How can my life be boring when I have so much to tell you about seasonal allergies and kale?

Derek had mentioned that I haven't been blogging as much as I usually do. He suggested that maybe my life has been boring. To prove him wrong I'm writing this very excited blog post about allergies and kale. 

So I think everyone around this neck of the woods is suffering from spring allergies right now. I have so much antihistamine coursing through my veins I shouldn't be able to sneeze for years. If the weather would just get warmer and the trees would actually get their leaves I think I'd be doing much better.

Now let's move on to exciting topic number 2. KALE. I'm really into it right now. I'm trying to eat more greens so I've been shoving baby kale into my sandwiches. Baby kale seems to not be as bitter. I'm known at work for eating my veggies. What can I say, I like them but still feel like I should eat more considering the fruits I can eat are limited and I can't take a multivitamin.

I started watching the White Queen on Amazon Prime. I'm a big fan of anything remotely Tudor related and I read the book years ago. I've only seen one episode so far but it's not bad. Edward IV was like listen everyone I got married in secret and people were all like but she's mid-ranked and not even anyone remotely important and her first husband was on the other king's team and Edward was like I DON'T CARE. These would be Henry VIII's grandparents. You really should read about that time period because it is crazy! This would be the War of the Roses that I'm referring to.

This is like some Lifetime level drama people but it actually happened and Tori Spelling is nowhere to be seen (thank God).

Well that's enough excitement for one blog post. Go eat some kale or something.

Here we go again

My car was vandalized again. I'm guessing it was drunk college students on Marathon Monday. I'm upset but at this point I'm not surprised. I'm just tired of having to worry about my car all the time. I'm trying to be positive. Windshield replacement is covered by insurance in Massachusetts so I shouldn't have to pay anything. The college students should be gone by the end of May and then we move in August. So really I just have about one month left. I filed a claim with insurance online so I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I just wish the person who did this was caught.

A not so fond memory of the worst sober wedding of all time

This morning I was reminded of a suitor from many years ago. He was at the most white trash wedding of all time. That is not an exaggeration. They had sparkling grape juice that still had the 99 cent sticker from the dollar store and the wedding was in the basement of the church (not in the actual church part of the church). There were signs on the wall for an “Italian night” at the church. The bride wore a dress that hadn’t been altered and she kept getting stuck with the pins. They walked down the isle to Metallica. The mother of the groom chastised me for bringing a gift and not money when the invitation specifically said to bring money only. I was told by the brides mother not to eat the food because it was donated for a church picnic and the needy.

After the classy ceremony it was time to party with the 99 cent grape sparkling grape juice. There wasn’t even booze to make this wedding somewhat tolerable.

While I’m sitting there very sadly sober, a guy walks over to me in a white tank top and sweatpants. He starts trying to woo me. Here are some of his pickup lines that were supposed to make me swoon and my responses.

Him: “So I just got out of jail so I’m ready to party.”

Me: ‘Well thank God we have sparkling grape juice!”

Him: “Yea both the bloods and the crips wanted me in their gangs and I told both of them naw. I could have been in either gang.”

Me: “You know you could have worn half the bloods colors and half the crips colors and been in both gangs. That totally worked on Roundhouse.”

Him: “Did you know you could cure aids if you drink dish soap? You totally can, some guy told me.”

Me: “So are you trying to tell me you did have aids but now you cured it?”

This comment lead to him really trying to convince me that you could cure aids but he claimed he never had HIV or aids he just knows someone that it worked on. He also started making racists comments about black people (he was white) and followed that up with asking me out.

Take a guess as to my response. Hell to the NO. I still remember this vividly because it was so insane!

And if you’re wondering why I was at this wedding, it was a neighbor of mine growing up and I was friends with the family. I had no idea what I was in for.

Also, I learned that sometimes people can interpret your sarcastic remarks as interest. I’m not interested in you, you’re just so ridiculous I can’t control the sarcasm.

Look over here!

Hello kitty, I see you down there. Can I take your picture?

Thank you!

We're moving and we're not taking the college kids with us

I've been very anxious the past couple of weeks and it's all due to apartment hunting. The whole process of moving is stressful. Derek and I really like out current apartment, we just can't live on frat row anymore. It's too noisy and I'm constantly worried about my car being vandalized again.

