Glory be!

How is it March already? We have been BUSY here in the the Carper household! For some reason, February turned out to be the absolute busiest month! Sheesh. Not a minute to breathe (literally, because we were both sick for a lot of February, too!), but this week we've finally had a few slower days.  We even went on a spontaneous date on Friday night! We went out to run an errand, and Ben surprised me by saying "let's catch a movie!" We saw "We Bought A Zoo." I loved it!

In other news: We survived the deadly tornado outbreak of March 2012! We were right in the line of the nasty storms, but just north enough in Ohio to not get a tornado, just some thunderstorms and wind, and it actually wasn't that bad. Parts of Ohio got some bad damage and tornadoes, but it wasn't as bad as other places, thank goodness!

More Ohio News: The Chardon school shooting was a sooooo incredibly sad. I grew up not that far away from Chardon, and it is just such a crazy thing that these kinds of things happen! I distinctly remember the day the Columbine shooting happened (we watched it on Channel 1, and then followed it on the news the rest of the day when I was in high school), and thought that it was the craziest thing that could ever happen. I can't believe how many times that horror has been repeated in schools since then.

Some More Ohio News: We're having an outbreak of the Norovirus. Not me, personally, but central-Ohio. It's basically a nasty stomach virus (the one that you always hear people get on cruise ships a lot) but it's particularly bad because the virus can survive on surfaces from 2-10 days! Also, you still shed the virus in your feces for 3 days after you recover (yes, I just said "feces" in my blog), so you are still contagious after you are back at work and stuff.  Anyway, I don't know anyone who's been sick yet, and we've been really good at hand washing in Carper-dom and we're super anti-social so I don't anticipate us getting it, but oh how I love me a good epidemic! That's just how I roll.

Even More Ohio News: Oh, Super Tuesday. How I loathe thee. Seriously, one reason (among many) to NOT move to Ohio is that it is a swing state.  Although, being a registered democrat currently has its advantages, because I haven't been getting all the phone calls urging me to vote for Mitt or Rick or Newt or Ron. Thank goodness! I wish people at church would quit acting like Mitt is God, though. Also, I think they all assume that Mormon=Republican. I think I might need to "come out of the closet" as a democrat to my ward at some point, just to get people talking. Maybe during testimony meeting, wherein I get up and announce how I "know social welfare programs are true" and how I'm "so grateful for comprehensive sex education in schools"?  Just for shock value? Don't worry, I'll restrain myself. But if I hear Brother____ say that "universal health care is Satan's plan" one more time (to an investigator, no less!), I might just have to speak up.

Erin News: I switched from atenolol to treat my SVT to something called Bystolic (nebivolol). It's a newer beta blocker, and is supposed to be a little less harsh in the side-effect arena, because it doesn't penetrate the blood-brain barrier as easy (or something).  So far, I think it's been great. Atenolol gave me headaches, and made me soooooo exhausted, but this new drug seems to be pretty good. It doesn't seem to keep my heart rate quite as low as atenolol, but it does seem to tackle the "I-think-I'm-having-a-heart-attack-but-actually-these-feelings-aren't-really-dangerous" symptoms of SVT better. So, thus far it's a win-win. I haven't had to actually buy it yet though (my GP just gave me a month of samples), so we'll see how much of a win it is when I actually have to pay for it. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.

More Erin News: I've discovered a promising new GF baking blog, The Art of Gluten-Free Baking. I've made the faux oreos (faux-reos, anyone?) and they were really good. I'm planning on baking my way through this blog. Mmmm, it looks so good! I'm making her buttermilk biscuits and her thin mints next. And then maybe her pop-tarts. Yum. I'll let you know how it goes.

And, that's the latest.

My Nose, and other things.

Olfaction:
Is there such a thing as an over-sensitive nose? A super sensitive sniffer, if you will? I seem to be able to smell things that no one else can. When we had our two (yup, that's TWO) gas leaks, I smelled both of them first, before Ben could. One of the times, the repair person from the gas company said she was even surprised I could smell the leak, because she couldn't even smell it. The leak was definitely there, since her gas-detecting contraption thingy (that's the official term for it) said there was a leak, but apparently it wasn't very bad.

