Health Update – Flu Edition #3

January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 / Ravyne Hawke / 1 Comment

Reblogging this here since not all of my readers follow my A Whispered Wind blog. I am sure you’ve wondered by now what’s happened to me.

A Whispered Wind

Hello dear friends and readers. Just an update on my health. It has now been over two weeks since I caught that nasty flu bug. I am mostly better, but still not 100%. The cough has lingered and so has the fatigue. As some of you know, I have a suppressed immune system from taking chemo several years back, so any time I get sick, it takes me far longer than normal to get well again. But, not only have I been trying to take care of me, I have also been taking care of my dad. We are both on the road to recovery.

Some things I have been doing to help take care of myself:

lots of rest
using cayenne pepper and garlic in all of my soups and broths (still the only things I’ve been able to keep down)
taking high dosages of Vitamin C (2000 mgs…

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#WeekendCoffeeShare – 11/26/16

November 26, 2016 / Ravyne Hawke / 9 Comments

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that the last time I shared coffee with you, it was back in May. I was sick then and I am sick now, but this was also before The Big Crash. The Big Crash, as I’ve been calling it, happened in June. I’d been growing increasingly depressed for whatever reason (I still don’t know why) and kept trying to ignore it. By June 2nd, there was no way possible to ignore it any longer. I’d begun having thoughts of cutting and burning, and yes, even suicide. Just thoughts, no actions. Those dark voices were also back. I knew I needed help and I needed it fast, so I checked into a psych hospital for a while. I also got medicated again, which lasted five months. Yes, I’ve stopped taking the medicine, ignoring appointments to see the psych doc and therapist. They would be furious with me, but I cannot write while medicated and writing is what I do.

If we were having coffee, I would invite you into my sitting room, which is just a sectioned off area of my bedroom. There are two comfy chairs, shelves of books and a gas heater. It is warm and cozy, perfect for a chilly day like today. We’d have some choco-coffee (a mixture of coffee and hot chocolate) and cinnamon rolls with gooey icing. I made them for Thanksgiving and they still taste wonderful. Come, sit and share with me.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about all the plans that got foiled this year. I wasted five months of writing projects. I’d had projects lined up from June through October, some fun ones too, but depression got in the way. I won’t call them failures, just wasted opportunities. I’ve shelved them until next year. I’ve learned that I can over-extend myself. I hadn’t scheduled in time-off. Something I will rectify next year.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that since making a come-back in late October, I have been working on a novella for NaNoWriMo. It is titled, Seeing You, a paranormal mystery involving a witch and the FBI. I became sick two days into writing it and have been sick one way or another ever since. First it was the tummy flu that lasted almost a week. Now it is a serious cold, possibly flu that turned into bronchitis. I am still plodding along on it, even though I am a day behind and have been almost the entire month. I am not stressing though. If I hit the 50k mark on the 30th, so be it. If not, I will still finish the 50k words into December.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you how lovely Thanksgiving was this year. My brother did most of the cooking, as usual. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing and macaroni & cheese. Dessert consisted of homemade cinnamon rolls, pumpkin pie and apple crumble pie. With all of those carbs, I am going to have to do a serious cleansing diet in January because I know Christmas will be a near rinse and repeat. My niece showed up with her two daughters. It was lovely to spend a little time with them, even though I was sick. I adore Stormy, my niece, and her daughters, Skylar and Autumn. If I could afford it, I would spoil all three of them constantly.

And finally, if we were having coffee, I would invite you to tell me about your week. Did anything fun happen? Anything not so fun? Or just randomly okay? Regardless, I’d love to hear all about it. Share with me in comments.

This delightful coffee share is brought to you by Part-Time Monster and friends.

Why Am I Screaming Expletives?

November 2, 2016 / Ravyne Hawke / 17 Comments

It goes something like – sh*t, d*mn, f*ck, f*ckity f*ck f*ck f*ck. Why? My face is warm and my ears are red, I am getting incredibly weak and tired, and my taste buds have changed into something resembling gritty, bland oatmeal. What does this mean and why am I so upset about it?

Well, it is only TWO days into my return to daily writing – here on this blog and on A Whispered Wind where I am writing a novel via NaNoWriMo. And guess what those above symptoms mean? I. Have. A. Cold!

Yes, dear readers. I am sick, or at least on the verge of being sick. At 50, you just know what these kind of symptoms mean, especially since chemo 4 years ago wiped out my immune system and I get 3-4 colds per year. Usually during a climate change. Like now. It doesn’t matter how much Vitamin C I take (daily) or how much echinacea I take (almost daily), I still get sick.

I promise you, I will fight this tooth and nail so that it will not interrupt my daily postings. It has been far too long (June), since I have done any dailies and I really, truly want to be doing this now. So, I will rest when I can. Schedule posts ahead of time when I can. And still try to do this. Muddling through.

