By Melissa Mc
I went to my PCP today to have a physical and talk about my “issues.” Bad news: I’ve gained 15 lbs since January. I’m still walking 3.5/4 miles a day, but, wow, that’s a lot! Must be all the chocolate I’m eating to fend off my demons. Good news: My PCP talked to me for 45minutes about my struggles! Holy Cow! The last time I went to the Dr, I was ushered into the exam room, asked a few questions, WAITED for 45 minutes for the Dr, then, once he arrived, I think he spent 10 minutes with me before he wrote me a Rx (or 2 or 3) and sent me on my way. This woman was a gem. She told me, “I was not alone.” And that we would find a solution to my “anxiety.” She didn’t send me home with anything, she’s waiting to see what my blood work reveals (possible thyroid issues, etc.), but, I feel like I’m being well taken care of. Prayers answered. I go back next week for the results.
I was side swiped today. It really sucked. I was sitting at a red light. Sitting. At a RED Light! Out of NO WHERE this gray van, plate number 677 NKP (I said it out loud and made the kids say it too) drove into the driver’s side of my car, then sped thru the red light and off into never, never land. Luckily, no one was hurt – but my nerves were fried. No structural damage was done to my car, just cosmetic, but still, it totally rots. The police came, ran the plates, and they were non-registered, non-insured. Why doesn’t that surprise me?
Why hasn’t anyone invented a mop that can fit on your feet? When I clean my kitchen, I often think how much I could get done if I had mops on my feet? I’m constantly walking back and forth – putting groceries, dishes, pots/pans away, sweeping, moving chairs – you’d think I could multitask and mop the floor at the same time and not have to bend over? I find myself pulling out a dish towel, wetting it down, and “scooting” all over the floor with it after I’ve swept up at night. I much prefer my feet touching dirty mop/dish cloth than my hands. Will one of you smart women out there get to working on that please!!
You should find out where the sideswiper lives and dump laundry detergent all over his floor.
Comment #1 by The WizJuly 22nd, 2009 at 8:37 pmIt is a gag gift (box only). But it sounds like what you were describing.
http://store.theonion.com/kleenstride-personal-debris-removal-system-gift-box-p-383.html
Comment #2 by JeremyJuly 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 pmFor floors, I absolutely love my Swiffer Sweeper Wet or Dry. Not the fancy schmancy one that squirts, just the one that you can put a wet thing on and quickly mop. I used to mop twice a year, whether the floor needed it or not (it needed it!) and had gross floors. With my fabulous new Swiffer, mopping takes 5 minutes, does not involve bending over, wringing out a mop, or buckets. AND my kids love to use it! No, I am not a Swiffer consultant; I’m just hoping to share the love.
Your PCP sounds great!
Comment #3 by Mrs. MJuly 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 pmOh, but they have. They showed it on “Pitchmen.” They are called Shuffles…floor cleaning foot pads. Go here to buy them: https://www.buyshuffles.com/
Comment #4 by CamilleJuly 22nd, 2009 at 9:08 pmHoly cow, Camille. I am seriously ordering some right now. Well, I’ll read a few online reviews first, but wow. Those look awesome.
Comment #5 by The WizJuly 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 pmI just toss two kitchen towels down on the floor, and shuffle around with a bottle of cleaner. Squirt, squirt… shuffle… tah-dah! Clean floors. Laziness to an artform.
Sorry about the sucky driver. That rots.
Doctor envy.
Comment #6 by Tracy MJuly 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 pmI also love the Swiffer, except I use the fancy one that squirts. My toddler still persists in throwing food on the floor instead of asking to get down out of her chair, so my floor get pretty amazingly dirty very fast, so I mop pretty much every day. For me, it’s all about zero prep and cleanup. Instead of buying their special soap over and over again I just use some pliers to open the bottle and refill it with some simple bleach and water. Sooooooooooo much easier than having to drag out a mop, get it wet, or drag a cloth around the floor, ugh!
Sorry for sounding like a commercial, but it was the first thing I thought of and… it’s just so much easier!
Comment #7 by KatieJuly 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 pmI was just about to type exactly what Camille typed. I saw that on Pitchmen too and was saying while reading this post, “Oh but they DO have those! Someone invented them already!”
Comment #8 by KamiJuly 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 pmWhen I was in the MTC my comp and I got to clean the bathroom floors and ceilings. I can’t believe I’m going to say this about cleaning, but it was so much fun. They put mops on our feet and gave us special hoses with soapy water coming out, and we proceeded to fire our hoses over anything that stood still (and some that didn’t–oops!) and then skate all over the tile cleaning it all up. I have never enjoyed doing floors so much in all my life! Seriously ruined me and now I make dh do them here because I hate it so much. So I’m definitely with ya on the feet mop thingies.
