Update on my cold and cough

The good news is that my cold has disappeared. 

My congestion seems to be mild. I did have to get a new decongestant spray yesterday. I liked my Zicam that I got stateside a few months ago. I have used it up and went with Drixoral. I find the former relieves my congestion a lot faster than the latter. However, the current spray is effective.

I still have a cough, although it's not as annoying as it was over a week ago. It's progress.

I have a few posts to write. I have been focused on getting better that I haven't got around to them. Soon!

Wrist tendonitis

I haven't been posting regularly. It's mainly because I have been resting my left wrist.

A while back, I noticed swelling in my left wrist. Two weeks ago, it was noticeably swollen. I went to an urgent care clinic to have it checked out. I had a nice doctor who diagnosed what I had as being wrist tendonitis.

I got anti-inflammatory medication and a prescription for a wrist-thumb splint. I have been wearing the splint all the time, except when I am showering or washing my hands. I'm nearly done taking all my anti-inflammatory pills.

Yesterday was the first time in ages where I didn't see any signs of swelling. I had more range of motion with my wrist. The pain isn't as bad. I am happy to see some good progress.

The rest has helped. I have learned not to use my left hand as much. It's interesting that my right hand is the dominant one, but my left wrist is the one with the problem.

I hope that I make a good, full recovery.

Dental appointment and an emergency fund

I've got a dental appointment later this morning. I'm having routine cleaning and an impression done to get a mouth guard. I grind my teeth at night. My current mouth guard needs replacing.

In the past, the dental office would submit claims on my behalf. During this pandemic, it now requires that I shell out the cost first, and then submit my claim to get reimbursed. It's quite the hardship for customers who don't have the money available. I have been fortunate to have established an emergency fund, so it'll temporarily pay for this cost and I'll put the money back in this account once my claim is processed.

I'd say that nearly two years ago, I never had an emergency fund. I have come a long way.

Sleeping much better

I took a break from blogging last night. I needed it.

On Sunday night, I was so exhausted from not getting enough sleep over the weekend. I found myself on my bed, with my head without a pillow underneath and where my feet should have been, fast asleep, without my comforter pulled over me. I haven't done any of that in years.

Last night, I slept well. Here's hoping that I can continue the trend. The winds are gusty tonight. Luckily, I sleep with earplugs these days.

Eating a banana and exercising are helping with my foot pain

The workweek is over. I am thrilled.

I have been sleeping much better since I've made a couple of changes:

• Exercise more
• Eat a banana each day

Ever since I have been working from home five days a week, I get uncomfortable pain in my right foot. It wakes me up and I stay awake getting through the day in a zombie-like fashion. I generally get it perhaps once a month, but the frequency has increased as of late.

I first thought that my potassium levels were low. I take supplements, but they didn't do much.

One morning, I woke up with foot pain at 5 am. I decided to eat a banana. Roughly 1.5 hours later, I went back to sleep and my foot pain gradually subsided.

I tested my theory out since then by eating a banana every morning. So far, the pain hasn't returned.

I also think that exercise has played a part. I might adjust the banana routine by having half of one each day and continuing to exercise.

It has been an interesting experiment. I am thankful that the pain hasn't returned and I can sleep better.

Sleeping better with exercise

I haven't been sleeping well since I have been working from home every day. I did much better when I went into the office three days and worked from home for two.

I figure the reason is that I was more active. Staying at home and having deadlines to hit has made me put exercise on hold.

Well, I have changed things up for the last three days. I'm taking it slow. I'm doing pushups and situps. So far, so good.

For the last couple of days, I have slept soundly. I may up it to getting back to using my glider daily.

Foot pain, freezing drizzle, snow, and mending

I had excruciating foot pain at around 3 am. It was likely from all the walking that I had done yesterday. I couldn't go back to sleep after consuming some Ibuprofen.

On top of that, there was freezing drizzle, followed by snow. I decided to reschedule my lunch meeting with my friend for Tuesday. It worked out well for her, as she had to clean up her laptop before returning it, and she needed more time. She welcomed the extra day.

I have spent my day getting rid of my foot pain in my hotel room. The pain finally subsided a few hours ago. I managed to nap a couple of times, so I am feeling much better.

It's a good thing that I am a planner. I had bought groceries last night, so I heated up food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I even have dessert! More importantly, my foot pain generally gets better when I have foods rich in potassium. I brought supplements. However, I also bought a carton of soy beverage, which has potassium. Two glasses later, my foot pain went away.

It has been quite the day. I look forward to heading out later on today. I hope that the road conditions are much better. The snow is supposed to stop soon.

Staycation and benefits

I am enjoying my staycation. I like going to work and having a shorter commute.

It's nice to grab some dinner and a hot chocolate after work. I head back to the hotel and relax as if I am at home.

Of course, it's helpful to have been upgraded to a suite. It's cozy and I like the bedroom being separate from the living room. I sleep a lot better without hearing folks in the hallway.

It's always great when your hotel room feels like your home away from home.

Sadness at night

I have moments of sadness. They typically happen in bed at night.

Last night was rough. I was sad about how my ex-guy had let me go. We shared so much and everything just ended.

