SWM 2009 - Day 9

It was "Wacky Wednesday"...on a Thursday.  WACKY!  I dressed up like someone who had clearly forgotten her medication.  I wore an old bridesmaid dress, circa 1991.  It was nearly floor-length red crinoline.  I wore crazy red make-up and put my hair up in 20 mini-buns.  To top off the outfit I wore all read jewelry and my red rain boots.

I got these while shopping with my friend, Joanne, at the Woodburn Outlets.  I think I paid 10 bones for them.  Sweet deal!  They are Polo by Ralph Lauren.

VEGAN
Vegan: 2  Non-vegan:  7

SWM 2009 - Day 8

Today was Neon Day.  I wore my amazing floor-length skirt with neon flowers and Impala on them.  I am quite confident that the skirt is older than I am. 

The shoe choice was difficult, but I finally settled on my white SaltWater Sandals.  I grew up wearing these kids of sandals because they were the only ones that I wouldn't wear out in a week.  They float in the water and won't fall apart due to the awesome stiching all the way around the sole.  I have owned these for about 10 years and are generally used for tubing down rivers and summer days.  I love them!

Vegan: 1  Non-vegan: 7

SWM 2009 - Day 7

Today was Twin Day at school.  Because I am generally pushy and like to be in-charge, I told everyone in my office what to wear.  The assignment was to wear your "PRIDE Polo" (it's our staff shirt), jeans and black shoes (clogs if you have them).

So I did just that.  I wore my black clogs. 

These Danskos are one of my favorite pair of shoes to wear teaching.  My feet are so happy in them that they would rather be in the clog than naked, which is saying something because I like naked feet.  If I had been more aware, I would have worn Danskos on my mission.  but, alas, I didn't learn this secret until a year after I came home.  Bah!

Vegan: 1  Non-vegan:  6

SWM 2009 - Day 6

This week is Homecoming at our school.  That means that every day is a different dress-up day.  I love my costumes so this week was fun.  Today was Plaid Day!  The only plaid I own is my pajama bottoms.  Awesome!  However, I did get lots of comments about "how comfortable I look."  I kept trying to tell myself they were simply jealous of my appropriate wearing of pj's to work, but in the back of my mind was what a student told me my first year teaching.  "Miss Hite, when we tell you that you look 'comfortable' it really means that we think you are a slob."  More awsome!

Anyhow, today's shoes are a pair of Keds that I purchased on sale at Fred Meyer while I was doing EFY a few summers ago.  My friend and co-worker, Bryan, picked them out.  They were a necessity on the first day of Forest Grove EFY 2007.  We had gone tubing down the Boise River two days prior.  I had forgotten to put suncreen on my legs and I was burnt to a crisp.  EFY rules state that you must wear closed toe shoes, but socks hurt too badly to wear my tennis shoes.  Thus an emergency run to Freddie's.

Vegan: 1  Non-vegan: 5

SWM 2009 - Day 5

These are my cowboy boots. They are amazing!! I got them on a trip to
Astoria with my good friend, Corey. They are Frye's and terribly
comfortable. Usually these babies cost between $300-$400. I scored
them for under $90!!

I wore these today because it was western wear day at school. Next
week there are more dress up days. If my costume is especially awesome
I will be sure to post tide as well.

Vegan: 0 Non-vegan: 5

For those who don't know, vegan shoes are those which are made with no
animal products. Leather, silk, etc.

SWM 2009 - Day 4

I love these shoes! They are made by Simple. They are blue suede
shoes. My favorite part is labeled arrows on the sole of the foot
that says, "toes go here."

Vegan: 0. Non-vegan: 4

SWM 2009 - Day 3

Today's shoe is an Aerosole elastic slide. I have no idea how long I
have owned these, but I think I remember wearing them my first year of
teaching...10 years ago!

I'm adding a new feature to these posts; a vegan count!

Vegan: 0. Non-vegan: 3.

SWM 2009 - Day 2

I haven't forgotten about this project I was just kicked out of school
for a week by the principal. I promise that it has nothing to do with
cute teenage boys. In fact, I had the swine flu and was bannished from
the premises.

Anyhow, today's shoe is a leather mule sandal by Patagonia. I got it
on sale at Marshall's for ten bucks. They are super duper comfy. And I
really like the flower details.

Shoe Wardrobe Meltdown 2009 - Day 1

> One of my colleagues was disappointed last week when I wore a pair
> of shoes for the second time this year. She had looked forward to
> the new shoes I would sport each day. Natalie's comments sparked an
> idea.
>
> I will wear a different pair of shoes each day that I go to school.
>
> Since I have NO IDEA how many shoes I own, there is no way to tell
> how long this will take. Any guesses???
>
> Each day I will post the shoes that I wear and tell you everything I
> know about them. Today's shoes are a silver Privo flat in leather
> and elastic. They were purchased for $5 at the Goodwill. Regularly,
> these shoes run for $100-$120. They were nearly new when I bought
> them and are SUPER comfy. It's like wearing a stylish slipper.
>

Health News.

So my doctors and I have been struggling to determine the cause of much widespread pain all over my body...along with a variety of other odd and interesting symptoms. I tested positive for System Lupus Erythematosus (or Lupus for short) an auto-immune disease, but it was a low positive and none of the other tests were positive. Some of the other blood labs were elevated, some low. But after it is all said and done the doctors have all concluded that I have Fibromyalgia Syndrome.

For those of you who know my family, this is what my mom has (she also has some other fun things, but the root of all evil is Fibromyalgia). So I sort of have an idea of what is in store and really not looking forward to all of the future aches and pains.

I did crazy in depth study on Fibromyalgia and possible treatment options. I even spent a full afternoon up at the medical school reading journals and watching videos. I have read more books in the last month than perhaps the last several years of my life.

One of the problems with treating Fibromyalgia is that there is still no clear understanding of what causes the syndrome to exhist. Everyone has a different hypothesis and so of course, there were lots of different treatment options. Some proved more medically sound than others, but even the quacks had proof that improvement in pain was evident following their method.

To give you an idea of some of the wierd treatments let me list a few for you:

• sleep on an infrared heating pad
• drink alkaline water
• take a high dose of guinefasen (an expectorant, Musinex)
• eat only vegatables and avocados
• sleeping pills
  
• eat a vegetarian diet
  
• take lots of antidepressants
  
• take NSAIDs like Aleve or Advil
• take narcotics like Vicodin
• exercise
• vitamin B shots
• steroids

That's all I can remember off the top of my head. So I was totally overwhelmed with all of the information in front of me and wanted to synthesize all of it so I could make the best educated decision about course of treatment.

Well, I was ready to organize my research when I felt prompted to start my search in the scriptures. I read all of the scriptures about health in the Bible, Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. To my absolute surprise they were all about prayer. One scripture, Proverbs 3: 5, said to rely on the Lord and not on my own understanding. Well, that was a big enough kick in the pants. I began to pray that day for an answer to my quandry.

The answer came the next morning. I felt strongly that I needed to adjust my diet. I prepared to pray and made a long list of all the things that I eat. As I prayed I took a Sharpie and started crossing things out, making notes next to some items, and adding things to the list. By the time I was done I had a new diet and when I needed to start it...the next day!

It is basically vegan, but I eat fish and egg whites. For the record, I am not eating vegan because I love the animals, though I do. I am eating vegan because the Lord told me to and because it is doing remarkable things for my health. It has been one week and the pain that I have felt for the last several months has dissipated almost entirely. It is amazing!!

I know that it is still the honeymoon period, but I feel better than I have in a long time. And if that means that I miss out on steak and bacon and hamburgers with cheese, then I am glad to do it.