Pain in the Head

We forgot to stop at the currency exchange on the way home - I have Canadian money and nowhere to spend it!!

The trip home was fairly uneventful except for the annoying habits of Chicagoland drivers.  The entire trip, driving-wise, had very little delays and issues except coming home through Chicago.  What a mess!  I luckily had some insider information on how to get around the bad stuff.  We even ran into my father driving home in his company van - almost two hours from home!

Last night’s headache was shitty.  Like I had mentioned, I ended up taking a nap in the hotel trying to get it to release my left temple.  Upon waking up, I was greeted with a headache hangover and a general sense of nausea.  Attempting to salvage the rest of the evening, I took the last three Ibuprofen I could find and we headed to a Starbucks in Mississauga.  Surprisingly, a good strong cup of coffee seemed to steam off the hangover vapors.  I felt more human within an hour and we ended the night off on a good note.

After 12 hours of driving from Toronto back to Milwaukee, I’m about done.  Another ice pick is starting to dig into my left temple and I don’t feel like medicating again.  I think I just need to sleep in my own bed.  :)

We’re nearing the end of our vacation in Canada and so far it has been a good one up until today.  We spent time in northern Michigan, Niagara Falls, and Mississauga & Toronto.  Even got to see a Mirrors & The Dark Knight last night in a drive-in movie theatre.  Today I’ve been having issues with headaches, and it’s the kind that drag me to my knees.  A half hour nap hasn’t really helped, so I’m trying another over the counter NSAID to see if it helps.  We’re leaving Canada tomorrow morning early, and I think will end up driving through to home in about 10-11 hours.  

I love being on vacation, but I just miss my own pillow!

Tazz and I are setting off for Niagara Falls and Toronto tomorrow morning.  I cannot wait, actually.  I love road trips and experiencing things in “slow motion” compared to flying.  We’re going north through Green Bay/Oshkosh and taking the bridge across Upper Michigan to the Mackinac Island area.  Then through Detroit to Niagara Falls.  I’m packing my preventatives and abortive pills to keep the brain eaters away.  I don’t suspect any problems, but I can’t see into the future THAT far.

I have been keeping myself busy, even though I’m not in school right now.  The geek in me has been reading a lot about developing software applications for the iPhone.  My previous post mentioned my interest in developing a migraine diary application to help keep us brain eaters organized.  I’m still getting a hang of the development process, but it’s coming along.

I cannot believe it’s mid-August already.  I’m turning 29 next week which is always a reminder of how time flies!  I’m proud of my accomplishments so far in life but I still have a lot on my “list” to do before I retire.  It’s not so much a list but an idea of where I want go with my life.  I think too much.  Aha!  That’s it!  Migraines are caused by thinking too much!  I’ve discovered the cure!  Stop thinking!!

I’m thinking of creating an iPhone App that would be for a headache diary. You could track food intake, meds, episodes of headaches with intensities, etc. Would an iPhone app be of more use than a paper one?? Anyone interested?

I am trying something new - mobile blogging. I may actually stay a little more on top of keeping this site fresh now that the iPhone has a Wordpress application.

We are camping this coming weekend -yay! I finished my summer class this past weekend and I got an A. I’m so happy I get almost six weeks until fall classes.

Not much else exciting on the homefront and that’s probably a good thing!

I’ve decided to make some mid-year resolutions.  We always forget about what we’ve promised ourselves to do and I need to reaffirm what my goals are.  I’m also keeping them simple because the more lofty the goals it seems the easier it is to quit trying to reach them.  Incremental movement

• Improve my diet.  This means eating my fruits & vegetables, cooking at home with recipes and fresh ingredients.  Reduce or eliminate sodas (sugared and diet) and eliminate dependence on caffeine.
• Exercise on a regular schedule.  We’ve been walking a couple nights a week but I need to follow this up with some Wii Fit time or general Yoga stretching before work in the morning.
• Get rid of the junk around me.  I need to take all the crap we have packed away in the house and donate it to a resale shop or recycle it if it’s really junk.  Collecting “stuff” I think adds to suck up positive energy.
• Finish school.  I still have two years left of school and I am still on track for graduation.  I don’t expect myself to stop going but it is one of my goals that I need to keep on the radar.

Losing weight and eliminating the dependence on hypertension medications is the higher-level goal for the diet and exercise.  Eliminating the junk will help with finishing projects and keeping myself motivated to improve my surroundings.  School is just one of those things that I think I’ll forever be attending.  I mean that in a manner of even after I get my master’s degree, I want to go back and teach.