Hold the zombie pills, thanks

Magnesium is an interesting supplement. And by interesting, I mean FREAKY.

I've added it back into my supplement regime as part of my quest for a better night's sleep, along with the evil tasting hops-and-valerian mixture. Sleep has improved, but so has the weirdness and clarity of my dreams.

Last night's efforts included: 1) zombies; and 2) some tall skinny dude, all dressed in black, who reeked of evil. He had some connection with a beauty salon where I was too late for my manicure appointment, so then had to buy clothes instead. As you do at beauty salons. Then for some reason, I went to his house... and the rest has faded from memory now. All I know is that it was weird and disturbing.

So. Magnesium. Hmm.

Of course, it might also have something to do with the Buffy DVD fest that The Baby and I have been indulging in over the past few days. Due to the many hours of vampire- and beast-slaying that goes on in there, our parents' retreat has been renamed. It's now known as the Slayertorium.

Maybe I ought to spend a few days watching shows about puppies and rainbows....

All over, red rover

Q. How do you know when Christmas is officially over?

A. When the ratio of leftover pudding to fruit and veg in your meals starts to tip in favour of the healthy stuff.

It's definitely back to normal time for me. This morning I got up at 8:00am (which is still actually a sleep-in), grabbed a band and a medicine ball and headed around the corner to the park. I ran, I lunged, I squatted, did rows, step ups, overhead presses and push ups, and I did not see another soul.... except for Bike Boy as he rode past. I love it when it's all peaceful and silent.

I kept it short, since I'm still nursing assorted injuries, and tacked an extra-long stretching session onto the end of my workout. I'll be back to the physio next week when they reopen - meanwhile I'm spending some quality time with my ice pack.

In spite of the painful left shoulder, right and left forearms, and my old friend the sacro-iliac joint going all spazzy on me, I'm feeling really good and looking forward to the New Year.

I have some work to do on a program for a new online client, but once that's out of the way and the Christmas decorations are all packed away, I plan to resume normal blogging. And I'm looking forward to it.

Bring on the celebrations!

It seems the Chinese herbal thingummies are working. Whether they're responsible or not, the level of insanity has decreased significantly anyway, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic. The hot flushes have reduced to just a few a day and they're shortlived and mostly very minor - sometimes I'm halfway through one before I even notice it.

During the last several weeks of rampaging hormones and restless, sleep-deprived nights, keeping my beast locked down was increasingly difficult. It actually made quite a few successful bids for freedom before I caught it and slapped it down. And of course, poor nutrition choices and lack of training only added to the stress and drama, both physically and psychologically.

All I can say is: thank goodness that's over. (And cross my fingers and hope things don't get quite that bad again.)

Now that my brain is functional again, maybe I can finally catch up on those blogs and emails.

***************

So...I'm well into the Christmas planning, although this year I'm taking a slightly "whatever..." approach to the day. We're hitting the supermarket tonight armed with a list, and I'll be cooking a couple of desserts and doing some cleaning on Thursday, and that's about the extent of the preparation. Relaxed is my theme for once, instead of OMG, it all has to be PERFECT.



***************

School obligations finished last week (thank GOD) with both kids finishing up with really good reports. The Middle Child received an academic award for topping the class in Music Industry. He came second in the class for Music Performance, so my plan to keep all his old crap to sell on eBay when he's a famous rock star is shaping up well.

***************

I'm thinking about goals and plans for next year. This year didn't turn out quite as I planned, but I'm not feeling any sense of failure at all. I'm actually pleased with my ability to use some common sense and change direction when the need arose.

If I'd attempted to keep on with my original plans in the midst of all the crap I endured, I suspect I'd have been in a much worse place right now.

Instead, when life threw shit at me, I canned the competing goal altogether, scaled back my personal training work and took some positive steps to get my head and my body sorted out. The past six months haven't been fun, but they haven't been all bad either. Most importantly, I'm confident that I'm stronger and better equipped to face up to problems in future.

And I'm looking forward to next year.

Phew!

Thanks to those who made suggestions for saving my sanity. I actually found something at the health food store yesterday that seems promising, which is based on traditional Chinese herbs - in pill form, thank goodness. Coincidence or not, last night I only remember waking up four or five times. That's a major improvement on the twenty or more nasty overheated interruptions to my sleep the night before.

Some research suggested that hops help with hot flushes, and of course they also happen to be good for inducing restful sleep. Bike Boy suggested I take up beer-drinking, but I think not... Instead, I found a vile-tasting liquid that contains hops and valerian and I'm giving that a go as well. Good thing I don't shy away from swallowing nasty potions; this stuff is BITTER.

