Sam's Weight

I was training with my personal trainer, Natalie, and I mentioned ice-cream.  Now, for her, that's like a red flag to a bull.  And I eat a LOT of ice-cream.  (It's soy ice-cream, btw.)
"Didn't you try those smoothie recipes that I sent you?"

"I eat smoothies for BREAKFAST."

"Smoothies are really healthy!"

I brought out my big guns.  "Do you know how many calories there are in ice-cream?  I need those calories!"

Natalie thought about it.  "You could have TWO smoothies."

"Natalie, in order to make up for the calories in ice-cream, I would need to be on a smoothie DRIP."



On a side note, I've hit 50kg, EXACTLY.  Happy happy!

Cancer Awareness Month

For those of you who don't know, February is Ovarian Cancer awareness month.

In light of this, I thought I'd post a humourous true conversation about this issue, from my recent race!

My whole family were waiting for the race to start.  My brothers started joking about how I was probably thinking about how to trip up all the other competitors (or at least those who were likely to beat me).

I said no, my secret plan was that as this was a fun run to raise money for cancer, I was going to ask for 5 minutes off my time for being a survivor.

"I'd ask for 10 minutes, but given it's for BREAST cancer, I don't think I can swing more than 5..."

John-Wayne laughed.  "Too bad you didn't have cancer."

At which point, everyone in my famil just looked at him.

"Um, I did."

"No way!"

"Ovarian," my mum confirmed.

"Even I know that," added Robert.

"And he wasn't even born at the time," added Julie.



So, ovarian cancer.  Be aware of it!

Seriously, ovarian cancer is called the silent killer, because the symptoms are typically vague and much like those of other diseases.  If you have any concerns, go to your doctor and ge it checked out!  Don't be a dead statistic - be a living one!

Getting Fit

Life is busy at the moment. Aside from working almost full time and studying full time and serving in church and going on mission trips and running three blogs and making art, I've recently decided that I need to be much fitter. Because at the moment, I'm not.

Until recently, I've had absolutely zero motivation to do any form of exercise aside from occasional dancing. I was quite simply too sick and too tired to do any such thing. But this year I've been getting my energy back (with the occasional result of me trying to do more than is humanly possible) and now I actually feel like I should be moving.

So I started jogging.

I also joined a gym.

In the few weeks I've been exercising, I've already taken 12 minutes off of my run times. Yeah, that only says how bad I was at the beginning. My run is about 4.22km. And no, I still don't run (or even jog) the entire thing.

The bright side is I could definitely do a 5km fun run (as long as they let me walk some of it!)

My current time (22.08 - not when this post shows, scheduling posts is the only way I can keep up the blogging with no internet at home) is 34 minutes. The internet tells me it "should" take me around 25-30 minutes. I'm hoping to get there soonish.

On the gym front - I worked out that if I go to 1 class a week, I've broken even. So my minimum is 1 class a week (I'm not such a fan of the machines, so I've only used them 2 or three times). It's Wednesday today, and I've been to 4 already this week. So I've getting my money's worth.

My favourites are the dancing ones - Sh'bam and Zumba. I also really like CXWorks, and boxing was also fun. I'm trying out pretty much everything.

I have a PT, which the guy who signed me up said was his "absolute favourite trainer", which I assumed was a code word for a PT who needed another client. Yesterday though, I saw him training with her, so that's pretty good.

I've also done some cycle classes, which resulted in me being slightly saddle sore, but I promised JW that next year I would do a fundraiser bike-ride in memory of his friend. SO YOU ALL BETTER SPONSOR ME! I think he's signing us up for the 20km (which I can do on the machines, but on the road it'll be a different story), but he could be crazy and sign us up for the 60km, because he said he might do that. In which case, YOU ALL BETTER SPONSOR ME LOTS AND LOTS BECAUSE I MIGHT DIE AND THEN MY ORGANS WILL BE DONATED AND AT LEAST THE CHARITY WILL GET SOMETHING, IF ONLY MY ORGANS. (Do you htink they'll want my organs? I mean, seriously? My liver's good, and a few other things, but my lungs and my heart? Well, they're probably better than the ones they have.)

