Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Odds & ends

  • The other night, I smelled it again. Smoke. Damnit. (It was Sunday night. Sunday nights seem to be smoking nights across the hall, for whatever reason.)  It wasn't as bad as it has been in the past -- the weatherstripping must be helping some -- but it's still there (although dh claimed he couldn't smell anything until he put his nose right up to the door frame). How annoying. :p  
  • "Poldark" is over for another season. :(  Filming of season 3 is already underway in Cornwall, but no word on when we in North America can expect to see it. Likely not until fall 2017, I imagine.
    • In the meantime, as consolation, the new season of "Sherlock" begins on New Year's Day :)  and "Victoria" on January 15th. :) 
  • Christmas shopping is underway. The sheer numbers of adorable babies & toddlers in the mall can be overwhelming at times.
    • Whatever angst I might feel over so much cuteness, however, is often outweighed by annoyance at the mega strollers taking up space in the stores and in the halls outside -- often two abreast, mothers ambling along with one hand on the stroller handle and the other on their cellphone. Is it just me (is it just sour grapes??) or does this drive anyone else nuts too??   
  • I signed up for the Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge earlier this year, and set myself a goal of 24 books. That seemed like a reasonable number -- two books per month, on average, and about the same number as I've managed to read per year over the past few years. Right now, I'm "on track," with 21 books read, 3 to go. I still have a few weeks to go, obviously, and I usually get a few books read during my Christmas vacation (although not as many as in the days pre-Little Princesses, lol). 
  • I am going for an ultrasound tomorrow. You may (or may not) recall that earlier this spring, I was having some "female problems." Not (just?) the fact that I am almost 56 and STILL GETTING PERIODS, more or less regularly...!!  I would have my period as usual -- but instead of tapering off to spotting and then into nothingness, I would just keep spotting (& cramping), sometimes for a week or more after the main event.  I called Dr. Ob-Gyn and went for an ultrasound in mid-April. As in days of yore (i.e., while I was in infertility treatment & having regular dildocam dates), the left side of my bicornuate uterus & the left ovary were playing hide & seek and the technician couldn't get a clear view of what was going on, but apparently she did see an area where the lining appeared a little thicker than normal -- perhaps a polyp or fibroid?  At my followup appointment/annual checkup & Pap in May, Dr. Ob-Gyn felt it was nothing to worry about and would probably resolve itself (as these things most often do, he assured me) -- but he suggested that, if it made me feel better, we could do another ultrasound in the fall to see if anything had changed. 
    • So off I go.  Most of my periods since my last visit have been more or less normal -- until this past cycle, of course, when I had more spotting & cramping at the end of Aunt Flo's visit.  ARGH.  I choose to believe it is nothing more than midlife wonkiness at work, but prayers &/or positive thoughts & vibes would be appreciated.  

8 comments:

  1. Oversized strollers with unaware adults at the helm drive me bonkers!!! And they got on my nerves before I knew I was infertile so I know it's not that. :) Thinking of you and your ultrasound tomorrow. Hope all goes well!!

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  2. Raising my hand here about the megastrollers with distracted drivers. Similar to SUV/big truck drivers. There's this assumption that everyone will simply get out of their way. I had a woman rear-end me with one recently and she began to look pissed until she saw the Beats (admittedly, I made a bit of a scene with the tears, limping and worrying loudly how I was going to get my twins back out to the car and home safely). There's a reason the term stroller Nazi exists.

    May the ultrasound give answers and a simple solution. I would be annoyed too and I'm glad you're being proactive.

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    Replies
    1. Haha, I've never heard the term "stroller Nazi"! ;)

      One other pet peeve is seeing kids who are clearly well past the baby/toddler stage riding in strollers. They are clearly old enough to get around on their own two feet, but I guess not fast enough for the parents' liking (or perhaps TOO fast -- i.e., the parents have to chase after them?? lol) -- so they cram them into strollers they are almost too big for, and wheel them around. No wonder we have a problem with child obesity...

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  3. Much luck with your ultrasound! Strollers in the malls annoy me too - But then, so do other people walking in groups...and pretty much anything that impedes my progress. :)

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  4. Good luck for the ultrasound. And hope that AF decides to go away soon. I love love LOVE not having her visit any more!

    Yes, I'm with you on the strollers. (We call them pushchairs here).

    Good for you on the Goodreads Challenge. I read a few more books than usual when my ankle was broken earlier in the year, but I've taken a bit of a break recently. I've just met my target (and increased it during the year), and now you mention it, I feel quite good about that!

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  5. Argh, the smoke. How annoying. And yes, I see the stroller set walking around my neighborhood on the phone or texting all the time, and it drives me NUTS.

    Good luck on the ultrasound -- I hope there's a solution for you. It would be great to have things taper off for good...

    And congrats on the Goodreads challenge! I love a good book challenge, keeps you motivated. I hope you have some good ones lined up!

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  6. So annoying about the smoke!

    I am agreement on the oversized battering rams more commonly known as strollers, but I'll resist the urge to climb on that soap box.

    I hope that your appointment with the dildocam went well and that you get answers from it. I don't have any answers or suggestions, but I can totally relate to seemingly endless days of spotting after the end of the main event.

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  7. Mega strollers make me CRAZY. I'm also in a wheelchair and it boggles my mind the way some of the moms wielding mega strollers think they should get the same right aways that wheelchairs do.

    The smoke would drive me mad too.

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