You Really Wouldn't Believe Me

 Photo Credit

Well hello again. I am telling you , if you don't know me in real life then you would not believe half of the things that happen in my life. Let me share with you the latest disaster..

If you read yesterdays post here then you know I had said I was suffering from a sinus migraine. Well that migraine turned into sickness and pain straight out of hell. I literally thought it was going to end me. So much so that I prayed to God that if He was taking me I was okay with it because I couldn't handle it anymore. Apparently not yet because I'm writing to you this evening. 

I finally was able to fall asleep last night somewhere around eight thirty PM. I think I more passed out from the pain than anything. I woke about ten PM. Feeling a bit better and not ready to sleep for the night. So I as I sat here looking through tiktok and instagram and my email it was getting late. When I looked at the clock and it said eleven thirty I thought, better try and go back to sleep or you'll feel even worse tomorrow.

As I laid in bed I heard the heat kick on. It was VERY cold last night. We dropped down to twenty one degrees during the night. I thought to thank God for my warm home because so many don't have one.. Then suddenly I thought, why does it feel cold in here? Why does it feel like the air conditioner is on?

Sure enough, I got up, stuck my foot by the register and the air coming out of it was cold!! 

No Heat!!!... To say I began to panic is an understatement.. My husband went outside to see if the outside fan was running in the unit and it was, everything was running but NO HEAT!.

We have a home warrantee company so I quickly called them and set up a service call through the automated system. I went back to bed with LOTS of blankets, a heating pad under the blankets and three dogs. I put a nice warm blanket it on them. My husband hit the couch with our other dogs and blankets and honestly, we were warm while we slept but getting up out of the bed this morning? Good gosh it was cold!! And what's the first thing most humans do the moment they get up? Yep, we all do it and man that seat was cold!!

The contractor called me and they said they couldn't get here until between twelve and four PM. So while waiting for him I called my neighbor, real nice guy from NJ who is an HVAC guy. He came and looked at things and turns out our heat pump did not go it's the emergency heat that wasn't working. It seems that when the temp outside drops to a certain low level the heat pump shuts off and the emergency heat which is coils under your house kicks in. This happens to save the heat pump from working too hard and burning up. Then the coils turn on and keep  your house warm. Except mine weren't working!

Not only that, it seems when the repair company that our home warrantee company sent out back in July to replace the air conditioner motor, the guy did 'some rewiring' CUT wires and left them just hanging there! They in turn arced somewhere along the line and MELTED another wire that has to do with the emergency heat AND he disconnected the SAFETY wires that are supposed to kick in and shut your system down incase of a MELTED WIRE!..

Can you tell I'm a bit livid over all this? The repair guy showed up at two thirty this afternoon. Said he has to order a whole new heat kit which will include all new wires and he disconnected the melted wire and the emergency heat. So tonight, if it drops below thirty eight degrees we will have no heat again until the temps warm up a bit and the heat pump can work again....

What a mess!!. So you see, if you don't know me in real life I know, that no one would believe the crap that happens in my life... tomorrow I will tell you about something wonderful though that I realized through all of this.....

  

Goodness, Life Is Messy - Updates!

 

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for my absence but you know, life has a habit of getting in our way and mine did, as usual. I thought I'd bring you up to date with what's been going on here. 

Life has been busy.. I ended up with a sinus infection somewhere towards the end of October. If you don't know I seem to run them chronically for the last  ten years. I was on an antibiotic and doing great. During this time my husband came down with it and like most men didn't want to go to the doctor and I'm too tired to fight about it so I forgot about it and moved on. Well, within me being off my antibiotic for a week I got slammed again with the same damn infection because my husband still had it only this time I had it worse than the first time and he got pretty bad too. The headaches, more like migraines are just absolutely horrific. Hubby needed and antibiotic change about a week into it and we are both on the mend about two weeks later although, I'm still dealing with the sinus migraine. Have one now as I write this. 

Then we had a bad situation with two of our five dogs. One of my little ones who is a rescue (he had been previously abused) is a very nervous little man. The problem with that is, if there is too much commotion he lashes out by way of jumping at the throat of one of the bigger dogs. The three bigger ones had been putting up with it but, two weeks ago one of them decided she had, had enough. We were outside, things got crazy because we have new neighbors living next to us after that house being empty for two years. All of them were going nuts at the fence and well, one of my little ones lunged at the throat of my German Shepherd and she grabbed him and wouldn't let him go. End result, he lived thank God but she tore open both sides of his throat. I had to run him to the emergency hospital, why do emergencies always happen on the weekends?

