Dr. P

I have mentioned a few times how lucky I am to have the dermatologist I have.  I have been a patient of Dr. P ever since I was first diagnosed with Alopecia at age 11 and I am so lucky he happened to be the one my parents chose to take me to.  He has always been on top of all the current treatments and has always been a huge source of support for me.  After 20+ years, he's become more of a friend than just my doctor.  He is always quick to respond to my e-mails (and from what his office manager tells me, that is a very rare thing, and even more rare that he gives out his e-mail address) and he always finds a way to squeeze me into his busy schedule whenever I happen to be in Utah.

He is the one that has helped me do this most recent round of treatment.  We've decided to take a rest from the medication for a little while because of some of the side effects.  I'm grateful that he cares more about my overall health than just trying to get the results he knows I so badly wish for.

I've seen a few other doctors in my many years of living outside of Utah, but they aren't the same.  I guess I've just been spoiled by having Dr. P as my doctor and friend.  

Do you ever have days...?

Do you ever have days where you have a whole laundry list of things to do, but you just can't seem to want to do any of it but the one thing that doesn't HAVE to be done?  Today is one of those days.  I should be doing dishes... I should be doing laundry...  I should be cleaning at least one of the bathrooms...  For the life of me, all I want to do is look at the photos I've taken of birds, watch TV, and do a blog post.  Lately, this blog has been calling to me.  It has been almost an entire year since the last time I posted and I have missed it tremendously!  I don't know why I haven't written anything.  It certainly hasn't been for lack of topics to write about.  I think life gets busy, I get behind, and then don't have the strength to try to play "catch-up."  I've been doing a lot of pondering lately on the past, present, and future, and I have decided that I need an outlet again.  An outlet that will help me get thoughts out of my head instead of them getting jumbled and tumbled around in my brain.

For instance...

I've been going through another round of hair treatments over the last couple of months.  I have seen some progress, but not enough to feel like things might be on the mend.  The thoughts I've been having lately are, "Is this worth it?" "Am I getting my hopes up for nothing?"
"It couldn't hurt to try, though, right?"

So, I'm going to start putting myself "out there" again.  I want to start writing more about life with Alopecia, life as a military family (and how that will be ending soon), and everything in between.  Hopefully I can clear my mind in the process!

Ice

My crushed-up freezer ice.  Definitely leaves something to be desired.

It has reached that point in my pregnancy where I crave ice.  Unfortunately for me (but fortunate for my teeth), the ice from my freezer just doesn't satisfy.  Oh, what I wouldn't give to have a Sonic nearby and their wonderful bags of "chewy ice."  

Cafe Rio had "chewy ice;" too bad it's even farther away than the closest Sonic.  Ugh.

A "Before and After" photo

Right before Brett deployed, we had some family pictures taken with Brett's family.  None of us were happy about the way they turned out, so that's why none of the photos have ever been posted anywhere. I don't know about you, but when paying someone to take family photos, I fully expect the photographer to try to bring out the best in not only the surroundings, but in a person's appearance as well.  In her defense, the weather was bitter cold and windy, but had we gone to someone with more experience, I believe any situation can turn out well.  Unfortunately, this experience did not turn out as well as we had hoped.  I won't go into detail about how many things just didn't seem right with this particular photographer, but I do wish she wouldn't have tried to come off as a professional the way that she did.  It only made her work that much more disappointing. As a result, I had to "play" with the photos to get them to be somewhat up to mine and my mother-in-law's standards.  For example, here is a "before and after" of the one photo this photographer took of Brett's grandparents.

Now, there is definitely a time and place for Photoshop.  I am no expert, but I know enough to be able to make the best of a dire situation.  As you can see, I didn't alter anything to the point to where it altered who they really were, but I did bring out the best in them.  Also, the things I changed were things that my mother-in-law wished that the photographer would have fixed (or that she would have even paid attention to before even taking the photo).  Can you pick out the things that I changed?  I know for a fact that the photographer used Photoshop to "enhance" the photo, but none of us felt like it did anything to really make it better.  (I actually asked the photographer for the original photos, but she wouldn't give them to me on account of she "didn't want me to see what they looked like before she had made them the best that she could." It sure inspired a lot of confidence, let me tell you.)

So, a word to the wise... When paying someone to take photos for you, make sure you know what you are actually paying for, and make sure you see some of their previous work so that you don't end up with any surprises in the end.  

As good a time as any...

