National Authors Day!

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This holiday was yesterday. Yay! A day just for authors! They should be appreciated more. I'm not just saying that because I am one.Authors have the ability to create worlds, open people's minds, to educate, give people an escape, etc. Pretty amazing!It was also National Vinegar Day. I love vinegar! It makes some dishes more intense and flavorful. Also, one of my fave types of potato chips are salt and vinegar. Malt vinegar is good with fish and chips. Some people say that vinegar is the 'secret' ingredient they use for baked goods. 

This is my wallpaper for November. It's my birth month. So, I usually use a fun, party-like, feel good, beautiful, etc. one. I think this goes with a laid back feel good one, and is perfect. It's Rin and Kuro from Ao no Exorcist or Blue Exorcist. Kuro also has a much larger form. He's basically a cat demon that becomes Rin's familiar. I don't usually find very many good AnE wallpapers, but I did a couple of months ago. You can look forward to some more of those in the future. Also, the anime version is coming back for a 2nd season. The anime ended in 2011, and is coming back in January. That's a long hiatus.The manga started in 2009 and is still going. I'm up to date on that. I remember the anime diverged at some point from the manga, and had an original ending. I'm not sure if they're going to go back to the manga, if they can, or it'll just be something totally different. A lot of stuff happened since it diverged from the original plot. I guess we'll see. Still exciting.

My beagle calendar has one sitting on some grass near a body of water, looking on. The info blurb is about their temperament. The fun fact mentions that a beagle was mentioned in Shakespeare's 12th Night. 

My Jewish calendar features a tevah cover, has an anonymous maker; made out of silk, metal thread, copper; from Persia; 1600. I actually had to look up 'tevah cover'. I don't think that term is used that often. It's a cover for a reader's desk. It looks really worn down, but I'm surprised it's from 1600. It's got a floral pattern. Kind of reminds me of a Persian rug design. It also features a parochet, made by Coenraads; out of velvet, cotton, glass, and metal threads; from Rotterdam, Netherlands; 1875. Parochets are curtains that cover the Torah ark. Often times these are switched to a white versions during the High Holy Days. This one's mostly red with a golden-looking design. In that design there's a slightly unrolled Torah, with lots of writing underneath it (It's so small, I can't read it), interesting banner that encompasses it with tassels on the sides, then a stylized crown on top of that, what looks to be stars at the very top with an interesting border separating the stars and the rest of it. Kind of cool. 

The month-long holidays are: Georgia Pecan Month, National Pomegranate Month, Banana Pudding Lovers Month, National Adoption Month, National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. I love all those food related ones! I don't think I could write an entire novel in one month.That's what NaNoWriMo is about. That's a monumental feat. Even if you're going for the bare minimum amount of words for it.

My birthday's on the 7th!Coming up fast! Not sure what I'll do for it. Might do a somewhat low key one like last year. Probably will celebrate during the weekend. I kind of got an early present this past weekend. It's an adult dot-to-dot book. I found it at Barnes and Noble, which was the same place I found an adult coloring book a couple of years before. That coloring book was designed by a tattoo artist. Most of them are really cool looking even before coloring them in. I wouldn't personally want a tattoo (for many reasons), but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the art.This dot-to-dot book seems complex and intricate. Probably would be good to focus on when I'm in a lot of pain...There are animals, landscapes, famous artworks, monuments, etc. that are featured. Some of them have over 400 dots, and some have 2 different lines. One with numbers, and the other with letters. Sounds fun to me. They also encourage people to color them in after completing each one.

