Something is wrong.

For the past few weeks I have been struggling through a carpal tunnel flare up. My hands ache, sometimes downright hurt with certain movements, I have no grip strength and every so often I get these super fun electric shocks through my wrist and hands. Not fun.

Starting about a week ago, my knees also started to ache. Sometimes more than other times, but definitely not normal. This morning as I was reading the instructions for making Teecino, my right knee was popping like crazy as I shifted my weight back and forth. Something is wrong and I need to figure out what it is, because feeling this old and beat up is not working for me at all.

Basically, I think the problem stems from inflammation and I'm feeling it in my knees and in the carpal tunnel. I do recall that when I did a recent 3-week cleanse, I felt amazing...like I haven't felt in years. It was incredible! So, I am doing the Clean Program again, and am going to be super careful about reintroducing foods back into my diet. I am also going to do more juicing this time around...last time on the Cleanse, I got into a super rut with these amazing dairy free, wheat free quesadillas. I think I had them for lunch almost every single day. Not that they were unhealthy, but I think variety is key.

I am going to try to log how I feel each day...and see if I can find some improvement. For starters, I have to get rid of the coffee...It is a pro-inflammatory food and I drink entirely too much of it. So for a transition, I am having Teecino in the mornings, and then instead of drinking coffee all day I'll have some yummy tea instead. We have no shortage of tea in this house! I do have to be careful, though...many teas contain soy lecithin and I am quite intolerant of soy. In fact, I thought it was some soy that snuck into my diet that caused this knee pain...am hoping it goes away soon!

Now, my challenge is...how to chop up the vegetables for my green juice when my hands feel like this?
Hmmm.....

The Awesome Erin Condren Life Planner 2013-2014

As a self-proclaimed planner dork, I have been on a search for The Perfect Planner for ages. For several years, I used (and loved) the UnCalendar...while not at all fancy, it is extremely functional and got me through nursing school with  my sanity somewhat intact.

Well, now that I'm older and wiser (ha), I decided I want something beautiful AND functional...and that is where the Erin Condren Life Planner comes in. I think I was looking online for reviews on the MomAgenda and came across a ton (and I mean a TON) of videos and blog posts about the Erin Condren planner. I fell in love in the way that only a girl who has an obsession for paper products and girlie things can understand.

So, without further ado...here are some pics of my planner. YES, they are spendy. The planner starts at $50 and then the cute accessories add up. I don't even want to tell you how much I spent, because then you would all think I'm crazy, and right now you think I am a totally normal person ;-).

This is the cover in Mod Morocco with green and yellow.

Laminated tabs and planner "headband."

Each cover is super-duper laminated for durability, plus it has laminated tabs which keep your different sections nice and organized.  The little "headband" is available for a few extra dollars and helps keep your planner closed when you toss it in your bag. You can also see that the coil is serious...like totally dead-to-rights serious. No monkey business going on here! This planner is designed to be hauled around and I fully expect it to survive the next 17 months beautifully. 

The Mega Coil

Speaking of which, the planner comes in a 12-month version or an 18-month version. The 12-month versions can be ordered to cover any span of dates...so if you order in April, for instance, you can get an April-April calendar if that's what floats your boat. The 18-month, however, are from July to the end of the following year. I ordered my planner in July and received it August 7th...so I basically wasted a month, but adding on 6 months is only $5 extra, so it's a screaming good deal.

Close-up of the monthly view page...the little flower means my house cleaner is coming that day!

Here's the monthly view...I love washi tape! You can also see I've used the birthday stickers that come with the planner.

Here is a weekly view...you have a place to keep notes on the left, space for "morning, day, night" and then space at the bottom for meal planning, exercise, etc...I tend to use that space for things I know are happening that day, but I just don't have a specific time or the details yet. I am also fiddling around with writing my daily "TODO" list in the "morning" section, all my appointments and such in the "day" section, then a little recap/journal of the day in the "night" section. 

Notes section and cute squiggly lines. I love all the bright colors.

There is also a space for notes in the monthly view. Great for things that don't have a specific date yet or I haven't committed to yet (like the CCRN class...do I go?)

My birthday....my favorite national holiday :-)

The holidays are denoted with cute little graphics. Love all the little details!

