Driste

SO STUPID!

Still taking my lab tests. I have my appointment for my test results next monday. Today was the day I was going to start my hemoccult, since last monday was the last time I took an anti-inflammatory. Lab test requirements: no red meat or anti-inflammatories for a week, no vitamin C from supplements or citrus fruits for 3 days.

Went to the in-laws for dinner last night. And had some steak.

UGH! SO STUPID!!!! I called the lab, they said I only have to wait for 4 days before I start the test. But now I have to change my appointment. So I'll be in the dark for even longer.

Today is day one of a trial gluten-free diet. I'm thinking of starting a food blog to document my journey.

Oh, and this morning I was so nauseas I could barely move. Was it the steak, I wonder?

Testing

Year of Nausea strikes again. Bleh.

Okay, so last night I tackled the grossest two of all the lab tests. And I still feel dirty. But at least those two are out of the way. Those were the ones I was really dreading. So now I have to wait til Monday for the other three tests, then I'll be done with it (for this go around, anyways) on Wednesday. Then I have my follow up appointment to discuss the results on July 26th.

Wednesday night I got sucked in to watching 30 Days after I "went to bed." Consequently, I didn't shut my eyes until after midnight. But what a great show! For those of you who haven't seen it, definitely check it out. Next week's is the season finale, and I'm a little remiss that I hadn't found it earlier, but it's TV. So how bummed can I be about that? Plus it's on so late. Definitely a Tivo candidate.

Due to my late night partying with the TV, no asana Thursday morning. And I was meeting friends for sushi Thursday directly from work. So now I just feel guilty. I'm practicing this afternoon, then I'll throw in an extra practice on Saturday to get my 6 days in.

Was anyone following the Great Debate going on in my comments on the Good Question entry? Oh man, I was getting FIRED UP! I'm glad it's apparently over. I do relish a good political discussion now and then, but this blog is my haven. And I guess I just never expected to be challenged by a conservative on its pages. Of course it's great to get different viewpoints and to celebrate diverse opinion...... but I'm still glad it's over. Well, wherever Anonymous is now, I wish her well, and apologize for calling her brainwashed. That was petty of me.

God Help Me.

Gave my blood this morning. And was given several vials and smear pads to take home for other bodily substances. Oh good gracious. I'm on a special diet for one test. No anti-inflammatories, no supplements, no caffeine, no red meat, and very little vitamin c, none of which can be obtained through the consumption of citrus fruits. For a week.

All I do is think about this crap now (no pun intended). I wonder what's wrong with me where as before, it was just a fact of life. Oh, I'm not feeling well. What's new?

I was reading up on Celiac disease, which my childhood next door neighbor and her sister were just recently diagnosed with. I don't think that's what I have, but I guess it's best to brace yourself for the worst. One of the side effects of Celiac disease is lactose intolerance. Which I suffer from. This isn't really that big of a coincidence, as lactose intolerance is very common. But what got me a little excited was this little tidbit: Those lactose intolerant celiacs who quit eating gluten usually find themselves cured of their lactose intolerance. So which is better? Gluten or dairy? I'd say gluten would be the most difficult to avoid, and at least with lactose intolerance I can just take some lactase pills to aid digestion.... but then I think about ice cream. and cheese. and a big tall glass of milk. I haven't had one of those in about 7 years. And god, does that sound great. Not great enough to sacrifice gluten for it, mind you. But, at least if it is Celiac, there's a silver lining.

I got to practice today, but not until much later than usual. It was almost 7 in the evening by the time I got home from work and changed into my favorite Prana pants (always motivating). As a result of the late hour and the length of time which had passed since my last meal (12 p.m.), I was extremely weak and drowning out the growls of my stomach with my breath proved difficult. I skipped vinyasas between sides and instead did a straight legged lift. My twists in Parvrrta Trikonasana, parvrrita parsvokonasana, marichyasana B and marichyasana D were cakewalks. Kukkutasana, Bhujapindasana, and Uth Pluthi were another story. My body felt light, but my arms felt like noodles just hanging at my sides. On a positive note, I have successfully added drop backs and stand ups back into my repetoire. And today's were some of the best yet. The rest of my finishing was interesting. I slept wrong on my neck last night (Tay's out of town, and apparently I sleep funny when he's gone), so it was killing me today throughout salamba sarvanghasana, halasana, and sirsasana. And I'm really not putting pressure on it, it's just stiff when I point my head downward.

No beets again this week. And once again, on my newsletter, they dangle that little carrot (well, beet actually) saying next week's harvest will include..... beets. But I know better than to get my hopes up now. I've become weary and jaded of their tricks. We did get melon, blackberries, purple beans (which turn green when you cook them, unfortunately), tomatoes, cucumbers, and magda squash. Among other things. Those were the highlights.

