Furlough, Day 1

Vegetate in pajamas until 5pm: Check! (Would've been all day, but we were hungry for Applebee's salads for dinner)

*WARNING-TMI AHEAD* (Will alert you when it's over if you choose to scroll down)

So, about 8 months or so ago I underwent a medical treatment that I thought was the answer to many pet peeves. I made my biggest medical mistake ever--I took the doctor's advice alone without doing my homework (like it would've been that hard to come home and google). Apparently she played down the initial procedure itself, including the adjustment period, and the changes that would take place as a result. Initially, it was much more torturous than I had originally intended to put myself through (like believing the answer I would be okay to drive myself home, I ended up having to pull over several times), and the adjusting has been so-so...but the changes it has made, had I known beforehand, I may have spent more time considering this pseudo-luxury. Now it's too late...80% of the time I have no beef with the issue, but that other 20% I waver back and forth between waiting things out a bit longer to see if things change or go through the torture of ending the treatment. Did my homework afterwards, and many of the personal reviews I've read...about 50% get over the issues, and about 30% did not but chose to wait out the treatment's lifespan, and 20% went through the pain of discontinuing treatment.

I'm torn. But since I have yet to come up with better options that I'm willing to live with, I think I'll likely end up waiting and seeing...however, I'm not a happy camper with the random, unpredictable pain. And yes, I'm a big weenie--so it's even worse.

Moral of the story: Do your homework. Don't trust the doctor's opinion alone.

*TMI Ended*

Not much planned for our "staycation" this week. More than anything, we just needed a break from life. A daytrip planned for later in the week, and several doctor's visits for hubby this week. I am (sadly) looking forward to the diabetic nutritionist tomorrow for hubby, as when I made his appointment, she invited me along--I am looking forward to some advice and more educated information for grocery shopping and cooking diabetic-friendly to make my hubby healthier (as my attention goes primarily to calories and fat grams on my healthy eating plan, not what will lower his blood sugar). Life with him on insulin is starting to settle into a routine, which makes it much less stressful.

Wednesday morning I have a Bible study that I started to attend. I finally made the intentional choice that I need to stop dragging my feet and take a real day off--that the world won't end without me. This has been one of my goals on my ministry development plan for two years, it's about time I meet it. So, once I looked at the calendar upon starting this study, I found that Wednesday seems to be the best day to make this leap...so, last week it was okay, and we'll continue the trend after furlough. I really enjoyed this Bible study that I attended. I was initially looking for a place with people my age, similar interests, and that I could just be a stranger and not a leader...although, when I came, I was introduced as, "This is Stephanie. She's an ordained minister and her and her husband run The Salvation Army here in town." Yeah...so much for blending in. But, no one seemed to be put off by that--and it certainly doesn't make me an authority on anything! The current Bible study is a Beth Moore series on the Psalms of Ascent. Pretty interesting...I'm looking forward to this week's session. I love my small group, and all the participants are super friendly and welcoming. I'm not a big joiner--and this way out of my comfort zone to just show up and start something. I'm looking forward to hopefully making some more friends within our community outside of a pastoral/business role.

Other than that, nothing new in life today...got a letter from a wonderful officer friend in which we are now pen-pal-ing with each other. That was exciting to get something in the mail other than netflix! (It's sad when you really don't receive mail) I love that "tangible" communication that you can hold on to...something special about it.

Anyway, more of substance to come later...brain is still adjusting to vacation-mode. It's been difficult today to not do corps business, even at home.

Happy trails until we meet again!