So I am alive, well, and getting buff.

I think all this running has made me crazy. Not enough oxygen to the brain, I expect.

In which I try to buy drugs

So, I was getting a killer cold. Normally, I just suffer the germs, and if I need to, take a day off. But at the moment I’m way too busy to be sick, so I decided to buy some cold and flu tablets. The real ones, not the fake herbal ones with vitamin c and Echinacea.

Anyway, I went to the chemist, and asked for some. The chemist asked for ID. I looked at her as though she was crazy. I mean, if you’ve read my story about me trying to buy alcohol, you will know that I don’t have any ID. Still, I try my working with children card.

The chemist tries to enter it, and after five minutes comes back and tells me that the system will ONLY allow for driver’s licenses or passports. Nothing else.

I thought that was strange. I mean, seriously.

“We have other cold and flu medicine.”

At this point I was feeling rather desperate, and I didn’t want to go all the way home to get my passport and then come back. I asked if the alternative was herbal or real medicine. It was real medicine. They got it, and showed me. It was indeed real medicine.

“So what’s the difference?” I asked. I mean, why can I buy this one without any trouble, and the other one I have to be able to fly out of the country in order to buy.

“The schedulings different.”

I tried to get her to explain, but she just told me that it meant it was the same, but that it was different. I left with cold and flu tablets, but confused.

But half-way home I realised: the passport number cold and flu are the type you can turn into amphetamines, and the other ones you must not be able to. I guess watching Glee teaches you things!

If only she had just told me!

Home Again, Home Again

So, I'm back home.

It was an interesting journey.

Africa was great. I got proposed to and everything. I don't know if it's a trip to Africa if I'm not proposed to at least once by someone I've never met before, and won't meet again.

But what was really interesting (read, epically terrible) was the trip home.

I had an allergic reaction at the airport in Doha. All staff were great, except the s**tty cafe staff who DIDN'T WASH THEIR EQUIPMENT EVEN THOUGH I TOLD THEM TO AND THEN CORRECTED THEM AND THEY STILL DIDN'T FIX IT. Anyways, I was massively, massively sick. I got a wheel chair and everything.

The wheel chair bit was fun - as was the 1st class lounge that I got to spend my time vommitting in. I would have enjoyed it more... if I hadn't been so sick.

Kind of lucky I was. My lift pulled out and I would have been travelling home by myself with no money for a cab if I hadn't. But a two sentence chew-out including "IM IN A WHEELCHAIR" fixed that.

And RMIT sucks. There was no class. I could have spent another week in Uganda.

Not A Great Day

I've included the first names of most people here, with the exception of those who come off badly and those in direct authority. In one case, they are the same person. Everyone mentioned by name and the manager of the centre was brilliant in all stages of this event.

It's been rather stressful recently at work. My team-leader continues to be a nasty person, the issues with the now-quit (thankfully) breaks cover were imaginabily bigger than I thought (and I thought he was a crazy b*st*rd), and we have been given a whole lot of new children all at once.

So I sent in a letter requesting a room change. I am not working with my crazy, b*tch of a room leader for a minute more than I have to.

To give you an idea of what she's like, I'll tell you about our beautiful day today.

Nicholas came in for lunch, very quiet and withdrawn. He had a few mouthfuls, then went back onto the verranda. He became clingy and cried silently. Katherine brought him inside and checked his temp. Normal.

Erin came through at this time, and also noticed that Nick was not himself. She has dealt with Nicholas having alergic reactions before, so she got him to stick out his tongue. Swollen. We start giving Nick fluids (because his parents insist each time that he's not having an allergic reaction, he's just dehydrated, so they give him water and panadol).

The team leader (TL from now on) decides that this is a great time to order me to leave Erin with Nick (even though he's having an alergic reaction) and HELP HER WITH THE CLEANING.

