Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Triglycerides-The Update

Well, some month past I posted my high triglyceride count. It was 236, with a cholesterol of 203.
9 mos later, after moderating my diet, running (training for the fire test) and losing 35 lbs, my triglycerides now sit at a comfortable level of 155, with a total cholesterol of 185.
Bug is very happy with those numbers, however;........Bug's hemaglobin and iron levels are very low. Hgb of 12.6 g/dL, ferritin of 10ng/mL and iron of 40ug/dL including a total iron sat of 10%.
So, to determin where that is coming from, since I have no blood in my stool. (Sorry to get so personal) they did a...er...um... personal thing and I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy all in one day. Boy, what a thrill. The prep part was really the worst of it because they knocked me out, but (no pun intended) I won't go into the prep.
Well, the scoping was negative, except for the discovery of a hiatal hernia, they did some more tests including a celiac panel, also negative.
Now, it's wait to see what the doctor thinks.
All that said, I"m very pround of getting my cholesterol and triglycerides down. :)

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Hyper-focused?

I think I may be a little hyper-foucused.
We get 1 lb of free coffee beans a week from Starbuck's.
Yesterday I chose Ethiopia Sidamo.
I brought it home and put in on the shelf with two of my previous coffee choices...Kenya and Rift Valley Blend. All Sub-Sahara African Coffees.
I need to branch out a bit. Get a South American Coffee next time.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

AWOE

Absent Without Excuse. I'd like to say I've been extremely busy (which I have been) but not posting is without excuse.

Been really, really tired. Found out that I have Iron Deficiency Anemia. Had to go through a battery of tests to diagnose what the etiology of the IDA, but they have found nothing. So, I'm stil tired all the time.

Hmmmm. Have I said that I have finally graduated from Creighton's Para medic program?
What a load off the shoulders. Now it comes time to find a job. I AM, working at Starbuck's as a shift supervisor. I applied for just a job as a barista, but they made me a supervisor instead. Learning both jobs, plus studying for the National Registry (Paramedic version of the medical boards) is a lot. October 17th, 18th and 19th is going to be killer. Starbuck's is a great company, but I do not make even close to enough to support the family on, so I'm quite anxious for a real job.

I am in the middle of the hiring process with Lincoln Fire and Rescue for a position of firefighter/paramedic. I guess I aced the written test, because of the 700+ applicants they only asked the top 100 to move on to the next phase, which was the physical agility test. The physical agility test was easier than I thought. It was fun too. Running around, schleping hose, climbing ladders...all while wearing the SCBA tanks was a blast. Zoomed through that, had an interview with one of the captains the next day and now....hurry up and wait. I heard rumors that they aren't calling for the Chief's interviews until mid October.

If Lincoln doesn't work, we'll be looking at KC. The wife and I have taken a map and set it with pins in all the cities we'd be willing to relocate the family. We're kind of picky.

Hmmmmm...The Foster baby we had went back to her birth dad. We miss her, but it's a good thing. We were able to visit her a couple of months ago and she looks really good. She most certainly belongs with him. They just looked right together. The birth mom is out of the picture and that is awersome.

Have I mentioned that we are in the process of adopting a little boy with Down Syndrome? He's awesome. Should be finalized within a month or so. I'll update in a bit.

OK, just felt the need to get on here again. I'll be back sooner to go into more detail.

-peace