So, a thousand dollars later which I will have to pay off, and fourteen stitches later things have changed here quite a bit. the big dogs are now always separated from the little dogs. It's a bit of an inconvenience but it's working. The house has been less stressful and quieter too with them separated. 

Because we were so sick with these sinus infections, I had to tell my friend Deb who helps me clean my home once a week not to come and she was off today for a long Thanksgiving weekend much deserved I can tell you. That woman works harder than anyone I know. But I had to clean my house because I'm a bit anal about it. Sure, I could have waited the two weeks but no, with five dogs, a husband, three chickens and myself who still hasn't learned to put things away when she's finished with them I couldn't wait. It was getting to me. 

So I put on my big girl pants and cleaned and cleaned. I'm paying for it too in body pain but I am pretty much finished. Tomorrow I just have to do my kitchen cabinets and wash my floors. I will say though. I am so grateful for my friend....There's no way my body could keep this pace up all the time.

So at night when I usually do my blog writing I've been really super tired, plus because of hot flashes I am perpetually sleep deprived anyway.

Thanksgiving was a quiet one. We usually always spend it with Bill and Linda but, unfortunately Linda's health has gotten pretty bad. Her cancer has most likely spread to her pancreas now also. I had offered to do all the cooking and bring Thanksgiving to them but she just wasn't up to having us there and being chronically ill myself I completely understand that. So I just made a small turkey breast for my husband with sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans, gravy and a pumpkin pie... He's been eating turkey for days. Tonight the dogs got what was left in their dinners which was quite a good amount. 

This week is the first of December already so I will be doing my food shopping and paying bills and such. I would also like to finish decorating my home for Christmas. My tree which is just a small four foot tree. I'll try and show you a photo or two...

has been up since the day before Thanksgiving but the rest of the house and the outside are still loaded with Fall decor.. I love Fall and Christmas but each has their time so I'd like to get to that this week.  I did not go Black Friday shopping. I never do. However I did look online and to be honest unless you were looking for electronics I thought the sale were abysmal at best. Lots of over priced junk the stores couldn't get rid of through the year.  I did look at JC Penny and I did find new bathroom sets for my two bathrooms that I've been wanting to replace since the beginning of this year. The price was right so I bought that. I also bought a few books but they weren't on sale. They never are so I don't count those as a Black Friday deal. And that was it. 

I hope everyone is well. I hope you have a great week and hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow. 

Lots of Love, 

 

First Of The Season

 

My goodness ! Temperatures here in South Carolina dropped like a rock last night! We woke up to 39 f this morning with a wind chill of 36 !..... Of course next week we will be back in the mid 70's.. Yup, it's yo-yo weather here in South Carolina. It just can't seem to make up it's mind on what it wants to do. It won't figure itself out until probably towards the end of December. We wear cold weather clothes in the morning and warm weather clothes in the afternoon until the sun goes down. Doesn't it drive me nuts? You bet it does. 

If you read my post yesterday which is located here  then you know I was in desperate need of slowing down physically, emotionally and spiritually. Well, that's exactly what I did this morning. The photo above is of the fire I built in the fireplace this morning. The first of the season. 

I woke up about four forty five this morning (thank you hot flashes and bladder) and couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned until about six o clock and decided although still tired to get up and take advantage of some extremely rare morning quiet time.  I put on my robe, made some coffee, some scrambled eggs, started the fire, grabbed my bible and book light and went and sat with my husband and all the dogs by the fire. Sipping my coffee and soaking in the Word of God and the beauty and warmth of the fire. Shockingly the dogs were all very quiet as well.

Mornings like these in my house are very, very rare so when I see there is even the slightest chance it could happen I jump on it. 

I'm also not cooking tonight as I have some left over spinach and cheese ravioli's in the refrigerator for my husband to have for dinner so I thought I would take the time to go down and see Linda tonight. I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and weekend. Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour on Sunday before bed that is of course, unless you live in Arizona! 

