No Africa update today...I just need to vent.
Three and a half weeks.
Twenty four days.
Not bothering to calculate the hours, minutes, and seconds.
But for the past three and a half weeks, there has not been a SINGLE day that I have not felt as though my world would be much, much better if I could just throw up, at least once or twice.
I'm not sick. I know I'm not sick. Maybe if this had started after I got to Africa, I could convince myself of food poisoning, but no...this was going on before. Three and a half weeks to be precise.
And my back still hurts.
And the girls still twinge off and on.
And smells are getting to me like I've never experienced before in my LIFE. Seriously...PIZZA was getting to be too much last night. I LOVE pizza. And I'm tearing up at random moments over stupid stuff. And my Coke suddenly tasted like potting soil the other day and WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!?!?!
I HAD my period this week. Somewhat. It was weird. TMI alert...but frankly, I bleed like a stuck pig. Clumps of tissue, bright red flow for four to six days, I have to change the pad at least two or three times a day. This past week? Four days of what was basically brown spotting. I could've worn the same pad the entire four days.
Except that would be gross. And smelly. Ew.
And I'm really, really trying to convince myself that it's all in my head...but I've never felt like this in my life. I shouldn't be having symptoms after I got my period, should I? Seriously, someone help? Should I go to the doctor?
Needless to say, this is seriously freaking me out. I don't know what the hell is going on with my body, and it's driving me insane.
*breathes deep*
Aug 17, 2008
Aug 8, 2008
Elfgirl's Adventures in Africa, The Return
Heyas,
Well, the country is still incredibly beautiful. D and I are still having an incredible time with our volunteer program. The kids are amazingly well-behaved...it's all "Yes, miss" and "No, miss" and "Excuse me, miss" and my favorite, "Does Miss have children?" (not yet, sweetie, working on it ;) )
Apart from our placement, D and I are just trying to experience as much of the culture and the country as possible. We're going down to the southernmost part of the Cape tomorrow, literally the spot where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic meet. Supposedly, there's literally a line in the water where you can see the two waters clashing. I hope to get some incredible pictures.
Oh, and we get to see penguins. Gotta love the penguins!
D and I are planning on going up to the top of Table Mountain on Sunday...I think that's going to be an absolutely breathtaking view. Can't wait to get a few shots of that...I'm going to have so much to show my kids!
Some more pictures...Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in Cape Town:
Another shot of Table Mountain:
And tomorrow, I hope to upload some shots we got from the Botanical Gardens we went to the other day. Lovely, lovely flowers, even in the dead of winter.
On the Imp-front...
I'm officially late.
Not REALLY late, but late.
The girls are killing me, the, ahem, nipple area is looking swollen and dark, my back hurts, it's still REALLY mucus-y "down there" and I'm still getting flashes of nausea.
I'm upgrading from "hoping, but trying not to get my hopes UP" to "cautiously optimistic". I have another three days before I can really say I'm LATE, late, so I think I might test this weekend.
What say you, Imp? Are you here?
Well, the country is still incredibly beautiful. D and I are still having an incredible time with our volunteer program. The kids are amazingly well-behaved...it's all "Yes, miss" and "No, miss" and "Excuse me, miss" and my favorite, "Does Miss have children?" (not yet, sweetie, working on it ;) )
Apart from our placement, D and I are just trying to experience as much of the culture and the country as possible. We're going down to the southernmost part of the Cape tomorrow, literally the spot where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic meet. Supposedly, there's literally a line in the water where you can see the two waters clashing. I hope to get some incredible pictures.
Oh, and we get to see penguins. Gotta love the penguins!
D and I are planning on going up to the top of Table Mountain on Sunday...I think that's going to be an absolutely breathtaking view. Can't wait to get a few shots of that...I'm going to have so much to show my kids!
Some more pictures...Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in Cape Town:
Another shot of Table Mountain:
And tomorrow, I hope to upload some shots we got from the Botanical Gardens we went to the other day. Lovely, lovely flowers, even in the dead of winter.
On the Imp-front...
I'm officially late.
Not REALLY late, but late.
The girls are killing me, the, ahem, nipple area is looking swollen and dark, my back hurts, it's still REALLY mucus-y "down there" and I'm still getting flashes of nausea.
I'm upgrading from "hoping, but trying not to get my hopes UP" to "cautiously optimistic". I have another three days before I can really say I'm LATE, late, so I think I might test this weekend.
What say you, Imp? Are you here?
Aug 5, 2008
Elfgirl's Adventures in Africa, Part Twee
Heyas,
Oh...that's twee as in Afrikaans for "two"...not twee as in "that's so twee!"
Hehe, I'm learning Afrikaans.
I'm really having an amazing time. We've been on a couple of city tours with the company sponsoring our trip...one to the "tourist" side of Cape Town and one trip to the actual townships where people live...what used to be the "colored" and "black" sections of Cape Town during Apartheid. Incredible, incredible experience. Heartbreaking, in many ways--there is absolutely no reason that such poverty should exist in the 'developed' world. But that's partly why I went on this trip...I want to see everything, experience everything, the good and the bad.
