Day Three Hundred and Sixteen.

    I had to get up early today because I had an appointment to get my nails done at 11am and I wanted to shower before I went, to get it out of the way. I ended up waking right around 9:30am after a pretty decent sleep. When I got out of bed I decided to do a few chores around the house, including dust busting the couch. I also gathered up all of the garbage because it's trash day tomorrow. Finally, I got in the shower and pretty much had to run out of the house to get to my appointment in time. This time I tried a new place and everything went smoothly. A few weeks have to go by before I can really rave about them because there's always that risk of an infection of some kind! They were very busy, so I'm glad I made an appointment. I got the gel application like I had previously done.
    Since I was near the food store I figured I'd stop and get what I needed for the next several days after my nails were done. I was about two minutes into the store when I remembered why I never go to that particular food store. It's because it's so over priced! I ended up getting a few Lean Cuisine meals which happened to be on sale, paper towels and a few cards I needed to pick up....then I left. I ended up stopping at the food store closer to my house to get the rest of what I needed because I would have been paying over $1 more on everything! When I got home I put the groceries away then had lunch and it was time to get ready for work.
    I was working in a position which I don't usually work in tonight but I was proud of myself for not getting overly anxious about it. I had to learn some new things, so I'm actually glad that I was put there because it ultimately increased my skill set! I think it also helped to make the night go by fast because I couldn't believe it when it was already 11pm. I got a little bit down tonight because when I was working on something one of my co-workers made a comment about how slow I am. I know he was just kidding around but it really upset me and I had to remind myself that everyday with OCD is a new day to practice getting better. I've been at my job for seven years and I'm way better than I used to be but I'm never going to be the first one to get there work done. I've spent many hours beating myself up inside for the fact that I can't be as productive as others. It's so hard because people who don't suffer from obsession don't understand that it's not something you can control. I have said it before and I'll say it again I wouldn't wish this disorder on my worst enemy because it can and will make every single thing in your day harder:(
    I have my annual eye appointment tomorrow morning at 10:30am so I'm going to have to get up early again. Also, at some point I'm going to have to balance my checkbook. Oh yeah and I'll have to do another load of laundry because I won't be around this weekend to do it. The exciting thing about tomorrow, besides the fact that it's Friday, is that I'm going to get to see my two older sisters for a little bit before work:) Plus, I start my vacation at 11pm tomorrow night! Alright, well I'm going to bed early!

Day Three Hundred and Fifteen.

    I had such a hard time getting up this morning because I've been having a difficult time sleeping all week. I'm not sure why but I can't seem to relax when I get in bed. I guess it's because there's been so much going on lately that I'm having trouble processing it all. When I finally got out of bed today it was about 10:30am and I had a cup of coffee with some cherries for breakfast. After coffee I got myself ready to go to the store but never actually made it there. My good friend from work happened to have some time for a phone conversation, so I gave her a call. I wanted some advice on my wedding guest list from work and I knew she'd be able to help. It ended up being a very long conversation so when we were done talking it was way past lunch time. For lunch I had a leftover piece of chicken from Tuesday night with a side salad.
    I didn't have time after lunch to unload the dishwasher because it was meeting day today so I had to get to work a little bit early. I ended up getting there right on time! The evening at work went surprisingly fast even though it wasn't too terribly busy. I had a coffee around 6pm and then dinner around 8pm. I ended up staying a few minutes late to chat with my co-worker, then I headed home. One the way home I was able to talk to my fiancé on the phone for a few minutes because he was still awake.
    When I got home I emptied the dishwasher and then I had a snack before making a cup of tea. I ended up watching some TV for a little while to see if that would help me unwind a little bit tonight. I have really been getting into "The New Girl", with Zooey Deschanel. I actually think it's one of the best shows on TV and it constantly makes me laugh out loud. All the characters are hilarious and I have a bit of a crush on one of her characters male room mates:) I really did end up doing any cleaning around the house today, but I did fold the laundry from yesterday. I have a lot to do tomorrow so I think I'm going to get to bed now and I hope that I can get some sleep!

Day Three Hundred and Fourteen.

    I went to sleep very late last night and ended up sleeping in until 12pm. Actually, I woke up around 10am and sort of just laid in bed dozing in and out of sleep for the next two hours. When I got up I didn't have much time to get myself ready for the wedding venue appointment. I did squeeze time in to get a load of laundry in the wash before showering, which was nice. However, I barely had time to get my hair together before I had to leave and I got to the venue about three minutes late. Of course everyone was already there:( No one seemed to mind that I was a little bit late....I'm already realizing the perks of being the bride! We ended up being there for two hours and booking our wedding with them! The venue offered a lot more than the previous venue and they seemed more flexible to doing things the way I had envisioned them to be done. All together I'm very pleased with our decision and am glad that's done!
    I got a coffee for the drive home and by the time I arrived at my house it was already after 4pm. I called my Mother and ended up being on the phone with her for a very long time discussing the wedding. My fiancé didn't get to my house until almost 7pm because he was nice enough to get what we needed for dinner on his way home from work. I would have done it but I needed water and still can't lift it so he figured he might as well just get everything. We had grilled chicken quesadilla's for dinner which were really good. I am definitely on a healthy eating kick right now and I was a little bit nervous about the calorie content of the dinner but I don't think it was that terrible. The worst part are the shells and the sour cream but I was proud of myself for not using nearly as much sour cream as usual. After dinner we chatted with both of my older sisters on the phone and sent some save the dates out via text message and fbook. I feel like it's been forever since I've seen my sisters and they are planning on stopping by Friday, so I'm already getting excited.
    It's hard to believe that I spent the whole day planning my wedding which is less than 5 months away! It's all happening so fast that it's hard for me to really process everything that's going on. I'm glad that I only have three days of work left this week until I'm on vacation because I think some time off will be good for me. My fiancé and I are going away for a few days, but not until the middle of the week, so I will actually have some time at home to relax. I didn't get into much house cleaning today, because I ran out of time, but I'm hoping at some point this week I may be able to try vacuuming. I still have my post surgery initial restrictions so if I do vacuum it might take me forever because I'll have to be slow and careful. Maybe I should just wait! Okay, until next time:)

Day Three Hundred and Thirteen.

