My Smart 13 yr old

Let's just say...I'm glad he's smart.

I'm glad he can fix our computer when someone messes it up (sometimes, me...sometimes, him).

Thanks, A!

"But you don't look like you feel well"

"So whose going to take D to tae kwon do?"

I decided that I would since the hubby just got home a little while ago.

He says...""But you don't look like you feel well."

My response..."I'm tired of not doing things just 'cuz I don't feel well. I feel like I'm missing too much." And I'm not pulling my weight at home. My words, not my husband's.

Something's gotta give. Right?

I'll just do it.

Sorry about my last post. I guess I was feeling sorry for myself. I guess that's why some people go to support groups. I just can't seem to bring myself to go to one. Maybe I will someday.

Anyway...

I'm feeling better. I had a discussion with my (physical therapist) husband, and we both agreed that I might as well just do it. He agreed to the elliptical...I took it as anything I want to do.

I figure if I do it (whatever "it" is) it'll make me feel better even if I do hurt afterwards. At least I will feel good about myself instead of feeling sorry for myself.  

I'm going to turn over a new leaf...my new motto...

"Just do it"

...thanks Nike!

To do or not to do...

Ok...

If I do all (or most) that a good "housewife" (or the new title, stay at home mom) should, I end up in so much pain that I can't get rid of it. If I just do a little I feel like a failure. I

I know there must be a happy medium...but I have yet to find it.

People with RA have lives and jobs and succeed at both. I can't seem to get things going without a lot of difficulty. My husband picks up all of the slack. That is why I am so grateful for him. But after a while he is also going to be to tired or in a lot of pain as well. (He has a bad back.) He is already very tired.

How do we do it all? Any thoughts?

Month of Gratitude

As Month of Gratitude comes to a close, I have not done too well with posting what I am grateful for every day...

What I am most grateful for in my life is my loving husband, Pete.

He is caring, loving, protective (sometimes too much), forgiving, understanding, serious, and goofy all at the same time. My life would be much more difficult and lonely without him. 

I know that the month is over but I think it is a great thing to keep reminding ourselves how easy it can be to grateful some days. I will continue on with these kind of posts when I feel it is warranted. 

Month of Gratitiude: day 17

I know I skipped a few days but here goes day 17...




My wrist brace (this is not on my hand, again, my pic would not download)...without which, some days would be much tougher than they would have been.

Reincarnated from a dog?

I think my 11 year old son, D, was reincarnated from a dog...i just realized this.




I'm not sure if I actually believe in reincarnation but if I do...than D was definitely a dog.

-pretended to be a dog when he was younger quite frequently, we called him "Shadow" then, he still does once in a while
-turned into a dog loving kid
-whenever he sees a dog he shouts it out, kind of like one dog barking at another on the street
-always points out squirrels and bunnies when he sees them, can't get back to what he was doing until it is gone from sight
-easily distractable
-needed to have parent with him when he was a baby to sleep
-still sleeps better when he does have parents in room, for instance in a hotel, when we are all in the same room
-likes to know where all of his family is at all times
-doesn't like being alone, unless it is on his own terms
-needs lots of physical "loving", he needs about 20 hugs a day...at least, if not more
-he eats like a slob, there is always something either on the table (next to the plate) or something that finds it's way to the floor

There are probably more things that my son has in common with a canine but I can't think of it at the moment...

Month of Gratitude: day 11

The boys are driving me nuts this morning...BTW,  I don't think that the "click to look inside" works. (I just copy and pasted the picture from Amazon.) And the fact that D totally hates the idea of me wanting him to read it makes it even better! I personally think that everybody should read it to make more patient people in this world.

Month of Gratitude: day 10

Gladiola, the woman who helped my parents take care of me and my siblings, as well as taking care of my parents and house too for 23 yrs...for teaching me how to sew when I was a kid. Now I am able to mend clothes (like A's coat instead of buying a new one) and create other things to wear.

