Cate's Diary

Petal, I have MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities) & fragrance or perfume is the thing that I am most sensitive to. I had a major reaction on the 16th of March which was scary. My symptoms were brain fog, palpitations, my face swelled up, I lost circulation in my hands & feet, had a splitting headache & my words came out all jumbled. The doctor thought I was having a stroke.
I wear a mask now when I know I'm going to come into contact with strongly fragranced people & in shops.
 
Oh Cate that must have been horrible . Really hope you don’t encounter again. My friends husband has similar and she can’t use fragrance candles or anything like that in the home .
Hope your day is going great
 
Avoiding fragrance is almost impossible, Petal. I'm lucky I live where I do & not in a city. At least I can suck in beautiful fresh air. I'm getting used to it now & people will get used to seeing me with a mask. I wish they could see me smile when I have it on though.
My day was good yesterday. I got hugged early before I had a chance to stop it, by a woman I hadn't seen since G had cancer. My brain doesn't kick in quickly enough & I have always been a hugger. I had been sucking on Bisolven lozenges which help block your receptors, so didn't react as strongly as before, but I itched & itched for the rest of the day. I need to have something in the car I can change into if needed.
I'm off to golf today to play with the women. It's my sponsor day. Wish me luck, perfume-wise......
 
Cate , probably too late but good luck with the perfume and the golf .
Hope you had fun .
I assume G is your husband . Hope he remains well.
I just got news last night that someone I love dearly has cancer. Feel crushed. He is 70 and I’m not sure how he will cope. I will try be there for him but he lives overseas so it will be email and phone. Luckily his family are large and will be there .
 
I´m not much of a hugger by nature but I am often surprised by how long someone else´s scent can linger after a brief hug.
 
Petal001 said:
Cate , probably too late but good luck with the perfume and the golf .
Hope you had fun .
I assume G is your husband . Hope he remains well.
I just got news last night that someone I love dearly has cancer. Feel crushed. He is 70 and I’m not sure how he will cope. I will try be there for him but he lives overseas so it will be email and phone. Luckily his family are large and will be there .
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G is my husband. He is lovely & he is well. Cancer is no longer necessarily the death sentence it once was. The worst thing anyone did when he was diagnosed was expecting the worst. Put on a brave face & be yourself with your friend. The best thing I ever did with my sister when she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer was to make her laugh. We had the best time!
LaMaria said:
I´m not much of a hugger by nature but I am often surprised by how long someone else´s scent can linger after a brief hug.
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I have to stop being a hugger LaMa. Some people drown themselves & their clothes in scent!
I had an OK day at golf. One of the women reeked of perfume first thing & I struggled for a while. I played with a woman I get on well with & had a sociable time afterwards. Unfortunately, the conversation at one stage became very racist (specifically anti-Aboriginal ) & I realised that I was the only one who wasn't. That saddens me. I tried so hard to steer the conversation onto other things, but in the end, had to say that I would never agree with them & we should talk about something else.
 
I am very glad you said you disagree. You may not change any minds that way but at least racists should be made too uncomfortable to shout their ideas from every rooftop. Preferably as uncomfortable as POC feel when around vocal racists.
 
LaMaria said:
I am very glad you said you disagree. You may not change any minds that way but at least racists should be made too uncomfortable to shout their ideas from every rooftop. Preferably as uncomfortable as POC feel when around vocal racists.
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I'm quite sure that they are not going to change their minds LaMa :( Racism is disgusting & Indigenous Australians are the common target. I will never understand it. At one stage I said: "Well, of course, we are all coming from a privileged white background" which didn't go down too well. Their problem I figure.
Jenniquest said:
Hey Cate! Just checking into see how things are going! Happy to read you are still at it with the golf! :)
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Thanks, Jen. I am just back at golf after a very bad reaction to perfume in March. I prefer playing social golf with G but will keep playing with the women, at least for the rest of the year. I lost all match fitness & need to stick with it. Nice having you back xo
 
cate said:
At one stage I said: "Well, of course, we are all coming from a privileged white background" which didn't go down too well.
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Many people, when they hear the word "privilege" hear "you never worked for anything you got" whereas in reality it just means "if on top of the crap you have to deal with you were also transgender/black/gay/disabled/... you´d have had it tougher so cut the people who DO have that extra stuff to deal with some slack". Which is sad. Especially if after having that explained to them they still stick with their own interpretation.
 
Cate glad you had a good golf game and sorry about the racism. It’s hard to be around people like that .
Glad G is well . Thank you for reminder to be myself around him. Good advice
 
LaMaria said:
Many people, when they hear the word "privilege" hear "you never worked for anything you got" whereas in reality it just means "if on top of the crap you have to deal with you were also transgender/black/gay/disabled/... you´d have had it tougher so cut the people who DO have that extra stuff to deal with some slack". Which is sad. Especially if after having that explained to them they still stick with their own interpretation.
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I am still cringing from the conversations on Wednesday LaMa. Next time they start, if there is a next time, I think I'll pack up my things & go home. I know that they will never get past their long-held views, but I don't have to listen to them either.
Petal001 said:
Cate glad you had a good golf game and sorry about the racism. It’s hard to be around people like that .
Glad G is well . Thank you for reminder to be myself around him. Good advice
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Thanks, Petal. My sister loved that I made her laugh & made her feel good, even though we both knew that she was not going to survive cancer. We had some wonderful times together in the last few years of her life. It still makes me smile when I think of her.