I was going to be a pirate for Halloween. Didn't have the makings for one, though. So, I ended up going with an ace flag color theme. All the clothes to it were/are really big on me. Kind of felt like I was swimming in it, but it was still fun.Used the cat gloves from the costume I wore last year. I don't have too many grey colored things, and the pads to those gloves are. I was going to use my octopus earrings and matching necklace for the pirate costume. I wore them with this one instead. They're silver, so I used it for more of the grey part. Tried to use all the colors for the eye shadow, but they didn't really stand out.Found the most purple-like lipstick I had, which was really fuchsia with 'blue pearl'. Used quite a bit of foundation to make my face look whiter than usual to follow it. It's normally pretty white. I usually have to get either ivory or porcelain colored foundation.My face also turns red quite often, so it looks like I'm blushing most of the time. I think I ended up with more of the black in my costume than the other colors. I'm ace, so that's ok with me. The black stands for asexuals or aces. Also, we got Halloween candy just for Dad and I. We stayed in, turned out the lights (that way we didn't have trick-or-treaters), and watched things. I think we watched an episode or 2 of Glitch, which is really interesting. I watched the Lazarus Effect after that. It wasn't that great. Seemed it had some potential at the beginning, but it went off the rails quickly.

I had some spanakopitas for dinner on Halloween. I love spanakopitas! They were from Costco. Turned out pretty good. I cooked them in the oven, like they suggested. Ended up really crispy and flaky on the outside, and soft on the inside. They're packed full of the spinach and cheese filling. (In case you didn't know what it was, and there was more filling than I expected.) Each one was filling in itself.Still have quite a lot left in the box. Of course, I had some candy for dessert. We got these candies: candy corn, mini mounds bars, twix, snickers, milky ways (dark and regular), and 3 Musketeers. The last 4 were a bagged mix, and bite sized. We both love candy corn, which apparently is rare?I can only have a few of those at a time, because of how sugary they are. The only candy I don't really care for are the mounds bars. Those are Dad's favorite, so she can have them. I mixed them up in a big bowl, and after having some for dessert, bagged them all together. So, yay! A fun mix!

On facebook, I posted my thoughts on people telling me they see my mom through me. I've posted in the past about that on here. I mentioned it on fb this time, because I was starting to get a couple more people telling me that phrase. It's incredibly creepy.Anyways, some people commented about how people look like their parents, and there's no helping it. That wasn't the point of it.There's a difference between looking like your parents vs seeing them through you. I think some people also don't want to admit that most of my physical traits are actually more like Dad's. They want my mom to still be there somewhere, and force that image on me. That's not cool. Not cool for anyone.I did look a lot more like her when I was little, and was even told that we looked like sisters. As I matured, I've looked more like Dad. Also, this saying gets somehow even more creepy with the context that my mom was very sick for a while. Their image of her might be different, but this still frames it a bit more for me. If she hadn't been sick for so long, it wouldn't feel like that. Although, it still would be odd. I'm still glad I put that post out there. It's been eating at me for a while.

I went back to watching Naruto Shippuden recently. I stopped because of all the 'fillers' that seemed pointless. I'm only about 3 months behind at the moment, but I can skip the pointless episodes now. (I've skipped a lot of them already.) There are lists for those fillers. So, I'll catch up pretty quickly. Especially if I watch 2 at a time. The episodes aren't that long. (It's the normal length of just over 20 minutes without the opening and ending.) They say there isn't much left of the story, anyways. The manga finished a while ago. There's even a movie, I think, about what happens after the manga. At the point I'm at, it's really good. Even the animation seems high end to me. (It's ranged with quality in that throughout the series.) Almost making the characters seem real. I didn't forget the main story either, which is only getting better. Kind of the reason I'm going back to it is to see how it turns out.

Youtube:
A Naruto Shippuden amv:

A Pandora Hearts amv:

National Strawberry Shortcake Day!

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I love strawberry shortcake!This holiday was on Tuesday. Seems kind of early to have a day devoted to it. It seems like a mid-summer fair-type treat. The day before was National Cucumber Day. Cucumbers are awesome! Even just eating them plain is good. Yesterday was National Fudge Day. Today's National Apple Strudel Day. So much good food!

