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  • “Wine Down” and Join Me in Promoting Self-care

    Posted by jen-cueva on May 24, 2022 at 3:36 pm

    In my newest column, I share my struggles with self-care. I acknowledge that “we live in a society that praises productivity.”

    But those of us with PH must learn to fight this urge to busy ourselves.

    May 25 is National Wine Day, so I think I’ll enjoy a glass or two of wine and chill in the spirit of self-care. Who wants to “wine down” and join me?

    jen-cueva replied 1 year, 9 months ago 5 Members · 27 Replies
  • 27 Replies
  • Colleen

    Member
    May 24, 2022 at 6:27 pm

    @jenc I will “wine down” with you tomorrow but I actually have to go buy a bottle. Don’t have any in the house. It will make it an official “self-care” day for me since I finally made an appointment and will be seeing my internist tomorrow.

    Another excellent column, Jen, and thank you for quoting me =)

  • jen-cueva

    Member
    May 25, 2022 at 10:23 am

    Hi @colleensteele, cheers to self-care as you enjoy a glass of wine this afternoon after your appointment. Kudos to you!

    I’m sending you positive thoughts and prayers are you go in to see your PCP finally. Please let us know how things go when you’re rested.

    I’ll be back at the dentist this afternoon, so I’ll be joining in as I “wine down” and do nothing after that. I guess dinner plans are in the air, although I had something on my menu tonight.LOL

  • Colleen

    Member
    May 25, 2022 at 11:32 pm

    @jenc I wasn’t up to wine tonight but I hope you got to enjoy a glass…or if you have been keeping up with a certain court case – a mega pint! LOL!

    My PCP did a lot of blood work and I have an ultra sound of my neck and arm on June 10th. The neck we think is my thyroid acting up and my arm which has been hurting really bad might have a cyst…but she said they are usually benign. The main thing I would like is something that points to why I am so fatigued all the time and why my immune system seems to be out of whack.

    How did you dentist appointment go? I hope you aren’t experiencing a lot of discomfort.

  • jen-cueva

    Member
    May 26, 2022 at 1:35 pm

    Hey @colleensteele, I’m sorry you weren’t feeling the wine yesterday evening. I hope you did “wine down” with something cool to drink after probably a long appointment with your PCP.

    I’m happy your blood work looks good, but like you, I know you have been sick more than usual lately and wish we knew why. Do they think it’s your RA and stress combined? Hopefully, the ultrasounds come back OK.

    Are you already on thyroid medication? Maybe I forgot about that if you told me.

    Please keep us posted on your ultrasound results next month and how you’re feeling. Will you be seeing a rheumatologist this year? Maybe they will offer some answers once you are done with the ultrasound. I’m sorry you don’t have answers. Take care of yourself.

    I did have a wine slushie, and it was good. My neighbor friend loves wine, and she, of course, wanted to celebrate National Wine Day. We got take-out, so yesterday’s dinner is on my menu tonight.

    My dental appointment went well, thanks. My mouth is much better with the sutures left in place for a few more weeks. Once that heals in July, I have another procedure before they can do the implant. It sounds like a long process, but it’s needed because it’s not easy to chew without that upper right tooth.

  • debbie-moore

    Member
    May 26, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    Wish I had of seen this post earlier.  I would have loved to celebrate Wine Day!  I think I’ll have a glass tonight for belated Wine Day!

  • jen-cueva

    Member
    May 27, 2022 at 2:13 pm

    Hey @debbie, it’s never too late to “wine down.” Go ahead and celebrate through the end of the month. You have your hubby’s birthday and Memorial Day. Cheers, and make any day a “wine down” day, my PHriend.

  • kygon

    Member
    June 2, 2022 at 9:13 am

    Just catching up! @Colleensteele I truly hope you get answers and get feeling more like yourself! Sometimes it is hard to be a caregiver, mother, wife but especially when your not feeling well! Let us know how tests go! Sending hugs and wine LOL … I am never out of wine.. we have a chiller that I keep stocked.. we call it MY Medicine hahaha (I am terrible) I joke that I will stop drinking when people stop dying!

    @JenC I know I was quiet just busy but I was cheering to you that day … I meant to log on but I didn’t make it.  But cheers to SELF CARE! It is so important to listen your body and get some quiet time.

    @debbie Anyone who wants to join me in cheers can do so any evening as I am a Wine Down every evening kind of gal… so cheers to you and all PHighters and Phriends and Caregivers!

