Footloose and...Appendix Free

I planned to write a post this past weekend about my fabulous celebration dinner with husband. We went up to San Francisco and enjoyed a dinner at the hip Absinthe Brasserie & Bar--much fancier than our usual fare. I even took pictures to share. However, that evening I developed a stomachache, which progressed as the weekend went on, until I ended up in the ER Sunday afternoon. Appendicitis. Eight hours later and I finally made it into the OR for an emergency appendectomy. Needless to say, I haven't gotten around to uploading my pictures!

I'm at home now, recovering. I was planning to finish my last tweaks to the final draft over the next two weeks before I head home--I have a little niece on the way--but I think that will be delayed another week now.

In other news, I finally sent out my Pay It Forward gifts after a very long delay. I really enjoyed participating and hope everyone else has fun as it goes forward.

Thanks for all the comments over on Facebook. You are all lovely!

Preview

Today I had a preview of what my 80th birthday will be like. I spent the morning making phone calls, followed by a long appointment with a neurologist. Then it was off to the pharmacist's to fill my ever-growing prescription list. I may have to alphabetize to keep them all straight! Tonight I'm having a low-key birthday dinner at one of my favorite (authentic) pizzerias, possibly followed by gelato or cake with a few friends. Since I went to Germany in March and I'm going to the Dominican Republic next week(!) we're not doing presents (rightly so), and my family already gave me presents for my trip, which was fabulous. I admit, normally I'm a birthday diva, but I'm enjoying the low-key nature of my birthday this year. Although, I am hoping I won't have to repeat the neurologist's visit next year.

Feelin the cold

I've been lying low since I started battling a sore throat/head cold a few days ago. This particular cold had me fighting off sneezes most of the day. And they're not the cute, dainty, girly sneezes either. No, these are the whoppers that cause a full body convulsion and make your throat hurt. It made for an entertaining writing session at the coffeeshop today. My nose ring is also unbearable since it keeps causing my nose to itch, but I can't take it out. Appropriately enough the weather is very drippy and drafty today. I'm hoping it prepares me for the cold weather on my upcoming trip in 10 days (but who's counting).

Did I mention today was a big day? I dropped Drew off at doggie daycare for the first time this afternoon. He hasn't been very socialized with other dogs, so we're working him into the environment slowly so he will be comfortable staying there all day when we go on vacation. I felt like a nervous mom leaving her child at preschool for the first time, and as silly as I feel about that, I can't help it because he is my baby. He did really well though. The owner said he adapted better than expected, and by the end of the day, he was playing with 'the pack', so I am a very proud mama.

Since I haven't blogged in days, I also wanted to mention a show I began watching recently, Lipstick Jungle, which premiered two weeks ago. So far I plan to continue watching. The cast, which features Brooke Shields, Kim Raver, and Lindsay Price, is great. Fans of Sex and the City should enjoy it, and although the focus is not so much on sex like SatC, I would be lying if I said it doesn't feature frequently in the episodes. Like SatC, it focuses on close friendships between women, but it also looks at how successful women balance their career with their life. I like that positive message. I recommend checking it out, though I must say, I think it's going to appeal to women more than men.

C'est la vie in 90,000 words

The sun has been shining these last few days - an early spring preview - and life has done its best to distract me from writing. I'm bogged down with errands and to-do lists and appointments that seem to never end, yet things have not been this good in a long time. Last week my doctor upped my thyroid medication, so with any luck I will be on-track by the time I leave for my research trip. (Fingers crossed. I will need the energy!) She also gave me a new migraine med that lasts for approximately three days straight. It managed to work the first time I tried it--a major improvement--and I have been migraine-free for three days.

My writing is actually going really well, but I had a slow, errand-filled day yesterday, which influences my mood. I finished chapter ten last week, and I'm now working my way through chapter eleven. My book outline calls for fifteen chapters, which means two-thirds of the novel is complete! Because of that, I am revising my word count goal to 90,000 words since I was at 60,000 words when I finished chapter ten. I feel like changing the number on my counter is cheating, but it's likely that I will continue to average a similar number of words per chapter, which will put me around 90,000 words at completion rather than 100,000. I think 90,000 is still a very respectable number, though I'm curious where others finished. That's why my counter jumped from 65% to 72% today without a word count increase, if you were wondering.

