Okay, ow...

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Apparently I can now straight-leg deadlift your average small actress, as I was working with two 50b dumbbells last night. Of course, my lower back, butt and thigh muscles are screaming at me this morning, but it's still progress. Once I get up to 60 lb dumbbells, I can straight-leg deadlift your average AVERAGE actress.

Also dropped another pound, so make that a total of 15 pounds lost since all this started. Granted, it's a little slower than I would have liked, but it's still downward movement, which is good. I find that getting off my ass and doing things like cleaning this pit really does make a difference, tra la.

This is just weird

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Apparently those commercials warning about the bloating effects of the stress hormone cortisol were actually telling the truth. Last week, I was pretty much tied in knots as I tried to finish a room box before I had to head back to LA (the full story is here). Worked out, ate within my calorie limit, did all the things I was supposed to do.

Did I drop any weight? Hell no. Did I look like I was 9 months pregnant? Hell yes. So I come home from a spectacular weekend and relax, eat whatever I want from Sunday night to this moment, and somehow three pounds disappear and I can see my toes again. Damn you, cortisol!

And it continues

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Dropped another two pounds since my last post (yay!), but it should have been more by now (boo). However, I've also been slacking off on the nutrition, which explains much -- exercise is great, but you really need to eat good, healthy stuff as well if you want to make headway, and this has been one hella stressful month (the Crimson Tide didn't even make an appearance, and it's been showing up like clockwork for quite a while now). Things have finally calmed down some, so hopefully I can get back to seven hours of sleep a night and eating lots of protein, fruits and veggies.

In other news, had the toofers cleaned today -- apparently I haven't been slacking off that much on the flossing (the dentist told me to step it up, but didn't give me the Lecture(TM) I got at my last cleaning), and I'm going back in a couple of weeks to get fitted for Opalescence whitening trays. It's the first step in Project Let's Improve Mellie's Smile -- next is having the remaining three wisdom teeth yanked sometime in November, then in January I'm going in and getting Invisaligns, and if I have to finance the fuckers I will -- I'm tired of waiting to get my teeth straightened. Once everything is straight and white, I get Lumineers for the chipped front two upper teeth, and I will have my perfect smile, huzzah!

Tired

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Tired tired tired. I'm glad today's my rest day, because I really need a nap (had one hell of a time getting to bed last night -- stupid brain) and I think the bod needs a bit of a chance to kick back and do some necessary repairs. I did hit the gym last night, but I just wanted to pass out afterwards and couldn't because I had to go to Whole Foods and get food for the Boyz (because, you know, they're poor starving kittens and will just DIE if their food bowl goes empty for more than an hour).

The weight bounced up two pounds this morning, but that's not surprising -- I ate like a wild thing yesterday, plus I consumed a hella amount of sugar (trapped at my desk making changes to an executive training deck). Judging from the squishiness on my legs, the weight is just water, no biggie. And yet I was happy with how I looked this morning -- go figure.

Make that 14 pounds

Saturday, September 5, 2009

I was going to post and say that I've lost 12 pounds as of the beginning of July, but then I got on the scale this morning. Granted, I also slept late so that had something to do with it, but STILL.

14 pounds. Not a lot, compared to everything I still have to lose, but it's more than just a drop in the bucket. And the changes over the last two months have been significant:

  • I can now do a butt-to-the-heels squat. Not with any weight, mind you, but I've got plenty of built-in weight as it is so I'm not worried about that.
  • I went shopping at Fashion Bug last week to get some clothes for the LA trip. They have a proprietary size system for their jeans, so I automatically grabbed the largest size and tried them on. I swam in them. Went down a size, tried those on -- still too big. Went down ANOTHER size, and finally found the ones that fit just right. Weelah!
  • Muscle definition. I'm developing a rather nice set of traps, my deltoids are shyly making an appearance, and my forearms and calves are turning into things of muscled beauty. I have nice amounts of muscle growing in my thighs and upper arms, too -- they're just not as easy to see because of the padding. But if I make a muscle, man, you can feel it. As for the trunk, there's just so much padding there that it's hard to tell, but I THINK I'm making inroads -- I can do 60 ab crunches, and back hyperextensions are getting easier and easier.
  • Last night, I hit Legacy Books for some more research material, and jogged up the stairs to the Mezzanine. I've been going up stairs MUCH more easily these days (going down still hurts because of my Achilles bursitis, but I figure that will improve eventually).
  • I looked at the videocast I made from my first trip to LA, and then at the second one, and my face is noticeably slimmer in the second vcast. Hu-fucking-zzah!