    Today I woke up very early because there was another terrible thunder storm which woke my dog up first, then me. She woke me up barking hysterically and I had such a hard time getting back to bed. The only reason I know I was able to fall back to sleep was because I remember a dream I had. When I woke up it was about 11am and the first thing I did was make a huge cup of coffee! My dog wouldn't even go outside, I guess because she was still traumatized, so I practically had to force her out. My Mother woke up soon after I got up and we spent the morning chatting, until she left around 1pm. I had a Lean Cuisine for lunch then organized the living room a little bit before I headed to work.
    I was scheduled to work in a different area than I actually did because I was a little bit worried about having to run around too much on the evening shift. Therefore I switched positions with a good friend of mine to make the evening a little bit easier, since I'm still recovering from surgery. It actually happened to be a much slower evening at work than I had anticipated, which was pretty nice. I had a Lean Cuisine for dinner and left work right at the end of my shift. When I got home my fiancé was at my house and we spent about an hour and a half chatting before he had to go to bed.
    Right when I left for work today the water pressure got really low in my house and I found out on my way to work that a water main had broken in my neighborhood. I was not as anxious as I normally would have been because it was actually perfect timing since I was already done getting ready for work. By the time I was back home they had fixed the break, so the water was back to normal. Tomorrow is finally my day off and I can't wait! I'm actually looking at another wedding venue with my fiancé's Mother and Grandmother, which makes me a little bit nervous. I really enjoy spending time with both of them but have never been in this sort of setting with them before. It's going to be interesting to see what they imagine the wedding to be like compared to me. So, as far as my hands are going they are a little more dry than I would  like and I think it's because I didn't put hand lotion on last night. Well I think that's everything for now!

Day Three Hundred and Twelve.

    I woke up this morning earlier than I wanted to because there were terrible storms and my dog was having a hard time with the thunder. It has been a long time since I myself have heard such loud thunder, so I can understand how scared she must have been. After about an hour or so she finally settled down and I went back to bed which meant I didn't wake up until 11am. I had some coffee and a Fiber One bar for breakfast then did an exhausting search online to try to find wedding dress potentials. It's really incredible how many different styles are out there! When I got bored of the wedding dress search I took a shower and by the time I was done with that my Mother had waken up.
    When I was done with my shower I had a Lean Cuisine for lunch and spent the rest of my before work time chatting with my Mother. It was such a steady evening at work that we never had a moment when we were completely caught up:( We really don't have many quiet weekends anymore, that's for sure. I ended up having a coffee at work around 5pm then a Lean Cuisine for dinner, as well as a protein bar. I got home a little bit late because I was chatting with my co-worker for a while.
    I only have one more day of work to go before I have a day off and I can't wait! It's hard for me to tell whether or not my potential cold has progressed into a full blown cold or allergies at this point. My throat feels a lot better but I now have some nose running going on. I think tomorrow is going to be the day when it either progresses or goes away. I did a lot less hand washing at work than usual this weekend because of the lack of a sink in the main area. I thought I handled the anxiety pretty well but I was obviously using a lot more waterless hand cleanser...AKA Purell. When I felt I really had to wash my hands I went into the break room, which only happened about three times. Alright, that's all I have for now.

Day Three Hundred and Eleven.

    I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night and was very tired when I woke up this morning. We had an appointment to visit a potential wedding venue at 10am so we had to get up around 9am. After we stopped and got some coffee we went right there. My Mother met us at the venue and we toured the place for over an hour. It was really amazing and pretty much has everything we want. The only problem is that it's definitely on the expensive side. I decided to hold the date I'm looking at because they'll do that for us free of charge, for about a week, which gives me some time to do other research. We're already booked to visit another venue on Tuesday so we'll see how that goes.
    My fiancé ended up going go work from the venue while my Mother drove me back home. When we got back to my house I had some steel cut oatmeal for lunch then I folded my laundry from the day before. My Mother and I also had some pretty extensive conversations about wedding planning as well. Before I knew it I had to go to work:(
    It ended up being a pretty busy night at work and I was thinking I wished I had gotten more sleep the night before. It did make the evening go by pretty fast. I didn't have dinner at work but just a Fiber One bar and a Kashi bar. When I got home my Mother had made me a salad with the left over chicken from Tuesday night, which was excellent! I'm pretty frustrated about all of the physical changes which are happening at work. The most frustrating part is that they took the sink out of the main work area, which is driving me crazy. Now the closest sink is a bit of a walk away. I work in a medical field where there are times you really have to wash your hands because of cross contamination and it's really annoying that we don't have a sink in our main area! It's not just me whose frustrated but the powers to be claim that we don't have the space because of new additions. I think that it's ridiculous! Well I'm too tired to write more tonight....until next time.

Day Three Hundred and Ten.

    There was a rush of relief that went over me when I woke up today and realized it would be the earliest I'd have to get up for the next two weeks:) Tomorrow I start my evening shift week and then I'm on vacation for another week so I doubt I'm going to have to set my alarm clock for 5:55am! Well let's hope not anyway. I got to work right on time today and again I had a trainee. It was the same one I was working with on Monday and Wednesday, so I was used to being with him. The day was pretty busy but still seemed to drag. When I was all finished with work I had to run a few errands before heading home. If you can believe it or not I actually woke up with a sore throat so I had to get some cough drops and Airborne. I can't seem to catch a break this summer and my fiancé said this potential cold is probably because my immune system is weakened from the surgery.
    When I got home I carefully started a load of wash and then took a shower. My fiancé arrived a little bit after 6pm and we decided to go out to dinner before meeting up with some friends. I was nervous to go out and eat because it was the first time since my surgery since I'd eaten out. I ended up getting a turkey sandwich on a croissant with a side Caesar salad and I didn't have any problems! I hadn't spent time with this group of friends for a while so it was a nice evening out. We were actually watching a mutual friends band so that was fun. My fiancé and I were the last to leave because after our friends band played there was a Pearl Jam cover band who were amazing, so we stayed for most of their set as well.
    I'm trying not to over wash my hands because I don't want to get my new ring all soapy and it's been going pretty well. When I take my shower or do a lot of washing I just take my ring off. Well three more days of work until my day off so I'm certainly hoping this weekend goes well. That's all for now.

Day Three Hundred and Nine.