I can already tell this is going to be a life-changing experience. As part of my volunteer work, I'm assisting at a local primary school (the kids are roughly equivalent to 4th grade)...today was our first day, and D and I arrived at the school only to discover we're not going to be assisting with the class...we're going to be TEACHING the class.
Yeah, they literally gave us some lesson plans and left us there with thirty South African children. They all speak English, thank God (and I'm really jealous and impressed that all of these kids are at least bilingual already!), but it was a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, D and I have both taught primary grades before, so we were okay with the curriculum...it's not so different from the last time I taught fourth grade actually.
D and I are going to have a good time there, I think. And we've got soooo much planned in our free time. We're planning a trip down to the Cape of Good Hope, and we're going on an honest-to-god safari in a couple of weeks. Yes, the volunteer work is our primary focus, but we also want to see the 'tourist' side of Africa...anything we can photograph and bring back to our students. :)
Speaking of, here's a picture of Table Mountain that I took the other day (D and I haven't made it to the top, but you can be sure we will before we leave).
I HOPE that worked. Got lots of other pictures...but it's taking a long time to load, unfortunately.
On the Imp-front...I'm officially ten DPO and desperately telling myself that I can wait a few more days to test with my CBE digital test. I'm thinking of running out to a pharmacy tomorrow or the next day to get a South African version of the cheapies...but I dunno.
I'm still sick to my stomach (though it's more in the mornings now than throughout the day, so yay), but have still not actually puked. Cervical discharge continues to be sticky/wet and copious. Looking at my FF chart, I've literally had nausea every day since after my first insemination, cervical mucus of some kind every day since I've inseminated (which has never happened before), and cramps and tender breasts multiple times since insemination.
I'm pretty sure my nips are changing color as well...or at least getting a little swollen and darker around the edges.
Dare I hope?
How much of this is in my head, Imp? The nausea I really can't explain and the CM I really can't explain. Neither of those symptoms are anything even remotely resembling typical for me. I've never had cervical discharge like this, and I can't remember ever being this sick to my stomach for this long without puking or actually being SICK sick.
I'm hoping, Imp. I'm really hoping. AF is due in two days, but up to a week later would not be unreasonable going on my last two cycles. However, those were two cycles where I was literally sick to my stomach with stress every day for several days in a row (bad stuff went down at work...but it's okay now). I just don't know.
But I think I'm gonna find a pharmacy tomorrow.
Oh...that's twee as in Afrikaans for "two"...not twee as in "that's so twee!"
Hehe, I'm learning Afrikaans.
I'm really having an amazing time. We've been on a couple of city tours with the company sponsoring our trip...one to the "tourist" side of Cape Town and one trip to the actual townships where people live...what used to be the "colored" and "black" sections of Cape Town during Apartheid. Incredible, incredible experience. Heartbreaking, in many ways--there is absolutely no reason that such poverty should exist in the 'developed' world. But that's partly why I went on this trip...I want to see everything, experience everything, the good and the bad.
I can already tell this is going to be a life-changing experience. As part of my volunteer work, I'm assisting at a local primary school (the kids are roughly equivalent to 4th grade)...today was our first day, and D and I arrived at the school only to discover we're not going to be assisting with the class...we're going to be TEACHING the class.
Yeah, they literally gave us some lesson plans and left us there with thirty South African children. They all speak English, thank God (and I'm really jealous and impressed that all of these kids are at least bilingual already!), but it was a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, D and I have both taught primary grades before, so we were okay with the curriculum...it's not so different from the last time I taught fourth grade actually.
D and I are going to have a good time there, I think. And we've got soooo much planned in our free time. We're planning a trip down to the Cape of Good Hope, and we're going on an honest-to-god safari in a couple of weeks. Yes, the volunteer work is our primary focus, but we also want to see the 'tourist' side of Africa...anything we can photograph and bring back to our students. :)
Speaking of, here's a picture of Table Mountain that I took the other day (D and I haven't made it to the top, but you can be sure we will before we leave).
I HOPE that worked. Got lots of other pictures...but it's taking a long time to load, unfortunately.
On the Imp-front...I'm officially ten DPO and desperately telling myself that I can wait a few more days to test with my CBE digital test. I'm thinking of running out to a pharmacy tomorrow or the next day to get a South African version of the cheapies...but I dunno.
I'm still sick to my stomach (though it's more in the mornings now than throughout the day, so yay), but have still not actually puked. Cervical discharge continues to be sticky/wet and copious. Looking at my FF chart, I've literally had nausea every day since after my first insemination, cervical mucus of some kind every day since I've inseminated (which has never happened before), and cramps and tender breasts multiple times since insemination.
I'm pretty sure my nips are changing color as well...or at least getting a little swollen and darker around the edges.
Dare I hope?
How much of this is in my head, Imp? The nausea I really can't explain and the CM I really can't explain. Neither of those symptoms are anything even remotely resembling typical for me. I've never had cervical discharge like this, and I can't remember ever being this sick to my stomach for this long without puking or actually being SICK sick.