Poof. Just like that.

It's unfortunate that I am a sensitive, feely person. It takes me a while to sort my emotions and get over this hump. I'm not on a strict healing schedule when I need to be happy now and in a relationship. I have been good on the most part. Being busy helps. Doing what I enjoy has been therapeutic.

At night, I'm simply lying in bed. Thinking. Memories rush in. I feel sad when they are about my ex-guy.

I still haven't been able to fully cry. My eyes get teary, but they don't fall down my face. I'm not as sad as I have been in the past when he has previously broken up with me.

I know that I deserve better. I deserve to be with a good guy who loves me and wants me.

I am hopeful. I just wish that these sad moments would fade, but that will take some more time.

Diagnosing my mom's pink eye

I visited my parents after work on Friday night. My mom asked me to take a look at her left eye. It was all red where it should be whitish. It made me think that she has pink eye, which is also known as conjunctivitis.

I have had two bouts of it in my lifetime. The first was a good decade ago and it was the worst. An intern at my workplace had used the washroom and didn't wash her hands. I had washed my hands and then touched the same doorknob. I probably rubbed my eye and there it was. Pink eye.

After work that day, I went to get over-the-counter pink eye drops. A few days later, my pink eye had cleared up.

After letting my mom know what I think she had, I went to the local grocery store to get the same eye drops. I told my mom to give them a try.

On Saturday, I dropped by to see how she was doing. I could see some white in her left eye. She told me that she feels better, and that both my dad and she feel that she's getting better. Cool.

I'm not a doctor, but I am kind of glad that I have experienced pink eye to recognize it in my mom. Here's hoping that she's on the road to recovery.

Working on a sick day and enjoying it

On Tuesday, I took a sick day. The weird thing was that I did work. Quietly. No distractions. It was nice.

I liked not having my instant messaging app showing that I'm available. I liked not having folks asking me questions throughout the day.

I have a task where I need to rename a number of properties in our documentation. It was great going through a good chunk of the work. It was also nice to not answer e-mails.

Luckily, I am working from home today. Sadly, I have a couple of conference calls to participate in. At least I sound less congested and my cold is on its way out.

I do wish that I worked with a more competent colleague. I may just call her the idiot going forward. I couldn't have chosen a more accurate nickname for her.

Sick, missing, and tired

I am still sick. I will likely take a sick day from work today. Currently, my nose is stuffed up, I'm tired, and I have a slight cough.

Being sick makes me think more about my guy breaking up with me. I miss what we had. I don't miss being hurt, as I'm already there.

He just sent me a video to watch. In his own way, he misses me. It makes me even more upset that he is perfectly fine carrying on. I can't do that. I need time to grieve. He isn't in tune with his emotions as much as I am. I wear my heart on my sleeve.

Although I have moments of sadness, I cannot sob in despair like I did the two previous times that he broke up with me. It's that inner strength this time that demands being treated better. It is his loss. I simply need to move on. It will happen with time.

I took naps throughout the day on Sunday. I felt better after each nap, but I am tired. I believe that I have earned a sick day to shake this cold off and heal from this breakup.

Coming down with a cold, having fond memories, and seeing a movie

The good news is that the workweek is over. My team got our software release work done ahead of schedule.

The bad news? I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. My nose is running and stuffy. I also have a slight sore throat. Ugh!

I took a nap for nearly an hour. It happened two hours ago. It's not a normal thing for me. I am hoping that some extra hours of sleep will kick my cold to the curb.

Now that things are less hectic, my guy not being the love of my life anymore has set in. I think of the fond memories that we have shared, but am also annoyed at how he decided to call it quits. I truly deserved a lot better.

I am hoping to go see a movie later on today. I have amassed a ton of points that it's time to splurge. I also have a movie gift card to use. I need some time for me and perhaps a hot dog.

Rough start just before Thanksgiving

My guy is going through a rough patch just before the Thanksgiving weekend. Yesterday, he had back issues and couldn't attend a car event with me. Unfortunately, he isn't doing too well today.

I am at least in his neck of the woods. I arrived here a few hours ago. Here's hoping that I can visit him tomorrow and that he is feeling better.

Hamstring pain and a sick day

On Sunday, I experienced hamstring and heel pain all day. I kept on popping in ibuprofen tablets throughout the day.

I went to bed on Monday at 01:45. I woke up at 03:20 to hamstring pain. Ugh!

I tried going back to bed. I woke up again at 05:35. Sure enough, my hamstring pain was still there. I got up to walk it off and went back to bed.

My alarm went off an hour later. I turned it off, wrote to those at work who needed to know that I would be taking a sick day, popped a couple of ibuprofen, and went back to bed.

I woke up at 11:00. My hamstring pain went away at long last. 

The pain came back briefly at around 17:00, but it went away and I have been good since. It's strange how long this pain has lingered.

I did more walking than I normally do on Saturday. Otherwise, I can't think of why this pain would have lingered for so long. I haven't done a ton of exercise. Here's hoping that the pain is gone. 

Low-carb update - my clothes fit better

I have so much to say and don't know where to start.