Toward the back of the planner are some lined pages for notes. I think I will use these a lot.

And then we have blank pages for doodling and whatnot. Is anyone else crazy about chevrons? Love!

The planner comes standard with loads of "birthday" stickers, plus others for things like mani/pedi, doctor, dentist, party, etc... You also have the option to make your own custom stickers! I added more birthday stickers in red (I heart color coding), plus stickers for things like PTO, wax appointments, and anniversaries. I am currently keeping a list of other custom stickers I want and will get them with my next order. 

The "Keep It Together" folder in the back is double-sided for keeping all those random things tidy. These are my custom stickers :-) I want MORE!!!

I am in looooove with this handy zippered pouch. This is where I keep tiny things that would ordinarily get lost...labels, small stickers, business cards, post-its. 

I admit, I splurged on this item...customized notepads! Kind of a lot of dough, but really....can you put a price on adorable-ness? I think not. 

And lastly, a few extra freebies that Erin throws in with your planner...these are little labels to be used for gifts and whatnot. Love love love. What's not to love? 

OK, folks...that's the Erin Condren Life Planner in a nutshell...if you want to drool over it even more, you can visit her site at www.erincondren.com. There is also a fancy pants gold edition that looks SO PRETTY, but I really like the green and yellow design of my planner, so I'm totally happy with it.

Since these are custom planners made by hand, note that they do take a little bit. I think I waited 2-2.5 weeks for mine...not bad, but it seemed like an eternity, because I am pretty much a "want it now" kind of girl. Totally worth the wait! Just keep it in mind if ordering toward the end of your current planner, or if you are getting it for a gift. So far I have purchased two others as gifts...and will probably buy others (or give gift cards, since it's so much fun to design your own planner).

Anyway...hope you like it as much as I do...get one NOW!

Whole 30, Awesome-ized

Starting yesterday, I embarked on a Whole 30, which is basically a 30-day whole foods cleanse based on a primal or Paleo diet (check it out here). Anyway, I knew right from the start that I was not going to have a perfect Whole 30. I know me, and I know that I tend to strive for perfection, then dump the whole project if I mess up even a tiny little bit. So, I decided straight up that I wasn't going to be perfect and hopefully this will make it more sustainable for me.

Yes, I'm a wuss...plenty of people do a Whole 30 without cheating at all, but I do not have that kind of willpower or stick-to-it-abilities. I know that about myself, so I'm doing the cleanse in a way that I feel can be sustained for a whole thirty days. Basically my planned-cheats are a daily cup of coffee with a bit of stevia and cream. Though last night I did have a small dessert (I know....one day and I go off the wagon!)...but the husband had friends over and they brought dessert and I didn't want to be rude (I promise, I just had a tiny bit...and YES, I paid for it later....bloating, tummy upset, blech!)

To prepare for the cleanse, I made a menu for the week (something I've never done) and went grocery shopping for the specific items on the list. Usually I just wing it and thus end up with things I never eat, or a bunch of random stuff that doesn't go together into anything resembling a meal. This will be better. The fridge is packed to the gills with produce, so it's my challenge to eat it all by the next shopping day. I hate throwing out food, so that's even more reason to stay on plan :-)

Here is what my menu looks like, complete with assignments for prep work in the far right column....this comes in especially handy as I head into my work week (Friday, Saturday night).

So, there you have it folks...we'll see if I can keep this up. I know I definitely need to lose weight, but I am going to try to focus instead on how I feel and hope that weight loss is an added bonus. I am also going to try to incorporate more exercise, which will be a combination of barre workouts, cycling and ramping up my Cough-to-5K running again. Stay tuned and stay awesome!

Down 5 pounds :-)

Woo hoo, ya'll. I have been low-carbing, no-sugaring, gluten-free-ing for the past 9 days and I finally got up the courage to step on the scale this morning....down exactly 5 pounds. Woah! I don't expect to lose this much each week, since the fastest weight loss is always the initial loss....but still! I'd be ecstatic with a "normal" 2 pound loss per week. When I get back from my lunch date and running errands today, I'll post some links to some of the low-carb recipes I've been using lately along with reviews. Now it is time to go do my hair...having lunch with a friend and one of our nursing school professors. It's SO HARD to call her Kathy and not Professor Rose!

