Why so Many Hits to My Blog?And it isn't God's Fault

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, Readers, there are more hits than usual.

 

 Nothing unusual has happened....

 

Was it something I said?

 

When?

 

What happened overnight?

 

Since, I do not know I will write the amazing things that happened yesterday to us.

 

J: "Why is God punishing me?" between bouts of hurling fluid into a lined, garbage can.

 

ME  (grateful that I had put an encasing around his bean bag or it would have to be thrown away. the foam would absorb blah, blah, blah; I estimate the cost of the bean bag while holding turning my head and trying to keep the can beneath my son's mouth, while wondering if I am gonna get this with my compromised immune system and feeling more worried than I should THEN, What? My kid thinks God is doing this on purpose? How has he not listened to what I've said about that. Wait, I am almost 40 and wonder that and did today when blah blah happened.)

 

"What??" I looked at him and braved fluids flying in my face and infecting me too.

 

J: "I practiced so hard for tonight."
(J. pitching many months and moons ago he was money this game.)
 

 

Readers, he did in fact practice really hard for baseball and he almost had me wondering why on earth God did give him the flu on the first game after all our efforts to buy equipment, pay to play,

get him to practice which entails getting all his gear and his body fueled and ready to play, blah blah, blip, blue.

 

And P.S. the sun is shining and it is a perfect day for a game but we have this "mysterious" Old Testament in the Bible scourge flu....

 

Me: "God isn't punishing you." I know this because I know this.

 

J. throws up and can't answer back.

 

ME: "You got this from someone else who threw up and you came into contact with those germs by bluck, bleegh, bluh. " I am not Sherlock Holmes and can provide the detective work of how he got it.

And I am not Sherlock of the Scriptures. Where God did, indeed, send down some things to people to help them be tested.

 

**********

 

J: "Well, that feels better." laying on the bean bag as I am disinfecting the air.

 

ME:"Oh, good." seriously feeling bad for him. And realizing that it wasn't just butterflies before a game and glad he wasn't puking on the mound. But Michael Jordan played through the flu in one game back in.... STOP thinking!

 

J. lays there. And I go about cleaning in my forensic unit attire which happens to be blue gloves on this occasion. I opened up windows to get a breeze going through. Took two days for J. to get the flu from the last person who threw up. My head is fuzzy pounding. Is it the flu? I wondered.

 

And I wondered if God really does allow some things to happen at the worst time. Or perfect time.

 

I dunno.. But I DO know he doesn't send trials like lighting bolts to strike us like a kid getting whipped. He spares the Rod. None of this is doctrine. Just a gut feeling.

 

So I guess it was my fault that I locked my keys in the car the other day. Not God punishing me.

It made me feel good that it happened across the street from the dudes that unlock cars. Irony.

 

I do believe Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. If we laugh at ourselves it feels true.

 

 

 AND it made me find out that my car is impossible to break into. At least for a good twenty minutes.

 

 

So, YAY!

 

No one can break into my car and steal my hand sanitizer, wipes, toothpicks. Emergency bag if on a long trip and the extra aluminum cans that were clogging up the landing in the house. Recycling, like faith, takes a lot of work for small pay outs in the beginning, but eventually they have to make a dent.

 

I hope.

J. has a book name idea that he threw out there, tell me what you think:

'You Live What You Learn.'
He is pretty smart. I might let him take the reins and write this one.
Oh, and the other day my mom stepped on a grandchild. So ya gotta know that little people are hard to see and trampling kindergartners is totally plausible.

 

I got Fat. And Random Prednisone Facts.

Okay, it's the first elephant, or Equine/Dog fact that come up whenever I google search prednisone and or cushings syndrome/disease( they are different. the first happens as a prednisone side effect. )

 in the blog to address today:


I got fat.

Upwards of 85 pounds of fat. That's a lot. Especially if you're used to saying:

"Uh, If I could only get off that Freshman 15."

 (the 15 pounds that come out of nowhwere when you go to college despite walking all over campus and heading to the Hart Gym, named after another relative, to work out daily.

Yes, EVEN if you are a Prednisone Veteran and are saying:

 

"ughhhhhh...... how long until I lose this 35 pounds that all the sudden showed up in my face and belly?"

 on a forum.

Prednisone can be so evil while on it so long, along with other things, to make it so not even you recognize yourself when you pass in front of mirrors, shopping mall windowsm or the computer while you type when the light hits just so.

