October 2014 – Not Content to Crawl

Doctor Day

Posted onOctober 31, 2014

Monday was doctor day. I had a follow-up visit scheduled with my ENT to go over my MRI results and next steps regarding my balance issue.

I arrived at the hospital an hour early to get some blood work done first, then spoke to my ENT. Since the vitamins I started taking have been helping my balance improve, he said we should put the physical therapy on hold and revisit the issue in three months.

I asked what was checked during the MRI, and he said they scanned my brain for any pressure, aneurysm, etc. as well as the inner ear canal. Everything is clean, which is reassuring. This article actually explains my diagnosis very well (Vestibular Neuritis). It is scary to think a virus can attack your inner ear and destroy the nerve without even knowing there’s a problem though! And that’s assuming that’s really what happened to me as there’s no way to prove it.

The doctor didn’t mention it, but I read on that same site that an autoimmune disease could have attacked the vestibular system. I’ve long suspected I have an undiagnosed autoimmune disease because I have so many different things that seem to go wrong at different times. Things that will bother me for months and then mysteriously disappear for years. It’s so frustrating because even to me it makes me sound like a hypochondriac. I’m just tired of feeling tired, sore, anxious, depressed, cold, irritated, etc.

Anyway, I also saw my primary care doctor to get advice/referrals for my depression/anxiety, sleep issues, and my cold feet. Either later today or Monday I’ll be calling around to make appointments with all the respective specialists.

Costco

Posted onOctober 31, 20141 Comment

I think buying a Costco membership was a mistake because it’s an exercise in willpower every time we go there to not buy something expensive. Sunday it was a digital SLR kit that came with a Canon 70D, two lenses, a camera bag, memory card, etc. for only $1300 (the camera with only a single lens sells for $1350 on Amazon). I was so tempted, but I don’t NEED a new camera, so I talked myself out of it.

And then we bought some alcohol, bread, buns, and Red Lobster biscuits instead. The bread and buns were a great deal because it was 50% cheaper than the cheapest price we’ve found elsewhere. I double-bagged everything and froze it so we will always have some on hand and nothing will go to waste.

Carol Stream Haunted Tour

Posted onOctober 31, 2014

I stumbled across a list of homes in nearby Carol Stream who decorate nicely for Halloween so Saturday night we decided to check them out.

I’m only going to write about the two homes I actually liked since the others were not that impressive, but feel free to check them out in the link posted above.

1102 Idaho St, Carol Stream, IL 60188

I really enjoyed the pirate theme, especially how they used the blue rope light to represent water.

371 Canyon Trail, Carol Stream, IL 60188

There was so much going on at this home that I didn’t know what part I liked more. Very very cool, and they have their own Facebook page. They also go all out at Christmas too!

I took some videos of all the action.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Creepy Skeleton Guy

Racine Zoo, Pizza, and Kenosha

Posted onOctober 27, 2014October 27, 2014

Saturday we decided to visit Racine Zoo since it had been four years since our first and only visit. I knew from checking their site that they were doing their own Boo at the Zoo, but I didn’t know that meant the zoo was opening an hour later than usual. The Boo at the Zoo hours are listed as 10-1 but they didn’t close at 1 pm so why would I expect the opening time be any later than 9 am like usual? No wonder we got parking directly in front of the zoo at almost 9:30 am. I’m just glad we were “running late” and didn’t have to stand around a full hour. I also don’t understand why when we first approached the ticket window the girl asked if we were there for Boo at the Zoo; when I said no we were still told they weren’t opening until 10 am. Sooo… why did it matter why we were there?

Since the zoo is right on Lake Michigan we walked down by the lake for a bit to kill some time. By the time we went back to the zoo to stand in line there were tons of kids in their cute little costumes impatiently waiting to get in.

