My Hair's Falling Out

Health is usually not something we think about until we are sick, which just kinds seems backwards.  Some time ago I had written down the things that I value in life and health was on the top of the list.  So it's something that I have been working hard to achieve, I eat healthy and exercise, no I am not perfect by any means (Starbucks and Chocolate are my weakness).  But it always is in the back of my mind to strive to be healthy so I can live a long, healthy life, disease free.

Can you tell that I like to give the thumbs up?  I'm cool. 

A couple weeks ago I had kind of touched on how my life is sorta just a wake up, work, exercise (which I force myself to do), eat, sleep kind of deal.  For years I’ve been struggling with low energy and I had gone to a doctors but they didn’t really seem to think it was a big deal because I was in college and just probably late nights studying partying.

I feel like I need to go back and explain some other things first till I get to where I am today.  A year ago I found out that I have shitty hormone issues.  Basically what it all means is I am able to conceive, my ovaries and eggs seem to be fine but because my hormone levels are low and off my cycle sorta restarts itself and would more than likely kick anything out. As in miscarry. What? Not the news that a person wanting to have a child someday wants to hear.  It had taken me some time to process it all and wanted to get the bf's input and see how if felt about it. 

With all my conscious health efforts I knew something was off.  It was more than just low energy and being that girl who was tired all the flipping time.  I was starting to not feel like myself.  My moods were all over the place, which others even pointed out.  I was up and down, I just couldn’t guess what I was going to feel when I woke up.  I cry a lot, which part of it is just me.  There are days that I feel sad and I never pinpoint why.  I’ve always been the silly girl, the girl that loves to make everyone laugh, including myself. 

You bet that's a watch around my belt loop.

Here I am mopping around, sad for no flipping reason.  Ugh I hate it, I hate, I hate it.  There is no reason for me to feel like this because I’ve got a great thing going on.  I’ve met the man that I want to spend the rest of my life making happy, I’ve got the most supportive family, two beautiful pups, a cute lil house, a job, you get the deal.

The hardest thing for me is that last year around this time I weighed 103 and my highest weight this year was 118.  I’ve always been tiny so putting on this much weight in such a short time has been hard. It makes it even more frustrating at the fact that I work out, even though I am so tired.  I box, I take a boot camp class, I’ll walk the dog, hike, workout at the gym.  Plus I eat well as I said before.  

I'm throwing it all out there folks...

My face has blown up, almost like it looks swollen.  I’ve joked about how I call it my “love” weight but now it’s gotten to the point where I’m sad when I look at myself in the mirror because I don’t like what I see. Since the spring I have only lost a few pounds and I’m not that concerned about the actual number, I just want to see results. 

Left: November 2012                                    Right: June 2013

All I want to do is sleep.  This month has been one of the worst I’m in bed anytime between 7pm and 9 the absolute latest.  I take naps in my car on my lunch. On weekends I drink caffeine like it’s my job to stay up later.  You can bet that the bf and I don’t do a damn thing on weeknights.  This is the reason why I haven’t blogged nearly as much as I would like to.  Thanks to my readers for your love through my lack of posting. 

The final kicker for me was when a couple weeks ago I discovered that I was losing my hair. What da fuck?  I’ve already got thin hair to begin with and this girl who was growing out her hair did not need it to be thinning. This is not normal my friends.  I even asked my hair dresser if she noticed anything, because who knows your hair better than your hairdresser?

So off to the doctors I went.  Side note:  I hate going to the doctors.  So this was a big step for me.  The doc wanted me to get some bloodwork done, did I mention that I hate needles too. K well I do.  On the 4^th of November I got my results back…The doctor had believed it to be thyroid related and he actually was correct.  It’s called Hypothryoidism, which is somewhat common but it’s still nothing that anyone wants to live with. 

I was relieved to finally know after all the years why I was feeling the way I was but it still sucks to know that there is ACTUALLY something wrong and i'm actually "unhealthy".  I’m 24 years old I should be healthy and enjoying my life.  This is the time to be adventurous!  I’m not old yet people!  But I’m acting like an 80 year old. 

What da fu*k is hypothryoidsim?  It’s when your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough of the hormone thyroxin and it can affect the way you feel, the way you look, and the way you sound. 