But that first time when a nehphew, at whom's house you attended for said kiddie's video, asks his parent who you are and you saw each other two weeks previous- there is a certain element of wonder that hits you at how in the world you started to look like a globe of the world.

Yes, I recall buying some Lindt chocolates around Christmas time two years ago. Then it was all uphill from there. Meaning the fat chose to not only give me a moon face, but I am dealing with a fat pad around my neck that makes it hard to breathe. I have to tip my head back a bit so the pad doesn't push on my neck.

Now, I have some advice for how to prepare for this, or any other devastating change that should arise in your life, so that I can feel that I help someone.

After much thought I came up with these few tips.

1. you can't.

2.

3.

I erased two and three becaues they were redundit. And what good is it to buy a shirt that says you looked different before you gained weight on prednisone? Or whatever.

Last night I was researching- another side effect of the mind like mine, and whenever I come across googling say Cushings Syndrome, it is next to animals that have it. What the heck?, I thought as I waded through the daft information

Then I thought: "What the heck. How does Apple Bottoms feel? The Equine magazine or whatever has a report on it and I was curious why they didn't put AB outta her misery? Heck, maybe there is something to learn from AB. That could help us humans...

-a result in humans in the change of the Pituitary Gland but only cortisol levels in the horses is the difference. However. Apple has lost her stomach muscle too. She also has gotten different hair coming in. It is long and wavy. Mine is all over my body and is fuzzy. But it's falling out in places I want it. Like the top of my head. hmm.


she is starting to act and walk like a Senior aged horse. And the front legs are more pronounced with arthritis.

Anyway, the above picture is of a horse with Cushings. I am relieved it is her instead of me on the cover of a magazine.

Bright Idea

J: " Mom, you need to write a book. I picture you writing about a little fairy sitting on a toad stool. "

A: "Interesting, I penned a short story on just a similar little item back when you were three and told it to you several times and you listened really well to it out loud. But it is on some scratch paper in a box or one of the rubbermaid bins."

J:"Hm." and after some pondering he excitedly announced: "We should write a book together!"
ME: "hm. I need to think about that one."

Swallowing, Orthodontic Work and Campfires

I can't swallow. A layer of white carpet is in my mouth and it is the culprit.
Having a dry mouth does not help either. So I try very hard to keep my mouth shut, tongue atop the roof of my mouth, and my lips pursed.
They can't do this naturally. Why? Years ago I had crooked teeth and had to go to the Orthodontist.

The drilling and smell of whatever glue they use fill my nostrils and made my mouth water in the worst way. Cause it wanted to gag. My parents hmm-ed and ho-ed about what to do with my mouth and its teeth.

The decision was made to correct my overbite. To get rid of the buck teeth. Well, almost get rid of it. IF we were going to go the route of keeping my teeth, instead of pulling a couple to make room for the bucks, I would be forced to live with lips that perpetually stayed a tiny bit open.

That decisions, 28 years ago, is affecting me today. My mouth will not close while I sleep unless I stick a pillow under it. AND to top it off I have allergies so badly and inflammation in my sinuses that i can't breethe through my nostrils.

That's right. I can't breethe through my nose anyway. So it has to come from somewhere.
Hence, Dry Mouth. And swallowing.....

People. I mean, Readers, do you know how hard it is to get a good night's rest with your mouth clamped shut and you are turning blue or if it is hangin open like a dead cadaver and your tongue is so swollen that you can't swallow?

If any of you have ideas- email me or call. I've already tried vaseline for cracked lips and rabid dog looking film on them. As well as sucking on ice to numb my tongue and mouth so I forget about the dilemma briefly.

While you research ideas, I am going to try to figure out how I can follow a Cabela's magazine prod., telling me that ADVENTURE is within my reach. And that it's "[my] time to forge enduring memories that I will be telling around campfires for years to come.

I guess this blog is the closest way you and I are gonna get to a campfire. Give me some time and I will weave a tale whilst you all huddle around the computers. This is a bonus because none of you have to worry about the smoke in your face....

Who am I kidding? I'm just blowin' smoke.  Laters, Readers. I have to rest and try to swallow. Oh, and breathe. It's kinda hard.

Trampling Kindergarten Kids and Polygamy.

Well, Readers, I thought I'd be asleep. It's hard to sleep sitting up.
But for some reason my stomach wants to eat my esophogaus and that makes ya not sleepy.