Also, I am constantly taking out our trash. I'm always complaining that "our house smells!" and emptying the trash can. I also am annoyed that our trash can seems to absorb the trash smells, and they never go away, even if I change the bag every day, let it sit outside overnight to air out, wash the thing out, etc. We've even recently replaced our trash can because the old one just got too smelly, and guess what? The new one already smells. I think the smells must permeate into the plastic. I've thought about buying a metal trash can to see if it is immune to smell permeability, but I just can't stomach spending $50+ on a metal trash can.

Stupid nose.

Portrait Painting: (This is long and probably boring, so feel free to skip it)
I've started portrait painting again! I'm working on a small test-portrait right now, and will probably do a few smaller ones before I start on something serious, just to help me get back into the swing of things. I'm surprised both how easily some things came back to me, and also by how much technique I've lost by not painting for so long! The color mixing and matching have come back really well, and I forgot how much I love painting skin tone! There are so many different colors that make up skin tone! What's kind of funny is that I've struggled a little bit with my highlighting (lights) but not my shading (darks). I know I have the tendency to not be bold enough with both of those, so I'll have to work on that a little bit more.  The thing that surprised me the most, though, is how much of my actual brush technique I lost (I don't even know if that's the correct term for what I'm talking about, but that's what makes sense to me). I really struggled with figuring out which brush to use, and how to pull or push or smoosh it across the canvass to get the effect I wanted. I could feel in my hand what I wanted to do, but my brain couldn't get the brush to do it, or it couldn't remember which brush to use or which angle to use it at in order to get what it wanted. Does that even make sense?  It used to be so effortless! I would just pick up the brush and paint! Maybe I'm over-thinking things now? Any way, I'm sure it will come back with time and practice!

Sleep:
Remember how I'm the world's worst sleeper? Well, two things were really helpful with that these last few weeks. First, when we had my dad's dog, he would herd us both to bed at a decent hour. He was warm and snuggly and I would be lulled right to sleep when he was lying in the bed with us. Also he made sure we got up at a decent hour too, by stirring and getting in and out of the covers. Brilliant, and totally cute. Second, I got that Wake-up Light. That things is pure bliss! I would seriously headline an infomercial for that thing, that is how much I love it. BUY ONE!  Between that and the dog, my sleep habits were whipped into shape in about 2 weeks! My recent foray into the world of beta blockers has put a little snag in this, but mostly it just makes me want to sleep all_the_time, so it's not so bad. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon!.

And that's it. I'm off to empty the trash. :)

Week 1 on Atenolol.

So, I've been on Atenolol (beta blocker for SVT) for about a week now and I have mixed reactions.

Things I don't like:

• It totally masks my low blood sugars, but I was aware that it could do that so I've been prepared for that. I've been wearing my CGM more and testing more to stay on top of that, but I've definitely tanked a few times before catching those lows! Crazy! 
• It's given me a crazy bad headache for like 4 days, but it's not so bad that I can't function. And today I actually haven't gotten one, so maybe I'm adjusting?
• It makes me exhausted! But not all day long, so that's good. I was also informed that this might happen, but that after about 3 weeks, you kind of adjust to it.
• It doesn't seem to have really stopped my strange heart palpitations. The first few days were okay, but I've had a ton of them since then. 

Things I like:

• It has definitely lowered my heart rate, and while I'm still having tons of palpitations/flutters/heavy heart beats/skipped beats, they don't seem as intense, if that makes any kind of sense.
• It makes it SOOOOOO much easier to work out! Before atenolol, my heart rate would sky rocket to like 175-180 bpm within the first 10 minutes of working out. I'd be out of breath, and ready to stop and the whole rest of the work out would be so labored. Now, it barely hits 140 and I feel like I can work out forever! It makes me wonder how long my heart rate has been high, because I've been feeling this while working out for years. My heart rate has always skyrocketed really fast (I always remember having a really high one in high school when we'd measure it in gym class), but I haven't had the weird palpitations, etc. until this year.  Interesting. Any way, I just know that working out has been so much more fun this last week! Woot.

So, the verdict's still out. There are other beta blockers I can try if this one doesn't work or if the side effects are unbearable, so it's good to know that I can find something else if this one is not adequate. 

