Archives for April 2007

Field trips and migraines

I love going on field trips with my kids, and I really don’t get to go on as many anymore, as the boys are getting older. Heck – they will both be in high school next year! That’s a weird thing to say – my sweet baby boys, whom I used to carry simultaneously, in high school? And yet again, I veer off topic – surprising, no? LOL Anyway, I do love going on the field trips with the kids, but, even if they are here in town, I am almost guaranteed a migraine when it is all said and done. Sometimes it doesn’t hit until we get back to the school, but, undoubtedly, it hits.

Well, I went with Sammie last Friday to Montgomery – the capitol of my new state of Alabama. We toured the governor’s mansion, the capitol building, and much more! It was really, really fun! We went on the big, travelling buses, though, as it was a good 2 1/2 hour drive. This gave me much hope that I could possibly avoid the head trauma. And had I been a hair or two smarter, I might have done just that!

I went on this trip a bit ill-prepared, you see. Our buses stayed with us all day, and carted us from place to place within Montgomery. And we went dashing around from here to there all day. It was a lot of walking and a lot of dashing. And stupid me (who seems to have lost my involved-at-school-mom’s touch) brought along with me – my normal, everyday purse. You know the one I’m talking about – you know you do – it has everything but the kitchen sink in it. And walking fast and up and down stairs and this way and that and keeping up with the group and keeping hold of my two girls – there was no possible way I could wear it just on the one shoulder. It falls off too frequently for that. So I wore it on my right shoulder, falling at my left hip – that caticorner-I’ve-got-free-hands trick! Which definitely helped me participate speedier!

And it also insured that I woke up at five o’clock the next morning with the SCREAMINGEST migraine ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All of that pressure of the weight of my purse on my right shoulder just about did me in! It was awful! I got up and had breakfast, took my meds, had a cup of joe, and went back to bed, hoping to wake up at a ‘normal’ Saturday hour feeling better. And that does usually work – if I can get food, meds, and coffee in me and then add a little sleep to the mix, I do much better. I woke up later, however – in just as much, if not more, pain!

I was sitting up in bed crying. It was so awful! When it gets really bad like that, I get super scared and start wondering – at what point are you supposed to go to the emergency room for a migraine? I know people do that – and there is some shot they give for it – but, I’ve never done it. Thank goodness, though – Aunt Lisa had given Mark a pain pill that he hadn’t used and he gave it to me. And thank goodness, again – it worked. I’ve often wondered why doctors don’t just prescribe regular pain pills for migraines, like vicodin, or something, instead of those disgustingly expensive migraine meds.

Obviously, there is a fear of a recovering alcoholic and drug addict like myself misusing them, but, not all of the doctors who have treated me for migraines knew I was an alcoholic. And they still haven’t prescribed pain pills. I wonder why that is.

I still had the most wonderful time on the field trip with Sammie and all of her friends, though – and if I had to do it all over again, knowing I could NOT change my purse, knowing what I would endure the next day – I would do it in a heartbeat!

Tonsillitis and folliculitis

Those are my two diagnoses from my doctor yesterday. That is a lot of ‘itis’! And then, I figure, if I didn’t take my antibiotic – I might wind up with laryngitis! And just how many itis’s can we have?

Craziness aside, I awoke Tuesday morning with a 102 fever and my throat so sore I wanted my mommy! It was AWFUL!! Funny thing, too – because, we had just decided that this week would be a good week financially for me to go ahead and get back to the doctor for my armpit lumps that haven’t seemed to go anywhere since the last doctor visit I had. Mark comes home Monday with all the debit cards I had given him to pay some bills, and tells me that one of them still has $80 on it and that I could go ahead and go to the doctor. On Monday night! Then I wake up Tuesday morning badly needing a doctor! Go figure!

I was way too sick on Tuesday, though, to even get in the car and go, so I waited until Wednesday.

And he feels that the lumps in my armpits are folliculitis, just as the other doctor had said, but, some of his ideas about dealing with it are different. Like – he wants me to stop shaving for a couple weeks (ewww!) and the other guy said to keep shaving, that it would help. And they differed on a few other things, as well.

He gave me antibiotics for both things, and hopefully I can finally have concave armpits again! And quit worrying! I mean, if it weren’t for my kids, I’d be fine with dying. Everyone else has had lots of time with me, and I’ll see them on the other side, anyway. I just don’t want to miss out on all my kids’ life experiences, you know?