Need To Slow Down

 

Hi Everyone.. Yes I took that photo this past summer one night when the sky looked like it was on fire. The Summers here are long and hot but the sunsets and sun rises in South Carolina are just beyond beautiful....

Its been a very, very busy week and I am glad it's near over. Monday was a total disaster. It was one of those days where everything that could go wrong, went wrong, it was incredibly stressful and one of those days you thought would just never end. Thankfully, God worked everything out in his way and timing and Monday did end. This same day my husband went in for a three hour test on his spine which ended up only taking about 2 hours. more on that later. 

The first few days of each month are so busy for me because that's when I do all the food shopping (I shop for the month), meal planning, bill paying etc and along with my every day stuff and medical stuff for both my husband and myself. 

Tuesday I had to go to Costco. Hadn't been there in a few months so I needed to stock up on some items and to my surprise it wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be. Walmart however, was. It was actually more than I figured... The dollar sure doesn't go far anymore these days.

Wednesday we met with my husbands back surgeon to get the results of his MRI and Myelogram and to our shock he said there is nothing surgically wrong that needs to be fixed. This is good and bad because it doesn't explain why he's in horrific pain yet again. The doctor wants to keep investigating. Next up is another EMG (nerve conduction test, yes it's painful) if nothing there, then an MRI of his neck since he has had his neck fused at one time also and if nothing there on to a neurologist. The bottom line is, there was always the possibility because of the severe damage to my husbands spine and nerves from all the surgeries and the degenerative disk disease that one day he would end up in a wheelchair and this, may be it. We will just have to see. 

I was able to get my MRI scheduled for the 23rd on my shoulder to see if I have a torn rotator cuff and or metastatic cancer. I only hope I can get through it. I've never had one before, my husband has had many... They are VERY loud and VERY tight and I am VERY claustrophobic. So the way  I am looking at it is, I will try my best to get through it. If I can't, I can't.... then they will have to figure something else out.

Today I am taking it as easy as possible which isn't very possible with a husband, five dogs and chickens but I am trying. I got some laundry drying at the moment, I cut up and froze some fresh peaches for my banana, mango and peach smoothies, Of course I fed everyone, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, made the bed, put laundry away, made a smoothie, paid some bills etc and now I am just reading blogs. 

Going to try and take it as easy as I can the next few days...

Hope you are all well..

God bless you and keep you.

Dear YouTube friends

 

This post is a letter to my YouTube friends and why I have decided to no longer make videos. 

Hello YouTube friends,

Thank you for coming to my blog and reading this post. I put up a video a few days ago telling you I would most likely no longer be making YouTube videos and I would tell you why here on my blog. I am hoping you have already read the post before this so you know some of the reasons why.

The rest of the reason has to do with the life updates. To be honest with you, and you know if you had watched me on YouTube for any length of time I was always honest with you and didn't sugar coat anything, I am really struggling right now. With all the health issue's going on with my husband and myself and I am really very tired all the time. I have a ton of responsibility on my shoulders and lately the weight of it is becoming a bit crushing.

In addition to not feeling very well, I also do not look very well either and each time I make a video now it is just serving as a reminder to myself how badly I am looking physically these days. I see myself in the mirror every day, I don't want to go on line and see it there as well. 

As for content, I really have nothing right now. As I said above, I am struggling in every area of my life at the moment. I have so many thoughts running through my head right now it's quite hard to make a video with any kind of structure. You might be thinking, then how can you have a blog? Well, truth is, writing has always been a sort of therapy for me. I find it much easier to write and get my thoughts together and to come across to you, the reader, clearly rather than trying to talk about it. It's just how my brain works I guess. 

As for the channel itself, I have been on YouTube since 2014 and in all this time my channel has not really grown much at all. The reason for this is, I don't really have a "niche".. I don't have one thing I am dedicated to doing on there. I never did. Also, I was never really dedicated enough to put myself on a strict uploading schedule. I always seem to have a lot going on in my life and it always felt to me like, "just one more thing to do". I feel if you have to practically force the ideas then why are you doing it? I have enough I am dealing with and if I am not enjoying something then I know it's time to let it go. 

I have also deleted Facebook off my devices as well as Twitter and TikTok. I Have kept Instagram on my phone and Facebook on my laptop and probably will only post to let you know that I have a new post here on my blog..  I have a lot of ideas for my blog including a complete revamping and maybe even a complete rebranding but that will take some time. 