Comment #9 by StarababaJuly 22nd, 2009 at 11:37 pmI’m fantasizing about strapping these mops to the kids’ feet when they come in after playing in the sprinkler. Imagine them getting the floor *cleaner* for a change! Now we just need baby clothes made from swiffer cloth so the crawling baby ends up sweeping… Ok you guys are probably calling child protective services by now!
Seriously though, has anyone actually tried these shufflies? I’m wary of purchases that seem brilliant during a 3-am feeding!
Comment #10 by LazymomJuly 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 amthis is also an option…
http://www.amazon.com/Evriholder-Slipper-Microfiber-Cleaning-Slippers/dp/B000R9B3L4
Comment #11 by candaceJuly 23rd, 2009 at 4:37 amMy housemates in college used to imagine attaching swiffer booties to my kitten. I’m not sure whether it was for cleaning or fun, but I think it would have been amusing to watch!
Comment #12 by EMAHJuly 23rd, 2009 at 5:44 amI’m a little disappointed that everyone finds mopping far more important than my personal mental health and my car wreck, but whatever…
Wow — these look awesome! I can’t believe I haven’t seen them before?? Exactly what I imagined!
Tracy — that’s exactly what I do now — towels, cleaner, and scoot around the kitchen.
Lazymom: Did you see the SNL episode with the “swiffer baby?” It was a riot! A toddler in a fleeces footed sleeper with swiffers attached all over him/her — and they rolled around on the floor. It’s one of my favorite SNL commericals.
Comment #13 by Melissa McJuly 23rd, 2009 at 6:08 amAs seen on TV
Comment #14 by seashellsJuly 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 amhttp://www.amazon.com/Seen-Dust-Slippers-slippers-available/dp/B000YJ1L8W
OK - after reading Melissa Mc’s post - can I tell you that my toddler LOVES to climb in and out of the coffee table and end table openings - I’ve taken to grabbing his hands and sliding him back and forth along the surface to *dust* the furniture - he LOVES it! It’s one of his favorite games!! And it gets my tables nice and shiny too!
ok, ok - I know…please please don’t call CPS…its a game, he likes it…really!!
Comment #15 by seashellsJuly 23rd, 2009 at 7:35 amI was at Wal-Mart last week looking for chip clips near the cleaning/food storage bags aisle… and voila! My husband pulled down these slipper-looking things from the shelf and was laughing. They were mopping slippers for your feet! The mop part was green, but I can’t remember the product name. You should go get them, they might just do the trick.
Comment #16 by cbJuly 23rd, 2009 at 9:22 amYou weren’t by chance at an intersection with a red light camera were you? Then maybe they would atleast get a ticket for running the red light…that would be enough to maake me feel a bit better if it were me.
The times I have to wait to even see the dr in an exam room and I end up waiting and waiting and waiting… those are the times I wish I could bill THEM!
I mostly only mop the floor if it gets sticky, and then it’s usually a spot mop job…I do however vacuum my floors atleast.
Comment #17 by JSJuly 23rd, 2009 at 11:04 amThey make mopheads that are Mr. Clean magic erasers. I know they’re in Target, probably elsewhere as well. You still have to do real mopping, but magic erasers are awesome, even on your floor!
Comment #18 by JESJuly 23rd, 2009 at 11:50 amSorry about the weight gain and your other health and wellness issues. (I’ll say that because I have no interest in commenting about mopping. I just get a microfiber cloth damp with soapy water and wipe up the floor.)
And the hit-and-run driver? Hopefully the police will take the effort to track the car down. I saw an accident like that many years ago, but the hit and run driver in that instance didn’t have plates at all.
Where do these cars come from, anyway? Why do the police not see them and ticket them? We used to have a rear brake light that would regularly burn out (I later found out that it was a bad batch of replacement bulbs from a certain manufacturer). It seemed like every time the bulb burned out, a cop would stop us and give us a warning. So why aren’t they stopping these uninsured and unregistered drivers?
Hope you get the help you need!
Comment #19 by ResearcherJuly 23rd, 2009 at 2:05 pmSo sorry about your car accident. Be aware of any aches or pains over the next few days, sometimes things don’t show up right away, and you may be surprised after the shock wears off. Hope you are still fine.
I’m very excited about you finding a decent Doctor. I really like my family doctor. He’s even made housecalls.
My children vacuumed and mopped the other day. It looked better than before, but I really don’t want to look too closely; it only took them 20 minutes to do what normally takes me 1.5 hours.
Comment #20 by JCJuly 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 pmWell dang. I’m just going to have to get me some Shuffles like one of your commenters suggested. My husband will be so happy that he wont have to scrub the kitchen floor on his hands and knees, and even more happy b/c they may even give me the incentive I need to exercise (darned husband). I’m exercising and cleaning.
Dang that was random.
Hope you feel better after getting hit like that. Some people are just so discourteous.
