Dog Walking Weather

How cute is my in-laws dog? It's 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday and I'm letting her rest a bit more before I strap on my sneaks and take her on a walk through Katamon.  It's perfect dog walking weather today, the sky is partly cloudy and the weather has warmed up a bit. Monday was awful, with torrential downpours that of course I got caught in. I had to take my socks and pants off at the front door because they were soaked, and all I did was literally walk 2 blocks back to the apartment. I, for one, am happy that the rain is over. The walk should do both of us good though, and I'm looking forward to getting some fresh air and exercise. Pidgeon warned me not to walk too far because I don't want to give the dog a heart attack, but I promised to be gentle. 

I'm feeling much, much better today and it shows. I have more energy and the headaches are gone. I'm also down 3 pounds on the scale, so that's tremendous progress. I have my eye Dr. appointment in Modiin on March 13th and I just pray I'll get back down to remission weight (5 pounds to go) so I don't have to deal with medication or another spinal tap. 

I've been feeling very unhappy with my Israeli Dr.'s and I'm at the point where I think I need to find new physicians. I like my family Dr. at the Wolfson Center, and my eye Dr. in Modiin is also terrific, but I really need a neurologist I can rely on. I see both Dr. Bierman's and Professor Reches,  but you practically have to sell your first born to get an immediate appointment with both of them! Professor Reches has two jobs (head of the medical ethics committee in addition to being a neurologist) and Dr. Bierman's is so good that you have to book an appointment MONTHS in advance. I miss my New York neurologist, he was fantastic. If I felt awful, all I had to do was call his office and he would literally call me right back. Once, unfortunately, he called late on a Friday night and I didn't pick up the phone, which caused my ultra-religious Father to go into a rage. Boy, did I learn my lesson about Mechalel Shabbos after that situation.

But, the important thing is that I'm a lot more informed this time around about my condition, than I was when initially diagnosed. I am involving myself in an IIH/PTC study (since there is a lot that just isn't known about this condition) and I joined an MSN group for fellow sufferers and the people who love them.  This has helped calm me down a bit, and I'm listening to their advice and its helping. I just wish there were some sort of support group for IIH/PTC patients in Israel too. I heard that Tel HaShomer Hospital has a pretty good research department, but until I get a Dr. to diagnose that I'm officially out of remission, I'm going to hold off on contacting them for now.

I did start davening again, which is a big deal for me. I'm working on my spirituality and I'm really trying to figure out what will work for me in terms of my relationship with G-d. I also joined this group of couples davening for children, which I found through Janglo, so I added Tehillim to my nightly routine. It's not necessarily "working" right now, but I'm hoping that if I can continue to daven daily, something will change. Do you ever wonder what you're supposed to feel when you daven? I took a Tefila class when I was in Michlalah waaaay back in the day and I just didn't get it. I would look around at my friends and they would daven with such intensity that I just never had.  One of my friends used to sigh heavily after she prayed because it was as intense for her as "running a marathon" and I just never had that. Does that make me spiritually bereft? I never thought I would end up married to a man who davened three times a day. It was one of things that really impressed me when we were dating, how Pidgeon would stop whatever he was doing to make sure he davened Mincha before it was too late. It got me thinking and we once discussed what he got out of Tefila. Who knows, maybe this time around Tefillah will help. 

School yesterday was pretty intense. My eyes were hurting me from lack of sleep and because of the condition, and even though it was cloudy I wished I had brought my sunglasses. Bar Ilan these days is a hopping place and I realized that, from the time I got to the Tachanah to the time I returned and Pidgeon picked me up, I didn't speak to a soul. My friend from class was down in Eilat for the day and I just basically went to class, participated in class discussion, and then left. I don't really know anyone else in the course and I sit in the back and just keep to myself, so I didn't really socialize much. I'm pretty much the type of person whose okay with that, and it was actually really nice being able to do my typical write/observer thing without anyone getting offended when I just take everything all in and am quiet. Pidgeon dropped me off at home and then he went off to work and study and I spent the afternoon relaxing. It was exactly what I needed, especially since I have a potential new client who is going to work me to the bone! What can I do? We need the money so I'm not very picky about work these days. 

So, this morning, while I was doing my usual blog hopping (i.e. read a blog then jump to another blog based on the blog roll) I stumbled upon these two great groups. First, the Kosher Cooking Carnival, which is a great blog post with links to other blog posts with kosher recipes. This makes me VERY happy as Mom and I were just discussing how we need some new kosher recipes. The other one I found was the Haveil Havalim Carnival which is hosted this week by EsserAgaroth. I'm going to check out some more Blog Carnival to see which other great blog roundups they have available. Here's hoping I'll be able to expand my blogroll soon!

Well, the handyman just showed up to switch a million light bulbs in this house (we need one of those industrial sized ladders cause the ceilings are so darn high) so I'm going to go supervise and then take the dog out for her walk.

Yom Tov!