Baby Shower!

Lou's baby shower is coming up! It will be Sunday, March 11 at 2:00 at the Noble's house. I'm not sure of what exactly she needs yet, but I will find out and let everyone know. (She's registered at WalMart. Thanks for reminding me, Mandy!) Just wanted you to be aware and mark it on your calendars!

On the Other Side

I think I'm finally coming out on the other side of this flu thing. I went to work today, and I survived! I even enjoyed it! My kids were so glad to see me back, and that felt really good. I was WAY exhausted when I got home today, though. I was supposed to join Taylor for a Pampered Chef show (which sold over $1,000 in products, by the way, which is REALLY good!), but I backed out when I realized how beat I was. I stayed in bed tonight watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was fun.

So, the same thing happened this morning that happened yesterday morning. I woke up and I had all of this congestion and crud, and it made me sick. I threw up like six times before I walked out the door. But I wasn't feeling really sick or running a fever. And yesterday when I decided to stay home, I felt better by like 9:00. So I decided to just suck it up and go. I'm glad that I did. I would've felt very guilty if I'd stayed home again.

I felt so bad for my kids when I got to school this morning. There was a stack of work a mile high that they'd done the past four days. And it was all mainly busy work. But what can you do? I went easy on them today. We played a game and had lots of reading time...nothing to difficult. I don't think I was up to doing an involved lesson anyway. I stayed seated most of the day, and I STILL felt like I'd run a marathon by the end of the day!

You know what's really great, though. Eating food after having the flu. It's like each time I eat something new, I'm tasting it for the first time. I get so excited about eating the most normal things like chicken, apples, a bowl of cereal, a fried egg (I haven't had this one yet, but it's coming soon, and I can't wait!!!) The taste of foods that you like is SO much better after a diet of bread, chicken soup, and water for a week. It's a wonderful thing!

Day 5?

Really? Does there have to be a day 5? I thought I was totally well yesterday. I even called the school yesterday and told them I'd be back today. I went to small group, and yeah, I was a little tired, but I felt fine. Maybe I did too much too soon.

Anyway, I woke up this morning with mucho congestion. Coughing and stopped up nose like you wouldn't believe. I was still going to brave it and try to go to school, but I got sick in the shower. Twice. Talk about GROSS. I guess all the congestion is making me nauseated, I don't know. Something's going on, though. I definitely don't think this is going-back-to-school condition. I had to call my principal again this morning to let her know that, no, I'm not coming back today. I was feeling so much better yesterday!

I'm hoping this is just a one-day thing, and I can go back tomorrow. I feel SO BAD for missing so much school - like, guilty or something. It's not like I can help it or it's my fault, but for some reason I feel like it is. Oh well. They don't want me there sick, right? Right. Here's to another day of recovery.

Day 4 - 9:55 a.m.

Still feel kinda sick today, but MUCH better than the previous days. (Just to give you an idea...I woke up today at 9:40 - almost a miracle since the last time I was awake was at 2, and Taylor was awake at 6 or 7 getting ready for work and I didn't wake up with him, FEELING TERRIBLE like I have for the past 3 mornings...) When I woke up this morning, my sugar was 47...47!!! that's really low, and usually I feel like CRAP when it's that low, and I did this morning, but I still felt better than I have in 3 days! I'm checking my temp now...and it's not even getting up to 98.6 degrees...which is normal for me. I think I might be well! Can it be? Thanks for all your prayers! Looks like they worked! I'll be heading back to work tomorrow if it stays like this! Let's see how much my class fell apart with me being gone for 3 days...;)

Day 3

Still sick. Has it really only been 3 days? I feel like I've been laying in this bed for a month. I've decided that tomorrow's the day I'm going to start getting better. Sounds good, right?

I did get some meds prescribed to me yesterday...an antibiotic and some decongestant with codeine in it. I took those last night, and I think they're helping a little. My throat is a tiny bit better, I think. I decided to stop taking the codeine. It knocked me OUT. I took it 3 times, I think...once every 6 hours...and I slept ALL day today. I mean, I've been awake a total of 30 minutes in an 18 hour period of time. It's been about 6 hours since I've had my last dose, and I think I'm starting to come out of it. I don't like that feeling. I'd rather hurt a little and be congested than be dead to the world. I woke up a couple of times, and I couldn't even walk in a straight line to the bathroom. No, thank you!

Symptoms were pretty much the same today. No nausea, which is great. Body aches and stopped up nose were worse today. So was the headache, but I have a feeling that has to do with the being drugged and sleeping nonstop thing. Throat still hurts...like I said, I'd like to think it's a little better. Ran fever all day...it never got above 100.5, but always stayed around 99.4 or 5. I had to call in sick to work again tomorrow. I never thought I'd be so ready to get back to work!

So, here's the plan. Everybody pray tonight for God to heal me and make me better so I can go back to work on Thursday. Thanks!

Day 2

Still sick today. I woke up this morning feeling CRUMMY. Nauseated, sore, headache, stopped up nose, and terrible sore, swollen throat. The nausea's gone now, but all the other symptoms are still there. I've run a fever all day today. I was excited last night, cause when I checked my temp before bed, it was 98.3! I thought I was on my way to recovery. Not a chance. It was over 100 when I woke up this morning, and it's been hovering around 99.5-100 all day. I called my Dr.'s office to see if they could prescribe something...still haven't heard back. I think I might call back in an hour or so if I haven't heard anything. I really want to feel well! And I don't want to miss another day of work. One day out, and I already feel stressed out about all I've missed. I'll keep the updates coming! (It's much easier to blog when you're home in bed all day...)