Watched Lemony Snickett tonight while I ate my magda squash and purple beans, which were actually green (what a hoax!). I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially loved Meryl Streep's character.

rock star fantasies

Flash back to Sunday late morning sitting at brunch at Big Sky with my parents staring at a vegan bean burger wondering how the hell I'm going to eat it without having it come back up again. My mom asked where I went the night before. Well, where didn't I go? I tried to remember all the bars, came up with three of them, only to add another one a little later that I had forgotten.

I do this every so often. I go out with friends, usually sans husband, and suddenly get an inclination to party like a rock star (A mellow rock star, mind you, who keeps all her clothes on, smokes no cigarettes, does no drugs, and holds a martini in one hand and a large glass of water in the other). Only to wonder the next morning who the hell I thought I was the night before.

So, no class for me on Sunday, which really pissed me off since it's one of three more ashtanga classes EVER with my current instructor (read: only ashtanga instructor currently residing in San Luis Obispo county) who, while she is not certified or authorized, is all I have, all I've ever had. So I moped around for most of the day on Sunday coming down hard on myself, yet enjoying the company of my loving parents who had driven down for the day.

Monday, I did get up and practiced with the Dental Assistant at the gym. It felt great to be back on my mat. My breath was even, I felt fairly strong, my kurmasana was deep, and I was happy.

This afternoon I finally went to see another doctor regarding The Year of Nausea and all the other stomach problems I've been complaining of. For those of you just tuning in, I reference them here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. If that seems like a lot of posts to list, it's also a lot of days of not feeling right. And those are just the times I felt bad enough to complain about it. My dad mentioned gluten intolerance, which makes a little sense. The doctor said this could be a possibility, but also mentioned about 6 other things that could be wrong with me.... In any case, I have to go in tomorrow to the lab for some blood work up and a stool sample. Nice. I am glad that he didn't dismiss it as a virus, as the last doctor did. Also great that he didn't try to get me to take yet another pregnancy test. I am thrilled to get to the bottom of all this.

Good Question.....

From The Cunning Realist:

"On September 12, 2001, what would you have said if I told you that in 2005 the two main organizers of 9/11 would be living freely within the borders of one of our allies and casually releasing videotapes, Bush would mention Bin Laden's name only a handful of times over the next four years including statements like "I truly am not that concerned about him", and it was left to Democrats like Harry Reid to keep the flame of outrage alive?

Would you have believed me?

And if you're a Republican and the current facts were the same except Al Gore had been president for the past four and a half years, what would you be saying right now?"

Arachniphobia strikes again.

There's a large black widow in the mail box at work.

This is day two of her hold on me. Yesterday she charged me when I went to grab the mail. Actually, she probably was heading for her web for safety, but it felt like she was charging me. So I didn't grab the mail.

And she's not even hiding. She's just taunting me in her messy web, guarding the letters like they belong to her, licking her chops, just waiting to sink her little fangs into my flesh.

I was hoping the mail man would kill her for me. Guess not.

I think I'm gonna throw up.

Spiders give me serious gag reflex.

I know what you're going to say. She's more afraid of me than I am of her, right? Well, I highly doubt it. I wonder if she feels like throwing up every time she sees me?

I asked one of the fearless landscape guys if he would get rid of it. He asked me whether I wanted him to kill it, or catch it and let it go elsewhere. I hesitated for a long time. Ahimsa, I thought. Just get rid of it, I said. He brought me the mail and plopped it down on Good's desk, said he didn't see the spider in the box, might be in the mail. Great.

Good went through it while I grabbed my keys and readied myself to drive her to the emergency room if she got bit. Oh, and I tried not to lose my latte all over the floor. Tried not to toss my cookies, so to speak. No spiders in the mail.

Which means she's still in the mail box. Ugh.

I'm Famous!

Or at least my cleavage is.

Tay's film trailer has been posted online here. Click on Movie Trailer. As I mentioned some time ago, I dressed up for a bit part in the trailer. That's me making the sandwich. If I look at all like a moto-slut, then perfect. I'm a great costume designer. Not easy to do with my wardrobe. And if it looks like it hurt to have all that dirt sprayed in my face, it doesn't mean I'm a great actress. It did hurt. Like hell. There were splinters in that potting soil.

I'm pretty proud of "the twins" here. But I did have a little help from a push-up bra thing. One of our friends even called Tay and asked him how I felt about "that chick in the video." He didn't recognize me! When Tay told him that was me, he said he never realized I was so busty! Well, I'm not. Ah, the miracles of modern day lingerie.

tick tick tick

You know you're biological clock has started ticking when.....