    At work today I was in a position where I'm not usually placed and I also had a trainee. It happens to be a position in which I used to love to work in but then I transitioned away from it over the last couple of years. It all came back to me so we ended up having a pretty decent day:) I was able to have my coffee right around 9am and eat my breakfast snack as well. I had to get out of work early today because I had to get to an appointment on the other side of town by 4pm. I made it in time for my appointment and since I was near the mall I decided to stop by the Macy's while I was there.
    For a couple of months now I've been using a face cream that I got at Macy's, which is made by Clinique, for this dark spot which has appeared on my fore head. It's quite expensive so when I first bought it I almost decided against it since I wasn't sure if it was going to work. I will say that I think it's a wonderful product and has definitely helped lighten the spot. It's also great because it hasn't dried my skin out or anything since I've been using it. Anyway, I just ran out of the bottle this morning so I had to get a replacement. I liked the clerk because she didn't try to sell me anything else and she commented on my beautiful engagement ring:)
    When I got home it was already around 5:30pm and I cleaned the downstairs bathroom a little bit before taking a shower. After my shower I folded the laundry from yesterday and then proceeded to start balancing my checkbook. Before I really got into it I called my Mother and spoke with her for a while. Then I called my second to oldest sister and spoke with her for a while. I couldn't believe when I got off of the phone with my sister that it was already 8pm! I made a lean cuisine for dinner, balanced my checkbook then paid bills.
    It was wonderful catching up with my second to oldest sister, so the phone call was definitely worth it! She has a way of saying just the right thing when I need to hear it the most. For instance I was telling her about how my co-workers think it's impossible to plan a wedding by December and how it's making me second guess my original plan. She put things into perspective for me about how most people really make too big of a deal about it and that it's definitely something I could make happen if I really want to. Honestly, it's not even been a week and I'm almost sick of talking about my wedding so I don't know how some people do it for two years!
    I have been feeling pretty good the last two days and it's definitely helping to keep me positive during this long stretch of work. I think that a huge reason is because I'm keeping to my low fat post surgery diet. Tomorrow night we have plans to go out to dinner for the first time since my surgery and I hope I make the right choice when picking what to get. I'm probably going to try a low fat wrap option or a salad if there's nothing fried in it. Alright well that's it for now!

Day Three Hundred and Eight.

    When I got to work today a co-worker and I made a last minute switch in the areas were would be working in today. She was supposed to be training the person I had on Monday but wasn't as familiar with the area as I was so we decided to just swap. I typically don't like switching at the last minute but it worked out pretty well today. It wasn't that busy but there was plenty going on to keep us occupied. I managed to take a break for coffee and breakfast around 11am. It was also meeting day and I ended up going to the later one. After I left work I stopped at the food store to pick up some rice for dinner tonight and a few other items before going home.
    When I got home I sorted through the mail and then very carefully put a load of laundry in. It took me three trips downstairs because I'm still on lifting restrictions. Once I got it started I took a quick shower and I wasn't completely finished when my fiancé arrived. He cut out of work a little bit early today because he had an eye appointment around 4:30pm. Actually, I shouldn't say that he cut out early because ideally that's the time he should be able to leave work everyday! It was exciting having him at my house so early so we managed to do a lot of chatting before we had to make dinner.
    We had tilapia on the grill for dinner with whole grain rice and vegetables. While my fiancé grilled the tilapia I cooked the rest of the ground beef I had in the refrigerator, which we were going to use for burgers the other night. I didn't want it to go to waste so now I'm just going to freeze it and we can use it for something later on when I'm feeling ready to try it again. After dinner we put a movie on but both proceeded to fall asleep around 9pm. It's amazing how much better I felt today than yesterday. I can only assume it's because I ate that beef this weekend and Monday. I think I may have over did it a bit today between the laundry and then I did a lot of dishes after dinner tonight. I may have to take it easy tomorrow. Alright, until next time:)

Day Three Hundred and Seven.

    I was extremely tired when I woke up this morning and found it very hard to get out of bed. Even though I didn't want to, I did get out of bed and got to work on time. Since my surgery I've been getting up a little bit earlier than normal because it's been taking me longer to get ready for work. In actuality it's really the time I should be getting up in order to get to work on time:) When I got to work today you would have thought it was a Monday because nothing was going right. Half of the computer systems were down and we had to manually do a lot of the things which are normally automated. That made the morning very hectic but it also helped make it go by fast. I didn't end up getting my coffee until after 12pm!
    I went right home after work and two of the wedding venues I had emailed on Sunday gave me a call, so I was talking to them for a while. Afterwards, I did clean the kitchen floor up in a few spots where it looked the worst and then I took a shower. I was thinking about how bad I wanted to do a load of laundry but I still need help from someone to carry everything down the stairs:( My fiancé arrived around 6:30pm and we decided to make grilled chicken salads for dinner. Since he's going to be coming over tomorrow night as well I turfed the laundry to then! I just realized that up until now I've still been using the term "boyfriend", but now he's my fiancé....so I'll start using that:)
    My fiancé and I spent the rest of the evening looking online for wedding venues. There's a lot to think about in terms of the venues! Reality is setting in that I'm not sure if we're going to be able to plan a wedding by December, but we'll see. I was working in an area today where I usually wash my hands a lot but I was trying to suppress it because I was wearing my new ring. It helped that I didn't really get into anything that messy today which would normally send me running to the sink. As much as I hate to say it these whole post surgery restrictions have actually been helping my OCD a lot. I've really learned that I can go a few days without doing laundry! Well I'm going to get to bed early tonight!

Day Three Hundred and Six.

    One of my readers commented on my blog yesterday about how it brought tears to her eyes reading about my proposal. It made me re-read it because I didn't remember it being written so well. Just as I thought, I was slightly disappointed in how I ultimately described the day. I think that yesterday was just too exciting of a day for me to really process everything that happened. I don't think I expressed how thrilled I am to be engaged to the most amazing man I've ever met. I truly believe that it took all of my previous relationships to finally find my perfect man. I never thought that I would ever be able to say "yes" to a proposal without second thoughts, but yesterday the answer came without hesitation. It was the only word in my mind for those few seconds.
    I was a little bit nervous about going into work today because I knew I would be getting a lot of attention. It was sweet because every one of my co-workers seemed genuinely happy for me. My boyfriend got a lot of compliments on how great he did picking the ring out:) A lot of people were surprised about how soon we plan on getting married but I explained that we don't want to wait. I had a trainee today and I must say that it was one of the slowest days, on this particular unit, that I've ever experienced. It wasn't a bad Monday that's for sure.
    I drove myself to work today and everything went fine. When I got home I spent some time on the internet and then I took a quick shower. Afterwards I relaxed on the couch for a while and then heated up some of the leftover spaghetti from Saturday night for dinner. I was slightly upset with myself for eating that because it was more fattening of a meal than I would have liked, but there was a lot left and I didn't want to have to waste it. I didn't get to do much cleaning today because I'm still on restrictions:( I would love to be able to clean the floors or vacuum because that's driving me crazy. Maybe later this week I can do a little bit if I'm feeling up to it. I'm not going to lie when I got home from work today I was pretty sore so I had to rest for a while:( Alright, well that's all I've got for now!

Day Three Hundred and Five.

