Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Around here, lately

Nothing terribly exciting, actually, but it feels nice.

chopping
{chopping}

meal prep
{meal prep}

sunday light
{sunday light}

napping
{napping}

I've been trying to do some advance prep on Sundays so that it's easier to throw meals together during the week (yes, D will be doing more cooking once we're settled in but right now he's pretty much occupied building cabinets and putting in shelves). I get as much chopping done as possible and I'll blend up any sauces or salad dressings we're going to use (still super obsessed with my tiny blender and the lidded cups it comes with).

Our place is coming together, slowly but surely. We put in the rug that used to be in my parents' living room and we've hung some art and we're finally managing to put stuff away and clear off surfaces. It feels really good. There are more projects on the horizon, of course, and we're not nearly finished but we're *this close* to being fully functional.

Annnnd the whining - I was super cranky last week, mostly due to the fact that Circe was being restless at night, which meant we weren't getting much sleep and I still feel like I have sand trapped in my eyelid, a very minor annoyance that somehow manages to drive me completely, irrationally insane. I scratched my cornea last month and instead of getting better it just steadily accumulates more scratches. I've done two rounds of antibiotic eye drops and last week finally progressed to antibiotic eye ointment. Let me tell you, putting ointment directly on your eyeball is neither easy nor pleasant. In addition, I can't wear my contacts or mascara and my right eye is basically useless because it's constantly covered in a blurry film. It will heal and it's hardly a crisis, but I'm mourning my eyelashes - I rarely remember to check my outfit in the mirror after I get dressed, but I almost never leave the house sans mascara. Without it I feel like I'm walking around in my pajamas. Rather than fight it, I've just been wearing yoga pants and running shoes to work and now I'm in a terrible downward spiral of schlub. One more week with the ointment and hopefully I'll be back to normal. I'd like to promise myself eyelash extensions as a reward but I think letting someone without a medical degree mess around with my eyes would just be tempting fate at this point. (I'm still considering it, so I must be crazy)

Just to top it off, after over a decade of working in the lab I've suddenly developed a sensitivity to ALL types of gloves, so my hands are now a lovely shade of red with scaly patches dotted here and there (yes, I'm still wearing gloves, which is why my hands haven't healed. If I have to choose between dermatitis and exposure to hazardous chemicals, I'll live with the rash, thanks). I've ordered some fancy schmancy gloves that should work better but it's been a pain in the butt.

So yes, I'm a bit whiny lately. My eyeball saga is boring even me. My hands are gross. I need to get back into some kind of workout routine (my current excuse is that I hate working out in my glasses, which is true but I probably need to suck it up) so that actual pants are a possibility. The good news is that we found a solution for Circe's nighttime barking and I'm starting to feel human again, petty mascara woes aside. THINGS ARE LOOKING UP.

22 comments:

  1. Having an eye situation is beyond annoying! It makes everything difficult...I mean, from morning to night you look at things and can't escape the blurriness. I hope it gets better soon!

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  2. I really don't think there's anything worse than not being able to wear mascara. I feel you, hang in there.

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  3. Gosh, I'm having the same whiny moment. For me it's been lots of travel for my husband, leaving me to handle alone lots of school projects and sick boys, coupled with work in the library--which I LOVE, but--I'm exhausted.

    And if I hear one more person from the midwest/east coast say I have nothing to complain about because they're freezing, I'm going to scream. Horrible, horrible, horrible weather on your part does not inure me to the everyday stresses of life on my part.

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  4. Rather than eyelash extensions (which really give me the wiggins, and apparently it's relatively common to be allergic to the glue they use? don't quote me on that), maybe invest in some latisse or another eyelash enhancing product? My mom has been using it for a few years and her lashes look better than mine!

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    1. Embarrassed to admit that I definitely use eyelash enhancer every few months (revitalash)! It works so well for getting them super long, but doesn't make them grow in any thicker (in my experience). Maybe I should give it a go with another brand and see if I get different results. I'm clearly an eyelash junkie. : )

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  5. Hang in there! Your posts always makes me smile! Hugs from nj!

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  6. this could be the first time i've heard you schlub in the years i've known you, so i think it's more than justified, lady. the universe needs to GIVE YOU YOUR EYE BACK,* i think. your place looks absolutely beautiful, and as always, i admire your meal-planning like crazy (it's almost a foreign language to me). hang in there. whine as much as you like.

