When work overwhelms me, or really when anything does, I get this shooting pain down the back of my head, neck and through my right shoulder. I've seen a doctor, I know it is stress related. Working on a computer all day long I have carpal tunnel going on and that also causes more tension in my arms anyway. The combination ends up being quite painful at times, enough so that it will wake me up and then I can't fall back asleep. Sure they gave me muscle relaxers and such but I really don't like using them because they make me so groggy.

Any tips friends? Claudia gave me great tips on allergy suffering so I know y'all have remedies. Dish 'em out. The allergies are still being wicked, but I'm coping. I think more than anything I'm just exhausted from them. I mean even without taking medicine there is something about having bad allergies that makes you tired. Refer to the scene in the Wizard of Oz with the poppies. "Something with poison in it, but attractive to the eye, and soothing to the smell. Poppies..." Oh you know.

Also I'd like to announce that Braeden has been eating a wider variety of foods over the last couple weeks. My friend Barb sort of drilled it into me that I need to be firmer and most importantly utterly consistent. Brae knows me too well, he'll push all the right buttons and break me down. You have seen how cute he is so I know you understand.

We have grilled dinner two nights recently. One night turkey burgers and the other night lemon pepper chicken. Both nights Braeden ate the entire portion he was given. AND he ate his vegetables! He has been surprising the heck out of me. Brian has enjoyed grilling and I'm enjoying eating the meals. They are healthier and so delicious! Plus I love the smell of food grilling. Yum-o!

Yesterday we went to the local park after I picked him up from day care. He rode his bike, I walked next to him with Mya. Brae still has training wheels and man does he fly. We ended up going 1.2 miles maybe a bit more. And so he ended up sleeping through the night!

My Etsy store has sold a few more things since my last post about the online shop. I feel I have hit a plateau though. Ah well, I enjoy sewing, it feels good to complete a project and be proud.

Back to rubbing my shoulder. Happy Wednesday!

Labels: brae, brian, diet, satan aka pollen, work

My Mom's puppy, a pom named Lexie, greets us at the door each morning when Brae is dropped off for day care. At first Braeden wasn't at all interested in playing with or even acknowledging this new addition to the family. However now he is all about it and it's funny to see how he interacts with this feisty little pup.

This morning Lexie was looking at him and he was standing above her. He stretched himself out and said, "How low can you go?" In his made-up limbo accented fun voice.

I shoved all of my hair under a baseball cap before leaving the house this morning. My reason? I thought if I hid all my hair it would not be able to absorb any of the pollen in the air and therefore I would immediately be on top of my allergen hate game. I tried holding my breath, too. It seemed to work, until I got to work that is... I park near a greenhouse behind Townsend Hall which is the main building of the College of Ag where I work as the web developer. The smell of cows and the birds pooping all over my car are actually my favorite part of the outdoors here. Because on the way into the building I pass through the botanical gardens. I have no choice. And I had my hair up under the hat, but I could not hold my breath for the whole walk. I am now an itchy, sneezing, bitter mess of a girl.

A lot of people suffer from seasonal allergies and I am not so self involved that I think I am the only one. However, I am feeling pitiful at the moment and would like you to know my allergies are probably worse than yours. My eyes swell shut, my face welts up, I sneeze almost every other second, my stomach hurts, my ears itch, my eyes itch and all of those symptoms combined make me tired and irritable. Oh yes. This my friends may be worse than PMS. True there are a plethora of anti-histamines on the market but I have tried nearly all of them and they do nothing to mask or ease my symptoms.

And so....be prepared to hear my tales of pollen woe until about mid-June.

Thank you.

Good-bye.

Labels: brae, lexie, satan aka pollen