It’s been a rough few days. The intestinal issues I mentioned in my last post have made it very uncomfortable for me. Then yesterday I woke with an awful sore throat that plagued me all day. The only relief came when I took some Ibuprofen and Loperamide toward bedtime.

When I woke this morning the sore throat was back with a vengeance but the intestinal issues have subsided somewhat. I suspect it is a virus now, though at first I thought otherwise. My youngest showed symptoms yesterday which changed my mind. However, having two viruses at the same time is no picnic. I hate being sick!

Along with my illness I’ve had my children home more than usual because the weather got very cold and icy Monday into Tuesday. School was closed Tuesday after a three-day weekend. My children ended up with some cabin fever – fighting, bickering, etc. I think I handled it well considering my condition.

The same time the icy weather showed our downstairs heater decided not to turn on. Thankfully it was resolved by a reset but my husband took his time because he likes using the fireplace. So I was cold, sick and dealing with grumpy kids. Hahaha

To add to the fun, this morning I found that our fish aquarium filter had overflowed onto the wood floor under the aquarium. The wood was already showing signs of warping. This means now all three areas in our downstairs wood floor have water damage. A full replacement will be required at some point. The good news is that while vacuuming up the water I noticed a tiny baby fish swimming around. Upon inspection I found at least two. Looks like our Platies reproduced and some survived! 🙂

GAPS Diet

With the first signs of my intestinal issues I felt that I should return to the GAPS diet. I have been slow at getting started because of feeling so ill, but I was able to do a full day of the diet yesterday with good results. I plan to continue following the diet today.

This was what was on the menu yesterday:

Breakfast – Coconut pancakes, Kefir smoothie, coffee, egg whites with cheese, fresh carrot beet juice.

Lunch – Homemade butternut squash soup with sour cream, homemade almond rosemary-thyme crackers, roasted vegetables.

Dinner – GAPS chicken nuggets, baby kale salad with avocado and cucumber, lemon juice as the dressing, coconut pancake, roasted vegetables.

Top left – butternut squash soup. Left middle – roasted veggies. Left bottom – almond rosemary-thyme crackers. Large pic – dinner last night.

Staying on the GAPS diet is a lot of work so I doubt I will do it long-term. It requires I cook and shop frequently which is not always feasible. However, if my body continues to be moody and the intestinal issues don’t resolve I may end up just having to stick to the GAPS regardless. We’ll see what happens.

Dream: Sham

I have been sleeping light, waking every few hours from dreams.

The first dream I recall was early in the night. I remember meeting up with my ex-husband and him giving me some green, licorice looking “candy” (seeking a reprieve) that I requested. It was actually marijuana candy. I ate it and waited for the effects to kick in.

Then I was walking along suburban streets in the early hours of the morning. A Hispanic family was walking around looking for discarded “trash” that could be used or sold for a profit. They had with them their 9 year-old son who would wake early and help them scrounge for things every morning before school. I remember saying hello and then looking down at my feet at rope (connection/attachment to others) and various sets of keys (access) they left on the road. I left them there being careful not to step on anything.

Eventually, I made it “home” only it was unfamiliar. I walked up the sidewalk to the front door but had to climb small, wooden stairs (higher level of understanding) and almost fell because one of the rails was loose. The house was a mobile home (feeling insignificant or unappreciated) and quite nice and I remember knowing that it had been made to look expensive so as to keep up with all the other families in the neighborhood.

Inside, I noticed how nice everything was, especially the kitchen. Stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. Lots of money and attention put into it. I remember thinking the wooden floors of the mobile home would not be able to hold it forever – not a solid foundation. I knew it (the house, the family) was all a sham.

Dream: In Labor

In this dream I kept feeling pains in my stomach and knew I was in labor (anticipation of hard work ahead). I informed my husband and he rushed to get me into a black SUV and to the hospital. The entire time I could feel the labor pains like waves through my abdomen and back. It was very realistic but muted just enough to keep me from waking.

It seemed to take forever but we arrived at a hospital, only it didn’t look like one. A woman who was very obviously pregnant, was waiting inside the room. She was smiling and said, “How far along are you?” I said, “38-39 weeks.” She asked me if it was normal for me to go into labor early and I said, “Yes, usually around 38-39 weeks.” I could still feel the labor pains and felt like someone was checking me. The woman kept smiling, her belly so huge I wondered how she hadn’t popped yet.

Eventually I was told that I was not in labor. The pregnant woman gave me the news. She said, “The twins aren’t ready to come yet. Still another few weeks.” She was referring to her own babies but I knew she also meant my baby was not coming yet. I was disappointed but accepted it as fact without any upset.

I woke suddenly from this dream and wondered if the pain in the dream had been bleed-through from my physical body. Maybe my stomach had been cramping in my sleep? But I had no pain when I woke up.