Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A little update on life


On the drive to Boise Airport

So, we had our Seattle appointment last weekend...and it was great! Guess what? I'm OFF antibiotics! I am going to take herbs (liquid drops that taste like cleaning products and muddy lake water put together) for a few more months and then hopefully I'll be done! Woohoo!!!

Clay is doing well. He still has a ways to go, but he is still making huge improvements and is definitely on the right track!

Can I just say? I HATE TICKS! Oh my. I have heard 3 stories just in the past month of ticks being found on people, dogs, PILLOWS. Three different states too. And not ONE of these people were hiking or in the woods either! I committed to going to girls camp for 2 days...and after my appointment and realizing I'm pretty much done with this disease (crossing my fingers), I realized....I have spent over a year of my life on antibiotics and FIGHTING hard to get rid of this stupid Lyme Disease. Do I really want to risk going into the woods for two days and getting it again? One, ticks are more attracted to those who have been infected with Lyme...two, ticks are CRAZY everywhere this year because we had such a mild winter. I've already basically decided I never want to go camping again in my life, simply for the reason that I would have anxiety the entire time that I'd get at tick! So, it's pretty much official. I already told the camp director of our ward that I'm backing out...I feel bad, but its just the way it is for me. Even if people think I'm a freak who is overly anxious, I'll take it...if it means protecting myself a bit more from this danged disease. I definitely am a freak who is overly anxious cause I honestly think that they should cancel girls camp and do something else. Church wide. There are TOO MANY TICKS. How many girls will get Lyme disease this summer? I mean really. I don't mean to freak people out...it's just truly an epidemic and people need to be aware!

I've been trying to eat really good. Even better than normal. I have had a salad for lunch 3 days in a row now, which is pretty fantastic. Spinach, carrots, tomatoes, kidney beans (i prefer black but didn't have any). That's it! So simple and easy and tasty. I've been meaning to cook up a batch of quinoa so I could add that to my salads as well. I will do that tonight!

 In Seattle, I did cheat! I had blueberry pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream on top. And I had hot chocolate. YUM! I don't regret it. And it is so hard to stay eating good when you are out of town.

Tomorrow I am getting my hair done...I am so excited! I've never gotten this style before, so it'll be awesome. I will post pictures tomorrow...as long as it turns out :) I'm also getting my eyebrows waxed...which is just wonderful because I HATE plucking. It's just such a drag.

Overall, life is going pretty good. I am done with tax season, so work is a LOT less stressful...I am done with school...oh yeah! I will be a CPA in July. I could get my license sooner, but in Idaho you HAVE to renew your license every July, and pay a license fee, and so it doesn't make sense for me to pay a fee NOW and then pay again in less than two months. SO, I will just wait and get my license in July. Woohoo!

I've been reading some books. The Giver was good- a titch slow, but had some pretty cool symbolism and interesting plot. I started Water for Elephants...and couldn't finish it. One, it was slow...two, there was a part that was SO NASTY and I kept thinking, okay it will be over in the next paragraph...but it kept going and going till finally I was like OH my gosh I need to skip pages...so I'd skip skip skip and then finally it looked like it was over...and I was just so disturbed by it, and it was still just such a slow start for me...I decided I just wanted to be done. So I turned it back into the library. I am now reading Delirium, which so far is really intriguing.

Alright...tonight is Idol, and REVENGE! YES! Have you not started watching Revenge? Seriously- its the best. And Idol...I love Phillip...Colton and Elise were two of my fav's...but they are gone. And Joshua Ledet is good but the judges are WAY TOO OBSESSED WITH HIM. Why do they give him standing O's EVERY FREAKING TIME? My oh my.
Dante is still the sweet little/big light in our lives. How grateful I am we have him. He's such a big baby, big goofball, and really just such a fun doggy. We love him. We've been taking him to the new dog-park in town. It's just a HUGE fenced in area that dogs can play together. One side is for small dogs, the other for big dogs. It's separated. Anyway, he's been having some fun there. I think he enjoys going and greeting the humans more than the dogs.



15 comments:

Natalie | Mrs. Janney | said...

I totally don't blame you for not going camping. I got Lyme Disease (without going into the woods) 3 years ago and am TERRIFIED of ticks. I never even saw the tick that bit me, but noticed the bug bites and then had the rash and sickness that followed. I was lucky in that the doctor recognized the rash RIGHT AWAY and put me on doxy right away. But still... I didn't feel right for ages after that. All this to say... I don't blame you. When I do go camping, I use OFF with DEET like a mad woman (probably isn't all that healthy but we don't go camping that much) because it is supposed to work on ticks.

YAY that you are done with the meds!!! :) I am very excited for you.

Kayleen said...

I'm going to girls camp this year for the whole week. Now I'm totally freaked out!! Maybe I'll get a blessing beforehand. I don't blame you for backing out if it makes you that uncomfortable and anxious. So glad you're doing better!

AMY AND MIKEY said...

haha that's funny dante likes going to the humans more than the dogs. It's cause you need to "socialize Dante's so cute, I always forget about him until you post or talk about him. the ticks, I am SO glad you decided NOT to go to girls camp, you are 100% correct. You've gone through way too much to just go out in the woods and be surrounded by ticks! And don't feel bad about it because you're doing the RIGHT thing. That's nice work is less stressful. Can you make your page so the WHOLE thing goes up rather than just the post part? Because I can never see your pictures COMPLETELY, a little bit is always cut off. If not, I can just click on them individually. LOVE YOU thanks for posting!

