Boo!

So of course, right after I come on here and post 'happy, happy, joy, joy' the toddler's kiddo's nose starts dripping with the boogies of doom.

I started sneezing yesterday and am feeling kind of tired today. Not sick yet, but...

This cycle is rather defeating. Also, I probably should never admit that anything is going well, it's just too tempting for fate.

Anyway, I did go to a zumba class last week. Now that I'm inside working all the time, I find I don't want to exercise where I work and have felt the need to get out of the house.

I did the whole hour class with some modifications to keep the movements low impact. My energy was perfect afterwards and into the next day. That's a happy thing.

I'm going again tonight.

Which might not be wise given the boogie situation, but maybe I won't get sick, right?

It's pretty sad that I'm always just one bug away from going backwards. If I think about that too much it freaks me out.

Lots going on this week. My one book continues to do very well. That freaks me out too. It's hard to focus on writing the next book since the current one is such a reality show. I have developed the bad habit of refreshing my sales reports over and over just to see the numbers move. It's addicting.

We're gearing up to make Halloween cut-out cookies. Our traditional tentacle pot pie will be had for dinner sometime this week. Trick or treating was canceled due to the hurricane so we're busying managing the kiddo's dashed expectations. She's taking it hard.

Don't let the hurricane blow you away!

Happy Update

Things are trucking along over here.

I am excited to say that I no longer become ill with exercise. It might tire me out and I'm certainly keeping it low impact, but I can work out and then continue to be productive.

And when was the last time I was on here complaining about stomach flu whatsit? Several months, no? That's pretty major, in my opinion.

For the first time in 2.5ish years.

I currently do not have a cold, although I remain wary. Germs seem to lurve me long time. (Got my flu shot though!)

Weight is an issue. I've only gained about 7lbs BUT my body shape has changed as if I've gained 20lbs. I'm up a size. I'm sure this can be attributed to several factors:

1.Progesterone.

2.I'm not as fit as I was so I think the muscle tone has gone slack.

3.I'm not in the adrenal pit anymore so I have an appetite plus...

4.Full resurgence of insulin resistance. The adrenal insufficiency tipped the balance in favor of weight loss. That is now gone.

On the one hand, I kind of don't care because I'm just so happy to feel better. On the other hand...there's a lot of negative self talk. I beat myself up.

I'm avoiding the scale (because who needs that downer?) and focusing on exercise and eating right. We'll see what shakes out. Maybe someday the switch will flip and there will actually be a relationship between my lifestyle and weight. Right now there's no correlation.

Tomorrow I get up at the buttcrack of dawn to get a blood draw. We'll see what all my hormone levels are like now that I've been on progesterone for a few months.

As for writing...I did hit the Top 100. I was soooo excited. I have been working like a dog though, which is why I haven't been posting much here. Starting next month I hope to translate my stories into German which is, if my memory is correct, the second largest book market in the world.

I also need to take time off--my work ethic is killing me. I'm trashing my hands with all the clicking and typing and plan to get some dictation equipment to take the physical strain off my body.

I've almost reached full time income level from writing. Not a high paying full time income, but enough that I can say I'm a fully employed writer. (Also, I'm making more than most traditionally published writers see in a year, which blows my mind!) Of course, once the business expenses and taxes are taken away it's not as much. And who knows how long it will last? The internet spins on a dime. It could all be gone tomorrow.

Still it's very exciting! I also got some fan mail recently! Woo!

Okay, that's all I have time for... gotta dash to an appointment.

Groggy with Bad Knees

Today was much better than Sunday on all counts, but I think I need another good night's sleep to totally get rid of the tireds.

Tried to exercise...been trying to step up my game...and what do I get?

Another knee strain.

On my good knee.

I don't understand. I've been going slow. I wasn't doing anything I hadn't done before. There was no pain or any warning that things were in trouble. Just one squat and boom! It's done.

I was just making plans to go to a Zumba class too.

This is very frustrating. I wonder if anyone has counted the injury rate among the chronically ill? Because I am finding the constant cycling from conditioned to deconditioned to be very challenging.

I cannot be the only one.

Check In

So I thought the cold was gone. Even went for a walk a few days ago...today I wake up full of asthma and congestion. My left ear is clogged again.

I want to blame it on some glancing cigarette smoke exposure, but that wouldn't clog my ear.

Spent most of the morning in bed...worn out I think from the asthma, which is not horrible, but still significant. At least now the skin on my chest will move freely.

With regards to writing...I'm getting into audiobooks now. Collaborating with narrators and splitting the profits. It's been an interesting learning curve.

One of my books is likely going to hit the top 100 on Amazon sometime this month (this is the equivalent of making a USA Today or NYT bestseller list--I hit it once before on that book that Amazon mistakenly filtered from their search algo and the book never recovered). Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself by saying anything, but it's been fun to watch it sloooooowly climb the charts.

Too bad my health isn't on the same upward trajectory.

Frat Party Hours

I really want to go to bed. It's 11:30 and I can't.

My daughter is just about five. This is relevant, bear with me...

At her birthday party last week, I said to my husband, "Remember when she was a baby and we couldn't wait for her to be five because that would surely mean we were sleeping?"

He gave a weary sigh. "And now she's up until midnight."

Ahahahahaha.

The only upside...she sleeps in until 9 and sometimes even 10am. (I will start waking her up after the time-space continuum is shot to hell by daylight savings time. To try and influence her sleeping schedule before then would be lunacy and just cause more problems. If you don't have kids, you'll just have to trust me that daylight savings time is hellacious for parents. I dread it like it's a phobia.)

One of us has to stay up because she wanders and plays dress-up and reads books and sneaks down the stairs. And I send her back up the stairs and she cries and screams and on and on it goes.

I say I send her back up because, for some reason, I'm the one who's always stuck up with her. In fact, hubby's already asleep and I'm here typing away, burning with envy.

So the cold...kicking my ass. The usual drill....like any other cold. Just waiting to see if it's going to flare the asthma or not. So far it's sticking around...apparently it likes its new digs.

The Reveal

So it turns out I have a cold, which is probably why I felt sick after working out. Would I have become sick without exercise? I don't know.

It appears my body operates on a two weeks well, two weeks ill cycle. That seems to be the trend of the last two plus years.

It's funny because I was thinking of having a dinner party, but held off on setting a date because...what if I get sick?

And then I was arguing with myself that it was silly to hesitate because I'm better now, right?

Well, yes and no.

Clueless

Things are going well. Started progesterone and my energy has improved. Man, without it, I felt like the fatigue was going to spin my eyeballs back in my head and take me out at the knees.

The interesting thing is I am trying to amp up the intensity of my workouts and I'm getting the cold symptoms again. However, this time without the low energy.

I have no idea what that's about. None.

Documenting

Just a quick note...

Having some fatigue with weakness and flank pain today.

Potential factors....

-detoxing from Coke Zero (yes, again) so likely have some caffeine withdrawal at play.

-did some more intense exercise the last few days, which went fine in the moment, but has since seemed to bring those adrenal twinges back to life.

So no exercise today. We'll see how it looks after a day of low activity/extra rest.