For now, because of all that is happening personally and health wise I am trying to make my life as quiet as I can in area's that I can control and let's face it, we can't control much in this life but what we can, we should. Well, at least for me anyway. I need peace and I find that all these different platforms take that from me which in actuality is what they are designed to do. They rob you of your peace, your focus and they change you...and not for the better. So, with everything happening I think now is a good time to make the break. 

Having said all this, I will be here on my blog. This is where I feel most at home and most like myself. I do want to say thank you to those of you who stuck with me for the last seven years on YouTube, I really can't express to you in good enough words how much that means to me. And those are not just empty words. I do really hope you will come to my blog each week and interact here with me as you did there. You don't need an account to do this either which makes it even easier to leave a comment. You can also join my email list (I will not spam you) to receive an email each time I put up a new post. 

Once again, thank you so much for sticking with me all this time. I hope to see you a lot here. God bless you and keep you....

Love, 

I'm A Little Afraid

 

Hello everyone. I know it's been quite some time since I've come to my blog to say hello, give an update or anything else but as you can see by the title of this post I've got some things going on that are a bit frightening at the moment. 

Last week I went to an orthopedic doctor because I have been having trouble with what I believe is my rotator cuff. It's been very painful and my range of motion has been terrible.

While there the doctor agreed it sounded like an injury to the cuff of some kind so he wanted to get some X-rays which they did right in the office. Afterwards they put me back in the exam room to wait for him. I was in no way expecting what would happen next. It wasn't even on my radar. 

He put up my X-rays and said he can't get a good picture of the rotator cuff but he wanted me to look at the bone in my upper arm. He showed me a sort of shady spot in the bone. He said, "I am more concerned about this then your rotator cuff"... next he went on to tell me that it could be normal for me, it could be a cyst or......it could be metastatic bone cancer. Meaning, I have cancer somewhere in my body and it's spread to my bones. He is setting me up for an MRI as soon as possible. 

As most of you know I have been having more trouble with my stomach and gallbladder than usual and yes, I have dropped much too much weight. Then again I also had a CT Scan with contrast a few months ago of my entire abdomen and nothing showed there.

As you can imagine, at the moment I am trying very hard not to get ahead of myself but having lost my mother at age fifty six to pancreatic cancer and I am now fifty one, it's not an easy task. Those I have told keep telling me to think positive. Well, the truth is, I am human and 99.9% of humans can't think positive when the C word is mentioned.

I am trying though and I am trying as best I can to trust in the Lord. And will whatever He wills no matter what that means but this is all, also easier said than done. I won't know much more until I hear from scheduling with my MRI appointment and then go back to the doctor for the results...

Please, if you'll be so kind... keep me in your prayers. 

Health Updates

 

Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening, friends and family where ever you may be. Since I've been gone for quite a while I thought I'd give you some health updates.

Unfortunately it looks like my husband may need yet another back surgery. If he does this will make surgery either eleven, twelve or thirteen. To be honest I have lost count at this point. In 2019 he had a spinal stimulator implanted and it's been such a huge blessing. It began to give him some of his life back. Flash forward to three months ago. He is beginning to lose his ability to walk and he is in a ton of pain despite the stimulator and I shudder to think what his pain level would be without it. 

We went to see yet another surgeon who took X rays and then this past Monday he had an MRI and soon he will go in for a myelogram. All of these tests show where and how much damage there is. My husband has metal rods and screws fifty percent up his back starting at the lower back and ending in the mid chest area. 

The surgeon seems to believe that the discs above the upper metal where it stops are now disintegrating and he is unsure if the vertebra are pinching the spinal cord or crushing it, hence the need for all these tests and the cause of his losing the ability to walk. So, we are just waiting for the last test to be done and then we will decide what comes next.

As for myself, I'm not sure if I blogged about it but to make a long story long, at the end of June I landed in the ER with just horrid stomach pain. Well that went from, you have gallstones a massive urinary tract infection and we think you may have a heart attack.. What??!!??!!

Well. after nine hours in the ER, them shooting me up with all kinds of antibiotics, blood thinners etc and making me sicker than when I walked in I finally had , had enough and signed out AMA (against medical advice). After which I made an appointment with my husbands cardiologist. I had an EKG, Echocardiogram and a nuclear stress test. Thanks all be to God everything turned out fine. My heart is fine and more than likely the chest pain I had is stemming from my completely screwed up digestive system.

