Monday, April 28, 2014

I believe summer is officially here…

 Monday was a really great day. Susan came I then gave me a massage, it felt so good and I needed it so bad. Karen came in and got me up and dressed and out of pure by 2 PM, they gave me two hours to cruise Robby around before Rosa comes. It looked cold outside but it was actually really warm. We cruised the lagoon, about halfway down to the lighthouse Museum and back, down to the end of the work and back and down to the end of the boardwalk and back. The crowd's are really starting to come to Santa Cruz now, this summer is going to be crazy. I cruised back home and Rosa came in to give me something to eat and put me to bed. When she was leaning me forward the room started spinning around and I didn't feel really good the rest of the night. I put one of those things that are made of beans that you put in the microwave to heat up around my neck for a while and I felt better, I think I'm just a little tense.












Tuesday was a pretty good day. I got up and took Robby for a nice long cruise and then came back and rested for a bit. I had an appointment with Dr. Majuk, he is a gastroenterologist, he did my colonoscopy a couple of years ago and I thought he was great. This sign we saw his physician's assistant, she remembered me and I guess she knew Teresa when she worked at Doc in the box. I'm still having gas and bloating problems, not as much as before I started this diabetes diet but it's still there. She thinks I might have built-up bacteria in my upper intestines so here I go on another diet. This one is called Fodmap diet. There's not a lot that I can eat but if it helps I will do it. I gave Heather the list and thank goodness she is so helpful. I came back and Rosa for me to bed.












 Wednesday was another great day, the weather was just beautiful. I got up and took Robby for our regular cruise through Santa Cruz. I wanted to go to the farmers market but I didn't have anybody to go with, I really need to learn to throw myself and I'm sure everybody would be glad to help me out. Hopefully help you to go to Costco on Saturday. The game came by and we played cribbage for a couple of hours, we have five people so it was everybody for themselves and I won eight dollars… Happy days!

Thursday was yet another great day. I got up and Robby and I cruised over to my dentist, it was time to get my teeth cleaned. I asked him about a surgery that my uncle was talking about get rid of sleep apnea but he said the same thing that my sleep apnea doctor said… Don't do it. My dentist said that he could make me a mouthpiece so I don't have to wear that whole thing over my nose and mouth. We came home and rested for a while and then Teresa came to take us to my diabetes class, I really learned a lot in this class and I'm not only excited about making them my menus now that I can relax and not have to be so exact. I guess your A-1 C is supposed to be four or five, mine was originally 9.5 but now it's down to seven so maybe a couple more months and I won't even have to take medication… I can control it all with diet.



Friday was a little cold. I got up and took Robby for a cruise and just made it home in time for the downpour, the ladies were still cleaning my room so I sat outside underneath the carport and just watched it rain… I love to watch a rain. I knew that it was going to rain so I asked Shauna to come in a little early so I could get to bed and relax and watch TV.













Saturday was a nice day, the weather has been so tricky but I never know what is going to be like when I get up. I ended up wearing a thermal and a shirt and I thought I was going to be too warm but it was perfect. I went down to eye Q to pick up my prescription sunglasses, they put my prescription right into my Ray-Ban sunglasses… How cool is that? They gave me my old lenses back which I am grateful for because apparently once I get my diabetes under control my eyesight might get better. I took Robby for a little cruise and then came back and rested for a while. Teresa came and picked me up and we met Jess and Duane at the Kaiser Permanente building for the Derby girls bout. When I went to pick up my glasses I also went down to outfit this to get a derby girl T-shirt to see if I can get the Derby girls to sign it for Alex. She just found out she has cancer and is not going to be held to make it to the bouts for a while and she just loves the Derby girls. Teresa went up and talk to the manager, I think she is the manager, and they were so supportive and helpful and she said almost all of the Derby girls were able to sign it… Alex is going to love it. It was really exciting and I love attending. On the way in we ran into Dr. Owens and Leaha, they always go to them also. We got home and Shauna was busily doing a lot of stuff, is just awesome. Shauna put me to bed and got to go home about midnight.

