After a crappy night's sleep last night, I'm determined to sleep good tonight. I went swimming and now I'm sitting at my computer and I'm knitting away. That combination should help. I keep having issues with leg cramps.
I haven't posted for a couple days. Bad me! I bought myself a Nook e-book reader and for the first time in a couple years I'm able to read! I have a lot of issues with blurry, tired eyes, but now I can adjust my font so I can read it easier and I've already busted through two books and a magazine.LOL Terry Brooks! My Fave!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
I bought a toy!
You would think I was talking about something wonderful for knitting, but instead I got a brand new Nookcolor e-reader today. Complete with my first downloaded knitting book on it.
It all started the day before yesterday when the SSI office called to do my yearly update appointment over the phone. After I hung up and started to knit, she called me back. It turned out that social security had underpaid me several months last fall. They were pretty sure that I was declaring that Randy was making less money than he was, so they let me know they would be investigating and would most likely have to take the money from my monthly checks. I was distressed, but figured we would just work through it. Well, instead, they found that we delcared more than we were supposed to. So that led to a rare moment in my life when I have money to decide what to do with.
I started by being the responsible one and decided we would use it for a car to replace the one that Chelle lost a couple months ago. But when she got home from work, she informed me that she rather liked things the way they were since she was losing weight by biking and walking and we have Steven's car here for doctor appointments. So we decided to replace cloths and get some things that we've been wanting, but couldn't afford.
At first I thought I would go for a laptop. Then I discovered that e-readers work like little computer laptops. You can access the web, download books and then read them with the size of font that is easiest on your eyes, and listen to music on them. I did some research and compared several different brands, finally choosing the Nook from Barnes & Nobel book store. It's lightweight, small and compact, and has a holder that can be used to stand it up for easy, hands free viewing.
I would tell you more, but I want to play now!
It all started the day before yesterday when the SSI office called to do my yearly update appointment over the phone. After I hung up and started to knit, she called me back. It turned out that social security had underpaid me several months last fall. They were pretty sure that I was declaring that Randy was making less money than he was, so they let me know they would be investigating and would most likely have to take the money from my monthly checks. I was distressed, but figured we would just work through it. Well, instead, they found that we delcared more than we were supposed to. So that led to a rare moment in my life when I have money to decide what to do with.
I started by being the responsible one and decided we would use it for a car to replace the one that Chelle lost a couple months ago. But when she got home from work, she informed me that she rather liked things the way they were since she was losing weight by biking and walking and we have Steven's car here for doctor appointments. So we decided to replace cloths and get some things that we've been wanting, but couldn't afford.
At first I thought I would go for a laptop. Then I discovered that e-readers work like little computer laptops. You can access the web, download books and then read them with the size of font that is easiest on your eyes, and listen to music on them. I did some research and compared several different brands, finally choosing the Nook from Barnes & Nobel book store. It's lightweight, small and compact, and has a holder that can be used to stand it up for easy, hands free viewing.
I would tell you more, but I want to play now!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Trying to get back into shape
After going shopping last night with my daughter, Chelle, and one of my roommates, Steven, I came back, ate dinner, then went for a swim.
For me, the most important thing to keep sane while I fight fibro fog and other symptoms, is to keep active. I'm always looking for more energy by eating the right foods and by getting going, but I have to take it really easy. I get caught up in what I used to be able to do and not in the here and now. In the past, if I needed to lose weight, I would put myself on a rigid diet and start walking/running or using a gym to whittle off the pounds fast. Now its about eating smart, but not dieting and going at a slow and easy pace.
I think part of my problems with staying on board with a careful eating plan and exercise is that I have always done best with a rigid plan set before me on paper that shows me exactly what to eat, how much to eat, and lets me know exactly how much exercise I need and for how long. As soon as I go off the plan, I put the weight right back on and none of the food and exercise plan is continued on a permanent basis. I need something to do for life, not just while I drop a few pounds.