So, this whole thing is actually working out rather well. I'm losing the weight slowly, which is frustrating but healthy, I'm not hungry, I'm getting stronger every day, and I need smaller clothes. This, my friends, is what would be called "all good."

This plateau...is cracked

Sunday, August 23, 2009

It helps if you imagine me saying that in a Zelda Rabinowitz-like voice. Anyway, got on the scale this morning and I dipped a whole .8 of a pound below the lowest I've been since I started working out, so I take it to mean that I've leveled off to some degree on the muscle mass gain. I'll get more, of course, but I think I've pretty much stopped evenly trading off fat pounds for muscle pounds, which is good because it means I have a significant amount of energy-hungry muscle tissue now.

I'm boring you, aren't I? Never mind -- it's all good. And it probably helped that I spent most of yesterday disimpacting my office and reorganizing my closet, because I was on my feet and sweating for a good 6 hours or so, plus I now have a lovely office in which to work.

Next up -- the upstairs bathroom, and I think I'm gonna vacuum the stairs and wash the bedding. And write. And practice my viola. And work on some graphics for the day job. And work out with Stretch at 9 tonight. *blink*blink* This IS the weekend, right?

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Okay, first off, downward motion HAS resumed, so that's a lovely thing to see.

Secondly, I stopped off at one of my favorite restaurants today to grab a quick lunch. I haven't been there in awhile due to Life Stuff(TM), so the hostess chatted with me for a bit while we headed to my usual table, then she looked at me closely and said, "You look good -- have you lost weight?"

Ohyeah. She is the first person to say that to me since June. The Bodacious Brit, bless his heart, simply doesn't notice things like that (which I suppose I should be grateful for), and while I can see the difference in the mirror, it's still nice to get outside confirmation that there have indeed been topographical changes and I'm not just imagining things.

Onward and downward!

Well, I WAS going to say that downward movement has resumed

Friday, August 21, 2009

But then I had dinner. And I suspect I blew anything I achieved today due to that.

It was damn good flatiron fish sticks and chicken caesar salad from Whole Foods, though. And I still hauled my ass out to the gym and lifted a myriad of weights, so that's all good. And as soon as the dye sets and I can wash my hair, I can actually go to bed at a reasonable hour -- go me!

The Master Bath

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Hot. Dripping with sweat. Putting stuff on and away. Listening to the B-52's FUNPLEX while I clean up the minor flood we had this morning (somehow one of the sinks that was draining slowly had filled up and gently slopped onto the floor -- got it drained, then poured most of a bottle of Drano Professional Gel down there for good measure. We shall not speak of this again).

My goal -- to take a bath in the Roman tub tonight. But first, I must clean off the paint spatters and general schmutz from the remod. And I have to go lift weights with Stretch at 9. Nonetheless, it shall be done, because I'm actually in shape to DO it.

Oh, yeah

I'm definitely putting on muscle mass. I got back from Austin and Armadillocon yesterday (hi Walt!), and went for a swim; not only am I significantly less buoyant than I was, but it's a lot easier for me to swim underwater (aka I'm not fighting my own body's flotation).

I also took a good look at pictures we were snapping at the Salt Lick yesterday. I'm still a broad broad, but that horrible soft bloaty look is gone -- I may have big arms, but they look like they could clout you a good one if you pissed me off. And my boobs look fantastic. :-) So, lack of movement on the scales isn't necessarily a bad thing.


And considering that I woke up this morning to find that one of the sinks in the master bathroom had mysteriously filled up and created a small flood, I will be cleaning and repairing things in there today, which should gain some workout points. Yay for me!

Reality Check

Friday, August 14, 2009

The downward trend on the scale has stopped dead in its tracks for the last couple of days, in part because I'm essentially allergic to being a girl and my body decides to retain water like a camel in the Sahara at both ends of my menstrual cycle, huzzah. In part, however, it's because I'm putting on muscle at the same time I'm losing fat, and muscle weighs more than fat. Intellectually I understand this, and that lack of movement on the scale isn't necessarily bad. Emotionally, though, I'm jumping up and down while calling the scale a lying motherfucker because I really want those numbers to continue dropping, dammit.