Month of Gratitude: day 9

My picture refused to download (all three times) I tried to, yesterday...

Sweet recipes that let you hide veggies like carrots and zucchini. It has a different texture than most zucchini breads but it's tasty.

Month of Gratitude: day 8

Definitely not a fancy dinner but candle light is nice. D's idea.  Made dinner even better. Boy, three little candles put off lots of light. I was afraid that A would complain "It's too dark. It makes me sad." But he didn't. Yahoo! We actually eat by candlelight. Fun!

Month of Gratitude: day 7

I can't leave my other son's picture out. He made it into the district's art show 4 yrs ago. And he never thought he was good at art. "Frank Lloyd Wright's Flowers." He has actually made a more impressive  piece of artwork that I framed, but I can't take a picture of it, it has too much of a glare...Andy Worhol style portrait but of himself...Fantastic!

Month of Gratitude: day 6

My son's (actually both not just this one's) art work. This particular piece made it into the school district's art show at a local museum. When I told D that I was going to frame it (I was proud of him) he got a huge smile "Really?"..."Yes, really."

Month of Gratitiude

A day of gratitude is going to come once a week it seems...

day 2:

Family outings! (Chimney Bluffs State Park, NY- this particular place reminds us that the world around us is constantly changing) We love going on adventures hiking! P.S. The matching shirts weren't noticed until the boys hit the car...sorry, too late to change.

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day 3:

Goofiness that comes with my boys...it helps me smile.

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day 4:

Waterfalls...natural or man-made. I can watch them for hours. This one is man-made and at Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls, NY (another adventure).

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day 5:

Knowing  that my friend Angela's son is going to love and enjoy playing with this hand-me-down (that took my youngest son until he was 11 years old to finally be ready to let go) as much as we all did. 

Just spotted this today...

from Polka Dot Cottage

I'm going to try doing it...Everyday I'll just show a picture for things I'm thankful for. Just so you know...these are in no particular order. They are just what happens to make me feel good the day that I post.

Starting today...

My boys! (All three of them.)

Drum covers?

Sam: "Drum covers? Really? That's what you want me to make you?"
Reply: "Yup! I need them. And I know you can do it."
Sam: "What do you want them to look like?"
Reply: "I trust you...maybe with a draw string...Oh...And it has to have a light blocking top."

So here it is...
She left me to my own...

Now I just need to make her the one for the big drum!

Sickies

I hate when everyone in the house gets sick! This time...it includes me.

'Nuff said!

Facebook status

It's breast cancer awareness month again...

 Last year's question was..."What color bra you were wearing?"  Last year the media went mad and they got lots of coverage...


This year it's..."Where do you like to put your purse?" So you just post as your Facebook staus (I did mine on my personal page)..."I like it ___________!" 


Get's everyone wondering!!


 Have fun with it!! 


And please pass it on to all of your female friends (through private message).

Pincushion ring

I just received this new emery pincushion ring. It's awesome! I have always wanted to have something like this but never knew how to make one. I always take my hand sewing to some place more comfortable (than my hard sewing machine chair) and have no place to put my pins that are no longer needed. Then one day one of my friends showed me hers...I had to have one! .Now I'll have some place to put them besides into couch cushions.

Here's a link to the shop where I bought it.

Dottyral.etsy.com

I love giveaways!

I found this great blog last week. Today, while checking to see what they had to say I bumped into this great giveaway!

Finer Ribbon personalized ribbon giveaway on Grosgrain's blog



They are giving away some personalized ribbon. It can be used just as a ribbon or as item labels...or anything else you can think of.

I know that if I win I'll be using mine as labels for my purses and things.

If I don't win...i just might have to go and buy some myself!

Recycling projects

Recycling projects...or should I say upcycling projects?

I LOVE THIS!



I just found this great blog, A Little Hut. I'm not positive where I found it. I think...from Craft Magazine on Facebook. But this blog shows some great tutorials on how to make some fantastic craft projects by recyling something that everyone has in their houses. I can't wait to try some of these.

