Health Update
Posted on September 24, 2011 by Ching under Health.
The medical bills continue to pile in. The credit card is definitely getting a good workout. I suspect there will be more to come as time progresses. I’ve always felt blessed with good health. It’s ironic that I’m having to go to the doctor so much these days. This is definitely a reality check. For those of you reading this, take care of yourselves. Do not take your body for granted.
No word yet from Dr. Zayour. We were hoping we would get an answer by the end of this week. No such luck. Brian said that could be both good or bad. Good in that there isn’t anything so pressing that they have to contact us right away. Or, it could be very bad that they have to double and triple check stuff before they break the bad news to me. As for me, I think it could be just that they are backlogged and haven’t been able to get to my test results.
On the bright side, I hit 120 lbs yesterday. It took me a couple of weeks but, by golly, I did it. John challenged me to drop from 124 lbs to 120 lbs about a couple of weeks ago. He wanted me to drop 4 lbs in one week, which is a huge challenge for me. My weight-loss has been so gradual so far that I usually only drop about a pound a week. I was so happy when I stepped on the scale last night and saw 120 lbs for the first time in years. I’m also glad that I was able to do it despite some nutritional challenges like meetings and work functions. I think my Invisalign probably made a difference. It is such a hassle that I honestly do not feel like eating. It’s working like an appetite suppressant in some ways.
So last night was my final personal training appointment. Those 24 sessions went by really quick (about three months). I think it was because I was seeing John twice or sometimes three times a week, whenever my schedule would get wonky. We didn’t get to my original target weight of 115 lbs but, amazingly enough, I don’t feel like a failure. On our very first session, when we were talking about goals I told him that I wasn’t really as concerned about what the scale said as much as just looking and feeling better in general (which I think I have achieved). He told me that I will probably look and feel better at 120 lbs with some muscle tone than I ever did at 115 lbs. Now that I’m at that point, he is absolutely right. I feel really good about the progress I’ve made.
I’m still about 20 lbs heavier than when Brian and I first met, but I don’t think I want to be 100 lbs again. My new goal that I’ve been working toward halfway through our training and these last few weeks is 110 lbs. I’m hoping to lose ten more pounds by the end of the year. I think I can do it. So anyway, even if my days are numbered, at least I’m going to look absolutely freakin’ fantastic at my funeral.
Kidding aside, with renewed focus on my health, I’ve added a couple of things to my Amazon wishlist. Once the credit card is caught up (which may not be for a while – ugh), I want to get an Omron BP785 Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor
John and I came up with a workout plan last night to help me lose the last 10 lbs that I want to get rid of, but that’s really a pretty loose target. I will try my best, but I’m not going to cry if I’m not at 110 lbs by the end of the year. Mostly I deal with lbs when I’m trying to lose weight because it’s easy to step on a scale and get a figure. I don’t take it too seriously, though. I’m planning on scheduling another fitness assessment with Jodi in January to see where I’m at (here’s the results of my last one, in case you are curious) and then schedule one annually each January after that. She does the skin folds test using calipers so it’s more accurate than an Omron device, which can easily be affected by your level of hydration for that day/moment.
Anyway, the future looks bright. I feel blessed to have lived a wonderful life so far and look forward to many years of good health and beautiful memories ahead of me. Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!
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My Day Today
Posted on September 20, 2011 by Ching under Events.
I actually got to eat real food tonight. I needed it too, because all I had for lunch was a shake. They served food at our meeting today, but the schedule was so tight that the meeting continued through lunch. I’m glad I brought a shake because there wasn’t enough time to take off my Invisalign braces, eat, brush my teeth and put them back in. The shake was actually pretty filling. That’s because we’re back to using V-CORE. The other stuff we tried really wasn’t as good.
I left work early to make my 4 pm appointment with Dr. Zayour, the endocrinologist that Dr. Hane referred me to. He was really funny. Everything was great until he sent me to the lab to get my blood drawn. Yuck. I hate needles. The nurse who drew my blood Angelita is from Cebu and was really good. She carefully searched for a vein (it took work because my veins are tiny and hard to find) instead of poking around. She made the process pretty painless.
BTW, my blood pressure today was 100/60, weight was 122 lbs, and height still 4’11” unfortunately. But I digress… After my blood was drawn they were able to squeeze me in downstairs for a neck sonogram. I’m glad that they were able to do it the same day so that I don’t have to take more time off work. I’m hoping to hear back from Dr. Zayour by the end of the week. He didn’t really want to say too much today because he didn’t want to freak me out and cause me to worry. I do know that my entire thyroid is enlarged, both the left and the right side. Except, the right side is way more enlarged than the left. I had originally thought that only the right side was problematic. In a way, I’m kind of glad that the two sides are unevenly enlarged. Otherwise, I might have never noticed that there was something wrong with me.