Humph. At least I can SEE that I'm putting on muscle. My clothes are fitting better, my calves are turning into lovely, well-defined things once again, my quads are getting stronger every day (seriously, you cannot imagine how happy I was when I got my butt to my heels for the first time a couple of days ago -- I couldn't have done that if you put a gun to my head two months ago), and I've moved up five pounds on a variety of exercises. I still don't see a lot of definition in my upper body, but let's be honest, I'm also carrying a hella amount of padding there. I do see the faintest of changes in my upper arms, shoulders and back, though, which is something, and my face doesn't look as bloated as it did back in June. The tummy -- yeah, well, that's usually the last to go, so I'll just live with it for now.

And I have to admit something -- my butt looks downright weird. I still have junk in the trunk, but I also have muscle back there now and it's pushing everything out and up. I'm guessing that's a self-correcting problem as I continue to work out, but I really do feel like I have a living bustle attached back there.

Thank you, Goddess of Sq’waht!

Monday, August 10, 2009

As of today, people, I did a full, honest-to-Cthulhu butt to the heels squat. Granted, I wasn't carrying any weight, and I did have to keep a couple of fingers on the kitchen countertop for balance, but compared to my sad and pathetic inability to go even to a 90 degree angle as of early July without feeling flares of agony in both knees, this is frigging marvelous.

And this, of course, is what comes of lifting 200 lb on the leg press for the last three weeks, plus adding more weight to the leg extensions and calf curls. Which I will continue to do, plus I can now add the squat into my leg routine (I may try a split squat or lunge next time, as well). Mellie is a happy iron-lifting camper, people, she truly is, because the squat is the queen of exercises -- you have to work so many muscles in order to keep proper form, you can't help but tone everything from your legs to your traps.

Huzzah!

In Montreal

Saturday, August 8, 2009

For Worldcon, and my dogs are barking after only one day. Nonetheless, I did a fair amount of walking back and forth to the Palais de Congress for the actual con, got footage of me reading "Lusts of the Cat Queen: A Dash Manning Adventure," actually had people come up and ask for my signature at the signing, got back to the hotel and took a very necessary nap (did NOT sleep very well last night due to paltry pillows -- got extras for tonight), then got up, lifted weights in the frankly pathetic hotel weight room, and walked over to the Old Port for dinner with friends. Said walk included two moderate hill climbs -- yes, I puffed like Thomas the Tank Engine, but only because I was keeping up with the three rapid walkers in my party.

All in all, I'd say I put in maybe an hour's worth of walking today, plus the weights, so while I don't think I stayed within my caloric limit I didn't go TOO badly over, and at least I moved my ass in appropriate ways. And now, shower and bed before I have to get up at Oh Dark Thirty for the flight tomorrow. Whee.

*sigh*

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Got in the pool. Did 30 laps. The leg feels a little bit better. Still, why do I have to be such a klutz?

Goddammit!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Ouch. Was doing a set of inverse fly reps (where you bend over and lift dumbbells through the transverse plane -- it works your posterior deltoid, and I'm trying to hit each deltoid head on my Pull nights) and somehow tripped over the chair that I was kneeling on. I wound up throwing a weight across the room as I wobbled for balance, and whacked the inside of my leg right below my knee a good one. Stretch asked if I was all right, and I told her that it took YEARS of practice to achieve that level of grace. Hmmph.

Oh, and the area below the knee is now swollen and the bruising is already coming up, and I did something interesting to the side of my opposite foot so now I'm hobbling around like a Serbian grandmother. Fabulous.

On the up side, I can see the veins along the outside of my arm, now. They don't stick out or anything, but they're clearly visible beneath the skin. And I could be wrong but I thought I saw a brief flash of jawline tonight, as if it were waving at me saying, "I'm here! I know it's hard to see me, but I'm here!" I'm tempted to go jump in the pool for a bit -- that can help with bruising -- but I also have a shitload of writing that I'd really like to get done tonight, plus my bitch harpy of a Muse just dropped ANOTHER novel idea on my head, and I have to jot it down. You know you want my life.

