Adventures through valleys of insomnia and bladder infections! Eek!

I don't know how this happens. I try so diligently to stay on top of this blog since all I really have on my schedule is blogging, exercising, and vacaying it up but I still manage to have to play catch up.

So let's start with my recent bouts of insomnia. Holy Justin Bieber is this ever the WORST thing to happen to ANYBODY. In my entire 25 years, I've never had trouble sleeping save for a few weeks post-bad breakup. Back when I had trouble sleeping, the insomnia was full on can't-go-to-sleep-at-all insomnia. So I would watch TV for 10 hours in this weird zombie state of mind. Shitty? Yes. Exhausting? Yes. Dangerous? Absolutely. I would actually doze off for a few minutes during the day without realizing it while driving or working. But after a few weeks of sappy break up music and lots of crazy girls' night outs, I got over it and sleep and I became fast friends again. I love sleep. Sleep cures EH. VUR, RYTHING. Headache? Sleep it off. Vomiting and hungover? Sleep it off. Stressed from work? Sleep it off. Fighting with your best friend? Sleep it off. She/he won't seem so bitchy when you wake up. Found out your man's cheating on you? Sleep. With his best friend. JUST KIDDING.

Anyways, I'm trying to say that recently I've encountered a different species of insomnia which I think is much worse. I've been having a HORRIBLE time STAYING asleep. Don't really have much trouble falling asleep but I just can't stay asleep for long. And it. is. pure. freakin. torture!!!! For both me and Brian. It started about a week ago when I found myself waking up around 3 or 4am and restless as all hell. I just cannot get comfortable worth the life of me! I'll continue to toss and turn and Brian groggily tells me to stop fidgeting so damn much and I growl back that I can't help it and that if it weren't for his feverishly hot body maybe I could get comfortable in this hot sauna of a bed which then ends with Brian rolling away with two-thirds of the comforter. I roll away equally as defiant. I don't need his tacky comforter anyways. And then my toes start to get cold. So I shove them under Brian's 100 degree bum. Which I secretly hope will wake him. But doesn't. So I spend the remaining 3 or 4 hours of nighttime just trying to quiet my mind. Trying to count sheep.... Sheep..... sheeeeeeeeeep...... sheepsheepsheep. Black ones or white one? Michael Jackson says it doesn't matter. Fine. But I pick black because of affirmative action. Gotta represent. Male sheep or female sheep? I know female sheep are called "ewes" but what are male sheep called? Rams? Mewes? Are rams considered to be sheep? I wonder why Dodge chose to name their obnoxiously massive trucks after freakin' sheep.... F*CK!!!!!!! I'M SO TIRED I JUST WANT TO CLOSE MY EYES AND BE ABLE TO DRIFT TO MY HAPPY SLEEPING PLACE!!!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!?!?!

Yes. This is what happened all last week. Every night. It was a nightmare. By the time Friday came along, I was dreading going to bed. I knew that I was going to wake up and be trapped in this limbo of "everyone in the world is sleeping except you." Brian was getting pretty weary of my sleep deficiency (It doesn't make me the most pleasant person to be around, honestly. Plus I'm totally cramping his sleeping style) so he suggested that I take a sleep aid if things don't start looking up. I agree with him but I am not a fan of sleeping aids. I've only taken them twice my entire life and both times I woke up feeling like a train had bulldozed over my skull about a million times.

HOWEVER. There was a breakthrough last night. I was able to sleep until 6:30 am this morning!!! On what do I base this success? KIMCHI! I had kimchi with Brian's fried rice last night! I'm telling you -- sleep and kimchi are going to cure cancer someday.

So my insomnia is somewhat cured (We'll see how tonight goes) but of course when I woke up today all pleased with myself for sleeping all night I was faced with another unpleasant surprise.... I had to pee. Every second. Even right after I had just gone. And it wasn't pleasant. I had a UTI a few years back when I was in undergrad for my English degree and I am quite familiar with the symptoms: the constant urgency to urinate and the tingling sensation that accompanied urination. Hello old friend.

DUDE. WTF.

I was not a happy camper. I woke Brian up around 6:45 am and told him that I needed some cranberry pills. Pronto. I really did not want to have to see a doctor unless the symptoms got any worse since I didn't have any traveler's insurance. I soaked in the bathtub for a little while just to alleviate some of the urgency and when I got out, things were feeling worse. So I reluctantly told Brian that I thought I needed some antibiotics. I really did not need this infection to spread to my kidneys and single handedly wipe out my baby-making abilities (*Note* - UTIs don't really affect fertility but they may be indicative for conditions that DO affect fertility). Was not willing to take the risk. So yeah. After some clinic shopping I find the cheapest walk-in clinic in the area for $125. Brian wasn't too pleased with the bill and we thought about the option of traveling to Seattle where I had coverage but we determined that the costs may be pretty similar when all was said and done. I was in the doctor's office by 9am and after dishing out another $17, I was antibioticked up and already feeling better. Whew. What a morning, eh? I even had to reschedule my kayaking trip with Melissa....  :(

Can my poor body get a break now???

Anyways, I'm just trying to take it easy for the remainder of this week so I'll be in tip top shape for our trip over to the Island. More camping may be in the works!