It's that kind of day...a Monday, nevertheless

As most of you know I started a new job 6 months ago (today!). It's a wonderful company to work for but I will say it again- customer service is a hard department to work for. Any naysayers who think it takes no brain and no education might want to trade spots with me for a day. When you have unhappy customers and providers to deal with, it can make for rough sailing. Today was just one of those days where I felt like I wanted to bang my head into my desk. Plus there are changes in our quality assurance and everything which are understandable, but lately it's been challenging for a lot of us to deal with, so needless to say, it's been somber and our morale has been lowered due to it. We all push on though.

That coupled with the fact that I just don't care anymore. I just don't want to go to the chiropractor, or run the bazillion errands I have to run after work. Why can't I just come home directly from work for once? Seriously- I have something going on every day of the week after work and it's annoying. I must say it's gotten to the point where I don't even have three days out of the week that I can go to work out because there just is not time. Yeah, I know what you're thinking- Make time. And to that I say- pfft. No offense, but really- I had someone tell me that once and it took every fiber in my being to not tell the person to STFU because I am so burnt out it's not even funny.

There is a bright side to this story- my husband is finally on day shift and I'm shifting some of this burden onto him, whether he likes it or not. And he can complain all he wants- but I've been doing it all on my own for years, and it's his turn to help out now.

All this, and I can honestly say I can't friggin wait for Labor Day weekend when we get away from all of this! I am taking that Friday off too which will be great!

Ode to Bob Ross

Last summer I started watching re-runs of The Joy of Painting on our local PBS affiliate, KCTS, and became incredibly interested in it. When I went back to work I had long forgotten about Bob Ross and his happy little trees and how amazing his paintings are, until I found out you can watch him on Comcast On Demand! Now that I have found this, I try to take some time out during the week or when I'm stressed to watch this show.

My daughter loves to watch this show as well, but that does not surprise me because she is very artistic. My mom has always said I was artistic, but I don't see it. I am terrible at drawing and could not sit still long enough to enjoy painting. Now that I am older, I wish I could pick up a brush and do what Bob Ross does. I'm sure with time and patience I could, but those are two things I lack at the moment. My daughter enjoys arts and crafts, makes her own jewelry with beads, and we try to encourage her to do so by taking her to Michaels and letting her pick out stuff to make crafts with. She also enjoys music, a lot, and my mom had shipped her clarinet up to us before her visit last week so my daughter can play it in the school band around her 5th grade year. I have a good friend who is going to teach her basic stuff on the clarinet as well as note reading. This is why I work- so we can afford these little luxuries. It means the world to me to be able to indulge her in activities that can shape her as a person and help her grow and learn.

As for myself- I would love to take a painting class. Watching Bob Ross is a form of therapy for me, when I'm stressed it helps me wind down and appreciate art more. I'm always amazed at how people can take a blank canvas and turn it into a work of art. It's not just watching the technique, but looking at the finished product and envisioning yourself in that moment in that picture, whether it's on a snowy mountain, or in the woods surrounded by nature and the "happy little trees".

Some people have made parodies of Bob Ross poking fun at him, and while some of them are hilarious, I still implore people to watch his show on PBS if you get a chance. Some people will be bored by it- but for some of us, it's a form of therapy and is quite soothing. There are few people in this world I would have loved to have met before they passed away- and Bob Ross is one of them.

Guess who?

Contrary to belief (emails I have received), I have not fallen from the face of the earth. I have just been busy (what else is new?) with a lot of stuff between work, doctor's and now summer being in full swing. I am on my last day of a most needed vacation and my mom flew home from visiting with us today. It was great to see her again, but we must get back to real life, no?

In early June I finally saw my daughter's endocrinologist, someone who is highly recommended here, and she encouraged me to start monitoring my caloric intake to see how I do with portion size. Wow. What a difference calorie counting does. The first week was rough, and while I have fallen off the wagon since my vacation began, I am still working on it. I am eating more leafy greens and whole grains (low glycemic index), and continuing with my exercise. She wants to put me on Byetta, a diabetic drug, but after seeing the gastro side effects it had on my mother, I am going to discuss this with her the next time I see it. I am leery about any medication in the first place, especially since I am not diabetic, but my Insulin Resistance has caused most of my weight to be gained in my stomach area, which is a huge precursor to heart disease and other cardio problems. I don't know what the answer is. My endocrinologist even discussed Gastric Bypass with me, but she is leery about it because of my tummy being so sensitive (which I'll get to in a bit). We'll see, and I'm going to make it a goal to post more about this stuff on a regular basis!

About my stomach- the problems have gotten worse. I had my HIDA scan last Friday to determine whether my gall bladder was the problem and well, it is not. While that is a huge relief, it still leaves me with no answers. At this point I am going to stop with the testing and just ask him about Celiac Disease and ways I can change my diet to see if I can stop the bloating and gas/cramping. I had a bout of cramping that was so severe I almost passed out driving home about a few weeks ago, but that was due to the 650 mg of Iron my primary care physician had me on, so needless to say, I am off of iron (my anemia is still bad). I am supposed to be taking Slow Fe (time release Iron), but I have not picked it up yet. Frankly, I am tired of pills and I take almost all vitamins and herbal supplements (which my doctors approve of), with the exception of Omeprazole for my ulcers/GERD (acid Reflux disease).

This summer is only going to continue to get even more busy and I am making it a goal to get myself into gear on this blog as well. I am on Spark People doing my own personal goals with diet and exercise and it's been a tremendous help. As for my family- my daughter is keeping busy with her summer daycamp and field trips, I just added soccer for the fall (3rd season!) and finally, swimming lessons. My husband is in the process of switching to day shift so our marriage can stay intact- 10 months of only seeing each other on the weekends has really put a crimp in our marriage, but we are making it work. I just had my 6 month evaluation at my job and everything is going well so far! I am pleased and feel fortunate to have a wonderful job!

Ciao for now!