You trusted readers also know that this blog is mainly about what comes out of my son's mouth.
My fingers in turn type their Mark Twain version of the coversation and there it is; a blog.

J. has finally grown up. Well, he no longer needs me to throw the ball to him. He just needs a ride to where he has practice. Which is good cause I can only do a small version of underhand with baseball right now and that just helps him with bunting.

I am slightly ticked off. Why? Because I spent countless hours talking baseball and sports with him and suddenly, out of nowhere, I don't know ANYTHING. About ANYTHING. Yup, Readers, kids know more than we do so why should we even have a conversation?

Okay, so I am exagerating here. He will allow me to tell him how good he is as long as I don't cheer for him in the stands. (Back in the day I was accussed of NOT cheering for him.- He couldn't hear me. hello. I was the biggest cheermeister for him.

Where was I? Oh, up and posting about the kid still. Here is a little pay back for him thinking I know nothing about baseball.

J: "Mom, you would be so proud of me, I took a professional shower just now."

Me: "You wore a suit and tie?"

J: "Nooowah. I actually used those square thingies and lathered the soap up really good."

ME: "You mean the wash rags? Wow. This whole time I thought you knew what they were and why I color coded them in an OCD fashion; Face, Body, Bum."

ME again: "So this whole time you were in the shower you were just singing? Or if you took a bath, you were just soaking off the dirt?"

J: "Pretty much."

Me: "Wow. I am glad Mother's Day is around the corner. Cause you could use this moment as my gift."


****

Another funny he said the other day:

J: "They (staff at his school) should NOT put kindergartners walking in the same hall as 5 and 6th graders! I trampled one accidentally and got in trouble  by the duty."

ME: "How do you walk over someone and not know it? "

J: "Mom, they are this high!! " (he puts his hand close to the ground and it measures the height of a mouse on its hind legs begging for cheese.

ME: " Oh, fooey. They are at leaast an inch taller than that and you should be able to see one or feel one under your feet. Are you telling me the truth about it or did you mean to hurt someone smaller and much more, so ever much more, innocent than you right now?"

J:" I didn't see the kid! It was an accident! And I got in trouble! The duty even told my teacher. But he stood up for me. "

Me: "That is a good teacher. Someone who believes you and will stand by you and vouche for your character."

J: "What does vowch mean?"

ME: "Oh, foo! Look up its meaning and how to spell it in the dictionary so that I can blog about it!
Oh, that's right, you don't use dictionaries anymore cause of computers and google. Never mind finding it, it means that you weren't mean. "

(I truly hope that he was not harrassing a little kid in the hallway. As a teacher/sub in the past I have seen good kids turn into kindgartner trampling animals right before my very eyes. I apologize in advance if my son has bullied or been mean, teased, or lied to you. We are working on it.)

kinda hard when the mom blogs Mark Twain white lies however......

Okay! Back to ANOTHER thing he said:

J: "Mom, you know I appreciate all you do for me. You know that you have taught me a lot."

ME: "Actually, no I am not that great of a mom. We don't even read the scriptures or pray every day like we used to. I am a complete failure. See, tonight is even Monday and we aren't having Family Home Evening. I am sorry. Normally there is a song, a prayer, a lesson, another prayer and then treats. Can we just call the bickering about baseball 'The Lesson' and say our prayers together and you go to bed in your professionally bathed body?"

J: "Well, first I have a question."

ME: "Shoot. I have a few minutes before becoming so utterly tired from a day of doctors, and needles, and lab work and....

J: "well, my question is why did Joseph Smith have a lot of wives. That's wrong. We aren't suppossed to do that."

Yes, Readers, we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and at one time in our history, certain individuals were called to have more then one wife. I can not imagine how hard that would be. And how hard it was to give Jaden the answer right before bedtime.

Me: "God commanded it."

J: "It's one of the Ten Commandments???"

ME: "No, it is not. But the scriptures do say: 'Thou Shalt Not Trample primary children.' Now go to bed.:


DISCLAIMER: boy, we have really slept through quite a few basics about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
To be honest, dust has gathered on my scriptures. It was a lot easier to read them to him as a kid cause we did the picture book condensed version. Being able to read the Book of Mormon in a month was a breeze.

