Shared: A New Way to Walk (Walk, Walk)

Now that my knee is (mostly) feeling better, I'm working on increasing my activity.  I was told to go slow and work up.  Because I lead a very sedentary life, I figured the best and easiest ways for me to just walk around more at work.

So I got a pedometer!

This one is amazing because you can out it anywhere on your body and it accurately counts your steps.  Since I don't have pockets and am too "curvy" to comfortably wear one clipped to my waist band, I actually just stick this in my bra. :)

I originally got the clippy strap to keep it from falling out but that has ended up not being an issue at all.

The clip was actually really annoying so now I just put the pedometer down the front of my bra. :)

I tracked how many steps I took on an average day for a week.  Then I figured out the average per day and strive to take a minimum of 200 steps a day more than the average.  No, it's not a lot but I really feel it in my knees when I take more than that right now.  I have a goal of 5,000 total additional steps above my base point and then I'm going to get myself a treat.  I just haven't decided for sure what that's going to be yet.  I'm really eyeing these leggings, though.

I have discovered that if I dance a lot, it can increase my steps so I have to be careful of that.  Yeah, the movement is good overall but the point is to increase the endurance of my knees. :)

I've thought about joining the gym here at work (just $6 per paycheck!) but being sweaty in front of other people is absolutely mortifying to me.  And I sweat easily.  I don't glisten like some women, either.  Nope.  I turn bright red and wet. :P  And when I get hot, I get super nauseous.

So walking is the first step.  Walk, walk!

Random necklace pic:

Pendant: Fire Mountain Gems

Shared: Sarrahs That Say "Knee!"

I have finally seen the orthopedist and it didn't go quite as I had thought it would.  He confirmed the torn meniscus and the torn ACL but said there's not much he can do about either.  The arthritis is so bad in my knee that it is tearing the mensicus away which, in his words, is not bad because it will eventually wear a groove.  If he fixed it, then it would just tear more.

The outfit I wore for my ortho appointment
Top: Torrid
Skirt: Jessica London
Necklace: Cameo I put together
Fancy lady purse: Unique Vintage

He also said that I will almost certainly need knee replacement surgery in about 10-20 years.

I asked what I can do in the mean time for the pain which has been leaving me in tears way more than I'd like.  He said to take Tylenol Arthritis and Aleve (which I've been doing since this started in July with no relief).  He also gave me a steroid shot in my knee which, unbeknownst to me, made my knee hurt WAAAAAAY worse.  I bawled the entire way home from the pain.  A couple days, later, fortunately, there was marked improvement to the pain and mobility and it's been slowly feeling better.  He also gave me an anti-inflammatory medication which seems to be helping as well.

Random outfit from a few days later
Dress: Torrid
Leggings: New Look
Shoes: Hot Chocolate Design

He gave me sheets with knee exercises that I can start doing now that my knee feels a little better but it was a very frustrating experience.  I'm not sure how long the steroid shot is supposed to last but if/when I start to have issues again, I am going to ask to see a different doctor, I think.

I'm just glad that it's at least improved even if it hasn't improved 100%.

And just because I feel weird only having two pics (I prefer odd numbers), here is a picture of my rings. :)

Wore: Break-A-Leg

HI!!!

Hi!  So nice to see you!  How are you?  Glad to hear it!  Me?  Oh, I'm fine.  Thanks for asking.  No, really... I'm okay.  Yeah, my knee still really, really, really hurts but I'm trying to not be a whiner about it.  It's to the point where I just want to cry every time I have to walk more than 20 steps.  But, the good news is I *FINALLY* have an appointment with the orthopedist next week.  Yay!

Unfortunately, because I am spending a lot more time with my leg up, I am online shopping way more than I should be.  I can justify about 75% of the purchases, at least.  Like the bottles for the wedding mead Andy is making.  I also recently got this top from New Look while it was on super sale:

New Look

The mirror at work was super streaky so I couldn't get a full body shot, though.  I paired this with one of my long black skirts so you can probably imagine the rest. The mesh makes me feel super edgy and broody as you can see in the top picture.  LOL  I still feel kinda bad ass, though.  As bad ass as I can feel anyway.

Here's a more "serious" one.  ;)

It's SO serious that the shadow of my nose is pointing out my chin pimple quite nicely.

For date night last week, it was my turn to choose so I chose to go to Joe's Crab Shack.  I will spare my non-meat-eating friend any specific details (sorry, Goth Gardener!) but my meal came with this bib which made me laugh more than a sane, rational adult probably should have.  At least that was Andy's take on my giggles. :)

It also seemed apropos since my leg is gimpy.  I love that word.  Apropos.

Anyway...Do you partake in retail therapy?  If so, what's your go-to store, shop, or website?

Until later, sweet p'taters!

(Yes, I am overly-caffeinated right now  Why do you ask?  LOL)

Wore: It's ME!

My knee is getting worse, to the point where driving almost brings me to tears and it wakes me up at night.  Unfortunately, I can't get in to see an orthopedist for over 3 weeks.  But because I am not sleeping well, I am drinking a lot more caffeine during the day.