BOM, Star Trek, and the Best Husband Ever.

BOM
Our bishop gave our ward a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in the first 100 days of the year. Whew! That is a hard one for me, because I'm a slow reader, but I've actually been listening to most of it on the church web-site while I stretch out before and after I go to the gym, and it hasn't been so hard to keep up.  I LOVE how plain the Book of Mormon is! I've been trying my hardest to get through the whole Old Testament (and taking my sweet time doing it) and it's taken up a lot of my scripture study concentration for awhile, and it's hard! I find the Book of Mormon so much easier to understand, and the doctrine so much clearer! I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that it was translated directly into my native tongue as opposed the Bible which has been translated into like 3 different languages before English. But, I also know that it has to do with the fact that so many of the truths the Bible has lost or is unclear about are made plain and easier to understand in the Book of Mormon. Love it!

Star Trek
Ben and I have been watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix over the past few weeks. I remember watching this when I was a kid and really liking it, and it's been fun (and hilarious) to revisit it! Seriously, I totally missed the fact that Commander Riker was a playa' when I was watching these as a kid. So funny!  The first time I saw it was on my parent's little black-and-white TV. When we saw it on color for the first time, it was even better.  And now, it's funny to look back and remember thinking "wow, wouldn't it be cool if we could have touch screen computers and video conferencing?" And now, we do!  I've also been watching a few episodes of Star Trek: Voyager too. Mostly because the theme music is so dang awesome, but also because it's hilarious and entertaining.  And, I officially know that I've entered into nerdom, because I had a Star Trek dream the other night.  That's right, I was on the Enterprise in my dreams, folks. It's all down hill from here.

Best Husband Ever
Did I mention that Ben is the best husband ever? He woke me up this morning with breakfast in bed, just because! And it was the works, too. Eggs, cheese, gluten free toast with cream cheese, juice, water, my morning pills in a small cup, salt & pepper shakers, and even an Origami flower he made and put in a little vase, all on a tray. Just because!  I'm the luckiest woman in the world!

Erin, out!

Throw another one on the pile, why not?

Hey friends. Sorry it's been awhile since I posted! I've been busy!  But, I wanted to let you all know something important.

I found out recently that I have been experiencing something called "supraventricular tachycardia" or "SVT."  It's a very benign heart condition, that basically means your heart isn't wired properly, so you get these strange flutters, skips, palpitations, heavy beats or fast heart rate every once in a while. I was having all of those crazy symptoms, so my doctor did an EKG and then a 30-day cardiac event monitor, and we figured out what it was. Now I will just be taking a small, low-dose of a beta blocker, which will lower my heart rate, and it should clear it all up. The treatment is very safe, super cheap (!), and even protective of my heart, which will be good for me because any damage diabetes might be doing will possibly be mitigated by this now. And, it is possible that it will eventually go away all on its own and that I won't experience this forever. Any way, the bottom line is, it's not dangerous, and very treatable. (And now I can say "I got a condition!" in a thick Brooklyn Jewish accent).

I just wanted to let everyone know, because you're my friends/family and I don't believe in hiding stuff like this from people. Also, it's the easiest way to explain to a bunch of people at one time so I don't have to tell everyone individually while I"ll be popping another pill, or doing things a little differently.

And, how do I feel about this, you may ask? Well, to be honest, extremely relieved! Having diabetes for 18+ years, with few complications thus far, I'm kind of always waiting for the floor to drop out from under me.  Heart disease is a known complication of diabetes, so you can see where I was going with this. Any way, we're just really grateful that it turned out to be not such a big deal!  It's another thing to add to the medical pile I'm developing, but such is life.  Everyone has their own challenges, right? I truly believe that a lot of our challenges are opportunities from God to grow and progress. I'm a fiercely independent soul and all of these medical conditions have helped me to learn to rely on others and especially my Heavenly Father.

