Living ~400lbs

… and believe me I am still alive

Mental health

  • Doctors and dentists and blood, oh my!

    Last week I noticed my jaw was hurting a bit. Always in the same place. Was something wrong? It went away over the weekend, but came back on Monday. It was bad enough on Monday that I called the dentist. I soon had an appointment for Wed afternoon. In the meantime, I took a Tylenol… Continue reading

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  • Review: The Relentless Moon

    The newest Lady Astronaut book from Mary Robinette Kowal is fun. It features a 50ish woman, Nicole Wargin, who finds and defeats bad guys in an alternate world where the space race started in the 1950s; by the early 60s, there’s a moon base and a mission to Mars. Nicole is an ex-WASP who admits… Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    Starting this practice again. Our single-story home. We’ve been here for 2 years now, and it’s still the right decision. Unpacked some boxes this week. (We’re old and thus have lots of stuff.) Chosen family. Twitter friends. My mobility scooter, which makes events and shopping easier. Continue reading

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  • Laughter is the only thing that’ll keep you sane

    Laughter is the only thing that’ll keep you sane In this world that’s crying more and more everyday Don’t let evil get you down In this madness spinning round and round I want you to live forever… – “Live Forever” by Drew Holcomb Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    An occasional exercise in gratitude. Work is going well; I have a new boss who is not only on my side, but inspiring. Levothyroxine and asthma meds, which keep me functional. New cpap, now with built-in humidifier. Close friends who shared hugs and helped discuss the election. Vaccines  Himself, who made lasagna for dinner. (I… Continue reading

  • Treating Weight First?

    The Twitterverse has been busy talking about some new treatment guidelines for fatties. Ragen Chastain posted about a piece from Medscape called “New US Obesity Guidelines: Treat the Weight First,” which also has quotes from the lead author.  I also clicked over to the guidelines themselves. They start with an extremely helpful objective, to wit:… Continue reading

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  • Interesting – research on insomnia & depression

    I’ve written about depression and insomnia before.  Also that I can induce depression symptoms by shorting myself on sleep. Now the NIMH is studying interactions between depression and insomnia.  Doctors have long considered poor sleep to be a symptom of depression that would clear up with treatments, said Rachel Manber, a professor in the psychiatry… Continue reading

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  • Some Good Things

    Photos have surfaced on Flikr of Integrity Puget Sound & various Episcopal parishes in the Seattle Pride Parade. Things that happen in Seattle: Officers assisted a man who took an early morning office chair ride.  (No one was hurt.) A new Donna Andrews book, The Hen of the Baskervilles, has arrived. A new Stop Paying Attention comic! The… Continue reading

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  • Necessary, but not sufficient

    Money is not sufficient for happiness. Money is necessary to avoid certain forms of unhappiness. It’s really not that complicated. It only appears complicated to those who: A) have enough money; and B) don’t have enough happiness. The word they don’t understand there is “enough.” This is not entirely their fault, because much of our… Continue reading

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  • When home’s not home

    We cannot bring you back when home’s not home We can’t make you pay debts you will not own We cannot reason with the unforeseen We can’t compromise when there’s no in-between — Marian Call, in her song “In The Black”. She’s released both studio and live versions. This reminds me of my parents; making… Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    [An occasional exercise in gratitude.] It’s Thursday.  I made it to Thursday. Monday I took 5 hours out of my day for a training class on interviews (with a special focus on behavioral interviewing, joy) followed by working late. Then my carpool buddy and I drove to the 1 post office still open so he could drop… Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    [An occasional exercise in gratitude.] 1) Getting things done at work. 2) Realized I was feeling a bit fuzzy-headed and tired everytime I took my SSRI.  Being able to notice this sort of thing is somewhat new.  3) Successfully tapered down to a low dose without problems.  (Why? It’s been nearly two years since I… Continue reading

  • Around the web

    A useful discussion of how to say the right thing to someone in hospital (or other bad situation.) Christianity Today wonders if antidepressants keep people from God.  Fred Clark at Slacktivist responds: No pious jackasses sit around pondering “Should Christians Take Insulin?” No insufferably holier-than-thou idiots pretend it would be deeply spiritual if they said, “Rattlesnake… Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    [An occasional exercise in gratitude] It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for…. I belong to a church where women wearing pants to church is common.  As are women in leadership.  1-year anniversary at work.  My signing bonus is now all mine, instead of something I have to pay back if I leave.  Also I get another week’s vacation… Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    Things that I am thankful for: 1 The man of the house packed a yummy lunch for me today.  He also cooked each night I was home this week. 2 AC. Most houses in Seattle don’t have AC.  I don’t regret installing ours, even if we barely used it last year. 3 A job where… Continue reading

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  • Thankful Thursday

    [an occasional exercise in gratitude] It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for… Being thanked for work I did on an event. Being complimented on my writing and this blog. Between blackout curtains and weight lifting I’m mostly getting enough sleep this summer. Physically feeling the benefits of regular strength training. Splurging on a few summer tops & such.… Continue reading

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  • Things to read

    From Jezebel’s Work-Life Balance Isn’t Just for Moms: The basic point of all of this is that whether you have kids, have a partner but no kids, or are living alone, working too much sucks. It’s no way to live, and we’re not dummies. So at some point, most of us realize that we’d rather do… Continue reading

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About Me

Former software tester, now retired heart patient having fun and working on building endurance and strength. See also About page.

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