I only have about 6 weeks to go on my TB meds before I am finished! Yay! That means I can arrange to have my gallbladder taken out and can start trying to get pregnant again.  I decided to just go ahead and have the gallbladder taken out.  When it flares up, I hate the symptoms that come along with it.  Not just the pain.  I have nausea for a couple of days after and severe itching of my hands and feet.  My liver doesn't like my gallbladder either.  So, I will just have it taken out.  Hopefully I can get it done by the end of the year.  You know how these HMO's work...SLOW!  And I am changing my insurance plan so it will start on the first of October.  It will be a little more per month but make the surgery cheaper in the long run.  And the company I work for will be changing insurance again at the first of the year, so I will have a chance to change the plan we are on again.

Have I said how much I dislike Alden's job.  We don't see each other much when it is busy and when it is slow he doesn't make any money.  Commission only jobs suck!  I keep trying to convince him to get a different job and then he will have a good couple of months and the money will make it worth it for him to stay.

In June we went home to visit family and to my nieces wedding on June 8th.  It was a good trip but not long enough.  I actually got to spend a lot of time with my family and sister Carrie.  I stayed away from Chrissy as much as I could, only spending 1 day with her.  She is just too unstable to be around much.  My mom is officially retired and is loving it.  Carrie and I took her shopping while I was there and we had a great time.  All of us kids (and dad too) pitched in to give mom money as a retirement gift and then we made sure she spent it on herself. 

Other than that trip we haven't done much this summer.  Work takes up most of our time. 

TB Drama

So here's the whole TB (tuberculosis) drama.  I was exposed to a pt with active TB (he was in a regular room for 3 weeks and not on isolation).  My PPD skin test converted from negative to positive so that means I have the TB germ in my body.  I cannot pass it to other people, unless I get active TB.  So after the skin test came back positive, I had a chest x-ray and went to the employee health clinic.  They did blood work and I started on a medicine called INH (that I was supposed to be on for 9 months).  About 3 weeks later I noticed the whites of my eyes were looking a little yellow and I had very itchy hands and feet and dark urine.  All symptoms of having a reaction to the meds, since it is really hard on the liver.  Basically the medicine was giving me hepatitis.  I went back to the clinic and they got another blood sample.  At this time the doctor realized they didn't do the right blood work the first time (even though he ordered it correctly, it didn't get ordered on the lab paperwork right), so they didn't have a base line liver function test on me.  To make matters more complicated, I have gallstones and have not had my gallbladder removed.  So they don't know if the medicine, the gallstones or a combination of both is causing me to have the symptoms  The doctor took me off the INH and now I have to have my blood drawn every week until my levels come back down.  Then they will try me on a different medication.  It wouldn't be too bad only having my blood drawn once a week, but I am a hard stick.  My veins are little, they roll and are hard to find.  They usually poke me 3-4 times before calling in the doctor to do the blood draw himself.  Ugh!  The only reason I am going through all this is because if you take the medicine before you get symptoms, you are less likely to develop active TB during your life.  The meds help keep the germs dormant in your body and keep them from multiplying.  Like I said before, you can't be pregnant and take these meds at the same time.  It causes severe birth defects.  So we are no longer trying to get pregnant.  Just waiting.  That is the most frustrating part.  I am getting older and the longer we wait, the harder it is to get pregnant.  At least I'm not itching any more.  That was miserable.  I couldn't even sleep, my feet itched so bad.  All my numbers went down about 40% so the doctor is hopeful that I can start on the other meds in a couple of weeks.

I'm Back!

While I haven't technically been gone, I haven't posted in forever!  I feel like I have nothing new to write about (and haven't taken the time either).  Life is the same for Alden and I.  We work, spend time together and occasionally go home to visit family.  Last year we went to Cancun for Alden's work convention and then stayed for a week.  What a fun time!  The water is so warm it made me leery to get in the water in CA (the water here is between 62-66 degrees).  I haven't been home to see my family for about a year and a half but will be going home in a few weeks (my niece Amanda is getting married on June 8th).  And for anyone who is wondering, no we are not pregnant yet.  And we had to stop trying for now.  I got exposed to a patient with active TB and have to be on meds for the next 4-9 months (more on that drama later). And you cannot be pregnant and be on the meds at the same time.  Bummer.  But life continues to move forward and we are happy.  We just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary and have now been in CA 9 years!  Wow, time flies!

The in-laws will be here today! Yep, Alden's parents are coming to visit and while I love them and we get along great, they will be here for Valentines Day. I was looking forward to a nice dinner with Alden, but I guess that will have to wait a week or so. They have been in Arizona with David's family and will stay with us about a week before heading home to Idaho. I always stress myself out when we have visitors because I think my place needs to be spotless. But I think I'm ready for them. As far as I know, we don't really have any plans while they are here. Alden and I both will be working still. Now is their chance to relax before going home.

I love looking out our balcony windows and seeing the ocean on a clear morning. The ocean is a couple miles away, but it still is nice to see. I'm still amazed that I live in Southern California. I never thought I would live here, and we have been here for almost 7 years!

So our trip home was great (but not long enough). We were lucky and picked good days to travel. Christmas was like it is supposed to be...WHITE! The snow was awesome and Alden got to enjoy it skiing twice and snowmobiling. It was so nice to be with family for Christmas. Even if we did get sick with the kids germs!

Alden has officially started his new job. Here's hoping it goes well.

Rollie's baby came home from the hospital on December 30th and I hear she is doing well and gaining weight. I can't wait to see her!

It was wonderful to see Chrissy doing so well and adapting to her new life. It has been rough for her going through a divorce. The kids are taking things hard as well. But she has a beautiful new place to live and is working hard. She is a trooper. Divorce is never easy, especially when your family is against you.

New niece!

Rollie and Heidie had their baby yesterday! She was 4 lbs. 4 oz. and 17 1/4 inches long. Her name is Ember Linzy Moon. She was born by c-section at 37 weeks and all is going well. She is breathing good and sucking. I'm sure they are letting her eat, but I haven't got all the new info yet. Since they live in North Dakota, I'm not sure when I will get to see her and hold her, so pictures will have to do for now.

We are going home for Christmas and we leave this Saturday! I am excited for some vacation time and to see my family. I also get to see my best friend Chrissy, who is going through a divorce right now. For a while things were ugly for her, but it is all getting settled now. She still has some rough times, but it seems to be getting better. So we will drive to Evanston first and then to Idaho Falls on the 22nd to see Alden's family. Since Alden has a new job, we are only going to be gone about 10 days. But it will be fun.

So Alden's new job is selling in-home water purifiers and air purifiers. The company is called Rain Soft. Right now he is doing his training and when we get back from vacation he will start going to people's homes. It's a pretty cool filtration system that softens the water without salt. I hope it works out for him. Looking for a new job every 6 months or so gets old.

Alden and I did our Christmas together last Sunday. We had egg nog and opened gifts from each other. We didn't do tons for each other, but it was fun and I got a few surprises. I picked out some new books and lotions and Alden surprised me with a necklace and matching earrings and two carved giraffe's. They are made of wood and burned to make the markings of a giraffe. They are kind of big like 1 1/2 feet to 2 feet tall. So cool. He got some new clothes and picked out a new pocket knife and a couple of computer gadgets. We had a fun day.

Until next time...