Ok, ok, I do love some of you to pieces, it’s true – and I don’t really want to leave you – it’s just, life is…well, hard. And well……tiring. And a long rest (like ETERNITY!) sounds kinda nice sometimes! LOL!!

Ok, we took a little side road trip there, people – let’s get back on track, here, ok? I’m feeling a bit rotten still, still not quite on top of my game (like my Healthy Habits list!) but, I’m on antibiotics and on the mend. I have the opinion of a second doctor who agrees with the first in regards to my convex arm(not)pits and hopefully things are progressing positively in that regard, as well. Or would that be negatively? You know, like – less armpits? (Man, I hate jokes that you have to explain! Then they lose their punch. But sometimes, ok, most of the time – my mind is racing ahead without me – in several directions at once, and it goes on some quirky little sidestreets. And I obssessively follow it.)

North Carolina seems like a pretty place

I’ve always thought of North Carolina as a pretty state – it’s so weird, but, don’t you get ideas about places in your mind long before you ever see them? I certainly do – and for some reason I always thought of North Carolina as very pretty.

And now I’m actually learning about the state, thanks to my blogging life, and meeting two of my new friends, Cass and Marcus – who actually call the state home. And I do believe that I was right – from what I am learning about it and in the beautiful pictures that I get to see, often on Cass’ and Marcus’ blogs!

One city there that seems rather nice there is Raleigh. I’ve been reading about it online and there just is one thing after another that is piquing my interest about it. There is actually a college there that, I think, was made just for me! It is called Peace College!! How cool is that? It was actually named after a man named Peace!

And I bet the Raleigh North Carolina Real Estate just went through the roof in the 1950’s with the development of the Research Triangle Park and with IBM opening up shop there in the 1960’s. Besides the introduction of the streetcar lines in the 1920’s, those were the two biggest growth points for Raleigh.

And unlike some cities I know *cough* Dallas *cough* their botanical gardens, the JC Ralston Arboretum, is open free to the public!

Now that I could live with!

Lego Grandfather clock!

Now isn’t that the coolest thing ever? Or do you just have to be a lego-nerd to fully appreciate it? Haha! Not that I am any good at building with Lego’s, although I do love playing with them. But that does not stop my sheer fascination with them! The guy who built that spent three years perfecting it. It is made completely of Legos except for the weights and the filament on which the weights are hung. Totally amazing!

I used to be really, really love grandfather clocks. I am still seriously impressed with them, and when I see one, I will generally spend quite a bit of time looking at it, but, I am just not quite as obssessed as I used to be. It’s weird how that happens – just one of those phases people go through, I guess.

I want new patio furniture!

And I have for some time now, actually! And really, most of the furniture that we’ve gotten for the patio/backyard has been either hand-me-downs, stuff Mark got off a job when the customer bought new stuff, or stuff Mark went and picked out by himself and bought for us.

And every year I see all of this really cool stuff come out and I salivate for it. I think my patio furniture desires actually become stronger every year – and I used to never have patio furniture desires. Patio furniture just was or it wasn’t. I mean, as long as we had something out there, I was happy. I really didn’t care too much about it. I think I have always wanted some kind of hammock, but, beyond that I really just didn’t care. And then one year – BOOM! There it was! Patio furniture desire! From whence it came – I haven’t a clue!

And now, all of a sudden, I’m some kind of patio furniture junkie! You know just the kind of weirdo I mean – we’ve all become one at one point or another – you think you’re some kind of expert on the topic just because you’re always ‘window-shopping’ for said thing. HA!

Well, this weirdo was doing some more window shopping this morning over breakfast! I found yesterday’s mail on the counter while I was getting my breakfast ready and brought it with me to the table to read over coffee. We got one of those summer shopping catalogs and I was having so much fun ‘picking out’ just what I wanted for the balcony! There was some really nice teak outdoor furniture and also this very cool set that I couldn’t decide if it was really cool or just really dumb. It was a table and four chairs set and the table had a firepit in the middle of it. We are a fire-loving family – we love to sit around the fire and just veg – or roast ‘shmallows – or whatever. But it seemed like maybe having the fire in the table wasn’t maybe the best idea.

For one thing, you’re not getting a lot of table room that way – would make outdoor meals difficult. Another thing – it’s nice to have the fire sort of below you – to look down on. And the most important one – uh…duh! – what about flying embers – flying onto the wooden parts of the table – the onlookers – the wooden chairs ….it just seems to put the fire at the perfect vantage point to cause trouble.

