A good day with food allergies

For those of you with lots of food allergies that are hard to handle, hopefully you'll understand this.

I woke this morning with the actual "want to do something" feeling. Since I rarely wake with any energy to even get out of bed, let alone any desire to do anything, this morning is a rare one.

My plans should I have energy for today were:
Clean house.
Finish unpacking/sorting/throwing away stuff.
Clean the kitchen.
Do laundry.
Bake something to portion out and freeze for later.
Do some writing.
Get some work done on my projects
Send out some resumes.

Unfortunately this wasn't an "energy to do what I need to do" but just a "want to do something fun" and my energy/desires wanted nothing to do with my to-do list… For once.. I actually had energy to do something else..

If someone invited me to go mountain climbing.. I probably would have said yes. Dive out of an airplane? Sure. Backpack across Europe? Lets go.

I'd have settled for a long walk but then it's 97 degrees out and sunny. Relatively certain I'd get 2 blocks and just walk right back.

Nevertheless anything I would not normally do sounds really fun today. (I wonder if this is what people call the "Zest for Life".)

I attempted to talk myself into cleaning and unpacking with the idea that I would then invite friends over for board games and booze.

And as I was debating on where to start first and being overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I'd need to do in order to actually make my place presentable… I realized that today is the best day I've had in months.

I'm still debating on whether to use my energy for cleaning or to just go out with the dog.

But I realized I hadn't written lately at all here, and realized I hadn't written anything about good days.  The one's where you can put two coherent sentences together, and run up and down the stairs without getting dizzy or feeling like your lungs are shutting down for repairs.

The ones were you feel.. normal.

(PS - I'm also looking for guest posts for this blog. Subjects - what it feels like to have food allergies or intimate stories to portray life with food allergies. Submit to simplyvmail at gmail)

Trying on clothes could kill you. Allergic reactions to stores and starches

Today I went and splurged. I can't really afford it, but I sooo needed it for my own mental health. I started a new job and keep gaining weight (read allergy swelling and allergy induced type 2 diabetic issues) which I need to get under-control but haven't been able to.

In the meantime, I've been wearing what I have left of the "fat clothes" from a few years ago when I was this size (prior to my food allergy discovery). These clothes, while they fit, are outdated and make me feel frumpy and ugly.

It's one thing to walk around with allergy-induced cankles, it's quite another to do it in clothes that just add to the feeling of ugly.

I just couldn't take it anymore, so I went shopping.

I was supposed to go out with a friend tonight so I also wanted to get something presentable and "sexy-ish" for going out.

What I'd forgotten was just how bad shopping could make me feel.

I entered the store and went to town on their clearance section looking for anything remotely fashionable and wouldn't go out of style too quickly.

I ended up with about 4 arm loads of clothes to try on, and I head to the dressing room.

It's a trying on clothes fiesta!  Clothes are flying on and off me as I look for something fantastic to buy.

About an hour or so into it, I start choking as if I swallowed wrong, and at first I think I must have just swallowed wrong.  But then I cough again, and my lungs this time feel dry and I cough a bit more, and still feel like I'm choking.

Crap.

I'd forgotten about the clothes being full of corn starch, and when clothes are flying around the room of course it gets in the air and down my windpipe.

I pull out my benadryl and take two.

I end up finding a few things: two fancy tshirts, a blouse, a pair of jeans, and a dress that looks awesome all for $75.

Unfortunately, by the time I got home I was so tired I didn't go out tonight. My skin feels so dry it might crack open. My cankles are back full force. I got "sick" in the bathroom, and I'm starving but absolutely no energy to do anything about it. I swear all my joints hurt.

My fancy new clothes are just sitting here waiting for me to wear them, and I really really want to... But I'd rather lay in bed and go to sleep.

I really love/hate shopping.