Author: paws2smile

Time for Change

by paws2smile

Hello! I wanted to write a post months ago and never finished it. I usually like to write out my posts ahead of time but figured I would wing it this time.

So, time to be vulnerable and open about myself. The last five years of living alone, I haven’t shown myself much self love. I am the heaviest I have ever been and part of that is because of my Gastroparesis. Well, a lot of that was because of it, because my stomach couldn’t handle most foods. So I basically have been eating nothing but carbs as it is the only thing that doesn’t upset my stomach.

Since the beginning of January of this year, I have decided to start taking better care of myself. I started with Nutrisystem so I could lose some weight. I lost 20 pounds! 😁

Their system is basically (if you’re a woman) your first week you are only allowed 1,000 calories a day. Starting the next week, you go to 1,200 calories per day.

Their meals are okay taste-wise. I am super picky so I only liked two of their meals. Haha! But I ate the food anyway.

I am now trying something different with my diet, counting macros. “Macros” consist of meeting a certain number of grams for carbs, fats and proteins while staying near/at a certain level of calories. Counting macros is a different way to lose weight by eating the calories your body needs. When I was eating 1,200 calories a day, that was/is a very painful way to diet. It’s not very much food and I was always hungry. Now, I eat almost 1,600 calories per day and am still in calorie deficit in order to lose weight. My daily macros goals are: fat 55 grams, protein 130 grams, and carbs 159 grams. It’s a very SLOW process, the scale hardly moves for me. But you know what? My clothes are fitting me a little differently than before.

If you are curious about macros you can visit here then look for their calculator.

I also decided the covid virus has slowed down enough to go back to the gym! Plus, it helps that I finally got the vaccine. But I am very happy to be back to exercising! About a month ago, I also got reacquainted with weight lifting. It’s been years since lifting weights and I forgot how much I love it.

I hope you all are doing well! Benelli says hello. ☺️

*I am not getting paid by Macros Inc for this post

Park of Monster

by paws2smile

Hello! Yes, I am still alive! I have a new addiction that is keeping me from any writing or even being on social media. I normally am not a “gamer” or one who plays video games but I recently got sucked into one. It’s more of an app.  It’s called Park of Monster and it’s a merging game. I  have become so addicted that I have spent money to further me in the game. I know, I know! Never pay for app games! But someone took me under their wings and helped me learn more about the game and one lesson I learned is that a person doesn’t necessarily HAVE to spend money in the game. 

Basically, the story is that demons have polluted this land where monsters live. And it is your job to get as many monsters as you can to clean up the land and make it lush and green again.

The monsters start off as eggs and once you have three of the same eggs, you place them next to each other to merge them. Magically the three eggs disappear and a monster is born! The monster starts off as a tiny version. Once you go through the process and get three tiny monsters (of the same monster), a small version appears. And so on and so forth.

The monsters come in all shapes and sizes. There are items you can “harvest” from other items. This is where the monster will work on item A to get item B, such as working on monster bones to get goblin caves. You can also harvest coins or ores that can be used to purchase monster eggs, ore warehouses, monster houses or coin vaults. You can also harvest to get stars, moons and suns. These items are the “magic” that makes the polluted lands green again.

Here are a couple of screen shots:

This shows some of the monsters and what the eggs look like
Again, some of the monsters and of what the ores (colored bricks) look like

I hope everyone is doing well. Hopefully it won’t be as long as this last time before you hear from me again. I have two more blog posts in mind that I want to get out. For now, take care and stay safe! 🙂

Sleepless In South Dakota

by paws2smile

I’ve been laying in the dark for two hours now. I took some aspirin on top of my three different night meds and am still not able to fall asleep. I can’t shut off my mind and am guessing the small amount of red pepper I had is part of the problem. I wish I could eat red peppers but often insomnia follows, even eight hours later.

So I am sure you have heard by now how a medication, hydroxychloroquine, is stated to help with the coronavirus. As I’m sure you have also heard, this is an anti-inflammatory and Lupus drug. In fact, this is my main Lupus medication.