    Today was a very special day and I'll explain why. When I woke up my boyfriend had gotten up to go downstairs and put my dog outside. Now, this is normal when he gets up before me, so I didn't think anything of it. When he returned to the bedroom he asked me what was on my dogs collar and I wasn't sure what he was getting at until I looked and saw a ring on it! I was so surprised that he was really proposing to me that I started shaking. He asked me if I would marry him and after I asked him if he was sure, I said yes without hesitation:) He took the ring off of my dogs collar, gave me my glasses and put it on my finger. I was so happy and it took me half of the day to calm down!
    I spent most of the morning calling my family to let them know the good news! I told a select number of my close friends but didn't say anything on Fbook because I want to tell my closest work friends in person. We have already set a tentative date for December and I have emailed three venues to see if they would be available. When we first started talking about getting engaged we both agreed that we didn't want a long engagement. I also think that a December wedding would be beautiful because most places would be already decorated for Christmas.
    Due to the fact I was so excited today it took me a while to get into doing anything productive, but I finally did. After we finished watching a movie we didn't finish last night, my boyfriend helped me with my laundry and he spent some time outside with weed killer. We also spent some time on the back porch relaxing a bit. He also cleaned the grill so we could use it. For dinner we had chicken sausage, which we had bought from Trader Joe's, with a stir fry mix. Even though I didn't have any instant bad reaction after eating beef last night I did have a crampy stomach this morning. I'm actually blaming it more on the large amount of guacamole I ate then the beef. At any rate, we decided not to make burgers tonight like originally planned, just to be on the safe side.
    Tomorrow starts an 8 day in a row stretch of work which sounds intimidating, but after the good news today, I'm too happy to let anything get me down. Also, in just two weeks I will be on my second summer vacation and hopefully even more on the road to recovery. I actually had to remind myself today that I'm still healing because after I did too much my stomach ached a bit. I ended up sitting down with the heating pad for a while and then I felt much better. Hopefully in a few more weeks I will be back to normal. Alright, I've blabbed enough for one night.
   

Day Three Hundred and Four.

    It felt good to wake up and not have to go to work today. Due to the fact that we didn't stay up that late last night we were able to get up a little bit after 9am. I had no problem sleeping at all and I felt very refreshed when I got up:) I had to get to the bank by 12pm so we decided that today would be a good day for me to go on my first outing since surgery. First we stopped at Dunkin Donut's and got coffee, then we headed to the bank. After the bank we had to stop by the airport to pick up my boyfriends luggage, which was lost during his return flight home. Then we went to Trader Joe's followed by a trip to Target.
    I had heard a lot about Trader Joe's but have never actually been in one and I was surprised how awesome it was. They had a lot of nice fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Also, they had a huge amount of frozen meal selections which all looked very good. We got a bunch of things we really didn't anticipate getting. One of the most unique things we bought was avocados, which as a rule I hate, because they looked great and I thought guacamole would be a nice snack. We also got a watermelon and pomegranate seeds:) I stocked up at Target on some household items I needed such as Fiber One bars for work, soap and paper towels. When we got home it was still early and my boyfriend made the guacamole as well as chopped the watermelon.
    The rest of the day was filled with relaxation, including sitting out on the porch for a while and watching some TV. We had spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, which my boyfriend made. I felt kind of guilty because he did most of the work today but I am still on the mend:( He also took the time to wash his clothes from his trip today....he managed to get it all in one load, which I still find hard to believe! Tonight was the first night since my surgery that I tried beef and so far I feel okay. I didn't have a huge portion, like I usually do, because I was very nervous about seeing how it would effect me.
    I'm pretty proud of myself for not over doing it with the house cleaning the past few days. There are a lot of things I'd like to do but I want to give myself time to heal. It's actually pretty incredible how dirty a house can get after only one week of not staying on top of the chores. The most notable thing are the floors, which constantly seem like there's debris on them. When I think about it, I do spend a lot of time cleaning the kitchen floor as well as the rest of the hard wood floors in my house.  As soon as I feel up to it I'm going to have to vacuum! Well I'm tired so I'm going to head to bed.

Day Three Hundred and Three.

    I got great sleep the night before last and I was able to wake up after pressing snooze only twice! Yesterday at work I didn't have a trainee so I wanted to get in early so I would give myself time to get to my work station. With my oldest sister giving me a ride in, I managed to get to where I needed to be early. The day was very busy, with not any time for breaks, but I was glad that I had everything taken care of by 3:30pm. I got my coffee around 9am and grabbed everything I needed for lunch so I wouldn't have to make the walk again. My co-worker gave me a ride home at the end of the day.
    My oldest sister had taken my Mother back home around 1pm yesterday so I was alone again when I got home. It was weird but sort of a nice break since I've had house guests for over a week. I sorted through some papers I had on the counter and then took a shower. My boyfriend was arriving back home around 6pm so I had plenty of time to do some reading before he showed up. It worked out well because reading was a good distraction for me. I had a lot of urges to do house cleaning but I'm not supposed to be doing anything yet so the reading was a good idea!
    It was around 7:30pm when my boyfriend arrived and we had a hard time figuring out what to have for dinner. We decided to get Chinese food and I must say I was very nervous that it would disagree with me. I ended up getting chicken with broccoli and white rice. It was delicious and so far I haven't had any problems digesting it:) We watched a movie on the couch for the rest of the night and we both fell asleep. My hands continue to look good because I haven't been cleaning around the house and where I've been at work hasn't been detrimental on them. Let's hope I can keep this up. Until next time.

Day Three Hundred and Two.

    I was very relieved when I woke up this morning that I finally got some sleep last night. My twin sister gave me a ride into work and I got there a few minutes early. It's nice not having to worry about parking and then waiting for the shuttle bus! My work day was so much better than it was yesterday. It wasn't as busy and I was in a much better mood because I was rested and less sore. I still have been having about 800mg of ibuprofen a day but that's really not bad considering I couldn't even get myself out of bed last Friday. My twin sister left while I was at work today so my oldest sister, who came last night, picked me up from work today. I was home a little bit after 4pm.
    When I got home I spent some time on the back porch soaking up vitamin D before I took my afternoon shower. Then I thought I would be folding my laundry, which one of my family members put in my laundry bag on my bed, but it was already folded! It was a nice surprise but I felt slightly guilty because I can still fold....I just can't lift. It turned out to be my twin sister before she left:) Anyway, that saved some time so I decided to make some tea and spend a little bit of time on the computer. A sudden wave of tiredness came over me so before I knew it I had to sit back down on the couch again:(
    My Mother and my oldest sister got dinner together which was a hodge podge of leftovers from what we've been eating all week. It was peas, string beans with almonds, broccoli, turkey, and chicken. It was a very good dinner then afterwards we sat down and watched a movie together in the living room. My hands still look pretty good and I've definitely done a good job of suppressing my hand washing this week. It really helped that the last two days I was at work I had a trainee, so he was doing a lot of the running around for me.
    My boyfriend is due back home tomorrow and I hope that his flight doesn't get delayed because I'm looking forward to seeing him. Also, my Mother is going to go back to her house and I will still need a little bit of help! I think that my Mother has done more than her share of taking care of me:) Alright, until next time.
   