Instead, I phone all three of the numbers I have for his parents, and can't get through on any of them. Each phone call leads to a worse statement of Nick's stats. By the end of the third, he's having trouble breathing, so Nicole goes to get his epi-pen. I phone our manager to phone for an ambulance. Erin holds Nick, Nicole tries to administer the epi-pen, but can't because her hands are too sweaty and shaky. I give him his epi-pen. It takes until the count of 5 before he can breat well enough to cry. The manager has come in by then, and she and Erin take Nick to the office while Nicole goes out to flag down the ambulance.

And my TL? She keeps on cleaning.

Katherine and I run about, helping get the other children into bed (a reliever was outside with the rest of the children, except those in bed), and getting together all of Nick's belongings. TL keeps on cleaning. Except to ask Katherine if she can stop getting Nick's things, and can instead help with the cleaning.

Katherine ignored her.

Shortly later (just before the ambo's arrived), TL wanted Nicole (who was outside to FLAG THEM DOWN SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO SEARCH FOR THE PLACE) to come back inside, so we can "get back on schedule". "It's not like he'll be by himself," she said. I told her I didn't think so.

Nick's mum arrived, and she went with him in the ambulance. TL then went off for 40 minutes to cry about it, while everyone who actually did anything, held the room together at least until it was their lunchtime.

I have honestly never been so ANGRY at anyone in my life!

Priorities! Nick could have DIED! And she was more concerned about sweeping rice off the floor. I am absolutely disgusted.

Nick is fine, btw. Nicole is the most shaken by the experience. I am too angry to be shaken. I have my meeting with the manager about my request to change rooms tomorrow, and believe me, this is going to be mentioned.

Lack of Blogging

Sorry bout that guys. But I'm back on gluten for testing and I feel really ill. I don't think I look great either, even if I've been told otherwise.

So basically, I've bitten off all my nails, scratched my arm til it bled (just once), and have had lots of fun times with my stomache. My test is tomorrow.

Please pray.

Gluten Free

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've been gluten free this month, and a week into the month my dr said that I was probably coeliac. I can honestly say that I am not eating gluten any time soon, if ever. Here are the effects I've noticed:

- My stress release behaviours have pretty much all gone. Scratching was my most concerning one, and I know it isn't life threatening or anything, but it wasn't pleasant. It's also the only one I wasn't able to explain away to myself or other people. But all of my behaviours have disappeared or been drastically lowered since giving up gluten. And what's more, the day after going out to have coffee with a friend I had a mild recurrance of some symptoms after a stomach upset. So it's clearly a trigger if nothing else. This alone would make me never want to eat gluten again. But there's more!

- Less stomach issues. I've always had a lot of stomach issues. They decreased when I came off casein, and decreased again after coming off gluten. Yay!

- My nails have been growing. This isn't purely a stress releasing behaviour, so I'm not listing it here, though it is related. I bit my nails pretty much constantly, regularly until they bled. I've stopped without effort or trickery once before in my life... when I started taking iron supplements. It lasted until I next lost a lot of iron. This time round, I lost some iron and my nails kept growing.

- The most recent improvement is in the area of my mind. I've been foggy-headed, significantly less creative, and miles less energetic for YEARS. I mean, back in high school I spent 2 hours every day doing fictional creative writing, several hours a week singing, and had two dance classes a week. I also did aerobics every day. I had energy, was creative, and was productive. And even though I got sick a lot, it was great. It kept up through the first two years of uni, and then my mind died the third and fourth year. No more writing, no dance classes, little singing in general. And while I tried to get myself to do these things, I never suceeded in the long run - I didn't have the mental energy. However, at the moment I'm planning a CD project, thinking about a novel I've been wanting to write for ages, considering going back to uni, and last night started writing really bad poetry again. Huzzah! Soon I'll actually be my creative crazy self again... and I'll be able to appreciate it!