This is my wallpaper for June. It's another Pandora Hearts one. The series is already heavily influenced by Alice and Wonderland, so it's interesting to see one where they try to parody it. There are a lot of differences between the two stories, but they have a lot of the same elements. Even nicknames for characters and their chains might be the same as names from Alice and Wonderland. Heck, the main character of Pandora Hearts is named Alice. Oz is the other main character, and towards the end of the manga we found out who or what he is. Really, both the pocket watch and the rabbit make so much sense for him. The concept of time keeps popping up throughout it, too. The Abyss is like the rabbit hole. Although, the 'world' down there seems even more messed up and demented than the one in Wonderland.Break's 'chain' is called the Mad Hatter, and he's sometimes referred to as that himself. He certainly fits that character. A cat that was originally Alice's mother's (her name was Lacie) turned into the Cheshire Cat in the Abyss. I'm not so sure about Sharon being the Queen of Hearts in this wallpaper.Her chain is Equus, which is a horse that can teleport people back to safety. If I'm remembering correctly, there was someone who had a chain called the Queen of Hearts, and they kept muttering things like: "Off with their heads!" They seemed like a side character. Important, but was only mentioned briefly. They were the ones who were decapitating people. They should have picked that character instead...I'm not so sure about Gil being the March Hare, either. His chain is the Raven. Apparently, there was a minor character named The Monstrous Crow in Alice and Wonderland. 

My beagle calendar features another cute beagle.This one barely seems older than a puppy. His whole body is shown in this one. His tail is sticking straight up. The info blurb this time is about 'the Beagle Brigade' that patrol baggage-claim areas at over 20 international airports. They successfully seize tens of thousands of items every year. Also, that a beagle's coat is water resistant. 

My Jewish calendar features 2 pics of what looks to be parts of the same chuppah. Chuppah is like a canopy that a Jewish couple stands under during their wedding ceremony. They have the same info with both the pics, too. Made by Saskia Weishut-Snapper; out of velvet, tulle, paint, metal threads; Epse, Netherlands; 1991. Interesting designs that seem a bit difficult to really pick out the scenes. The other pic features a mizrach, made by Abraham Yakin; paper; Jerusalem, Israel; 1987-88. A mizrach can be an indicator of where east is. People in the diaspora, or those not living in Israel, face east while praying. So, there might be a special painting or other piece of art that indicates where to pray. I don't see these little 'indicators' too often. Odd that one would be made in Jerusalem itself. While there, people pray towards the Kotel. Wherever that is in relation to where they are. Maybe it's used in that sense, too. This one is colorful with a menorah, Star of David within a circle, branches stretching out, two deer that seem to be kissing, a meadow, and flowers. Looks really busy, but nice.

The month-long holidays are: National Candy Month, National Dairy Month, National Iced Tea Month, National Seafood Month, LGBT Pride Month, National Camping Month, National Oceans Month, National Rose Month. Some are for important causes, some are to make you appreciate things you may take for granted, and some are just for fun. 

Well, it's been a lot longer than I expected it to be since the last time I posted.It seems my symptoms were (still are) worsening, and with recent events like what happened in Orlando, it all threw me off for a bit. Also, there were some days where it was unusually warm for us, so I turned my computer off during those times. Hopefully, despite what might happen, I'll post more often on here.

I emailed my gastroenterologist last week about the symptoms. Interestingly, I didn't have a lot of the same ones when I was diagnosed. I guess that sort of thing can evolve. Some, not all (others were kind of a bit tmi...), of the symptoms I mentioned in the email were: being fatigued almost all the time, frequent waves of nausea, joint pain (particularly in my right knee), strong abdominal pain (stronger at times than what I've been 'used to'), lightheaded, ears are ringing a lot more often (I think that's usually like an internal alarm for me that something's not right when it happens), heavy and acidic stomach pain (I didn't have that much stomach pain when I was diagnosed, the pain was mostly in my lower abdomen), a lot of pain just before eating and just after, and more gurgly than usual. Recently, about 3 days ago, I've had stabbing pains on the middle right side of my abdomen that radiates across my back and towards my spine. Also, some weird chest pain that just started about 2 days ago.