My business trip went well on the whole. I'll dive into all that a bit later.

The downside to going on a business trip is that following a low-carb diet can be tricky. For example, all meals on Air Canada are heavily carb-based. I managed to not eat the bread roll. However, if you don't eat your meal, you are bound to be hungry. The best bet is to bring your own food.

There were a few meals where I caved. I had the best raspberry sorbet in my life. I also had beer and a few breaded items. Other than that, many meals were buffet-style, so eating my usual low-carb way was easy. Breakfast, in particular, was a breeze. I had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and meatballs. Dinner normally consisted of some protein and I had all the salad in the world.

Last week, I had a few farewell lunches at work for various folks. I had beer and some carb items at a sushi all-you-can-eat restaurant.

I am back on my normal food regimen now. After all of these interruptions, I tried on a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, and two jackets that were tight over a month ago. Guess what? They all fit comfortably on me now.

I'm pleased with the results. I'm motivated to continue.

Olympics are over, but the Paralympics begin soon

The Olympics are officially over. I am proud of how the Canadian athletes performed.

I am now going through withdrawal symptoms. I am pleased that the Paralympics are next. However, I wish that there was more television exposure.

This weekend, I have been dealing with toe spasms in my right foot. I have foot spasms now and again, thanks to nerve damage from a pinched nerve years ago. It was pretty bad on Saturday. It lasted practically all day and was extremely painful at times.

I have a feeling that it was a combination of feeling cramped at a restaurant on Friday at lunch and a lack of potassium in my system caused this pain. I hydrated a ton of Saturday, ate a banana, popped Ibuprofen, and decided to take it easy. My toes are doing much better today.

I'm thankful and relieved.

Text messages to quick make the day better

It's almost instinctual these days that when I miss my guy, he will send me a pick-me-up message. It's just gut instinct.

He sent me a quick text message. He hoped that my eye is getting better and that I'm still enjoying the pics that he finally sent me after nearly two years since I had taken them on his phone.

The good news is that my left eye is back to normal. My rash on my wrist is still there, but the hydrocortisone cream that I apply on it seems to be helping.

I can also tell that it's a mutual vibe. He sends me texts more often when he misses me, too. It's nice.

My phone locked itself automatically - weird and good

I thought that Friday would be a quiet day at work. Nope. Drama and weirdness occurred.

I will go with my strange incident. After work, after a trying day, I went out to have a drink and a bite to each with a friend.

We went to a bar and grill close by our workplace. I was checking my phone while waiting for him and it automatically went into lockdown. I tried using my known password, but I couldn't unlock my phone.

After dinner, I had to drive to a different part of the area that I vaguely know. I am so glad that I have a GPS in my car. Otherwise, it would have taken me a bit longer to get there, especially when it gets dark so early in the evening.

I got home and called Google Pixel support. I must say that tech support there is pretty slick. You basically type a brief synopsis of the problem online, click a button, and in a minute, you get a phone call.

The person on the other end said that my phone had to be factory-reset. It meant that I would lose all my data.

The cool thing about this phone is that I have unlimited photo storage and my phone is automatically backed up. So, restoring my phone was straightforward. It went ahead and downloaded all my apps.

In some ways, my phone works better than before.

I asked the tech support person why my phone would simply lock on its own and not let me in. He figures that the cause was a bug somewhere, but he has noted the issue down.

I am so dependent on my phone. However, not using it for four hours felt pretty good.

Sick day, windshield replacement, sleep, and a one-word meme

I decided to take a sick day on Thursday. It worked out fairly well.

I got a solid block of sleep overnight. However, I wanted more. It wasn't going to happen, as it was garbage day. All I heard were doors opening and closing on my street, garbage and recycling trucks stopping and going, and kids screaming as they made their way to school. Ugh!

On a good note, the windshield to replace my car's cracked one was in stock. I drove my car over to the glass shop and got a courtesy shuttle back home. Three hours later, it was done. So, said shuttle came back to fetch me and my car looks new again. I'm thrilled!

I slept from 15:30 till 18:45. It did a world of wonder! I feel less grumpy and more rested. More importantly, I don't seem to be coughing as much. Perhaps my bronchitis is slowly dissipating.

The other day, I saw a one-word meme on Fondles' blog. So, here goes:

1. Where is your phone? Lap
2. Your hair? Medium
3. Your dad? Sleeping
4. Your other half? Sleeping 
5. Your favourite food? Tiramisu
6. Your dream last night? Jumping
7. Your favourite drink? Mojito
8. Fear? Heights
9. Favourite? Vacation
10. Favourite way to relax? Sleep
11. Your mood? Tired 
12. I love? Relaxing 
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren't?  Petite
15. Muffins? Sometimes
16. Wish list item? Money
17. Where you grew up? Toronto
18. Last thing you did?  Showered
19. What are you wearing right now? Pyjamas
20. Something you hate? Tardiness
21. Your pets? Fish
22. Friends? Grateful
23. Life? Rollercoaster
24. Regrets? Some
25. Missing someone? Boyfriend

It's tough to narrow a description down to a single word. Give it a try if you feel like it!