After the doctor we had a bit of time to run home and check the mail. I took the opportunity to take off my Invisalign braces so I could enjoy dinner. I had volunteered to attend several weeks ago, before my Invisalign appointment that I had totally spaced out. At least it’s getting easier to take the braces off. It could be because my nails have grown back some. They’re nearly impossible to take off without the aid of your nails.
The Goodwill Industries annual dinner and awards ceremony was nice. The speaker was Carl Hall. You might remember him from the Extreme Home Makeover back in April. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to attend. The dinner was held at the ballroom of Wichita Marriott, which reminded me of the Filipino balls. It might be time to start attending again. Although, I don’t know if I’m ready for the barrage of “Do you have any babies yet?” questions again. We actually got that from Angelita today. I don’t know why I was surprised. Whenever I meet a fellow Filipino, that’s almost a given. She pretty much said the same stuff that Iaonnis did a few weeks ago about how Brian and I would have pretty babies. Brian and I just laughed. A bit later when we found out that she’d been in the area for several years and were wondering how we’d never met before now, she asked if we ever went to any of the Filipino parties. I said, “No. We quit going because they kept asking us when we would have babies.” I feel like I have turrets sometimes. I just can’t help being brutally honest.
BTW, we ran into one of Brian and Kevin’s friends at the dinner who works for Goodwill Industries. That was nice. There were a lot of awards at the dinner so we didn’t get home until about 9 pm. We came home to a nice surprise, though. GLEE is back! I love, love, love that show. I’m glad we got it on DVR because Brian and I both spaced out the season premier.
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My Billboard
Posted on September 19, 2011 by Brian under Projects.
Here is my first ever Billboard Art. I was very honored to be asked to do this for my Dad and the Kansas Museum of Military History.
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My Invisalign Journey Begins
Posted on September 18, 2011 by Ching under Health, Invisalign, Vanity.
Many people don’t realize this, but my teeth are quite crooked. A few months ago, my dentist offered a deal through Groupon that I couldn’t pass up. I got $1497 worth of value for only $49. The deal covered the initial Invisalign examination, x-rays, and $1000 toward treatment. Since my insurance covers half the cost of orthodontia, I figured this was my chance to correct my problem.
My teeth are not terribly crooked but, not having had braces as a child, I have always envied people with straight teeth. I opted for the lowest level of treatment, since insurance will only pay for half and I have to take care of the other half. The total cost of my Invisalign treatment is about $3330. Insurance took care of half so my portion was $1665. My Groupon took care of $1000 and then I had to take care of the remaining $655. Since I paid $49 for my Groupon, my total out of pocket is $704. That is, until the end of the treatment when I have to pay about $400-500 for my retainers. I think I have to take care of that on my own. I’m not sure that insurance covers it. I figured that I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.
That day can’t get here fast enough. Yesterday was the day from hell. It started out great with Zumba. I look forward to getting up on Saturday mornings because of Gina Ann’s Zumba class. It is super fun. I usually stay for Group Kick after, but had to miss it this time to make our 11:30 AM dental appointment. Yes, Brian scheduled his appointment on the same day. He was supposed to get some fillings which turned out be one filling and one crown. His insurance allowance for the year was already tapped out from previous treatments so it ended up being a super expensive dental visit.
Anyway, back to my Invisalign… After putting attachments or buttons (these are installed so that the Invisalign trays can grip your teeth snugly, but they blend in with your teeth really well so you can’t tell they are there), the dental assistant struggled to put my trays in. Both the top and bottom trays were troublesome, but the top was particularly so. She said that she’d never had such a hard time putting the trays on before and that it was a real workout. Putting the trays on my teeth literally made her sweat. She said that I should take Ibuprofen right away as my mouth will be very sore. She said, “I hope you don’t plan on eating because you’re not going to want to take these off for a while.” That’s when I told her that I had my semi-annual dental check up and teeth cleaning scheduled at 1:00 PM. She was like, “Are you serious? That was a lot of work.” Right then, I knew I was up for an unpleasant journey. On the plus side, I figured that this would probably help me lose weight. That’s the optimist in me. LOL.
For my regular appointment, the hygienist asked me to take off my Invisalign braces. It took a lot of work, but I was able to do it. I was really proud of myself for being able to put the braces back on by myself afterward. It wasn’t easy, but I managed to do it without breaking a sweat. Brian and I had not had lunch yet so I knew I would have to take them on and off again when we got home. I knew it was going to be a pain, but I figured I could use the practice. Again, that’s my eternal optimism.