Next I saw my regular MD who ordered a CT scan with contrast, I did that and he said no, there are no gallstones. (scratching head) So then it was off to yet another stomach doctor who said that a CT scan isn't the best test for gallstones an ultrasound is yet he didn't want to set me up for one until I have a colonoscopy and an endoscope both at the same time. Yeah, it's not making sense to me either and to be completely honest with you I am ready to just throw my hands up at all of this. I am SO   TIRED    OF     DOCTORS     MESSING     ME    AROUND. I've been going through this for thirty damn years and nothing gets better and they pull all kinds of garbage out of a hat and nothing.

Unfortunately because of this gallstone issue or non gallstone issue I had to stop eating what little fattening foods I could swallow and well, I've lost too much weight. At last check I was ninety seven pounds. In all honesty, I just want to run away.

So there it is. This is where we are and I am so sick of being here...

Why I Left Facebook

 

Hi there! It's been a while.. let's catch up!.... So you see the title of my post.. I'm off... Yeah I know, I'm off my rocker a bit but that's not what this post is about...

I'm officially off Facebook. I have deleted the app off my phone and my tablet. It is time to break the addiction and the chains of social media slavery...

What lead to my decision? It's not something knew, I've been thinking about it for a while. It's not brought any good into my life and in fact it's only brought things down for me. That in itself should be enough but as with all addictions sometime you just have to hit rock bottom.

Over this past weekend I received two warnings (laughs) from Fakebook about a few posts I put up. Just let me say this upfront. I am not a covid virus denier (I had it in 2020 and yes it was bad and yes I thought I was going to die from it. It is a real virus (bio-weapon and it does kill people) but I am completely and 100% against this poison they are calling a vaccine. I am also against ANYTHING that tries to take away our freedoms of any kind.. 

Since getting these (coughs) warnings, every time I would comment on someone's post if it had anything to do with the shitty shape our country is in, the poison jab, the virus itself, as I was typing my screen would brighten real quick as if someone was taking a screen shot. This was happening both on my phone and my tablet and only on Fakebook.

Now you can call me paranoid, a tin foil hate wearer etc. etc. but just remember this. Us tinfoil hat wearers are being proved right everyday now. And as for paranoia, go take a look at the videos of what's happening in Australia and then decide of I am paranoid. 

So tonight I have deleted both Fakebook and it's Messenger app. Next to go will be Instagram because they are now owned by Fakebook and then Twitter. Funny, as I was writing this last sentence about Instagram being owned Fakebook the thought popped into my head. So are you owned if you continue to use these services if that's what you want to call them. I call them propaganda machines now. 

I've really been trying to take stock of my time and my life in the last two months and you know what? I don't NEED to be connected on social media. I don't NEED social media at all in fact. It's nothing but a drain emotionally, mentally and physically, a propaganda machine, a brainwashing machine and nothing good comes from it.

One of my biggest reasons and I am not ashamed to say it is, I am addicted to Social Media as are many millions of other people and that is their end goal these creators of social media and when you are addicted to something then you are enslaved by it and the things you really enjoy or need to do for yourself get pushed to the side because you need your fix. I know many of you are shaking your head in agreement with me.

Having said all this I want to tell you that I will be spending the majority of my time here on my blog because I do, like most people like to share things with the world and I do like to write. As for the direction of my blog, I will be expressing my opinions on many, many things. Some people will agree others it will make angry and they will walk away and that's fine with me. I have always considered my blog to be my little space on the internet. All I ask is that if you do not agree please be respectful as you wish to be respected and if you can't then don't say anything at all and unfollow me. Look at it this way, if you walked into a friends home would you take a dump in their living room just because you felt like it? No? Then don't do it here either because this is my little virtual home. 

Now that all of that is out of the way. I will be back soon with some life updates for you if you are interested. I also want to see if there is an app I can download on my phone and tablet so I can keep up with all of your posts and blogs as well. I am hoping Bloglovin has an app I can download. 

I hope everyone is healthy and well and I will talk to you soon...

My Frightening Reality

 

Blessed Sunday to you family and friends. It doesn't happen often but today it has. Everyone once in a while the reality that is my life comes front and center and this morning, it's staring me straight in the eyes. 

