As I suspected, the somewhat striped discoloration you can sort of see here on my leg (click to see a larger picture; well, only if you really want to), and which I first noticed over the summer, is due to the cortisone the doctor injected into my ankle last May. And as with most things, it’ll go away on its own. I wasn’t overly concerned about this except that last week sometime, the area near my ankle bone seemed to turn extremely dry overnight — so dry that there were cuts there that really stung and the skin was peeling off. I’m almost religious about using lotion so this came as a surprise. The cuts have healed but the doctor suggested I apply A+D® (also good for use on new tattoos!) on the area for a few days. All that’s left are a root canal, the dentist appointment after that, and an H1N1 screening. What a pain.

I saw the pdoc last Thursday. The reason I’ve been feeling so lousy is because I’ve been pushing myself too hard to make progress in my recovery. He wants me to slow down, cut back on my activities. He doesn’t think I’m back at square one and neither do I, but it’s scary and frustrating at the same time.

In a recent post I mentioned that I’ve cut back to only 2 health appointments a week and that includes my weekly therapy sessions. Then on Saturday, I made plans to have lunch with a friend later this week. I don’t want to back out; we had plans last spring and I was unable to follow through. Part of me feels that I made the plans impulsively though I genuinely want to see my friend. In the last couple of weeks I’ve been having trouble with impulse control, but not enough to get me into trouble. The pdoc wants to wait before increasing my dosage of Tegretol, which helps stabilize my moods and control my impulses.

Brian and I have been planning to see Inglourious Basterds for weeks now, and it looks like the nearby movie theater is making room for newer movies. We were going to see either that or The Informant! this past weekend but it was all I could do to shower and go to Target. Little things like flossing have been harder and harder to do lately, but I’m in desperate need of a pedicure (end of the world, I know), and I’d really like to schedule that this Friday and drive myself to the salon.

The last thing I want to do, of course, is slow down, but I’m feeling anxious about being able to make it to the Ohio State vs. Purdue game, which are plans we made with another friend a while back, as well as other potential travel plans before the end of the year. I’ve become aware of my irrational thoughts, the ones I know full well aren’t true, and have referred to them as “depressed thinking.” But this not wanting to slow down even though I know very well that’s exactly what I need to do right now — I wonder if that’s “manic thinking”?

(photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com)

featuring Hopper

When it’s time to go to the vet, it’s impossible to get Hopper into the carrier. But on some days, she likes to hang out in there on her own. I don’t get it.

(my first attempt at using the SLR camera)

I was very surprised to learn earlier that the photo I posted yesterday was chosen as one of “Today’s Photos” on Windy Citizen, Today’s Best Chicago News, picked by Chicagoans. It’s even the first one on the list of “Today’s Photos”! I know I’ve posted this on Twitter and Facebook already and I’m sorry to continue tooting my own horn, but…not really. It was just so unexpected and exciting!