Dripping mit der goo

Sunday, August 2, 2009

BUT -- the grass seed has been spread on the front lawn, the bushes are all trimmed, the crepe myrtle had the boughs that were threatening to block the front door cut back, everything's been watered, and the front gate is now in good repair once more.

Well, it's under triple digits, and we're heading into August -- I need to take the opportunity to do yard work before it turns into the surface of the sun out there. Besides, the exercise is good for me, and I still have to hit the gym at 7 tonight and do a leg workout with Stretch. Yay!

Yeah, I'm gonna be feeling that tomorrow

Friday, July 31, 2009

I was on the leg press machine tonight (yeah, yeah, I know, squats are better, but I can't DO squats until I build up my quads and I can do that on the leg press), and just for the hell of it I decided to see if I could press 200 lb.

As it turns out, I could, for a a full 1 x 10 set. Of course, I was staggering after I got off the bloody thing, but it's nice to know that I can move that much weight. And in other delightful news, the Crimson Tide has actually made an on-time appearance for once, complete with surprisingly painful cramps! It's my Special Girl Time -- yay!

I'm not a well clown

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Thanks to some yokel who sneezed on Lyndon in WalMart and passed along some horrible inbred bug which he then inadvertantly passed on to me, I spent most of yesterday on the couch hurting all over, feeling rotten and trying to doze. As a result I was wide awake for a large chunk of last night, didn't get nearly enough sleep, and currently feel like I'm sleepwalking. Yay.

I also stayed within my caloric allowance, go me, but gained about .8 of a pound, which I figure is pretty much water thanks to the oncoming Crimson Tide and the fact that I was too achy to swim (well, hell, I was due a rest day in any case). Gosh, but being a girl is so much fun!

Phoo.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Lat pulldowns. Pullups (you use the lat bar and pretend you're trying to chin yourself on it). Upright rows. Arm curls. Shrugs. Seated rows. Something to work the rotator cuff because my right one is bothering me.

My hair is dripping with sweat. Everyone else was wearing pretty gym togs -- I was in old sweats and a badly worn and tattered t-shirt. And I got a couple of horrified looks from some sweet young things when I started grunting during the upright rows.

God, I love weightlifting. And I still have 133 calories or so to play with before I hit the hay. Vanilla yogurt, I do believe you're calling my name.

Oh, and since I started with the weights last week? Six pounds down. BOOyah.

Painkillers are our friends

Stretch walked up to my desk this morning and said in a conversational tone, "I was cursing your name last night."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I couldn't sit down -- my butt hurt from those lunges."

I commiserated, explaining how I staggered downstairs this morning at 5:30 AM to gulp some Tylenol and nap on the couch because my back was aching from Saturday's workout. "So, gym tonight at 9?"

"You bet."

Because achiness? Feh. We have iron to lift.

Did you know

Sunday, July 26, 2009

That you can use the diving board in a pool as an assisted dip machine if you can't quite use the one in the gym because it doesn't have enough weight to counteract, well, you?

And that if you can't do a full squat in the gym, you can get in a couple of sets of squats in the shallow end of the pool? Granted, you'll probably get some pool water up your nose as well, but you still get the workout.

And that even if you feel like crap because some yokel sneezed on your husband and passed along a bug that he inadvertently passed on to you, you still want to go swimming because you've seen a pleasing downward trend in the scale numbers (finally!!!).

Training with Stretch

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Stretch is a coworker whom I've inveigled into coming to the gym with me -- tonight was only her second night, and she promptly marched across the gym doing lunges with weights. I have never been so proud of my enabling powers. She did mention that her arms were a little achy from the first night, and that she probably wouldn't be able to walk on Monday and it would all be my fault. I told her she had a chair on wheels, and to get her bandmate to wheel her anywhere she needs to go.

Well, hey, it made sense to me.

In the meantime, I'm discovering that it's fun having a weightlifting buddy because you can moan and complain to someone as you work out. And in other positive news, I've just discovered that a Starbucks Grande Mocha Frappucino Light with no whipped cream is only 180 calories. Because every so often, a woman needs a cold, chocolatey, caffeinated treat after a long, hot day, dammit.

EUUURGHH!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I love making that noise in the gym, I really do, which is why I usually go when it's deserted so people don't wonder where the camel in labor is. And since Wednesdays is usually Push Day (I do the three-day split workout from Stumptuous.com -- push, pull and legs), yesterday I got to do bench presses, tricep presses, shoulder presses, crunches, and I threw in a set of upright rows just because I felt like it. Still can't do deadlifts -- the knees just won't support my weight in a squat -- but those will come, those will come.