Sunday was cold. It was supposed to rain so I decided to not get up and I'm glad I did, it didn't rain but it was really cold outside. Robby got a bath, he really needed it and he always looks so much better and feel so much better after his bath. Teresa came in and we did some personal care and I got to take the best long hot bath I have had for a while, I enjoyed it so much. Kelly made some cioppino and it was killer. The other day she made some clams with couscous, it was a certain kind of couscous and it was awesome. She is such an amazing chef.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Cooler weather once again…

 Monday was a really great day. Karen came in and we did some personal care and after I got up I took my sunglasses down to get my prescription put in them, I can't believe how blind I am now. When I left my house I had a thermal and a shirt on and I thought it was going to be to hot but when I got closer to the wharf the wind kicked up and it was a lot cooler. There was a bunch of seals in the cluster, they always have one of their little fins up and it looks like they're waving at us. We started to cruise over to the boardwalk but they were painting the outside of the arcade and they had the sidewalk blocked off so we just turned around and came home. It felt good just to sit in the sun in the driveway for a while. Rosa came in and put me to bed, I am really tired and I hope I sleep.

Tuesday was a great day, I have been looking forward to this day for a while. I get to talk to my dietitian. I decided to take Robby on a cruise before we go over there so he will be worn out and just sleep the whole time.  As I was leaving I could see Omar working in the front yard. I told him I wanted to put a dry creek bed in and she just started doing it, I swear that guy can do anything. He's so creative and has so many great ideas, he gets little pieces of driftwood and his other job… She works for Parks and Recreation and cruises along the beaches to pick up drug needles and I think he does just about everything else for them also. It was really warm when I left here but cold down by the beach. While cruising down to the beach I looked down and my drinking hose was emptying out on my pants and probably into my boots, the insulation around the hose slipped down and the mouthpiece fell off. Of course I was out in the middle of nowhere with nobody to help so I just tried to push the hose off the side of my chair so at least it ran onto the ground. We cruised around for a while and then I came back to rest and Teresa showed up to take me to see the dietitian, we both had a bunch of questions. She found another mouthpiece and I finally got to drink water, I was so thirsty. We checked my boots and at least they were not filled with water. We got to the appointment and the lady came out and I realized that I had seen her before. Back when I went to see the gastroenterologist and he put me on the gas elimination diet and that didn't work I went to talk to her, she was very helpful but I still half gas and bloating problems… I think I have tried everything. I went on so many "don't eat this" diets that is just ridiculous. She was very helpful again this time to and answered a lot of my questions. I was thrilled when I found out that she was going to be teaching the rest of my diabetes class so I can pretty much ask her anything after the classes. I've been struggling with getting a second opinion about the diabetes. My blood sugar levels are really low and my family keeps telling me that they don't think I really have it, it just seems to have come on so fast. I think I'm really just in denial but it would be nice to have a second opinion, I looked up endocrinologist and found one with five stars on yelp. I asked Rosa to come in at five because my appointment was supposed to end at four and I didn't want her to wait around, I probably shouldn't have said anything because she doesn't usually get there until 4:30 PM 5:30 PM anyway. She has another job and she doesn't get out until 3:30 PM. She called me at 5:30 PM and said that she was having her taxes done and she wouldn't be here until 6 PM, she showed up at 7 PM and wasn't able to get her taxes done because you didn't make an appointment and the wait was too long. By this time I had a headache and I was very cranky, I just wanted to put me to bed and leave me alone.




Wednesday was a really great day. I got up and took Robby for cruise. I wanted to go to the farmers market or at least to Trader Joe's to get some salads and some other stuff that I needed but it didn't happen. I'm pretty sure that if I went in the store they would have somebody to help me out and I need to really start asking but I'm so afraid that they will say no, we don't have that service. I can believe is Wednesday and it seems like everybody came to Santa Cruz, I guess it's still spring break for some people. There were crowds everywhere, down Westcliff Drive, on the wharf and on the boardwalk. I think it's really good to cruise Robby through the crowds, have him stay calm and ignore people. I came back home to rest for a bit and I heard somebody rang the doorbell, I could see a person standing at the door but I couldn't tell who was. I got closer to the monitor and realized it was Phil, I think the only reason I recognized him is because I saw his post on Facebook the night before saying that he was in Santa Cruz. I went around to the front door and said hello and talk to him for a while and then I texted Tom and Kelly to come across the street and say hello, Phil is a friend of theirs. Otis came by and I got to talk to him for a little bit, I don't really get to talk to him anymore since he comes on Monday and that's when I get my massage so usually by the time I get up at 1 PM is gone. He said he was moving and it sounds like it's going to be really great, it sounds kind of like a farm with tons of animals. She is so good with animals, he reminds me of the dog whisperer. I came in and rested for a bit and then rose and came to put me to bed so we could play cards. My mom is in Arizona so was just my uncle, my aunt, Lee and Claudia and I so no partners and I lost five dollars.