Here are a list of the Symptoms:

Weight gain

Dry Skin

Yellow Skin

Hair loss

Swollen face, hands, legs, ankles, or feel

Feeling cold

Hoarse or raspy voice

Constipation

Irregular periods

Fatigue

Slower thinking

Trouble remember things

Slower speech or movement

Feeling down or depressed

Slow heart rate

Infertility

Changes in cholesterol

I can put a check mark next to almost all of these symptoms.  Who know that this lil butterfly shaped gland could affect my life completely.  I’ve been reading about it all over the internet and blogs about people who are going through exactly what I am.  My heart breaks for other people who are going through this because though it may not be life threatening it does affect your life in a big way.  Underactive thyroid  also been linked to pregnancy dangers (infertility, still birth, pre-eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, low birth weight, and deficits in intellectual development in infants), heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s according to some of the literature.  No thanks. 

I’m someone who rarely takes medicine, I haven’t been that way my whole life but I’ve always been a hippy at heart and feel like there are natural ways to going about things, or at least try the natural approach before diving into medicine.  Such as diet, exercise, supplements, etc.  But now the doctor insisted that the only treatment is taking a pill every day for the rest of my life.  This goes against everything I believe in.  After much researching I decided to start on the medicine until I can look more into if there is a natural way to go about this and if it actually works.

Now you are telling me that I’ve got a crappy functioning thyroid and shitty hormone (which could or could not be related)?  Suck it Thyroid!  I don’t get it. 

I want to be able to prove to my doctor that I can reverse my inactive thyroid without supporting the pharmaceutical Industry.  How kickass would that be?  Anyways, I mean who seriously wants to be dependent on a pill for the rest of your life? But at the same time if there is no other way and medicine is the only thing to truly help me than of course I will continue to take the route for my health.

If anybody is going through or know someone going through this I would love to hear from you and the steps you have taken to help you through this.  Holla at your girl, lets discuss and drink beers! 

Pinterest You Win: Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken

If you follow me on Pinterest you know that I pin A LOT!  So last week I found this Chicken Recipe that I just had to try.  I mean when your mouth is watering just looking at it it, it calls for lets make the damn dish type deal.  So I went and got all the ingredients and I was so excited especially since this would be the first time that I have ever cooked chicken thighs.  Challenge accepted! Yes, I get super excited about cooking new recipes!  
Orange Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Pinterest

Reality: 

Do you see the resemblance?  Okay yea me either.  Mine looks straight up burnt.   Though I thought it actually turned out well, the skin was nice and crispy just the way I like it.  I cooked it in coconut oil instead of olive oil, which the bf did not like because he said it was too coconutty.  I think it's all in his head. Next time I might try it with chicken breasts because i'm just not into the whole bone thing.  Another modification I would make is maybe a dash of cayenne to take away some of the sweetness.I served it with a side of sauteed sweet potatoes in coconut oil with a salt, honey, and cinnamon. 

Ingredients:

10-12 chicken thighs or a breast per person
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Cracked black pepper
1/2 cup of honey (I use raw organic)
1/4 cup of orange juice
Zest from one orange
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (better quality)
2 tablespoons of fresh sage or 2 teaspoons of dried

Directions:

Place the rack so it’s about 6-8 inches away from the broiler and preheat the oven with the broiler on low (if you have a dual setting) if not, just broil.  Brush or spray (if you have an oil atomizer) each piece of chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Lay on your broiler pan.  Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes (keeping a watchful eye on it the last few minutes) until golden.  Then flip each piece over, brush with oil and season again.  Back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

While the chicken is broiling, in a large measuring cup or small bowl, blend the honey, juice, zest, vinegar and sage.  Whisk until well combined.  Set aside.

Remove the chicken and pierce to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked and that juices run clear (no pink meat).  Then brush or spoon the glaze over top of each one.  Broil for 3 or so minutes and flip.  Repeat.  Coat well with the glaze.  Broil for another 3-4 minutes.  Remove and cover with foil for 10 minutes.  Serve and enjoy.   

I found the recipe here and I do not take credit for coming up with it.  

