Giveaway Winner!

 

And the Winner is : 

Congratulations!! Please drop me an email at RobynSimpleLife@aol.com

please include your mailing address so I can ship the book out to you this week. I do so hope you enjoy it as much as I did..

Thank you to everyone who entered. I will be doing another give away soon!

It was AMAZING!

 

It was AMAZNG what I did this weekend. Simply Amazing! 

What was that you ask? I did absolutely.....NOTHING! Yeah I know, 

you probably thought I was going to tell you I traveled to some really great place and did lots of great things.. (I wish) but no, I didn't go anywhere and I also didn't do anything..

Everyday of my life, I literally force myself out of bed and I have to hit the ground running. I have breakfast to make, a house to tidy up, a husband to care for, dogs to care for, chickens to be taken care of, there is always something that needs to be done and it's rare I ever don't do anything at all but this weekend? Hubby was on the ball. Saturday neither one of us did much of anything. We were waiting for the 'storm' to come in and we didn't know when it would begin. We weren't supposed to get snow here in on the coast in South Carolina but we were supposed to get dumped on with rain and some freezing rain which we did get so any plans we had made for the weekend we cancelled. I don't mind driving in rain and snow but ice? No Ma'am...

The rain began early Sunday morning sometime after midnight and continued most of the day until around three in the afternoon. Hubby was on the ball. Sunday morning he made me a huge pot of homemade vegetable soup so this way I could freeze most of it, then he cooked a big batch of carrots for the dogs for their dinner. He did all the cleaning up, took care of the chickens, gave the dogs their medications and as for me? I sat on the couch most of the morning and read, then I went back into bed about eleven AM and did some scripture reading and study after which I promptly took a two hour nap..I did cook him a nice dinner last night for all he had done during the day..

Today Monday, It's SO cold outside!.Now yes I know, those of you up North and in the mid west really have cold and I too am from the North East so I do know what cold is but I've been down here in the South now for eighteen years and anything below sixty is cold. Today it's forty one degrees with a wind chill of thirty eight. That wind is blowin hard!. So I am snuggled up on the couch with a blanket, a dog or two and I am reading blogs and working on a crochet project. Later on I am supposed to run to the drug store and pick up one of my husbands medications but he doesn't need it right away so may not do that until tomorrow but I might go down and visit with Linda for a little while. Things aren't going well with her and I don't know how much time I have left with her...

I hope everyone is staying warm if you're in a cold climate and staying cool if you're in a hot climate.. What is on your agenda for today?

Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions

1. What do you wish you'd done more of last year? Less of? 

I wish I had read more books and I wish I had spent less time on social media

2. What's the tallest building you've ever been in? Do you have a fear of heights? 

The Statue of Liberty and yes, I do!! 

3. Do you have a word for the year? Elaborate if you'd like to elaborate. 

Yes I do and it's "Breath".. I've spent most of my fifty one years running around at the speed of light from one thing to the next. Never slowing down to be in the moment. I've missed a lot of moments because of this. So now it's time to slow down, take a deep breath and be in the moment.

4. January 11 is National Milk Day...are you a milk drinker? What kind? Your favorite recipe that calls for milk (cereal doesn't count)? 

No, I don't drink milk. Lactose intolerant.

5. What excites you most about the future? What do you miss about the past? 

I don't think about the future. I was never one to look to the future of things. I always look to today because today is all we have. I miss my parents and the ease of the days before the world got so crazy..

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Are you in Introvert or an Extrovert?

I Finally Did It And A Giveaway !

 

(photo credit)

Hello Friends an Family..

Well ladies and gentlemen I finally did it.. I actually did it... I actually read an entire book. Finished it. Completed it.. I know this is nothing mind blowing but, if you read my post here about Trying To Grow  where I told you about my addiction to social media and all the problems it's caused me in the last too many years then you'll understand why I am happy about this small accomplishment.

And, since I have read this entire book I thought I would also share it with you incase you may want to read it..Before I tell you about the book let me explain a little about how my brain works when it comes to books.. First, I like biographies and true stories. I've tried fiction before but I just can't get into it. Oh, there is a very small amount of fiction series that I have gotten deeply into but for the most part I like biographies and true stories.. Secondly, for me to enjoy a book and be eager to finish it the author needs to really catch my attention within the first ten minutes of reading. I'm not one to 'see if it gets better". Once a book becomes a snooze fest for me, usually within the first ten minutes of reading, that it's. I'm done. I will not finish it. I like my reading to be an escape. I want to experience a different time, place, life. Having said this let me recommend the book I just completed to you..