It found me...

WARNING: Graphic details follow. Read at your own risk.

I'm sick. I was doing so well, too! Last year, my first year of teaching, it seemed that I was in a constant state of sickness. Colds, stomach viruses, etc. This year, however, has been much better. A couple of weeks ago, I got a little touch of some bug that kept me home for a day and a half. I thought that that got me out of the woods. I was actually naive enough to believe that I would escape the clutches of the flu epidemic that has been torturing Monticello for the past weeks. After all, I did get a flu shot, and I've been very careful about washing my hands and such. Boy, was I wrong.

Actually, I don't know what I have. Yesterday, I felt kinda bad all day. I thought it was because my blood sugar was high, but apparently, I wasn't feeling sick because my sugar was high. My sugar was high because I was getting sick. All day long, I checked my sugar every couple of hours, and every time it was over 200, which is bad. One time it was even over 400...which is REALLY bad. Anyway, we went over to Clayton and Mandy's yesterday after Suzanne's baby shower, which was at my house. (If you get sick, you can blame me...sorry! I didn't know!) Around 9:30, I started feeling really crummy. (Strangely enough, though, this is when my blood sugar leveled out.) My throat started hurting REALLY badly. We got out of there, because I had a bad feeling. I barely made it home before I started throwing up. I checked my temp- 100.8. So I got ready for bed and hoped for the best.

At 2 I woke up again. I had to use the bathroom, and when I got out of bed, I started shaking. Like, violently shaking. I was SO cold! It was pretty scary. I got the thermometer out of the cabinet, and I could barely hold it in my mouth because my teeth were chattering so hard. I went back to my room and started throwing up, and I stayed up pretty much until 5, getting sick every 30 minutes or so. I checked my temp about every hour during all this - 101.3 was the highest. (My blood sugar, which was thankfully still back down to normal, didn't get above 120 all night, which is excellent.) Finally, I fell asleep. I haven't gotten sick since then, but I feel like I might any second. ( I just read some of Jeff's blog about their last day at Disney, and I had to stop. The descriptions of the rides and Sam feeling sick...it was too much. I almost lost it.)

Here are my symptoms: TERRIBLE headache (it feels like someone is chiseling a sculpture out of my brain). Fever (100.9 currently). Body aches - I'm not sure if this is from the strain in my body from getting sick so much last night or what. Dizziness. Plus, I have a super sore throat and a stuffed up nose.

So, what do I have? Those of you who have been unfortunate enough to be struck by the sickness - were these your symptoms? Or do I have some rare disease that would require me to visit the ER immediately? Let me know what you think. Should I go to the doctor tomorrow, or just wait it out? I guess for now I'll just keep sipping Diet Sprite and nibbling on a piece of bread that I've been trying to get down for 4 1/2 hours. Oh well, it could be worse!
____________________________

I just looked online at WebMD (I love that website!) And this is what I found. (The parentheses at the end are me.)

The symptoms of influenza (flu) appear suddenly and often include:

Fever of 100 °F(37.8 °C) to 104 °F(40 °C), which can reach 106 °F(41 °C) when symptoms first develop. Fever is usually continuous, but it may come and go. Fever may be lower in older adults than in children and younger adults. (CHECK)
Shaking chills. (Umm...CHECK. That was scary!)
Body aches and muscle pain (often severe), commonly in the back, arms, or legs. (CHECK)
Headache. (DOUBLE CHECK)
Pain when you move your eyes. (1/2 CHECK)
Fatigue, a general feeling of sickness (malaise), and loss of appetite. (CHECK)
A dry cough, runny nose, and a dry or sore throat. You may not notice these during the first few days of the illness when other symptoms are more severe. As your fever goes away, these symptoms may become more evident. (CHECK)

I guess I got my answer.

yea!

I'm proud of this one! I should get 100%, seeing as I teach grammar. This quiz wasn't very good, though. It only tested possessives and homonyms mainly. Oh well.

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

 

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

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Fun Quiz

Some of these were kinda tough...it's been a long time since I've taken geometry! Fun quiz, though. Thanks, Mark!

You paid attention during 86% of high school!

 

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

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Update

I dreamed last night that someone called me and asked when I was going to post again. Maybe it really happened and wasn't a dream...I can't really remember. Anyway, I decided that it's time for another post. A lot's been going on, but normal stuff.

Taylor had his first Pampered Chef show last night. He did great! Even though it was the fourth time I'd eaten vegetable pizza this week, I still thought it tasted good. We spent all afternoon yesterday cleaning. Every time we clean, Taylor and I get in an argument over where to put stuff and whether or not to throw it away. I always want to put it out of sight or throw it away. And Taylor wants exactly the opposite. Yesterday was no exception...it was one of the lighter arguments, though. We ended up laughing at ourselves, which is always good.

Right now, I'm laying in bed with the electric blanket cranked (like it always is when Taylor isn't in it) and Banjo laying on my feet. Taylor's at church practicing with the worship band this morning. I think it's going to be a beautiful day! Cold, but beautiful nonetheless. (What a strange word...nonetheless. What does it mean? None the less. I just now looked it up, and it means "however". Hmm. Nonetheless.) I've got about an hour to do nothing before I need to get up and get ready. I love that feeling...when you just have time to relax. Read a book. Post on your blog. I love it!

Enjoy the sun today!