Photo giveaway

My good friend, Carrie of Wash My Cloth on Etsy, is having a giveaway on her blog. She is giving away a 5 x 7 photo. And I have to tell you...she has a great eye for a picture. Her is the link to her blog Weaver Girl Guz. All you need to do is follow the simple directions on her blog to be eligible.

Have fun! And good luck! (Not too much luck, though...I want it!)

Torture or inspiration?

Many of you are probably saying..."OK, I give...What is it?" That's exactly what the TSA agent said to us when I tried to go through airport security with it.

It's my cervical traction machine.

I get to lay on the floor (good thing I don't have bad knees too), and stick my head into this contraption  1-3 times a day (usually 2 times) for 15 minutes at a time. 

I won't explain how it works, but it's not really all that bad. 

Especially when:

(1) I get to lay undisturbed, even when other people are in the house,  for 15 minutes.

(2) I get to listen to my iPod (do you see it sitting next to the traction machine, in a jumbled mess?)

(3) I get inspirations come to me while in it (or is that on it) quite frequently.

(4) and finally...My neck (and back) feels better when I get out of it.

Hey...It can't be too bad if it allows me to get inspirations. The first time I had to use one of these things, I was inspired to make my purses. And thanks to my friend Carrie, from washmycloth, I now also have a shop. She convinced me to do it. Other inspirations such as, ideas for purses and solutions to problems, have come to me while doing my traction.

This past week, while laying in my torture machine thinking...a few more inspirations came to me. 

Dare I say it?

I love this thing! 

Bad Evening (revised)

Pete left to go to the gym and all hell seemed to break loose! Why does this usually happen when he leaves the house? It's almost as if the children's personalities change when he walks out of the room.

For some reason, every thing I said led Danny to be "short" with me. Then of course, I got ticked at him. The whole evening went on like that. GAAH!!!

Then a little later, Alex handed me back the sheets I tried to take to sign earlier, but he took back from me. Now he was deciding to tell me that I "needed to fill them out now". I asked him if he "was kidding me"...he couldn't believe it. I then proceeded to tell him that "I would get it done in my own sweet time since he took it from me in the first place". Some nerve that kid's got! I wonder where he got that from? It couldn't have been from me could it? Nah!


Then when Pete gets home...he stays away from me. Now I feel totally alienated! He didn't even come and say "hi" to me when he walked in the door.

All in all it was a wonderful evening! (Can you hear the sarcasm?)

The only saving grace is that when Danny woke up this morning, first thing he said to me was "I'm sorry".

Now, that one put a big smile on my face...all is good with the world again.

A best friend?

A best friend...what is a best friend?


The UrbanDictionary.com defines it as "Best Friends are very special people in your life. They are the first people you think about when you make plans. They are the first people you go to when you need someone to talk to. You will phone them up just to talk about nothing, or the most important things in your life. When you’re sad they will try their hardest to cheer you up. They give the best hugs in the world! They are the shoulder to cry on, because you know that they truly care about you. In most cases they would take a bullet for you, coz it would be too painful to watch you get hurt. "


The person who I thought was my best friend never seems to hear a word I say. The person who I thought was my best friend only wants to tell me about her life, but when I need to talk about my life she changes the subject to her pet. Her Pet! Can you believe? It seems to be her way of getting me to drop that subject, and i have to say she's been doing that for a few decades now. 


I know she thinks of me as one of her BFF's, and I know she loves me. I love her too...but i'm not sure if she's my best friend anymore or even one of my BFF'S either. 


I feel sad sometimes when I get off the phone with her...even though, I wasn't sad before the call started...I've spoken with her about it once before and she told me "you know me, you need to get my attention first". Uuuuh, I thought I already had it. Weren't we already speaking? And I can tell you, it's usually very difficult to get her attention.


