Ashia of The Romance Reviews names Lady Doctor Wyre a TRR Top Pick!
The worldbuilding is impressive and just incredible! It was so real it felt I was there, and the author lets the reader into her world and experience it without info dumping. … I love this book, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.
Thank you so much, Ashia!
Not as fun as Christmas in July, let me tell you.
I’ve been sick since Wed. night/Thursday last week. I just got a little bit worse day by day, but I didn’t realize exactly how “bad” I was feeling. It just sort of snuck up on me, or maybe I just didn’t want to think about it. I was really slow mentally and physically all day Friday. My brain was in neutral and I struggled all day at work. I had to run an errand at lunch and it wiped me out. I struggled through the rest of the day and didn’t feel at all well Friday night.
Sat. was the worst. My fever got up to 103.3 F. I woke up absolutely disgustingly drenched in sweat, so bad we had to strip the bed and wash everything. Yet within an hour or two, the fever came roaring back. 102+ plus all weekend.
My back kept hurting. Mostly my left side. I couldn’t get comfortable. Sunday night, I made my way downstairs to call in sick at work, and I was shocked when I could hardly rattle off the voicemail speel I’ve been using for 16 years now. I didn’t have enough air.
I hoped Monday I was getting a little better because my fever stayed in the 101-102 range and I was actually able to eat dinner with the family (yes, That Man COOKED a delicious BBQ meatball dinner!), but my back was just KILLING me. And the shortness of breath just got worse and worse. Monday night when I went downstairs to call in again, I could barely make it back up. I sat in my chair panting, short, painful gasping breaths that really scared me.
If I was a smart person, I would have had my husband take me to the ER that night, because I couldn’t sleep. I was too uncomfortable, coughed too much, and felt like I was panting most of the night. But with 3 children, it’s hard to justify dragging them up out of bed to wait for hours and hours at the ER with many other sick people. So I waited to go to our local urgent care this morning as soon as they opened.
He didn’t need xrays to know I had pneumonia. He just wanted to see how BAD it was. But he was very worried about me, which scared the hell out of me. My left side is the worst. That pain I felt in my back? Was actually my LUNG hurting. Standing for the xrays wore me out so badly that I fought to keep from fainting, because I was scared he’d admit me on the spot, and I really didn’t want to go to the hospital. Once back in the room, I laid down, and immediately rolled over to the floor so I could throw up in the trash can. Ugh.
Needless to say, he sent me to the ER for further evaluation. He really seemed to suspect they’d hospitalize me for a few days. Luckily, some hefty iv antibiotics and two bags of fluid were enough to convince the ER doctor to let me come home. WHEW. However, I have an inhaler and more oral antibiotics to take this week, so hopefully *prays* I am on the mend.
It is just wrong on so many levels to have pneumonia in July, with a crazy heatwave outside. While I sit here shuddering under a blanket.
I tried coffee for the first time today since Friday and it didn’t taste good yet. 🙁 But hopefully it will taste good again in a few days.
So my apologies for delays in responding to people. I know I’ve had a few requests for RTCs lately and I’ll try to get them out as soon as possible. I also have a lovely review for Lady Doctor Wyre to post. As soon as I muster up the energy…
Over the 4th of July weekend, Middle missed several outings with her friend because she was sick with fever, cough, and aches/pains. She had a fever about 3 days, but she’s always been hit “hard” by anything like that. (Which is why she had 3 minor surgergies before Kindergarten)
I thought we all escaped without getting it, until I started coughing Thursday. Friday I barely had the energy to climb up and down the stairs to work, but I pushed through the day and got as much done as possible (nowhere near my normal daily production level). Meanwhile, I kept waking up in the middle of the night with horrible sweats. I almost thought I was having hot flashes already! They were horrible. And oh, the aches.
Of course I couldn’t find the thermometer – one of the monsters ran off with it. I woke up this morning aching all over again. I’d been trying to blame it partially on our bed (it needs to be replaced), new pillows I’d just bought, and working out more, so my muscles were just sore. But this morning, I could hardly stumble into the bathroom because I was shaking so hard, which hurt everything.
That Man called in to work so he could take care of the kids. Of course I need to do the grocery shopping, so we hardly have any food in the house. I ate a little bit and felt enough better (with a hefty dose of Motrin) to make it to Target so I could pick up cough drops, yet another thermometer, and several cans of soup.
I almost wish I didn’t know for sure that I have a fever. Because knowing it’s 101 and still climbing makes me feel worse. At this rate, I hope I’m better for work Monday morning!
This weekend I’ll be updating my template and installing a new header made by Book Graphics! Just in case things go a bit wonky… I’ll be changing the navigation, etc. so be patient. Hopefully it’ll be fairly seamless and painless.
Well, today was our first weigh in. I feel sorry for my team because they’re a little handicapped by having a member who’s already been dieting for six months. No huge loss for me this week but I did lose *some* (whew, I was up a little yesterday and was really worried). They need not fear that my little .23% loss will win the grand prize, but hopefully I’ll be consistent and steady!
I completed another Power 90 session today. Pushups are getting a little easier. I should have done it yesterday, but a short story clobbered me upside the head yesterday and instead of using my lunch to workout, I wrote instead. *sheepish* I’m a little behind on walking so I need to hit a couple of miles tomorrow.