When I said I like biographies most people think of famous biographies and while there are VERY few famous biographies I like, I am more into learning about every day people of the past and present and the book I just finished is just that. The title of the book is :

Dear Kitchen Saints by Mrs Connie Hultquist. Letters from an Iowa Housewife.

This woman Connie was no one famous but she had an interesting life. The book is really a compilation of posts from the blog she faithfully wrote on for many years using an old e-mail machine. For those of you too young to know what that is, it was a small square little machine you could hook up to the internet and send email through and that was about all you could do with it. I had one as well. This is what Connie wrote her posts on to her blog..I don't know how she posted from her E-Machine but that's what she used.. She had her husband had six children and a lot of hard times in their life together and not together but her faith is what got her through it all. Her faith is what got them ALL through it together and sometimes apart. The way she wrote her posts to her readers were as if she were sitting with you at her kitchen table over a cup of coffee and a donut. Everything about her was as real as it gets and she didn't sugar coat anything. Had I had the pleasure of ever meeting Connie I think we would have been very good friends.. We think a lot alike.

As I said above she was always very real and raw in her postings on her blog. She wasn't one to write a post and make everything 'seem perfect and just wonderfully joyful in her life and all times" like a lot of bloggers do. She gives life to you straight. She knew her strengths and her weaknesses and she wasn't afraid to write about either..

If you like stories about everyday people who are actually pretty extraordinary in a real life way then I think you will enjoy this book and learning about Connie and her family as much as I did.. You can pick up this book on Amazon or maybe even your local library may have it. As I write this I have decided what with money being tight for most people today how about I do a giveaway of my copy of this book? I have read it, I won't probably read it again and I would love to share it with someone who would enjoy it too. So to enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on what kind of books you like to read and why. I will pick a winner on Monday January 17th 2022. USA only please as I will be paying for shipping and overseas shipping is very expensive for me. I hope you understand..

Not Sure....

 

Hello friends and family..

Well, I was unsure what to write about today so I thought I'd just recap the weekend for you...By the way that photo up there? I wish I walking through that. Since moving to the South 18 years ago we don't get snow here and I do miss it. I've always loved snow. I don't like clearing it but I do love how beautiful it makes everything look and walking in it at night when it's so incredibly quite because the snow acts like insulation and dulls the noise..

I had plans to go to Mass on Saturday night but it didn't happen. My husband was sitting on the couch Friday night and suddenly he said he felt hot, he was sweating, got lightheaded and felt like he could almost pass out and then it just went away. He just had a nuclear stress test done at the end of December so it isn't his heart.

Then he said he didn't feel well at all. He looked okay he just said he felt bad. By Saturday morning he looked kind of pale in the face and was complaining of muscle aches and pain, extreme fatigue, headache and all over weakness. So I pulled out the last Covid home test I have and ran it. It was negative but I'm thinking he may have the flu. I keep asking him if he wants to go to the doctor but like most men he says no but, if he's still feeling poorly in the morning I'll get him to go and see if they will test him for the flu. From what I understand Flu type A is running rampant here in South Carolina..

So that pretty much wrapped up Saturday. Instead of going to Mass I took down all the Christmas decor and the tree. It's such a shame, it takes me so long to put everything up because I want it to look nice and it only took me and hour and fifteen minutes to get everything down including the tree and put away. I then put the living room back together because we have to move furniture around to put the tree up. I put the rest of the house back the way it usually is with the usual decor, I took a look around and thought, gee, the house looks so bare now. I was so used to seeing all the Christmas decor. I put my tree up and everything out last year the Monday before Thanksgiving. I think it's always nice to have Thanksgiving with the tree up. Just a small reminder of what to be truly thankful for not only on Christmas but everyday..

On Sunday morning I was like a literal walking zombie. We went to sleep around eleven pm Saturday night and I dont think my head was on the pillow five minutes before I was asleep. Of course a hot flash woke me up around twelve thirty am but I go right back to sleep. At four thirty am our German Shepherd, Rosie decided she wanted to go outside so that woke me up. Then another hot flash woke me up at five thirty, the next thing I knew my alarm was going off at six am. Yes I keep my alarm set on the weekends too. If I don't it just throws me all off. So I really got next to no sleep but I had things I had to do and with my husband out of commission it was all on me to get it done.