So what exactly does that mean? Does it mean that she's moved on, but she doesn't really realize it yet? I'm not sure if I've moved on yet or not. I know don't want to have moved on. I know that the two of us lead very different lives, but should that matter?


Any thoughts?

Can't sleep...

I just can't sleep tonight. And for a change, it's not because of my meds.

So...what are you supposed to do when you can't sleep?

Lay in bed for a while...come just try. Done...and hour later...
Watch TV for a while? Done...1-1/2 hours...
Let's try bed again. Done...another 1-1/2 hours...
Now to the computer...

It's now 3 am EST, and for some stupid reason...I'M STILL AWAKE!

I guess the next thing I'll try to do is work on a sewing project that I wanted done by Thursday afternoon...

P.S. Do you see that painting above my sewing machine? That's how I feel right now. I guess I never realized how appropriate that painting was for this room!

Things to Do When We’re Bored

Well...here's our list that we made (brainstormed) together this morning...of course we can always add to it. I would love to see anyone else's suggestions.

Things to Do When We’re Bored

NO SCREEN DAYS: Tues & Fri (Until 4pm)

• Swimming
• Water guns, water balloons
• Sprinkler
• Trampoline (with or with out balls)
• Soccer (with any kind of ball)
• Toss a ball around (baseball, football, big red ball, etc…)
• Frisbee, Aerobie
• Biking (bring water?), scootering, rollerblading
• Going for a walk (bring water)
• Go to Walton Woods, Great Baehr Swamp
• Go (walk or bike ride) to the library
• Go walk around the stores
• Fly remote control airplanes
• Board games
• Dominoes / Jenga /  Cards (games, castles, tricks)
• Puzzles (jigsaw and mind)
• Build
• Nerf games (wars, target shooting)
• Draw, paint, create (art)
• Math skills (math practice sheets)
• Study Spanish vocab
• Practice instruments
• Household chores (another list pending)
• Clean and organize room (maybe with help)
• READ! (BUT No More Than 1 Hr at a Time!!!!!)

The Last Day of School

Well...we made it and we still have 4 members to our family. I though for sure we would have been minus at least one son, if not both. Now let's see if we can make it through the summer.

As I say..."One step at a time".

Starting Monday morning the boys are taking tennis lessons with the town. Gotta love the taxes...$15 for 18 lessons! (At least my taxes are good for something.)

Besides that, we have no plans (for the weekdays).

I really need to make plans.

I'm Dealing

I wasn't really too sure of how well I'd be dealing with having R.A....but I'm dealing just fine.

Now all I need to do is find the right meds, and I'll be good. I had an allergic reaction to the first new medicine the rheumatologist gave me. Having a little bit more acid problems with the second, but with the help of another medicine(when taken as regularly as I was already supposed to be), it's okay. Now just a little change with my Remicade...and everything should be back to "normal". As normal as I can be anyway.

A Diagnosis...Stop Complaining!

Just so you know...this isn't really about me and my diagnosis...please keep reading.

I finally have a diagnosis...

I have RA, rheumatoid arthritis. So now I have 2 chronic auto-immune diseases.  A few hours after the discovery, the initial shock had worn off (thanks to the support from my sister and my friend Carrie), I was fine with it.

I had recently found an old childhood friend, through Facebook. I have not spoken to her since we all left for college in 1984. I had no idea what had been going on in her life since. Then, later that same day, I finally got the email that told me what she'd been doing. I found out that she had started having seizures in 1988 and her last seizure was in 2004. Wow...she'd been having seizures for 16 yrs!

Crohn's...nerve damage...RA...That's OK. I can deal with it.  Compared to having your life being indefinitely put on hold  for 16+ yrs...I'm "over" any of my problems. I'll definitely be able to deal with it now. There are other people who have it worse than me.

It's kind of funny (or should I say ironic)...yesterday I was telling 2 women in their 50's about my diagnosis...and the one said to me..."I'm never complaining about my ailments again...you definitely have it worse than me."  When I think about my friend Julie, I think the same thing. Then, this morning she (Julie) sends me a copy of an essay explaining what has helped her get thru the years. I'd like to share it with you...

