BEFORE

Tomorrow is the big day! Here's what the bay window looked like in April when we moved in.

We replaced the window boxes last month and tomorrow I'm going to pick out new flowers with my mom and my grandma. So exciting!

Long Greenbrae flat leather boots in camel from J. Crew

Long Greenbrae flat leather boots in camel from J. Crew $325, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

Seriously though, I think these might be this year's boots for me. The left shoe of my pairs of flats is all scuffed up because my foot drops. I do like summer but I miss wearing boots.

The J. Crew fall collection

Antiqued-gold sequin top from J. Crew $400, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

It's a good thing the J. Crew fall collection that came out today includes an antiqued-gold sequin top for $400. My old one is pretty much worn out.

Annie's Annuals!

I've never been to Annie's Annuals in Richmond, CA but my dream for my currently empty new window boxes is to go there and buy lots of cool flowers.

My mom and I are plotting the trip now! She's coming next Tuesday and Wednesday and we're working out the details. I'm afraid it will be too much and I'll get too tired but I want to do it!

Let's hear it for on-line ordering & free delivery!

I ran out the door this morning headed for the Giants game and realized halfway there that I forgot to take my meds this morning. I didn't really miss the Provigil until about 4 pm. I don't usually do much on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I pretty much always take Provigil. I didn't realize that it really IS working. I take half the dose my neuro prescribed (100 mg instead of 200 mg) but it's still doing something because I'm really dragging now without it. Anyway, dinner tonight is being prepared and delivered by the nice folks at Brandy Ho's. On-line ordering and free delivery, try and top that! And to think I was sad when the Thai restaurant that used to be there closed...

Take me out to the ball game

Today I'm sitting in a luxury suite at the Giants game. One of my clients invited me to go! My firm has a suite, so I've sat there before but it's always cool.

The Giants are playing the Nationals which doesn't happen often. The Nationals are cool because my dad lives in Charlottesville, VA and it's neat he has a team now. Go Giants!

I bring my own mug to get coffee

I bring my own mug to get coffee, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

so I don't throw away (or recycle or compost) a disposable cup every morning. I know, the mug on the left is made of plastic. I'm in the process of switching the mugs out but haven't finished. I'm drinking iced lattes this summer so it's hopefully not as bad (leaching less than in hot liquid).

As for washing the mugs, I throw them in my Energy Star dishwasher with an Ecover dishwasher detergent tablet.

No more bisphenol A

At home and in the office, I have Sigg bottles that I fill with filtered tap water. This way, we avoid the (possibly) bad chemicals in plastic bottles and don't lug home bottled water from the market and which then fills the recycling bin with plastic bottles.

Has anyone read this book?

Amazon.com: The MS Recovery Diet: Ann Sawyer, Judith Bachrach: Books

Any feedback regarding this book and diet? I had never heard of it until this morning. I followed the Swank diet the first year after I was diagnosed but have fallen back to eating whatever. I can't say that the Swank diet made a huge difference. It's very tough to tell about these things because you feel so different each day anyway. What drives me crazy are all the testimonials describing disability and amazing transformation. Um, isn't that what happens? I was in terrible shape and had trouble walking but I have almost 100% recovered with PT and hard work. I mean, recovery is not always possible but periods of increased disability followed by recovery pretty much sums up my MS experience.

You've met Lexi...

I take pictures of her so frequently
that I think she's learned
how to pose!









Now it's time to meet me and my husband. We're on our honeymoon last summer in this photo. We had a picnic that day and snapped a photo of ourselves.

Products that have changed my life: SLS free shower gel

I'm switching to natural products for cleaning, laundry and bathing. I'm trying to avoid icky stuff like parabens and looking for products that don't harm the environment or test on animals. During this process, I found Avalon Organics. Their products are great, meet all my criteria, lather up nicely even without SLS and smell great. I didn't realize that the dry skin on my back and the red bumps on my husband's back were caused by the reaction to SLS in our old shower gel. Not even a month after we switched to Avalon Organics shower gel, we both had soft, smooth skin without red bumps or dry patches. Cool!

Avalon Organics | Bath & Shower

How was your day, dear?

I had an MRI of my cervical spine today. The sensory FLAIR that started last month seems to have worsened and I want to do another round of IV steroids. Dr. Green wants to review an MRI first to see if there are active lesions and decide whether steroids make sense or not. I was in the tube forever!

McKenzie bedding in ink

McKenize bedding in ink , originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

I just ordered pillow shams for our bed. I hope that the color looks good with our azure bedding!

My double life

My office building, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

OK, now it's time to talk about me a little more. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week I work in the financial district of San Francisco as a corporate paralegal for a big law firm. I spend Tuesdays and Thursdays at home with Lexi. My husband's boss asked me recently what I do those days. He clearly doesn't have MS or know someone with it. Generally, I relax, water the plants, practice yoga and nap. Sometimes when I'm full of energy and feeling industrious, I'll run a load of laundry or put away clean dishes from the dishwasher. That's about it.

Hell no, we won't go!

Hell no, we won't go!, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

Lexi seems to know that the box contains the TV bracket that will spell the end of her beloved tube TV.

Disposing of old medication

Don't know what to do with all the meds that you're not taking anymore? I searched the internet for safe disposal instructions and came up with "put them in with kitty litter and throw them in the trash" which works and does discourage anyone from eating them but then I had another idea. I emptied the pills that I'm no longer taking into my sharps container before I dropped it off at Walgreens to exchange for a new, empty one. I removed the labels from the plastic prescription bottles and then recycled them.

Of course, yesterday my neurologist suggested that I take Tegretol (the pill I dumped unto my sharps container a few months ago) again for something new so now I've got to go back to Walgreens and get more. Oh well, at least it worked well in theory and I'm sure I'll do it again in the future.

If it's Monday, it must be my arm...

In the past year, I've made some real improvements to my Rebif routine. I stick to a schedule for rotating injection sites so I don't have to record the locations on my calendar anymore. We do an arm on Monday, midsection (love handle or tummy) on Wednesday and wrap up the week with the easiest of all, top of the thigh. I try to remember which side we used the prior week and alternate but it's OK if we goof since it's been at least 7 days no matter what. This system has really cut out a lot of work (staring at my skin, trying to remember where we did it last, scribbling on the wall calendar in the kitchen late at night) and has made my life easier.

Wall calendar in kitchen, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

Hiding the sharps container

blogged to http://pooksagirl.blogspot.com/ on 7-7-08, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

I've been hunting for a box or basket to hide my sharps container and I noticed this lidded basket at McMaster & Storm this morning. It's cute but I haven't checked the dimensions yet. Where do others keep their sharps containers? Am I the only one who wants to hide mine but have it accessible three times a week?

New window boxes!

IMG_1345, originally uploaded by Cynthia in SF.

The window boxes at Smith & Hawken that I've wanted since we moved in went on sale so we got them! They fit the space perfectly and I'm really excited to plant them. I'm thinking about using blue, white and purple flowers. I'm trying to find a good trailing plant to trail over the sides, too.