    Sometimes self care comes in form of little projects as well ..this week my seedlings were finally ready for transplant into the garden and it was so rewarding because it is my first year growing from seeds .. (I don’t even care if they don’t produce veggies) I am just proud of the little seeds that grew into little sprouts and now they are actual plants! so planting them out in the garden was just as rewarding as kicking my feet up with a good book. hahaha

    • jen-cueva

      Member
      June 2, 2022 at 6:49 pm

      LOL, @kygon, you crack me up! I have a wine slush mix in my freezer and may have it if it’s ready this evening. I usually have a bottle chilling but don’t have a wine cooler. Manny says we need one- hehe.

      My good friend and neighbor here in the condos is a Wine Down every evening like you. I just drove in from the store to get a missing ingredient for tonight’s dinner, and she has a massive glass of wine in hand and just got home from work. She’s a teacher and tomorrow is the last day.

      Self-care is important. I love that you enjoy planting your seedlings and watching them grow into sprouts. I miss the little plants out back I had in Texas. My mom has a pretty good-sized garden and has sent me pics of her tomatoes and such.

      No need to apologize; this is a perfect post because it’s part of your self-care. Watching them from the patio as you “Wine Down” is even better. Hehe.

    • debbie-moore

      Member
      June 9, 2022 at 7:29 am

      @kygon My garden is my sanctuary.  I love watching my veggies grow.  I’m sure you sprouts are going to produce great fruits!

      • Colleen

        Member
        June 9, 2022 at 6:50 pm

        @debbie when I hear you talk about your garden it makes me think of the one my dad grew every summer in NJ, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn where his favorites. It was my job as a little girl to water them for him when he was working late and help him pick the veggies when they were ready. It’s such a nice memory and makes me question why as an adult I’ve never started my own. I do flowers but have never planted veggies. A little late to do that this summer but maybe next.

      • debbie-moore

        Member
        June 11, 2022 at 2:40 pm

        @coleensteele it is not too late to plan a fall garden.  It won’t be tomatoes but could be delicious veggies.

      • jen-cueva

        Member
        June 13, 2022 at 11:13 am

        Speaking of tomatoes, my mom just texted me a pic of a box of fresh tomatoes she picked, okra, and she bought two bags of fresh peas at the local farm near my late grandma’s house. She will be canning this week. I wish I were there to help her and eat some fresh.

        @debbie, do you do any canning? What are your favorite fresh summer veggies? I love a fresh tomato sandwich or “sammich,” as my late Pawpaw would say when he made them when I was a child. He would let me pick one or two from his vast garden.

      • debbie-moore

        Member
        June 13, 2022 at 3:36 pm

        I do can @jenc.  Last year my picking cucumbers went wild, and I just couldn’t get out there every day to pick them (it was more like once/week), so I had enormous, overripe cucumbers coming out of my ears!  I still canned them.  I made sweet salad cubes and dill pickle relish.  Delicious!  I also canned tomatoes, green beans, and noodle beans.  My favorite veggie from the garden is zucchini.  I guess because it is my favorite veggie even if I have to buy it from the store.  However, I will not buy tomatoes from the store unless absolutely necessary.  A fresh garden tomato is not the same as the tomato that is sold in a store.  I’m all for a tomato “sammich”.

      • debbie-moore

        Member
        June 13, 2022 at 3:38 pm

        @jenc I almost forgot.  I can peaches too.  I buy them when I go to South Carolina, bring them home and can them!  Best for making peach cobbler.

      • Colleen

        Member
        June 13, 2022 at 3:47 pm

        I’m @debbie I’m going to jump in again….peaches are my favorite fruit and peach cobbler is the best! I wish we were neighbors! LOL!

      • debbie-moore

        Member
        June 13, 2022 at 3:56 pm

        @coleensteele I just made a peach cobbler last night.  It turned out beautifully!  I love it best warm.  I think they are better when using home canned peaches rather than cutting fresh and dumping straight in.  It has to be the sugar it sits in for months. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  If you get to NC look me up, and I’ll make us a cobbler!

      • jen-cueva

        Member
        June 14, 2022 at 11:18 am

        OMG, @debbie, my mouth is watering now. I love fresh cucumbers, too. I can eat them almost daily and a ton of ways. I would have enjoyed picking those and saving them, so they didn’t go to waste.

        Man, we should have a PHriend village with a huge garden we could all help do what we can and eat from there, too.

        You can and garden a ton. I am jealous. I wish I were with my mom helping her this week. I know canning can be a ton of work. But mom says it’s therapeutic. Plus, she usually cans enough for us all. I will have to have her ship me some this year.
        I also love fresh peas cooked with okra and cornbread. Serve this with a few fresh slices of tomatoes and iced tea on the side. Let’s not forget peach or blackberry cobbler for dessert. No meat meated. Yummy!