So, gluten free is the way I'm going to be, pretty much for life! Yay for GFCF! (gluten-free, casein-free)

So if you think you may be reacting to a food, then GIVE IT UP FOR A MONTH and see how you feel. It's easier than drs tests and appointments, and if you are reacting, believe me, you'll notice the difference!

Latest Medical News (and other bits and pieces)

The current theory as to my collapse is that my iron levels were/are very low. The thoughts as to why this is is that I'm coeliac, which I was suspecting (and I went gluten free as of the 1st of Jan).

This will need to be tested at some point in the future, but for the next two months I'm going to be gluten free. It's not too bad, because I know the tricks around food allergies and intolerances now. I'm getting less stomach pains (especially at night) and my stress relief behaviours (most notably stratching until my arms and legs bleed) are not happening at all. So, unlikely to be having gluten again ever, even if the test comes back inconclusive.

In order to bring my iron levels up, I get to have a blood transfusion. Yay! My third one ever. Of course, I was unconscious for the first two (when I was ten, and having cancer removed, and I sprung a leak), so it'll be an experience.

My mum, with major liver and kidney damage, proceeded to get smashed as soon as she came off her meds. Not the smartest thing in the world. She was amusing though, in a humilating and horrific way.

Extended family came over over the break. My cousing James looks just like JW, only with brown hair. And a bit skinnier. But otherwise, the same.

I've spent lots of time listening to Garfunkel. He is the best.

That's it for now.

Sam Is Blind

I've been generally under the weather lately. It's winter, and I've kind of come to expect it. I was hoping that all would be awesome with the general avoidance of allergens, but I've still not been great, even when I am really good.

And so it slipped past my radar unnoticed.

I haven't had an eye check since primary school. And I was always feeling tired, my eyes were getting sore, and I was getting a lot of headaches. Eventually, I clicked, and went to get my eyes tested.

Blind.

I am no longer the only person in my family without glasses.

I am shortsighted, not that much, and I need to wear my glasses all the time.

I got them on Saturday, so I got to wear them for church yesterday. Here are the three best reactions (in order of occurance):

Joab: Is your hair styled different? (I glare.) Oh, maybe it's just the glasses. (I punch him towards his glasses, but stop before I get there, because glasses are expensive).

Lionel: You know, you actually look not too bad in glasses. (Okay, I only like that one because I'm vain)

Shaun: Is this someone new? (Holds out hand for me to shake. I twist it. Apparently, random acts of aggression gave the game away.) Wow, you look DORKY in glasses. I said that he was just jealous because my IQ had gone up 20 points, and now my eyes were magnified and his are normal sized.


I would just like to say, I do NOT look dorky in my glasses.

Me without glasses:


Me looking all not dorky with my awesomely dashing glasses:

Finally Posting on the PA Celtic Festival

It was fun and games!

I didn't do any dancing, as I was in the midst of chest infection number 1 (the one where I coughed up blood). So instead I went to about a million music performances, and in between things I wanted to see I sat in the cafe drinking tea and reading my book so that no one in my family would drag me off to their horrid musical choices. (My dad and my sister like the heavy celtic rock, which I really have to be in the mood for, and my mum's choice of music generally sucks.)

Highlight performances:

- Claire Patti. FANTASTIC.

- Siobhan Owen. She was one of my favourites from last year, and she's gotten even better, especially in her harp playing. She's only 16, so if you're interested in celtic music then expect to hear more about her.


- Liminality. Sure, they're a bit hippie, and hippies aren't exactly in my good books at the moment, seeing as I'm hate-filled and intolerant. But seriously, their music is wonderful. Uncle Rob (one of my 3 non-related uncle Rob's - and yes, I have related Uncle Robs, and Bobs, and cousins and I'm confused already) wants me to burn their CDs for him.

- Eric Bogle. Pretty funny. He's mostly known for his anti-war songs, but my favourite songs of his were "White Anglo Saxon Male" and Nobody's Moggie Now.