Comment #21 by Screwed Up TexanJuly 23rd, 2009 at 4:24 pmI clean my floor the same way Tracy M does - damp dish towels under the shoes, scooting over the floor with a spray bottle of cleanser damping the floor ahead of me.
And that is cool your doctor talked to you for 45 minutes! Wow! I thought I was getting the royal treatment when I got 10 minutes of my doctor’s time before he handed me a prescription for anti-depressants. Hmmm, maybe that’s an indicator of how long it had been since I’d talked to anyone. Talking for 10 minutes made me feel like I’d completely bared my soul.
Total bummer about getting side-swiped. I’ve never had that happen. I got slightly rear-ended once. It was such a light tap it didn’t even leave a dent, but I bawled because I was pregnant and rattled, and took any excuse to bawl.
Comment #22 by Molly in the Jello BeltJuly 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 pmseriously think you DO have thyroid issues. I went through it a few years back–either felt like I was wading through hip-deep mud, so anxious I might crawl out of my skin, OR would have something i’d need to do, say the dshes, but then I would think of something I needed to do before the dishes and then what I needed to do before tha…pretty soon I was so backed up and overwhelmed I couldn’t even start. Terrible, horrible feeling. The happy news–taking thyroid medicine helped with the depression/anxiety so much. The only downside–my body still does not respond like it used to to diet and exercise. BUT you are only 15 lbs. up? You will prbably have an easier time of getting back down with the meds. I didn’t find out until 30 lbs. and one miscarriage later
One more piece of advice: if you start on thyroid meds and feel better but still not “right” ask for your tsh and free t-4 levels. Sometimes doctors tell you are now within the “normal” level but you still feel sluggish and bad. Your numbers should be on the low side of normal on meds. that is not doctor-bashing—I’m married to one 
but many docs are not that conversant with thyroid issues. If you don’t feel better, keep trying. Ask if you can try a little higher dose. Now dh manages my meds, we keep my tsh around a 1. Sorry, can’t remember free t-4 number. But ask and you’ll look knowledgeable. Always a good thing, yes? Much luck!
Comment #23 by DeAnn O.July 23rd, 2009 at 11:04 pmSo funny with the license plate publication. Serves him (her? Don’t want to be totally un-politically correct and fair here) right. I actually have tried to mop my floor like that. It didn’t work, but I learned I had different leg muscles.
Comment #24 by LucyJuly 24th, 2009 at 3:33 amWhat’s wrong with using thick socks? My mom and my nephew do that all the time.
Add a squirt bottle of vinegar and water and you can even get the kids involved. I do this hardly ever, but my son LOVES IT.
Comment #25 by EmilyCJuly 24th, 2009 at 2:00 pmI had a friend who was stopped at a red light when she was rear-ended by another car. Totaled my friend’s car and started her on a frustrating journey of never-ending back and shoulder pain. Three or four years go by, she’s still in almost constant pain, and she’s rear-ended AGAIN while stopped at another red light. It not only aggravates her existing injuries, it causes a few new ones, and as the icing on the cake, the two insurance companies from the two separate accidents both start denying her claims. Accident Causing Driver #1’s insurance says, “Oh no, WE’RE not paying for medical care needed because of a second accident!” Accident Causing Driver #2’s insurance says, “Oh no, WE’RE not paying for medical care needed because of a previous accident!” What a nightmare.
Wait, where was I going with that? Umm, how about, “I’m glad you and your children weren’t seriously injured.” Sure, that works!
Comment #26 by SheriseJuly 24th, 2009 at 4:10 pmHit and run drivers suck.
I had a doctor that good once, and the other doctors ran him out of town. They wouldn’t give him good hospital hours so he left. I was so disappointed. My new doctor just gives out antibiotics and painkillers. Apparently they solve every problem in her book!
Comment #27 by LisaCJuly 25th, 2009 at 12:15 pmVery glad to hear you’re having your thyroid checked. Your weight gain (in such a short timeframe) and the “issues” you mentioned in your other post struck me as a possible thyroid issue. If that is the case, trust me when I tell you that when your thyroid levels are off you are not yourself. Those demons you speak of, that may be the thyroid hormones all out of wack making you crazy…seriously seriously crazy, unable to deal, depressed, slow mental function, inability to concentrate, inability to remember anything. Let’s just say, if your thyroid comes back messed up you’ll be amazed at how much your head will clear as soon as they have your medication regulated and how much easier it will be to deal with everyday life again. It’s like night and day. Let me know if you have questions - Heather, my old college roommate, knows who I am and can put you in touch with me.
Comment #28 by JELJuly 26th, 2009 at 12:33 pmI don’t think we give Pippi Longstocking enough credit…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7BXkNt_eLA
Comment #29 by ChelsieAugust 6th, 2009 at 1:04 pm