Vacation, party time!

Ha! I did not purchase this alcohol. I was asked what I wanted to drink. We were heading South about 200 miles to visit relatives smack dab in the middle of Wild Wonderful West Virginia. I said I would get it at the store when we arrived at the motel. My daughter's beau would not take no for an answer, so I suggested lime-a-rita.

As I predicted we ended up hauling all this liquor down to West Virginia and all the way back to Ohio. I didn't even open the case of lime-a-rita. The Jack, vodka and Bud were missing a few. And the jagermeister is down about 1/8th. Whoop! 

I had one margarita at the bar. Then ginger ale.

Sigh.

We had 14 show up. Usually it is 20 or more. The young ones who really like to drink were unable to show. That's what happens when you have kids! One niece was kind of excited though because she had not had a drink in....I don't know how long. She had just weaned her little girl and was going to celebrate. She drank two drinks that I saw and got silly. LOL!

We did get to visit with some wonderful people. Our relatives that we visit are just the best. There are others, but we just do not seem to meld with them as well. Not that they are not just as nice and funny. There is only so much time to visit.

Sunday I awoke with a crushing headache. Advil (or the generic form) did not touch it, another migraine tablet and I felt the nausea. I was miserable. My daughter and her beau stepped in and packed me up and into the car and drove me home. As I was resting in the back seat - my headache finally abating (after some weak coffee - caffeine!), I thought to myself "Hey, I could get used to this!"

Note: I am kind of Independent. I have to be the one driving, I have to pack all my own stuff and I have to do this myself and this....it was easy to let things go this time because I was so damn sick.

So, I missed out on the last visit or two. The others went and took pictures. We had a great time. I am going to talk to the doctor about changing my migraine medication. I have been on Imitrex (or the generic form) for about four years and the rebound headaches are killing me. Causing me to take a second tablet the next day to fix the rebound headache. I took another the third day and today I awoke with the same crushing headache.

But, I was home. I had my fan blowing cool air on me. I gulped down three generic Advil (no migraine pill today) and moved around and got my coffee in me.

In no time, the headache was gone and we will see what tomorrow brings when I return to work.

I always take an extra day off after vacation to recuperate. I know from experience that I am drained and can barely function, so I had today off also.

I think I will be ready to tackle getting up and going and having my head on straight by tomorrow  morning.  Whew! These darn headaches just slay me!

Meds

By the power of prednis0ne and Azithr0mycin, I am standing (sitting) strong. Sure, there is the coughing. Still the sputtering (it has to get out somehow) but the energy is outrageous. What is in this stuff? Reminds me when I dallied in speed in my 20's. Yes, I did. Loved them. Stopped them. I never took more than 1 at a time. Eh  - not what this post is about.

Anyway..I probably overdid it yesterday. I worked from home all day. Manager will change my sick day to a "work from home" day. I have a lot on my plate right now and am so very thankful I can do so much of it from home.

But, I kept jumping up and cleaning this and cleaning that. My mind was racing. I plowed through and actually worked about 12 hours on the computer yesterday for work. With several breaks in between to sweep the floor, washed all the pots and pans (the kids will do the dishwasher etc... but I don't put my pots and pans in the dishwasher so they were all dirty).

I was shaking. It was either the prednis0ne or the Azi - or both. I was able to eat (but not like before on the prednis0ne.). And I recall reading that somebody said they can't sleep when taking prednis0ne, so great. Now, I can't sleep. LOL!

I just read a page of side effects. LOL! Most of them I already had, but this one cracked me up. "shortness of height".  Wait, what?

Day two of the incident where I reported the p0rn. Not one word has been said. In fact, there is an enormous amount of work that I am doing regarding the filter, but my manager has not said one word that he even received my e-mail about the report. What would it hurt to say to me "I received your e-mail and report, we will look it over and decide what to do."  Who-ever "we" are. That would be the least I would expect. He could say "Let me know if you see anything else suspicious."  Or, he could say "This is not what we intended when we purchased this product, please mind your own business." (probably too scared to say THAT to me). But what? To ignore it completely? WTF?!

There is a big meeting on Friday and I am certain the filter will be the main topic because we are making a huge switch over on Sunday. I plan to be working 24/7 next week. And the prednis0ne will be gone by then. But that is okay - at least I might have the chance to sleep.

Since I can't sleep, I made my coffee and am drinking it. I pulled a dog hair out of my coffee and no lie, 1 minute later my phone dinged. I checked the message and it was a comment from "Dog Hair in My Coffee". LOL! And, hey - by the way 'welcome back!'  I thought she had done gone "off the social media grid".

It is getting warm in here

I have a new toy at work. I am evaluating a new filtering system. First time out of the gate, my horses just fell over one another. One big jumbled mess. I immediately had to scoop them up and place them back behind the starting line so I could clear the track obstacles.

Yep, the heat is on.

Update on the ear infection:  Much better! I was feeling good on Saturday, better on Sunday and almost great on Monday. Until somebody turned the heat on. Whew. Glad I got my energy back before this monstrosity hit. LOL!

