Back on my feet!

Today was the first day I felt really good.  I spent two weeks with this crappy cold, coughing, sniffling, and fainting.

Yes, fainting...I have naturally low blood pressure, it's usually around 110/60.  In many ways it's good, because I'll probably never have a stroke (it's especially good, because high blood pressure runs in my family, and my dad had kidney problems and heart disease from high BP).  But the downside of low BP is it can cause fainting. 

So I am not a stranger to fainting...I have probably fainted 30 times in my life, the first time was when I was a little girl.  It can be from getting too hot, getting up too fast, or even seeing something unpleasant (like my own blood), or being upset.  I am used to it, know what it is, how to handle it.  I usually just lie down, pass out, and then I'm fine.

Hub is used to it too, and knows what to do.  He also knows to not over-react... if other people are around, they often will freak out and want to call 9-1-1, but he just says "oh, she'll be fine in a minute."  They might think he's a bit callous, but I always AM fine.  

But when I get sick my BP tends to get even lower.  And I might faint without much provocation.  Just standing up will do it.  We were in church on Saturday, I was feeling "okay" but all of a sudden, I got "that feeling."  So I sat down, passed out on Hub's shoulder, and woke up a few minutes later.  Hub was taking my pulse.  (Fortunately, we were sitting in the back of the church, so no one else even noticed.  I've actually learned over the years how to be unobtrusive while fainting.)  I felt okay, but a few minutes later, I passed out again.  Every time I stood up, I started to pass out.  Then it happened when I was just sitting there.  It happened about 5 times over the course of the hour we were in church.  This was a little weird, as I don't usually faint repeatedly.  I can only imagine how low my BP was.  Needless to say, we just went home after church.  I had something to eat, had a big glass of water, and went to bed. 

I felt fine the next day, with no residual effects and no fainting.  In retrospect, I think it was probably partly that I hadn't been eating much for at least a week.  When I get sick, I tend to not eat or drink enough fluids, so I was probably a bit dehydrated.

The moral of the story is…I need to pay more attention to  keeping hydrated when I'm sick.

Anyway, today was the first day I actually felt "perky."  I think I might go to the gym tomorrow! 

Old photos

I'm still sick.  I had a work commitment on Monday and Tuesday that I had to honor.  I was feeling better, so I went in even though I wasn't 100 percent.  I don't think I'm contagious, but the cold seems to have evolved into something else.  By the end of yesterday, I had completely lost my voice.   I didn't have anything on my schedule today, so I decided to stay home.  If I don't get better by tomorrow, I'll call the doctor. 

A few weeks ago, I was at my mother's house and took home a huge box of old photos.  We just purchased a photo scanner, so I spent the morning scanning and scanning.  I started with some old school photos.

About 6 years old, no front teeth...looks like the sweater was buttoned crooked...

I'm guessing I was around 9...love the "hairdo"!

About age 12...fighting the natural curls...

Around 15

High school yearbook photo 1971

It's fun going through all the old photos, but it's going to be a real project to get them all organized.

So far, even though I'm sick, I've been sticking to my low carb plan.  I had intended to start exercising this week, but it will have to wait.  

Being Productive...

I've been sitting around on my butt mostly since New Year's Eve, due to this head cold.  I felt a bit better on Friday, so went into work to catch up a bit.  Spent about 4 hours there, came home, felt like crap that evening and yesterday.  Today I'm feeling better again, so tomorrow I should be able to start the first "full" week of 2014 on an up note.

Last year, I had a New Year's Resolution which was kind of vague, but which I kept for a number of months.  It was "Do one productive thing every day."  The productive thing was whatever I deemed productive...be it a large or small activity, or physical or intellectual (although it does need to be above and beyond something I normally "must" do every day, like the dishes).  I can be a very lazy person if I allow myself.  I know I spend way too much time "unproductively" on the computer (just surfing or playing games), sitting around watching television, or whatever.  When I started last year with that resolution, I found that doing one productive thing often led to another productive thing, and another.  I remember I got a lot done!  So I started today with the productive things of: several loads of laundry, and taking down the Christmas tree.

This year, to keep myself on track, I'm going to actually write down what I did each day.  I'm already looking forward to next New Year's Eve and seeing all the productive things I've done in 2014.