I got up , got dressed, went outside, let my girls out of their coop, gave them some scratch and some pets and came inside. It was time for the dogs breakfast so I fed them, then I started a big ol' crockpot of chicken noodle soup for my husband. I peeled, washed and cut up all the veggies and added the spices but took a short cut with the chicken. I had picked up a rotisserie chicken from Food Lion the night before so I just pulled that all apart and added it to the soup. Sometimes, ya just need a shortcut.. When I was done with that the dogs had to go in and out fifteen thousand times, then I had to go outside and clean out the inside of the car because the detail guy was coming today. It had to be done. Lets just say I had gone to Costco a week ago and bought four gallons of milk (I freeze my milk for the month) which I put in the trunk. One of them leaked and the smell was.. Well I think you understand now why I had to have the car cleaned.

So I dragged out all the stuff from the trunk and the blanket from the back seat I keep down for when I have to take the dogs to the vet. Came inside and put the blanket and my sweatshirt in the washing machine, Filled my husbands medicine boxes for the week. Bill came up to get some extra plastic shopping bags I had for his kitty litter boxes, we sat and talked for a bit and when he left I went in for a nap.

Before I knew it , it was two thirty, time to get up , the detail guy was already outside working on the car. Added the noodles to the soup in the crock pot then I made a from scratch Apple Crumble for my husband for desert which he had with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream after a big bowl of chicken soup. Must be the Italian in me or the 'mother' in me but when he's sick, I feed him..I know it isn't going to cure whatever he's got but food always helps us feel a little stronger when we feel weak.

Then it was time for the dogs to have dinner, I fed them, went and let the chickens in the yard for the next few hours, put away the clean dishes and then washed up the dirty ones. Put away the soup and the apple crumble, cleaned up the kitchen, went outside and put my girls up for the night. Came in, read and studied the Scriptures for a while, took a hot shower, did my nightly routine and then into bed with a book.

I hope you all had a really good weekend..

 

Pain Killer Daze

 

Pain killers.. Let's talk about pain killers. 

Hello friends and family....

If you read my post on Monday of this week then you know I had mentioned I was having a hell of a time with constant migraines. I finally asked my doctor last month to give me something. I couldn't take the pain and sickness anymore. Tylenol does nothing for a migraine by the way and I can't take any of the migraine medicines because most of them have aspirin in them and I am allergic to aspirin. I also tried Ibuprophen and that didn't help either. I was out of options. All except the one I REALLY didn't want. I am not a pill person. I will suffer until most people would have jumped off a cliff before I pop a pill but I am finding as I age I am not able to handle the pain that is my body as well as I used too.

So my doctor prescribed me Tramadol 50mg tables to be used when I have a migraine. Two weeks ago on a Sunday morning a migraine began and this sucker ramped up so quickly I didn't even have time to think. By one in the afternoon I couldn't handle the pain anymore. I thought if I didn't get some relief soon I was goin to die from the pain itself. So I reached over, grabbed the bottle of Tramadol from my end table draw, took the pill in my hand, said a prayer and swallowed it. Okay, I crushed it up because I can't swallow pills but you get what I'm saying here. I had no clue what I was in for next. What did I know? I don't DO pain pills. I have NEVER taken anything stronger for pain than a Tylenol.

It took THREE hours for the pill to help the pain but along with that I was SO sedated I felt like I had been put under for surgery or something and I was SO dizzy I was seeing double. I literally could not even watch the TV because I was seeing TWO of everything!..I wound up spending the entire day and night in bed not because of the pain but because of the effects from what was supposed to help the pain. By the way, it did help the pain but ontop of the frightening dizziness and sedation it also made me nauseous and I still dealt with hot flashes every two hours as well. I was NOT in a good place. 

THIS is why I hate anything that has to do with pain killers. I do not like feeling out of control of my own body and I certainly was. I was also thanking God for Lou having had installed a safety bar in our bathroom last year near the toilet because if it hadn't been there, this day I would have taken a header a few times right into my tub. It was absolutely horrible. I woke up at 11pm that same night and I was STILL dizzy and somewhat sedated. This is almost twelve hours later. 

The next day I woke up and I felt HORRIBLE. Nauseous, weak, my legs felt like shaky little bird legs, exhausted and a little light headed. I called my doctors office and explained to the nurse what had happened. She called me back a few hours later and told that the Tramadol doesn't come in anything less than 50mgs but I could cut it in half or even quarter it if I want and to take it soon as my migraine starts and not wait hours like I had. 

So I guess when another migraine hits which it inevitably will I will start out with a quarter pill and if it doesn't help within an hour I will take another quarter....

Getting older does suck, don't let anyone tell you different. 

Damn Neighbors

 

Do you have disrespectful noisy neighbors? I do and I have had it...