Day Three Hundred and One.

    I pretty much had about three hours of sleep last night. It was horrible because it was one of those nights where I was sitting up getting more and more stressed the longer the time was passing as I sat still awake. I know that I eventually fell asleep because I had a few dreams but it was definitely after 2pm. When I woke up I was so tired and certainly upset that I didn't have another day off before I had to go back to work. My second to oldest sister gave me a ride into work, which was nice, and it was meeting day. Where I was working I was due to go to the morning meeting and I arrived in plenty of time. Since it was my first day back it took me a while to get to where I was going to be all day with everyone asking me how I was doing and all. I ended up training a new hire, which in some ways was a nice break for me. However there were times I wished I had more sleep so I could have been a little more patient with him.
    My twin sister picked me up from work and she got there right on time. When we got home I had a mini breakdown. I really wasn't feeling that great after doing a lot more walking around at work than I had anticipated today, so I frustrated when I got home. One of the first things my Mother decided to do was lecture me about going back to work so soon. I got really upset because I didn't know what she wanted me to do. At some point I was going to have to go back to work and the physician said I could go back when I was off prescription pain medications, which I am. I just don't think she can relate to the fact that you can't just take as much time off as you want in my field. Anyway, after my breakdown I asked my twin sister to help me put a load of laundry in and then I took a shower.
    After my shower I had calmed down and apologized to my Mother for being so mean with her. After all she has been taking care of me for this whole week and I should just be grateful that I have her. I also apologized to my twin sister for being upset around her too. It was just a harsh realization today that I'm really going to need a while to heal up and I definitely have to take it easy. I think it's frustrating that I can't even do the most easy of household chores. I love staying on top of my laundry and now I can't even do a single load on my own. Hopefully, this will only go on for a few more weeks and when I finally heal I will be better than I have been in months. After all I did sign up for this and should have been completely aware that it would take a while for me to feel the results.
    I didn't do a whole bunch of hand washing at work today, which was good. I didn't even clean my work station off because the new hire was already sitting down working by the time I got there. That bothered me a little bit but I just tried not to touch anything on the counter. Just getting through the day was my biggest concern. I think tonight I'm going to try to get to bed really early. Let's just hope I can sleep.

Day Three Hundred.

    I did not have a good sleep last night and was tired when I got up, but didn't want to sleep in to late since I have to get up early tomorrow. When I woke up I went downstairs and had some coffee with a piece of toast for breakfast. This morning I decided not to head straight for the couch but to pay some bills and balance my checkbook first. I spent quite a while doing it this morning and got myself completely organized. By the time I was done with all of that it was about time for lunch so I had some oatmeal with blueberries. Right after that I figured I should go ahead and take a shower since I had so much energy.
    The shower went pretty well and I didn't need any help from my Mother. It feels pretty good doing things on my own again! Unfortunately, after I took my shower I started feeling very nauseous....so back to the couch I went. My Mother and I watched the second half of a movie that was already on and then another movie afterwards. The afternoon went by so fast and I was already getting pretty nervous about having to go back to work tomorrow:( The plan for the evening was that my twin sister and second to oldest sister were coming to my house to visit me. My twin sister showed up first a little bit after 6pm and then my second to oldest sister arrived a little bit before 7pm. We had turkey sandwiches with rice and peas for dinner, which all tasted very good!
    I'm going to head to bed early tonight so that I give myself plenty of time to fall asleep and rest up for my first day back. I'm in a position where I can sit all day so that is going to be the major plus. I'm still pretty slow getting around so I've got to give myself enough time in the morning to get myself ready. Also, tomorrow will be the first day in the car since my surgery so luckily my sister is going to drive me in. I did more hand washing today than I have in several days because I was able to do a little bit more around the house. I didn't do a lot but I at least wiped down the living room table and cleaned my bathroom a bit. Well, here's hoping tomorrow goes okay. Until next time:)

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Nine.

    I went to bed later than I have since Thursday, last night, which was around 11pm but I still woke up pretty early in pain. Last night I only took one prescription pain medication before bed, instead of the usual two. This time when I woke up the pain was more so on my back because I can't roll over and sleep on my side or belly. I readjusted myself by putting another pillow under my back and then I fell asleep until 10am. I managed to get myself out of bed alone and my Father just had to watch me walk down the stairs. I had two cups of coffee this morning along with oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast. I spent a lot more time after breakfast walking around this morning and even went outside for a little while.
    I did have to go back to my position on the couch after a while so I decided to read some of my book. While I was reading my Mother took a shower and my Father went to the food store to get us some supplies. When he got back I ended up turning the TV on, then we watched a movie together. I got another delivery of flowers today, which was very unexpected, from my boyfriends parent's. They were very thoughtful just like all of the others! My Father decided to head home a little bit before dinner so after he left my Mother prepared dinner.
    I was excited for dinner tonight which was tuna fish sandwiches with potatoes and broccoli. I ate more tonight than I have since before the surgery and I've been feeling pretty good since. My Mother and I ended up watching some TV for the rest of the evening. I have things to take care of tomorrow including paying some bills so I hope I feel even better. Also, tomorrow is my last day off before I have to head back to work so I'm already getting nervous about the transition. I probably washed my hands more today than I have since before the surgery but that's because I've been able to do a little bit more around the house. Alright well I guess I should get to bed!

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Eight.

    I went to bed around 10pm last night and I took two pain medications thinking it would get me through the night. Unfortunately, I woke up at 4am in a lot of pain and had to take another one. After that one and a heat pad on my belly I was able to fall asleep until I woke up around 9am. I had some coffee with a little bit of half and half then a piece of toast with preservatives for breakfast. I was thinking I would try not to take any of the prescription pain medications today so I just took 600mg of Ibuprofen. Finally, it was time for my shower. I was so glad that I was able to get in the shower and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting.
    I got comfortable on the couch after my shower and then my boyfriend had to leave for his business trip. I was very sad when he left and upset that I would have to finish recovering all week without him. I'm lucky that my Mother and Father are still around to help me out. All I did this afternoon was watch some movies and nap. I was ultimately able to do a lot more today than I have since the surgery so that's a good sign. I still have two more days off before I have to go to work, so hopefully I will be ready.
    For dinner my Mother made broccoli and grilled chicken. It was pretty good but a bit bland because she didn't want to use butter or anything which would upset my stomach. I'm getting very restless around the house because there are things I wish I could do but just can't. There's also my frustration with not being in control of anything that is going on....like the dishes or the laundry. I just have to sit back and let others help me until I'm feeling better. It's just hard for me to do. Alright, that's all for this day.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Seven.