I decided to keep them on while I took a shower (we came straight from the gym so I was stinky from Zumba). I really should have taken them off before taking a shower, but my thought process was that I was going to have to brush my teeth after eating lunch so I would just wait to take them off right before eating. That was a huge mistake. My fingernails were soft after getting out of the shower and the trays were very tight. I ended up breaking the nails of both my thumb and index fingers. Even then, I still could not get them off. Brian was cooking our lunch, tilapia and steamed white rice, so I was on my own. I was getting really frustrated because I was starving. It was about 3:00 PM at this point and we still hadn’t eaten lunch.
In the meantime, Jan called because her car wouldn’t start. She was stranded at 21st and Rock. We couldn’t leave her there so the plan was to have Brian finish the fish, which really only takes a couple of minutes and I was going to leave them warming in the oven until he returned. Thank God, Jan was able to start her car after the umpteenth attempt so that was one less thing to worry about. Brian finished cooking lunch and hollered for me to come down. At this point, I was really contemplating just drinking a shake for lunch but I was very, very hungry and really wanted to eat. It was so frustrating I wanted to cry. Brian who had already started eating, stopped when I still hadn’t come down after several minutes. He tried to help, but he couldn’t get them off either. He was like, “I have to remind you that this was your idea.” He’s said that about half a dozen times already this weekend and is starting to sound like a broken record. Just FYI to those of you who have partners with Invisalign, that doesn’t really help.
After two broken fingernails and much effort later, I finally got the bottom set out. Lunch was getting cold at this point and the top set was still giving me a lot of trouble. I cleaned up the broken fingernails and clipped the rest of my nails to match so now I had no nails to aid me in the removal. As an act of desperation, I took the end of my comb hooked it to the edge of the top tray and pulled straight down. As luck would have it, the braces popped off just like that. I inspected them carefully to make sure that I didn’t cause any damage. Thankfully, they survived. It literally took 30 minutes to get them off that time. I didn’t understand that because I didn’t have that much problem at the dentist’s office just a couple of hours before. Then again, my nails were harder at that time. They had softened while I was in the shower and were absolutely useless to me.
I was finally happy to be able to eat lunch. I ate a lot because I figured that I probably wouldn’t be eating again that day. After that ordeal, I didn’t want to take them off again ever. After brushing my teeth, I put the trays back in. It was a huge hassle (again, I had more trouble than I did at the dentist’s office) and Brian had to help me. After our pedicures, I found out from Jen Teves that she made dinner. That meant I had to take my braces off again. Ugh. It only took about 10 minutes this time around.
After dinner, I managed to put them back on by myself without Brian’s help. It took less than a minute this time around. I had an easier time of it than I did at the dentist. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. I did read online that the process of taking the trays on and off gets easier over time. We stayed over and enjoyed some wine while were watching the Mayweather vs. Ortiz fight (which was lame btw, and probably deserves its own blog entry). Huge thanks to Jen and Armando for letting us watch the fight with them and also for feeding us delicious food. You guys are the best!
Brian had coffee later that evening and they made some chocolate chip cookies for a late night snack. Everyone else had them but me. I wasn’t hungry and they were unnecessary calories and they weren’t worth the hassle of taking my braces off and putting them back on again (though, already I’ve realized that putting them on is not as much of a pain as taking them off; even though it did pose a major challenge of the dental assistant and of me earlier that day). I could see how they will be beneficial going forward and they’ll help me avoid unnecessary snacking at night out of boredom or while watching TV. I’m a glass half-full kind of gal so I always tend to see the silver lining of things.
It’s still a huge hassle so I’ve decided to kind of switch things around. Instead of doing a shake at breakfast and eating real food at lunch and a shake at dinner and some snacking with Brian at night, I’m going to eat real food at breakfast and have a shakes for lunch and dinner — at least until I get used to the process of removing the trays and putting them back on. I really don’t want to spend my entire lunch break trying to take my braces off. Once I get the process down pat then my eating habits can go back to normal. I did find some helpful tips online and ordered a removal tool
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My Husband is a Pretty Boy
Posted on September 18, 2011 by Ching under Things to Do.
Question his manhood all you want, but Brian is on to something. Pedicures are awesome. I’m a big fan of pedis. I just can’t get them too often, but I do splurge a few times a year. Sometimes I actually manage to talk Brian into getting one with me.
He wasn’t really a fan of pedis until he tried it at this place on the West side of town that Misty told us about. Their pedicures include a great leg massage complete with hot stones. That’s Brian’s favorite part.
His other favorite part is when they buff his nails because it makes them shine like they’re painted with clear nail polish, but they’re not. It’s all natural. Unlike clear nail polish that tends to wear off right away, the shine lasts for a long time. The last time Brian got a pedicure, his toenails stayed shiny for about four months.
The buffing costs $5 extra, but is totally worth it. So, yeah, Brian’s pedis actually cost more than mine. LOL.
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