Be gone, you!

So it's Wednesday morning, and I'm sitting on my couch instead of at work. The same cold I seem to get every winter has hit me exceptionally hard this year. It started the day after Christmas in what I thought was just a normal reaction to eating too much food. Three days later I still couldn't stray far from the toilet, and had since found out I wasn't alone in my flu symptoms. At least ten of my friends/family had the same exact issues within the same exact time frame, and all of them had been put out of commission the same way I had. Yikes.

I felt better by New Years, so my Lady and I travelled to Ft. Wayne to see our friends Andrew & Lyndsay. Andrew was one of the friends who had been suffering with me (and who I jokingly blamed for giving it to me in the first place), so it was good to see him doing better as well, and even better that neither of our women had contracted the dreadful toilet issues. Unfortunately, those good feelings were short lived and both of them came down with it the next week.

To make it worse, my Lady came down with a cold almost at the same time. The cold brought with it sneezing, coughing, runny nose, fever, and headaches. (We're still blaming Andrew for this as well, as he had a cold when we left Ft. Wayne.) My weak immune system couldn't handle the new junk in the air and I quickly came down with the same cold.

After a week of hacking and blowing my nose, my body completely broke down and last Saturday morning found me with the telltale facial pains of a sinus infection. By Monday, that had turned into swollen glands and strep throat. With the all-too-recent memories of my joint issues at the beginning of 2010 that were a direct result of a viral strep infection, I immediately called my Doctor. I'm a huge advocate of letting the body take care of itself, but I just couldn't risk another round of joint damage this close to the AT.

So, I'm home for three days getting over being contagious, still sniffling, still coughing, and my head still throbbing. I am so done being sick. It's sapping away my vacation time, it's keeping me from working out, and it's keeping me from spending valuable time with my Lady. Grrrr.............

My list of, "Still need to do..."

Since Christmas, much of my thought-processes have been centered around my upcoming Appalachian Trail thru-hike. Keeping with that, I just posted a new journal entry on my Trail Journal page. If you haven't checked it out yet, look at my blogroll right over there ------------------->
and click on the Uncle Sam link. To go directly to the post, click HERE. In these last three months, much of my focus will be on the hike, so if you haven't done so yet, make sure you familiarize yourself with my Trail Journals page, because that's the only place you'll find me after the end of March.

Sunday stealing on a Tuesday

I'm trying to keep my mind off my Dad, so I thought I'd do some stealing from MeMe Kimmy's blog.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before? Got divorced.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Didn't make any and I didn't make any this year either.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? My friends Betsy, Megan, and Jen all had a baby. Not the same one, of course, but they all had one.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My old man, Farley cat. I miss him every day.

5. What countries did you visit? None!

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? Get to that magic weight of 250. Only 20 or so pounds to go.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? You'd think my divorce date would have stuck with me, but I can't remember it even now. But September 9th is huge to me as it's the day of my first date with my Lady.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I found a peace with myself I wasn't sure I'd ever find. It was such a calming year for me.

9. What was your biggest failure? Overall, I feel really good about the year, so I choose not to answer this question.

10. What was the best thing you bought? My boots for my AT thru-hike. Man I love those things.

11. Whose behavior merited celebration? I'll echo Kimmy and say myself. I feel really good about where I was in comparison to where I'm at now. Thanks for the kudo's, Kimmy. I feel good.

12. Whose behavior made you appalled and disgusted? Same as Kimmy: a few people, but I would never name names.

13. What song will always remind you of 2011? Not so much a song, but a CD. Abraham James... Storytellers.

14. What do you wish you’d done more of? Hike.

15. What do you wish you’d done less of? Be negative.

16. Did you fall in love in 2011? Yes, yes I did.

17. What was your favorite new TV program? Parenthood.

18. What was the best book you read? The Shack.

19. What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying? Saving more money.

20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? I came into a discovery of wearing better clothes with my new weight. I've enjoyed being told I look good.

21. What kept you sane? My own peace, and of course my Lady.

22. Who did you miss? My Farley cat, and my parents.

23. Who was the best new person you met? My Lady, of course. She really is my better half and makes me a better person just by being around.

24. Tell us a valuable lesson you learned in 2011? Learn to like yourself, that's the key to true happiness.

25. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I like Kimmy's so I'll steal it: I’m on the edge of glory, and I’m hanging on a moment with you!