Have I mentioned how much I love weightlifting? I don't know if it's linked to my naturally violent tendencies or I just like grunting a lot, but this really is one of my all-time favorite exercises. And one of the few nice things about being a broad broad is that nobody expects you to be delicate and feminine, so I've never had anyone make stupid comments like "Oh, you're lifting too heavy," or "You just want to tone" or "the pretty pink dumbbells are in the corner over there."

Thank you, no, I'll stay over here with the nice black free weights. I did pick up a 35 lb dumbbell last night just to see if I could curl it -- um, no. But in a couple of months? Heh, heh, heh...

60 laps

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Admittedly, I was somewhat limp by the time I got out of the pool, but still. And just to show that aerobics does bubkes, absolutely no movement on the scale this morning. But I go and lift weights tonight, so you can bet your bippy that there will be downward movement tomorrow morning.

The downside of being 3/4 Eastern European

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

I can do aerobic exercises until the cows come home, and while it does lovely things for my heart it does absolutely bubkes for my butt (well, it probably does good things for my butt, as well, but at an absolutely glacial pace).

I lift weights, however, and suddenly I step on the scale and I'm down two pounds. This is what happens when you come from a people who bred their women to be able to pull a plow in case they had to eat the ox during the winter. Now if I can just keep it up, I'll be a happy camper.

The stamina is definitely picking up

Monday, July 20, 2009

Just had an absolutely splendid weekend in LA, saw an incomparable show, hung out with new friends, and I didn't feel lightheaded or need to lie down once. Go me!

Also, 53 laps, and some of them are now a standard crawl.

51 laps

Saturday, July 11, 2009

I'm just sayin'. Although the new goggles I picked up at Academy Sports helped a lot.

And now, I must go shower, then collapse.

Okay, there's a reason why you need a rest day

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Because if you swim 6 days a week and you get your tubby body up to 45 laps, your muscles are gonna, well, hurt.

Of course, now that I've gotten into the habit of swimming I actially felt kind of guilty that I didn't get into the pool yesterday. However, when I got on the scale this morning and discovered that I'd lost .8 of a pound anyway (most likely water weight from inflammation of sore muscles, but whatever), I decided it was a good thing nonetheless.

One thing that IS frustrating me about the scales, however -- I can see the changes in my arms and legs, and even my tummy is starting to shrink the tiniest bit, which is all good. But scale-wise I've lost almost nothing, which is somewhat frustrating. I don't know if I'm replacing fat with muscles (I'm more used to doing that when I lift weights, but I suppose I would increase muscle mass somewhat with swimming), and I'm not complaining about the physical changes. I would just like to see a downward shift in that magic number, as well. If nothing else, my feet would appreciate it.

I'm gonna live!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Yesterday the doorbell rang -- it was my neighbor from down the street, who had received the blood test results from my doc (this is normal for my neighborhood -- we routinely get other people's mail, and I just redeliver it). Slightly nervous, I opened the envelope and read the results.

Ta da! No diabetes, no cancer, no infections or any kind, no liver or kidney problems, heart's in good shape, and I just need to work on my bad cholesterol which is slightly elevated (watching fats and weightlifting will fix that, and my good cholesterol is at a nice level). Dr. Allen added a note saying that the labs were all good, asking how I was feeling, and offering to prescribe a diuretic if I felt I needed it (we have a very good working relationship, and he knows I won't ask for something unless I feel it's necessary).

I need to let him know what happened now that I'm on the name brand Synthroid. Who knew that something as simple as dumping a generic would have such a massive effect? Phoo.

Also, I'm now up to 40 laps. Go me!

35 laps -- go me!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

And the Triffid is now sporting one rather odd tuft but is otherwise completely trimmed back. Now I have to work on the bush next to it (I have no idea what it's called -- it has very long grassy green leaves with yellow stripes and sprouts tall bushy sticks by mid-summer) and get that culled back.