....You see babies and pregnant women EVERYWHERE and think it must be something in the water.

.....You start thinking about names. Girl names, boy names, hippy names, funny names.

.....You start considering adoption or sperm donors because asian babies are so darn cute.

.....You try on clothes (dresses, tunics, shirts) and think, "this would look so much cuter on me if I were pregnant." Then you buy the (dress, tunic, shirt) and sock it away for the day (months?) you finally are pregnant.

I'm guilty of all of the above. I have a beautiful indian silk tunic that I've had for years. It's really showing its wear and tear now. Last week when I was cleaning out my closet, I finally threw it away. Which made me very sad, because ...... it's the perfect pregnant top.

The white bridesmaid dress came in the mail yesterday. I tried it on this morning. It fits through my chest and shoulders, and has a little bit of an empire waistline. It would look so much cuter on me if I were pregnant. Alas, the wedding's in September, so I don't have time to properly grow a pea in the pod. Rats.

I'm only 26. Plenty of time for children. And by no means am I ready to have one, I've only been married a year, we're building a house, I haven't done much traveling yet, I'm perpetually broke. That doesn't stop me from wanting one. The number one prevention tactic for me: No wine when you're pregnant. NO WINE???? For 9 MONTHS!!!! I think back to my life before wine. Well, that's just sad.

Yesterday I was intending to go to spin class. But I did just-over-half primary instead. It had been three days since my last ashtanga practice, and I was yearning for some asana. I took two days off for ladies holiday and knee recovery, and Wednesday was a moonday. My knee was feeling better yesterday. Much better. My bandhas were slow starters, but I found them eventually in Prasarita Paddottanasana B. I can always find them there for some reason. It's sort of like when you can't find your keys, but there's always that one place where you accidentally leave them. (For me, it's the bathroom windowsill. Seems like I've always gotta pee when I walk in my house.) And it's a good thing I find them when I do (the bandhas, that is), because I really need them to help me with Utthita Hasta Padanghustasana.
I like this image. Watch Sharath dance. Seated postures were slow and deep, many modifications for my right knee through the Janu Sirsasanas and Marichyasanas. My boat's not sinking as much in Navasana. Lovely to notice when one is gaining strength. Especially in this asana, as I'm usually quivering and quaking and not enjoying much of it. I got my feet through my arms and my head to the ground in bhujapidasana. This is always a challenge for me, and I always thought it was my big feet. Turns out, I just needed to hear the literal translation of the pose: arm pressure posture. Once I applied that pressure with my legs around my arms, it forced my feet to come together a bit more, and they slipped right through. Big AHA moment. As in: Ahaaaa. Now it makes sense. Wish it hadn't taken me this long to figure that one out. I followed KJS's advice with Kurmasana. Really spent some time and effort in a standing Tittibasana before coming down to sitting. My legs were way up on my shoulders, and I daresay this was my deepest Kurmasana ever. But I still couldn't get the bind unassisted in Supta Kurmasana. It was much easier, however, to get my feet crossed over my head on my own (or more like on top of my head. not yet behind my head). So yipee, I was happy with my efforts, and thanks for the help.

After my finishing, I picked up The Pelt to go grocery shopping for Sukiyaki! Which, as it turns out, is the best thing EVER. The Samurai and The Feisty One came over and brought their house guest, and The Pseudo-brother came over as well. We chopped up a whole lotta veggies and tofu, cooked some noodles, put it all on a huge platter, brought it to the table, and then stir fried it all with a sukiyaki broth bit by bit in the electric skillet at the table. Good times. Almost as much fun as the fondue fiasco back in April.

What would you do if you could do anything you wanted right NOW?
I'd be in Italy, in a vineyard, with a picnic, a bottle of wine, a good book, and a sunhat. And my dog. Okay, and my husband, too. But only if he leaves his dirtbike at home and promises not to complain that "this is boring."

PC This!

Our world is full of troubling things. Children are starving to death. Prisoners are being detained for months with no legal representation and for no reason beyond a paranoid government's suspicions. There's a hole in the ozone layer, and glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. I didn't get beets again this week in my farm share.

But what's really troubling me today is a system requirement for an online Tech Writing class I'm currently taking.

PC Only.

I hate PC's. Not to mention the fact that I don't own one. Why can't the world embrace the Mac users and accept us as the forward thinkers and movers and shakers and big scheme dreamers that we are?

And why do I always miss out on the beets????

Go Seahawks.

My dad's gonna be famous.

Okay, not famous, but he's going to be a large part of a documentary feature on ESPN.
He's the head coach for Cabrillo College football. My brother's the offensive coordinator.

Here's the trailer. Click on "4th and Goal."