    I was so nervous when I got to the hospital for the surgery yesterday morning and I was very glad my twin sister was there. She definitely helped to take my mind off of things. We had to get there at 5:30am and it seemed like everything was going so slowly at first but before I knew it I was being wheeled into the operating room. I woke up almost three hours later and it was done. I woke up in the post anesthesia care unit and was not there very long until they moved me to the ambulatory surgery unit. Once I was there they called my twin sister to come see me. I was pleasantly surprised when my oldest sister showed up too! Apparently she had come to wait with my twin sister, which was extremely sweet. My second to oldest sister was going to come to my house after she was done work but I told her not too. Already I was getting nervous about having company around while I felt so bad, so I told her I would rather see her when I'm feeling better next week.
    I was in ambulatory surgery until I voided for the first time then I could go home. I actually was delayed about half an hour because right when I was going to leave I almost threw up:( My oldest sister went home and my twin sister drove me back to my house. It was so sweet because when I walked in I had flowers from my parent's in a nice Lenox vase, flowers from my oldest sister as well as second to oldest sister. I also had a big turtle balloon, a blue snoopy stuffed animal, and a card which my twin sister bought me! I got comfortable on the couch and pretty much spent the rest of the day there. I was able to eat some crackers throughout the day as well as some dinner. It was a group effort between my Mom, Dad and twin sister making dinner which was cute to listen to from the couch. They made turkey cutlet with potatoes and green beans with almonds. My boyfriend came to my house after he was done work and he brought me flowers with a card too. He kept me company on the couch while everyone else made dinner.
    After dinner I took a few pain medications and went to bed around 9pm then I woke up around 6am. At that point I took another pain medication and went back to sleep until 10am. I had a bit of a difficult time falling to sleep last night but once I was asleep I was out. For breakfast I had a piece of toast with some preservatives on it. Then I got back into my couch spot:) I have been trying to get up and walk around every hour or so because it's been helping. A few hours after I take my pain medication I feel the best. I hate banana's but my Mother is insisting that they are great for my condition so I had one of those during the day today as well as some crackers. We're going to have some leftover turkey from last night for dinner.
    I hate not being independent that's for sure. I feel really bad constantly having to ask everyone for help. I can't even get out of bed or off of the couch without someone supporting my back because my belly is so sore. Plus, I can't shower until tomorrow which has been really difficult. The first thing I ever want to do after leaving the hospital is shower. I'm honestly just trying to focus on healing so that I can get back to my old self. Today I got two more bouquets of flowers from a couple of my co-workers, which was so sweet. There are flowers all over the house! I'm hoping that tomorrow I can start weaning myself off of the pain medications, although so far today I've only had two. I have also been taking ibuprofen which is helping a lot as well.
    Obviously my hand washing hasn't been that bad because I haven't done anything around the house which would instigate it. I did take a few minutes today to go through the mail because the pile was making me anxious. I'm already getting upset about my boyfriend leaving tomorrow. He is going to San Diego for a business trip and I'm definitely going to miss him. My Mom is going to be around for as long as I need her which is good. I think my Dad is looking to leave on Monday if I'm feeling better. Alright, well that's all I'll write for now.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Six.

    I was a little too under the weather to write yesterday's blog so I'll condense it into one blog tonight.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Five.

    This morning was very stressful for me but I finally made the decision to go for the surgery. In a weird way a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders after I decided. I am very lucky I have such a supportive family and boyfriend that listened to me for the last two weeks on this topic to nauseam. I did a last minute load of laundry today then I had to leave early for work to get those pictures taken of my car, due to the insurance switch. Everything went really smoothly.
    I had a busy night at work which was nice because it kept my thoughts occupied. When I got home my Mom, Dad, and twin sister were at my house. I had time to eat at work and am currently not allowed to eat or drink anything. This blog is short because I have to get up in four hours for my surgery. I sure hope that tomorrow night I will be able to write my blog. Here's hoping all goes well:)

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Four.

    I was very glad that I went to sleep early last night because I felt pretty refreshed when I woke up this morning. After my cup of coffee I decided it would be a good idea to use the time I had to get some car insurance quotes. I've been thinking about switching because I'm paying so much under my current carrier and because the bill is due next week I figured now would be the perfect time. Anyway, I called the same insurance company which insures my house and I got a great rate. The phone call took me about an hour but it's amazing how much it's going to save me. I probably should have gotten another quote but that phone call took me so long and it's going to be saving me so much that I figured I should just go with this one. After that extensive phone call I had some lunch.
    I have been meaning to wash my bed sheets so I took them off of the bed and put them in the wash. I also took the time to turn my mattress around since I haven't done it once in the 3 years I've had it. Once I put clean sheets on my bed I took a shower and got ready for work. I also spent some time playing fetch with my dog:) She seemed a little bit lonely today since I was on the phone pretty much all morning. I didn't have a lot of time this afternoon because I had to get to work on time due to the fact it was meeting day.
    I got to work on time and after the meeting I had a very upsetting interaction with a co-worker. I knew this particular co-worker had her gallbladder out a few years ago but I didn't necessarily want to talk with her about her ordeal, so I never initiated the conversation. Well, she apparently had heard I was getting mine out and must of felt it her duty to tell me how terribly painful it was going to be and that I would need at least two weeks off of work! This was a complete shock to me because yesterday a good friend of mine called me with advice on her surgery and it didn't seem nearly as bad. I was pretty much in tears after this conversation today, in fact another co-worker of mine had to consul me. It made the rest of the evening at work very long and my mind was definitely a little bit distracted.
    I was able to call my boyfriend on my way home from work because he was still up and he told me to not listen to everyone else. It's hard not to though....especially when in the back of my mind I know that this surgery might not even alleviate my symptoms. My obsessive self has been doing research all night trying to figure out if this is going to be a huge mistake. I'm worried that something else might be going on and that this is the complete wrong diagnosis. I have a lot of thinking to do before tomorrow morning. I'm a mess:(

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Three.