    *and perhaps your hands also for good measure

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  7. Oh, man. I just want to hug you.

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  8. i had a similar experience! I got sriracha in my eye (while making a batch of delicious chili no less). I couldn't wear my contacts for over a month while it healed. During that time I justified not working out too because, frankly, who works-out in glasses? And working-out without corrective lenses was NOT an option for this -4.5-in-both-eyes-girl. So I guess, what I'm trying to say is, I feel your pain and I completely understand why you're on the cranky-train.

    XO.

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    1. OH MY GOD, I think my eye is twitching in sympathy. Sriracha?!

      Fellow -3.5, -4.5 girl here! People don't understand that I can't just take my glasses off to work out because I am totally off kilter without corrective lenses of some kind.

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  9. Sorry to hear about your eye and hands! I can't imagine. After years of lab I randomly developed a sensitivity to latex gloves, but nitrile still worked luckily. But at a certain point, out of desperation I had to use the latex, and it was somehow ok again? I still avoid them just in case. Hopefully your new gloves work out!!

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    1. It is so bizarre - I'm literally allergic to absolutely nothing, so this feels like it came out of nowhere. I'm hoping it disappears back into nowhere shortly?

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  10. SCHLUB ON PRETTY LADY

    You're allowed.

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  11. I'm the same Rachel. Can't leave the house without mascara. Did so once and worked out half way to school. Suffice to say, my whole day just felt weird and out of whack. I'm too, having a whiny time at the moment. Australia is having this ridiculous heatwave and where I live currently at 7:30 in the morning, we've hit 30 degrees already. Sleeping has somehow turned into 'naps' that has me staring at the clock at 3am wondering if life will ever get back to normal. Don't stress - whining is totally acceptable.

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  12. ME TOO! woke up with terrible pain in my right eye. diagnosed with "recurrent corneal erosion" - a complication from my RK 30 years ago! come on! the top layer of the cornea actually separated from the base membrane at an incision (scarred) sight and a piece flaked off! EEEEW! drops for 2 weeks plus ointment for 3 mos. Thing is, eye doctor is still trying to fit me in hard contact lenses. Says it will help the cornea layers stay together. I'm whinin' with ya! and thanks for posting so often lately!

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    1. AHHH! That sounds so much worse! I've only been sing the ointment for a week and half and it's driving me insane (swear it makes my eye feel worse instead of better). I feel terrible for you - hope they figure something out for you soon!

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  13. all gloves?! I know folks who develop latex allergies overtime, but I've never heard of anyone with nitrile sensitivities. Oh I hope this passes (allergies are weird)

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    1. It's so weird that I was in denial for a few weeks (telling myself it must be the dry weather, over zealous handwashing, not putting enough lotion on, etc, because I'd never heard of a nitrile allergy and that's what I use most of the time), as my hands gradually got more and more annoyed. Apparently there are some chemicals used in the glove manufacturing process and some people can develop a sensitivity over time. I was skeptical, because I am not sensitive to ANYTHING but I made an effort to really cut down on how often I wear gloves and my hands stopped getting worse (switching back to latex didn't help, I tried that first). So apparently it's a real thing - sigh. They sell much more expensive gloves that are manufactured differently, have fewer chemicals and are supposed to help. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

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  14. I'm cringing at the thought of putting ointment on your eye (omg, I can't even watch someone put their contacts in!) and hope that it heals quickly! You def deserve the eyelash extensions, or at least a ridiculously over-priced department store mascara!! xox

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  15. Ugh. I'm sorry! When I worked in a wet lab, my hands got really irritated at all the glove-wearing. I found that using a really thick cream before I put them on helped. I think we used SoftGuard from Fisher- sometimes they'd send it to us when we ordered tons of gloves. It was the only thing that worked.

    Good luck, and here's hoping your eye heals quickly!

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  16. So many not fun things! I had to give up wearing contacts at all for work in the lab, it is so dry that my eyes can't handle it! I can't wait to be graduated and be a real person again. (and really, you can just see so much better with contacts!) And a glove allergy, ugh! At least it can't get much worse?

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