And what is up with Prednisone?! Really! I feel like a Langolier,  I want to eat the furniture!

Owie

I have an owie. I think my ear pain started Tuesday night. I can't recall. The ear swelled completely shut making it hard to hear. It was very sensitive to the touch and the pain was radiating to my teeth and to my throat.

I went to the doctor yesterday and she almost sent me to the ER. She did not want the infection to travel to my brain. I said no because I thought they would lance the ear or something. She said "No" it was just to give me antibiotics with an IV - quicker.

She let me go with a strong anti-biotic, prednisone and ear drops. I was in so much pain. At the pharmacy I had to wait for one hour for them to fill the prescription. The pharmacist was concerned since I was allergic to penicillin; he remarked that this anti-biotic was a distant, distant cousin of that medication.

I explained to him that my "allergic reaction" to penicillin way back in 1979 was because I was ignorant of the fact that you don't take old medication. It was over six months old and sitting in our medicine cabinet. I broke out in hives and my face swelled up like I had the mumps. Since then I have had to tell every doctor that I am allergic to penicillin. Sigh.

He suggested that I have Benadryl handy just in case. I purchased a box. What a salesman!

I went home with my heating pad, meds and Advil. I was finally feeling much better by the evening.

Two hours after my pharmacy visit, I received a call from the pharmacist. He wanted to make certain that I was okay. He phrased it "I wanted to make sure you were still with us."  That made me laugh. I told him I was fine and he said he was just checking up on me. I thanked him. I told my daughter's boyfriend I was going to marry my pharmacist. LOL!

I am still in pain and swelled up. My daughter is putting the drops in for me. I found it funny that one of my meds said to take twice a day and the other said take every 12 hours. Uh....isn't that the same thing? Anyway, if the Advil works it's magic I will go into work. I have no plans this week-end and I can wrap up in my heating pad and blankets all day Saturday/Sunday.

Thr Travelling Wall

Going here today.  Not to the real one, the traveling one.

It started yesterday. Sister 1944 wanted a sister to go with her to the genealogy picnic. I said "Sure". I wasn't doing anything. I got myself up and ready, made my calico beans and went. I don't know what has happened to me over the past few years but I have become a super-charged extrovert. This is a 180 from when I was growing up as a shy, bashful introvert. How does that happen? I have no idea.

Regardless, my medication (that I have taken for maybe a  year, now) has exacerbated the extrovertism. Ha, that isn't a word. But,you get the idea.

Gabapentin is the generic name. Here is a list of side effects.  I seriously think it would have been easier to print things that it "DOES NOT" do.

Hyperactivity. Oh, yeah. I got that one covered. It started about 11 o'clock. It did not stop until I was by myself in the car on the way home at 4:30. Sometimes I wonder if my brother-in-law just wants to tell me to shut the f@ck up. My sister laughs with me. I think he just tolerates us. (Seriously I think he really enjoys his wife laughing and having a good time. She is under a lot of stress right now). I certainly am the one to entertain.

I was the bingo caller at the picnic. When they said they were going to start the bingo game I automatically got up to call. Sister 1944 asked me how I knew I was going to be the caller, I just gave her my incredulous look. Like "Seriously? Who else would do it? Who else has this big of a mouth?"

We stopped on the way home to visit another sister and brother. The laughter did not stop. Sister 1944 was getting a headache from laughing so much. The movie "The Mask" with Jim Carey comes to mind. When he spins and says "Somebody stop me!"  That is truly what I feel like because I feel like I cannot stop myself. I am like a runaway train or a bouncing ping pong ball.

In the car by myself,  I do calm down a little bit. Not much, though. I crank the music and sing. Maybe I should begin to cut the caffeine intake. Sigh.

Anyway, sister 1944's husband was a marine in the Viet Nam war. They said they are coming to my neck of the woods today to visit with their grandson and if I wanted to go. I said "I'm not doing anything,  I'm in!"

We will go today and I will definitely be curbing my hyperactivity today. When I read that there would be clergy and counsel available I began a slow panic. Oh, no. I can't handle the crying. I am going to be bawling like a baby and I don't know one soul who passed away in the war. None that I can think of anyway. No cousins, either. Oh dear. The other side effect to the medicine:  Over-reacting too quickly, and too emotional. Oh, dear, dear, dear. I am done for. Focus, I  must focus. I need super glue for my mouth because I know I will be going up to people, hugging them and asking them to tell me all about their lost loved one.

I'm talking complete strangers, here. I have no fear. If somebody is freaked out by my actions, I read the environment, back-pedal and move on to the next victim..err, person.

The vocation of counseling does run in my family. I have three relatives in the therapy area. We seem to know what to say and when to listen. The drawback is we fall victim to the emotional vampires. People (co-workers) who unload all their problems and issues onto us. Then they feel better and we become depressed - zapped of our energy. They sucked the energy right out of us when they go on and on about their problems. How does a therapist do it?

Rain Pain

I used to love a good soaking rain. These days it is all about pain. Before the rain began last evening I was almost ready to throw up with the sick headache. It was not bad enough to take a migraine med, but I felt absolutely lousy. I was okay in the house with the A/C.  I needed quite a few things, so I did a "quick" run to the drug store. Heh,  heh. I needed a LOT of things.