Normal Synopsis

The good news is that my thyroid test came back normal. (Yay!)

The bad news is that I have no idea why I've been feeling symptomatic. (Boo!) I'm wondering if the month-long stress of the holidays drained my system and made my body struggle to keep up. I did start to feel under the weather right after our trip home to Oregon for Thanksgiving, which consisted of driving 17 hours in 4 days; and the Christmas rush began immediately after arriving home.

On a happier note, I finally scribbled down a brief synopsis for my book. I've been trying to come up with something for ages, but it's really hard to write a synopsis for your own story! Whenever people ask what my book is about, I flounder to come up with an answer, not because I don't know what it's about, but because it's hard to sum up your own story in one paragraph when you've spent countless hours working on it. I will need to refine it when I finish the book, but I wanted to get a head start.

Another one

I didn't drown. Yet. Today it cleared up around here and the sun even peaked its shiny head through the clouds occasionally. It looks like a giant has been walking around shaking the trees here. Leaves and branches cover the ground, along with a thick layer of mud. Apparently the rainy forecast was part of a big storm front to hit the west coast. We're lucky. In Nevada there was a levee break and thousands were flooded. Power was also out for thousands across the bay area--though we were spared--and over two feet of snow fell in the Sierras. Unfortunately this was only part of one storm front and another is on its way tomorrow. Yay!

After Thanksgiving, I started to feel like my thyroid was acting up again, so today I had another blood test. It's totally irrational, but I hate needles. I went to a new clinic today, and a male nurse took my blood, which freaked me out because I always assumed male nurses wouldn't be as gentle. I was right, he practically stabbed me with the needle, and when he ripped it out, I must have gone white because he said, "you don't like needles, huh?" No sh*&, Sherlock. If I were a nurse, I would always be gentle with the needle. It's the nice thing to do. Anyhow, I treated myself to a latte afterwards and an hour of writing at the coffeeshop. I was glad to get a lot of writing done today because last week I got behind on my word count. I'm having one of those stretches where every word takes a lot of painful thought before it reaches the page. I wish I could overcome the ebb and flow of my writing, but it seems to be a part of the process. At least now that I recognize this constant struggle, I know the words will always return. Eventually.

On the mend

Just popping in for a quick 'hello' and to thank everyone for the well wishes. I am finally on the mend. The cough is still hanging around, but the intensity has gone down, and I'm starting to have energy (and an appetite).

Two comments:

The Red Sox beat the Rockies 13-1 in the first game of the World Series. We're off to a great start.

A fascinating research book that I ordered weeks ago finally arrived in the mail today. Can't wait to dip in...Oh alright then, off I go.

The Red Sox Are Going to the World Series!

*cough* *cough* *cough* *cough*
Okay, I'm heading back to the couch to take care of this nasty cold/bronchitis that's kept me down since Thursday.

Woo Hoo, GO Bah-sten!
*cough* *cough*

Aftermath

After my positive vibes Sunday night and my post Monday morning, I had the difficult task of following through, and I admit I'm crap at that. I tried so hard Monday to get some good writing done, but after working all day on different bits and bobs, I had nothing substantial to show for my day. Again. Stubbornly I decided I must finish one thing on my to-do list, so I stayed up until 1am setting up our online bill pay, so at least I could say I finished something. [I realize we should've set up online billpay ages ago, but as my health declined the last year, lovely husband took over paying the bills. Funnily enough, though he's the science major and I'm the humanities major, he's the luddite and prefers to do things the old-fashioned way, such as paying all the bills by check. (He only got his first cellphone last year because his boss made him!) Now that I'm finally able to do more, I said I'd start doing the bills again and I'd transition us to online billpay. It's so much simpler and quicker! I also want to switch to receiving e-bills to save paper and our filing cabinet, but that freaked him out, so I told him I'd break him in easy.]