The thing with black cohosh is that there's a small risk of serious liver problems, and since I already have impaired liver function, I'm not prepared to take a chance. Up until yesterday, it seemed that every remedy I looked at contained that stuff. Bah!

I'm giving this a go for at least couple of weeks, plus making sure I drink my water (thanks Linda), take my fish oil (thanks Sara), watch my caffeine intake (boo!) and try to avoid biting off anyone's head.

If things don't improve, I'll go see my doctor. As someone wise said to me: life's too short to suffer needlessly.

Ask the internet

If anyone can suggest a sure-fire remedy for hot flushes, that doesn't involve black cohosh as an ingredient, you will have my undying gratitude.

If I have to put up with one more week of this, death may begin to look like an attractive option.

Back later.....

Let the shopping begin!

My self-imposed clothes shopping boycott is coming to an end as 2009 runs out of puff. Yes, it may seem as though I'm jumping the gun, but these purchases still don't count, because:

a) I bought them on eBay, and they are preloved bargains, which everyone knows isn't even real shopping. The Billabong jeans are sensational, in perfect nick and look like they've been worn maybe once or twice. I haven't received the rest of my buys yet, but pants, shift dress and a silk skirt are on their way. Hurry up, Australia Post!

OR

b) I used birthday money to buy them. If it's not my money, it clearly doesn't count. Today I picked up a pair of black pants for work and a striped short-sleeved shirt while I was at it. And I still have vouchers from Rebel Sport and Lorna Jane to spend.

Excuse me while I adjust my halo.

Hellooooo!

It's been so long since I posted on this blog that I don't even know where to start. I've been: a) busy; b) exhausted; and c) more than a little mental.... consequently, I've not had time or inclination for blogging. I actually did start two blog posts over the past couple of weeks, but never got them finished.

So, by way of some sort of update, here's a summary of the past few weeks. Among other things, I've been:

- Having weekly physio treatments on my shoulder, neck and thoracic area. The past couple of weeks my tennis elbow flared up again, so my physio went all Spanish Inquisition with the torture and stuck needles in me instead of just his thumbs and elbows. Good thing it's improving.

- Getting my second head removed. I have a nice neat scar in the middle of my forehead now, instead of a lump. It's healing up well and I'm confident that it'll be unnoticeable in a year's time.

- Decorating the house for Christmas. New (gigantic) tree and sparkly bits everywhere. Even Buddha got all festive.

- Getting (unwillingly) moved to a different team at work. Bloody budget cuts, grrr! I'm back in an area where I'll be doing some field work. Ugh. I started there last Monday, and on Wednesday put in a 12-hour day in the field. Good thing I'm used to 5:30am starts. Also good that I can claim some extra allowances. And flex time.

- Becoming a demon eBay trader. I sold the kids' school textbooks and bought most of the ones they need for next year. I also sold some unwanted household bits and pieces, and I have some clothes on offer (with bids pending) at the moment. Best of all, I picked up some bargains for myself: Billabong jeans for $6, and a dress and pants for $14.

- Sorting out kids school fees, books and stationery for next year. I now only have to buy three textbooks, one graph paper pad, one compass and one protractor before the start of Term 1. Organised? You bet!

- Working on the landscaping plans and quotes. We've narrowed it down to a landscaper we're happy with, but need to make a few changes - not to mention some cutbacks to shave a little off the price - and we expect to have it done in February.

- Making arrangements for the family Christmas Day do, which is at our place this year. My sisters have been assigned various dishes to make, we have the turkey in the freezer and the alcohol in the garage, Bike Boy has been brewing beer, and most of the rest can be done in the week prior. I'm taking the relaxed approach.... I also have the Chrsitmas shopping under control; I've just got a couple of things to pick up and then have to figure out what to give my own kids.

- Dealing with some nasty hormonal stuff. A month of hot flushes hasn't been a barrel of laughs. Apart from being unpleasant and inconvenient, it's been interrupting my sleep pretty badly. *sigh* I really don't need this just now.

- Initiating Operation Mop-up after the freak storm that hit my part of Melbourne last week. We were unlucky enough to be in the narrow band that had a trillion millimetres of rain and hail dumped on us in the space of 15 minutes. The stormwater system couldn't cope and spouting overflowed in both directions...so we had water running into the roof cavity and making its way out through light fittings and fans. Indoor water features were never part of my decorating plans....

There's more been going on, but it's mostly pretty uninteresting. Oh, except I did have a birthday this week. Now I have vouchers and cash to go shopping with. :) When I can brace myself to brave the feral Christmas-shopping crowds. :(