On top of that, I have to make sure I don't damage my already fibro wracked body by overdoing my exercise. This is what I know:
* first, I have to watch portion sizes while eating and cut back there
*second, I need to stick with exercise that won't jar joints or aggravate already sore muscles.
*third, I have to keep a food journal so I can see when I eat wrong and I need to actually do something about it instead of just writing it down.
*and fourth, I need to limit the time spent exercising so I don't hurt myself.
I know what I need to do, but can I stick with it? I refuse to get back into a plan where I have to measure and weigh my food and where I have to do exercises that are boring and easy to find excuses to not do. That's why I resist getting into weights and using the machines in our exercise room here at the apartments. I know that I will be bored to tears. I have no clue how to use the tv in the room, so I end up watching the pre-pre show to the next football/basketball/baseball game that someone else has playing and left on. I tried bringing my knitting, but knitting while moving is out of the question and if I use any equipment that works on the arms, the knitting is pretty much useless.
So here is my plan so far. I try to keep my portions down and pick healthy choices when I shop. I don't go back for seconds, even when its something I love and I know there won't be any seconds for lunch the next day. I walk every morning, but limit the distance so I don't aggravate my heel spurs. I go for a swim every other night, just after dark so the water will still be warm enough to not do damage to my muscles. Now the question remains; can I stick with it? We'll see.
For me, the most important thing to keep sane while I fight fibro fog and other symptoms, is to keep active. I'm always looking for more energy by eating the right foods and by getting going, but I have to take it really easy. I get caught up in what I used to be able to do and not in the here and now. In the past, if I needed to lose weight, I would put myself on a rigid diet and start walking/running or using a gym to whittle off the pounds fast. Now its about eating smart, but not dieting and going at a slow and easy pace.
I think part of my problems with staying on board with a careful eating plan and exercise is that I have always done best with a rigid plan set before me on paper that shows me exactly what to eat, how much to eat, and lets me know exactly how much exercise I need and for how long. As soon as I go off the plan, I put the weight right back on and none of the food and exercise plan is continued on a permanent basis. I need something to do for life, not just while I drop a few pounds.
On top of that, I have to make sure I don't damage my already fibro wracked body by overdoing my exercise. This is what I know:
* first, I have to watch portion sizes while eating and cut back there
*second, I need to stick with exercise that won't jar joints or aggravate already sore muscles.
*third, I have to keep a food journal so I can see when I eat wrong and I need to actually do something about it instead of just writing it down.
*and fourth, I need to limit the time spent exercising so I don't hurt myself.
I know what I need to do, but can I stick with it? I refuse to get back into a plan where I have to measure and weigh my food and where I have to do exercises that are boring and easy to find excuses to not do. That's why I resist getting into weights and using the machines in our exercise room here at the apartments. I know that I will be bored to tears. I have no clue how to use the tv in the room, so I end up watching the pre-pre show to the next football/basketball/baseball game that someone else has playing and left on. I tried bringing my knitting, but knitting while moving is out of the question and if I use any equipment that works on the arms, the knitting is pretty much useless.
So here is my plan so far. I try to keep my portions down and pick healthy choices when I shop. I don't go back for seconds, even when its something I love and I know there won't be any seconds for lunch the next day. I walk every morning, but limit the distance so I don't aggravate my heel spurs. I go for a swim every other night, just after dark so the water will still be warm enough to not do damage to my muscles. Now the question remains; can I stick with it? We'll see.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Socks!!
My current project. I'm using Caron soft worsted weight yarn and have added a little pink in the cuff. I haven't used color for quite a while and had some awkwardness while trying to handle both colors. I need to get more practice.LOL I hate that they are so Pastel!! I need to buy some yarn that has more character than Easter egg colors. Oh well, there should be someone out there that will appreciate them.