Thursday turned out to be a really good day. I want thermal and a shirt and was a little cold at times but mostly warm, the sun kept coming in and out. Robby and I cruised through the lagoon, through the wharf and over to the boardwalk where we watched the battle of the bands, they were all pretty good. After that we cruised back downtown and met Teresa at Trader Joe's to do some shopping, they had some pretty cool stuff there. We cruised home and Teresa put me to bed and we did my Chi energizer machine. It's a machine that cradles your ankles while the rocks your homebody. It's supposed to be good for circulation, relaxation… And a whole bunch of other stuff. After your done it makes your whole body kind of tingling and relaxed, even makes you breathe better. I also use it for my left arm, because my left arm never really gets any use it cramps up and hurts all my long. I wanted to really know how it felt so I asked Karen and Teresa to both try it out and they said it does relax you and it does help you to breathe better. I saw previewed on the show the doctors and they all followed was a great idea and felt relaxed after they did it.


Friday was a pretty great day, the weather was perfect. I went to get some blood drawn to do another A1 C test, just to make sure. Since my new diet I really have been feeling a lot better, my stomach isn't so loaded all the time and this chronic itch behind my ear is gone… I think it was yeast. I just wish I could sleep at night. I'm supposed to one of these days get a CPAP machine which I know I'm going to hate but if it helps me sleep I will do it. I looked up all of the symptoms of diabetes and I have every single one, crankiness, stress, hungry all the time and craving foods that I never craved before, extreme fatigue, blurry vision, weight loss even though I've been eating more… I feel better than I have been a long time. Kelly drove me down there and then we decided to go to Felton just because it's such a beautiful drive in the redwoods. We ended up at this place because I was looking for Driftwood but we found so much more. The guy that lived there was so amazing and interesting we just sat there listening to story after story. I found a couple of pieces of driftwood and a really cool turtle with shells all over its back. His wife was just as amazing and sweet, it started getting really hot so we had to go but it was just such a great visit. They were hungry so we did decide to stop at Oak Tree Ristorante, I had a coupon for it I was going to take my mom and my brother one time but it was closed. My group and had expired but it was still worth $20, the menu looked really good and I decided on the seafood salad with prawns, shrimp and squid, it was really good. When Kelly went to squeeze one of the lemons on my salad it dropped on the ground and we forgot about it. I decided to go around and take some pictures because it was such a beautiful place and when I got back I saw that I had run over the lemon and I thought it was a banana slug, I freaked out and Kelly didn't know what I was freaking out about… All she could see on the ground was a squished lemon and no reason for alarm. He finally stopped laughing long enough to tell me that it was a lemon just as I realized it was. Kelly how this really cool looking Panini, all I saw was avocado and bacon and it looked awesome. I was already overheated a little from sitting out in front of the Redwood Burrell place, I didn't have enough sense to go sit in the shade so it was my own fault. We came home just in time to meet Shauna here and Shawna put me to bed. My uncle and aunt and Kelly and I played cribbage, my uncle was my partner and we lost a dollar.














Saturday was another great day. I got up and Tom, Kelly and I went over to San Lorenzo Park for Earth Day. I just love cruising around and watching all the people interact, everybody's just so open and honest and not afraid to be themselves. I could've sat there all day and just watch the people dance and enjoy the band. I ran into a lady who says that she met me at one of Aki's Halloween parties, Otis… The guy who helps me out with my yard, Mark… The neighbor behind me and foster… The guy who founded shared adventures. I came back and Omar was busy working in my front yard, he has it looking so nice and I just love it. What an awesome day.













Sunday was Easter and it was a beautiful day. I decided to stay in bed because it has been so crowded around here that there's really not anywhere to go. I slept on and off most of the day and watched a couple of movies, I watched a movie called ride along and it was pretty funny also a movie called not job that was awesome. I started watching perfect sisters but I kept falling asleep so I had to stop. My article came over and brought me half of a spinach bagel with egg salad, that was really good. Teresa came by and got me something to eat, to some personal care and I got a nice long hot bath. I know I will sleep good tonight.