HOW TO STOP COMPLAINING…
by
Julie Gittens

COMPLAINING --- The Webster Dictionary definition is “to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief; find fault”. It’s something we all do. In fact, some of us do it more than others and it’s driving them (and you) crazy. So the question you have to ask yourself is “How Do I Stop Complaining?” Well, the answer isn’t simple or easy, but it is there. It really just depends on your situation and what you’re complaining about. Let me explain…

You see I like to tell people I’m on hospital parole, because back in the 90s, I did a lot of hospital time. Why? Because I was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. That means I was having multiple seizures (usually while I was asleep) and there was no known cause. The worst part about having the seizures was I always had to do hospital time afterwards. And that meant spending days in the hospital in a bed hooked up to an EEG machine because back then they didn’t have portable ones. So trust me, I did a lot of complaining in the 90s, until I had to spend three weeks in a particular hospital.

I stopped complaining after being in this particular hospital thanks to three incredible people. Three wonderful young men. I met these young men (all younger than me, ages 7, 18 and 19) when I was hooked up to an EEG machine at Helen Hayes Hospital in Rockland County, NY. Please know that Helen Hayes Hospital is probably one of the best-known rehabilitation hospitals on the East Coast. In fact, today most of its patients are Iraqi War Veterans.

Well, back when I was at Helen Hayes, suffering through being “locked” in a bed with nothing to do, one day that all changed. How? Well, because a young boy, Daniel, age 7, wheeled himself into my room and asked me if I wanted to come to the rec room and play. I had to explain to him as much as I loved to go there and play, I couldn’t; I couldn’t get out of my bed and then I pointed to the EEG machine.
Daniel said, “Okay” and wheeled off.

But then the next day, the most amazing thing happened. Daniel came back. He said, “Julie, since you can’t come to the rec room and play with me, I’ll just come here and play with you.”
And everyday, on his way to his therapy class, he’d stop in and say hello. When I asked him, why he was in the wheelchair, he explained to me that his legs weren’t completely developed and he was waiting to have surgery. I also found out that his family lived up in Buffalo, NY (4 hours away) and that his parents had to visit him on alternate weekends because one of them had to stay at home with his brothers and sisters. I was lucky enough to meet Daniel’s parents, but I’ll tell you about that later.

Now Daniel wasn’t the only one to come into my room and hang out with me. You see, three days after Daniel started to visit me, another guy wheeled himself into my room. This young man, who’s name was Tyrell, was 19 years old and African-American. He was also paralyzed from the waist down. Tyrell was from the Bronx and he got caught in a crossfire hanging out with some friends who had made robbery their career choice. Tyrell told me he didn’t know what he was going to do with his life now. He thought it was over; after all he couldn’t walk. Well, lucky for me, I was able to talk Tyrell into changing that point of view.

How did I do that? Well, I had been a student at Syracuse University (yes, I spend five years of my life in the Cold, Rain and Snow of Syracuse, NY) and my major was film theory. Film theory, what does that mean? It means I got to watch a lot of very good movies. And one of those movies was Hal Ashby’s “Coming Home”. “Coming Home”, I’m sure you’ve heard of it or seen it. It won three Academy Awards, Best Actor (Jon Voight), Best Actress (Jane Fonda) and Best Screenplay. It lost the Best Picture nomination to “The Deer Hunter”. Another anti-war film.

I told Tyrell about “Coming Home” because I wanted to explain something to him. I told him about Luke Martin (the character Jon Voight played). I told him that Luke Martin was just like him, paralyzed, and he hated his life. That Luke Martin had no goal in life; that he believed in nothing, until he met Sally Hyde (the character Jane Fonda played). I explained to Tyrell that the reason why Luke Martin changed his outlook on life was because Sally Hyde did an incredible thing for him. And that incredible thing was, that while he might not believe in himself, that didn’t matter because Sally Hyde believed in him. She loved him even if he couldn’t walk. I told Tyrell he had to start seeing life the same way Luke Martin did. He had to realize that one day somebody was going to fall in love with him; and she wasn’t going to care if he could walk or not, but she sure as hell was going to wonder if he could make her dinner.