I had actually been taking the migraine med about every other day (I know about rebound headaches and am not doubting this may be part of the problem).

I got into the store and I got sick. I made the mistake of picking up my daughter's prescription near the end of my trip and they had to prepare it. "This will take about twenty minutes." UGH!

Why didn't I stop at the pharmacy counter first? WHY?

I had everything in my cart except for the milk, so I sat down and waited. I really started to feel lousy. I could feel the sweat start all over my head. I had to wipe it away several times on my forehead. What is wrong with their A/C?  I can only imagine what the other customers thought. "God, she IS sick. I hope her medicine she is picking up works." 

When I went outside to put my purchases in the car, I realized that the drug store DID have their A/C running. You could have cut the air with a knife. It was so humid and thick. My head pounded.

The A/C in my car gets  a work-out.

I arrived at home and I unloaded the car. I tried to relax.

About an hour later (no medication involved) - poof! It was gone. I was typing away on the computer etc.. Before bed I took the dogs out and it was pouring. I stepped off the porch in an effort to get the timid boxer out and into the rain. He thinks he is a sugar cube. I let the rain just pelt me. I knew I shouldn't get this wet this close to bedtime but I didn't care. He did follow but he didn't dally around. He quickly peed and zoomed back onto the porch.

I just stood in the rain and wondered about headache pain and the weather.

Blah, blah, blah

When did January turn into February? When I wasn't looking? I did enjoy the R&R Hall of Fame. I especially liked reading where the artist wrote the song(s). Usually on a yellow notepad. Bob Seger has the most mechanical handwriting. Like an engineer. And some of the words were much different when first written on paper. "And here's to you, Mrs. Roosevelt."   Not Mrs. Robinson. Heh, heh.

The headaches came back. They started and once they started did not stop. The doctor told me to start taking my Nerontin three times a day and then in a month back to twice daily. The increase in medication barely worked. I have episodes almost daily. It felt as if somebody had stuck a steak knife into the corner of my right eye yesterday. I had to leave work. I broke down and took my migraine medication. A few hours later I was pain free. Now, I am concerned about the rebound. Almost 48 hours after I take the medication the misery starts again. Stupid hormones. Stupid weather.

I have a big family get together Saturday. Sunday I have to go out of town for work until Wednesday. I hate that. I hate not sleeping in my own bed. I think this is the last one I will go to. I will let somebody else go. I am supposed to go every other year but I am dreading it so much. I've made myself miserable.

I watched "Hitchcock" a while back. As always I get S Johansson mixed up with J Biel. I think they look alike. I "googled" pictures of Hitchcock's wife after I watched the movie. She was a very homely woman. They tried hard to make Mirren homely. Sorry. Didn't work. She is a fine looking woman. I liked the movie. I am not certain I would have liked Alfred and Alma in real life. They guy playing A Perkins - nailed it!

And did he really buy up all the copies of the book so nobody would know the ending? Is that part true? Can that be done?  I don't think they could use that tactic today.

The angle

I know it's the angle but they just look a little disproportionate to me.

I watched "Total Recall" last evening with C Farrell, K Beckinsale and J Biel. The kids liked it better than I did. My daughter is not familiar with Arnold's version, but her boyfriend was.

She made the remark about all futuristic movies having that dark, rainy and dreary look to them. Yeah, I guess that is how most of us see the future. LOL!

No complaints about any of the acting. As far as I could tell (with a headache and heartburn) I thought they all did a fine job. Of course there is that way in the movie (as in many others) where the "bad" guys shoot thousands of bullets (or rounds of ammo) and do not hit the "good" guy, whereas the "good" guy shoots one bullet and takes out 12 of them.

Yeah..no.

Yes, a bit of a headache. Nothing major. Nothing like before so no complaining here!

And, just for the record - not certain it is the Magnesium or not that the doctor told me to take, but the arthritis pain only flares once in a while. I am taking 500mg pill daily with a meal. My problem is remembering to take it. I am the worst. My regular meds get taken right before bedtime - that is easy. But when I have to take something with a meal or this time or that time - forget it. Yep, I usually do.

Still playing

 I used Photo! Editor (free download)  to modify this picture. The original is below with the gray background. The modified one has the gold tones to it. The original was modified a bit with an automatic color adjuster so it is not straight out of the camera, either. Both were given a rounded edge frame from the (also free) program Photoscape.

Headache update. What can I say? Not a single migraine since I began the Neurontin (Gabapentin). I don't like the monopoly of pharmaceutical manufacturers but I do like not having any migraines. I'll just say it as simple as that. It is what it is.

You can read more here and here.

My home has been very active the past month. I have my daughter back living with me and her beau (from Florida). I have my niece and her husband staying (she is 9 weeks pregnant). It is fun to look up what the baby looks like and what is forming. We go here.  The way my daughter talks, this may be the closest I get to participating in the "grandmother" role. That is fine by me. I have lots of nieces and  nephews, I get a share of baby time. Don't get me wrong. That is not near the same as having your own grand-bambino/bambina, but I respect my daughters' wishes to not have children if that is what she chooses. If I wanted to guarantee that I have grand babies, I should have increased my odds by having more children.