Here they are all finished and ready to sell:
My thoughts on relationships and fibromyalgia
I just thought I should devote some space towards my separation from my husband. My marriage hadn't been very strong before I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, but I believe that it had a huge impact on our relationship. I don't figure the actual diagnoses as when I first displayed symptoms, but several years previous to it. I believe that I started having fibro symptoms when I had my first back surgery. It felt as if I never actually healed and I also suffered from sleep apnea so It was around 3 years before my diagnoses.
That was also the time that I found myself feeling very resentful about housework and chores. The daily difficulty of trying to keep the house clean enough to be healthy for my son who was still young and at the same time, dealing with financial stress and the nagging voice in my head that told me I should just sweep the pain under a rug and go to work, made me really negative. When I look back, I realize that I was fighting a losing battle. At the same time, I lost any interest in sex and my self esteem took quite a beating. By the time I first separated and when I finally left for good, I had somewhere along the way gone from feeling like I was holding the world on my shoulders to the idea that I was useless and not helping my family by being alive. The last year of my marriage was spent in one room while he stayed in another and the only time we talked was when it was meal time. My stubborn side told me that I couldn't leave and throw 30 years of marriage away, but my heart told me that if I stayed I would end up sitting in my chair in front of my computer and I would die from not moving. I had lost interest in everything except computer games and didn't leave the apartment.
Luckily I was driven out of the apartment by the heat. We couldn't afford to pay our electric bill and I was so miserable from the heat that I asked my daughter if I could visit her and her room mates. That's what saved me. A week later, I was getting up, cooking, walking around, visiting things outside of her home and, yes, knitting again. I went back long enough to pack my things, say goodbye to my son and husband, and then moved.
I'm not saying that the last year has been easy. I've seen some pretty heavy mood swings and I've had a few health set-backs. But when I look back to last summer, I realize that I have progressed. I now share an apartment with my daughter and a couple of good friends, have a good doctor that is accessible, and I swim three times a week and walk daily. I love to cook, clean my little apartment, and, of course, knit. I still enjoy playing computer games, don't get me wrong, but it isn't all that I have now.
That was also the time that I found myself feeling very resentful about housework and chores. The daily difficulty of trying to keep the house clean enough to be healthy for my son who was still young and at the same time, dealing with financial stress and the nagging voice in my head that told me I should just sweep the pain under a rug and go to work, made me really negative. When I look back, I realize that I was fighting a losing battle. At the same time, I lost any interest in sex and my self esteem took quite a beating. By the time I first separated and when I finally left for good, I had somewhere along the way gone from feeling like I was holding the world on my shoulders to the idea that I was useless and not helping my family by being alive. The last year of my marriage was spent in one room while he stayed in another and the only time we talked was when it was meal time. My stubborn side told me that I couldn't leave and throw 30 years of marriage away, but my heart told me that if I stayed I would end up sitting in my chair in front of my computer and I would die from not moving. I had lost interest in everything except computer games and didn't leave the apartment.
Luckily I was driven out of the apartment by the heat. We couldn't afford to pay our electric bill and I was so miserable from the heat that I asked my daughter if I could visit her and her room mates. That's what saved me. A week later, I was getting up, cooking, walking around, visiting things outside of her home and, yes, knitting again. I went back long enough to pack my things, say goodbye to my son and husband, and then moved.
I'm not saying that the last year has been easy. I've seen some pretty heavy mood swings and I've had a few health set-backs. But when I look back to last summer, I realize that I have progressed. I now share an apartment with my daughter and a couple of good friends, have a good doctor that is accessible, and I swim three times a week and walk daily. I love to cook, clean my little apartment, and, of course, knit. I still enjoy playing computer games, don't get me wrong, but it isn't all that I have now.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Knitting as Therapy
Ok, this is a subject that is near and dear to me. I've heard it said many times, but I decided to do a Google search for it and see what came up. It was one of those moments where you find proof for something that you've known in your heart for a while.
