Insomnia...ain't it grand?

So, just can't really sleep so thought I'd update on several things. Trying to type "quietly" and it's making me make a bunch of mistakes so forgive if it gets jumbled. I have a friend staying here doing her internship and she's seeing all sorts of interesting stuff. Can't tell ya'll about it, but it's so far been a good experience for her and I'm now more excited than ever for my own internship.

Garden is flourishing. My zucchini plants were very crowded so I took a chance and uprooted two of them to move them to another part of the garden, figuring if they die, oh well. I still have two others to produce. Tomatoes (cherry ones) are producing flowers! Exciting stuff there. Herbs and lettuce are growing (well, most of the herbs anyway) but our record-breaking heat may start getting rough on everything so I'll have to be extra diligent in watering them.

Gave in and went to the doctor on Fri., hoping he could ease some of my allergies which have been awful. I'm already on two medications and they are helping, but still have sinus headaches, drainage (always fun to talk about) and feeling generally miserable. So, he checked me out and agreed that I'm still suffering and put me on TWO MORE medications. I pushed to see an allergist and get some testing done to see what I'm allergic to, but he wants me to wait until the season is over. I would have to go off everything for a while before the skin test (which sounds like tons of fun) and he thinks I'll be in trouble if I do that right now. Said this is the worst season for allergies he's ever seen. The clinic was completely out of samples so I had to get a prescription for one of the extras he wants me on. Thankfully, the combo of the four seems to be working since his next effort would be to put my on steroids. No fun. After the season, he'll send me to the allergist and we'll do a full skin test. In case you want to know about what it is, they basically stick you with a ton of different things, scratching the surface of your skin to get the offending bit into the dermis. Then you wait for 12-15 min. and if your skin swells up and gets really itchy, that's what you're allergic to. They then give you creams and cold packs to ease that reaction and you get to go back onto your medication. You have to wait in the office in case you have a severe reaction and go into anaphylactic shock, which is life-threatening. Fortunately, I don't think I have any really serious allergies, just a lot of little ones, so don't worry about me. But seriously, how barbaric! Don't they have anything better than that? There is a blood test but it's much less sensitive and pretty much worthless according to my general, but we'll see what the allergist says. Doctor also forbids us to open windows at all in the house and keep the air on for the rest of the season, limit my time outdoors, if I AM outside for any length of time, I am to immediately shower and wash my hair, wash my bed linens once a week, get my air ducts clean, etc., etc. Fun summer, hunh? I go back in two weeks for an update on if the combo is working and to get blood drawn for all sorts of tests. As in cholesterol, triglycerides, blah, blah, blah. I wanted a baseline when I'm in reasonably good health so we have something to compare to if anything happens. He also wants me to get a mammogram done when I hit 35 for a baseline on that too. Then I can wait until 40 to start getting them regularly. Maybe someone, somewhere suggested this, but I don't remember, so I'm urging all my friends to do it too. Sounds like a remarkably good idea to me. So, let's all remember to jump on the ol' Happy 35th B-day to Me...Let's stick our boobs in a vise!!" bandwagon. Then we'll go drinking.

Had a good cry today. Watched Baghdad ER on HBO on Demand. Everyone needs to see this HBO documentary. It chronicles an ER over in Iraq and shows the horrible injuries our soldiers face everyday they're over there. Made me cry it was so sad, but very, very good. Extremely graphic, but we should all know what they're going through, especially now.

Thurs. night we went to the Improv for open mic night and got to see the local talent show their stuff. Most were really funny, but this poor girl bombed the worst of them all. Here's a sampling of her "special" brand of humor: "So, the reason I'm a stripper? Because prostitution is illegal." Then there was a pause as though we were supposed to laugh. No one booed her, thank god, which I was grateful for, it takes guts to even try, so gotta respect that. But Paul and one of his work buddies, were rolling with laughter, not WITH her, AT her, if ya know whadda mean?

Last night, Paul and I were reminded that we're entirely too old to enjoy the nightlife on the Plaza. We met the friend that's staying with us and her fiancee who came down for the weekend at one of the pubs down there. Yikes. I felt ancient. So much silliness it was silly dammit. Paul and I were rolling our eyes, although when he hit the bar to get us a round, he found $80 laying on the floor. As no one was actively searching for it, he grabbed it and it paid for our night. I tell you this because karma is an interesting notion to me and I believe he is getting back $300 he lost to the wind in Nebraska one day before we were married. He was very philosophical about it at the time and figured "oh well, I guess someone else needed it more than I did." I was freaking out, not being as philosophical as he. Over the last year or so, he's been finding random money laying on the ground, a fiver here, a dollar there. I think he'll continue to do so until his $300 is returned to him. Nutty hunh? But, it keeps him occupied, continually glancing to the ground to see if there's a little gift for him.

I'm going to attempt to lay in bed and hope I don't just sit there like a log with too-open eyes and finally find some rest for the night. Busy day tomorrow of finishing laundry and trying to get Toby to see the vet. More on that when I know more. Sweet dreams all.

Love,
B