My new recipe try today: mashed sweet potato with Greek yogurt. This is a huge step for me because I don’t really *like* sweet potatoes much. Not even my mom can get me to eat her sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving. But lately, I’ve been enjoying roasted sweet potatoes, so I decided to try it. I went savory with chili powder and garlic instead of sugar and cinnamon as the recipe called for, and it was good. Not yummy, OMG you have to try this, but good. I’ll try it again.
I must admit that I’m decidedly grumpy today. The scale is up for absolutely no reason. I didn’t get any writing done all weekend, including Friday. But I’m not going to sit here and dwell about how empty my cup might be. Instead, I’ll be glad that…
What good news can you share today?
Mea culpa, Sherri actually won the “first review kae’don” but I totally missed it! I’ve fallen behind on my blog feeds and google alert failed me. Read her entire review here:
Where Joely shines is her characters. Not a two-dimensional person among them. These characters are so real. (I think I said it best in my review of Road when I said, “I lived a lifetime between these pages!”) I love with them. I laugh with them. I hurt with them. I cry and scream with them. Even with the hints peppered on Joely’s blog I came apart completely at one point. And yes, I screamed, scaring the dog, LOL. There were more than a few tears, not just sad but happy ones too, during this story.
Aw, poor Roxy! Thank you so much, Sherri! You’re absolutely right about Shannari being a little exhausted. *winks*
P.S. Don’t forget – TODAY is the last day to enter the giveaway!
So three days into the Romance Biggest Winner…and I’ve exercised three days! In a row! I know. I’m shocked too. Woot!
I’ve survived two sessions of Power 90 sculpt (level 1). Yes, I’m definitely sore, but not where I can’t walk up the stairs or anything. Those pushups KILL me. Even my stomach (core) is sore.
Yesterday, the monsters commandeered the Wii so I couldn’t do Walk It Out as usual. So I threw in my old Leslie Sansome Walk Away the Pounds dvd on my laptop. It’s the 1 and 2 mile version, but I’d never done the 2 mile before. I thought, hey, what the heck. I’ve been walking 2 miles on WIO. Let’s see how bad it is.
Not bad at all. I definitely broke a sweat but I made it all the way through without keeling over ded.
Who knows. At this rate, I might get up the courage to go back to Power 90’s cardio…. (I don’t know. Those upward and downward dogs kill me every time.)
In the food arena, I made a new recipe tonight (Curried Quinoa with Chicken, about 7 p+ on WW if you’re tracking points). I admit, it was a little risky. I personally have not liked curry or quinoa before, but it just sounded good. That Man is working late tonight, so it was just the monsters and I. Chickens were on sale and I had two in my big stew pot simmering late afternoon. I have chicken… I have broth… I figured worst case, if they all hated it, at least they could eat the dark-meat chicken before That Man devours it.
Wow, so good. I absolutely loved it! Although I did leave out the nutmeg. That just sounded weird (although I love nutmeg on peaches). I promise to try the nutmeg next time. Even better, two of the three monsters loved it and went back for seconds! Littlest Monster did not like the texture, but she did try it and ate about half. Hopefully it will grow on her, because it’s definitely a dish I’d like to make again.
While waiting on the chickens to cool so I can pick all the good meat off (and then make a huge batch of broth), I decided to roast some chickpeas (kind of like this recipe only I modified the spices, didn’t use olive oil, and prepared the dried beans first). I’ve been wanting to try crispy chickpeas for a long time — sounded totally up my alley. All those yummy spices! I pulled the pan out of the oven to cool and went downstairs to write a while.
I came back upstairs…and nearly the entire pan was gone. Gulp. I guess the monsters approve of roasted chickpeas. Who knew?!?
(Where’s my gas mask?!? Because they just ate THREE CUPS of BEANS….)
Many thanks to Soleil for not just reviewing all the Shanhasson books — but for also helping me beta read an early copy of Return before submission. Here’s her review with a snippet:
Shannari has come along way since Rhaekhar, Khul of the Nine Camps of the Sha’Kae al’Dan, decimated her army and won her heart. She’s become such an iconic heroine for me. I have watched her love, hate, fight, win ….and lose. I have watched her suffer, truly suffer some horrific events and come out all the stronger for it. Because Shannari dal’Dainnari never ran from anything. Not for long. Her truly epic capacity for love puts all other heroines to shame. None of them can hold a candle to her passion.If there was one thing Joely managed to get through to this cynic, it’s that love can save you, no matter how Shadowed you are.
*wipes away a happy tear* That’s exactly what I hoped this series would say. Thank you so much, Soleil!
Happy 4th, America! We celebrated last night by driving around our neighborhood in the pouring rain looking for our neighbor’s sweet golden retriever that fled their yard during another neighbor’s fireworks finale. Luckily Annabeth is home safely in her yard this morning!
The monsters will be shooting bottle rockets and who knows what else today. Thankfully it rained heavily yesterday so no chance for fire. (Middle and anything to do with fire is always a scary proposition.)
If you’d like to do a little reading of your own today, simply post a comment on this post telling me which book of mine you wish you could read. I’ll pick a name out of the magic hat and send the winner their desired book. (I can offer up Golden although I don’t have the final ARC available yet — I can make you one.)
P.S. The journal giveaway is still open.
P.P.S. or is it P.S.S.? Lord Regret is up for Summer’s Hottest Hero at ARe but is falling waaaaay behind in votes!