Let's throw in a movie update while I am here. The Hunger Games. Lots of confusion in this story. I will skip reading the book unless I get laid up in bed for months at a time and need reading material. I know that the movie is geared towards the young adult. **Possible spoiler alerts - stop here***.  

To me, if you are trying to survive, you do not hang around or walk out in the open area. You keep your ass hidden in the trees and you keep moving. When a "friend" dies, you do not just hold that person (while the other killers are possibly close by) and sing to them and then bury them. Your enemies are all around you tracking you.

Many instances of this practice in the story. I am not clear why it got the publicity and acclaim it did. It was a good watch. A lot better than some of the shows I have seen. We like how they chose lesser known actors (that could have been a monetary decision) but this made it look a bit more real. For the girl to have short and dirty fingernails (not bitten) made it so much more believable than some of the better known actresses who may have insisted on having perfect manicures.

I did not care for them gussying the girls up in prom dresses during the ceremonies. Really? Have we not progressed beyond this sexist image? Apparently not. Will I watch the sequels? Perhaps. Maybe to see if they have more of a story line for the W Harrelson character.  And we always love Stanley in anything.

Cozy coupe

The cozy coupe car has provided many a child with delight. My great nephew being one of them. 

Sister 1944 was in the car accident on Monday. This is one of her three grandsons. I cringe to think of what might have been. Actually, I try not to think of it.

Things are good. My sister got a shock when she looked in the mirror the next morning at herself. But she is here as is her husband. The car is gone. We may never know what the other driver was doing that she went left of center and did not even correct herself after she hit my sister's car and was going straight for the car behind my sister. (Words of the driver of the car behind them. He had enough time to get out of the way).

I was actually going to post about something else but this stupid medication has made me stupid. I mean forgetful. I was forgetful before but I can't wait to see how forgetful I am now. Huh.

Since I cannot recall what I wanted to say, I will fall back on movies. I watched "Flash of Genius" with Greg Kinnear. Love Kinnear. The movie is based on the story of the life of the engineer that designed the intermittent windshield wiper and the big automobile companies stole it out from under him. He fought them. It is a good tale. In real life I think it took him 20 to 30  years to get his day in court. I do not have the mind set of an engineer. I am a free thinker. My mind wanders. I think that is quiet evident.

Celebration

However you celebrate it  (Independence Day) - have a good one.

As for me - quiet today.

A crew is coming in on Saturday (the 7th) to grill. I told them I was not 'doing' the fourth this year. Sigh. They said they will bring everything. Go for it.

I am on some new medication for migraines. And am scheduled for an MRI. I called earlier in the week when I got yet another headache. They are not full blown migraines but my quality of life really sucks. I am trying to find a solution to this "staying home and staying quiet all summer" theme that I have committed myself to. Until I find out what the hell is causing this or what is going on, I am laying low. If it is menopause then I may just have to deal with it until it all passes, but I am not taking it laying down. I will fight but only when I can muster up the energy to do so. I look like shit.

The ones coming in this week-end do not get headaches. I love them and I hope I do not get grouchy. Screw fire works. I hate the noise.

Okay, enough for the negativity. My new med is for seizures but also is believed to help with migraines. Anticonvulsant. Two days in and so far so good. Time will tell. I am certain the MRI will tell nothing, but at least I'll have gotten it out of the way. They seriously asked me if I had any pins or bolts in my head. Really? What am I? Frankenstein? I said the only metal I had were teeth fillings and my mouth is full of that. That is another story. Welfare children do not get to pick much from the dentist arena. Every dentist I have been to since I turned 20 has cursed the dentist that pulled one of my molars at 12 years old.

Okay - back to quiet. Seriously - have a good one. Grill outside if you must but get back into the shade or the Air or a big blue pool. God Bless America. And anything/anybody else who wants to bless us. Every one.

I think I'll go online and try to find an American song by Andy Griffith. I like to hear him sing.

Oh, and wonder of wonders. My computer sputtered on me this morning. I swear! Every fourth of July or close to it (you can go back in my archives and look for yourself) this damn computer crashes. WTF? It is back up and running but it gave me a good scare. I immediately backed up a lot of stuff. I am running out of external hard drive space. Prices are coming down, I think I'll get a 2 TB one.  Newegg has a WD for $129.

Nobody move!

I wanted to title it: Don't nobody move, but what bad English. I know I should have titled this blog "Headaches R Us".  I sneeze and I panic. I take the dogs out in the heat and I panic. A car horn blares, I panic. Do not move too quickly. Slow movements. Slowly ascend the stairs.

I awoke yesterday with no pain. Well, a slight tightness around the head - but nothing that needs medication. I tread carefully all day. Funny how when you don't have a headache all the other pains (normal getting older pains) come to the surface. 

