Cybertoad's Blog

In my recent posts you may have noticed that I have been mentioning a lot of ongoing projects/hobbies, some old, some new. The new boost of energy, mostly creative, I think can be attributed to a few things…

(1) Change of jobs – I am much less stressed and centered on work. I leave work usually by 5:15 and am home by 5:30 PM. More time at home to unwind and no continued stress since I no longer work in a department that is in constant crisis mood like before.

(2) No longer medicated – During my health insurance switch over, I ran out of my ADD medication, Strattera. After taking it for a year and a half, I really didn’t like that I was taking this every day (and then there is the potential liver damage) and I didn’t feel like it was doing much good so against the advice of WebMD and my husband I didn’t get it refilled and just stopped taking it. I know, do not try this at home folks. Everything you read tells you that you should be weaned off medications like this. It was too much trouble though (and money) to get a modified prescription so I pressed my luck. I felt out of sorts the first couple of days and the headaches were intense, starting about mid-day, but after a couple of days un-medicated I felt better.

Now I actually now feel like a fog was lifted. A minor fog but a fog nonetheless. Yes, I may be a bit wacky and jumpy (I’m ADD after all) but I am glad to see the old me back. I will just need to focus on coping techniques to keep the ADD in check here at work and at home instead of using the medication.

With these two factors affecting my creativity and energy, I am delving deeper into a few hobbies… (read what hobbies in the extended entry).

Geocaching – I’ve mentioned this a handful of times, especially during weekend updates, but I am going to write a separate post on it since I often get questions about the sport.

Digital Photography – The Flickr community and more specifically the Houston Flickr community, has really helped get me back into the photography groove. The new Rebel XT has also been a great help and I am getting some photos I can be proud of. Having a monthly assignment also forces me out and about and geocaching excursions show me some hidden corners of the city I can photograph.

Dancing – I am back in my salsa class. Yay! This always makes me happy. Kenny and I also will be taking a 6 week tango course together. This should be interesting… We’ve never tried taking a class together! Tango classes start next week!

Artist Trading Cards – A way to combine my stamping and scrapbooking supplies & skills. ATCs are fun because they are quick to make and don’t become huge multi-day projects. I joined a local trading group and have just set up our website. Go check out the new Houston ATC site to read more on what we do.

Continued hobbies – Although I have not been working on the garden, I continue to tend to my container plants, both inside and out. My monthly garden club starts back up in September. I also continue to scrapbook and recently finished two large books (Paris & London). I am now working on the 2005 trips. My goal is to have those mostly done if not finished before we head out on this year’s trips (first trip is at end of October to Las Vegas).

Only obstacle – Despite being more energized I am still not getting enough sleep and gravitating to the couch too easily. Part of my coping techniques will be to keep this in check so I can do all these fun hobbies. It is an every day struggle I don’t win on a daily basis but I try! Wish me luck!