And finally Beoga was pretty awesome. Lively celtic music with some jazz thrown in, but not too rocky for me. The guy of the bodhran was pretty awesome on it, which vaguely makes me want to learn the bodhran. Of course, I'm supposed to actually practise the harp first. On the other hand, I do have a bodhran (at my dad's) and a video and several books (video with me, books at my mum's - we like to share everything around - we're like communists that way).

While we were busy soaking up the sounds, my brother Robert was endangering his role as the favoured son. He's nearly 16, so what do you do when your mum is at your dad's and your two older sisters are there, leaving you with just your 18 year old brother? That's right, you throw a party. Hey, I did it when I was 16.

Of course, I did not advertise it on facebook.

Nor did I open the door and let everyone who wanted to enter walk in without me seeing them because I was too busy making out to care.

Yeah, Robert's not so smart.

JW moved in for the kill on the position as favoured son. When things got out of control he phoned the police. And then phoned them back. And back again.

Next Door (we have two houses, one of them is called "Next Door" and that's where the party was) was TRASHED. Graffitied, windows smashed, stuff stolen.

JW phoned Mum. She woke me up with her shouting.

Robert got to be driven up to PA and enjoy Beoga. I don't know that he enjoyed it, but I expect it was better than the grounding that he's getting, which is lasting until the end of the year, and includes no facebook or networking sites.

It was an eventful weekend.

At Least I'm Improving

In my drawing. This is not my favourite drawing. Oh well. I do keep getting better.


And incidentally, my cough seems slightly better today. I love antibiotics!

I'm Not Dying

I apparently have a chest infection. Dr thinks that the blood was from a burst blood vessel in my wind-pipe, and that all should be good with antibiotics. If not then I get to be treated as suspected pneumonia and get chest x-rays and then probably a whole lot more fun like IV antibiotics. But at least no hospital on my birthday.

On the bright side, I took tomorrow off too. And I did lots of fun art today. And spent money on fun art supplies. That was fun. Sam like art.

Sam like not coughing blood. It's Sam's favourite.

Don't Panic Steph!

DON'T PANIC. I am going to the Drs tomorrow!

Why? I just coughed up blood. And yes, me blogging about it does make me like that celebrity who blogged as her house was being robbed.

So I am going to the drs tomorrow, even though it is my birthday.

What a sucky birthday present. I bet it was all my jokes about getting pneumonia so that I would get engaged.

Where's my man? If I'm going to cough up blood I want at least a boyfriend from this!

This would explain general malaise, tiredness, low fever symptoms, and being even more grumpy and depressed than usual.

Stupid body.

Where's my boy? This is not fair.

Drs are not my favourite. Hopefully I get out of more work.

Health Update

I had my check-up today.

My lung function has dropped by 15%. Which is obviously not good.

On the bright side, I was beginning to get worried about me getting tired again. I was beginning to think that I was some sort of horrid hypercondriac. I didn't think I had the personality for it, but then most hyperchondriacs wouldn't think they had the personality for it.

So I am relieved that I actually am not in perfect (physical) health.

Dr said, "Most people would say not to worry too much about that kind of drop. But if you get the flu, you'll probably end up in hospital, so we are going to worry about it."

My asthma meds have been upped.

And Sam Has A New Symptom

That's right. Just when we thought that Sam reacting to dolls was bad enough. I have had a bunch of sores on my tongue, then on my gums. They went away for a week, and now... they're back.

Lots and lots of blisters, all over my tongue, especially at the front.

Google's consensus is that I have allergies.

I think I'm going to be starting a food diary sometime soon, because this is not fun. Although then I'm going to have to cut out yet another food.

Stupid body.

Oh, and I got no Valentines.

Dolls Make Me Sick

So, was at work and patting the children off to sleep. Sienna was the only child awake, when she suddenly sat up and said, "Bed, WET!"

I pulled back her blanket, and low and behold, it was. My first thought was that her nappy leaked, but Sienna soon told me otherwise...

"Baby WEE."

Sure enough, the doll was at the top of the wet patch. Baby did indeed make the mess. So we changed the sheet, and put Sienna back to bed, thinking that that would be the end of it. But no!