Since I had no headache I watered flowers, I puttered and pulled weeds. Ah, the back ache. Back inside. All laundry done. All dishes done. Move slowly, move carefully.

Oh, Friday was hell because that is the day I had to bite the bullet and NOT take anything. If this last rash of headaches were due to a rebound effect then I have to flush it out.

It is one thing to have pain and no medication. It is another thing to have pain and medication that will take the pain away. But to have the pain, the medication that will take it away and not being able to take it is another matter entirely. I knew if I took my migraine meds the pain would go away and I would feel good and be able to function. If only for 12 to 24 hours.  I opted out. I took Friday and just let myself be miserable. I had to flush out this mess if it was rebound.

Well, it was rebound or the weather changed or my hormones evaporated. Sinus pressure dissipated? Something. Day two of not having to take medicine. Well, not yet anyway.

The photo above is not mine. I lifted it. This is the way my head feels when I have no pain. Crystal blue. I found myself yesterday wanting to cry. With relief.

If the article is correct, then I am certainly a candidate for MOH (medical overuse headache). It would take longer than two or three days to kick the over the counter meds. The migraine medicine I can go for long periods of time without taking them. During menopause the migraines have increased. I am on a daily beta blocker. It is supposed to lessen the number of migraines or perhaps the intensity. Well, I sure would hate to see what would happen if I didn't take the beta blocker. 

I hate the beta blocker! Side effects are horrible. You know that 'second wind' you get when you need it when hiking - especially up a hill? You cannot get that with a beta blocker. It does not let my heart beat harder. The first time I experienced this I could not figure out for the life of me what the heck was going on. I loved to walk and hike and I always had that extra burst of energy to walk fast and get up that hill. No more.

Am I in menopause? Ha! The average time for women to experience menopause is 51/52  years old. I am 52. This menopause can go ten years or longer. Migraines are supposed to ease up after menopause. I am taking cues from my sisters who also get migraines. The oldest one said her 50's were the worst for migraine. Nice.

There is a test the doctor can do to determine if you are experiencing menopause or not. A few years back when I had blood work taken for other tests, she asked me if I wanted to test to see if I was in menopause. I said sure. Not thinking. A few weeks later I received a bill for over $70 - insurance does not cover this test. Arrgghh! I had not even thought of that. So the medical diagnosis from an actual doctor will remain a mystery as to whether or not I am. I have no night sweats. Not yet. That would be horrid. I do get hot very quickly and have to have a fan on me constantly. That could be anything.

So anyway. If only for a week or so, I hope to be medicine free. Of course there is the occasional regular headache you get from sitting at a computer too long, or lack of sleep. Sleep problems are also a sign of menopause. Heck, I had lunch with an old friend and she said that memory loss is a sign of menopause. I had not heard that one. I thought it was my medication. Hmmm. I see no documentation that states memory loss as a symptom. She also said we crave calcium. I don't recall hearing that one and I cannot find any documentation to back it up.

Back on the carousel - or merry-go-round, or roller coaster.

Yikes!

I think this photo was taken at the zoo gift shop in Pittsburgh back in '07. Not certain. Oh, that is my daughter in that snake's mouth. 

Speaking of teeth. We were, weren't we? I had a molar pulled Thursday. I have not had a tooth extraction since the late 70's when I had my wisdom teeth pulled out. In the chair. That's right sissies. No nitrous oxide for us back in those days. The dentist used a C-clamp and pliers. My mouth remained swollen as if I had a wad of chewing tobacco in there for a week.

I was a bit nervous with not knowing what to expect. Psshh! It was nothing! Two things bothered me. The first was the sound as they pulled it out. Talk about fingernails on a chalkboard. Grrr! And about three hours later was the intense itching as the Novocaine wore off. That did not last long and I barely needed Advil. I took it more as a precaution than as a pain reliever. I had no pain to speak of.

I am a tad bit worried about the sinus cavity that the tooth root was close to. The dentist told me not to blow my nose for two days. Okay. The dental instructions said not to swish for two days. Can I brush?! How can you brush without swishing a bit of water around up there?

Eh, I made it through. Other than that "weird" empty feeling - things are fine. It is healing quickly and I am hoping that this resolves a lot of (what I hope were related to this tooth) problems over the past years. That upper right region of my sinus/gums/ear has had it's share of misery.

The finger is healing. The tooth (or, rather gum) is healing. My body must be in some kind of "what the hell is happening to us" mode. It must be working overtime healing my wounds.  That is a lot of stuff going on in the body. I think I need to rest all week-end and take it easy and let my body heal. Movies are waiting. Also hovering  ominously close is :   Angry Birds - yes...dammit! I have become slightly addicted. I keep picking the Nook up and playing "ONE.MORE.LEVEL."!!!  OMG! There is a web site titled "one more level". Oh, God. Don't go there.

Finger surgery... what finger surgery?

For some cruel reason my body decides to conjure up every pain it could think of. If it were just the procedure of removing the cyst I would not need any pain medication. My shoulder pain shows up about every two days. It wakes me up in the early morning and I can barely move as I stumble my way to the Advil bottle and recently the Vicodin. I manage to wrap the heating pad over my hurting shoulder and bury myself in my TV chair until an hour or so passes and I can finally move without sounding like an animal caught in a claw trap.