I'm hoping, Imp. I'm really hoping. AF is due in two days, but up to a week later would not be unreasonable going on my last two cycles. However, those were two cycles where I was literally sick to my stomach with stress every day for several days in a row (bad stuff went down at work...but it's okay now). I just don't know.
But I think I'm gonna find a pharmacy tomorrow.
Aug 3, 2008
Elfgirl's Adventures in Africa
(pictures to come once this Elf figures out where the USB port is on this computer)
Heyas,
Greetings from Africa!
'Twas a long and harrowing journey...seriously, the worst plane trip I have ever been on. Sooooooooo LONG.
Well, I haven't really had any adventures, yet. This was my first full day here and was mostly spent doing orientation for the volunteer work I'll be doing whilst here. We did have an incredible bus tour of the area, and I got some breathtaking photos. Really incredible scenery here...will definitely post pictures.
D and I had a layover in New York for the night before our flight to Africa. Hoofed around New York--went to the Empire State Building and Central Park...then spent a lovely evening literally sleeping on the floor at JFK (hey, that's eighty bucks we would've had to shell out for a hotel that we can now spend on stuff for our classrooms). The floor of JFK is quite comfortable as those things go...very clean, nice and cool. The sinks in the bathroom were deep enough that I was able to duck my head under and wash my hair in the morning, so I felt halfway human for the REALLY long flight to Africa.
Did I mention that flight was long?
Also made a tactical error in ordering a Kosher meal in-flight. I'm not Jewish, but I like the food they serve and frankly, it tends to be fresher and better quality if you "special" order. No offense to Judaism.
However, the easiest kosher food to serve in plane-format? Fish.
More specifically, canned tuna. You know, that stuff you're supposed to stay away from if you're preggers? So, I just munched on crackers and fruit and was utterly starving by the time we got to the site we're staying at.
Dumb move, Elf.
On the Imp-front...I still don't know, but am cautiously hopeful that if I'm NOT pregnant, my body is doing a damn good impression. Cervical mucus continues to be present, but drying into a more sticky and whitish discharge. The girls have been getting progressively tender, and I'm noticing some definite darkening of the nipple area. And I'm. Still. Sick.
Incredibly nauseated...like, constantly. If I don't eat REALLY regularly, it gets worse, but it never really goes away. However, I've had none of the fever or puking that would actually indicate a stomach bug. Also had some major heartburn after lunch today...and let me tell you, I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever had heartburn. Barbecue chicken and salad ain't gonna do it to me. But yeah...motion gets to me (who never gets motion-sick), smells get to me (who never is upset by any but the most disgusting smells) and I just generally feel sick to my stomach.
So, Imp, what'll it be? Is Mommy psyching herself out something fierce, or are you in Africa with her? I'm hopeful...but won't be testing for another week. Still scary stuff.
Heyas,
Greetings from Africa!
'Twas a long and harrowing journey...seriously, the worst plane trip I have ever been on. Sooooooooo LONG.
Well, I haven't really had any adventures, yet. This was my first full day here and was mostly spent doing orientation for the volunteer work I'll be doing whilst here. We did have an incredible bus tour of the area, and I got some breathtaking photos. Really incredible scenery here...will definitely post pictures.
D and I had a layover in New York for the night before our flight to Africa. Hoofed around New York--went to the Empire State Building and Central Park...then spent a lovely evening literally sleeping on the floor at JFK (hey, that's eighty bucks we would've had to shell out for a hotel that we can now spend on stuff for our classrooms). The floor of JFK is quite comfortable as those things go...very clean, nice and cool. The sinks in the bathroom were deep enough that I was able to duck my head under and wash my hair in the morning, so I felt halfway human for the REALLY long flight to Africa.
Did I mention that flight was long?
Also made a tactical error in ordering a Kosher meal in-flight. I'm not Jewish, but I like the food they serve and frankly, it tends to be fresher and better quality if you "special" order. No offense to Judaism.
However, the easiest kosher food to serve in plane-format? Fish.
More specifically, canned tuna. You know, that stuff you're supposed to stay away from if you're preggers? So, I just munched on crackers and fruit and was utterly starving by the time we got to the site we're staying at.
Dumb move, Elf.
On the Imp-front...I still don't know, but am cautiously hopeful that if I'm NOT pregnant, my body is doing a damn good impression. Cervical mucus continues to be present, but drying into a more sticky and whitish discharge. The girls have been getting progressively tender, and I'm noticing some definite darkening of the nipple area. And I'm. Still. Sick.
Incredibly nauseated...like, constantly. If I don't eat REALLY regularly, it gets worse, but it never really goes away. However, I've had none of the fever or puking that would actually indicate a stomach bug. Also had some major heartburn after lunch today...and let me tell you, I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever had heartburn. Barbecue chicken and salad ain't gonna do it to me. But yeah...motion gets to me (who never gets motion-sick), smells get to me (who never is upset by any but the most disgusting smells) and I just generally feel sick to my stomach.
So, Imp, what'll it be? Is Mommy psyching herself out something fierce, or are you in Africa with her? I'm hopeful...but won't be testing for another week. Still scary stuff.
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