I have the greatest doctor

Actually Stacy is a Nurse Practitioner, but whatever her qualifications she is fantastic.

I had my annual physical this morning and arrived with my list of ailments/frustrations.

First and foremost, I haven't slept good for pretty much going on two years. It started in March of 2014 when I started taking weight-loss meds. The side affects for me were dry mouth, constipation and interrupted, fitful sleep. After I had lost about 35 pounds and felt really in control, I went off the meds mostly because I couldn't stand the side affects anymore. Now the benefits of the weight loss was I got off my high blood pressure meds and my anti depressants and overall felt happy because when you lose lots of weight, you find your real self again.

As time passed, I think my sleep did improve some but I continued waking usually around 4:30 in the morning on a regular basis. I've tried several different over the counter sleep aids like Melatonin, Mid Nite and lately an Equate brand of ZZZ Quil. I fall asleep a lot sooner with the Z Quil, but I still wake at the early hours and it is very fitful sleep after that. 

Being over weight is always an issue for me, but honestly I have made great efforts and changes in my eating and exercise with no success. I just hover around the same 2 or 3 pounds. It's more frustrating than in the past because being sleepy takes it toll. I'm too tired to get out of bed most mornings to do my morning work out. Then I sit at a desk all day and pretty much read to get through my day. Well reading makes me sleepy and since it's kind of boring too then I think - oh I'll get something to eat. Whether the snack is junky or healthy it is still additional calories that I wouldn't eat if I didn't feel tired. 

My lab results were really good news. I was in the prediabetic range from my blood screening though our insurance company at the end of last year. Well my numbers are back in the normal range. So that was a relief. I also take a low dose of thyroid medication and my numbers have doubled so she is going to up my dosage. When I first started the thyroid medication in Feb of 2014, I lost six pounds right off. So I think perhaps my thyroid has been the block to my weightloss efforts. 

She is prescribing a non narcotic, non habit forming sleep aid for me that should give me a continuous feed to keep me asleep. Now if I would only stop breathing through my mouth I think that should work. Being over weight also contributes to sleep apnea which I have a mild form of so I get to sleep in my darth vadar mask. It's lovely. Anyway, when I breath through my mouth the air coming in the tube dries out my mouth so bad that I wake up and I have to get out of bed and rinse out my mouth and drink. I don't know why all of the sudden I am breathing through my mouth AND from reading on my computer screen at work for the last 6 months all day, I have developed Computer Vision Syndrome, also referred to as Digital Eye Strain, describes a group of eye and vision-related problems that result from prolonged computer, tablet, e-reader and cell phone use. Many individuals experience eye discomfort and vision problems when viewing digital screens for extended periods. The level of discomfort appears to increase with the amount of digital screen use.So I wake up and my mouth is dry and my eyes are dry and so uncomfortable that I have put in eye drops. So I'm a mess. 

I even bought the new updated cpap machine that has a heated tube that is supposed to get me more moisture or something like that. Well Our insurance covers the machine, but not the new fancy tube until June. So I think I'm going to see how much it would cost just to buy it. I can't wait that long to see if that will help my dry mouth problem. 

So going into my appointment this morning I was feeling so discouraged and pretty depressed and walked out feeling empowered and like there is hope.

Stacy listens and hears your concerns and she always provides options and answers. She is one of the greatest blessings from moving here. 

So my post today is kind of out there, but I need to document all of this so I can remember it.

Stuff we did this weekend

On Friday after work we went to Red Robin for dinner. We shared their new Marco Polo chicken sandwich. When it came time to pay our bill, we had earned a free burger. So our meal cost us $6.00 including the tip.

After that, we met our neighbors at the St. George Tabernacle to listen to T.C. Christensen speak. Here is a little info on him.

T. C. Christensen
Born	1953 Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Alma mater	Brigham Young University
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	1973–present
Notable work	Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration Emma Smith: My Story 17 Miracles Ephraim's Rescue The Cokeville Miracle

We didn't really expect to enjoy it much, but he only spoke about 45 minutes. He had four clips from a couple of his movies and then talked about some of the back ground of those clips. It was really good. After that we tried out a new burger/ice cream joint - Iceberg. It was good.

Saturday was chores and then we did a little shopping. I finally made prints of Scott & Jess's updated family picture for our entry. Also printed off one from Disneyland of Corinne's family. All our photos are out of date. We never did hang any from Christmas of last year because they were such a HUGE disappointment. So for now this is still our only family portrait display. 

Saturday night we stayed home and watched Valentine's Day on VidAngel. Sunday was church and choir. After choir, I went to Judy's house for a lesson on cookie decorating. Thank goodness they turned out pretty. It was an ugly process outlining for the icing. She used this really cool rolling pin. I might need to buy one. She had already taken off the one end of discs when I took this picture. The dics make the rolling pin roll your cookie dough at an exact measurement. I thought it was pretty amazing. 

Here are my cookies.

After cookie decorating, she started preparing for our Valentine's Dinner. Judy and Shan have us over for dinner a lot. Their son and his fiance' and their daughter and her husband are usually always there too. We are kind of family now. It's nice. Judy is a party planner. Dinner for a holiday or birthday are pretty jazzy. She bought everyone gifts and candy. 

Always a fun time, but I eat way too much. 

Oh and everyone and their brother is in St George this weekend. 

The ward following us had David Bednar, his wife and three other general authorities visiting. 

The message between he and his wife was:

Grandparents, leave your families and go on a mission. They will get along without you. Your families will be far more blessed with your service than you being at every event. 

AND

We have always lived in hard times. Be positive and faithful. 

The prophets of old saw our day and rejoiced. 

I LOVE WEEKENDS!

I love my friends

Our party animal friends hosted Super Bowl Sunday 

The consensus was - Boring game.

We do know that true Bronco fans most likely did not have that sentiment.

But this crowd did - minus Jerry - the guy in the hat in the front. 

 While the guys sat and watched the game, the ladies of the house gathered round the table, ate, talked, played on our phones and laptops.

 We did eat, but this was after we were all filled to the gills.

 Obviously, I was the only one taking pictures so I wanted to get in on the action.

Judy B is always good for a enthusiastic pose. She's the real party animal.

Then there is my bestest friend Fred. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself how blessed I am. We had one of those talks, instigated by me and in the midst of it I thought to myself
"Man - he is so easy to please. Get your head on straight Gayle and enjoy it".