After a couple of days with the shoulder pain, my right wrist begins to feel like it had been twisted backwards and also begins to complain. I found this wrap and managed to wrap it around the wrist so I can type. What the hell is going on? I feel as if I am falling apart.

I fixed about three dishes for my family Thanksgiving get together. My daughter did come over. She did help me. She did all my dishes. She mixed the cheese ball mixture and found out how hard it was to stir it. She sliced up all of my cheese for the cheese tray.

As I pulled into my sister's house, my nephew and his wife pulled in behind. They jumped out of their van and demanded that I go into the house - they would unload my car. I protested, but caught myself. "Let them, let them." 

All day long family asked me about my finger. When I told them it was actually my shoulder, I got shoulder rub after shoulder rub. All day! The shoulder was not in it's severe pain (I cannot stand anybody or anything touching it when it hurts like that) but during it's down time, I can bear the rubbing.

I was a hit with the new baby. He really likes me. I "hogged" him.  I had lots to be thankful for.

There is a baby shower on Sunday. I have to make 50of these:

Aren't they adorable? Except mine will have blue ribbons of course. I had hoped that we could get a start on them Thanksgiving day, but it did not happen. You cut out the bottom of a Styrofoam cup (my apologies for not being very green, here), cut slits to create the tongue, punch holes and begin with the ribbons.

I am not exactly certain how I am going to tie those little bows, but I will figure it out.

So, I woke up this morning and not only does my arm hurt - but my legs would not move without significant pain. I attribute this to walking around the mall yesterday (to find cute baby stuff for the shower) and walking around two grocery stores. I had my cart full at the first one and needed help finding two items. There was no help to be found. I finally tracked down a guy stocking shelves. He was rude and just kept telling me "We don't carry that!" I returned all my items and walked out of that store and drove to another where not only did I find all my items, I saw lots of workers in the store that were more than happy to give me help.

I had banned that first store for five years before for a very similar reason. I will probably stay away another five years again.

I did manage to make it through the day without beating up any grandfathers. Good Gawd!

This morning I stumbled out of bed, swallowed Advil and Vicodin - wrapped myself in my heating pad and my TV chair. It took a good hour but I was finally able to get up and get out to walk the dogs. The strange thing is, after the meds wear off, I do not have as much pain. I may require only a couple of Advil later - but nothing like the pain when I first wake up. Of course, I probably just jinxed it.

Well, my daughter is out of town this week-end and my sisters live too far away. I am on my own. I have a sinkful of dirty dishes (cannot get my finger wet) so I will be using my leaking dish washer. Oh, well.

Time to go and look for my glue gun. I found one of my camera battery chargers and have taken pics, but my usb ports all fried in my computer months ago, so I cannot download them, whereas with my phone I can e-mail them to myself and get them on here.

Maybe Santa will bring me a new USB card?

malaise

I did go to the doctor's office. The doctor wasn't in. (Sounds like the beginning of a cheesy song). When I called they said that a nurse practitioner could see me. I said "Anybody!"

She diagnosed sinusitis. Whatever. I was given the above. I am in pain and I am grouchy to say the least. The Advil takes the edge off but I do get sick of taking it. I have not taken any today and I have been up for over 2 hours. I don't like to take medicine on an empty stomach and so far I only have coffee in my stomach.

My ear hurts, my jaw hurts. I find myself clenching my teeth during the day and at night. I relax the jaw when I realize that I am doing this, I think it is a brace against the pain. One neighbor said (before I told her I was ill) that the right side of my face looked swelled and she asked if I had a migraine. I told her that I had an earache that had moved into the right side of my jaw and teeth.

I also have had a condition that I rarely find others having. My gums itch when I am ill. Like insane itching. Like a mosquito bite that won't stop itching. It drives me nuts! I have been know to brush them raw when they itch like this. All of this on the right side of my mouth. Only the gums on the top itch. Never the bottom. The bottom right is the area where I just missed getting a root canal. The dentist stopped at the last minute and said "I don't think we need to do a root canal".  Sometimes I wish he had and it would all be over now because this is the area I have a lot of pain and trouble with.

At the time I saw the nurse, my throat did not hurt, but it does now. Another worry. As I age I believe I may be forming allergies. Sigh. I suppose I'll mention it to the doctor during my next visit. I get a stuffy nose often, my eyes hurt almost daily (not the red, itchy burning pain - a deep penetrating ache). They water like crazy sometimes, though. I don't sneeze but I often have an annoying cough.

I promised pics of the BBQ basket and I took some with my cell phone. Sorry if they are blurry or subpar.

I included a BBQ bug zapper, a hamburger press and the above apron in the basket. It is very heavy and full. I have to wrap it in cellophane yet and tie ribbons around it.

Here is the candy jar I made. Can you guess how many starburst candies are in there? I had to count them four times because I kept getting distracted. I figured two counts were the same and I went with that. Who is going to re-count anyway?

