is so bad, like Susie's husband - once you have it you're not going to chance eating something to cause a flare up again. So do what is right for you.
Hi Annie - Hope you are keeping your mind on pleasant things and keeping busy.
I should find me some lunch and get moving. Interrupted this to make DH some lunch. Should have eaten something myself. I did put a pot roast and potatoes on to slow cook. It smells absolutely delicious but won't be ready for hours yet.
Have a good day all, I will try to be more diligent.
I went to the doc. She doesn't know why I'm having vertigo. I didn't have a fever, my blood pressure was low, and my ears, sinuses and throat all looked good. She gave me some "head turning" exercises to do that usually reset the inner ear. She also told me to get some Dramamine in case it gets worse. She said that it would be fine if I do my usual exercise (water aerobics and stationary bike), just be careful with things like walking...so no treadmill or elliptical in case the room starts spinning. Also no yoga (due to bending over) until the symptoms subside. So my plan is to do water aerobics tonight.
The best news from the visit is I'm down 2.8 more lbs! Not bad considering I haven't exercised since Sunday and my eating hasn't been pristine (D**n sugar addiction).
Happy - I'm curious as to what your "vertigo reset" exercises are. The support group meeting was really good. It is helpful to hear from people who have been through it. And I'm so grateful to our dear Annie and another friend of mine for being willing to answer my questions. It seems that the "head stuff" (emotional eating, eating out of boredom, craving for carbs, justifying that one little piece won't hurt)...all that stuff, happens to most patients. As my niece who is a bariatric dietitian says, Weight Loss Surgery is not a cure-all. It's just a tool. It won't keep you from emotional eating. My surgeon explained that all he does is shrink your stomach...nothing changes with the "head stuff" until the patient deals with that.
Some patients rely on "dumping" to keep them from eating high sugar or high fat foods (which honestly is what I'm hoping for), but then again not everyone "dumps". Also different foods agree (or disagree) with different people. Everyone is different so there are no set rules, just guidelines on what to eat, how to eat and beyond that, it's trial and error what each patient can tolerate. At last night's meeting, the members were discussing protein drinks. And most of them commented how some things that were delicious prior to surgery were just disgusting (either in smell or taste) after surgery). No one knows why that changes. It just does in some people.
Also, from all I've read and heard from people, the key "weight loss period" after surgery is the first 12-24 months when the surgery actually inhibits the release of the hormone that makes you hungry. All the post-op patients I've talked to say take advantage of this timeframe to lose the most weight possible, because those hunger hormones come back. And patients who are not careful with their portions do occasionally stretch their stomach pouches.
So that's it. Weight loss surgery is a tool that can help a person eat less and lose weight, but patients that don't commit to a lifestyle of portion-controlled healthy eating and exercise aren't going to have as much success as those that do make the commitment to themselves. My surgeon said that if I didn't try very hard, I'd probably lose about 50 lbs after surgery, but if I did make the commitment and stick to it, I could lose up to 100 lbs.
Last 1.5 days.
1.5 days to freedom.
It's not been all bad here but it really is time to move on. Some of the ladies and I went out to lunch today to the Crab Shack. As the name implies, lots of crab stuff on the menu but there was other stuff as well. I had crab and prawn cakes with a rocket and manchego salad which was nice. Wasn't overimpressed with the cippolini and caper mayo but it was okay. Wash it down with a glass of craft beer. Yum. Good conversation and a barrel of laughs.
Happy - good to see you back again. Must have been rotten with that vertigo. Of course your sinus are linked to it. ENT - Ears, nose and throat. Always linked.
Michelle - sounds like you and Happy ought to get it together to confer over.
Congratulations on the weight loss. That is good news.
Laura - Jersey boys movie sounded like it might be good. If I remember, I will look out for it here.
Susie - Didn't realise that Rick Springfield was an Australian. Same age as me too. Wickety Wak was a good band. I had to look it up though.
Ceejay - glad everything went well and looked okay for you. Now you just have to stick to the diet.
More cleaning and packing tonight. It's all coming together okay. Just hope I can put everything in the 2 suitcases I have. Don't really want to buy another one and will I actually get a third one on a plane anyway. It's a hard life - packing and unpacking.
The washing machine in the unit seems to be on the blink and is not doing its thing properly. Sent a message to the apartment owner this morning so hope that can get done shortly. I would like to take clean clothes home with me if I can.
Now I should (since I have a bit of time) go and work out where I want to go for my South Island tour. Can't go anywhere near Queenstown because that will be jam packed for the skiing season. Hopefully I will be able to find some out of the way accommodation and the skies will be clear and the days sunny.
So I will go dig out some maps from Google and see where I want to be.