I keep telling myself I will start blogging again when something inspiring comes to mind, but since those instances seem to come and go rather frequently (much like the birds in the above photo), I figured why not just post something now.  It has been just over a year since my last post, and what a crazy year it was!  That's probably the main reason for my absence - too much going on and blogging was the least of my concerns.  Here's a mini breakdown of how 2012 went:

• The boys and I moved to Utah.
• Brett deployed to Djibouti at the beginning of January.
• I spent the next several months missing Brett while trying to make the most of the time I had with my family and Brett's. 
• Saw my old dermatologist and tried some new hair-growth treatments, but with no success. 
• Brett got back at the end of June.
• We moved back to Maryland.
• I found out I was pregnant.
• Both boys started school. (Yay for "me time!")
• I was EXHAUSTED from being pregnant (thank goodness it didn't last past the first trimester).
• Found out we were having our first baby girl!!
• I turned the mighty 3-0. No big deal.
• We had holiday after holiday just like the rest of the world, and then I finally got to relax after the new year.

Now I'm spending my time trying to gather the energy to keep my house in order and making every preparation I can for Baby Girl who is due to arrive April 1st (I'm really hoping she surprises me and comes a week early).  I don't have much to say these days, especially because "pregnancy brain" is in full swing and I'm lucky if I can remember to put pants on, let alone remember something witty and interesting to write about.  I have every intention of getting back into blogging, though.  If you have any suggestions of things I could write about, please shoot them my way! :-)

Blessed

I found this un-posted draft sitting in my post column, and I have no idea why I didn't post it.  It's just as true today as it was 5 months ago when it was originally written.



I'm so grateful for my friends and neighbors, and the wonderful people I get to associate with on a regular basis.  Lately, I've been very aware of how fortunate I am to know the people I know, and have the friends that I have.  They definitely help fill the void of not having family close by.  They are definitely my second family and I'm so grateful to have them in my life!

*Update: now that I'm over 2000 miles away from these people who I miss so much, I'm grateful that I have another set of faces, old and new, that sustain me and can keep me going.

I can only hope that I can do as much for them as they do for me no matter where in the country they may be.

Hiatus

Wow... Have I been absent or what?! Life got busy, then it got overwhelming, then it got unreal. Let's just say that finding time to actually write about it wasn't even on my radar. There were times when I did sit down to write - and I have a slew of unfinished drafts to prove it - but now that I have some free time, I can't even remember the reasons for jotting down the few thoughts that made it on the screen, so they will probably remain unfinished drafts for the rest of their days.

I have new things to write about, though, and I'm anxious to be at it again. I hope I still have some readers and not everyone has given up on me!

(Erin... Thanks for the comment and the gentle nudge to get things going again.) :-)

Totally Made My Day...

Earlier today, as I was going around to the Primary classrooms to give them the 10-minute warning before class was over, I happened to run into a few of our ward's young men.  Just as I was turning the corner to open the door to one of the classrooms, I hear, "Hey, cutie."  It had come from one of the young men.  I didn't acknowledge the guys, because out of the corner of my eye, I could tell that as soon as the kid said it, he and his friends realized who I was and they quickly turned away and hit the kid that said it.  I just acted like I hadn't heard or seen anything in an effort to save him from even more embarrassment, but I really wanted to say thank you and bust out laughing.  It definitely made my crazy day a bit brighter.

Invention

As I was going through my photos from the past couple of months, I found a photo that I took while I was on a plane to Utah a couple of months ago.  It requires a little bit of a backstory...

When I was little - like, elementary-school aged - a friend and I came up with this brilliant idea for an invention.  It consisted of a camera at your front door so that when someone came to your house, it would take a picture of them.  We figured it would mostly be useful if you weren't home and wanted to know if someone stopped by, or if someone broke into your house and you wanted to snap a photo of them.  We were super serious about it, but never did anything but draw pictures of it.

Imagine my surprise when I was looking through the SkyMall catalogue on the airplane and found this:

If you can read the description, it is EXACTLY what we had envisioned.  Kinda weird, huh?

(Maeg, if you're reading this, do you remember when we came up with this?)

Gooey Caramel Popcorn

My husband and I decided to try a 30-day "no sugar" challenge. The night before we kicked the sugar habit, I made a big batch of Gooey Caramel Popcorn to get my last sugar fix. It definitely hit the spot, as it does every single time I make it. I reminds me of growing up in my parents' home and my sweet, next-door neighbor that would make this for us every Christmas. Once I got my hands on the recipe, though, there was no way I could wait until Christmastime to enjoy this gooey goodness. Now I make it every few months. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy as well!