Basically, I am not getting much done in preparation for our week-end trip. I better get my rear in gear today. Time for toast and a dose of Advil. Is it just me or am I rhyming?

I could eat this one all day

I do not recall having this candy when I was young. I do not recall the first time I had sixlets. I could eat this candy all day along with plain m&m's. 

Remember during Christmas I said that I despised the song "Santa Baby"? Well, I sure set something into my brain that is going to haunt me for a long time. About the same time as Christmas music was playing everywhere I began the ritual of giving Sable her medicine and like Pavlov's dogs, I associated the meds with a jingle.

In a day of complete insanity I sang the jingle to the tune of Santa Baby. What was I thinking?! Here are the words (to the tune of the despised infamous Christmas song):

Sable Baby
Come and get your medicine

Oh, yeah!

You know you need your medicine.

Sable Baby,
Come and get your medicine, now!

I don't know if I will ever get this jingle out of my head as I give her the medicine daily. God help me.

I give Sable two tablets of Novox (carprofen)  100 mg and two Phycox softchews. All the dogs get a tiny piece of bread and peanut butter (sticky enough to hold the pill  to the bread until she swallows it). The other dogs do not get any medicine. I implore you to try this medication if your dog is showing signs of arthritis. Sable could barely get up from the floor where she was laying and now she runs with the pups. It is so wonderful to see her having fun outside. The medicine was first prescribed by my veterinarian, but I chose to order the medication on-line after that. I chose VetDepot. When you go to order the product, they ask you for the name of your veterinarian and they do the contacting and getting the okay (because it is prescription) and once all is clear, they ship it to you. For the Phycox softchews you do not need a prescription.

Boxers and bloat

I believe my boxer is experiencing bloating episodes. I am researching it and will call the vet on Monday to have him checked and to see if there is anything I can do for him during an episode. Actually, I am trying to call them this morning and it is busy, busy, busy.  It started about a week ago, we thought he was eating too fast because sometimes our big dog, Sable will try to steal the food.

Slade (the boxer) does eat too fast most of the time. He gulps his food. I was getting ready to go out and I didn't have much time with him and put him outside to throw up. He proceeded to eat the ivy that was still green around my back porch. Oh, god! I pulled him back inside. He threw up the biggest pile of ivy onto my kitchen floor where it was easily cleaned up. That seemed to solve his problem. I did not think of bloat at that time.

Last night he got excited when my niece visited. I had not fed them their evening meal, yet. He began licking and smacking his lips. I was not putting him outside this time to eat the poisonous ivy. I blocked him in the kitchen.

I was on day six of a headache that was not responding to OTC medicine and I did not want to take another prescription Imitrex so I was riding it out. I was not feeling good at all. As I listened to him hack away, I thought I better look up bloat. I had heard about bloat, but never had a dog that experienced it. All his symptoms seemed to fit. 

He settled down (I skipped feeding all the dogs last night) and he seems fine this morning. I fed them this morning and all is well, so far. I will need to get some medical advice on this, though.

My headache continues. My Imitrex will take care of the problem, but after 8 hours it comes back and I just can't pop another Imitrex. You can't just take them every day (I don't think). If you research anybody who experiences the migraine headache you might come across the well-known fact that the headaches often appear during our off-peak days. Like, the week-end. After the stress of a work week or a big event. Mine are weather-related and hormonal this week and may be a bit stress induced. My sleep patterns are really whacked out because last week-end I had a houseful and we stayed up late playing games and such and I slept in and that is a big no-no for migraine sufferers. What can I say? I like to laugh and socialize with my family!

The migraine hit last Sunday and I've been taking Imitrex every other day since then. Physical exertion is really hard. While shoveling snow, I would gag and try to throw up and then shovel some more. It had to be done - I can't just leave our sidewalks covered. (Company is long gone and the kids are at their other home this week). Anyway, the cold air seemed to help a little bit.

Can you believe I only got our tree out on Thursday? I KNOW! I am battling pine needles trying not to ruin yet another vacuum cleaner and my Shop Vac. LOL! Crazy. I got tired of waiting for the kids who promised to take it down for me. I think they wanted to one day but I was sick with my headache and they didn't want to bother me.

I watched "Salt." As I have mentioned before I cannot lay still when experiencing a headache because I just dwell on the pain. I am better off in an upright position and I watch a movie to take my mind off of things. I used to laugh at hero action movies not having many females in the film. With Salt, it was only Jolie and maybe one or two lines from other females. It was a little far-fetched for me. And I don't like a lot of blood and there is plenty in this movie. I also get freaked out by how shiny-silver every body's eyes are. Like they are all moistened by glycerin or something. They shine like silver pools of water and is very distracting.

The part (and there were many) that gets me is when she rode in the police car up and over an overpass onto the highway below and walked away from the accident. She had no seat belt on. Well, besides the fact that she jumped from the top of one truck onto another and then did it again while they were moving on a highway was also a bit of a stretch, too. But it really wasn't much different than what Cruise did in his action flick "Knight and Day" with Diaz. It is movie making entertainment.

I also rented the movie "Date Night". I am hoping for some laughter.