Incase you don't know I have a swallowing condition for the last eighteen years. I am unable to swallow most solid foods and I also have a hard time with liquids as well. Each doctor seems to have a theory but no one ever seems to be able to nail it completely. We go from Achlasia, to Dysphasia, to a motility disorder to GERD (meds dont make it better) etc.

This morning I was looking online and it seems there has been a study done in Belgium, the first of it's kind and these scientists now believe that Achlasia is autoimmune. The nerve cells in the esophagus are attacked by the immune system and die thus the lower esophageal sphincter is unable to open and close as it should causing food to back up into the esophagus. So what does this all mean? It means people with this condition have a very high risk of choking to death. I wish I could put it a nicer way but that's the reality of it. That's my reality every day. 

For the last year I have been telling myself, "you need to stop eating all the sugar, you need to stop eating all the sugar, this sugar is killing you, this sugar is going to kill you".  You see, for me, chocolate goes down well because it melts in the mouth. Ice pops, ice cream do the same. That's pretty much what I live on. Lots and lots of sugar..

I also have food allergies and there are foods like potatoes that not only do I have a VERY hard time trying to swallow but they give me horrible, horrible migraines. I have been making a vegetable juice with kale, spinach and an apple but even that. If I drink a big glass of it at one sitting I end up with an incredibly painful migraine.

I am feeling very overwhelmed and honestly at this point, I feel like and I know I need to do something but I don't know where to turn anymore. The consistency of foods pureed need to be just right for me and trial and error is not only dangerous but if I can't swallow it then my throat is so twisted for the rest of the day that I get barely any food intake at all.

People like me, a lot of times, more than I even want to think about end up on feeding tubes and that scares me. I don't want to end up on a feeding tube, I don't want to choke to death and I don't want to die from all this sugar intake but, I don't know what else to do nor who to go to anymore. It's been eighteen years and no doctor seems to be much help nor have any answers for me.

This is my reality, yesterday, today and....... .I guess for the future or until God decides to take me to my heavenly mansion.

I'm Sorry - Catching Up

 

Well hello friends and family! I know it's been a LONG time.. Since May actually... Time seems to slip by so fast as you get older and it slipped away from my blog. So much has been going on so let me bring you up to date. It's nothing earth shattering, just life...

The hot weather rolled in and so did taking care of the garden.. Things were going well and then, we realized almost all of our tomato have some kind of virus. I was able to salvage two plants and while they are producing, the fruit is small and some of it not too good. So I pick the good ones and ditch the rest...

The chickens are growing up quickly and getting to be almost full size. Sadly, we lost one. My husband went out one morning to check on them like he does every morning. Gives them fresh clean water, fresh food, checks over their feathers, faces and skin and while doing this to one of them, she seemed fine but the moment he put her down, she flapped her wings and literally dropped dead... I've spoken to some farmers in the area and they said sometimes it just happens. More than likely the poor thing had a heart attack because she was growing too quickly but it just happens. I will say, I was pretty deeply affected more than I thought I would be. We've raised them since they were babies. My husband were more affected than I because he's really been the one who has been raising them but that is life on any homestead when you have any kind of animals. It happens..

Then I was running around like a nut for a few months because my brother decided he wanted to move down here with us and he wanted to get here as soon as he could so I was making deals with home owners, talking to real estate agents, researching properties, going and looking at manufactured homes and then, he pulls out.. With my very limited energy and spending it all on them needless to say I was, 'less' than happy and that's all I'll say about that...

In June, I wound up in the emergency room thinking I may have been having or had a heart attack. It was Memorial Day Weekend to be exact. After nine long, excruciating hours and them scaring the hell out of me and making me sicker than when I walked in it was determined that more than likely I was not having a heart attack and it was my stomach. They wanted to keep me, I was pissed that I was sicker than when I walked in because of all the drugs they were giving me so I signed out AMA.. And yes, I heard it from my doctor all about why I shouldn't and should never do that again. I am not saying anyone ever should do that but sometimes, you have to listen to your gut.

