Beautiful, Pampered Feet

Last night my daugher Beth and I went to the nail salon. I got a pedicure in a salon chair. Oh, the relaxing massaging of the chair, the feel of the warm water that my feet soaked in! I almost didn't go when she first asked - I was waiting for a phone call about a temporary job. But I decided that going for a pedicure rather than waiting by the phone sounded ever so much more relaxing!

I was a bit hesitant at first to relax, but the manicurest assured me to sit back and relax. So I put my chair in recline mode and enjoyed the massage of the chair! What a wonderful feeling. I could feel all the cares of the day fade away.....I used to be hesitant to get pedicures, my feet are very ticklish. But I have learned over time to control my laugher somewhat. My feet were ticklish last night. The lady who did my pedicure was very sweet and got the giggles when I flinched due to my ticklish feet. She said that her feet are ticklish too! I got the full treatment, including the smoothing of the bottom of my feet. My feet were a bit tender last night, but it is totally worth it - my feet look beautiful - top and bottom!

Sleep Apnea - Part 1

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea earlier this year. The Greek word "Apnea" means "without breath". Millions of Americans have sleep apnea, which means that they stop breathing several times during the night. There are several treatment options for sleep apnea, which I will talk about later. For more information about sleep apnea please visit this list of resource links posted by the American Sleep Apnea Association.

I first suspected that I had sleep apnea after a trip to Las Vegas with my daughter, Beth. We shared a hotel room, and she told me that I not only snore but I stop breathing during the night. So upon our return from Vegas I went to the doctor. My diagnostic and treatment adventure began about a week later.

The first step in the process was to have a sleep study. I went to a sleep diagnostic center in Century City. You are given a list of instructions, which includes things such as don't take a nap the day of the study, don't drink any caffeine the day of the study, things to make you insure that you will not have a difficult time falling asleep the night of the study. My appointment was scheduled from 10:30 p.m. and went until 6 a.m. The sleep testing center at first looks like a doctor's office. The testing room itself is like a hotel room. My room contained a bed, dresser, TV with VCR, and a couple of chairs. First you are instructed to get ready for bed and told that the technician will be with you shortly. A word of advice, wear comfortable pajamas - on my second sleep study I wore some tight exercise pants, and this made it difficult to put the wires on my legs.

When the technician comes in, the first step is to hook you up to about 20 wires to monitor you while you sleep. There are wires on your head (put on with a stiff lotion), your arms, your legs, your stomach and it is all hooked up to a machine named "Alice 5". The first half hour to an hour of the study you are monitored as you sleep. After that, you are awoken and the technician hooks you up to a machine called a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP). You are then monitored with this device for the remainder of the night. The CPAP machine delivers air thru your nasal passage thru a mask. The first mask was difficult for me, because I breathe primarily through my mouth. I was then switched to a mask that covered both my nose and my mouth. The technician adjusted the air flow several times during the night.

The only difference between the testing room and a hotel room is that the bathroom is down the hall. Every time you want to go to the restroom you need to unplug the monitor and bring "Alice" with you. There is no shower at the facility.

About a week later I received a note from my doctor's office that I needed to schedule a second sleep study. It had been determined that I had severe sleep apnea, but the first mask did not work for me, so they wanted to try a different type, Bi level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi PAP). Same drill as before, but the new mask was put on at the beginning of the night. After this sleep study, I received another note that I needed to see a doctor at the sleep diagnostic center. I called to schedule an appointment, and was told that I needed a referral from my doctor. HMOs - gotta love all that red tape! So I called and left a message for my doctor. My doctor was on vacation, so I was told that they would leave a note for another doctor to write up the referral. The next day, when I had heard back I called again. They took the message again and when I called later that day, they had referred me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor.

Before and After

I have lost 25 pounds since June of this year and gone from a size 18 (left) to a size 14 (right). Leaving my job of 15 years played a major role in that - not because of depression, but because of less stress in my life. I started walking more when I went to school for two months - walking across campus twice a day and upstairs to my classrooms made a big difference too. I look at these two pictures side by side and I am so proud of myself - I still can't quite believe it but I am so happy to be so much slimmer!

October 2006 - This is me now!

Three Beautiful Things

1. Having dinner with my son, my daughter, and her boyfriend. They loved the chili that I made. (Crock pot recipe - so easy!!!)

2. My daughter's boyfriend, Carlos, who loves my cooking and shows it both verbally and visually - you can tell by watching him eat how much he enjoyed the meal!