    I stayed up late last night and watched a movie so I was very tired when I had to wake up around 9:15am to get my dog to the groomers today. I did manage to get her there on time and I was struck with a wave of energy. I was able to deposit my check at the bank and make a food store run before coming home. I also got a coffee and treated myself to an Oreo crème donut, which I regretted right after I ate it:) I'm not sure why I felt the need to treat myself today, because it's not like I've done anything great lately, so maybe I just felt like I needed it for no reason at all. Anyway, when I got home I took the opportunity of not having my dog in the house to clean the downstairs floors with the Swiffer Wetjet. After I did that I read several more chapters of "Gone With the Wind" and it felt great. It was so nice actually sitting down for a couple of hours to just read my book. I was missing my dog though:)
    I got so involved in reading that I almost forgot how late it had gotten and I had to hurry up to get myself ready to pick my dog up on time. I quickly gathered some laundry, so I could do a regular load, but I didn't start it yet because it wasn't completely full. I took a quick shower then pretty much ran out the door after changing with soaking wet hair and everything. I got there right in time and went home. I found some more clothes which needed washing so I started the load of laundry and read some more of my book before my boyfriend showed up.
    I thought it would be nice to have a dinner which I wouldn't be able to have in a while tonight, so I came up with the idea of lasagna. Unfortunately, neither my boyfriend nor I wanted to make it so we went out to eat. I ate a huge amount then we stopped and got ice cream on the way home! I am not feeling great at all and am greatly regretting the dinner choice. The next few nights I am definitely going to be eating more sensibly....that's for sure. When we got home we just watched a little bit of TV and that was pretty much it.
    It's amazing how great my hands look lately....in fact my co-worker told me how nice they looked the other day. It's so great not having them cut up and actually presentable. I am consciously trying to cut down the hand washing and I'm sure that the warm weather is helping too. I hope I can keep it up! Okay I'm exhausted.

Day Two Hundred and Ninety Two.

    I had a very emotional morning prior to going to work and a lot had to do with the fact that my primary care physician got back to me first thing in the morning. Instead of her giving me the okay that surgery on Friday would be a good thing she said if I wanted her to she would schedule some alternative testing. I was pretty upset because if she thought something else could have been going on she should have told me in the first place, before having me talk to surgery! Now, being in the health care profession I understand that you need to be careful how you give advice because you can get sued. However, I was upset that someone who I trust couldn't give me an honest answer and instead gave me some wishy washy response which made me feel even worse.
    Due to the fact that I was distracted this morning I didn't get much done around the house but I did put the spare room sheets in the washing machine. As I was getting ready for work I thought I had saved enough time to walk my dog but when I finally had time to take her it started storming:( She has to go to the groomers tomorrow so I'm definitely going to have to walk her when she gets back home or she'll really be upset. Right around the time I had lunch I spoke with my boyfriend on the phone and I felt bad because it was a conversation all about how upset I felt. Even though I was a mess he was really sweet and made me feel better, like he usually does.
    So tonight at work I actually had a conversation with one of the ER doctors who took care of me when I first had these issues several weeks ago. He told me that with the results of the one scan, which proved abnormal, at some point in my life I would have to have my gallbladder out. He also said that this gallbladder defect will never get better and can possibly be controlled by diet, but it's difficult to do that. I definitely trust him and I think it was something I needed to hear. I would rather have it out now, then wait to get it out when I'm older and the recovery won't be so easy. At this point I'm going to try to stop freaking myself out and just go into this with the attitude that I need to do this to feel better. I actually feel like my surgeon probably has the same view point or he wouldn't be doing the surgery in the first place.
    I did a good amount of hand washing tonight including using a lot of water-less hand sanitizer. I knew I would based on where I was working, but honestly it could have been way worse. Tomorrow is my day off and I have a few errands to run, but not a huge amount. I think I need a few hours with "Gone With the Wind". Alright, until next time.
   

Day Two Hundred and Ninety One.

    I was upset when I woke up today because it was much later than I had hoped it would be. Honestly, there's no way I would have been able to wake up early because I had a hard time sleeping. I was up late watching a Elizabeth Taylor movie I had never seen before called "The V.I.P's". I did fall asleep for about half an hour during it but when I went up to bed I wasn't feel well and I had a hard time getting back to sleep. Anyway, when I got up this morning I made some coffee and then my Mother called. We had a pretty long phone conversation about later this week, then I had some lunch. After lunch I spoke with my boyfriend on the phone until it was time for me to start getting ready for work.
    Before I got in the shower I put a load of laundry in. That caught me up on the regular clothes so tomorrow I can wash the bedding in the spare room. After I folded the laundry from the day before I finished getting ready for work then headed there. I felt bad that I didn't have time to take my dog for a walk today, so I really hope I get to take her tomorrow. I was working with one of my closest friends at work tonight so it was a decent evening which went by really fast. We ordered out for dinner but I tried to stay some what healthy, therefore I got a turkey club wrap. After work I ended up talking in the parking lot with my co-worker pretty late and I didn't get home until around midnight.
    I'm pretty nervous about this coming week because I don't have a lot of time until my pending surgery. I'm hoping that I hear from my primary care doctor tomorrow so I can discuss with her about whether she agrees that having the surgery is the best option or not. I did a good job this weekend of not over washing my hands but it could be contributed to the fact that it wasn't terribly busy. I wasn't in a lot of different areas, like I am when it's busy, therefore I wasn't washing my hands as much. I'm really trying to keep my hands looking nice because I want to get them polished again. I can't have them polished for surgery, so I'm going to have to wait until afterwards. This evening week I'm working in an area which definitely increases the amount that I wash my hands, so we'll see how they look come Friday. Well that's all for tonight.
   

Day Two Hundred and Ninety.

    My boyfriend and I woke up around 10am this morning, which was a good thing because we got to spend some more time with our company. My boyfriends Brother and girlfriend were still here so we figured we should make them some breakfast. My boyfriend whipped up an egg breakfast casserole while I made coffee. Our company left around 1pm and I spent a few more minutes with my boyfriend until he left, so I could get ready for work. I managed to get a load of laundry started prior to taking a shower and then getting ready for work.
    The evening at work was pretty steady but not busy enough to make it terrible. However, for some reason it did seem to drag on a bit. I got a coffee around 6pm and then ate my dinner around 8pm, which was perfect timing. A few people I usually work with on my weekends had switched out for various reasons, so it was a bit of a different crew. It was actually nice because I was able to catch up with some of my co-workers I don't usually get to talk to much.
    I didn't stay late so I got home at a decent time and then my boyfriend gave me a call. I must say that I feel extremely exhausted so I think I'm going to try to go to sleep early. When I got to work today I was extremely anxious because our break room doesn't have a sink anymore, due to the fact they're changing its location. Then the soap by the main sink was empty so I was panicking that I wasn't going to be able to wash my hands at all! I was crafty by stealing the soap from the break room and putting it in the main sink area:) I wasn't the only one who was missing the soap so everyone was glad when I procured it. Alright, we'll that's all for tonight.

Day Two Hundred and Eighty Nine.