Jenni said...

1st of all... I'm SO glad I read your blog tonight because you reminded me of REVENGE! I LOVE IT! Can't wait! But mostly, Danielle, your post made me so happy. I am so thrilled that you are almost in the clear. SO THRILLED! All of your hard work and patience has paid off. What a blessing. I'm so thankful Clay is making good progress too. LOVE IT ALL! I don't think you're a freak. NO one could blame you for being cautious and when I first read that you were committed to girls camp I thought "NO DON'T GO!" So i'm glad you're not! Love you!

Megan and Greg said...

Dog park. That just makes me laugh, it's like taking Scarlet to the park to play with kids, but it's dogs. Those pancakes look amazing. I love that pic of you in the car. I'm SO HAPPY you're off antibiotics! That is AMAZING!!! It makes me not so worried about Scarlet possibly having lyme. I've been a little panicked about the rest of her life. But worst case, she has it and we're aware of it. You've been fighting it a year and a half? I'm sorry Clay's still got a long way, but I'm glad he's on his way. It makes me really happy. Holy cow, so could you get prego soon? Like this year? Crazy!!!! Good job for eating well. I need to do that. I'm impressed you ate red beans. I just can't do that. The flavor is too distinct. And no dressing? SO IMPRESSIVE. I hate ticks too. I always have but since Scarlet's tick I AM SO PARANOID!!!! It's the worst! Every time we're outside she runs to the bushes and I'm so scared. Especially here. I used to think you just need to worry about the woods, but I saw on the news a woman in THIS AREA got a tick in her front yard and got chronic lyme. They say they're even in the grass! It's just not ideal for having little ones. Yeah, don't go in the woods ever again unless you WANT TO. Don't worry about others reactions. Just protect yourself. I love yoU!

Megan and Greg said...

oh yeah, I feel the same way as Amy with your blog. But I never said anything because I know you love it, but it is frustrating with the pics.

Kristi M. said...

Jeff had a tick a few weeks ago out mountain biking. Eeeww! Thankfully they check themselves. That is probably the most important thing about it, is to make sure that everyone checks each other. You had mentioned that you are aware of cases where people haven't even been out camping or hiking and have gotten them. Makes you realize that it can happen anywhere. Yuck! I am SO thrilled that you are on the tail end of this fight. I bet that makes you over the moon happy.

Cami said...

Goodness! You get so many comments! I love your blog. You are such a good writer! You are so cute... and I love love love that you eat healthy and that it's important to you (disease or not) even though you are thin! And how do you decide what books to read? The Giver is actually one of my favorite books of all times. I need to talk to you about books more. And your TV shows are also mine... I was actually really sad that Skylar went home. I think it's about time that Hollie went, even though I thought she did well last night. She shouldn't have outlasted Colton, that's for sure. And I watched Revenge. I have to tell you about my crazy dream I had right after.

AND CONGRATS ON BEING DONE WITH YOUR MEDS!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so incredibly happy for you. What a relief! And good luck to Clay. :) Thanks for being awesome!

Grandma, Nonnie said...

I really loved your post and I am so tired, so will only do a short one. I think it is wonderful that you have Dante, and he goes to a dog park??? How neat is that if you're a dog. I love it!!! I am so looking forward to July. love you and don't concern yourself with what others think, let them walk in your boots for awhile, and do all tht you have been through this past 2 years, and let them talk then. Hugs and Kisses

Lizzie said...

I'm sooooo glad you decided against girls camp. don't feel bad at ALL. it's the right choice.

my kids LOVE going to the dog parks to see the dogs. seriously. some owners get bugged by us and others love it.

btw i can see all your pics on your blog. don't know what they're talking about.

revenge....man. we still haven't been able to watch this weeks. missionary splits wed and urgent care with little kate last night. mabye this weekend. and now that we have the oc i feel so behind with shows. and soon the bachelorette!! yay!

love you so much

HeidiT said...

That's great that you are off meds! I wouldn't feel a bit bad about not going to camp. I am the assistant camp director this year and one of the first things I thought of was ticks, the only time I found one crawling on me was during a girls camp when I was growing up and it was horrifying...and that's before I knew about their diseases. Don't forget to check Dante for them too, my brother picked about 30!!! off of his dog after they went to a park in Tennessee (don't worry, Idaho's not as tick crazy as TN is because of the climate and their dog is crazy furry which doesn't help either). You do a great job of getting the word out there about the dangers of ticks.

Aliese the Writer said...

Don't say that about Girls Camp! I'm going this summer and to a trek also! But I'm not going to worry about it. Sounds like everything is going great for you. I'm so glad. Congratulations on almost being an official CPA and finishing school! I love you so much and can't wait to see you this summer! :)

Sharon/Mom/ Grandma said...

Great blog! I just love that pic of your silly face and the pic of dante. I love that you are taking him to a doggie park. I am so happy you are only on herbs! Life is good right now for you! Good for you for choosing to eat healthy! love and miss you!!!!

Rebecca said...

Seriously Danielle there are so many women in the world who hate camping, and the outdoorsy thing and have nothing like your excuse. Stay home. I'm so happy for you that you are only on herbs. Does that mean you get to try for a baby soon, or does Clay have to be all better too? Congrats on becoming a CPA. You absolutely rock. Gorgeous too. I love you.

his little lady said...

oh gosh, can't wait to see the outcome of all your grooming. nothing's better than a fresh new cut! and you'll have to tell me how waxing goes. i kind of have a fear for some reason, ha
xo TJ