Enjoy the recipe! 

I'm currently doing the happy dance because my boss sent an e-mail around saying everyone could leave at 2pm and go meet for drinks to show appreciation for our hard work for meeting a deadline. Heck yes!  #ItsTheLittleThings

Happy Friday!!!!

Purdue Weekend Recap

Last weekend I partied like I was in college.  Well, kinda sorta.  I should say I tried to party like I was in college.  Key word being TRIED.  The bf and I headed down to Purdue University, which is where he went to college, to get together with friends for a football tailgate.  

So here’s how the weekend went.  On Friday I worked through lunch so I could get out at 4, which would get me home at 5.  I still needed to finish making my dad’s famous macaroni salad and pack for the weekend.  I was a total spaz trying to get everything done thankfully my bf had cleaned up the house and put the Peanut Butter Cookie Cheesecake bars in the oven.   I really don’t know how l lucked out with such an amazing man. Feel free to barf here.

Anyways the bf and I  packed up the car and headed down to Lafayette early so he could show me around his ol’ stomping grounds or as I mentioned on twitter ol’ stopping grounds, which Erin had of course corrected me.  I never seem to get those saying’s right.  It was cute to see how excited he was to show me all the places he hung out and lived. 

All the driving around had me starving so we went to this Irish Bar to get some food and drinks.  We happened to get a seat right in front of the Irish/Scottish band that was about to start. Score!  My roots are Irish so I felt right at home.  We were enjoying ourselves so much.  I almost even got up and did the Irish Jig, which I "think" I can do but I think it might I've been the beer increasing my confidence.  Anyways I didn't end up doing the Irish Jig but the bf and I did hope on the dance train for a song that had something to do with riding horses and the devil. Haha who knows.  Since we were having so much fun we decided to stay till two of our friends got into town.  

Of course by the time they showed up we had been there for 3ish hours and were several beers deep. I was at the point where I was basically screaming.  I talk loud to begin with and add a few drinks in me and I'm 20x louder.  Yea I am that girl.  I've learned to embrace it although everyone around me hasn't quite got used to it yet.  I blame it on the fact that I'm from New York.  

We stayed there till the band ended and they wanted to take me to one of the bars they used to hang out at called "Harry's."  I managed to get 2 free drinks.  Yes, I still got it!  Okay so maybe the guy was like 60 but still free drinks are a win in my book.  Phil even showed me the table that he engraved his name in.  We didn't stay there for too long because we realized that we were old and it was time to eat again and get to sleep. 

We hit up a street vendor favorite of Philly and his friends.  I got something called a Fat Girl, which I don't even recall what was in it but i'm sure it was all bad stuff that was not on my eat healthy plan.  Anyways I couldn't wait to get to bed because A. I was drunk and B. I had a food Baby.  

The rest of the group drove up early on Saturday to meet us for the tailgate.  To my surprise and to everyone else's, I was rather chipper for the morning.  I am not a morning person at all and plus I had a few too many beers the night before and I was just as shocked that I didn't feel like garbage.  

There was lots of eating including Chili, chicken wings, pork burgers, Marconi salad, buffalo dip, peanut butter cookie cheesecake bars, hot cocoa, and i'm sure i'm forgetting something.  

Photo Highlights from the Tailgate! 

We didn't even go into the game.  I'm pretty sure the final score of the game was Purdue 0 Ohio State 56. Yea I would say that Purdue does not excel in the football department.  I had an amazing time till I lost my wristlet for like the second time this month.  Pissed.  I'm pretty sure I left it in a porta potty.  Is that how you spell that?  I was mad at myself more than anything because I lose crap all the time.  I swear I would lose my head if it was attached.  

Anyways after an hour I got over it and figured that wristlet was just cursed and it was time for something that actually strapped on to myself.  I may even go with a fanny pack.  Don't judge. Desperate times call for desperate measures my friends.  

All in all it was a fantastico weekend with great friends!  It was so special to get to see part of Phil's college days.  And i'm sure you know I heard tons of stories from his college days from all of his friends.  And you bet I did absolutely nothing on Sunday but throw some ingredients in a crock pot and sit my ass on the couch all damn day! 

I leave you with this....