Tips for ICU patients and families

I wish all my patients and their families would follow a few simple guidelines...would make life easier!

In appreciation of critical care nurses...

I keep seeing these posters and felt compelled to make one for ICU nurses. We rock!

I had an awesome day skiing!

I went skiing for the first time this season...it was fabulous! I was worried that I was going to be awful and stuck on the bunny hill most of the day, but I got my ski legs back pretty quick! After two quick runs on the bunny hill, my friend and I rode the big lift to the top of the mountain (OF COURSE it stopped on us...why does it always stop when I'm at a really high spot over really hard ground?)

Though we spent most of our time on the green runs, we snuck in a few small blue runs and I have to say I did better at them than I did last year! There's one run called "Lower Main" that is steep, straight and long. My friends talked me into doing it and all I can say is peer pressure is a bitch. I pretty much went down sideways, but I didn't fall and I made it to the bottom! That run will be conquered!

Here is a pic of me after our beautiful day!

In other news, I was thinking about my RDW the other day and realized that I hadn't checked in in awhile...I looked at my lab results and saw that with my last draw it was in the normal range! Could this mean my bone marrow is playing nice? Interestingly, my RDW shot up as soon as I started working night shift...now that I've cut back on my schedule to two nights/week it was normal. Good thing I am starting day shift someday (hopefully) soon!

In other news, made some super delish (but probably a bit too garlicky), faux mashed potatoes using cauliflower. Now, I have tried this concoction in the past, but that was before I welcomed my VitaMix into my family. When I made it before it had an awful, grainy consistency...not anymore! Smooth, creamy and delish! A fabulous substitute for carby potatoes!

So, if you are interested in making them...here is the linky-poo:
Click here for yumminess!

I am so high-tech and awesome, it's scary.

I realized as I was sitting here pondering life and awesomeness, that I probably don't blog as much as I should because I have two different blogs and it's sometimes a hassle to deal with them both. OK, to be fair, I haven't posted to my nursing-related blog since I started working as an actual nurse...see what I mean by hassle?

So, in a sheer move of awesomeness, I merged them together. You now have all my musings in one convenient place. Ta da! And though no one else reads this...it's kind of neat to go back and read everything I've written over the years. Probably what keeping a journal is like, only I suck at keeping journals, too.
_______________________
Good kitty: Had homemade juice with breakfast.
Bad kitty: Did not exercise today, but I'm sick so I get a pass.
Short-Term Goal: Get the office unpacked (did I mention we MOVED???)

Wow, I am really bad at blogging.

I really need to get more stick-to-itiveness in my life...not exactly  my strong suit. Maybe it's that my blog lacks focus (well, is being awesome a focus? If so, then I guess I'm covered), or maybe I just have ADD, or maybe I'm just lazy.

Either way, as the new year rolls around, one can't help but think of ways to make this year better than last year. Essentially the only New Year's Resolution I made was to be as awesome as possible despite this stupid blood disease and the fatigue-inducing medication I take to keep me from keeling over. A big part of that involves making healthier choices overall as I'm sure my craptastic diet as of late is not helping. With that said, I actually JUICED yesterday (and no, I did not take steroids...I made juice!). It has been so long since I used my juicer I almost forgot how to put it together....how sad is that? I also forgot what a holy heck of a mess juicing can be. Regardless, I made some delish juice which I call "Sunrise Juice"....here is the recipe (it's the orange colored juice in this awesome pic):

A fruitful afternoon of juicing! Deee-lish!

Sunrise Juice
4-6 carrots
4 stalks celery
1 lemon
2 apples


As for the PV...been feeling run down for awhile now. In a stroke of sheer genius I realized that interferon therapy and night shift do not mix. I spoke with my oncologist/hematologist dude and he suggested I cut back my work hours while working nights. So that's what I'm doing...and despite having a horrible cold this past week, I can tell I'm going to feel a TON better with this adapted schedule. Hoping to get on day shift soon since I kinda sorta need a full paycheck...organic produce is expensive!

Have an awesome day, all one of you who ever read this!