(almonds didn't make it into this batch because I didn't have any on-hand. I do prefer to have the almonds in there, though.)

Soooo Behind

I am so behind in my blogs. I inadvertently took the summer off and now I'm having a tough time finding the motivation to play catch-up. My family blog is even worse off than this one! I keep telling myself that as soon as school starts for my 5-year-old, I will be able to really sit down and get back to business, but now that school has yet to determine an official start date, who knows when that day will be. I just wanted all y'all to know that I'm here. I miss writing, and I really want to get back into posting regularly. I have missed having this little outlet, even if no one reads it. I mostly miss having a place to post photos that I've taken recently. I have about 20 "draft" posts that I have yet to complete because I just started writing things before I had time to fine-tune them. If I end up posting them, things are going to be pretty random around here for a while!

As funny as it sounds, this little blog keeps me in touch with myself, and I feel like I've been too busy to do that lately. It will be nice when I can finally get back to remembering who I am.

(Why does it feel like I have written this same post over and over again, lately?)

Shots, round 3

Today was my third round of cortisone shots.

I wish I could say they were getting easier, but they're not.  Today, I even tried to be prepared by taking some good pain medication beforehand and having Brett there as moral support.  The medication didn't end up working (if it had even kicked in in the first place), and though it was so nice to have Brett there, I think it made it that much harder to hold back the tears.  Last time, I had no one there to comfort me, so what was the point in crying then?

As the shots were being administered today, I tried my hardest not to concentrate on them.  I was squeezing my nails into my palms in hopes that that pain would distract me from the pain up top, but unfortunately, my nails were too stubby to even make a dent.  About halfway through, I was trying to hold back tears and managed to hold all but one tear in.  I felt defeated by letting that one tear roll down the side of my nose.  I quickly wiped it away, hoping that no more would follow.

Latisse

I started using Latisse in July.  I started applying it to my eyelashes and my eyebrows, and a small spot on my head just to see what it could do for my scalp.  I heard it could take a while to see any definite changes, so I have to attribute my long, luscious lashes (and the progress I was seeing in the eyebrow region) to being a side-effect of the shots/Prednisone.



UPDATE:
The Latisse was actually starting to cause my eyelashes, and what little eyebrows I had, to fall out.  I have since stopped using it and don't plan to resume it any time in the near future.  It's very frustrating considering how much it cost me to get it.

Cortisone Shots - Round 2

This is what my head looked like when I got home from getting my second round of shots.  Can you see all the new growth I've had in the six weeks since my first round?  All the lighter hair is new hair!  The doctor didn't put me back on the Prednisone, so the shots will have to go it alone this time.  Hopefully I will continue to have success with the treatment.

Craziness

The last two weeks have been a doozie.  Not to sound cliche or anything, but when it rains, it pours! It seems like a lot has happened, and thankfully, not all of it is necessarily bad.  Just different.  Posting has been very light lately and here's a small idea of why...

• My two-year-old had his tonsils/adenoids removed along with tubes put in his ears.  There were lots of errands that had to be run beforehand, along with a couple of pre-op doctors appointments leading up to the surgery.  Now that the surgery is over, it's just a matter of staying sane enough to put up with his crabbiness and mood swings, along with keeping up with all the medications he's been on, not to mention trying to fight him to take all of said medications and getting him to drink as much fluid as possible.
• Lots and lots of new hair coming in.  My eyebrows have even decided to grow, despite not having done anything to spark the growth.  I'm ecstatic!  The only hard part is trying to get my "temporary eyebrows" to match up with the real thing without disturbing the new growth.  It looks kinda funny, too. 
• The mother of all changes: I was called to be the Primary President in my ward.  It's a big responsibility and one that I'm quite nervous about.  I heard  a quote somewhere that said "God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called."  I just have to have faith that that's true.
• A bout of the stomach flu for me and Eli.  Brady got it the day of Eli's surgery, and then Eli and I got it a few days later.  Eli seemed to fare a little better than I did (thank goodness!  I didn't want to have to worry about him vomiting up the precious liquids he was supposed to be drinking), and thankfully Brett was able to leave work to come take care of us.  I don't know what I would have done without him that day.
• My parents had to put their German Shepherd, Marcus, to sleep.  I was very sad to hear the news, but his health was deteriorating so quickly. I'm glad that he's no longer suffering.