Frustrated with myself, I sat down yesterday with chapter three again and decided I would finish the edit. I'm one of those writers who continually goes back to the beginning and edits as I go along. Yes, one of those. I realize all writing books/teachers tell you not to do this, but I can't help it. I'm half editor at heart. It drives me nuts to continue my writing when I know a chapter isn't working as it is. Plus, since this is my first novel, I'm learning as I go, and I made two major changes that actually required me to go back to the beginning. First, I decided to change the voice from past to present tense. I am still changing all my chapters to present tense because every time I try to make that simple change, I end up editing everything else along the way. Second, my book has two narrators and I changed my second narrator from the granddaughter of the first narrator (the story is about the first narrator) to the daughter of the first narrator, which meant that a lot of details had to be changed. I know I mentioned this all a long time ago, but I'm still dealing with some of these changes. I've been trying to edit from past to present tense in chapter three for awhile, but there are a lot of other things that I need to edit, and they've been hanging me up along the way. Yesterday, I forced myself to ignore all the other details and I finished the tense edit. Huzzah! I've printed it out, made myself an outline for the chapter (the chapter is 2/3 written), and listed the things I need to strengthen and change. Today, I'm going to attack it with a pen because I seem to be able to edit much quicker in that medium. Hopefully my body will cooperate, but I woke up with a headache and it hasn't subsided yet. Also, husband came home sick last night. He rarely gets sick, but he's feverish and congested, so he went to work for a few hours early this morning to finish a project and now he's home sleeping on the couch, so I'll be taking care of him. Cross your fingers that I don't catch what he has. Usually I'm the one spreading sickness around here, so the odds aren't good. (Ahem, think positive thoughts!) But hey, I finished the chapter three tense edit! And episode three of The War is on tonight. So yay!

Productivity, of a sort...

Nah, the writing is still floundering around, flopping helplessly in my head, HOWEVER, I did something I am proud of today. I signed up for a yoga class for this fall. This may not sound like a big deal, but it's a HUGE deal for me since fitness classes scare me - I have to meet/interact with people I don't know, while trying to feign coordination. *shudders* However, I'm working to get back into a healthy routine, and I took yoga years ago and it did wonders for my body. (What self-respecting 26 year old has a bum hip? Oh yes, that would be me, and it started at the ripe old age of 20.) Plus, I could really use a lesson in controlling stress and yoga is great for that. A mind/body makeover could do wonders for my writing--fingers crossed--I just have to drag myself kicking and screaming to that first class in two weeks without having a panic attack. I've already paid the money though and can't get a refund, so wish me luck! I'm sure I'll be here in no time:

Pesky words and hormones

Still here, trying to translate the story in my mind into words on the page. Trying to find the words to my story has left me few words for blogging. I've also been fannying about more than usual because I've been so immensely tired the last three days and have no concentration. It's almost as if my thyroid levels dropped, which would be strange because I took a blood test last week and my doctor called Tuesday to let me know that my thyroid level was finally back in the normal range. Yay! It only took 4.5 months. I feel like I'm 90% back to normal, but she said this is typical too, and it may take a few more months for my body to catch up to my thyroid. Woo and indeed hoo. I'm betting my energy levels this week have more to do with increasing exercise and cutting calories than with a drop in my thyroid levels, but thanks to that pesky thyroid, I need to cut the pounds I gained when my thyroid wasn't working properly. Vicious cycle. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, trying to get my story onto the page. Better get back to it instead of blathering on here. Carry on, then.

