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Greetings from our empty house this Wednesday in Nederland. Ben is gone again, this time to Atlanta. I don’t like being home alone! It’s lonely! I’ve made plans to keep me busy, but it’s snowing today (plus everyone was busy) so nothing worked out. Oh well :(

The good news is that I slept really well last night! I fell asleep at 10 o’clock and woke up at 9 this morning, and I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night! It was splendid! I think the fact that it’s snowing may have helped — there wasn’t any sunshine to wake me up. It felt GREAT to sleep in … I guess I needed it!

Last night I went to the Dexters for dinner (mmmm … fish tacos a la Don … yum!) with Liz Preston, my neighbor who’s going through chemotherapy. It’s really interesting how people diagnosed with some major medical thing suddenly understand stroke. (Well, to be fair, Liz may have “gotten it” before, but you know what I mean.) She sympathesized with my vomiting (and I, likewise, with her chemotherapy-induced nasuea) and traded stories about therapy (she’s a physical therapy recipient at Mapleton Center, the same place I go). It was a fun evening :) I hope she gets better!

Today I stayed in bed until 10:30 am, at which point Chaco was going to explode all over the carpet if I didn’t let him out, then did handwriting practice, which is not my favorite thing but is necessary if I’m to get a job (which I’d like to at some point!). Then, Erin called me out of the blue! It was so good to talk with her. She’s teaching third grade now … I don’t remember much of third grade, but I have a feeling I was difficult at that age. All I have to say to Erin is “You go, girl!” because she’s handling the challenges really well. :)

Cheerio!

P.S. Jake got new red socks to go with his Sox shirt. I think he’s down to $48 from his $59 slot machine win. He wanted the socks to ensure that his shoes didn’t start to smell. (Thanks for introducing him to that idea, Ben! ;)

Chaco and Bonzo are now, officially, Friends of Tazman!

Sorry I haven’t been writing much; I’ve been preoccupied. Mom and Dad are here! They’re good sports, because during their six-day stay with me in the mountains were are doing … not much. Although the Wellbutrin is working miracles for me, I’m still tired compared to pre-stroke.

More about that in a minute … Ben took me to a movie on Saturday, and we stopped at Chick Fil A for lunch. They’ve got a picture of a cow on the tables that reminds us suspiciously of a certain four-legged creature that we know … can you guess who???

Anyway, when they arrived on Sunday, Mom presented Jake and Kate with authentic Red Sox t-shirts. Jake has forgiven Mom for putting him in the washing machine during our Christmas trip to Boston. (He had vomit from yours truly all over him; the washing machine was definitely warranted, if you ask me!)

On Monday, I had a doctor’s appointment with Dr. Stapleton, and Mom and Dad drove me down. It was pretty good; I reported my recent success in keeping down my lunch and got some advice on sleep.

On Tuesday we didn’t do anything. I didn’t sleep very well the night before; apparantly, I can thank the Wellbutrin for that. Dr. Stapleton said that, in a couple of weeks, if I still can’t sleep I can call her and she’ll prescribe some of the non-XL stuff. The XL (extended release) has too long of a release time for me, and I just can’t settle down long enough to fall asleep. In the meantime, she gave me instructions to take full doses of Lunesta and Rozaram (sleeping medications).

On Tuesday night, I took my parents to church for the Shrove Tuesday dinner. I didn’t warn them beforehand; it was more fun to surprise them. They had NO IDEA what they were in for :) They enjoyed the games and sat through the singing … overall, I think they enjoyed it!

I tutored at the middle/high school on Wednesday, so Mom and Dad were on their own. I think they entertained themselves by going to the rock store, which entertains Dad to no end. I volunteered to do some more tutoring at the school, and I think they’re going to take me up on it. I’ll keep you posted! :)

Yesterday, my dad and I went skiing! I was nervous for my dad (he’s only been skiing on the east coast, mostly in New Jersey), but he did great! We skiied the blues for about 2 1/2 hours — within my limits — and then headed home, where my dad soaked in the hot tub and then took a nap. :)

Today we were going to go to the butterfly pavillion in Broomfield, but it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, and Mom decided that she and Dad needed to head on. :( It’s sad to see them go, but it was great to have them here for a while! Come back soon!

I’m writing because I haven’t written in a while and I don’t want you to start getting bored or worried about me! This week has been full of medical appointments. On Monday, I visited Dr. Smith, but you already know all about that. On Tuesday, I picked up my ear filters and got fitted for ear plugs (thanks for the suggestion, Ben!) and got my INR tested. Yesterday, I went to therapy. It’s been a long week. However, on Tuesday I started taking Wellbutrin again and, knock on wood, I haven’t vomited! :) It has started getting me to want to do stuff again, which is a relief.

We had an enjoyable Valentines Day. Jake and Kate were surprised to find out that they’d received new leis! Straight from Hawaii! Chaco and Bonzo each enjoyed a treat courtesy of Mom B., and I received a scarf from SC as well! Ben got a pair of pants, a loaf of bread (that I made! Thank you, Wellbutrin!), a picture frame, and two boxes of those dreaded candy hearts that taste like heart-shaped tums.

The weather here hasn’t been great, but it does make for pretty pictures! Here’s our backyard after a night of frozen fog:

Today, I had another appointment with Dr. Smith, the Denver neurologist. Our meeting went better this time; no neurological exam (yay!), and some (not a lot, but …) recognition of my fatigue. Best of all, he said I can stop taking the coumadin! :) I’m thrilled about this; no more bleeding when I shave, when the dogs bump into me, no more nosebleeds, no danger of bleeding out after a car or skiing accident.

Dr. Smith prescribed me Aggrenox to take in place of the Coumadin. Guess what one of the side effects is? Ben pointed out that this isn’t really a good time to change meds, since we still don’t know what’s been making me vomit, so it’s probably going to be a few weeks, but still … YAY!!!

I’m so happy :)

I can’t sleep anymore. It sucks. Last night, I went to bed at 9:15 pm, put a story on itunes, and never fell asleep. I got up around 10, read the computer, and decided to take another Lunesta. No luck. At midnight, Ben called from the airport to say that he was too tired to drive home and was getting a hotel for the night :( He gave me strict instructions to turn off the computer and GO TO BED! I did as he asked … turned off the computer, laid down … and tossed and turned like a mad woman. I probably got to sleep around 1:30 or so.

Then, this morning, I woke up exhausted at 8:30. Why wake up at all? I certainly didn’t want to! I don’t have anything to do today! But I couldn’t get back to sleep. It is so frustrating!

Why is it so hard to sleep? Depression? (I don’t FEEL depressed; I’m going to start Wellbutrin again on Tuesday, but I’ve been on 50 mg of Zoloft since we decided to stop the Aricept.) I would really like to go back to a couple weeks ago, when I was having vivid dreams and couldn’t wait to go to sleep to finish them. This insomnia stuff sucks.

Ahh … I awoke at 8:30 this morning with no trace of nasuea. :) It feels great! Not much on tap for today, so I think I’m going to go down to Boulder to return my Vegas videos (I stocked up before we left), buy a whiteboard (to practice writing), and go grocery shopping.