 Readers, if you want to know more about what is inclued in the "Big Ten" commanments and about modern day prophets, or are like J and are wondering why earlier members practiced polygamy, head over to LDS.org

And rest assured, a Prophet of God would not lead you astray. And, no, we don't do that today and no, J, you will not have to provide for more than one wifey.

While  you are there you can learn about why my grandfather was Brigham Young. And, also, why one of the shuttle drivers in Salt Lake is a long lost cousin- and he is Buddhist.

Our family tree is full of interesting people because of the short time period when polygamy was practiced it gave us plenty of time to be original and stand out. In a good way, of course.

This site will help you explain hard topics. I am looking at it right now and getting some information to tell J. tomorrow. There is a new video made too. Wow. It has had millions of hits.
And I didn't know that they had so many new videos. We've come a long way since the beginning of our church's acting/video making days.

I am tired. And so you know,

I can't imagine how the earlier  Saints felt when sharing their husband came as a calling.

It takes a lot of faith to believe.

 oh, and guess what? My first tulip is on the verge of blooming. It's by itself next to the water spout.

oh, and my Padres did a good job as "Easter Speakers."

Kind of a tough thing to do; give a talk on the most important Sunday of all Sundays as J. put it.

 

It took all of my power to be there and hear them.

 

Springbroke, Stickers, Shingles and Sore Throat



(How is it that a love affair can happen with something like this above? J. will have to tell you cause I can't put them on anymore.)

Well, Readers,  and new friends, ( high fivers!),

I am
finally

getting around to posting my blogging about great times over spring break *this year!, experiences and some

 

HI-larious quotes outta J's mouth.

 

Some of what he said wasn't funny until weeks later. Which is now. And what he didn't and doesn't say seems a sign of him growing up; getting to that age where it is friends and his hobbies that absorb all his energies and thoughts. And only if I attempt to trigger his memory, he's pretty much a tween.

This juncture in his life looked like this over the break:

ski, eat, zone into a movie, sleep,

repeat.

(if he could have a bday wish, it would be for snow to not melt. )

It is just now that the stories are starting to trickle in during pillow sessions.

Like this nugget:

"Oh, Mom, on the such and such run at Targhee (no such run but I forget what he said it was called.)
I saw this tiny figure coming down the hill through the fog. He was Yay big. (puts his hand to his belly button.) and doing all these adult jumps and tricks, then slides next to me, pulls up his goggles  onto his helmet and says:

 'hi, man!' "

the kid was four.

J. went on to say the kid he was worried about where his parents were cause it was foggy and they were up high and maybe he was lost. Until his older brother came down.

he was six.

The six year old spun stories to Jaden about all these tricks and Jaden skied with them for awhile. And finally the Mama and Papa Bear come down the hill and the four year old kid points, with his itty bitty mitten to indicate that's his folks.

The Dad entered the trees, jumped and hit one snow flocked tree with the back of his skis, and powder falls off the pine branches.

Then Mama does it.

Six year old: "Hey, Duders!" like some CA. Valley girl's surfer boyfriend.

J: "That is your mom and dad????"

Four year old puts goggles back on  says let's go and, to J's, astonishment, attempts a back flip off a jump, doesn't stick the landing but comes up smiling.

???? That's what I thought!

*I would go crazy with year round Christmas.Snow.)

Never mind me not being able to ski. Let's just try the ordinary motherhood role of:

 keeping his clothes clean, food fixed to eat after hard excursion, and making sure his homework is done. I am not even professional at that stuff...

 

This is how the whole Springbreak story started......
 

*(and this post was started back then too so I have my usual disclaimer that an infection or two happened in the middle of it and I had to recuperate)

As many of you, I planned on having my child help with some Spring cleaning- as in 'deep clean' his room over Spring break.
 

He would start in his bedroom closet (that I had torn apart the week before to give him a start on it) and then we'd just work our way outward, vacuuming cobwebs in corners,checking those spider traps, sucking up crumbs along baseboards, finding a home for all his crapola, etc.. etc.

 

  All the while I would put in loads of laundry and read a good book. And make him read. 

 

Yay!

Didn't happen.

Well, sort of.  ONE day's worth of cleaning his room and his stuff in the Family Room. And we started a new book.



That was it. Out of NINE days of Spring break; one day devoted to my plan.

Why?
 

Because Jaden had been strategically giving me Grand Targhee  weather reports for the preceding two weeks, and I was watching the snow melt outside, I made a decision to just go.

 During a window of health on his second day of the break, seeing the weather to be sunny for two days, I called the resort and booked econo rooms.

