A Young Wife’s Tale

Today I got to try Wanchai Ferry’s new frozen Beef and Broccoli meal for two. It contains wheat, so David wasn’t able to try it, but it was a nice lunch for me. I’ll have to check and see if some of the other meals such as Szechuan Style Chicken and Orange Chicken contain wheat. All of the entrees have no added MSG, so that’s a big plus!

A few months ago, we decided to workout together at Maegan’s gym. I rarely do cardio. I like my low impact Pilates. I arrived at her place and we chatted for a few minutes while I raided her pantry because I can’t workout on an empty stomach. Then, we drove to the gym. We went to the front desk to get a guest pass and realized that they were closing in 12 minutes.

So, what did we do? We ran upstairs and used the elliptical machines for 10 minutes. When we left I decided I really needed to eat dinner, so we stopped at Chic-fil-A.

We’re still not sure where we’re going to live in New Jersey. We have found a rental property manager for our house here in Dallas. He was such a nice man. Our house is a disaster right now. It’s covered in boxes and we have stuff spread out all over the floor. He said, “This is a clean house. It will show really well.” Bless his heart. Just pray we find renters immediately!

What’s the best thing for David when he flares? David soaks in a hot bath with epsom salts every day. When he flares, he takes additional hot baths. Sometimes he will use a heating pad or Therma Heat patches. Often when he flares the doctor will give him an injection of arthritis medication directly into his back. There’s really not a whole lot we can do except wait it out. David has tried acupuncture, but it is a bit expensive, although it does provide considerable relief.

What helps your jaw when it’s hurting? Rest and relaxation. I try to eat soft foods like mashed potatoes and yogurt when my jaw hurts, so that my jaw can rest. Relaxation through exercise, massage therapy, playing the piano, etc. helps quite a bit. When my jaw pain was very bad a few years ago, I would sometimes drink hot beverages to relax my muscles. I wish you could have seen me with my mouth full of Chai Tea Latte leaning to one side to hold the hot liquid where I wanted it.

As I was doing our taxes this year, I tallied up all of our medical expenses for 2009. We spent $12,000. And we didn’t even have any surgeries or hospitalizations.

Suffice it to say, we’ve never been able to go beyond an emergency fund to a savings account with three months of living expenses. Sorry Suze.