Back in the Land of the Living

I know it's been a while since I last posted. I fell ill with a double ear infection. The doctor told me I had a strep infection in my ears. Have you ever heard of such a thing?! I was completely out of it for three straight days.

The week I was sick, my dog woke me up at 4 in the morning wanting to go outside. I kept telling her to lay back down, but she kept pestering me until I took her downstairs to get let out. When I got to the main floor, a queer chemical smell overpowered me. I woke my husband to check it out. He thought it smelled like a battery burning up. We checked every outlet and battery operated device and couldn't find the source of the odor. I was freaking out thinking my house was going to burn up! Thank God my dog alerted me to it. After being awake for 2 hours, I started to get ready for work. What else could I do? The kids went to school and my husband and I went to work.

On the way home from work, I stopped at the township fire department and asked if a guy could come to my house and check it out. A firefighter showed up with special goggles that have infrared or heat-seeking capabilities that can see right through your walls and he couldn't find anything. Well, at least I felt better knowing I didn't have bad wiring in my walls ready to go! It wasn't until later that night when my daughter went to get some ice cream, and her spoon went right to the bottom of the ice cream container! My electrician husband checked it out and found a relay thingy majig that was black and buring up. After checking to see if we could simply replace that part (fridge was only 7 years old and in otherwise fine shape) we were told that if this part was bad, the compressor is bad. Great. I got to spend $1000 on a new fridge. Of couse my kitchen has all bisque (off-white) appliances and guess what they're not making much of anymore?! Bisque is a special order. Luckily, it's winter in Michigan and I have an attached garage, which is where I had to keep the contents of my fridge until we could get a new one delivered.

This past Saturday we finally got our new fridge and after hooking up the water supply for the in-door water/ice feature, find that the water dribbles terrible. There is something wrong with the valve. We get to have a repair guy show up to fix it! Hopefully all turns out well.

On another note, I found out I've been approved through my insurance for a six month medical weight loss program. I went to a seminar tonight to learn more. My first doctor's appointment is on March 25th. I'm going to try the VLCD, otherwise known as the Very Low Calorie Diet. I will be restricted to 800 - 900 calories/day. I will have to give up most foods and stick to high protein shakes, cereal and prepackaged meals for 12 weeks. I've heard people have lost 50 + lbs on this diet. I hope I'll be able to stick to it. I really need to succeed. I need to make a change.