 I told him to get ready because we were going to Targhee! It was after my body had unthawed and I could walk and probably a touch of prednisone that I did that. And immediately I felt like I had a huge exam in front of me for which I had not studied.

His astonishment at my announcement went from shock and awe, to pure joy.

J: "Mom, you just rest. I will pack my stuff and get your luggage in the car!"

Me to self: 'What on earth did I just do?'  nodding to Jaden in a slight stupor while butterflies grew in my stomach.




(random weather pattern J. keeps his eye on so he knows when to harass me to ski)

The drive up to "Ghee" was really enjoyable; we took it slow.  Despite the gloomy clouds and wind the scenery along the Snake River was beautiful. The tan and beige colored trees against slightly budding ones were gorgeous!

Me: "Look at how lovely those bushes those are!"

J: "That is sage brush, mom."

ME: "I know! It looks lovely!"
I exclaimed as if I had never seen a landscape before.

There were some slightly yellowed bushes that matched a sun worn yellow tractor amongst the white aspens. We listened to soothing music as we drove along. In Driggs it was ominously windy.
Wasn't looking forward to even getting into the lodge with our stuff.

 Then we reached the place where the dead grass met with snow. J. was even more excited.
I had to stop and put something in the back of the car so he jumped out and through a snowball.

Kids.

Apparently he was checking the quality of it for skiing.

After winding up the shared road in Alta, we pulled into the car lot, noticed people getting their stuff out of their cars and I turned off the car. And

here is one of the funnies he said, that wasn't funny til now.

J: "Mom!"

ME: "What?"
silence.
 a look of graveness crossed his face.

ME: "WHAT??!!" I was panicked and looked at him bewildered.

J: " I forgot my ski bag!"

Silence.

More Silence.

I think I steadily blinked while looking ahead of me at the small flakes of snow drifting from above.
 For a few minutes as I pondered this small oversite. I had that bag packed for Armageddon.
And here we were. No ski bag.

Just his coat.

Everything but the kitchen sink was in that bag.
(goggles, gloves, thermals, cough drops, smart wool socks, sunscreen, band-aids so on and so forth.)

Sometimes kids do things that go beyond even getting angry or perturbed about.
My mind mulled over this new problem. At least his coat was in the car,
I had gloves in the car he could use, he would just have to resort to wearing his 'slickies' and suffer on the mountain if he got cold. There was no going back

. No refunds on rooms. No energy.

 Nada.

We happened to need to rent equipment due to his vintage skiis, so all in all I was pretty calm about it.
Dunno why. I guess you just start to expect the trials after so many years of living.

The next day came and I found out why I had been so calm.

 The sun,



in all its glory, came out and made it feel like we were in the wrong part of the nation. Like the weather reporter had reported; it was SUNNY
 And it felt like Arizona warm weather.

 Our last day there I found myself sitting in an Adirondack chair, basking in the sun at the base of a mountain next to the Grand Teton. There wasn't even a breeze. Just warm, hot sun reflecting off the snowcovered mountain and sunburning my un-sunglassed face and coatless arms.
 

It may as well been the Swiss Alps. (and the econo rooms were priced like we were in the Alps.)
Blue sky was the backdrop to green pines, and snow capped peaks with colorful skiers marching down the hill like ants.
ANTS


The whole thing was out of a picture book or dream I'd had but didn't picture it happening there, in Alta ,Wyoming. I always thought I'd be sitting in an adirondack chair around Martha's Vineyard next to the ocean. 

People were skiing in shorts. This could not be happening to us. I could not believe it. Our first vacation in two years.

Two years, Readers. Well, of just J. and I.
It almost made me think that I could do it. How hard could it be? But then I had to go and could barely get outta that chair and that helped me know I should keep to walking minimal distances at a time.

Each day up above the clouds below, we met the neatest people.
The first day he skiied with a family that "had so much in common with me!" Jaden informed me when we met up.

 One occassion he ran into some friends from home- twin girls who played flag football one year before grid kid with J. He would come down to me at Rendevouz point and say:

J: "Mom, the twins are up here and can rock the mountain on snowboards! We skiid together until  They went on runs, I couldn't go on. I gotta learn to board. But don't worry I will still ski."
That was a choice quote.

(why all the cakes? Cause J. is having a bday and I am seeing all these cute cakes.)

And a testament to the fact that those girls are dang athletic/talented.