I am telling you, nothing yanks my chain than lack of respect for others. We have lived across the street from each other for the last twelve years and have always been polite to each other. They are of Mexican heritage and they have a lot of friends and family, are a tight knit group and they like to have parties a lot.. No problem, that must be nice to have and I am glad they are so blessed but.......

EVERY single weekend I sit in my own home and I can not hear my own damn television unless I turn it way up, I am woken up if I am napping which I HAVE to do every day to relax the muscles in my throat so I can get some soup down when I wake up for nutrition and I do not sleep well at night because of hot flashes. I sleep in two hour increments. Every single weekend, ever single holiday the entire damn block has to listen to their loud booming ethnic music over a loud speaker, their karaoke, their soccer games etc. I am all for people having a good time but what about respect for those around you? They also know Linda and Bill and were at one time pretty good friends with them that is until, Linda became sick and then they haven't bothered with them but they know Linda is in her older years and noise like this isn't exactly good for her. Think they care? Obviously not but they sure did like her when they would walk into her home and use her washing machine and dryer whenever they wanted or feed their kids out of her kitchen whenever they wanted etc..

They never give one thought to the neighbors around them that maybe we don't want to spend every weekend and holiday listening to their stuff.. Nope not one thought...So I have decided tomorrow I will walk over there and try and have a talk with the husband and if that doesn't help then I start calling the sheriff's office. I don't like being at odds with any of my neighbors because we all have to live together on the same street but when you don't have an ounce of consideration or respect for those around you, and if and when we speak you still don't get it then I will get the law involved because you have given me no choice.

So tell me do you have have noisy inconsiderate neighbors? And if so, how do you deal with them?

Trying To Grow

 

The old saying goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks". Well I can tell you after raising fourteen dogs in the past twenty years that is certainly not true. Not even sure where that saying came from. Anyone can learn something new, it just depends on if they want too or not.

I finally did it. I deleted my Facebook account. I also deleted all social media apps off my phone. I did however create a completely new Facebook account just so I can keep track of the services in the county I live in and a couple of support groups I enjoy interacting with along with a bible study group that I am currently doing. I have no friends or family on there, I follow no other social media people, nothing. So now, instead of spending hours falling down into a never-ending scroll on social media, I go on, see if there's anything I need to know locally, check my menopause group, my bible study group and I am off.. I sound like I really have this all together don't I? (laughs) today is the first day but I will say, mentally, I feel so much better already!!!

You see, each morning before I even get out of bed, after having prayed (I do that the minute I open my eyes) I pop on the local news on TV for the local weather and then I open my tablet and start scrolling.. Instagram, Facebook Tiktok, I take my muscle relaxer so I can eat some scrambled eggs and before I know it, the first hour of the day has gone by and I have done nothing but get lost in a social media haze that within that hour has manipulated my thoughts and my emotions without me even realizing it.. It feels SO CLAUSTROPHOBIC!!

I am being open, raw and honest here. I am addicted to social media. In the last four years? I can't remember but it's been a long time. Every area of my life has suffered because of it. My relationship with the Lord has suffered tremendously, my faith has suffered. He NEEDS to be BEFORE everything and everyone and I have been putting Him last. I feel so bad about this because HE always puts me FIRST..

I stopped reading. I have stopped watching my old classic movies, I haven't watched a movie with my husband in so long I don't even remember the last movie we watched together. My blog, maybe some of you can tell has suffered. I post, maybe, here and there. I go months and months with nothing and then suddenly pop up again. I start projects and they sit for weeks on end if I ever finish them. You know, instant gratification and all. I can't stand it anymore. 

So last night a few hours before bed I sat down and deleted the apps off my phone which is what I use to post the most. Created that generic facebook account as I explained above. Today, New Years Day since I was unable to go to Mass (health reasons) I did TWO bible studies this morning. I am liking both of them so much so I don't want to stop one for the other. I cooked dinner this morning so I didn't have to cook it tonight. I went outside and took care of the chickens and spent some time with them. Yes you can spend time with chickens. I have three girls and soon as they hear my voice they start yappin away. I refreshed their water, made sure they had enough food in their feeder, gave them a healthy helping of scratch because after all it is a holiday. Sat in the pen with them for a while, pet them talked to them, they talked back to me, have no idea what they say but I'm sure they know...