    My boyfriend and I slept in pretty late yesterday....in fact it was after noon when we finally got out of bed. It's because we went to sleep so late the previous night but it's been a long time since we've gotten to sleep in, so I didn't feel bad. It actually felt pretty awesome. When we got up we decided to make a big breakfast, which consisted of French toast and sausage patties. I can't even imagine how many calories it was but I haven't had French toast in a really long time so we decided to splurge! It took me a while to clean up the kitchen but I think it was worth it. The night before we saw that the local baseball team was playing in town and there would be fireworks afterwards, so that's what we were going to do that evening. My boyfriends brother and girlfriend actually came out to go to the game with us as well!
    They arrived at my house around 5pm and we headed to the field. It was a pretty big crowd so we were only able to get standing room only seating but we brought canvas chairs so we could sit. It was a very fun time. We also were in the perfect spot to see the fireworks:) When the game was over we ate dinner then headed home. I drove us home and then everyone was pretty tired but we put a movie on anyway. Of course I was the only one who stayed up to watch the movie which ultimately kept me up until 3am.
    I ended up having to use public restrooms several times last night again which always makes me uncomfortable. It actually wasn't that bad. I think the worst part of the whole thing is when I have to wash my hands. I get really self conscious because there's a lot of people who come to the sink and leave, while I'm still washing my hands. Luckily at an event like the baseball game there's so many people in and out no one really notices. It's more of an issue where you have a bathroom with one sink and there's people waiting. I hate that! I understand that I over wash my hands but most people severely under wash them. So really they're looking at me like I'm crazy when in fact they are the ones who aren't even doing it properly! Okay that's all for now.

Day Two Hundred and Eighty Eight.

    Even though it was my day off yesterday I still had to get up early because my pre-op testing appointment was at 8am. I got there in plenty of time and it ended up taking about 2 hours. I parked in meter parking and I just made it back to the car before it ran out:) Afterwards I decided to treat myself to some Dunkin Donut's. I really indulged and tried the new Oreo crème donut and it was amazing! The plan was to make a big Target run but I ended up having to stop at home to use the bathroom first. I went to Target afterwards and spent $200! Luckily, I had finally received the pre-paid Visa card I got for switching cable companies, so I used that. The bill was so huge because I had to get soap, toilet paper and paper towels....among other things but those are the really high cost items. I also got my friend a $50 gift card because she just had her second baby.
    When I got home it was about 1pm and I still hadn't decided about whether I was going to be going to my second to oldest sisters house or not. I texted my boyfriend to see when he would be able to get out of work and he said not until 4pm. At that point I figured it would be so late when we got there that we should just stay. I ended up taking a shower at that point and folding the laundry from the day before, then I balance my checkbook! I was excited to finally balance my checkbook because I feel I have been neglecting it lately. I also made a grooming appointment for my dog for next week because her hair is a little wild. The other thing I did yesterday was give my doctor a call. She is supposed to be calling me back next week at some point before the surgery. I really trust her and value her opinion so I figured it would be a good idea to make sure she thought having the surgery was a good idea.
     Right before my boyfriend got here I was excited when my oldest sister called and said she would stop by to have dinner with us on her way to my second to oldest sisters house. Her and her husband arrived around 7pm so we went to one of our favorite local eateries. It was really nice catching up with them both because I didn't get to talk to them a lot last weekend:) They ended up just leaving us there and walked to our favorite local drink spot, then headed home a little later. We got pretty wet while walking because it kept off and on raining. I used the public restroom several times last night but it didn't bother me that much. All and all it was a nice day off! Well that's it until later.

Day Two Hundred and Eighty Seven.

    When I had to get out of bed this morning I really didn't want to because I was still very tired. I needed to get to work right on time because today was Wednesday meeting day. Even though I didn't have to go to the early one I still had to cover for my co-workers who did. I ended up only being about 3 minutes late which wasn't a problem at all. The day went by pretty fast but again I was training a new person so it made the day very crazy. Sometimes when I'm training I feel like I'm being a nag but honestly getting trained correctly is the most important thing. I think that sometimes people would rather be trained by someone a little more easy going but at least they can assure that with me they'll be trained the right way. Anyway, I got out of work a little later than usual but went right home so it wasn't really a problem.
    I had texted my boyfriend to see what he wanted for dinner but he didn't answer me and that's why I went right home, instead of stopping at the food store. Once home, I ended up sorting through the mail before putting a load of laundry in and taking a shower. As it turns out my boyfriend was still at work when I got out of the shower and we decided on tacos for dinner. He was nice and picked up what we needed:) After we ate dinner we took my dog for a walk and then we watched a little bit of TV.
    I've been trying to decide for a couple of days what to do the next few days because I have off. I was originally going to head to my second to oldest sisters house tonight. Unfortunately, I have pre-op testing tomorrow morning, for surgery next week, so I won't be able to go until tomorrow. It's a bit of a drive and because I have to work this coming weekend it may be a little bit exhausting. I know that I'm going to wish I had gone if I don't, plus it would be nice to see my family on the holiday. At any rate, I'm going to see how the appointment goes tomorrow morning and then make the decision. At some point I'm going to have to balance my checkbook because I feel like I've been neglecting that lately. Alright, I'm exhausted.
   

Day Two Hundred and Eighty Six.

    Wow was today a busy day at work or what! When I got there I realized that I was training another person, so I knew right off the bat that it wouldn't be as smooth as yesterday. Also, I spent the first half an hour talking to my direct supervisor about the possibility of getting the days off I need for the gallbladder removal surgery. When I finally got to work I already felt way behind! The person I was training and I didn't really have time at all for breakfast or lunch, but we both were able to get a coffee around 11am. It was around that time that the scheduling supervisor called me to let me know that she had heard about the time I needed off and would make it happen. I was actually very surprised and relieved about how nice she was about the whole thing:)
    After work I had plans to have dinner with one of my co-workers who I am very close to and haven't hung out with in a long time. In fact this was finally our "Birthday" dinner. Her Birthday was in February and mine was in March! She likes to come over to my house right after work but she usually gives me a head start. When I got home I quickly put my dog outside then rushed upstairs to change into something other than my work clothes. She got to my house right around 4:50pm and we talked at my house for about an hour, then headed to dinner. We ate at a local restaurant that is in the town where I live. I ended up getting the chicken marsala with a side caesar salad and she got the eggplant parmesan with a side salad. We got back home around 8pm and I was glad we finally got a chance to hang out.
    After she left I gathered up the trash, because it was starting to get really smelly in this heat, then took a shower. I have to fold laundry but I'm going to do it right before bedtime. I had a hard time with my OCD at work today because where I was working the nearest sink was out of soap. I was very frustrated because after I wipe down the desk I'm going to be working at, with antibacterial wipes, I usually like to use soap and water to wash my hands. I think most people would just use the waterless hand sanitizer but that really doesn't get rid of all the germs....it's proven. Anyway, because I was training I couldn't really make a big deal out of it so I had to just sit there and get over it. I guess in a lot of ways that's probably the best thing for my OCD because I need to realize that I can get through challenging situations like that. Well that's all for now.