The other young man I met at Helen Hayes was Kevin. Kevin was 18 years old and wheelchair bound because he had Multiple Sclerosis. Kevin, like Tyrell, would wheel himself into my room to talk with me, but Kevin was doing something very dumb, too. Instead of going to his classes (yes when kids are in the hospital, they still have to take their school classes), he was coming into my room to hang out. That was fine, but as I said it was also dumb, because of something Kevin told me.

Kevin was a senior in high school (remember high school?) and he’d be graduating in June. Then Kevin told me that the only thing he wanted to do was walk up and get his diploma. In fact, he said he was going to do just that, that’s why he was taking an extra physical therapy class. Well, after he said that, I started laughing.
“You think that’s funny,” he said, “that I want to walk up and get my diploma.”
“No,” I replied, “what I think is funny is that you think you’re going to get a diploma?” And then he looked at me funny, perplexed.
“Kevin,” I said, “how the hell are you going to get your diploma, if you’re coming in here to hang out with me instead of going to your classes? Remember, in order to walk up and get your diploma, you not only have to take those physical therapy classes, but you also have to take the other ones, too. Physical therapy isn’t going to get you your diploma, but English and Math will.”
And after that, Kevin started going to his classes. He also come to my room at night and asked me to help him with his homework.

Remember, I mentioned Daniel and his parents earlier? Well, Daniel did something I’ll never forget; something that was remarkable. In fact, it drove me to change my whole outlook on life. As I mentioned earlier, I was hooked up to an EEG machine. I was hooked up to it for three weeks, because they were running tests to see if I could be a candidate for surgery. Unfortunately, they told me no. But that’s a story for another day. While I was waiting for my test results, Daniel was supposed to be having surgery; but Daniel decided to wait to have his surgery until I was done with my testing. Why? Well…

Daniel’s surgery was to have pins put into his legs to straighten them and then he’d learn how to walk. He would be walking for the first time in seven years. The amazing thing was, that while his parents had to make special plans so they could both be there to watch him walk after his surgery; Daniel wanted me to be there too. He said he’d wait until I was unhooked from the EEG machine to have his surgery because he wanted me to be there to watch him walk for the first time, too. I didn’t know that. In fact, I never would have known it if it weren’t for what happened the day Daniel took his first steps.

That morning, the nurse came into my room, at this point in time, I was unhooked from the EEG waiting to go home later that day, and told me that Daniel would be taking his first steps soon. He wanted me to be there to watch. So I went to the physical therapy room to see Daniel.  After I walked in, a woman (someone my age) walked over to me said, “Julie?” and smiled at me. She introduced herself as Laura, Daniel’s mother. Then she pointed to the man standing next to her and said, “This is Rich, Daniel’s father.”
While Rich shook my hand, he said, “so you’re the one.”
“Huh?” I said.

“You didn’t know that Daniel was suppose to have his surgery last week, but he asked them to change the date for you.” I shook my head. “Yeah,” Rich said, “ Daniel asked them to postpone his surgery for you. He said he didn’t want to have it until ‘Julie was out of her bed’. He said he didn’t want to do it unless Julie could be here to watch, too.”
“Thank you,” Laura said, “you made my being away from him a lot easier.”
And with Daniel’s parents, I watched Daniel stand up and walk for the first time.

Well, later that day, my mother came to pick me up and I did something for the first time, too. My mother asked me how I was feeling and for the first time in my life, I didn’t complain. I didn’t say anything negative.