Sleepy editing and Latte cheer

I had a doctor appointment at 9:15 this morning, so I had to drive on the freeway in rush-hour traffic for the first time in ages. I used to drive 20 miles one way to my old job, and I would get so stressed in the traffic. I always used to wish we had a viable transit system, because I would've taken it and enjoyed some relaxing reading time on the train, but it wasn't an option for me. Anyway, this morning I rather enjoyed my drive, mainly because I thought about how lucky I am to be able to work from home. This reminder put me in a good mood, which was quickly dashed by the appointment (I won't go into it, but you girls understand the dreaded annual appointment), plus I had to get blood taken for my regular thyroid test, and for some reason it really hurt this morning. Afterward to cheer myself up, I browsed the bookstore and grabbed a latte, even though it's nearing 90 degrees. I'm technically cutting calories right now to lose a few pounds (I *hate* the term diet...), so the latte is as good as it gets these days, but it's one of my favorite things, so it's cheering me up.

I hesitate to add--in case I jinx myself--that I finally finished the edit of my chapter. That's right folks, editing chapter one AGAIN. I need an outside reader to give me a fresh pair of eyes on this project, so I'm giving chapters one and two to a writerly friend, but I can't stand handing it over when I see things I can fix/rewrite/add. Yesterday I barely made any headway on the chapter because every time I tried to start reading it, I zoned out. This worried me. It can't be a good sign when I zone out reading my own story! However, I tried to remember that I have read through it zillions of times, so every single word is familiar and labored to me. I almost gave up, but I gave it one more chance last night at 10:30, and miraculously my nighttime energy kicked in and I was able to read through the entire chapter for the last time, and I'm proclaiming it finished (for the reader that is, not final draft finished). I wanted to go to bed early for my appointment, but didn't climb into bed until midnight. And then. My brain refused to turn off and all I could think about were my stories. I did have a small epiphany regarding a major plot point for novel 2, which was really exciting, but I wish the damn epiphanies would wait for morning when I'm sitting here waiting for them. I didn't want to forget the idea, but I didn't want to get up and write it down, so I just went over and over it in my mind until I knew I couldn't forget. I was also hoping it would simulate 'counting sheep', but it took hours to finally fall asleep. I'm sure the heat isn't helping either. Normally we have hot summers averaging between the mid-80s to the low-90s, but lately it's been cooler. The heat seems to have finally caught up since we're due 90 degree weather all week. Better finish that latte before it melts.

Please excuse the interruption

...I will now return to normal service. I received lots of lovely comments from readers encouraging me to give myself a break so I could take care of myself and recover. After about two weeks of migraines, I finally got a reprieve and I'm feeling mostly better.
My mom flew down to visit for Memorial Day weekend, and in true holiday spirit we had three barbeques in three days, which has to be a record for us. It was a nice relaxing weekend. We went to downtown Willow Glen (in San Jose) and downtown Los Gatos and walked around. While poking in and out of shops we discovered a new candy shop called Powell's Sweet Shoppe, which is amazing. They have every kind of candy you can imagine, including a selection of international candies so I was able to find some of the sweets I enjoyed in England. The store has a great old fashioned feel but it has a lot of fun jokester candy too.
Friday morning I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 with a friend. I don't think I've ever been to a movie theater in the morning and it felt a bit odd. My friend's company bought out two showings of the movie and each employee was allowed to bring a friend for free. They had free soda and popcorn, but since I normally can't handle theater popcorn and I rarely drink soda, I obviously didn't spring for it at 9am. I was promised free coffee and donuts, but those weren't available so I was suffering from a caffeine headache by the end of the movie. Ah, my lovely caffeine addiciton - still it's better than smoking. I liked the movie. I'm not hard to please, but I also went in with low expectations since sequels are not usually as good as the original and this was a second sequel. I still like the first movie the best, but I liked this one better than the second. But really, how can you go wrong with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom dressed as pirates? Plus Keith Richards' cameo as Jack's father added a nice touch of humor.

Healthy Writing

I probably sounded a bit bitchy in my post yesterday. Sorry if I did, I meant it to be funny, but I'm not sure I pulled it off quite right.