So, there it is. I promise the next post won't be about something medical! (probably) :)

A List of Recent Things

1. We dog-sat my dad's dog over the Christmas holiday. He's an extremely nervous/neurotic Chihuahua-mix, who is a rescue dog several times over and has rescue-dog-type "issues". But, he is also probably the most cuddly and affectionate dog I've ever met, and is really good at playing and allows you to dress him up in cute doggy sweater vests. Win-win!  Oh man, Ben & I are dog people. We would go out and buy a dog today if we were allowed to have one in our apartment. We had to get special permission from our landlord to dog-sit for 3 weeks. When we gave the dog back, we were (and are) really sad about it.  REALLY sad. Sigh. Needless to say, we will own a dog sooner than later.

2. I have recently purchased a Philips Wake-Up Light. Oh, glory be! This little contraption has changed my life. Seriously! If I had owned this thing when I was growing up in Ohio, I think my adolescence would have been a lot different (in a good way). In the winter, my body will absolutely not wake up on its own. Unless the sun is out, which only happens about once a week for a few hours if we're lucky, I can go to bed at 10pm and sleep until 10pm the next night if I didn't set an alarm. Seriously, my body will just not wake itself up unless it senses the sun. But, with my new light, I set it to go off at a certain time, and 30 minutes before, it starts gradually turning on, mimicking the rise of the sun. By the time the alarm is set, it has brightened the entire room, and I'm usually already awake! Brilliant! It definitely makes my mornings earlier, and a lot easier! Yessssss! Don't confuse it with a S.A.D lamp, it's not that kind of lamp, but it is amazing, nonetheless. I recommend it for anyone who lives in a place that gets little sun, especially in the winter.

3. I have also recently purchased an Artograph Tracer Projector. One of my goals for the year is to paint one portrait. I really like painting people, and I wanted to get back into it, but it's been a long time since I've painted people, and my ability to mimic facial proportions is not what it used to be. I used a projector in high school, and it was really helpful, and I thought it would help me build my painting confidence again, so I bought one for myself! This one looked a little basic compared to ones I've used in school, but those run in the thousands of dollar range, and I just don't have that kind of disposable income. But, I did have 50 bucks of Amazon money (thanks mom!), so I bought this one. Before I purchased it, I did a lot of research, read a lot of reviews and even tracked down a demonstration of it being used on youtube. It seemed like it would meet my needs. I don't need to project colors, just basic lines and positions of facial features, so I thought it would be good enough. It came in the mail today, and it is more than good enough! It projects very clearly, is easy to focus and enlarge, and the color projection is pretty crisp too! Well worth the $50 I didn't actually spend! I'm excited to start painting again!

4. I'm getting 3 more piano students! That bumps me up to 4 students, total! That's almost enough to make them have a recital. Mwa ha ha ha! 

Whew!

Oh man, it's been a busy couple of weeks. And it's going to get even busier! But I just wanted to let you all know a few things that are going on.

1. I'm blogging for Diabetes Awareness Month again, on my other blog http://theinsulincrowd.blogspot.com/.  I wanted to do it daily, but that is just not going to happen this month!

2. I'm going to be driving to North Carolina on Monday all by myself! That's a 7 hour drive, and I'm a little nervous, but it's for a good cause. I'm headed down to High Point to help out my mother-in-law after she has surgery (don't worry, it's nothing life threatening, she just will need an extra hand for a few days).  Ben will then join me the next week for the week of Thanksgiving. So, I'll be playing nurse in High Point for a week, all by myself! I get along great with my in-laws, but it's still unnerving to be away from home for a week, helping someone else out. But, if anyone is dying to have a really long phone conversation on Monday as I drive down there, during which I can guarantee your call will be dropped a million times as I wind in and out of the Appalachian Foothills, I'd be happy to oblige.

3. Did I mention I'm teaching piano lessons now? (only like a million times already, right?) I love it! I'm going to be missing two weeks when I'm in North Carolina, and I'm actually sad about it.  As my friend "M". would say "I think I missed my calling."  Seriously, I actually enjoy this, and I get paid for it. Granted, I've only taught one highly gifted and motivated Brazilian kid, so who knows what it would be like to teach an over-programmed, bratty, privileged American kid who doesn't practice? But, right now I'm reveling in it. Sometimes I second guess my career choices (especially when I'm not actually working), but I think if I had studied how to be a piano teacher in school, I'd probably hate it. That's how I roll.

Okay, later peeps.