A Somewhat Whiney TeaChat

For those of you who are new around here, TeaChats are a monthly post that I do in which I pretend that you and I are going out and grabbing a cup of tea (or coffee or wine) and we’re chatting about what we’ve been up to lately.

Let’s chat!

Happy Month of Love, everyone!

Aside from having a great reading month, January overall was… eventful to say the least.

My mom was hospitalized in the beginning of the month for what they thought was a heartattack. I can’t even tell you how I felt the world fall out from under me when I got that phone call. For years, it has always been issues with my father’s heart, but to hear something happen with my mom, too? I couldn’t handle it.

I rushed to the hospital at 1am, stayed there until 3am, went back to my parents house to sleep for a couple hours before heading back to the hospital and staying there with them for a couple of days.

The good news is she’s home and doing much better now. She got a full workup and everything looks good. They just don’t know what happened – which isn’t ideal, but better than other possible outcomes.

I went back to my parents’ house toward the end the the month and stayed over there so that I could go to a couple days of their library’s book sale. I only found one book for me, but several for my daughter and I got to spend some time with my parents, which was nice.

I barely ate anything while I was there, though, because my diet is so restrictive, and I haven’t quite figured out how to ask for food that I can eat. I end up just telling people I’m not hungry (lies. I’m ALWAYS hungry these days.) I just hate being that person, you know?

Anyway… onward to the usual TeaChat updates:

At Present I Am…

War (The Four Horsemen #2) by Laura Thalassa
I read the first book, Pestilence, last month and gave it 5 stars. It’s such a unique romance about the four horseman of the apocalypse. This horseman, War, seems to be like a Jason Mamoa-type!

Four Psychos (The Dark Side #1) by Kristy Cunning
This is my first reverse harem that was recommended to my by the queen of reverse harems, Melissa H. over at @SheIsAnOpenBook. So far I’m actually really liking it and it’s available on Kindle Unlimited!

MISS AMERICANA

Still going strong with the mix of the Wahls Protocol and Autoimmune Paleo diet since November when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

This means I don’t eat: dairy, grains, gluten, nightshade vegetables, eggs, soy, corn, white potatoes, ANY type of sugar, NO processed foods, and I try to eat as much organic/antibiotic free/nitrate free foods as possible. I also cut out honey, maple syrup, fruit juice, and dried fruits per my Dr’s instructions, which I used to be able to eat.

It sucks. A lot.

But, my other choices are to either do hardcore drug infusions that suppress my immune system (I work at a school and have two young kids) or risk more flair ups that could leave me wheelchair bound.

A friend shared this image on her Instagram, and it’s pretty accurate.

I work in an office that is constantly full of treats and coworkers who like to order lunch and breakfast all the time. Like I said, I work at a school and the parents are so lovely and bring food and treats for everyone frequently – but my diet is so restrictive, there is rarely anything I can eat.

I also had this diet throughout the holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Needless to say, a lot of people are always telling me, “I don’t know how you do it.” I usually just say, “Pure fear.”

This freaking song is so good and heartbreaking.

All things Jordan Fisher. He’s Evan Hansen AND John Ambrose! And he’s so full of charisma and magnetism and TALENT. I can’t even.

Though my husband and I don’t have any set plans for Valentine’s Day, I’m sure we’ll at least hang out that night at home with the girls. Normally we’d order in, but I can’t really eat anything from our local restaurants.

I have doctor appointments every Friday this month, which is cute. BUT, I am going to my friend’s house for a reading date later in the month. We are going to cook dinner together (probably make a giant salad full of veggies I can eat!), chat a bit, then read.

It’s also my sister’s birthday this month, and we’re going to have our bookclub and celebrate her birthday all at once. I’m really looking forward to that. We’re reading (I’m re-reading) Marriage for One by Ella Maise. I ADORED that book and I hope they will, too!