Location: A beautiful and peaceful place in the woods
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Michelle - I suggest you try and find a physical therapist who treats benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. I actually was seeing a therapist for my knee and asked him about this when one of the thrift shop volunteers mentioned this to me. He did his doctorate on it. I then switched therapists and my other guy specialized in older patients - this often occurs in older people. Both guys were happy to send a request to my primary care physician to get an approval for treatment. I suffered from vertigo for several years and the regular doctors - like yours - examined me and then blew me off saying you can get vertigo from a number of things and it's hard to treat. Then one day I was talking to one of the volunteers and she told me how the physical therapist we were both seeing cured her of her vertigo. It was something that happened to me more frequently in the winter and lasted for months on end and I thought I had to deal with it. The PT will examine you to rule out any possible neurological reasons for the dizziness. Then they perform something called and Epley Procedure - or a variation of it to see how the patient responds. They watch your eyes while they are doing the procedure - if you have BPPV, your eyes will roll around, particularly if you are hit with a very dizzy episode when they move you. One therapist said he can actually tell the location of the crystals in the inner ear by the way your eyes respond. The procedure is far more effective if the therapist does it. And you want to make sure they show you the proper way to do it so that you don't injure your neck. It's worth checking into although right now you might be tired of seeing doctors. I was very frustrated that the doctor in Tennessee just poo poo'd me - but then again, I realized after the fact that she was not a very good doctor after all. My doctor here in WI knew exactly about BPPV. I think each therapist does the procedure a little differently - I saw this on YouTube and its a bit different than what I was told to do. Good luck - I hope you get some relief as this is very annoying! I can see why the doc might have said no yoga, but actually - both times I had problems from yoga I was lying flat on my back and it was when I got up from a prone position that I got all dizzy. Congratulations on the weight loss for the week! Sounds like you kicked your metabolism into gear - or the power of positive thinking thanks for all the info on the surgery - I don't think you are long winded at all and I am curious myself and appreciate you sharing information.
Welcome back Shad - sorry to hear that you have a cold. Is that from travelling and being with sniffly people? Or will you leave a parting gift as you leave the office this week? I hope you can travel and air travel won't aggravate your head. I don't envy you having to live from suitcases - do you have the weight restrictions that we do here? They charge up the whazootie for bringing suitcases and charge horrendous overcharges if the case is over 50 pounds. But then again, if they didn't people would try to board with steamer trunks. I hope the washer gets fixed before you have to leave. It is nicer to travel with clean clothes. Crab lunch sounded nice. I just bought some sheeps milk manchego cheese at the farmer's market this week. The guy said it is popular in Mexican dishes. I was asking him what you use it for. Is rocket arrugala? DH likes it, I find it a bit too peppery for my tastes. Did they just add crumbled bits of the manchego cheese in the salad? I am in love with the pecorino at the moment. A nice balance for the greens, some fresh fruit and a nice light vinaigrette. Stop - I am making myself hungry and it's time to go to bed.
Michelle - Sorry to hear about the continued dizziness. I sure hope it isn’t the BPV that Happy suffers from. I’m glad the doc gave you the clear to do some exercise. Congrats on your weight loss!! I’m sure the support group is enlightening and helpful as to what to expect. Re the export to excel – no, it definitely wasn’t the amount of data…just goofiness. I could swear all 4 of the report names were more than 30 characters in length (which supposedly causes the wonkiness), but there was just the one that gave me that problem. Whatevah. Eeew re the Eddie Money beer gut. You’re right – no one wants to see that!!
Happy – Sorry the yoga/sinus congestion combo brought on the bout of vertigo. How awful to go through that for any length of time! And you had to reschedule your dental appointment! I hope it’s all passed now and you’re feeling 100%. How was the pot roast?? Sounds wonderful.
Shad – Down to 1 day now!!! That was a long assignment – it’ll be great for you to have a nice break now. I hope the packing works out and you achieve your two suitcase goal. Sounds like your crab lunch was fun and tasty – I love crab cakes!!!
Hi Terra!
Hellos to Ceejay, Susie, & Annie.
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Nothing much to report. I’ve been eating horribly the past several days and I know I will pay the price at the WW scale today. Bleh. I have to get back on track, and I have to get exercising. I will do SOMETHING tonight.
Laura...sometimes the season of the year gets me off track or if it has been more than a week of being good. I just don't do long term on weightloss much. Good luck at WW.
Happy...I have been volunteering at the women's shelter once a week serving meals. Not much to connect with job wise, but it sure makes me feel blessed. I have also figured out on the job search that there are 5 million people applying for one position.
Terra...I have WATP dvds but have not even broken the plastic on the case. lol. Good for you on walking
Susie...love Rick Springfield. You lucky duck!
Shaddie...hope you are feeling better today!
CEEG...glad your procedure went well with no polyps...YEAH!
Nuttin much here, did have a phone interview yesterday that went well, however he did say there are many people applying for the position. It will be two weeks before they get back to me due to vacations. He did say before we hung up that he was sure to be talking to me again. Not getting excited about it, as I am over all of the crap.
May ask the kids to come over this evening for a cookout. Just to keep me busy.
Well, the head moving exercises my doctor told me to do seem to have cleared up the dizziness. I did them a couple times at work yesterday afternoon, and I felt much better afterward. No dizziness this morning, just woke with a headache. I've been trying to not take any aspirin or advil (because after surgery I'll only be able to take Tylenol and other meds that aren't harsh on the stomach), but this morning I just had to take an Excedrin migraine. Hopefully it will kick in soon so I can get on with my day.