        Now, I’ll be hungry all day- and like you, the tomatoes at the store are nothing like a fresh homegrown one. But I have no choice some days. I wait and get one from a local farm for a good fresh tomato “sammich” and, like @colleensteele, a glass of iced tea. But I don’t toast my bread unless we do a BLTA.

      • Colleen

        Member
        June 14, 2022 at 2:33 pm

        There you go @jenc @kygon – that’s your reality show right there. “Man, we should have a PHriend village with a huge garden we could all help do what we can and eat from there, too.”

        You could call it “PHarming with Jen”!

      • kygon

        Member
        June 14, 2022 at 3:50 pm

        @Colleensteele YES THAT IS OUR SHOW!! @Jen I don’t know how I messed this! How awesome would a community garden be, And how cute is PHarming with Jen? @Debbiemoore I loved reading all your posts, this is my first year growing veggies and fruits .. I have always had a green thumb, but I really always focused on my flowers, suddenly I was like … duh why am I not growing food? trial and error I may have to pick your brain!

        You all made my mouth water.. I can’t wait for fresh cucumbers and tomatoes and berries and I planted watermelons too.  Gardening is so therapeutic (especially with wine tee hee)

      • jen-cueva

        Member
        June 15, 2022 at 2:14 pm

        LOL, @colleensteele- I love that! Pharming with Jen would be so cool, and we could have that village and share tasks and food. You’re brilliant!

        @kygon, like you, I’ve always had a green thumb. But my tomatoes, cilantro, and pepper plants did pretty well at my old house in Texas.

        I love that you added gardening is therapeutic with your wine, hehe.

        My mom is canning this week and talking about fresh veggies. It makes me homesick. Tonight she is making fresh peas and fried okra with some meat. I can do all veggies and be good.

      • Colleen

        Member
        June 13, 2022 at 3:57 pm

        @jenc tomato sammiches (Brian calls them that) were always a big summer favorite growing up in South Jersey. Tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, on toast and ice tea! The best!

      • jen-cueva

        Member
        June 14, 2022 at 11:20 am

        Yes, LOL @colleensteele, minus the toasted bread for me unless it’s a BLTA. Now we both will be looking for some farm fresh tomatoes. Do you have a local farm near you?

        I’ve been to 2 here so far and still looking for a larger one. I miss this in the summer as this was always such a huge part of my childhood and visiting my grandparents. It sounds like you and Brian both share this connection from childhood.

  • kygon

    Member
    June 2, 2022 at 9:24 am

    Oh gosh how insensitive of me .. this column was all about learning to relax Not do project.. I digress.. but on a side note now I sit out on my patio and watch my little plants grow!

  • ohio-cathy

    Member
    June 2, 2022 at 6:38 pm

    My husband just sat me down and said I have to start taking better care of myself.  He said I have to accept that I just can’t do all that I’ve done in the past.  I have been fatigued lately and more short of breath and a good nap really helps.  It’s hard to accept this and I want to keep my old ways, but I realize I have to take better care of myself.  And I will enjoy a glass of wine tonight and ponder my new plan.  I hope you all do the same and take good care.

  • jen-cueva

    Member
    June 2, 2022 at 6:57 pm

    Hi @cathyhayes, I’m sorry you are feeling more fatigued lately. Is it weather-related? I know I have been more fatigued recently because I’ve been busy with appointments and such. But in Texas, that summer heat and humidity drained me faster.

    Learning to accept that we can’t do all we did before is challenging. But doing a few things we enjoy each day and breaking those up into smaller tasks helps at times. How long have you been diagnosed now? My apologies; I forgot.

    Be gentle with yourself. That glass of wine should help. Does your PH doctor know you drink? I know some are told not to drink any alcohol with PH medications. I was on Oreintram; I was told that, but my PH team is okay with a bit of alcohol with my other oral meds. I just thought I would remind everyone. You got this, and we are here to support you. We’ve all been there.

  • debbie-moore

    Member
    June 9, 2022 at 7:27 am

    I went camping in Asheville NC this past weekend.  Totally relaxing.  I highly recommend Biltmore House.  They are so friendly and helpful to those who have difficulties.  The gardens, especially the conservatory, are peaceful and relaxing.

  • jen-cueva

    Member
    June 9, 2022 at 1:49 pm

    Hi @debbie, I’m so happy you had such an enjoyable time camping in Asheville, NC. THat’s been on my “bucket travel” list for years.

    Excellent share about the Biltmore Estate– House and their attention to those with disabilities. I’ll share a link in case others want to learn more.

    I bet the gardens were so peaceful; what a wonderful trip. Did you have s’mores while camping, too? You deserve it; I’m so happy for you.

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