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I hate this time of year. Not in just a simply Grinchy way, it's been this way since...4th grade?
Having divorced parents, the holidays have always been a little hectic splitting between two houses. Then Dad moved to Seattle (while Mom & I were still in Spokane) and I would fly to Seattle on Christmas day. Once Mom and I moved over here I had "Christmas" at Dad's, then Mom's, then we'd drive to my uncle's THEN a couple hours south to see the rest of mom's side of the family. After I married Stump, that added more stops on the holiday parade and more stress. When I finally came to my senses and left him (for those that may not know, my first marriage was severely emotionally/mentally abusive) it was a couple weeks before Christmas so now every December I get that strange trauma/PTSD uneasiness. So not my favorite time of year LOL. Thankfully, Paul's family doesn't celebrate the holidays.
This year I was able to talk my dad into just going to a fancy dinner for Christmas Eve. Both he and James will see something they want & buy it and never have any ideas for gifts they want. My stepmother never gives ideas either, plus I get the same reaction regardless of what I get her anyway. I was telling a friend of mine "I could get her a check for a million dollars or a jar of farts and get the same response: 'Oh, how nice, thank you' so it makes it hard to give a damn" Dad has always said he only likes the holidays because he gets to spend time with the family so I suggested this year we just DO something and it worked! Next year we're going to try and plan ahead a bit more and maybe go to the Nutcracker or other event after dinner or even just go back to the house and bake cookies or something.
I really like giving gifts though, just not when it's obligatory. The best gifts (to me) are the ones where you see something you know someone would love and surprise them with it. Why wait? Of course, sometimes you get holiday catalogs and see the ideal gift like say...Doctor Who salt & pepper shakers and impulsively buy them for Alice :D She flipped. It was awesome.
My favorite part of gift-giving is always the wrapping. I LOVE to wrap gifts, but with my Rupus paws I'm super-limited so that makes me more grouchy.
Health-wise, I tried methotrexate and did not tolerate it at all. I committed to doing all four doses (they are once a week) to make sure that this wasn't just a psychosomatic reaction (making myself reject the last-resort drug I was afraid of taking) but I kept a symptom list. At my next appointment though Dr. Gorman didn't notice a difference in my joints and said even if she did the side-effects weren't worth continuing. So I've been switched back from Cellcept to Imuran. They seem to have the same effect, the Imuran might even edge it out, but the Cellcept was making my sed. rate go back up. This past week I was switched from the Orencia infusion to the Actemra infusion with a healthy dose of IV steroids on top of it in the hopes that it will let Actemra gain a foothold. At Friday's appointment she walked in saying "Hi Melissa! I know this is early for you, how's your morning stiffne-NO! No, no your hands! Let me wash my hands real quick...NO! Crap. These joints are so gummy, Crap! You're backsliding! No no no!", hence the steroid suggestion :) I got Natalie as my poker though and she's my favorite so we chatted for a bit while she got me hooked up for drugs. So far things seem...OK, but I'm giving it another week until I know the steroids have worn off before I get too excited. I'm not a fan of these IV steroids though, they make me feel kind of amped but not in a positive way. I had to beg off of a show that Nathan booked for the weekend due to side-effects but at this point I'm cautiously optimistic. I should be able to make it to yoga on Sunday, which would rule because I haven't been in weeks due to swelling & paw pain.
On New Year's Eve Paul and I went for Thai food then off to buy me a new wrist brace. We live a wild life, folks! LOL
Having divorced parents, the holidays have always been a little hectic splitting between two houses. Then Dad moved to Seattle (while Mom & I were still in Spokane) and I would fly to Seattle on Christmas day. Once Mom and I moved over here I had "Christmas" at Dad's, then Mom's, then we'd drive to my uncle's THEN a couple hours south to see the rest of mom's side of the family. After I married Stump, that added more stops on the holiday parade and more stress. When I finally came to my senses and left him (for those that may not know, my first marriage was severely emotionally/mentally abusive) it was a couple weeks before Christmas so now every December I get that strange trauma/PTSD uneasiness. So not my favorite time of year LOL. Thankfully, Paul's family doesn't celebrate the holidays.
This year I was able to talk my dad into just going to a fancy dinner for Christmas Eve. Both he and James will see something they want & buy it and never have any ideas for gifts they want. My stepmother never gives ideas either, plus I get the same reaction regardless of what I get her anyway. I was telling a friend of mine "I could get her a check for a million dollars or a jar of farts and get the same response: 'Oh, how nice, thank you' so it makes it hard to give a damn" Dad has always said he only likes the holidays because he gets to spend time with the family so I suggested this year we just DO something and it worked! Next year we're going to try and plan ahead a bit more and maybe go to the Nutcracker or other event after dinner or even just go back to the house and bake cookies or something.
I really like giving gifts though, just not when it's obligatory. The best gifts (to me) are the ones where you see something you know someone would love and surprise them with it. Why wait? Of course, sometimes you get holiday catalogs and see the ideal gift like say...Doctor Who salt & pepper shakers and impulsively buy them for Alice :D She flipped. It was awesome.
My favorite part of gift-giving is always the wrapping. I LOVE to wrap gifts, but with my Rupus paws I'm super-limited so that makes me more grouchy.
Health-wise, I tried methotrexate and did not tolerate it at all. I committed to doing all four doses (they are once a week) to make sure that this wasn't just a psychosomatic reaction (making myself reject the last-resort drug I was afraid of taking) but I kept a symptom list. At my next appointment though Dr. Gorman didn't notice a difference in my joints and said even if she did the side-effects weren't worth continuing. So I've been switched back from Cellcept to Imuran. They seem to have the same effect, the Imuran might even edge it out, but the Cellcept was making my sed. rate go back up. This past week I was switched from the Orencia infusion to the Actemra infusion with a healthy dose of IV steroids on top of it in the hopes that it will let Actemra gain a foothold. At Friday's appointment she walked in saying "Hi Melissa! I know this is early for you, how's your morning stiffne-NO! No, no your hands! Let me wash my hands real quick...NO! Crap. These joints are so gummy, Crap! You're backsliding! No no no!", hence the steroid suggestion :) I got Natalie as my poker though and she's my favorite so we chatted for a bit while she got me hooked up for drugs. So far things seem...OK, but I'm giving it another week until I know the steroids have worn off before I get too excited. I'm not a fan of these IV steroids though, they make me feel kind of amped but not in a positive way. I had to beg off of a show that Nathan booked for the weekend due to side-effects but at this point I'm cautiously optimistic. I should be able to make it to yoga on Sunday, which would rule because I haven't been in weeks due to swelling & paw pain.
On New Year's Eve Paul and I went for Thai food then off to buy me a new wrist brace. We live a wild life, folks! LOL