Anyways, I mentioned how this didn't sound like I was in remission. I've read that when you are, you have very few symptoms, if any. One of the goals to go into remission is to take care of the symptoms first. My last blood test results and the sigmoidoscopy indicated that I was in remission. The sigmoidoscopy was done at the beginning of April, and the most recent blood tests were done at the beginning of last month. I mentioned at the end of the email that I wouldn't mind having a phone appointment with her to talk about these symptoms. She emailed me back a couple of days later, and she agreed that we should discuss it further through a phone appointment. I thought she would ignore me or not take it seriously, since the last batch of tests indicated I was in 'remission'. Also, because of the way I felt at the end of my last physical appointment with her. She didn't really take one of the symptoms I was feeling at the time seriously.

Had the phone appointment Monday morning. She was surprised by all the symptoms, and agreed that they weren't normal or what people usually have while in remission. To her, some of the symptoms sounded like they might be caused by the azathioprine. So, she wanted me to go from 2 pills a day to 1 1/2 pills a day. This scares me a bit, considering it's the only med that I'm taking that's specifically for it.I do remember that when I was taking 3 a day, it caused some nasty side effects. I'm wondering if maybe my body doesn't like to be on it for too long. It takes a while for the azathioprine to build up in your system and to actual start to kick in. Maybe I need to switch to another med. But, that might mean trying a biologic like humira or remicade. Pretty much the heavier meds are the only ones I know about that are left.

She also wants me to do another test to see if my small intestines are affected, and it will also show if my colon is starting to get inflamed again. Not to gross people out, but it's a stool sample test. It's nasty, and I was only able to do it once.The lab tech 'prepared' the samples for me. (Many of them prefer people do it with a kit at home, but you supposedly can do it there, too.) Hopefully, they can do that this time. It's still gross. But, if it gives a better view of what's happening, I'll try. 

They haven't looked at my small intestines yet through any sort of testing. It's all been about everything else on my digestive tract. I've been curious about that area since I had my endoscopy/colonoscopy last summer. It's somewhat of a tough area to test. It would be nice to have them look at it through imaging. To get even a better idea of how it's doing. I might ask about that after doing/getting the results back from that test she wants me to do. One thing at a time is probably good with that.I've read that some of my symptoms correspond a bit to what people might experience if their small intestines are affected. So, that should be interesting. I know my gastro can't exactly pinpoint which IBD I have (either Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis), but what if I have both? This might be why she can't be entirely certain. I've read that some people do have both, although it's more rare.

She said I could try 2 over the counter meds for a couple of my symptoms. One I had already, but she recommended I have more than what they say is the highest dose you can have in a 24-hour period. I think the other one my mom used in pill form. But, my gastro said the powder form would be a lot more effective for me. At least, she didn't insist on taking miralax still. I tried it twice before. Didn't work, and couldn't stand the smell or taste. This new powder reminds me a lot of Tang.Haven't actually had Tang in a very long time, but this stuff smells and tastes like it. Which is like 1000x better than the other stuff I was trying. It actually tastes good.Hopefully, it won't be addicting. The only downside to it, that I noticed, is you have to have a lot of water with it. You have to drink it fast, too. 

She wants me to email her back in 2 to 3 weeks about how I'm doing. She might email me sooner if something is really out of whack in the results of that test. She was a lot more helpful than I expected. If she hadn't been, I have a referral to see another gastro, just in case. Even have it on paper. I'll keep it, and see what happens. I watched a webcast on CCFA's site about treatments, plans, what remission really looks like, etc. A lot of what I learned from it weren't even touched on when I saw her in person or even on the phone. They also mentioned that at any time, if you don't feel satisfied by how your gastroenterologist is treating your case, you should get a second opinion or entirely switch to someone else. They said there are great risks to you as a patient if you essentially don't advocate for yourself. This also means that you have to be clear, update them on new symptoms as soon as they come up, stay in contact, etc. So, it somewhat works both ways.There were several months where I basically tried to ignore it, but the symptoms were more difficult to deal with because of this. I'm trying to be better about it.