Monthly Wrap-Up: May 2016

May 31, 2016May 31, 2016 / Ravyne Hawke / 3 Comments

May has been a rollercoaster of a ride for me. Allow me to share some of the twisty-turvy events with you…

I was ill for about 12 days (7 of those days were the worst) with a flu-like bug – fevers, chills, unable to keep food down, too many trips to the toilet, my head hung over a wastebasket, and extremely lethargic. Although I am able to eat solid food again, I am still quite lethargic. I only get the flu maybe once every couple of years and generally in winter, so this was quite a shock for me.

I’ve also been having a serious bout of depression for most of the month – partly due to a friendship I knew I had to end and eventually did end and partly because of being off of my low carb diet for most of April and May. Between the flu and my screwed up diet, my blood sugar has been all over the board (even taking my insulin), anywhere between 180 up to the 400s. High blood sugar readings also contribute to depression for me. When I had the flu, it was nothing for my bs readings to be in the 300s. Since I wasn’t eating, I didn’t feel safe taking as much insulin as I am supposed to take, so the numbers just ran rampant. It has taken me 3 days to get it out of the 300s without over-dosing on insulin (taking too much insulin makes me crave sweets and other carbs). The past two days, I have been back on my low carb diet and I can finally feel the depression lifting some.

And I’ve been having some internet issues that have driven me insane. My provider has been doing major upgrades to their wifi service which has been knocking me offline at random times during the day and night, often for hours at a time. They sent out a schedule of these ‘down times’ to people who receive a paper bill, but not to those of us who get the electronic bill. I had no idea why the ‘net kept going down and would spend hours on the telephone trying to get through, but since I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t know they wouldn’t be answering the phones either. This oversight on their part kept me on the phone with them for nearly two hours one night (when they weren’t down) trying to get through to someone, anyone who had the time to read me the schedule. This occurred while I was ill, so my patience wore thin pretty quickly. There will still be updates randomly through June, but thankfully, they sent a schedule out to those of us who receive the electronic bill this time. So if you don’t see me around, it is probably because of the wifi upgrades.

I am a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to complete the StoryADay writing project. I did try to catch up with the story writing, but I finally resolved that those last seven stories would just go unwritten. I’m not looking at this as a failure though. I did what I could while I was well enough to write or had service to the ‘net. Time to sweep all of that out the door and look forward to June. I will be writing on my memoir and Serial Killer short stories, working on another addition to the Jack Diamond story, continue working with Keith Channing on the Zanzibar story and hopefully begin a project with my friend Raili. I’ve decided not to stress out over any of these projects this coming month. If I get all of it done, hurray! If not, so be it. I will fill you in on one thing – I will be taking the entire day off on Monday, June 20th. That will be my 50th birthday and I spend my birthdays doing my favorite things and that doesn’t include being online.

And now, because I feel a bit tired, I am going to go sit out on the front porch and watch the neighbor’s kids play catch and listen to the birds singing. See you all tomorrow.

03.14.16 – End of Day Notes

March 14, 2016March 14, 2016 / Ravyne Hawke / 10 Comments

What I did today: I was up until about 8 am this morning. I got my usual writing projects completed and scheduled. Then I crawled into bed and slept until around 1:30 pm when a friend called and woke me up. I guess I needed to be up. I wrote a few more posts, read some emails, made some comments. Now I am getting sleepy again. I think I will watch another episode of the original Star Trek (I am trying to watch all of the shows in order from the beginning – haven’t seen them all this way in years) and then I may just go back to bed.

What I learned today: putting my phone on speaker frees up my hands and prevents neck cramps… you’d think I would have thought of that a long time ago. I can be so dense sometimes.

What I am most proud of today: Apparently I was able to make some sense in my mystery story today even though I felt like crap and couldn’t concentrate. It did take me 2 hrs to write it, review it, rework some areas and then finally get it posted.

What did you do today, dear readers? Learn any lessons? Have a reason to be proud? Share your thoughts with me in the comments!

03.10.16 – End of Day Notes

March 10, 2016 / Ravyne Hawke / 4 Comments

What I did today: Some time in the wee hours of the night, my wifi went down and stayed down ’til early morning. I called the company, but was on a 20 min waiting list and decided not to hang on. Instead, I went to bed. I should have stayed up and did my writing projects and just saved them, but nope. I went to bed, and I slept and slept and slept, until 1:30 pm. I guess my body needed the rest. It was a gorgeous day here in Virginia today. I sat out on the porch for a while and tossed some bread crumbs out for the birds. I *did* manage to get the important writing projects done today, but none of the extra challenges that I’ve been doing. Oh well, I am not going to stress over it since I still feel crappy. And since I feel crappy, I am off to bed early.

What I learned today: I live in one of the most gorgeous spots in Virginia. The mountains are right outside my window. Not really something new, but something rediscovered perhaps. Just needed to take the time and reflect on it. *smiles*

What I am most proud of today: I took some me-time, rested and still did some writing. Not bad. Not bad at all.