Fresh start of sorts

I'm happy to report that I can (mostly) hear out of my right ear again! It seems to come and go today and at the moment I still have a bit of tinnitis and feel a smidge stuffed up but it is worlds better than earlier. I can also report that since sleeping 12 hours Thursday night, I feel human again in that my stomach is no longer trying to secede from the rest of my body. I can eat things and not feel like there's a big rock in my gut!

My kid is healthy again (though with the ubiquitous runny nose he has this time of year) and it's been very nice to have a happy toddler to hang out with the last few days. He went to bed at 7:15 tonight (which is unheard of) and is sleeping peacefully. I'm not sure what to do with myself tonight with all this free time.

Of course I spent a good hour opening a huge backlog of mail. Most of it was claim recaps or paper copies of e-bills I've long since paid that all just need to get "filed" (that doesn't happen in a timely manner if ever) but I did find a sizable escrow check from last March. Of course that was about 20 minutes after I found the letter the bank sent in December saying that because I haven't cashed said check, they are stopping payment and putting it towards my account and to contact them if I want another check. Whoops.

My wrist is decidedly okay. Not great, not horrible, just okay. My new kinesiologist works miracles for me every Saturday but the effects aren't lasting the week. Half of what he does seems like voodoo, but if it fixes my arm, he can light candles and align shakras or whatever he wants to do. I just want to be able to pick up my son or change the sheets on the bed without pain.

I was reading recently that January is the most depressing month of the year. Christmas is over, there are no significant holidays, it's right in the middle of winter and all our bills from the holidays have come due. They also said that the third Monday in January is the most depressing day of the year. That would be the day my ear infection started.

So for the most depressing month of the year, I've done okay. But I'm looking forward to February starting very soon and moving onward and upward!

Post #1000

I've been Radio Silent for a bit lately, but am reporting from the recliner with NCIS re-runs playing. I've just not been in a writing mood, but let's catch up. For the longest time, if any nurse asked for the first day of my last period, I could happily rattle off "January 5, 2009". That got some great looks in the year 2010. And while we're still nursing, Ian has found many other tasty things to drink and eat, so my "friend" made a recurrence this month. Now I'm back to staring stupidly at a calendar and counting backwards on my hands.

I had to do said counting last week when I finally gave in and decided to find someone to fix my ear. 10 days ago I walked in the house and some invisible person started stabbing me in the right ear. We tried warm compresses and ibuprofen and Sudafed and nothing would make it stop. I resorted to sitting in the recliner watching NCIS re-runs and wimpering.

By the next day the pain was gone, but the pressure and tinnitis were still there. I felt like my head was underwater. Or at least the right side of my head was. It's been a major pain in the ass. So finally on Thursday I went to Urgent Care and the nurse told me I have an ear infection. She seemed stunned I wasn't in pain but told me to take antibiotics and ibuprofen and call if it wasn't better by the weekend. It's still not much better but it's no worse, so I'm trying to hold off on the stronger antibiotics they gave me today until I really need them.

In addition to my ear, my wrist still pains me. Since October I've had wrist pain, mostly because my child weighs a gajillion pounds. The first chiropractor prescribed rest and that was a joke. The orthopedist prescribed a cast for four weeks and that worked a little up until I took the cast off and then it hurt all over again. So in desperation I went to a kinesiologist. That visit is a separate blog post all its own but I can attest that on the drive home I felt better than I have in months. The wrist relief didn't last but I'm going back in a few days to see if we can continue improving it.

So pretty much every day, my ear is stuffed up and ringing and my wrist is aching. Oh and our kid got sick his weekend. So it's been a real whine-fest around here. But this is my 1000th post since 2001 so I'm trying to rally. Hopefully post #1001 will be more inspiring.

Recap of Living Out Loud volume 24: Total Recall

I'm a day or two late but here's our recap finally! This was a fun topic and I'm particularly impressed that there were several different takes on how to write about it. You all continue to impress me every month. Let's check them out ... Rachel's Like something out of a movie Wow, that gave me goosebumps. I've never witnessed something like that but it would definitely stick with me.

Grace's Total Recall You say you wish you had a better memory but all those senses are working quite well, it seems. I have strong reactions to smells and sounds too.

Erin's Re-do on the Recall Ooh, I'm always thinking of things to say hours after the moment has past. Or years ...

Peg's Scattered Memories I think most people have issues with memories like that. I used to be able to remember all kinds of things and now there are whole chunks of my life I've forgotten. I feel like it's a sign of a full life.

SuziCate's A Night I'd Rather Forget All that sounds so rough to go through but I love the comparison to the rise and fall of his chest then and now.

Megan's Perfect Poems of Memory I've been trying to force myself to remember certain moments with Ian but the next day is full of things I think I'll want to remember or things I'm full of experiencing now. I can't focus on what he felt like as a newborn because I'm focusing on his faces and sounds now. Nothing stands still long enough for us to really note it!

Candice's Photographic Memory I take so many pictures these days and I'm so glad I do. I want our lives to be recorded like the paparazzi followed us so that we can remember the furniture, the pets, the clothes and everything else. And hopefully have lots of happy memories.

Ruth's Remembering memories So much of my early childhood is through the window of my parents' retelling of stories. It makes me feel like I have a stronger memory of my early years than I actually do and that's awesome.

and my own The filing cabinet of my mind

I'm excited to see what you all did. There were some recounts of things you'd rather forget, some lamentations of the memories lost in our minds and some great details on everything in between.

I choose SuziCate as our winner this month, mostly because after reading all these hers is the one I keep thinking about days later the most. The rise and fall of his chest. And I'm a sucker for dad stories. SuziCate wins our customary $25 Amazon gift certificate but everyone wins my undying gratitude and appreciation for sharing so much with us.

Oh, and if you have ideas for future LOL themes, feel free to drop me a line. You're under no obligation to write an entry if it's your idea. :)