I’m frustrated. I’ve been offline for a while, and haven’t wanted to touch my computer at all, which is very unlike me. I have a list of reasons why, which I’ll be happy to share.

1. I had a gastric bypass about 7 years ago. There wasn’t a lot of research about the long-term effects at the time, and I’ve always seemed to have a bit of an issue with foresight. Because of the operation, I’m not absorbing nutrients the way I should. Funny that, since they took out a nice section of my intestines as well as the bottom half of my stomach. Ever since, I’ve had a series of side effects that are kicking my tush. First I found out that I have Osteopenia, the first step toward Osteoporosis.  Since I was in my late 30’s at the time, I was more upset about this this than if I were, say, 55 or 60. This past fall, my doctors finally figured out why I’ve been exhausted for the past few years – I have Iron Deficient Anemia, and my iron and ferritin levels were so low that 2 of my doctors actually asked me how I stood up without fainting. Once we figured out the problem, my GP sent me to a Hematologist, who’s been gave me iron infusions every week in the cancer hospital. I’ve got a new view on life now, after sitting with so many people fighting for their lives. This in itself is another post…anyway, a week after the infusions stopped (my iron levels are normal, and I’ll have to go back from time to time for more infusions, but I have energy now!), I started getting cluster headaches and migraines. Every day. Bad ones. The GP sent me to a Neurologist. Six weeks, an MRI and trip to the emergency room later (when I found out that I can no longer handle opiates of any kind – the hard way), the Neurologist is sending me to a Gastroenterologist, because he’s come to the conclusion that the headaches are part of the malabsorption from the bypass. So, a metabolic workup for me tomorrow, and hopefully the end of the headaches in sight. I share all of this as an excuse for not blogging, because I’m having just a few clearheaded moments in the day, and I’m not using them to blog.

2. Pain medication and muscle relaxants aren’t conducive to well-written and succinct blog posts. This should probably be included in reason #1, but I feel that I need more than 3 excuses in total.

3. I’m completely overwhelmed by my collection of RSS feeds. I love my friends and cherished keeping up with them, and every time I look at the collection of back posts in my inbox I suddenly remember that I have to put the wash in the dryer, or I forgot to set the DVR to record Lost. When I try again, it occurs to me that the dishwasher needs running, and I have to marinate the chicken for dinner.

4. A 30-day blog giveaway is too long for me, personally, to host. I loved doing it, it was fun, and I’m going to do it again. Perhaps a week-long giveaway?  Two weeks? Seems more realistic for me. I think perhaps I burned myself out a wee bit and ran away to recoup:) Back to that foresight issue…Don’t you think, by now, I should know my limitations? You live, you learn, says Alanis Morissette. She’s a smart cookie!

Can’t think of anything else right now, but give me enough time and I’ll think of more. Needless to say, I’m full of them (please, no witty remarks about what else I’m full of.:)).

So…

Juniper and I have received a few emails from friends that read our blog, worrying – understandably so – because they’re used to seeing a post *every* day, and those posts suddenly stopped in the beginning of January. It was a dear friend asking me to post a Turnaround Tuesday because she had a link she wanted to share that spurred me on to use one of my clearheaded moments to post today. So here I am, and I’m posting a Turnaround Tuesday late tonight. When I can gather the nerve, I’ll try to start catching up with all the wonderful people I follow. Being this behind seems like a daunting task, but I miss knowing what’s going on in your lives!

I’ll be attempting to post every day, because if I don’t, I’ll fall off the blogging wagon again. You can call me on that one next time I disappear!