Well that incident started the rounds of doctors and tests. My GP sent me in for a CT scan with contrast (I've never had that before, felt like someone poured hot lava down my gullet)  because the hospital said I had gallstones.. The CT scan came back clean. No gall stones. I figured okay good I'm in the clear with that. Next it was off to the cardiologist to get my heart checked.  EKG, Echocardiagram and a Nuclear Stress Test. That was a real trip and not in a good way. Anyway, thanks ALL be to God my heart is fine and whatever caused the pain in my chest that made me think I was having a heart attack, the cardiologist says it's not my heart. Now, looking back, I'm thinking it was an esophageal spasm..

Next, the gastroenterologist. I'm scheduled for yet another endoscope and a colonoscopy both being done at the end of September and, he informed me that just because the CT scan was read as being clear with no gall stones doesn't mean I don't have them.. Huh? Yeah that's what I said to him, What? According to him a CT scan is not the best test for gallstones but an ultrasound. I asked both him and my GP that while I"m waiting for the scopes until the end of September why not just set up the ultrasound now? Both said no we should wait. I have no idea why and it seems pretty stupid to me but what do I know? I was told however by the gastroenterologist that if I have the same pain again to call him right away.. I'm thinking to myself, Is he waiting for my gallbladder to explode before doing anything?

I also believe I may just have gallstones because I've been getting a lot of pain again and it's classic gallbladder pain. So we shall see. I don't like this waiting stuff to be honest. I am also quite concerned about my pancrease. My mom passed away at age 56 from pancreatic cancer. I am now 51. The gastro after learning of my moms history was pretty adamant that yes I have a large chance of having it since it was my mother and not a cousin twice removed although he said I'm not saying you do have it and I felt like saying to him, why in the hell would you even say this to me? I'm already FREAKED out about it.. I dunno.. Some doctors have a great bed side manner and some well, some just right out suck. He sucks.

Im also still dealing with the whole peri menopause thing and in nine days if I don't get my cycle it will be one year since my last and I will be considered 'officially' in menopause. Yippie? I sleep between hot flashes so I don't get a lot of sleep. You can imagine what that does to my already low energy and, my family will be here in two weeks for vacation for a week. I'm intrigued about how this is going to go.

Okay, I think you're about as caught up as I can get you in this post. I'm sorry it's so long and if you took the time to read it I thank you very much.. I"ll be back soon as I can. I pray you're all well and you're families are well and happy also..

God bless you ..

Weekend Wrap Up

 

Hello there friends and family. Thought I'd share this past weekend with you....

Saturday I spent much of the morning in the garden checking things watering things, harvesting things as you can see from the photo above I harvested a good amount of romaine lettuce, kale and snap peas. By the time I got done working in the garden, cleaning up the house washing laundry and putting laundry away my body was pretty much done for the day. 

We were going to go to the Blue Crab Fest in Little River last night but I heard it was insanely packed with people more than any other year, probably because it was cancelled last year because of Covid and this year my state, South Carolina is wide open for business. I live on the coast and the tourist industry needs the people because last year businesses got killed with the shut downs and in this area, hospitality is where the jobs are and I can tell you people have been coming in droves. Not just for the many festival's we have in my area but for the beaches, then there was spring break and this week is the Blue Crab Fest and Bike Week and Memorial Day.

I've never been one for enormously large crowds. I can handle a smallish crowd but if it's too much I'd rather not go and besides, I was very tired after working inside and outside yesterday so instead I put up all the lettuce and kale and for dinner last night I made Cod fish marinated in lemon juice and zest and I took those snap peas and sautéed them in olive oil, parmesan cheese and lemon zest. Hubby said they were delicious. So that was a win. I have one of the typical traits that always seem to be attributed to Italians which, I am one. I show my love through cooking. Kind of ironic for a woman who can't swallow 98% of solid foods but, I like to see others enjoy my cooking. 

As for Sunday, today... the plan, there's always a plan. Which for me, most of the time doesn't go as I wish. I wanted to do only the minimum of what I absolutely had to do like cooking because after all it is the Lords day.. I also wanted to attend the Divine Liturgy at the Greek Orthodox Church but by the time I took my shower and was done with that I felt very tired and run down so plan B was to just hang out, study scripture, listen to a Messianic Rabbi online and do nothing else. Well, we called Walgreens about my husbands medications which he told me needed to picked up this morning and they were having a hard time getting it through the insurance which never happened before. So there I was at eight thirty am on Sunday on the phone with Blue Cross Blue Shield trying to figure out what the problem was. 

