It’s been a busy and crazy week here at the old Sassy Pad.

I had a couple medical appointments (things are generally good and moving in the right direction – yay!) and I scheduled a couple more. My sugar was a little high and my iron was a little low, so I’ve upped my daily iron supplements and I have cut out my daily sugar-filled snack free for all. (I’ve been indulging in way too many sugary carb-loaded treats as I celebrate my return to solid foods.) Otherwise, I am eating 3 meals a day without issue and my energy is slowly returning to normal levels.

The awful bruises on my forearms from in-hospital blood draw attempts gone wrong have finally faded enough that I can wear short sleeves in public.

Also, I am tapering off Prednisone and much of my jitteriness is gone. I’m also sleeping much better.

For decades, I have needed the TV on at bedtime to help distract my mind, allowing me to fall asleep. (Or so I thought.) Two weeks ago, we stopped turning the TV on at bedtime, and I started reading instead. This has allowed me to fall asleep much faster. This is now a permanent change – no more TV at bedtime. I’m still waking up between 3:30 and 4:00am, but I’m sleeping soundly until then, so I’m happy. I suspect that’s a side effect of the Prednisone so, as I taper and eventually stop it, I think I’ll sleep longer.

With the renewed energy, I have returned to my normal routines of organizing, housekeeping and cooking. Last night, I made Paella for the first time, with chicken, shrimp, and chorizo sausage. I really enjoyed the prep, and it came out OK, but I was a bit disappointed. It wasn’t as flavorful as I suspected, and it was drier than I wanted. Fortunately, Jeffrey loved it, so he will eat the copious amounts of leftovers.

The BIG news is that we ordered our new living room furniture – which arrived 3 DAYS EARLY – before we were able to rid ourselves of our current furniture, which is being picked up Saturday (we are giving it to a family friend.)

We are very excited about the new furniture…it is modular and much lighter (both in color and weight) than our current dark brown leather heavy as F*&%$# furniture. The new stuff arrived in multiple boxes, and much assembly is required, but we don’t have the room to assemble until the current furniture is gone, so our living room and dining room are in complete disarray until the weekend.

We also ordered new curtains and are shopping around for a new carpet. It’s a complete makeover.

The Capital District is ending all COVIS-related restrictions and the news announced it this way yesterday:

This upset me, as the COVID Pandemic is NOT at an end, and this misleading news subtitle is dangerous. Personally, we will continue to wear masks in public, social distance, and limit our in person visits to people who have been fully vaccinated. Relaxing our vigilance now will only contribute to a second wave to hit. I hope the majority of people are sensible enough to know that, and that most people will get vaccinated. Sigh…

It is a three day weekend for the both of us this weekend, so today is my “Friday.” We both have massages scheduled for Friday. Although Jeffrey usually gets one monthly, this will be only the 2nd massage I’ve ever gotten, the first over a decade ago. My body issues have kept me from feeling comfortable with getting massages, but my doctors have recommended it for stress/anxiety relief and to help lessen my tense muscles, which contribute to my digestive issues. If Friday goes well, I will consider getting them more often. The rest of the weekend will be filled with furniture construction and placement, including assembling two new display shelves I purchased for my basement superhero collection. I am excited, but feeling a bit daunted by all the work it will entail.

Here’s hoping my energy holds up.