General Long and Rambly Update

[amberfocus]

So I swam 34 laps today.  It would have been more, I still had a half hour before family swim ended, but some of the other kids (not mine!) were misbehaving so badly in the pool it was ridiculous.  Eight times I had to stop my laps and throw floaties, noodles and kickboards out of the lap lane.  Some of the kids (15 and 16 year olds were hanging over the lap lane rope, too.  A few strategically placed above the water kicks to splash water in the faces of anyone doing that soon put paid to that behavior.  Yes, childish, but I don't care.  I got enough splashes in my face and water up the nose while doing the back stroke to think turnabout is fair play.

I do not like the sourpuss female lifeguard.  She doesn't enforce the rules at all.  Ever.  I want the nice college boy back.  He at least disciplines kids breaking the pool rules by making them sit on the benches for ten minutes.  But he's getting ready for school so will probably only be around nights now.  *makes frowny face*  You know, it's not hard to teach your kids to behave in the water and follow pool rules and ettiquette.  I did it when my kids were toddlers.  You can do it, too, lazy parents sitting in the hot tub for two hours and letting your kids run rampant.

But regardless, I made my 1/4 mile and then some so as long as I do that I am happy.  And the kids start school on Tuesday so I can start adult lap swim and there won't be any horseplay in the pool then, so yay.  Still debating the personal trainer bit.  Not sure yet if I want to add in the Cybex machines or not.

This is day 2 of no restaurant food and cooking everything from scratch to improve our general health and diet and clean out the massive freezer.  Today I made banana bread because we had two (well, three) bananas on the brink and it was really good.  A bit crispy though.  I'm still not used to baking in a gas oven.  5 minutes less next time.  Oh, well, the chickens and ducks really liked the part I cut off and everyone else liked the other parts. 

I also made up a big batch of smoothies that used up the other banana, a half bag of frozen fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) and I went out and picked a cup of fresh blueberries to throw in as well.  While I was out there the chickens harrassed me so I picked some for them, too!  There were also some green beans ready (more tomorrow, I think) and a tomato (first one!) ripe and a yellow summer squash.  The tomato will go into Wednesday's chili.

So for lunch we had fresh green beans and boneless skinless chicken thighs grilled on the George and for dinner crockpot beef chuck roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower (from the garden), the banana bread, the smoothies, and Rose made gravy.  She's getting very good at it.  I didn't even have to make the roux for her first this time.  I love it that she's taking over more.  She peeled the potatoes, too.

Oh, the chickens laid nine eggs today!  There are only seven chickens so they are getting quite productive now.  That was breakfast, scrambled eggs.  They are almost 100% foraging now.  They get just a bit of corn once a day and they eat all the vegetable scraps like carrot and potato peels and the bits we cut off fruit and whatever bugs and grubs and stuff they find.  It's definitely worth the investment.  I just wish one of the ducks was a girl.  The one female we had was killed by a racoon so no duck eggs, which are supposed to be higher in protein, lower in cholesterol and lower in calories or something.  Not to mention bigger.  Oh, well.  Circle of life and all that.

I took the day off from writing.  I tend to do that after a big writing spurt.  I'll get back to it tomorrow.  I'll be working on Leap of Faith and part three of Three Hour Tour.  Then maybe A Sky Without Stars.  Not sure.  The Ten2 muse is a bit quiet after the last thing.  Or maybe it's just that Nine shouts so much louder.

I still have my headache.  We're on day 8 now.  I may have to go see the Doctor about this.  I mean the doctor.  Will I ever stop doing that?  It is not like me to have a headache last so long.  I've had migraines in the past, but those generally shut me down and I don't function for two days and I go in a dark room with an ice bag and something strong and it goes away.  This is not like that at all.  I don't know.  Maybe it's a kidney infection.  Last time I had a headache like that that is what it was, but my back doesn't hurt by my kidneys so I don't know what to think.  The only time it doesn't seem to hurt is when I am swimming.  It's weird.

Comments

[amyo67.livejournal.com]

I hope the headache gets better soon. :) *hugs you*

[catyuy.livejournal.com]

I want to add in the Cybex
I had to reread this sentence three times before I realized it didn't say Cybersex.

[crimedoc1.livejournal.com]

Hope your headache gets better soon - I think that is THE worst type of pain.

I didn't realize how much of a "farm" you've got - chickens, veggie garden... wow! I'm working on cooking more and eating out less and saving more $$ also and have been using some blogs that have helped me save a LOT on groceries and other stuff through couponing and stuff. I've cut my grocery bill way down by focusing on coupons and sales (and both together, really). It is so great when the "savings" total is larger than the total I have to pay the cashier. ;-)

[crimedoc1.livejournal.com]

*giggle*snort*

[rapidfaith.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about your headache..

I know I cured mine by writing down exactly what I was eating and it turned out to be MSG I didn't realize I was eating. If I got desperate I at work I would make myself a cup-a-soup (instant powered soup mix). I actually looked at the back of the pack and it was laden with flavour enhancer 621, 627 and 635. If you're eating anything processed at all check the pack. Yay no more headaches after busy days at work where I don't get lunchbreaks

Have you ever had blood tests to discover what food allergies you might have. Despite my horror I'm allergic to a lot of foods. (I wish my body wasn't this fussy)

[rapidfaith.livejournal.com]

oh and 'Leap of Faith' happy chair dance as I bounce in antipation

[jellybean728.livejournal.com]

I hate having a headache that won't go away. That used to happen to me, until I realized what I was actually doing was giving myself rebound headaches. It's weird, but by taking a painkiller to get rid of my headache, I was actually just masking it and then it would come back stronger when the painkiller wore off. (even something as simply as tylenol) Now I try to not take anything for just a headache, because otherwise I can get them for days on end like that.