Caffeine (and sugar) affect me the way it would a 5-year-old.  When I pick Andy up from work, he can tell when I've had more than usual (or if someone had cake or donuts at work that day).  I think this pic sort of illustrates this:

Dress: SWAK Design
Leggings: New Look
Shoes: Hot Chocolate Designs
Necklaces: gifts from Andy

This was the only picture I took where I wasn't blurry.  LOL

Here's a close up of my beloved Nightmare Before Christmas necklaces that Andy got me for Yule:

The bottom one is actually 2 halves that are meant to be BFF necklaces but I put them together on one long chain instead.  I almost always wear the 2 necklaces together.  I've read that some people think Nightmare Before Christmas is overrated and overdone but I don't care.  It's still one of my favorite movies. :)

Because of the knee pain being overwhelming, we've been using a free trial of Fresh Cart on Amazon Prime to have groceries delivered to us which has been SO NICE!  They don't have everything we need so Andy still has to run in to get a few of his essentials but it's better than putting the whole grocery trip on him while I sit out in the minivan.

We also got really behind on laundry since we don't have a washer/dryer in our apartment.  We decided that we could afford to use a laundry service to get caught up so I found a good one that also had free pick up.  And it really was free.  Most other places I looked at charged more per pound to cover their "free" service.  Pfft.  I can math!

It felt weird sending my clothes out with some stranger.  Especially because it was such a large chunk of my wardrobe.  What if they ruined it?  What if they stole it?  What if it ended up on the black market??  Andy told me to calm my imagination down.  :)  

We had them pick up the clothes on Thursday afternoon (Andy's day off) and drop them back off Saturday when we were home.  All the clothes came back and they were folded so nicely.  Even my bras and underwear.  I never fold my undergarments.

Sidia wasted no time and jumped on everything as soon as we laid it on the bed.  Every time I open a drawer, I am still amazed at how neatly everything is folded.  All the things that are different sizes are folded to be the same size and quite compact without folds or wrinkles.  I'm really not sure how they did that!  It just showed me how much I am lacking when it comes to domestic skills. :)

Just so he doesn't get jealous, here's a picture of Rustle in a rare moment of stillness.  (That's why his name is a verb and not a noun.)

Lastly, Andy bought me a Baby Groot doll who has quickly become best friends with Claude van Dumm.  They are pretty much inseparable at this point.  Their conversations crack me up, though!  They basically go like this:

(*singing*) "My name is Claude van Dumm Dumm Dumm!"

"I am Groot!"

"My name is Claude"

"I am Groot?"

(*singing*)  "van Dumm Dumm Dumm!"

"I am Groot."

"And my name is Claude."

"I am... Groot."

"Your name is Groot?"

"I am Groot!"

(*singing*) "My name is Claude van Dumm Dumm Dumm!"

"I am Groot."

(*singing*) "Van Groot Groot Groot!"

Wore: Fancy Dancing Lady

Some days, in my head, I am a fancy lady.  I'm really not and the pics prove it but I like it when I feel fancy.  This dress does that for me.

Dress: SWAK Designs
Bracelet: Wish
Necklace: made by me

It's floor length, hugs the boobages nicely, and flows nicely over the rest of me.  It doesn't cling, either.  The downside is that the fabric doesn't breathe well which kinda sucks in this Atlanta heat.  I'm an indoor kitty that just moves from A/C to A/C anyway, though, so I make do.

I kinda needed the pick-me-up this week.  My right knee started hurting and has been getting worse so I went to urgent care after it kept me up all night; the doctor there just told me it's an arthritis flare up.  I was told in my mid-20's that I had arthritis in my knees and ankles (due to so many injuries from being clumsy) but it's never been this bad.  So I am icing it and taking over the counter pain killers and avoiding foods that cause inflammation.  It's a little better but I still can't walk well without a noticeable limp.

The worst part of the whole thing, though, was the doctor's attitude.  She seemed SO BORED while talking with me, like I was wasting her time.  Her "exam" consisted of poking my knee twice with her index finger then sending me for x-rays.

After her diagnosis she said,  "You are also so..." then puffs out her cheeks and puts her arms & hands out from her sides about a foot "...you have a lot of excess weight which will make your knees worse."

Yep, the doctor mimed to me how fat I am.

I laughed.  Hard.  I have no idea what she said after that.

It's no secret to anyone that I am a big girl.  I don't attempt to hide it and I don't apologize for it.  I love me no matter what size I am and don't let the scale dictate how happy I am.  Sure, I could stand to lose a bunch of weight for health reasons but I am who I am.  I just thought that was extremely unprofessional, though, and the old me from 10+ years ago would have been devastated.

So, topic change: my necklace.  :)  This is one of my fancy lady necklaces that I only wear on special occasions.

I made it myself to wear when I was the matron of honor at my sister's wedding in 2011.  I made it to coordinate with the one I made for HER:

I don't have a picture of it but I also made our mom one that she wore that was a straight strand of beads with just the skully cameo.  I wish I had a picture of my sister's dress on my phone that I could share.  It was a strapless white dress with a black sash tied around the waist and she wore a long sleeve black shrug over it.  It was a good combo of the traditional white that she wanted to wear with her gothy/punky aesthetic.

I am 7 years older than her and when I was 18, I went off to college so she was more-or-less an only child from age 11 and on.  I didn't start embracing my darker side until later in life and it's funny how she and I have turned out to have A LOT of the same tastes.  Unfortunately for me, she is still in Minnesota where we grew up so I don't get to see her (or the rest of family) nearly often enough.

We also ended up going through our separations and subsequent divorces at around the same time which we both thought was interesting.

Do you wear anything specific if you need a mood booster?