I'm planning to go to another support group tonight. I learned about it last night at the water aerobics class. Just before class as I was getting in the pool, I got to talking with a woman. She mentioned she'd had surgery 5 weeks ago, but I didn't press for information. Then she mentioned it was gastric bypass surgery. She seemed to want to tell me all about it, and I was eager to listen. We chatted during the entire class, so I got a great workout and lots of good information. It was amazing serendipity that I happened to meet and start up a conversation with a woman who just happened to have had recent bypass surgery.
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Shad - Sounds like a lovely lunch with your co-workers. When do you leave for the south island? I hope the apartment owner gets the washing machine fixed soon. And I hope you get over your cold quickly so it doesn't spoil your travels. I'm not a big fan of fish, but I do enjoy crab cakes. I love shrimp too...just never had them in the crab cakes. Sounds delicious though.
Happy - Wow, that's awful you've had vertigo for so long. Thanks for the suggestion about finding a PT who treats BPPV. My doctor gave me a print out of the Epley Procedure...but I tried the basic head moving exercises first, and it seems to have helped. Hopefully the crystals will stay in their proper place. I hope you're doing better with the vertigo and sinuses today.
Laura - I was VERY relieved that my doc gave me the okay to do some exercise. She was aware that I had gone through the orientations for both the Opti-Fast program and the weight loss surgery. She's pleased that I chose weight loss surgery and am moving forward with losing the initial pre-surgery weight. She is convinved that my health will greatly improve with weight loss. Going to the support groups is really helpful. I can see why so many bariatric programs require attendance. I've learned lots from the people who recently had the surgery, and I get inspiration and affirmation from people who had surgery years ago (thanks Annie). Good luck at the weigh in. Just view the number as feedback...and get back on track. I find what gets me off track the most is my addiction to sugar, and I'm really trying to fight that because once I give in...I just keep on craving it. I was talking to my friend B yesterday about my addiction to sugar and mentioned that I can't have sugar for at least awhile after surgery and some bariatric patients have to go off sugar for the rest of their lives. He was shocked. "Nothing with sugar? Not even a small candy?" I replied a sugar free candy maybe. He said, "Not even ice cream?" I said probably not...unless I find a sugar-free, fat-free ice cream that won't make me dump. I am a sugar addict, and I actually hope that it doesn't agree with me after the surgery. Are you going to the gym tonight, or do a Body Electric workout? Are you biking to and from the train station now that summer is here?
Annie - Thanks again for all your help, advice and info. I'm so glad you posted the photos! What a lovely family photo! Sam looks so happy, and the boys and Ainsley are adorable! I love Royce's smile in the other picture. I hope you're spending lots of time with the boys because they grow up so fast. I'm so proud of you for volunteering at the women's shelter. There may be 5 million people applying for one position, but you will be hired for the right position. In the meantime, enjoy your children and grandchildren, cherish every moment with them, and continue helping out your community. Your phone interview sounds like it went well since he was sure to be talking to you again. I hope the kids come by for the cookout...sounds like really great quality family time.
I'll catch up later with you two.
! 
Glad you liked "Jersey Boys", even if it did miss the mark in a few areas. I really like Christopher Walken. It would've been funny if he had a line saying he needed more cowbell (from a Saturday Night Live skit many many years ago). 
It's a nice alternative to walking in the heat and humidity. Sounds like you had a very busy day yesterday with all that running around. I hope your doctor appointment went well. 
One of the poses she had us fold a blanket into a roll - think like a blanket type of Styrofoam pool noodle and had us lay on it with the blanket aligning our spine to open us up. As I was laying there, I got a sudden rush of sinus congestion. Finished my set, drove home, hit the farmer's market and we were supposed to go meet a friend for pizza but they called and said the pizza place was closed on Monday so we rescheduled. I did some things around the house. Tuesday I woke up and as I turned to get out of bed I was hit with a horrible bout of vertigo. The room was spinning so badly that I was highly nauseated and got sick. I could not stand without wobbling. I now realize that some of the yoga moves seem to upset the positional vertigo and even though the physical therapist said the sinus has nothing to do with the vertigo, it seems like I get a sinus problem as a precursor to a vertigo episode. I was supposed to work my shift at the thrift shop - called in sick and also much to my reluctance, had to reschedule my dentist appointment - tooth is still very sensitive. Holding my head slightly tilted up for the dentist to work on it, just aggravates the vertigo and I could not risk being nauseated. Each episode seems to be worse than the last. I had DH help me with the "reset" procedure and I went back to sleep until the nausea passed. Felt better when I woke up and got a call from one of the volunteers that I had forgotten I was supposed to meet to help out with our tag day collection drive (also known as Beggar's Day 
So instead I will focus on things around the house. 
Is this your last week at work? 
I really had to laugh at your turn of a phrase - creative writing - to describe your performance review. For a moment I actually thought you were taking a writing class 
I hope the packing works out and you achieve your two suitcase goal. Sounds like your crab lunch was fun and tasty – I love crab cakes!!! 