I hope yours goes away soon. It's so draining. being headachy all the time.

[capemaynuts.livejournal.com]

Could the headache actually be an inner ear or sinus infection? You might have picked up a bug from the pool. Just a thought.
As to the brats at the pool, I can sympathize. At my campground pool, they have a tube type slide. The rules are clearly posted next to the stairs, but I'm amazed at how many of the parents ignore them. I can understand kids, but the parents purposely ignore the safety rules. One of the rules is no swimming devices such as inflatable arm or back floating devices. They can get caught in the tube, plus if you can't swim by your self in deep water, you aren't supposed to use the tube either. I lose count early in the season how many parents send their little 2 and 3 yr olds up the ladder by themselves to use the tube slide. The ladder is 18 ft high! But they would be the first to sue if their little angel got hurt.
Cheers for adult swim time!

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

Dropping by just briefly, but reading through this, I wonder if your headache might also be affected by your change in diet? Someone mentioned MSG, but I get massive headaches from lack of caffeine (I don't drink, I don't smoke, caffeine is my drug of choice!). It could be something you've cut *out* and your body is used to it.

[chicklet73.livejournal.com]

All that food you prepared sounds DELICIOUS. And yay for all those laps! I'm sorry they were interrupted by ill-behaved children. I often wonder in several situations why people don't teach their offspring to be more considerate. At least you'll be able to have nice, quiet adult swim soon...

I hope the Doctor/doctor can help with the headache! And I don't think any of us will ever stop doing this. Heck, I still almost always capitalize Ten when I type it. *G*

[mkejenkins.livejournal.com]

Oh sweetie,

I'm so sorry to hear about your headache. You're right, you really do need to see a doctor about that. There are so many different things it could be and it may take a visit to the doctor to narrow it down. I get chronic migraines and my neurologist is constantly after me to keep a "headache diary" so that I can keep track of what I'm doing, eating, coming in contact with, etc., so that we can narrow down what my triggers are. You may need to think along those lines.

I hope you're feeling better real soon and that the doctor can help you figure out what's going on.

Headaches

[aprilise.livejournal.com]

I usually get migraines for three reasons

1. allergies (pollen sucks)
2. not eating (I forget to bring lunch to work sometimes and if i don't like what is served or there's not enough for the teachers I usually get a headache. Chiropractor says it's lack of protein)
or
3. My neck is out of place (the chiropractor pops it back into place easily enough)

They aren't fun, usually because I basically have to just sleep them off until they're gone.....

try ice on the back of your neck and a dark room.

[lola27calypso.livejournal.com]

I had this happen with sugar. I had a two week headache when I decreased my sugar intake. My body eventually got used to the reduced sugar but I was a miserable person for awhile (and I don't think the family was too fond of me for those two weeks). The withdrawal headaches went away but now I will get the occasional headache if I consume too much sugar. Curse my infrequent need for a can of Coke.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

It finally is starting to after a few days on meds.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who has made that mistake. *laughs*

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

It is finally starting to improve after a few days on meds.

Yeah, I didn't really realize either until recently. But seven chickens, a chicken coop, 3 ducks, about 100 square feet of veggie garden, several fruit trees and berry canes around the edges of the property, not to mention the entire front yard is a flower garden and it's really heading in that direction. It's a bit ridiculous for a lot less than 3/4 of an acre. Still...fun and a new experience for the kids, though.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I don't eat glutamates at all. I've been free of MSG for years (at least on purpose), because it did cause horrible migraines. My doctor actually gave me a list of things to avoid though and some of the things, like aged cheeses that I have been eating, might be the culprits.

I know most of my food allergies. I was tested as a child. However the additives and preservatives and food colorings weren't in those tests, but I have figured out on my own they are a problem for me and my son.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

I rarely take painkillers. I was five days or so into this headache before I even popped open the Ibuprofen. Most of the time I use an ice bag and a dark room. I don't like taking medications unless I absolutely have to. Thank you. Yes, they are very draining.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

No, nothing wrong with my ears, no pain at all. The pain is in the wrong place for sinus pain, though I do have a bit of a cold from the darn weather swings. But it was a very different type of headache.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Well, I did cut out a lot of sugar, so it might have added to it.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

I think this may have contributed some to it.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

I don't know. It's not that hard. If my kids misbehaved when they were small and it was out of the pool, we're going home. And I followed through every time. It took three times for them to get it that pool rules were to be followed at all times if they wanted to swim. Since then I've never had problems with them at the pool. Anyone can do it, it just requires follow through. I guess some people just don't know how to say no to their children,.

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Thank you. *HUGS*

Re: Headaches

[amberfocus.livejournal.com]

Well, my neck was out of place, but it definitely was different than migraines. I've had those before and I simply don't function with them. These were awful, but I was still semi-functional.

[chicklet73.livejournal.com]

I guess some people just don't know how to say no to their children,.

Truer words were never spoken, my friend...