Still no word on the blood tests. Dunno if that's good or bad. I do know that it's been a week since I started taking the name brand Synthroid and all of a sudden I'm getting work done around the house, I'm swimming every night, I'm gardening out back and making sure the lawn is watered, I cleaned the patio area so that we can barbeque on Friday, and I plan on spending this weekend getting the bedroom and master bath whipped into shape. Two weeks ago I was lucky if I could haul my ass upstairs to record a podcast. You can't tell me that generic Synthroid and the name brand stuff are bioequivalent.

Still waiting for those blood test results

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Which is a little worry-making, considering that I've always gotten them back within a week before. Yah...

But there does seem to be a difference with the brand name Synthroid. I'm not nearly as tired (the Triffid out back is almost cut down to size, I've got the bulk of the offcuts bagged and ready for the brush pickup, and I just cleaned the patio area in preparation for this weekend. I think I've been possessed by Martha Stewart), my head's a lot clearer, and Thumper has been behaving itself more reasonably (I'm still getting the occasional heart hiccup, but I'm also entertaining the Crimson Tide and that's the usual time for them)

Plus I'm still doing 31 laps a night, and I'm debating going to the gym tonight and hitting the iron. On one hand it would be a good thing, and then I could just come home and jump in the pool. On the other hand I still have to edit the podcast, and doing some of my own writing might be a nice thing. We shall see.

Iiinteresting...

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Did you know that generic levothyroxine (aka generic Synthroid) can be up to 30% less effective than the name brand stuff, and can show dramatic differences as to how it's taken up and distributed in the body?

Did you know that some of the side effects reported with generic levothyroxine include:

dizziness
heart palpitations
fatigue
depression
recurrent sinus infections
joint pain
brain fog
problems remembering things
edema

Did you know that I've been on generic levothyroxine for years, now, and have experienced:

dizziness
heart palpitations
fatigue
depression
recurrent sinus infections
joint pain
brain fog
problems remembering things
edema

With the dizziness, fatigue, heart palps and edema hitting really hard in the last six months.

I just turned in my renewed Synthroid scrip, and told the pharmacist that I want the name brand, NOT the generic. It may take a couple of days to see an effect, but believe me, I will be watching this.

Oh, by the way, 30 laps last night. Go me.

The weird thing is

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Even though I'm exhausted and all my muscles ache, I'm still able to swim every night. Go figure. Maybe the buoyancy is helping or something, I dunno, but I'm up to 25 laps, with a break every 10 laps. If I could get up to 50 laps, I would be a happy camper indeed.

After the doctor's visit

Monday, June 22, 2009

On the plus side, my blood pressure is 120 over 80 -- it just doesn't get better than that. And my EKG showed normal sinus rhythm, so everything looks good from a cardiac point of view. My lungs sound clear, and he didn't find anything wrong with my skin, joints or tummy -- all very good as well.

He was concerned about the edema, fatigue, dizziness and recurring heart hiccups, however, and sent me off to have some bloodwork done (CBC, sed rate, cholesterol, thyroid, and glucose), which required three test tubes of blood and three failed attempts at a venous puncture (and this is after I chugged a bottle of water) before the Pro from Dover was called in and nailed a vein in the back of my hand. Damn my tiny and painfully shy veins.

So now we wait. Whee...

I think I have an issue

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Well, I know I have an issue, but I'm getting it confirmed tomorrow (hopefully) during a doctor's appointment. For most of this year I've had problems with edema in my legs -- I've always retained water like a sponge and have looked 9 month's pregnant upon occasion due to the tummy bloat, but now my feet and ankles would swell up horribly, as well, which just ain't good.

And then there are the heart hiccups, as I like to call them. I've been having those since 2005 -- had them checked out by the doc, he pronounced them premature ventricular contractions and put me on beta blockers, which did absolutely nothing. They seem to come more frequently in the time between my fertile period and my period period, but could pop up at any time.

And then there's the fatigue that would crash over me like a tidal wave, leaving my ass bone tired and unable to muster the energy to do even the simplest things like do laundry or write, for God's sake. Oddly enough, I have been able to swim every night since the 12th, but I also know that I'm just not clearing the lactose buildup like I should and it knocks my ass right out.

And then there's the lightheadedness, which was the final straw when it happened all during Gay Days and left me wondering if I was going to pass out a couple of times. It's also been kind of hard at times to think straight, which is just not good in my line of work.