Since I've been feeling so crummy lately, what with events happening like Orlando and my symptoms, I decided to put makeup on for the first time in a very long time. It usually makes me feel better, if I look better than I feel. I didn't just put lipstick on either. I put foundation, blush, mascara, a little eye brow pencil, and eye shadow. I used about 4 different shades/colors of eye shadow (white, sparkly gold, light blue, and a light beige), but they seemed to blend well. It was fun picking out which ones to try. Certain eye shadows don't show up very well on my eyelids. They kind of disappear.The lipstick was called Fuchsia with Blue Pearl. It's kind of got a metallic sheen to it. Seems to glow in dim light. Apparently, people loved that color on facebook. It's one of my favorites, but it feels like it might not go with too many things. I was wearing a light blue sweater. 

There was only one comment that was somewhat upsetting to me. This person made a similar comment the last time I posted a selfie. That was, I think, in March. I don't do selfies that often. Anyways, they said they see my mom through me in that photo. That seems especially creepy since my mom passed away 4 years ago. In that sense, they might be trying to comfort me, but sort of ending up doing the opposite in the end. I'm also me. I'm not my mom. I'm a different person. I have different tastes, interests, personality, etc. There are also very very few similarities with the way she looked and the way I do now in pics. So, this is weird to me. The person who said it is a really nice person, so I know they mean well. It just doesn't really come across that way to me. I certainly don't mean to be rude or hurt other people's feelings. Just the way I view it.

I also did my nails. Haven't done that in a while.The nail polish I used is called Scarlett O'Hara. A really nice bold sparkly red. One of my newer ones. I normally like stand out sort of colors. So, if I do red, it has to be bold and different. I have some metallic blue ones, metallic purple, light creamy blue (they call it blueberry), frosty colors, orange, very dark purple with glitter to put on top of it, and more. 

For the past few weeks I've joined the bandwagon in posting 'TBT' or Throw Back Thursday posts. For one of yesterday's pics I posted one of me when I was 4 months old laying in a big tub(?) chair. Drifter, one of the cats at the time, was on the back of the chair watching on like a statue. The other one is of me when I was about 16 (the note on it said it was a month before or the month of my birthday that year, close enough) in my high school marching band uniform holding my clarinet. I was in marching band from junior high up until a couple of years into college. Only stopped because of an accident during practice where I nearly broke my tailbone. They couldn't actually tell, because there was too much blood internally obstructing what the x-ray could show. Hurt like hell for months after. It had to heal, and after that I couldn't high step. Sad, but I have a lot of good memories of it.

National Peach Pie Day!

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One of my fave types of pies!I love peaches in general, but putting it in a pie takes it to another level! Haven't had it in a while...Thursday was Lemonade Day, and National Radio Day. Lemonade can be so simple to make, and it's pretty tasty. I just put a little sweetener or sugar in a glass, add some lemon juice, fill the glass up with water, and then mix. Much easier than squeezing the lemon yourself, and it's relatively fresh still.I sometimes experiment with the amount of each thing to see how much better I can get it compared to the last time I made it. Haven't made it in a long time, though. Used to do it all the time during the summer. Radio's important, and great that there's a day devoted to it. 

Weather's been a bit weird.Temperature-wise it hasn't been all that bad. Mid-70s to low-80s. But, since our state has so many fires going on, for the last few days it's been pretty smoky here. Air quality is not that great. (I can feel it more after walking a while in it.) At least I'm not on the eastern side of the state where most of the fires are happening. It must be brutal there right now.It's particularly bad because of the drought. Makes it incredibly easy to start a fire if everything's dried out. The college I went to started classes today, and they're on that side of the state. I hope it's not that bad out for their first day. Although, I remember things like terrible dust storms, enough of a bug infestation that it blotted out the sun (and occasionally looked like snow, but was really dying bugs), smells from the farms, people burning stuff on the farms, crazy snow storms, bone chillingly cold at times during the winter, etc.Lots of the 'normal' stuff can be difficult. It's a great place though, besides that stuff.