I am on my own today & tomorrow. G is playing 8-ball all weekend & won't get home until midnight tonight. It is the 1st weekend of the state try-outs & there is a record number of players. I have always gone in with him, but this year we both decided that it would just make me ill. Most of the younger players stink of Lynx deodorant & it would really set me back again. I usually do all the driving, walk a lot around town, buy his lunch etc & watch him play, but today would have been way too long as well & way too tiring. I will endeavour to really do well today & tomorrow. It's easier to eat a lot less when he is not here & to exercise & on the other hand it is easier to eat unhealthily because he is not here to see me.
Healthy should win. I may even tackle a 500 cal. fast tomorrow.....maybe, maybe not.
OK.
My day has begun with oats, banana & 1 teaspoon of honey.
 
I'm going to try to come up with a plan for June that should guarantee that I lose weight. I don't want a faux or fake plan that says I am going to cut out things I am not tempted by, like sweets or soft drink. This has to be real & truthful & won't be easy for me.
Actually, I think I will start with a weekend plan, starting right now-
Sat & Sunday- no wine at all.
30 minutes exercise every day.
I'm getting into my exercise clothes & getting moving now!
GO!
 
I am having a very productive & positive day thanks, Dave. :)
It's 3.15 pm & I have done 20 minutes on my exercise bike (10 km), some interval training & have, so far, only consumed 721 calories(447 at breakfast) & am feeling really positive. I am not going to eat back any of my exercise calories today.
I think I will have a tuna & avocado salad for dinner, maybe followed by some Greek-style yoghurt & fresh fruit.
I'm re-reading "The Beck Diet Solution" book for probably the 20th time & making new notes. This book has really helped me over the years, but I have never followed all the instructions in the book before. This time I am going to.
I might quote one thing a day, for the next month or so-
"Do you have a tendency to focus on the negative, berating yourself for everything you do wrong? To counteract this tendency, it's important for you to learn to give yourself credit for everything you do right."
Today I decided to take back control of my body & make decisions that will improve my health outcomes.
 
I like that plan! Shame about the 8-ball but very likely the correct decision.
PS: just read that you restarted the Beck diet solution. Yay!
 
cate said:
I'm going to try to come up with a plan for June that should guarantee that I lose weight. I don't want a faux or fake plan that says I am going to cut out things I am not tempted by, like sweets or soft drink. This has to be real & truthful & won't be easy for me.
Actually, I think I will start with a weekend plan, starting right now-
Sat & Sunday- no wine at all.
30 minutes exercise every day.
I'm getting into my exercise clothes & getting moving now!
GO!
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Love your plan . June is fast approaching. Tho k I will join you
 
cate said:
I am having a very productive & positive day thanks, Dave. :)
It's 3.15 pm & I have done 20 minutes on my exercise bike (10 km), some interval training & have, so far, only consumed 721 calories(447 at breakfast) & am feeling really positive. I am not going to eat back any of my exercise calories today.
I think I will have a tuna & avocado salad for dinner, maybe followed by some Greek-style yoghurt & fresh fruit.
I'm re-reading "The Beck Diet Solution" book for probably the 20th time & making new notes. This book has really helped me over the years, but I have never followed all the instructions in the book before. This time I am going to.
I might quote one thing a day, for the next month or so-
"Do you have a tendency to focus on the negative, berating yourself for everything you do wrong? To counteract this tendency, it's important for you to learn to give yourself credit for everything you do right."
Today I decided to take back control of my body & make decisions that will improve my health outcomes.
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Cate I’m truly feeling motivated reading this . I’m off to look up that book
 
I think the book is excellent. It is one I'll re-read for the rest of my life. I am feeling really positive after only one day of very healthy eating & no wine. I had a salad without any tuna & it was delicious. All of the greens came from our small veggie garden.
I still have 400 calories left to consume & will have some yoghurt & fruit in about an hour. I'll save the additional calories for later I think- maybe I'll have some nuts or small piece of toast with my homemade nut butter. I'll see.
 
cate said:
I think the book is excellent. It is one I'll re-read for the rest of my life. I am feeling really positive after only one day of very healthy eating & no wine. I had a salad without any tuna & it was delicious. All of the greens came from our small veggie garden.
I still have 400 calories left to consume & will have some yoghurt & fruit in about an hour. I'll save the additional calories for later I think- maybe I'll have some nuts or small piece of toast with my homemade nut butter. I'll see.
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Well I have bought the book and looking forward to the read .
 
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