J. would chat up people and bring back the most amazing stories. Some of my favorites were:

"Mom, there was a GRANDMA at the top of the mountain who didn't even fall!"
(he skiied with her a bit.)

"Mom, I met the coolest people. The mom has a ton in common with you! She scrapbooks!
And her son, River, is so cool! They wanna come back next year and do it again!"
Thank you Tennessee friends!! You made that trip. And you took pictures with him on top that I am so grateful to have and can't figure out how to upload to the blog post right now.

Darn!


(I asked about riding the lift with J. And then just coming down and Targhee wanted to charge me for a lift ticket. Yeh, right! Sadly the resort is not handicap accessible despite having paraolympians skiing there.... hint, hint, Targhee)


Another stellar quote:

"Mom! I saved a brain today! A guy asked me about the sticker on my helmet. ( - the one that says Love your Brain and is for Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness thanks to Kevin Pearcen. " I can't see the future, but the man pulled one from his backpack and put it on after I told him about Kevin Pearce!"

YAY! Another saved brain!

Sometimes people just wear them when they do certain runs or stunts. But a fall or crash can happen on the kiddie hill!
 

  He demoed a pair of Salomon R somethings

 

 

 

 

  and fell in love with them. At lunch he informed me he'd turned into a 'Powder Maniac,'  because of them. And wanted to BUY them. I almost fell for it, Readers. But when I asked if the cost of renting them would be taken off the total cost, rental guy said:
"No, we can't do that, ya know? Ya play ya pay."

I told them I wouldn't be playing.
I still can't figure out what the big deal was to have me ride up the lift and then down again.
Maybe they have to shut it down and then turn it on and it is along the lines of making a shuttle to go into outer space for NASA.

 

 Each day he and I both found the coolest people to talk to.

By 4, when the lifts shut down, on the last day, J. trumbled into the lodge with his racoon sunburn and ate fries with his ski pal and I talked to the parents.  

 

The trip was surreal. I am glad I followed my gut.
Here's more journaling of it all... I can't crop it out, sorry, folks.

For so many reasons.... like: 

The first day as we walked out of the locker room rental area and up the stairs, the sun blinded us when we opened the door. It was as if it had been waiting simply for us. The whole thing was accompanied by some soothing music coming from outdoor speakers in the Rendezvous fire pit area.

 

(I would be located further down this mountain,)
 

Readers, It nearly brought me to tears! Butterflies filled my stomach and I wasn't the one locking down boots into bindings and gliding toward a lift!
Heck, I just watched the youtube tribute to "Slim", one of the chair lift dudes who had been there since I started to ski as a kid. Johnny Cash can really bring on the tears.
We got our cowboy hat stickers in his honor at the front desk.
gotta have stickers.

All of this has made for some great memories and stories for future dinner time conversation.
It all came at a cost for me. Walking around with

a cane

isn't the coolest thing up at a ski resort.
Especially when great grandma's are up there skiing.

So my health update for all the Crohns/Auto Immune Suppressed Folks:

My throat and tongue are burning. Just started Imuran, could that be why?
At first I only needed warm water as I thought it was simply dry mouth side effects. But then that familiar sunburned tongue I get with a flare reared its ugly head.

I was in misery. Except for listening to conference, which is four hours of courage boosting talks from leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.


I sat and sucked on ice cubes and wish I was drinking the chalky stuff called sucralfate to coat my throat and find relief in the middle of the night. But I didn't pack that.
So I just piled up pillows and filled my ice container and listened.

To help with my arthritis and hopefully help me walk I had cortizone shots set up to be given last week. But they can't give it to me while I'm sick.  I have Crohns. Does that mean I have to wait for a cure first>

So when will I be able to not have that going on? I don't know when that window will open up for them to give me the shot especially now that I have even more on my medical plate.

Is it a sign that I shouldn't get cortisone shots?

I will have plenty of time to research it. Shingles is making me nervous and needing to read so I will scour the internet.

That's right. It has been 2.5 years since my horrible 3 month struggle with nerve pain that was like fire ants crawling in your body.

I can't stop or out fox this disease, its side effects, nada.

I'm glad I made a spur of the moment decision to go with J. No regrets.

The final quote of the day from J.:

Me: "What on earth are you doing opening a Coke a Cola at this time of night?"

J:" Mom, I have so much in common with Caffeine."