There was a lot of hand wringing (on my part) since we didn't find an apartment right away. Our lease is up in August but I knew I would stress until we found a place. We saw three apartments and almost put in an application for the third one we saw but when we found out there was a double broker's fee we said no thank you. We're not paying two months rent just in broker's fees. It's for the best though because the apartment was quite small and it would have been a tight fit.

Apartment number four sounded promising but there weren't any photos. We decided to check it out though and good thing we did because I loved it right away. There's a porch. I repeat A PORCH! It's been so long since I've had a porch I can sit on. It's right off the living room. I declared that we wanted it and then remembered Derek would be living there too and I should probably check with him before I declare that we want it. Derek was happy with it to so it's all good.

There's no dishwasher and the laundry is in the basement in the building next door but that's not the end of the world. That's the price you pay for living in the city. You also pay a lot in rent.

We move in August and I'm very excited. Now I have to start the great purge. I have a ton of crap to get rid of. Anyone want a fake Christmas tree?

A big thanks to my friend MacKenzie for helping us with the apartment hunting.

What I take for my interstitial cystitis

I've had a few people ask me on twitter what I take for my interstitial cystitis. So this post might be boring for those who regularly read my blog and don't have IC. Feel free to skip this post.

I am not a doctor so please do not start any medicine without checking with your doctor. Some of the meds I take are herbal but have been well studied with IC patients. Everyone has different reactions so if you do try anything listed here make sure you follow the directions and read the ingredients to make sure you are not allergic to anything in them. My doctors know all the meds I take including herbal.

This is what works for me after many years of trial and error. What works for one person may not work for someone else.

Prescription meds:

Ditropan XL - antispasmodic. Helps with frequency

Atarax - strong antihistamine. I only take this for really bad nights because it makes me so hungry.

Over the counter:

Claritin - for my allergies and my IC.

Nasalcrom - more allergy meds. This I take specifically for my IC and helps me a lot.

Zantac - for my stomach and reduces acid which is good for an IC bladder

Prelief - I take this before I have anything acidic. It lowers the amount of acid in food. I can drink beer and wine but tomato still bothers me even with prelief. I can have ketchup though!!!

Herbal:

Cystoprotek - I take 4 a day. I take it frozen because I have acid reflux and taking it frozen makes it easier on my stomach.

Freeze Dried Aloe from Desert Harvest - I currently take 9 a day but normally take six (three in the morning and three at night). I will be trying to reduce my dose soon as my last flare seems to have passed *runs through a forest and knocks on all the wood*

D-Mannose - Prevents and helps clear UTIs. I take it as needed if I feel like one is coming on. Do not get the kind with cranberry in it! Can be found at most drug stores or on Amazon.

I think the combination of the Cystoprotek and Aloe have been the key for me. It did not happen over night. I would say it took a good two years of slow improvement. If I'm having a flare I up my aloe hence why I'm taking 9 a day. You can actually take more than that if needed but it's not cheap.

I made the mistake of trying to lower my Cystoprotek dosage because of stomach issues and I had the worst flare I've had in years. I will not be doing that again.

Things I tried that didn't work for me:

Bladder distension and bladder instills aka DMSO treatment. I did instills at the doctors office once a week for about two months. They just didn't work for me and I smelled like an Italian restaurant (like garlic). It does work very well for some people.

Elmiron - the only prescription drug available specifically for IC. I was on it for about 7 months. I did not have side effects from it (my hair did not thin or fall out) but it didn't work for me. Cystoprotek works similar and that is why my doctor suggested that after Elmiron did not work.

Best of luck to all of us suffering. I hope one day there's a cure.

Birthday celebrations, Going Clear and a facehugging Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Today is also Derek's birthday. We stayed at the Hotel Commonwealth Saturday night to celebrate. I normally take a photo of the hotel room but I forgot to this time. It was a very nice room and we enjoyed our stay. We watched Going Clear in the hotel room before brunch.

Scientology is more horrible than I realized. I knew the "church" was abusive but they actually have labor camps for adults and children. The "church" also bullied and threatened the IRS to get their tax exemption status. If you've watched the documentary let me know what you thought.

So that was our Easter. No egg hunting involved although we did have eggs ate brunch.

Spot the legal assistant at Anime Boston

Every year Anime Boston comes to the Hynes Convention Center near my office. My office holds a contest (created by me) to see who can get the best photo with someone in costume. My boss won last year, it's going to be a tight race this year.

Here are some pics. Can you spot the "legal assistant"?

I need this in my wardrobe!

Jon Snow is very thirsty.