Usually, these symptoms indicate some degree of heart failure. And if that's what I have, then fine -- I want it diagnosed and I want a treatment plan. It's not curable, but it's treatable and maintainable, and there are things I can do to strengthen the heart muscle. But first I have to take some of the stress off it, which means ACE inhibitors and diuretics. And if it's something else, also fine -- I just need to know what the hell is going on.

So here we go.

Okay, so I have this pool...

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Which I'd kinda forgotten about until Friday, when I was massaging my aching Achilles bursa and wondering how I was going to get some aerobics in. And then I remembered, "Oh, yeah, that big blue thing in the ground out back -- that could help."

So I've been doing laps. Admittedly it's only been since Friday, but oh dear God I can feel the muscle use all over because everything pretty much HURTS until I down three ibuprofen and wait for them to kick in. Which is good for me, right?

Of course right. And the nice thing about the pool being in my own back yard is that I can toss on my bathing suit and not give a rat's ass if my legs are shaved or not because nobody can see into our back yard (well, except for one house across the street and maybe the next door neighbors, but only if we have the lights on).

Add this to the walking I did last weekend at WDW and there's been definite improvement in my leg muscles. Now if the pain will just go away...

Back from New Orleans

Monday, May 11, 2009

And my feet are killing me from walking all over the French Quarter, but by God I DID walk all over the French Quarter. I also drank a hella load of alcohol (between Thursday night and this morning I had 6 cuba libres, one pina colada, two Hurricanes, one Swamp Water, a six pack of Parrot Bay Pineapple Coladas (VERY tasty) and one Smirnoff's Watermelon Ice), but the amazing thing is that I wasn't hung over once, which just goes to show that one must move one's fundament if one is going to drink.

By 10:00 PM Friday night, I had:

Eaten dinner on a balcony while people-watching
Eaten beignets at Cafe du Monde
Gone on a carriage tour of the French Quarter
Had lunch at the Court of the Two Sisters
Gone shopping at the French Market
Purchased a nice sun hat, a dress and a fan
Consumed more alcohol in one night than I had in all of 2008
Determined that there's something about TOS James Kirk that makes me want him on his knees in restraints
Been hugged by a trumpet player who informed me that he liked redheads
Seen someone thrown bodily out of a package store
Started knitting a sock

The adventures continued on Saturday. Among other things, we visited Marie LeBeau's voodoo shop and bought some...ingredients, took another carriage ride so that this time I could get pictures (saw Brangelina's mansion -- doesn't look like much from the street, but most of the old houses here are built on a courtyard plan so that's where all the pretty stuff is), ate crawfish etouffe and flirted with the cutest little Cajun waiter (the Sister told him she wanted to take him home in her purse. He said, "Feed me and I'm yours"), walked past quite the number of strip joints and sex shows on Bourbon, bought a LOT of clothes (me), drank a LOT of beer (the Sister), had a nice conversation with an extremely inebriated young man in our hotel elevator who kept staring at the twins (I was wearing one of my new summer dresses, which makes them look rather perky) and complaining that his outfit was unflattering, listened to some killer music (we can hear the live band across the street from our room, and they know their shit), sat on the balcony and people-watched, and took pictures of a pirate who held up a sign explaining that he was NOT Somalian.

We have determined that when we win the Lotto and buy our flat in the French Quarter, the Sister will buy a carriage and donkey and give carriage tours, and I will brush up my trumpet skills and get a jazz band together.

And then I was at the airport ridiculously early this morning (well, the Sister had to leave this morning at 5:30 AM, poor darlin', so I didn't really have anything else to do), sipping a cuba libre made for me by an adorable Cajun drag queen in mufti, tapping away at my little hacked MSI Wind and pondering a final wander around the airport shops.

I think I really needed this trip -- just a chance to unwind, have many, many drinks with the Sister, do some sightseeing, flirt with the occasional interesting man (the things the Sister was saying about our room service waiter almost had me peeing in my pants, I was laughing so hard) and basically recharge the batteries. Oh, and I bought a killer straw hat that's kind of like the ones that British Airways flight attendants used to wear (with the brim turned up all the way around), only in raffia. The Sister looked at me with a hint of envy and said that I could wear hats. This is true, especially when I'm holding the Big Ass Beers sign from a local joint on Bourbon Street, which is a post for another day when I have access to a card reader for the memory card in my phone. But I digress.