Update: Now that I read more about it, I don't believe it is bloat. His sides did not extend at all, but I am still taking him in for a check up. Tuesday afternoon.

Where's the beef?

I made this chuck roast yesterday after reading about CheerstoHappy's version from her December 16th. post. Hers looked so good and I had a hankerin' for something rich and saucy. My meal looks a little lost in this dish (I have requested that Santa bring me a heavy duty dutch oven). It was delicious. I left the chuck roast in the crock pot on low all day. When I came home, I added onion, potatoes and carrots and moved it to this baking dish and baked it in the oven at 350 for an hour. The aroma was enough to make you swoon. I get to experience the effects of the smells because I go outside to walk the dogs and when I returned the smell hit me head on.

The down side to this is if a pet has had an accident. That smell can knock you off your feet, too.

Woke up late this morning (for me) and have a cottony feeling inside my head and feel as if I am on the verge of a headache. I am getting pain around the eyes and back on the left side of the head. The coffee is making me sick to my stomach (also a sign of an impending headache). I am so thankful for my medication. I have experienced migraines since I was twelve years old. Before that I had severe headaches. I believe this is from sleeping in my Mom's room from 8 to 11 years old. Every morning I was awoken about 4 or 5 a.m. when she lit her first cigarette. The smoke was heavy in the bedroom and just wafted over to me. I hate cigarette smoke to this day. At 12 I moved into my sisters' bedroom.

Well, I am baking today. I managed puppy chow last evening and started the peanut butter blossoms. I will finish those today. I hope to make cranberry nut bread (cannot find the recipe) and with any luck I can knock out another batch of chocolate chip or M&M cookies. Then I will start the food for tonight. We are having creamed chicken sandwiches (requested by my niece for every Christmas eve), BBQ ham sandwiches (for me), meatball appetizers, and a cheese ball/tray with meat and crackers.

I'll take pictures if I can find my camera's battery charger. Well, you should know me by now. I lose everything!

Better

Sable circa 2003

She ain't as spry as she was when we first got her, but she is doing much better. Her doctor gave her an anti-biotic for the hot spot on her cheek and an anti-inflammatory for her stiff back legs.  I will start her back on the glucosamine soft chews. I think the medicine has affected her hearing because she won't listen to me when we are out and about. Either that or she feels better than she has in a long time, so she is wandering more and not giving a hoot about keeping up with me and the boxer.

Yeah, she's a real pistol. The anti-biotics will stop, but the anti-inflam. - I am to give her that on an as-needed basis. The doc only gave me a few days supply until I am sure it will work for Sable then I can order more. If it didn't work, she wanted to try something else. I think it works. I am thinking of asking the doctor if I can take it, too. Kidding. I'm kidding!

Although I am cheating and drink a 5-hour energy drink in the afternoon at work. It has made a huge difference in my evening at home. I actually cleaned both my kitchen and dining room ceiling fans last night. My sinks got a good scrubbing with baking soda.  All my laundry is caught up. All the kitty litter boxes are clean. For the third night in a row I did not turn the television on. I ran out and got my hair cut. I know, I know. It's caffeine, but so far I can still sleep. Well, maybe not. I still get the early morning insomnia now and again  -  but I was getting that anyway before I started with the energy drinks. Sigh. I know I can't keep taking them, but for now - I'll take them.

It has been great weather for walking the dogs. With Sable feeling better, I don't worry about her dragging behind us. It was sad this morning. It was dark when I took her and the boxer for a walk. I don't leash her. I carry one with me in case I need it, but she pretty much just ambles about. She became separated from us. I usually go so far, then stop and wait for her to catch up. She didn't show. I started back the way I came. I could see her (she is black and it is dark) barely. I could tell she was confused. She did not know where we went. I think she was scared because when she saw me she was so happy and relieved. It was very sad.

And, what in the hell happened to posting on Tuesday and Wednesday? Stupid caffeine.

Blueish

That's it! After the rain today I am getting my camera and my daughter's and going out and shooting some new pictures. I am tired of this same old stuff. All I had on this memory card was hydrangea, blurred photos of my pets and a few pics of fully ripe tomatoes and huge sweet onions. Plus about 40 pics of my daughter (she was attempting to get a new facebook pose).

After a lazy week-end, I awoke this morning to very painful eyes. Before I looked at the clock as I lay there after wakening, my eyes still closed, I thought to myself "Is it supposed to rain today?" Because both of my eyeballs hurt like the dickens.

I rolled out of bed. About the 3rd thing I do is take some Advil. Opening the door to let the first varmint outside to do his business I see and smell the rain. You know what? It is an hour later and my eyes still hurt! Blast it. I hate it when the medicine does not work.

I've got the summertime blues. Even though there is a lot going on almost every week-end, we have not been on a real vacation in a couple of years. I think the last trip was to Cincinnati in April of 2007? Yes, I just checked. Sigh. The reunion is a couple of nights away and I guess that will suffice as a vacation again this year. The dogs will have to go to the vet's office for that week-end. The fish and the cats will be on self-feeders.