I can hardly believe it's been since January 8th that I posted here! Wow time flies, huh?

Last week I didn't have a chance to get by the doc's office to weigh, but I hopped on the scale at the Y and it said I was 190, so I think that's the same as last time. Today, however, it was back down to 187. Hopefully I'm back here and ready to drop to a new low weight over the next few weeks.

The past two weeks have been extra busy. Work is kicking my butt, with lots of odd hours and travel and deadline crunches. My caseload is low, but I have one very complex case that is a real time sucker. I had another epic bout of constipation, related, again (I'm sure) to my use of painkillers to deal with the hidradenitis suppurativa. I only ever take that stuff when I'm in unbearable pain, and unfortunately, the flare-ups have been coming under my arms lately, and that's an area that's hard to keep still! The good news is, by controlling the pain, I was able to keep up with work and working out. The bad news comes at poop time and that's all I'll say about it all. Much better the past few days.

I've done my first attempt at a little video blog over on youtube. I'll come back and post it here once I remember how! One question: Why has nobody (other than my little sister) ever told me that I have a lisp???????? For real, check it out:

We'll start with my weigh-in from this past Friday, which found me at 192, or up five pounds from my previous all-time low of 187. Typical, huh? Well it doesn't surprise me, except in the number of pounds up. That's a little scary. But I have been terribly constipated, so that accounts for some. Still having a hard time staying hydrated, so not sure how that plays in (retaining fluid? my face has been puffy). My skin condition (HS) has been flaring up, and that's been rather hellish, so I've been on pain meds for that for the past few days.

Whatever. I'm well back into my exercise groove, which feels really good. It's been an extra serious challenge because of my skin condition, and the related pain and impracticality of it. Too much info follows, so you may want to skip this next part:

OK so HS, or Hidradenitis Suppurativa is basically big zit-like things in the worst places. Right now I have a flare-up on my side under my left arm, about quarter-sized. It is right above where my bras rub, and movement of my arm against my side is excruciatingly painful! Of course, this type of movement is a natural accompaniment to walking or jogging for exercise. OUCH. Plus, it started to drain over the weekend. YUCK. So I've had to keep dressings on it and change them often. I have three other nodules flaring up in my groin area, about which I will spare you the gory details, except for the part that goes OUCH, OUCH, AND @#%!OUCH!

The super-duper pain meds I'm on (originally used for end-stage cancer patients) make me feel a little dopey at times, but they do a good job controlling the pain for the most part. I still have breakthrough pain when I'm exercising because the friction just cannot be totally avoided.

All that said, today I jogged a half mile without stopping, something I think I've only done once before. My legs are really challenged by it, and are a little jello-like toward the end, but I enjoy the challenge of it. Today I was just going to do a quarter mile before going back to walking, but I felt good and strong and decided to see if I could last a full half-mile. And there ya go. Quite something for me! I spent 35 minutes total on the treadmill, which was my goal for today.

Food has been up and down. I got into some sugary treats over the holidays, and the desire for "a little something" still strikes me way too often. I don't give in all the time, but I still indulge more than I know I should, so I need to pay more attention to that. The thing is, as long as I have stuff on hand that's good for me (mostly protein) I'll eat that when I'm hungry even if crap is around and available (usually it's not). But if there's nothing good, quick and easy, I'm all into some crackers or whatever is easiest. Lazy, I guess!

So I'm trying to cook a little more and have more good stuff on hand. I have a big container of thinly sliced medium rare London Broil in the fridge, and some horseradish sauce, so that will serve me well for the next few days. My old stand-by pre-cooked frozen shrimp were on sale at the store so I have a few bags of those on hand also. But I'm running low on horseradish!

I've been all about the cleaning and organizing around here. New Year's weekend, I dug into my office, the last stand-off for everything in the house that has no other place. It was awful in here, especially considering this is where I spend most of my time when I'm at home! It feels so good to have gotten most of the clutter out. I still have a couple of bins of papers to go through, and I need to purge old files and set up new (current) ones in my file drawer, but overall the improvement is stunning, if I say so myself.

Research on plastic surgery has been on the back burner lately, but I need to get back on that. I am thinking more and more that I'll have to travel some distance to get the reconstruction I need with the cosmetic result I know is possible. I need to take some photos to send to one surgeon I've emailed, a very famous guy in Beverly Hills who, it turns out, is on one of those TV shows. I didn't know this when I wrote to the practice, the email address to which I found in an online medical journal article on genital reconstruction surgery. I keep saying, "I need to take those pictures, I need to take those pictures." I have mentioned it to my husband daily for the past week. But I am stalling - it is just so damned unpleasant to LOOK at myself, especially my most private parts, to put them out there in the bright light and look at them in excruciating detail  - then send digital images of same out through the ether. Makes me squirrelly on so many levels. But I have to do it. If my husband gets home while there's still some daylight, today just may be the day. Ugh.

Happy New Year to all who read this. 2006 was pretty amazing, and I am looking forward to everything that 2007 will bring!

We went to a nice party last night, at the same lodge where we had our wedding celebration in September. It was great to see everybody again. And there was a very special guest...check out who I saw last night:



I'll try and get some more videos posted on youtube, and add some photos to my flickr page as well (if you click on any photo appearing in an entry it should take you to flickr.com where I have stored hundreds of pictures).

Perhaps more later, but the day is calling. Happy New Year!