What it means to me is that, if I start when I first start to "fog out," knitting can be helpful to keep me focused. If I wait too long before I start knitting, though, I have to pick out a pattern that I know reeeeallly well. Otherwise I'm not able to concentrate on the pattern well enough and mistakes happen. I've been known to put two heels in one sock before! LOL
I also have to watch out how much repetitive motion I do since I have neuropathy in my hands. Once my hands get to burning, I have to put my knitting aside and let them have a day off.
Where the knitting really comes in handy, though, is in my coping with depression. I have those moments, where the fibromyalgia flare is hanging in there for days, where I feel pretty useless to my family and friends because I am unable to do the things I deem important. That is where my knitting really helps me. I can at least do something that I feel pretty experienced in and that I can produce items that are appreciated by the other members of my family and my friends.
Here are some great articles that I found on the web that support my own findings:
http://www.knitonthenet.com/issue4/features/therapeuticknitting/
http://hubpages.com/hub/Knitting_as_Therapy
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/03/01/Metro/21712.html
What it means to me is that, if I start when I first start to "fog out," knitting can be helpful to keep me focused. If I wait too long before I start knitting, though, I have to pick out a pattern that I know reeeeallly well. Otherwise I'm not able to concentrate on the pattern well enough and mistakes happen. I've been known to put two heels in one sock before! LOL
I also have to watch out how much repetitive motion I do since I have neuropathy in my hands. Once my hands get to burning, I have to put my knitting aside and let them have a day off.
Where the knitting really comes in handy, though, is in my coping with depression. I have those moments, where the fibromyalgia flare is hanging in there for days, where I feel pretty useless to my family and friends because I am unable to do the things I deem important. That is where my knitting really helps me. I can at least do something that I feel pretty experienced in and that I can produce items that are appreciated by the other members of my family and my friends.
Here are some great articles that I found on the web that support my own findings:
http://www.knitonthenet.com/issue4/features/therapeuticknitting/
http://hubpages.com/hub/Knitting_as_Therapy
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2011/03/01/Metro/21712.html
Monday, June 20, 2011
Starting out
This is my first addition to my new blog so I need to introduce myself. I'm Peg. I live in a little apartment with my adult daughter and two friends in Henderson Nevada.
I'm 52 years old and have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia as well as osteoarthritis, diabetes, heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, neuropathy, and...well you get it. So you might get the idea that I sit around and moan and groan a lot. Not true. I actually consider myself pretty darned active for all that.
My hobbies include knitting, crocheting, sewing, cooking, gardening, swimming, and walking. I share my life with my family and friends and that includes my little dog, 2bits. I am separated from my husband, but still keep in contact with him.
My biggest love is knitting. I knit as a form of therapy as well as just to get my creative juices going. I have to really watch my money though, since I'm unable to work right now, but I have found some pretty darned imaginative ways to get yarn and keep up with my hobby. My biggest love as far as knitting is concerned is making socks. For some reason I get all proud of myself every time I make a sock and it turns out looking... sock like. Don't get me wrong, there have been some that didn't look quite there.LOL Fibro fog will do that to you.
I'll share some of my finished projects and also some works in progress (wip) as I blog.
I'm 52 years old and have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia as well as osteoarthritis, diabetes, heel spurs and plantar fasciitis, neuropathy, and...well you get it. So you might get the idea that I sit around and moan and groan a lot. Not true. I actually consider myself pretty darned active for all that.
My hobbies include knitting, crocheting, sewing, cooking, gardening, swimming, and walking. I share my life with my family and friends and that includes my little dog, 2bits. I am separated from my husband, but still keep in contact with him.
My biggest love is knitting. I knit as a form of therapy as well as just to get my creative juices going. I have to really watch my money though, since I'm unable to work right now, but I have found some pretty darned imaginative ways to get yarn and keep up with my hobby. My biggest love as far as knitting is concerned is making socks. For some reason I get all proud of myself every time I make a sock and it turns out looking... sock like. Don't get me wrong, there have been some that didn't look quite there.LOL Fibro fog will do that to you.
I'll share some of my finished projects and also some works in progress (wip) as I blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)