Me: "What? How can you have something in common with pop laced with caffeine?"

J: "It doesn't make me sleepy."

Me: ?
You still aren't drinking that, remember the old wives tale?
Carbonation winds you. Meaning you can't run as fast.

And I am gonna get a cortisone shot. The benefits outweigh the risks.
I hate being sick.

The Padres are Easter Speakers for today. I feel so sorry for them.
But I am hopeful right now. The Christmas lights are plugged in just for tonight.
I am counting on what I know about Christ to help me get through this and I know miracles can happen.

Even if it doesn't happen for, oh say another twenty years. I can live with that.
And I found a way to ride bikes with J. again. Tell ya more on that later.
Much later. Cause I am still getting my balance back.
Better post this or I never will.



 

 

 

Why would Satan be Carrying a Flashlight?

Okay, so I watched a movie called: All is Lost -

Not because I needed to find anything but because my P.T. asked me what I was gonna do after he tortured me.

Me: "Watch a National Geographic/BBC video about Africa."

Him: "Have you ever watched Out of Africa? It's my wife's favorite show."

Me: "Are you kidding?? Of course I have!" (it was and is up there at the top still. I loved it so much I had a sleepover with the Celesstial Five, as The Torment called us, and wanted them to watch the show. But he took over and ruined it and I think I ended up crying cause they wanted to joke with him, etc. It was 6th grade what can I say.

Me: looking up at the cieling and repeating Meryl Streep: "I had a fhhharm in Affrikah."

Him: "Have you seen All is Lost?"

Me: " No, what is it about."

And then he told me. Spoiler Alert!!! There is no talking. the whole time. He swears once. That's it.

My P.T. told me about Robert Redford being alone on his vessel, it gets a hole in it, then he's in his raft, and several ships pass him by, then the raft goes down and he is sinking at the end when a hand reaches down for him.

ME: "So he was saved at the last minute!!?"

Him: "He dies. Death reaches out for him. Creeepy!"

So I had to get it and watch is ambiguous ending. And wonder P.T. was right; the hand of death reaching for him. And J. had to watch it with me.

J: "That was the most boring movie. Technically, we just watch him suffer the whole time. What is the point of that?"

ME: "It's like life, a metaphor! But does he get saved or was that a hallucination or the hand of death??"

J: "Why would Satan be carrying a flashlight?"

Me: "maybe it was God!"

J: "Why would God need a flashlight?"

Jaden makes sense.

Still Here... Stay tuned



 

*picture courtesy of National Geographic

 

I don't know how many times I have opened up our Spring break post and added something. Read some of it. But I am, of course, dueling with disease while trying to write and it is hard.

Especially when I am trying to "Go Pro" at being a mom and failing miserably.

 

That just gave me an idea....

(it's all the rave to put cool you tube videos up of snowboarding, etc. What would it be like if I just put on J's helmet, put on a cam and uploaded it for all parents, everywhere? insert laugh here.)

 

 

The last few weeks have held amazing highs, literally- like in Alta, Wyoming, high.

 

 And then lows- like right now.

 

 I am sitting here with wet hair and contemplating placing an order on some mouth swabs from a medical supply store. - I know. Don't be jealous. But remember to take care of your teeth- starts with healthy bones, flossing, and brushing. And mouth washes are good.

 

BUT

 

as you age, weird things start to happen in there.

 

It hurts to brush.

My mouth is so tender and raw and must look like the rest of my digestive tract.

I'm on Imuran to anyone who is reading this and wondering:

 

"What are the side effects?"

OR:

 

"Should I go on this cause it makes your immune system drop even more and you have to do lab work all the time to check for pinky toe failure?"

 

OR

 

"Will this make me more susceptible to another Shingles outbreak?"

(this is a big one, folks. Shingles isn't just for old people.)

 

The day's good news to report...

 I have watched some TV. Couple of movies over the past five days. Both involved shipwrecks and so typing right now, feels like me out bouncing on the waves in a life raft with a tiny pencil and notebook. -- Life Preserving companies need to add more pencils and paper to their kits.

 

So if any of them are reading this- MORE PAPER and PENCILS! Oh, and a pencil sharpener. I hate using a knife to sharpen one.

 

Oh, and I watched General Conference which generally is long for even the best of us who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

 

Normally, I take notes. But this time I just listened and thought, and let what was said speak to me personally. It was really good.

 

I think I need to listen again and take note.