Day 425

It's working. The call I got from the rheumatologist's office confirmed it.

My inflammation numbers are down. Both tests, both numbers. The results are still way too high, but they are down. All without any arthritis medications.

Woo hoo! is all I can say. Might as well celebrate with a big glass of juice. And some sewing.

Day 424

Last year on Day 60 my husband forced me to go outside and I took a picture of our bleeding hearts. Here, today, almost a year exactly to that day I didn't have to be forced to go outside. I went willingly.

We planted potatoes and cleaned up some weeds. After working outside I sat in the shade of our patio and looked over at our bleeding hearts, thinking about last year. About how much has changed. About how I couldn't have predicted where I am now.

And even about how I look at things so much differently now than I did then. It seems to be more about the details nowadays, details I would have missed in the past.

Like with the bleeding hearts. Guess I never noticed that the same plant can have a different look depending on how much the bloom has opened. And that they really do look like a heart.

Day 423

I was planning on thanking my husband on today's blog. Thanking him for washing up and cutting the veggies for the week. (It's a long process when we use as many vegetables a day as we do.) He washed and cut so I could sew and sew. I was able to almost finish the second kids' quilt top in as many days.

But I also need to thank the kitty today, too. She kept me company, sitting in the window of the sewing room as I did all that sewing.

So when it came to the picture for the day the choice was easy. The cat makes for a much cuter picture than hubby and/or vegetables.

Day 422

I don't know why it took me all day, but it did.  It has been a while since I did a kids' quilt and I am SOO very out of practice, I guess.

After a full day of sewing, I finally have a top done for the Alaska group of Operation Kid Comfort. (I blurred out the faces for obvious reasons.)

Let's just hope the next one doesn't take the entire day!

Day 421

I thought today's word would be scolded. The doctor scolded me for going off all my arthritis medications.

But that's not my word. Cautiously optimistic are my words. The rhematologist is cautiously optimistic that my juicing and plant strong diet may reduce my arthritis symptoms.

According to the doctor there are some people - just a few - who respond to a balanced diet that limits salt, sugar, and fat. While joint inflammation might not decrease (and bloodwork numbers could remain unchanged), the pain and stiffness associated with rheumatoid arthritis might diminish.

I'm right on the border of having all the methotrexate (the chemotherapy drug) out of my system. According to him it takes several weeks for the system to rid itself of it. So now I'll need to be watching symptoms even more closely. If I notice an exacerbation in the pain, swelling, and stiffness I have to get back in and get on some meds. If things remain the same or get better, I won't need to go back and see him for another four months.

Four months is the longest I will ever have gone without needing to go to the rheumatologist. I'm quite pleased that he's allowing me the chance to make things better for myself without introducing drugs back into my system.

Who knows, maybe someday my body will be flexible enough to squeeze into a car I saw on a car lot today.

Day 420

Yesterday's word was jealously. Today's word is confess. As in I confess our sensible dinners are pushing the limit on what could be considered healthy.

We've been going out to dinner a lot this last week. To the same place every time - our local Mexican restaurant, Alejandra's. Best Mexican food ever.

We've had somewhat (maybe) healthier dinners. One night we had a couple chicken tacos with lettuce, tomatoes, and cilantro on a soft corn shell. We shared a chicken fajita burrito one night, a carne asada burrito another night, and tonight we shared what I think was the tastiest thing of all. Chile verde, tonight's special. The blend of the pork and tomatillo sauce was absolutely delicious! Probably the best $7.99 I ever spent.

So I confess - juice in the morning, juice at lunch, and Mexican food at dinner. Probably not the best way to eat, but other than having some cheese on top of the refried beans it can't be that bad for us, right?

Day 419

I've been feeling a tinge of jealousy here and there lately.

Jealousy over the power bill. Over the past seven years, our average has gone down. (I'm still obsessively tracking it.) While we had a lower March month this year compared to last, our daughter had a lower one than we've ever had since my tracking began.

Jealousy over the weight. Hubby is catching up to me in the weight loss department. While he and I don't differ in the juice we're drinking, he does eat more of the "sensible" dinner. And he's still losing weight at a faster rate. It's probably my own fault - he's more active with his teaching and I've backed off the obsessive bike mileage.

Jealousy over the energy level. Hubby is also feeling great and I'm trudging along. Not good, not bad. Just okay. I thought by juicing and hitting the plant strong diet my rheumatoid arthritis would be cured (or at least getting lots better). I'm not sure it's made that big of a difference.

Jealousy over the flowers that were dropped off at my house. Our vegetables are being grown in the greenhouse at the high school, but it was hanging baskets of flowers that arrived yesterday. The cooling system in the greenhouse is on the fritz and they needed somewhere to store the plants for the end of the year celebration for those teachers who are retiring/leaving. Sure are pretty.

Jealousy over the neighbor's tree. I don't know why I didn't notice how pretty the tree was last year, but it sure is nice against the blue sky.

Guess I better get more obsessive about my power bill and about biking, hope for the best at the rheumatologist's appointment this week, plant some hanging baskets for my house, and stop looking over into other peoples' yards.