In fact, here’s what I said, “I know one thing, I’m never going to complain about being in the hospital again.” My mother looked at me funny. She had gotten the same news I had that I wasn’t a candidate for surgery, which meant I’d be having more seizures and doing more hospital time.
“Really? You’re not?” she asked.
“You want to know why?” I asked. “Because I’m doing something amazing. Something that made me realize I’ve got nothing to complain about. Do you realize that most of the people in this hospital are wheelchair bound? They’ll be leaving one day, just like me, only one thing will be different. They’ll have to be wheeled out. Me, I can walk out. So as much as I want to complain about being in the hospital, complain about what the doctor told me, that’s irrelevant. It’s irrelevant because I’m doing something most of the people I just met won’t ever be able to do. I’m walking out of the hospital. So now it doesn’t matter to me how many times I’ll have to spend in one, because of one very simple thing. I’m doing something most of the people here won’t ever be able to do. I’m walking out of the hospital. And as long as I can walk out of a hospital, I’ve got nothing to complain about.”

So, after that day, I changed my outlook on life. I did stop complaining. I suddenly realized that while I may have it bad; somebody else has it a whole lot worse. I learned how to be thankful for what I had; I learned how not to complain about what I didn’t have. I stopped looking at the big things, the things I didn’t have and I started focusing on the small things, I realized that it was the small things that were going to pull me through.
I realized I had to start looking at life like the passage in the bible says, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it is enough. Nothing will be impossible for you."

When I read it I was in awe...I hope this makes you think again...it has certainly helped me! Julie is my
"wheel chair bound" person.

THANKS FOR SHARING, JULIE!
(And for allowing me to share it on the web.)

If you enjoyed this post...you have Julie's permission to share it as well...

Getting ready?

Does this look like getting ready to go?

I was trying to go buy the kid new Crocs...which he asked for (he's grown out of his old ones)...therefore, this shopping trip is for him.

...is he getting ready to go?

I don't think so!

Appointments, Appointments!

OMG! I don't think I've ever had a week with so many appointments squished in. I will definitely need to get lots done at home today.

Starting on Tuesday...Remicade (3 hours of sitting with an IV in my arm), physical therapy (traction), podiatrist (for son, and he's probably gonna act much younger than he is when the doctor takes out the nitrogen), doctor (for son), neurologist (for me, FINALLY! and I have to go alone, even though I don't want to), golf class (for other son, I hope the field isn't mushy), hair appointment (for me, to get rid of the grey), hair (for son), massage (okay...2 hrs of torture) and finally, well visits for both boys.

But you know what?

 The boys are camping together this weekend and Pete and I get a whole weekend alone. We'll be childless from Friday evening until midday on Sunday. We get to do what ever we want, when we want, without having to wait for the boys to be ready to go.

We are just hoping for great weather too....Is that too much to ask? Probably...

I can't think...

I can't think a whole lot lately. I haven't written a blog post in eons.

I haven't finished a project in eons (however, I am almost done with a custom order from a friend).

I have a mess in my sewing area.

Going on vacation next week...

I'll start new and fresh after vacation, with a clearing away the mess that is my sewing space (this pic isn't exactly what it looks like today...but it's close) and finishing my UFO's (UnFinished Objects) and building of my light box so that I can get them all posted too.

Or maybe I should start with the light box so that I can get all of my destash items listed first...

Oh, I don't know...I guess I'll have to think about where I want to start.

Dis"appoint"ing

I was supposed to have an appointment with a pain specialist today. Only, I found out when I showed up that the neurology PA that I saw in December was going to be there instead. After my last appointment with her, I did not feel like I should have even bothered with the appointment. She is young, "green" and not very knowledgeable. If she did not know what was wrong with time the first time, she is fine for a first time ('cuz, basically they just need to get the basics done: order tests and physical therapy)...why should I pay my $35 co-pay to find out that she still doesn't know?

So instead...I went shopping, came to the computer to check my emails...now I'm hurting...BLAH!

Why can't I just do what I want and need to do with out hurting?

