Deep freeze

We often get some really cold, snowy weather right after Christmas, but we didn't this year. It was dry and not really all that cold. So, it's not surprising that we're in the midst of some very cold, snowy weather right now. It had to come sometime. 

We got about 8 inches or so Friday night, plus a little more during the day on Saturday. The official tally for Boulder is 8.3 inches -- I think it might have been a little more than that, but anyway, around there. A lot of very dry, light snow, because it was so cold that night, maybe below zero. Still, 8-10 inches of snow is hard to move around, even when it's dry and light.

It's very cold, going to continue to be very cold until Tuesday, when it will warm up to 39. (Monday is Martin Luther King Day, so the kids will be off school.) We are supposed to get a couple more inches of snow tonight, which is sort of annoying because we've just gotten the walks and the driveways cleared and the cars cleaned off. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow morning at 10:45, which means we'll have to be out cleaning off at least one car again before 10. Tonight's low will be around -3 and tomorrow's high will be around 8.

Well, it's January.

I am going to the doctor because of my bug bites. My book group was scheduled to meet this past Thursday, and on Tuesday I emailed them and told them about my bites (which I still thought were bed bug bites), and asked if they'd feel comfortable being around me. One of them was honest and said no, so we did a zoom call instead. She also urged me to see a doctor. A doctor? What for? That seemed silly to me. But then my sister popped up with the idea that my bites might not be from bed bugs after all. She suggested scabies. I have now read a lot about scabies, and while I don't seem to meet the criteria exactly, it's starting to sound more likely than bed bugs. 

For one thing, we cannot find any bed bugs! We took the closet in our bedroom apart this week, pulled everything out and washed everything and packed it back up in plastic. Every time we uncovered another section of closet I thought -- aha! bed bugs! -- except there weren't any. No bugs, dead or alive, no spots, no bed bug dirt, no eggs, nothing. Just a little dust. There weren't even any spiders (dead or alive). I'm being very careful about examining the vacuum cleaner bag and the dryer lint catcher, and there's just nothing. No bugs.

Plus, despite our careful spraying with CrossFire, I'm still getting "bites" -- if they even are bites. If I have scabies, these are actually where mites have tunneled into my skin. The mites have babies and then the babies (larvae) come out onto the skin and make a new tunnel. So lovely.

The thing is, my "bites" are in the wrong places for scabies. According to the Mayo Clinic, scabies is usually found: between the fingers and toes; in the armpits; around the waist; along the insides of the wrists; on the inner elbows; on the soles of the feet; on the chest; around the nipples; around the belly button; around the genitals; in the groin area; on the buttocks.

I have bites on my legs and arms, almost exclusively. The bites are moving up both my legs and arms. In the beginning all the bites were on my calves, but now they are all over my thighs too. And the ones on my arms started out near my wrists and now are headed toward my armpits. This makes sense if larvae are emerging and looking for places to make their own burrows.

So what do I have? Hopefully we'll find out tomorrow.

Since I'm talking about medical things, I might as well give the Mounjaro report here.

• Weight the morning I took my first shot: 254.6
• Weight last Sunday: 229
• Weight this morning (after 30+ weeks on Mounjaro): 226.2
  

Look at that -- I lost weight! And it's real, I think, because I was low every day this week, sometimes lower than this. So, it will be interesting to see if this continues.

I think the reason I lost weight was exercise. I managed to exercise every day last week. Some days it was just a 10-minute stretch video, other days it was a 30-minute walk, and I think one day I managed to do both. So, not a lot, but consistent, moving every day. I'm going to try to do the same thing this week, despite the cold and snow. Both yesterday and today I went out and shoveled for 25+ minutes. Today I actually pushed myself too far -- my blood sugar got too low. I need to have something to eat before I go outside in the cold.

***

I tried out my new (revised) schedule this week, and it went pretty well. On Monday (from 10 to 11 am) I did a stretch video and worked on our spring break trip. On Tuesday I spent an hour on paperwork. On Wednesday I did a stretch video and totally avoided calling dentists, sigh. On Thursday I spent an hour on genealogy. And on Friday I did a stretch video and paid bills. Also, I managed to do some writing every day (from 2 to 3 pm) except Friday, so that was pretty good.

So I think I'm set with this schedule for now. It's helping me get through January. Although I wish I could get past my anxiety and find a dentist. The longer we go without one, the worse I feel about the whole thing. What kind of mom doesn't take her kids to the dentist?

***

We went to a presentation at the high school on Wednesday. That is, Rocket Boy and I went, and Teen B joined us partway through. It was about the road to college, all the things you need to do to prepare for that. It's funny -- I always just assumed that my children would go to college. But now I have one who is actively planning not to go and another who might go, but honestly, it's hard for me to picture him doing so. I don't think he's going to be ready to go away in a year and a half. Community college for a year or two and then transferring might be a better choice for him.

We have almost $158,000 in the twins' college funds right now. That's $79,000 each. For two kids who might not go to college at all. We put, I think, $26,000 into each kid's fund when they were about three months old -- it was part of my inheritance from my mother. We haven't put any additional funds in since then, but over 16 years the money has grown.

Of course, Teen A may eventually use some of that at a trade school or such. Or he may end up going to college after all, later on. And if Teen B goes to community college (and lives at home) and later transfers to a four-year college, he might be able to pay for the whole thing (or most of it) using his $79,000. Plus, he's going to have probably more than $10,000 in social security money that he could draw on. So it's all good. Whatever he does, he probably won't end up with a lot of student loan debt, which would be wonderful after Rocket Boy's horrible experiences with it. 

It just seems so strange.

***

I don't think I have much else to write about this week. Tomorrow is the day we're all dreading, Trump's inauguration. I may or may not watch some of it. I like seeing the other old presidents, but of course it's very unpleasant to see Trump.

I have that doctor appointment in the morning, and the kids probably have some homework to do before they go back to school on Tuesday. And we may make a Starbucks run. We didn't go today because of the weather (of course, it will be worse tomorrow), and also because Teen B was being bad and I didn't want to reward him. But he made amends, so we'll probably go tomorrow. 

Maybe I'll make a batch of cookies. Something sweet to counteract the bitter taste of Trump. Tonight I made a big pot of chickpea-tomato soup. Something warm and comforting to counteract the frigid reality of January.