I called my doctor’s office to see if they could write me a script so I could potentially stock up before it’s all out in my state. They said they could not. I asked about the possible shortage and they stated if my pharmacy didn’t have any, to try a different one.

Thankfully I had a month’s worth from when I was in the middle of switching doctors. But I wasn’t sure if I should take it (seeing the prescription had been a year old) so I called my pharmacist. I asked him if it would be okay and he said yes, especially with the situation right now & that they (my pharmacy) were completely out of the product. “You basically have liquid gold,” he stated.

So, I’m not as worried as much knowing I currently have almost two months worth. But it still crosses my mind. I’m hoping that will be enough time for them to make more to meet demands.

But it pisses me off that drumpf (AKA Trump) stated what he did about the medication. He started a frenzy and it was irresponsible of him. They haven’t even had actual lab trials yet to see how it reacts to the coronavirus! Some people have taken chloroquine which is much more toxic than hydroxychloroquine! According to some Lupus groups on FB, they think doctors have been writing scripts of it for family members and friends to have on them “just in case.” I assumed that is what was happening.

Please stay safe and healthy!

Another shot

by paws2smile

I decided to purchase a picture of Benelli along with my free picture. I wish she had cheaper choices so I could have purchased more. Oh well, I am just thankful I was able to go through the process and receive a free picture. And I understand her pricing. These pictures are on like, a wood (I think?) piece, so it is not a normal flimsy picture.

Thank you to Animal Studio Photography!

 

We hope you are all doing well during this challenging time. Stay safe!

Lucky Me

by paws2smile

In June/July, a dog photographer put out a FB post stating she was having a contest. A person needed to like her business FB page (Animal Studio Photography) and post a picture of their pet in the comments.  Ten winners would win a free sitting session and one free 5 x 7 of their favorite picture. I of course wanted chance to get a nice shot of Benelli since I knew I would never be able to afford one.

Well, we won! 🙂

He did great during the sitting session. He listened for about an hour then after that he didn’t bother trying to please the photographer and I. Haha!

The other week I FINALLY received my free 5 x 7. Here is a digital copy, what do you think??

🙂

A huge thank you to Animal Studio Photography!

Not Lupus?

by paws2smile

A few months ago I had a not so normal eye exam. The optometrist noted an irregularity with one of my tests that I take for my main Lupus medication, Plaquenil. That meant the medication was starting to effect my eyes. So my new rheumatologist had me see an eye doctor (ya know, because they want to make sure to see a “M.D.” behind the name) and go off the medication. The new eye doctor said it looked fine so I’m back on the medication for the time being. I go back in for another round of tests to make sure everything is still okay at the end of October.

I decided to change my rheumatologist as I felt my current one wasn’t working enough for my health. I told my rheumy about my symptoms of my Gastroparesis (my stomach is not working properly) and she never bothered to look further into it or to send me to a GI doctor.

The first meeting with my new rheumy went well! He also is seeing my sister for MCTD (Mixed Connective Tissue Disease). It was a relief because I had a “feeling” that he would tell me that I didn’t have Lupus, but have what my twin has.

The second meeting with my new rheumy soon came up and my view on him suddenly changed. He told me he didn’t think I had Lupus but I had a disease called Sjogren’s (sounds like “show grins”). He said the Lupus marker never showed up on my blood work but came up on the Sjogren’s marker. And the Sjogren’s marker can mean the person has Sjogren’s…or LUPUS! Think about that for a moment. He kept asking if I had any seizures or heart attacks and I replied with a no. I think he is having a hard time believing that I have Lupus because I haven’t had one or the other, but the thing is having one or the other is NOT a prerequisite for Lupus! So he ordered a bunch of more blood work. I see him again at the beginning of October but wasn’t sure if I wanted to. Suddenly after 20 years I just don’t have Lupus?? Plus, I have had three different doctors tell me that I have Lupus. So at my next appointment I am going to talk to him more of why I “don’t have Lupus.” I didn’t get any of my thoughts/opinions out when he mentioned this shocker because I was so dumbfounded on what he all said. If I’m not satisfied, I am going back to my other doctors that believe that I have it!