Mitzy's little cousin

My halfway done project of a few weeks ago, Mitzy the messenger bag  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42493113  is going to have a little cousin, Dottie. I think she will end up being a make-up bag or a small drawstring purse, if I have enough fabric.

Finally, a partial answer

Well...I went to the doctor last week to get an EMG on my arms. I have nerve damage in my right arm and "not yet" in my left. The "irritation" was coming from C7. It kind of surprised me. Four years ago I had a discectomy and fusion from C5-6. Anyway, I'm glad that the doctor found something. At least we could work with that.


The MRI that I took 2 months ago showed "nothing significant". I was beginning to believe that I was imagining the pain in my arms and neck.


I have an appointment with a pain specialist in two weeks. I'm hoping after he compares the MRI and the EMG, I might get a real answer. My husband, who is a physical therapist, tells me that the doctor will probably give me an epidural shot. But he also told me that it does not work for some people. I'm really hoping that it does work for me. Then, maybe, things will get somewhat back to "normal" and I can get back to my life and shop properly. 


If any of you have experienced this...I'd love to hear from you!

Half-way done

I've been putting this aside for about a month...

I'll be done soon...

Hopefully...

Wow, he was a grump!

OK...Danny woke up...by himself...saying "I thought it was Saturday when I first woke up". Then he proceded to act like I was trying to get him to school on a Saturday...which of course, I was not.

I sure hope that I do NOT have to relive that one again tomorrow morning too. The worst part is that it is almost vacation for the boys. Only one more day of school (after today).

I tried everything to get him moving without being mean and then I finally lost it.

He's in 5th grade...When is this going to end?

TMI of a different kind

Between my neurologist's physician assistant and my new massage therapist...OMG...TMI.

I thought I was an intelligent individual, by my G-d...they both have me thinking otherwise.

Last week, the PA gave me so much information, my head started to spin. Today the massage therapist did the same thing.

I wish I could just play back both appointments on the DVR. Especially the 2 hr long appointment I had today. I only remember half of what she told me. I hope I got all of the important things she said.

Does anyone else out there feel the same way?

I don't think I'll make one again

I just realized that I never showed certain interested people what Danny's comforter looked like as a finished product (it took entirely too long, almost a month and I don't think I'll ever make another one like it again)

...So hear it is.

And no his bed isn't really "made"...I just threw the covers up. And the big lump underneath is a handful of stuffed animals. Surprise, surprise (hey...it's just not worth the fight.)

This comforter/quilt was a pain in the butt to make. I started with 2 very soft, very stretchy blankets. Both the front and back are striped. There is a thin piece of batting inside. Since it is fleece and will not fray...I overlapped the stripes seams, but when sewing together the front and back, I hid the seams. To keep the batting from slipping, I hand tied it, every 6 inches or so. The outcome was exactly what I was looking for, though.

Any thoughts?

PS It was a little dark in the room , but I think you'll get the gist of it.

I need a light box!

I bought the materials. I just need to put it together.

I had now idea just how bad my pictures were until I tried to post a new item. I had used photo editing software and used the auto fix...when I tried to post the item on Etsy...4 out of the 5 pictures were too big to fit. I cannot post a new purse with only one picture, especially when it doesn't even show the whole thing. Here's the before picture.

I am going to attempt to make a collapsible light box out of foam core board. I'll post new pictures and a picture of the box as well. Hopefully, it will be collapsible.

Today! And take pictures as well.

It's been forever...

I know it has been forever since I've written a post. I really have so much to say that I have nothing to say...you know what I mean?...I do not know where to start.

I've made a New Year's resolution..."Stop dawdling and do the work you need to do." Period. End of sentence! And I'm talking in the home and in my "shop".

After I figure out what's wrong with the nerves in my arms, maybe it will make things easier to deal with. In the meantime...just keep pushing, as long as it doesn't cause too much pain. I just need to deal with the numbness and tingling.

What I really need to do is figure out a schedule to follow...maybe it will make me more consistent.

Hey...I can dream right?