Made breakfast for my husband... I actually finished my recipe binder that I started THREE months ago and has been sitting on my table waiting to be completed. Tonight I actually read a good portion of a book that I started a MONTH ago and will continue to read when I am done posting to my blog...Once I really began to get serious and realize that no one can make the changes in my life that I want besides myself I asked myself a question. All these people you watch on YouTube, TikTok, follow on Instagram, Facebook, are they adding anything to your life? Are you gaining anything from spending your precious time in hours at a time listening too, watching them following them adding anything, anything at all positive to your life or is it taking things from you? The answer is, no, nothing positive. Why am I involved in these peoples lives? Do I know them? No, I don't know them, I don't them from a hole in the wall and they don't know me. They are doing nothing for me, I am gaining nothing from them but I am losing a lot by wasting my time and energy on people and things that I neither know nor add anything positive to my life. Time to pull the plug. Halleluiah , thank you Jesus I see it now!..

And as for my blog, I used to make a post and then I would go and post the link to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. Now? I don't care about numbers. I don't care how many readers I have or don't have. I am writing for me. I have always said, having my personal blog has always been like therapy for me but for a while there I worried about numbers and followers and you know what? It sucked the joy right out of it for me. I don't care about any of that now. If people read, that's really nice and if they don't that's okay too. If google lets people find my blog that's great and if they don't, well that's okay too. It's not about any of that. It never was until I became addicted to social media. Time to pull the plug on that line of thinking as well.

So you see, I'm fifty one now and yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks. The dog just has to decide if they want to learn and grow or not. 

New Year New You? Um, No...

 

Hello friends and family. Happy 2022... Why do we say "happy" 2022? What does that even mean? Is it because we 'hope" it will be a happy year? Is it because if the holiday falls on a weekday we get a day off of work or school? I'm just wondering. 

I hope everyone had a very blessed Hanukah for my Jewish friends and Christmas for my Christian friends. I have been away a while and I have so many thoughts I want to get out on my blog and things to share with you. 

Christmas was a quiet one this year. They usually are but it was even more quiet this year.  We usually spend it with Linda and Bill, for those who don't know they are our friends, family, neighbors who live 4 houses down and we've been like family for sixteen? years now. We always spend holidays, birthdays, no reason days together but this year that wasn't possible. Linda has been battling lung cancer for I think four? years now and while her doctor is saying her scans are clear, it's very clear something is very wrong still. Linda is not well at all physically. I think her doctors suck to be honest and are completely treating her like she's just part of cattle with a number. Because any doctor worth anything can just look at her and know and see something is very wrong. So any way, unfortunately she wasn't up to company and coming here is out of the question so it was just me and my husband Lou. Of course most of you know I have a swallowing disorder for the last 18 years of unknown origin as of now and unable to swallow 99% of solid foods so I just made a small lasagna for Lou with homemade meatballs, sauce, salad and some garlic bread. I am very lucky that he's not a picky eater. He will pretty much eat anything I put in front of him.

My small but extended family are still up in NJ and in CT so I haven't spent a Christmas with them in 18 years due to finances. I don't fly and a round trip train ticket is like $500.00 for one person and we just don't have it. I miss them.. We have our problems like most families have problems but I do miss them most on holidays and birthdays. 

It actually was a blessing that Christmas was quieter than usual because I was dealing with really, really nasty migraines for a week. I finally asked my doctor for a pain killer because I couldn't handle the pain anymore. That, is a whole other story I will tell you. I am not a pill person. Ironically you would think someone who has been chronically ill for thirty years would have no problems with pills but, I do. I don't like them, I am afraid of them and they more times than most make me sicker than what I was originally taking them for. 

As for New Years. Honestly, I am not a party person, never was. I remember going out TWICE in my entire life on New Years eve. Every other year of my life was spent with my family and or my husband at home watching Dick Clark's Rockin Eve which in the past few years, really since he passed I have not watched and in the last three years I don't even stay awake to see the ball drop in Times Square anymore. Maybe it's age? I just don't find it all that exciting anymore. That's not to say I don't look forward to things, I surely do but to me New Years Day is just another day on the calendar. I stopped making "resolutions" many, many years ago. Do I have things I would like to accomplish or change? Sure, but for most, when they make "resolutions" you're just setting yourself up for a quick failure so over the last few years as I learned everything is in Gods hands and in His time I tell Him what I'd like to do and let Him decide if it comes to fruition or not...

Well, I think I've spewed some thoughts at you long enough for now. I do hope you all had a wonderful New Year holiday with friends and family and for those who spent it alone please don't fret because while you may feel physically alone, you're not. God is always with you even when you don't know it and also, there are many many people in this world who don't have others around them and you know what? It's okay. You have yourself and you always, have God.

Talk soon 

   

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.