But – I don’t know, I could be wrong.

Too sick to blog….

I woke up the other morning with a 102 degree fever and throat so sore that I couldn’t hardly swallow! Ug! Dang me, dang me – it is just one thing after another lately! Life has been supremely crazy! (I feel like escaping to some Villas in Italy!)I went to the doc this morning and he says I’ve got tonsillitis and the lumps in my armpits are folliculitis, just as the other doc had said. More antibiotics.

So I’m feeling too sick to blog. My brain, however, has a million and one things it wants to tell you. “Oh yeah, I’ve got to blog that!” “Oh yes, I definitely need to blog that!” etc, etc…..

My body is screaming at me to get back in bed, though. You know – it would be kind of handy if I had some type of uplink from my brain to my blog – so you guys could keep up and all…

For now, I guess you’ll just have to wait with bated breath to hear (read) all of the earth-shattering news I have to share with you. I’m going to lie in bed with a fresh cup of joe (migraine guard) and read my copy of Website Magazine – and try to feel like I’m still here amongst my cyber-world.

Happy Wednesday.

Finding ‘your way’ in the wild

I know that I have blogged about it here before, but, I can tell you without a doubt that a large part of my spiritual foundation comes from having spent so much time in the woods. I will rattle on all day about it if you let me, and I’ll probably cry a few times while I’m doing it, too!

My extremely strong feelings about this are exactly why I think Wilderness Programs For Troubled Teens are just about the most perfect solution!

I remember as a teen, one of my cousins was sent to one, and she is a total ‘I need running water and mascara’ girly girl – and couldn’t stand it – and I was so jealous! I wondered how I could get in enough trouble to be sent there! LOL! (And trust me, I did get in plenty of trouble…yikes!)

I really believe, though, that teaching children about surviving in the wild, and living without modern conveniences, and about the true force and beauty of nature – by a qualified individual, can be a lesson to strengthen their heart for their whole life!

My husband is just such a qualified individual, and the lessons he has taught my children on their trips out in the wild (before they’ve really even gotten in any trouble) have been invaluable! And I can tell you, also, that my children are totally different creatures when we are out in the wilderness. Being with just THE EARTH – and without concrete and bricks, is a profound experience.

Now see – I told you that I would rattle on about it and I’ve tried to just scratch the surface, but, once I get started, I just can’t help myself.

I, for one, firmly believe in the power of Wilderness Programs For Troubled Teens!!

Shells and cottage cheese for dinner!!

Mmmm! This sounds so good, ya’ll! A new-to-me recipe submitted by my friend, Deb, to my friend, Loretta’s – oh-so-fabulous blog – Just Not Martha! The blog name alone had me hook, line, and SINKER! I love it!

Anyway, back to the recipe – Loretta has started a Recipe Project, wherein she has her readers submit some of their favorite recipes, and Loretta and her in-house team of professional dinner-tasters (yep, that’s the fam!) let us know how they liked it! I mean, come on, people – how cute is this:
And of course, Retta tells us all about the preparations – were they easy, how was the shopping, etc.

And one of the really cool features – she is providing each recipe on a “handy dandy printable recipe card” – that is way cool! Aw, man – I’m gonna miss the first one – I’m out of ink! Well, I know I can easily find them all in her fabulous recipes category once I finally get out and get some ink!

Are you following the Do Follow movement?

Have you heard of the Do Follow movement? It is buzzing all around the blogosphere like crazy!

Bloggers everywhere are adjusting their blogs to either add the dofollow plugin, like on WordPress, or taking some code out, like in Blogger – in order to make their blogs Do Follow-Friendly!

You can read all about it at Randa Clay’s blog and also get yourself a button to proudly display on your blog to let your readers know that their comments count! The buttons come in lots of colors to match your blog!

Healthy habits?

Where did my healthy habits go? Nowhere, really, I just have had a crazy life lately, so I haven’t had too many days of completing the list. I’ve had out of town visitors, my son going to Washington DC – without me, and just all kinds of craziness!!

I almost made it yesterday, and, in fact, went to bed pleased thinking that I had made the list. When I sat down here this morning, however, I realized that I forgot to read any AA-approved literature. Darn it! I remember thinking as I got into bed, too…’do I have it all? I did everything, right? yeah! I did, I did!’

Oh well. Close.