Turns out it was on the pharmacy's end so the BCBS called them and got it straightened out and off I went to pick up hubbys medications. When I came home, I reheated my coffee, my husband went outside and started working on the chicken coop again as you can see in the photo above, I took the new towels I bought and put them in the washer, I haven't bought new towels in almost seventeen years, I know, it's embarrassing but it's just not something I think about until they get to the point they are almost thread bare and, we were there. Changed the bed sheets and then I grabbed my coffee, my Bible, my study guides and sat out on the deck and spent some time with the Lord which I hope to do more of later on today.....

For lunch I will make hubby an egg salad sandwich on flax bread with a couple of oranges and dinner tonight is steak on the grill with a veggie and a salad..

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend...!

 

Friday Happenings

 

Hello friends and family! I thought I'd share with you what is going on at Robyns Simple Life this Friday... As a side note I've been thinking maybe I need to change the name of this blog to Robyns NOT SO Simple Life because my life is anything but simple but then again, I do try, and live my life as simply as I know how. Hmm, on second thought maybe I should just leave things alone. You know the old saying, if ain't broke don't fix it.. moving on..

This morning I left the house about two hours after the butt crack of dawn and ran to the local Food Lion as I needed to get some chicken, some cheese, green onions, and coffee creamer for my Mr.

After that I came home and headed into the garden. I haven't been out there in like four days because I was sick . Shame on me. You need to be in your garden every single day checking on things. As I expected, the tomato plants are growing  a little wild so I pruned them and put some more ties onto the stakes as they are getting taller now. We have two baby tomatoes coming out and more on the way!

 

Then I weeded the garden beds and picked some romaine and red leaf lettuce. 

Next I turned my eyes to the snap peas that seem to have grown over night!

I will cook theses beauties up tonight for my Mr to go with his fish.

Then I took a boneless, skinless chicken breast and fileted it and put it on the grill with some BBQ sauce for my Mr.'s lunch.

He's been working so hard on building the chicken coop so I wanted to make him something filling for lunch but also healthy. The salad has romaine and red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, grilled BBQ chicken breast and feta cheese. Then I just sprinkled some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Healthy Lunch!

As for the rest of the day, I need to wash and put up the lettuce and peas I picked this morning, load the dishwasher, put away some laundry and boy, I could use a nap. I sleep between hot flashes so sleep is hard to come by these days. 

Later on I will cook dinner for my husband, tonight is Fish night so I am making pan seared Cod, the peas from the garden and probably another vegetable.

What are your plans for today?

What's Your Opinion?

 

Hello friends and family! Today I would like to get your opinion on something..

 Have you ever heard of Messianic Christians? I had heard the name before but never really looked into it and then last week a friend shared a video and the pastor I guess you would call him was a Jewish man who believes in Jesus Christ..

I found his talk very interesting. It was over an hour long, and he spoke about the Jewishness of Jesus and the Apostles. I listened to the whole thing. I was actually pretty enamored at what I was hearing. From what I think I understand, we Christians should still celebrate the Jewish feast and Holy Days because Jesus did also. Jesus in his humanity was a devout Jew as were the Apostles and first "Christians".. 

This man also talked about how Jesus tells us in Scripture, which he does, that He did not come to change a letter of the Law and the Law and the prophets would not pass away until Heaven and Earth passes away...

I know a few people who are Christians but also celebrate the Jewish seasons as well. I am also learning in my bible study, we are in the book of Numbers right now that God the Father when he was giving the Laws to the People of Isra'el that even the foreigners among them were too follow the laws also.

This man also was saying how the Sabbath etc was always a Saturday even for the first "Christians" because they were Jews, not Sundays. He was talking about how when you walk into Christian churches whatever sect they may be you see nothing Jewish about them at all. That got me to thinking.. He's right.. there is nothing Jewish about a Christian Church that I have ever seen and I wondered why not?

I remember years ago wondering to myself the things this man was saying. Specifically, why we didn't celebrate Passover etc as well, why there is nothing to be seen Jewish about us yet Jesus was a Jew, Jesus practiced Judaism so why don't we? I have been told over the years by Catholic Priests that we don't do these things because we are not under the Law because of Jesus but so far everything I've read in Scripture doesn't say we aren't.. Just as Jesus said he did not come to change one letter of the Law..

What are your thoughts and opinions on this?