Now I'm just trying to get things back to normal, or at least as normal as possible.  I'm stressed (with the breakouts to prove it), sleep-deprived, and at my wits' end, but I think once Eli can get past this recovery period, things will get a lot better.  Hopefully that will take no more than another week.  Maybe I'll even have a chance to get back to regular posting!

Spontaneous Regrowth

Here is a photo of the regrowth I've been experiencing in my eyebrows.  This is just three weeks after my first round of shots/Prednisone.  The doctor didn't even give me any shots in my eyebrows, they just started growing in on their own!

Summer Cooking

Now that the weather has been warming up considerably, the grill and slow-cooker have become my new best friends.  I hate the idea of using my oven, and standing over a hot stove isn't very appealing either.  It also seems that my kitchen stays a lot cleaner when I can avoid the stove/oven altogether.  A cool house AND a clean kitchen?  Definitely can't have too much of that!  

I know we all could use new recipe ideas now and again, so here are some recipes that I've made lately that are super yummy and haven't required heating up the house to make them.

• "Copy-cat" Rumbi chicken and rice bowls - loved this so much.  If you have a hard time finding the "Mr. Yoshida's sauce" the recipe calls for, I found mine at Costco.  I love the sauce itself, so it was worth it for me to buy it in bulk.
• Fajitas - So yummy!  These are definitely going into our regular line-up.
• Red Beans & Rice - Super easy, super delicious, and it makes a ton.
• Chicken Cesar Croissants - rotisserie chicken, cesar dressing, Parmesan cheese, and romaine lettuce on a croissant.  Easy as that!
• French Dip Sandwiches - we topped them off with a little "champagne cheddar" from Costco and they were awesome.  A definite do-again.
• Pizza on the grill.  Yes, you read that right.  I just use a regular pizza dough recipe, roll it out to the desired size, put it on the grill sans toppings for a few minutes or until the dough is firm, flip it, then put toppings on and let it cook until done!  So, so, so good.

That's probably a good list for now.  I'm thinking I may have to do separate posts for some other meals we've been enjoying.  

Happy Summer Cooking!

Total Breakthrough

I've been waiting for this day. I didn't think it would ever come, but it actually did.

Dare I say, I actually enjoy running!

I've never been much of a runner. I only ever did it to stay in shape for sports, and even then, I tried to get away with as little as possible.

Last night I had a breakthrough, though. I had been itching to workout over the last few days and I wasn't going to let anything keep me from going to the gym. I'm so glad I went. I was doing my "Couch to 5k" stuff - running, then walking, then running some more - and when it got to my final walking interval, I just kept on running. It felt so good! Normally I would be dying by that last round of running, but I figured that since I was feeling good, why should I stop? I was hot and sweaty, but my legs just wanted to keep moving. It was a real milestone for me. 

I'm looking forward to my next trip to the gym. I think I'm just going to get on the treadmill and run, not worrying about any intervals, and seeing how long and how far I can just go.

Goals - Six months later

It's been six months since my initial "goal setting" for the year.  It was quite the list.  Some things I've stuck with better than others, but for the most part, I'm happy where I'm at.  

Some of the more important things for me to strive for were being proactive about my health and taking care of my home.  So far, my home is still the organized place that I made it back in January, and my health is improving significantly.  I have been more conscious of what I eat, I've been exercising more often, I'm trying to get my hair to grow back, and I've even lost a few pounds.  I just feel so much better all around.  All of the progress I'm making has really made me want to stick to it.  

My other goals like "be more girlie" and "take more photos" are going well, too.  I can't remember the last time I DIDN'T wear makeup, and I had a lot of fun in February with trying to do something new every day.  I didn't document it, but I actually succeeded in using a different eye shadow/liner/look every day of that month.  As far as the photos go, I do take a lot of photos, but they always seem to be with my phone as opposed to my big-girl camera.  Oh well.  A photo's a photo, I guess!  I've been really good about backing up my photos, too.  That was another big goal I had.

Now for the bad news.  I've been slacking in my scripture-reading, and I totally gave up on the child care goal (which I'm still totally okay with).  You would think that because I enjoy reading so much, I should have no problems with reading my scriptures.   I really need to make it a priority.  Here's to continuing that goal!

Glitter Toes

I love anything that sparkles.

I don't know why I have never done the "glitter toes" before.  It was so easy and I totally love the way it turned out!  The possibilities are endless!  Now I just need to buy more glitter....

This is the tutorial I used.