I decided a couple of days ago that I'd get back to doing my makeup.Doesn't have to be all the time, but I want to do it a lot more often than I have been. I started today with doing foundation, a little blush (not that I really need it...), eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick. I'm not going to do a lot every time, just try to have something on. When I did it more often, I mostly just used eye shadow and lipstick/lip gloss. I've been told by some that I look like I wear mascara when I don't have it on. But, it's still interesting to see. I used to hate foundation.Especially the liquid kind. Just the way it feels... I have a semi-wet powder foundation that's still rather new. It feels pretty good so far. Sometimes foundation feels cakey, no matter how little of it you use. I'm also trying a different way of doing my eye shadow that I've seen on some Youtube videos and Pinterest. Turned out interesting today. I like my fairly new lipstick, too. They're interesting colors. I like colors that aren't the 'norm'. I'm that way with nail polish, too. I want something fun, but not too crazy.I found out a while ago that I don't like eyeliner. It seemed to make my eyes look smaller, and didn't like the overall effect. It feels nice to put makeup on occasionally. Rosie wants to eat it, though...

Went through my facebook friend list. I hadn't done so in a long time. Found out 3 people had deactivated their accounts, so I had to drop them. (Funny how facebook doesn't get rid of them naturally if they deactivate...) 1 friend became increasingly malicious sounding over time. It was never about me, but I don't like when a 'friend' talks about their friends that way. Or, about other groups of people in general. It just makes me feel slightly sick to my stomach when I start to see stuff like that. Makes me feel worse when I see it over and over again.So, goodbye to that friend. (I knew her sinse high school, so it was a bit of a difficult decision to make.) There were 2 others that I dropped. 1 of them never responded to anything I posted, and essentially seemed to ignore me...Even though she's cool in person, it just seemed pointless on facebook. 

Another person I changed to 'unfollow'. They were constantly posting some strange things. I 'met' him and his wife through yahoo messenger years ago. They're an Orthodox Jewish couple. They both are very nice to me. Just weird.The husband runs a radio station online, and posts everything they feature each time it broadcasts. He changes his profile pic all the time, but it's never anything new. And, half of them are creepy looking ones of himself. He also acts like he's personal friends with celebrities. And, I can't tell if it's true or all made up...But, he does some nice things, too. He'll do special birthday posts every year to his friends' walls. Sometimes High Holiday stuff. I think that last one I dropped was actually his wife. She was a bit strange too, and didn't do much. I kept him as a friend mainly because he does something like the birthday stuff.

So, cutting a lot of these people out of my list should make for a better feed, too. I don't need toxic people.But, I didn't drop too many people, which is great. Started with 161 friends, and am now down to 155 of them. Not too bad. I only friend or accept an invitation if I know that person somehow. Most I've seen face to face. Some I've met online through other sites.

Went through the hanging stuff in my closet. Most of it seemed to be Mom's. Her old blouses, jackets, dresses, etc. She put them in there partly as storage, and partly thinking I'd grow into them and like them. Most were larger sizes than I ever was, even at my heaviest. And, practically all of them were never my style. They still smelled like her, too. That felt really weird to me.

I still had some of the things I wore when I was 12 and 13. I was quite slim back then, plus my hips were narrower, too. So, even though I still liked most of those things, I had to toss them. There was one shirt, I think it looks like a black long sleeved camisole (Dad said it must have been just a stretchy shirt), that still fits me, though. 

There were some that were from when I was at my heaviest. They were incredibly big on me when I tried them on. Odd to see how much I've lost that way. There was a sleeveless dress that the armpit holes were so big, you could easily see part of where my ribs start. It's supposed to be a clingy type dress. It still clung, but in weird areas. I tried on its matching jacket, but it was too big for me, too. I kind of was swimming in it. Not used to that feeling.The jacket was missing a button, and since it and the dress are a set, I had to throw them both out. 

I'm also keeping a few things as keepsakes. I have my graduation gown with the stole. A traditional Chinese styled shirt I got one year from the NW Women's Show. That happens once a year. There are tons of free stuff, people selling things, demos, food, etc. I remember thinking the person who was running the Chinese clothing shop wouldn't be able to find something that fit me. It fit me to a T back then. It doesn't anymore, and I don't think it ever well. I'm bigger on top than I was back then for one thing...I remember everything she was selling actually came from China. There were some nice looking dresses, but most of it was super expensive. This shirt wasn't too bad. It'd be cool if I could find a similar one that fits me now. But, I highly doubt I would. Putting it on is interesting, too. Lots of buttons and hooks. 