"Want Baby!"

"Baby's in the bathroom doing more wees. You can play with Baby later."

"Baby wear nappy."

I'm obliging, especially because Sienna can scream loud enough to wake every child in the building. So I took Baby through to the Babies room to get a small nappy. As I'm carrying Baby, I'm noticing that my arm is very itchy and slightly painful.

By the time I get back from the Babies room, my arm is red and swollen. It hurts a fair bit. And then I realise that Baby is made out of rubber, most likely with Latex mixed in. That's right, I'm having an allergic reaction to a DOLL.

Unfortunately, my medical bag doesn't have any anti-histamines. Ventolin and juice I have, but anti-histamines, no. Been meaning to buy some, but just hadn't got around to it.

So I got to go home early. I stopped off at the chemist and bought myself some drugs. Then I went home and slept like a Baby.

Kids on My Health

Sasha (4) thinks my allergies are the coolest. She gets me to list everything I can't eat repeatedly. One day, she looked at me and said, "I'm allergic too!"
"What to?" I asked.
"Cold milk," she said. "And petrol."


Maddie (2) thinks that I should spend allday every day putting on "lipstick" (actually lipbalm). I keep this in a bag with my Ventolin. Every time I obligingly put on my "lipstick" she reminds me, "That's your medicine, for when you stop bleeding."


I had to go home early last week with gastro. On the way out, Bella asked where I was going. I told her I was going home to vomit. She nodded wisely and said, "You have to vomit in your own bed."

Drs

So, Drs appointment. I am HEAPS better. My meds are going down. Yay!

My allergy tests show that I don't have a problem with gluten (guess who's gonna be gorging on pasta?)! I do have problems with:

- Dust mites
- Artificial food colourings

That's it for now, but I need to be careful about what I eat, because I am "sensitive" (drs words) and might react to something that I wasn't tested for that I haven't had recently.

Dr said I could use more protein to build up muscles (he clearly hasn't seen my arms. If I build up any more I'll look like Creighton) and so I'm to start drinking soy occasionally. He recommends occasional meat, but I really can't stomach it. Gross. So soy it is.

So hopefully all will be good, and I can use my massive muscles to beat up on boys. Guess who's on my list? :P

General Update

As I'm sharing the laptop with Kallie (who actually owns it) blogging may be even more sporadic than normal. But here's a general update on life in the mind of Sam.

- Now that I'm allergic to everything, there is nothing I can eat at church lunch. Seriously, the strawberries were the best bet in terms of producing the least bad alergic reaction. Sam didn't eat.
- Drs appointment tomorrow. Will get full allergy results, will be changing my meds and will be forking out about $400.
- The silkworms are eating us out of house and home. Doug Phillips said in one of his sermons (I think I'm linking to the right one) about hamsters being multi-generational thinking run amuk. Ha! I laugh at his hamsters. Two generations of silkworms in, and about a hundred offspring. Should only half of next years eggs hatch we will have about 500. And so far, only 5 caccoons have hatched.
- To solve this problem, Kallie and I thought about getting the silkworms to turn cannibal. We proposed naming the survivor Joab.
- Speaking of whom, the boy's grown a mo for Movember.
- Surviving Ladybug is no longer surviving.
- Sam had 2 panic attacks at church last week (15th Nov). The second of which had me screaming and running away from Auntie Wing. Word to the Wise - when I say, don't touch me, I've just had a panic attack, then that is not a good time to be giving me a hug.
- Kien's pretty much completely gray.
- I laugh at FC's idea of Hukka being frugal/stingy. Much in the same way I laughed about silkworms and hamsters.
- I bought a blender. I now blend everything. I love it. Want a fruit smoothie anyone? Nectaries and strawberries are very nice and are available to anyone who doesn't meanly try and stop me from eating delicious foods that cause me to have hives
- Hopefully will be able to start catching up with more people now that I don't have to use all of the weekend for recovering. Wesley people especially, because I don't get to see them at church.

That's it for now... I think!