I'm still struggling from some health problems without much improvement, which is really affecting my ability to write. I haven't been suffering from as much nausea the last few days, but I have been getting near daily migraines for about 1.5 weeks, and I'm getting rather tired of it to say the least. It's very hard to edit when you have a headache. Migraines affect your vision and the bright screen is uncomfortable to look at. I don't think my thyroid medication has fully kicked in either. It's been about 4 weeks and I'll need to re-test in a few more, so hopefully some changes will be made. My best friend is a doll though. She felt bad that I've been so under the weather, so yesterday she took me out to coffee and we had girly chat time. She also got me the sweetest gift bag full of pampering treats like girly spa stuff, a gossipy magazine, and most importantly chocolate covered strawberries (who knew?) and chocolate covered espresso beans (that ought to bring my energy level up). Sorry to be a such whiner. I've just been really discouraged because my novel is not making any progress and I'm itching to work on it, but I feel like I keep getting thwarted.

Nausea and Freewriting

Yesterday I lay on the couch all day long with severe felt-like-I-was-carsick nausea. Not my best day ever. I seem to be mostly recovered today, though I'm taking it easy. I started a new med (Seasonique, if you recall this post) that caused the nausea, but I'm hoping that was the worst of it and it doesn't continue this week. Fingers crossed. Last time I started the birth control pill it lasted a whole month.

JJ over at tea stains asked in the comments section how the freewriting is going. (And thanks for asking!) The freewriting exercises have been helping me a little, but not in the way I originally thought they would. I tend to get off task, and I've been using the freewriting to 'journal' my thoughts about my writing and my novel lately rather than actually freewriting new creative work. It is helpful for me to see my thoughts gathered in written form though. I have made a few decisions about my novel based off the freewriting/journaling, so I'd say that made it a successful venture. I've also written down ideas for the other stories brewing in the back of my mind, but I've only written tiny bits of creative sketching. When freewriting, I can't help but slip into journaling mode. I must try harder to actually write creative pieces.
I hope this all makes sense, it sounds so convoluted when I read it back to myself, but I can't be bothered to rewrite it...

Cheer up

It appears the blog needs cheering up as all the recent posts have been a bit 'woe is me.' Thanks to all the kind commenters in the comments box who cheered me up. It really is helpful to know that others understand the problems of hypothyroidism (and the pain of writing a novel, as well!). I really don't have anything interesting to post about, so in the spirit of cheering up, here are things that make me happy today:

My snuggle buddy, who is finally feeling better and ate his first full meal last night

The latte I just made

The chocolate covered raisins husband bought me

Thursday night TV (My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, 30 Rock, and ER -- I seem to watch more tv on Thurs night than I do the rest of the week combined!)

The warming weather

And finally, my childish taste in movies that allows me to watch Harry Potter over and over.

Therapy

I feel knackered. I'm sure it's a trick of the mind knowing that I am actually tired for a reason, but I cannot get my energy up to normal levels today. I assumed what I'd been feeling for months--fatigue, mild depression/anxiety, recurring sore throat, dizziness--was related to my poor management of stress due to the major events of the past year: quitting my first big job, my sister's wedding, followed by my brother-in-law's death (literally the next day), getting a puppy to help the Husband cope, moving in order to get the puppy, buying our first house (by house I mean 1-bdrm condo) because rents climbed too high, and now writing full-time. Apparently these stressors didn't cause the problem. I'm sure they didn't help though and maybe they're the reason why my thyroid really started to kick the bucket when it did. Today is my first day of hormone replacement therapy. Technically my doctor wanted me to start yesterday but the pharmacist said to take the pill first thing in the morning 30 minutes before eating breakfast, and since Drew was sick all day yesterday (he vomited in the morning, then diahrrea all day long) I didn't make it to the pharmacy until late in the day. I don't expect to see results right away, but my prescription says my system should even out in 4-6 weeks. I'm hoping.

Yesterday I was supposed to get down to work on my next chapter (chapter two), but after my doctor called, I ended up googling hypothyroid, calling my husband, mom, best friends, etc etc. I really need to get some work done on the chapter today, but since I'm feeling a bit low, I think I'll camp out on the couch with my computer and a movie I've seen 100 times, which is less distracting, yet still comforting.

Also, I apologize for all the em-dashes and parentheses lately. I seem to be writing the way I think, so it all comes out in a haphazard manner.