Unfortunately the zoo is even crappier than I remember. Sure, it’s small, but what makes it crappy is how spread out everything is with not much to see. They raised their admission prices (although we got in free due to a reciprocal deal with our local zoo) yet haven’t done anything in the last four years to make the zoo more appealing. Maybe they can’t afford to add additional exhibits (though they definitely have the space), but they had even less animals on display than four years ago. The fennec fox exhibit was gone and there were like three kangaroos in the spot where I swear there were many more. Look, one of them was even dead and rigor mortis was already setting in!

I kid, I kid! He was just enjoying a little nap.

The thing I loved most about this zoo last time we visited was how the meerkat and penguin exhibits were designed. The meerkats are just funny little guys and I got some pics of them peering up at us.

I was disappointed to see the penguins were off exhibit which was ironic considering the fact that the zoo’s idea of decorating for Halloween was to paint penguins on some pumpkins around the park.

That was the extent of the decorating and it was super disappointing. We ended up visiting for only an hour and that’s only because we spent a good twenty minutes watching the lion cubs playing, which was the only redeeming part of our visit.

The photos would have come out better had I not been shooting through dirty plexiglass with some crazy reflections, but what can you do? As soon as we walked away all the little cubs got right up against the glass too. Figures! We walked back over but I couldn’t get any photos because all the kids were crowding around where they were hanging out, but I did get a nice up-close pic of the lioness.

We headed over to Wells Brothers pizza for lunch and really enjoyed their crispy thin-crust pizza, then to Harbor Park in Kenosha just to walk around a bit. I thought this sculpture was rather cool.

Trying to Keep Warm

Posted onOctober 24, 20141 Comment

I was freezing my butt off at work this week even though it was in the fifties outside. I think it’s due to the cold concrete floors, plus the fact that I noticed the thermostat is set to 71 in the mornings when last year it was on 73-74. In the afternoon it’s not nearly as bad as it’s set to 74. You’d be surprised at what a difference those three degrees make, at least for me. I know it seems ridiculous that I’d be so cold in what most people consider a comfortable temperature, but I guess I’m special.

I even bought these socks at Walmart but they didn’t help. I’m going to have to stick to wool socks which work better (but cost more, which is why I tried these $4 socks).

I was wearing a pair of nylons, regular socks, and the socks above, plus fuzzy winter boots and my feet were still ice cold! So were my legs with some thick fleece Cuddl Duds under my pants. Unfuckingbelieveable!

Thursday morning I pulled aside the VP and asked if he’d be willing to increase the thermostat and explained my dilemma and how it’s warmer in the afternoons. He reluctantly moved it up one degree (ugh, but better than nothing) and remarked I’d be better off getting a space heater. I almost lost it, because I asked about bringing in my space heater last year and HR told me no. Apparently they had trouble with them blowing fuses in the building or something. Mine is a fan heater, so I’m not sure if it would do that, but I calmly explained to the VP that I’d be happy to bring in my space heater but was told I couldn’t. He remarked that he thought some people in the office were using them and he’d look into it for me. At this point I plan on bringing mine in on Monday and asking if I can at least try it to see what happens. You don’t know how much easier this would make my life. When I get miserably cold I dread going into work and this week I was seriously contemplating quitting. After all, there’s only so many clothes I can wear. I know it’s not their fault I get so cold but if I could use a space heater I am pretty sure I’d be fine since I lasted 10 years at my last company. They kept their office temperature even colder but they let me use my heater so it was tolerable.

I am really sick of feeling so cold all the time, though, so much so that moving to Arizona doesn’t seem that bad anymore. Joe wold like to move there once his son is a bit older but I’ve been against it because I’m not that fond of the desert. It’s so brown there! But I’m also not loving being cold 6 months out of every year! I made an appointment to see my doctor on Monday to get a referral to see someone about it. I’m also planning on getting referrals to see someone about my depression/anxiety (since I can’t keep taking Xanax just to sleep and/or have a non-freaking-out day) and about my sleep issues (more often than not I don’t feel well rested in the mornings). So there you have it – I am an emotional and physical mess. What a shocker. ;)