In the meantime, I now return home with fizzing batteries, ready to get back to work on the book and Story #4 in the AYITL series, and start prepping for Podcasterpalooza in Orlando in June. Whee!

Bleah

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I have put off weightlifting until tomorrow night because to be perfectly honest I am Not a Well Clown. Quite apart from hurting all over, I am having phlegm issues like you would not believe, and it's just a bit difficult to breathe. Not the best circumstances for throwing iron around, really.

So I've popped my full-strength antihistamine (Chlor-Trimeton, how I love thee) and decongestant (the good stuff, not that PE shit), and I'm really, really hoping that it dries up this gunk. If it doesn't, I'm picking up some Mucinex on the way in to work tomorrow. And if THAT doesn't help, well, it could make driving to Tulsa on Friday a bit interesting. Yeah.

I'm not even looking at the scale right now

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

It's not a good idea because 1) added muscle mass fools me into thinking I haven't lost any weight, even though my pants are starting to fall off and I can see the difference in my face, and 2) the Crimson Tide is about to make its appearance and I am retaining enough water to flood the Sahara. Oh, it's so much FUN to be a girl.

It didn't help that every part of me hurt like a bitch yesterday, so much so that I pretty much did a face plant at 10:00 PM (and promptly woke up at 2:30 AM, long enough to kiss Lyndon good night and threaten Jordan with flaming death if he didn't stop meowing to go out). On the plus side, I woke up at 7:45 AM and finished some work for one of my web clients before heading into the office, which means I have the evening for writing, cleaning (we're having a guy come in tomorrow to install baseboards and put in the toilet in the master bath) and going to the gym, so that's all good.

In other news, I'm going to be a traveling fool over the next couple of weeks. This weekend is Conestoga in Tulsa, and two weeks later I'm going to New Orleans with Stacy (the real reason why I started back in with the exercise, as Stacy plans on walking all over the French Quarter and I gotta keep up with the little firecracker). This should be interesting...

This is why I love lifting weights

Friday, April 17, 2009

It's only two weeks into my triumphant return to the iron, and already I can see hints of definition in the arms and legs again, trala. I still remember back in 2004 when I turned over in bed, wrapped my arms around myself and realized I could feel a big old bulge in my bicep -- I REALLY wanna get back to that. The libido's still turned up to 11, as well, but there are ways of, erm, handling that.

The next thing on the schedule is making sure I'm fully stocked up with protein wherever I go (South Beach bars at work, cheese cubes, hardboiled eggs and lots of meat at home). That way, I won't get hungry on the way home and hear the clarion call of McDonald's. I do know from experience that Atkins works a treat with me, but eating nothing but protein 24/7 is a real bitch, organization-wise.

A Poopy Mood

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I don't know why, but I am in one whopper of a downer mood today. I don't want to write, don't want to clean, don't want to do any of the stuff that I really should be doing (although I did put the new plates on the car and replaced the burnt-out headlight, but that's only because I like to avoid unnecessary run-ins with the Law), don't even want to do anything frivolous and fun, which is unusual for Ms. "Must be doing SOMETHING at all times, even if it's only staring off into space and daydreaming."

And no, I don't feel burnt out. Or sad, or mad, or anything, really. And PMS is a good two weeks away, so that's not it. I just feel...blah. Weird, especially since I've been back at the gym on a regular basis for a week and a half, now, and regular exercise usually does wonders for my mood.

I dunno -- maybe my endocrine system is on strike or something. Somebody tell me a joke, stat.

Yes, I'm back

Sunday, April 12, 2009

And Mellie has fallen in love once again with the iron, thanks to a very, very nice 24/7 gym down the street from our house. I can go down there at 11:00 PM when it's effectively deserted and grunt my heart out while I lift weights and make faces at myself in the mirrored walls. I posted on Twitter that lifting weights can be better than sex, and it's true -- afterwards I'm sweaty, exhausted, full of endorphins and am inordinately pleased with myself. And I don't care who makes fun of me for that opinion, so there, nyah.

There's only one eensy problem with lifting weights -- well, with lifting weights and being in my 40s. Namely, it brings the nominal amounts of naturally occurring testosterone in my system to the fore, and, well...let's just say that I have much more sympathy for teenage boys, because if they're this horny I'm amazed they can walk in a straight line. I'm serious -- this shit is DISTRACTING.