3. My wonderful daughter, Beth, who brought bread, rolls, and crackers to go with dinner.

March of the Penguins

I watched the movie "March of the Penguins" last night. What a touching movie! It is a fascinating documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman. The penguin chicks are so adorable and their parents are so loving. Life is tough for the Emperor Penguins in Antarctica! They march for 70+ miles to get to their mating place, and then the females make the journey again to gather food for the chick! Quite a remarkable feat!

Traditions are so important in life, as are routines. I don't always remember this, but since I am not working at the moment, I find that I miss having a daily routine. I need to start a daily routine to help me through this transition, this change. I am still getting up early every morning but I am not really doing much until maybe around lunch time when I am tired of watching TV, reading or whatever I have been doing. Today I am going to do some cooking and baking and try to establish a new routine for Sunday. If I start preparing meals for the week on Sunday, then when I am working again the routine will already be established. I am going to try out a couple of new dessert recipes and maybe make some bread - ambitious I know - but it is only 11 a.m. right now....

I have some ideas that are floating around in my head for a short story. Once I have put some of the ideas and determined which idea I want to go with, I will post the story. I am going to go to the store and get some of the ingredients I need for my dessert making.

What a difference a day makes

I couldn't resist the song title for this post as it just fits in so well. I had an interview this morning and it went really well. The office is in a beautiful building in Santa Monica. The job I interviewed for is a HR generalist position for an entertainment company. The interview was very relaxed and comfortable and I left with a great feeling. I will hear back later in the week regarding a second interview.

This is my third week that I haven't been working or going to school and I have decided that I need to find some activities other than TV or reading to occupy my time. I think it really hit when I realized that I actually started watching "The Jerry Springer Show" today. I NEED to get out of the house and walk more to increase and maintain my weight loss. I NEED to schedule some other activities for days when I do not have an interview. This week has been a good one - I have had my first two interviews since I have been job hunting and I have that experience under my belt. I had interviewed for positions within my old company, but it is not exactly the same.

I think that the difference between the interview on Monday and the interview today was my attitude. It seems strange that I was less nervous about this job interview. I had envisioned doing well on an interview and I thought that I would do well on the first one - but I guess that my vision is for the job I interviewed for today. The temporary job that I had this summer helped me to prepare for this interview because I learned some skills relating to job descriptions and recruiting that I can use in my new position. I can see myself in the new position and am looking into ways that I expand my knowledge to make me ready for it.

Quilt picture - by request

Per Kathryn's request - here is a picture of one of my latest quilt projects. This pattern is called Yellow Brick Road. I had originally bought a batch of fat quarters, unsure of what I would do with them. One day I decided to use them in this pattern. I did not have enough fabric and so I went back to the store I had originally purchased the fabric from. Amazingly, there was still two sets of the fat quarters - amazing because it had been at least six months since I had purchased the original fabric. This quilt is not finished, but close to being finished. I am creating a pillow with matching quilt squares and a burgundy trim around the edge of the pillow. Once completed, I will post a picture of the quilt and pillow together.

Monday Blues

It was cloudy and looked like rain yesterday. I ran around and did errands and heard the song "Manic Monday" and wondered how many songs are about Mondays? I found a list this morning and there are quite a few more than I can name. I thought of three - "Manic Monday", "Rainy Days and Mondays", and "Monday, Monday". I looked up Song Titles with "Monday" in them and found a list of 16 - including one that is called "All my friends are coming over for Monday night football". I am not into football, but found this song title amusing.

The thought crossed my mind, as I listened to "Manic Monday" on the radio, why did I choose Monday for a job interview? I should have seen that as a possible omen, but I spent the day relaxing and arrived at the interview early. The interview went okay I guess. Very strange place, the reception desk was in the back of the office area. I got there early - at 5 and my interview wasn't scheduled until 6. I went to Ralph's and bought a copy of “Threads”, a great sewing magazine, parked and walked to the interview. I got there at around 5:30 - not too bad. I didn't get in to see the interviewer until 6:40! There were 15 - 20 people in the small reception area and nearby hallway. Someone made the mistake of having interviews on the same day as a tutor orientation.

The reception area was cramped and crowded. While I was waiting, one of the other candidates asked what job each of us was interviewing for. One gentleman refused to say, but the lady I was sitting next to and the man who asked the question are interviewing for the same job.

The interview went ok - the first question she asked was "Tell me about yourself". How hard is that? My first response was "Like what?" I asked how many people they were interviewing for the position and she said between 25 - 40 people. I was nervous and not tongue-tied necessarily but I had lots of pauses and “ums” and “ahs”. I interrupted her a few times as she was looking over the questions – felt like I made all the classic interview errors. Ah well, it is over and now I play the waiting game. She said they will call for second interviews in a few days to a week.

I have another interview for a different position later this week. That should go much more smoothly - practice makes perfect!

Maureen