Summertime

Summer is almost over, so I figured it was time to blog about it. 

I've enjoyed relaxing this summer and trying to give the unicorns a break as well. Sleeping until 9:30 or 10:30 (with a 5:30am wake up call to feed Houdini) has been a regular occurrence this summer. It's so nice. I love my sleep and I'm a much nicer person when I get lots of sleep! Sleeping late has caused a change in my medications. I've only taken my afternoon meds (2 antihistamines and 1 anti-anxiety) a few days. That is a big deal because during the school year, I'm dependent on that dose. I'm going to the doctor (immunologist) in two weeks and I'm going to discuss spacing meds out to hopefully cut back on some of them. We will have to see how that goes with going back to work next week. Yes, I said I'm going back to work next week. It's come too quickly! 

I have not had much throat swelling and haven't even considered using my epipens since out for summer. I do still carry them everywhere I go, you never know when you'll run into someone cutting grass or some other random trigger. Perfumes, cleaners, flowers...a few of my not-favorite things! 

One of the major things that I've focused on this summer is me. My mom refers to it as the "Summer of Katie". I learned the hard way that me and exercising outside don't mix. So...I've become a mall walker. No, I do not have a wind suit and fanny pack! But I am a mall walker. I'm not very fast, but usually make two laps around the mall (depending on how many steps I need for the day). I've been wearing my FitBit and tried to hit 10,000 steps a day. The FitBit is a good motivator for exercise. And it tracks my miles, calories burned, and my sleep! I don't mind mall walking when I'm accompanied by a friend or two. Even when we get passed by the old people power walking - they take their mall walking VERY seriously! 

I've been eating better lately. Less stress helps with that too! I can not have peanut butter right now (stupid unicorns). I found this random fake peanut butter called Wowbutter. It's nut-free and gluten-free and made from soybeans. It tastes just like peanut butter!! It makes me so happy to make "peanut butter" and jelly sandwiches again. You don't realize what little things you miss in life until you can't have them and then you find an alternative. I've been making chocolate shakes at night too. I blend crushed ice, Rice Dream (rice milk), a banana, and a few squirts of low fat chocolate syrup. It's delicious! 

I was hoping for a pretty drastic weight loss with all the changes I've made this summer. However, that has not happened. My weight usually fluctuates by about 4-6 pounds daily. That is probably due to my variations in swelling. In all, I've lost around ten pounds since the end of May. That is not anywhere near what I was hoping to lose. I'm beyond frustrated by this! It is very hard to lose weight on the high doses of antihistamines that I take daily. Another reason why I want to try and lower some of my doses. 

I wish that I could say that summer has been better emotionally. As the two year mark approaches with the unicorns, many emotions are starting to erupt. The next few weeks could be very iffy. I'll be very busy with a brand new bunch of kindergarten friends soon! Hopefully they'll be a nice distraction.