There's also a dress I wore to a big dance for our high school band in New York City. I loved it, but I don't think it'll fit me in the future...Never know with this one.

All in all, I filled 5 garbage bags. An additional bag had another jacket and dress set that I'm donating to Goodwill. It was only used once or twice. I hated it, and it's too big for me now. Hopefully, someone else will like it.I think it's the only thing I'm donating so far from my closet. The other stuff was just too far gone. Sad. I think I've filled at least 16 large garbage bags in total for stuff from my closet. (The first several were about a year ago.) That's a lot of bags.I didn't realize I had so many things to get rid of. It's actually roomy in there, and I can walk in. The hangar rod goes just over my head, so I could stand without bending in there. 

Now, I just have to go through the storage area on top. It's kind of a mishmash of things. I have a big white stuffed bear that has winter hat on, and a scarf that has reindeer on it. Not sure how I got it. I think one of my geography projects is up there, too. We had to create our own island with topography and such. I came up with a crescent shaped one. And, I think I remember liking the results. There's a box of papers and stuff that looks pretty full. Several more shoe boxes that might hold the possibility of more shoes I can use. I know one of them was actually a part of my science fair project. It shows the phases of the moon when you look inside, with a builtin flashlight, at different angles. I think I placed 1st with that one. There are a few sweaters. Not sure if they fit. So, there might be a few pieces of clothing left that I can keep. It'd be cool if there were more shoes in decent shape up there, too. Another adventure. It feels like the closet as a whole has an endless amount of stuff to go through.

I'm thinking of looking for more clothes and such online, as well as occasionally at the mall. I usually don't see too many things I like at our local mall. There's one quite a ways from us that has a much better selection, though. I've noticed most online sites have approx. measurements for their sizes. So, you can measure yourself, and figure out which one of their sizes you are. That can vary even with actual physical stores. So, it might be more handy that way. Plus, a lot of places online have better deals. Dad found a site that the clothes are actually customizable. So, you give them more detailed measurements, you can choose what kind of style some things are (like what kind of neck style: Scoop, V, etc.), the length, etc. Really interesting. 

Had a phone appointment with my gastroenterologist last Friday. She asked how I was. I'm getting better slowly (ever so slowly) each day. I brought up that I'm starting to get worried about my hair loss. Luckily right now it just looks a bit thinner. She said she did notice my protein levels were really low the first time they tested for it (during the worst of it), and it's slowly getting better over time with each new test. Also, the new med can have a side effect of losing hair. She wants me to continue eating more protein than I used to, and to just see what the next result will be for it. She asked about how my weight is doing. I'm still losing it, but I personally don't think it's going at too quick of a pace. She said I have to continue monitoring it, and if I lose it too quickly, to tell her immediately. Once I hit the 1-month mark with the newest med, I could cut to 2 doses instead of 3 of balsalazide. (Balsalazide was prescribed to me right after my colonoscopy.) So I'll go from 9 pills of it to 6. I feel like I'm eating a bunch of plastic every day with it, and it's incredibly filling.Eventually, I'll go off of it. At the beginning of next month I'll get another blood draw. She said eventually I might just have to do it every 3 months. She didn't mention about narrowing the type of IBD I have down. It's kind of frustrating to me not knowing which one I have. I like that she seems to really be listening to my concerns, though. For some reason I thought she wouldn't.

I have been noticing today that I'm feeling very sore lately. Some of that soreness is in my joints, and the rest feels like it's in my muscles around them. I especially feel it after sitting for just a few minutes, and standing up. Doesn't feel right.I'll email her eventually about it. It can be another thing the disease is affecting. It's kind of hard for me to remember to eat more protein, too. I'll do my best, though. Trying to get back into my sit-ups. Restarting with this week at 10 sit-ups twice a day. Didn't go very well last week. Hopefully, I can get back to doing my walks. Although, right now the smokiness is affecting me. I have to be smart about this stuff, too.