each day an adventure in alaska: on the mend..

starting to feel much better this evening. still had low grade temps and aches and exhaustion through much of the day though so i called out sick again. as it turns out the phone rang from work close to 5pm asking if i wanted an on call so it hadn't been passed along that i was still feeling sick. did much to make me feel better though. they didn't really need me anyway. probably didn't really need me the night before either. the place has been slow these past several weeks it seems. that can change fast and probably will as soon as the flu season gets kicked into gear. i may as well enjoy the peace before the craziness starts up again.

i haven't gotten as sick these past few years as i did for many years. seems like i always had a bad bronchitis at least once or twice a year that lasted a good 4-8 weeks. i'm an advocate for flu shots as that seems to have been one of the things that has helped me. i also now have an updated tetanus/pertussis vaccine. i know that pertussis got me a few times. another change is that now as hard as it is for me to call out sick i just do it. if i can allow my body to get that rest as soon as it goes down and let it rest the sooner i seem to be able to bounce. i have realized that i deserve to take sick days when i need them. was raised with a strong work ethic...sometimes it was too strong. we believed that even if we felt like crap we should somehow muddle through our work...or school. as a kid we could only stay home if we were actively vomiting or had a proven temperature. if we did stay home, we stayed in bed for the most part, didn't participate in other events.

i had my first bout with bronchitis when i was 16. after that i was sick with bronchitis off and on until i was in my30's...more on than off. in my 30's and 40's the bad bouts only came a few times per year. took me until almost then to accept that there was something real wrong with me and that it deserved my attention. the strange part was that i somehow didn't feel worthy of a diagnosis. as odd as that sounds. it was weak to be ill. i grew up in the smog of Los Angeles and my lungs took the hit. i have less and less of an issue with that. when i was in my early 20's i could barely walk a mile without being short of breath. that was when i began to exercise and improve my overall health. in my later 20's i finally found a good pulmonologist in L.A. that convinced me to take my health seriously.

i remember being totally sick with bronchitis, ignoring it for the most part. i was lifting weights for 2 hours 3x/week, riding my bike all over and took off to mexico for a 50 mile ride from rosarita to ensenada. i was in nursing school full time, working almost full time and partying in san diego and around los angeles. i used my albuterol puffers to get me up a hill in mexico called el tigre...i thought i was doing great, but i just wasn't taking care of myself. my doctor said i was to go to bed for the entire weekend or he'd hospitalize me. he didn't think it was cool that i was doing all this with a bad bout of bronchitis. he wasn't proud or impressed, he basically told me i was in idiot. he didn't say that but i knew he was thinking it. finally got the message.

made it out for a slow loop in the bog with the dogs. since i have walked 2-5 miles every day years and years it is my best way to judge how my body is. yesterday i had no strength for walking. today, i was weak and it was slow but i managed it. i always think it's good therapy when i'm sick to get out on the trails. the same when i get a tweaked back. 24-48 hours then get out on the trail, no matter how slow. dogs are therapy. i live alone. they have to be fed, they need to be walked. you just get moving cause you have to. i know it's the same with most mothers. they have kids that need to be taken care of. you just move cause you have to.

magpie. the bog is clearing out of birds. didn't see any moose today either.

made it to the grocery store as well. needed some cold medications to unstuff my sinuses.

the rest of these are pretty old now it seems. amy and sri's wedding party out at alyeska. i'd never taken the tram before and it was included in the party. thanks amy and sri for getting me up the hill. tiffany texted and said...do it. i'm not keen on heights or trams, but it is a beautiful view.

leaves were starting to change...these were especially pretty that day.

bummed i'm working halloween. oh well. do have costumes for the dogs so i may just have to dress them up for the pumpkin carving gathering. they will look so cute.

still have to buy plane tickets for texas. it's already october...yikes!! when did that happen. i need to get my calendar made so that i can save shipping costs and deliver many of them live in texas. should also get any xmas gifts for that part of family ready as well. can't believe how rapidly this time of year comes up.

below is the big alyeska hotel. very nice place, i've never stayed there though it does seem many from anchorage will go down there for a little spa weekend at times. a mini get away.

there is the other tram. they actually had a tram accident within the past year. i think a wind blew one tram into another or something like that. don't think there were any serious injuries but i can't recall. i think they were trapped up there for a little bit before getting rescued.

even though it was a bit cloudy the day we went up it was still pretty amazing.

there is a spendy restuarant at the top, that i've also never been to.

in the summers you can walk up to the top and then take the tram back down if you want. i think that would be fun. the dog has to fit in the kennel they have. blossom would fit.

haven't watched the news much. i know the government shutdown continues. there is an irritating commercial on about the healthcare program. will it be perfect no, but i think we should be taking better care of our people. we are all required by law to have car insurance. we also currently have people in offices dictating who gets to have what tests and such. we have many elements of society that already have socialized medicine. i do like that pre-exisiting condition clause will go away or already has. we will see.