Why keep Pennies?







Have you ever passed up a dirty penny?

Yeh, me too.

 (taken from a pinterest which must mean I am way behind on the times and just realizing this idea)

I'm going to try some clean and leave so dirty for a rustic look and different shapes with the help of a friend that doesn't know I am going to ask them to bend the pennies to make the shapes I want.... a-ha-haaa. hm. I hope they have time. But like I said- jump start on the holidays makes life always easier. )

Now a Quarter....
you could do the same thing- but quarters are too much money to put into spelling something like:

 

SNOW

 



(lushhome.com To keep this project in the realistic realm, I would cut out cardboard rather than buy the letters at craft stores. )

 I just found out you can clean a penny a couple different ways(use baking soda and Epsom salt to make a past then make a bronze ornament. Or design another design that bounces light off of the newly shined penny.

Okay, these are the frivolous reasons why to hold onto pennies.

There is that old adage: A penny saved is a penny earned. Literally in this economy, it is pennies.
Which leads us into the fact that it is almost

First Day of School Eve!

 

J. is strangling every second he can out of summer. I feel a bit of somberness that it went this FAST.

 

And everything that happened this summer swung from  bitter to sweet feelings. Ups and Downs.

Some days it is just hard to believe.

I am going to miss watching Studio C and Dude Perfect with him. We went through all of MASH together and that was fun. Especially the part where each case had two places for a DVD, but you could only use one.

We didn't find this out until I got the call from the library.

Ugh!

One would have to read past posts on my love/hate relationship with the library.

Losing Grandma was a tough thing this summer but brought us closer to cousins and an opportunity to feel her finally released from the horrible disease of Parkinson's.

J. didn't waste a moment of his vacation. He worked, he played, and played some more.

Well, it's late.

P.S. I had to laugh when I googled what type of glue to use when making the penny ornament and found out it is way expensive to use this certain epoxy glue.

Apparently, there are all kinds of craft glue that, after years of research you can find one that will work on your penny project. Might re-think that idea and just do the saving end of it.

Cloroxing Pinecones

Okay, Readers-

Here is an idea for your decorations on a dime. I promised to do my best to bring the best posts!

Gently pour bleach over the pinecones, cover and soak overnight or longer

Dry on paper towels for a few days to reopen, or if impatient, put in a 275 degree oven for 1 hr. You can tell that the color of the scales have changed, but the beauty is yet to be seen
(I"m the impatient type so I may put a pine cone in the oven when Padre isn't looking. )



This pinecone is decorated with a mixture of seed beads, glitter, mod podge and champagne color .

This pinecone is decorated with a mixture of seed beads, glitter, mod podge and champagne color glitter paint.                             
 got impatient and put the pinecones in a 275 degree oven for an hour. That worked!

********************************************************************************
I hate having Clorox around simply because it bleaches things I don't want bleached, but this looks like a cute idea for fall and winter because I already have all the supplies!

"Withdrawl"

 

 

Well Reader, I thought I burned out my wreath projects last year and I found myself looking at different color schemes and I had to grab my Piggy and Dirt (etsy) Safron Star and with some inspiration from the bright colors of India I bring you this........

The movie 'Frozen' mixed with India seasonings.
 

Underneath is some Christmas wreath that may or may not come back.

Every so often I have to remind myself I am on prednisone and coming off it.

 

Which means withdrawl.

 

Purposely spelled wrong because you kinda get sick of the whole withdrawal scene and just sort of mumble it out like a cowboy who grew up with only 'an 3rd grad educashun.'
 

But seriously, it has been like a marathon or something. Those overnighters they run and take turns with their team. Except it that lasts a week.

I thought I would get used to this dose. The first few days on it are hard and then it levels out when tapering.

Prednisone Taking Readers, once on it long term and then going under ten mgs- this doesn't happen. In fact, it gets worse. Your body is not used to it staying low and having to be productive.

 

So

some new crafts are being made and I'm finding myself watching MASH again and trying to find ways to feel important.

 

(or at least find a fab color scheme and put it into action. I'm glad others make it up and I can just copy.

The above colors make me want to pull out my peach quilt and take a scary dive into that

hot pink color.

 

 

Now that I am done watching the MASH series- I didn't want a run on them while I was in the middle of them so I never mentioned the funny parts that J. and I would watch. - sorry I was selfish and wanted the library to cater to me.

 I

(Love this palette for fall. Piggy and Dirt can make stars in these shades. It just makes me feel the crunching of leaves- they are turning colors here already.

hello winter at night/And  summer in the day!
Love you, Idaho!

I don't have to worry about saying good-bye to a bunch of flowers this year. Not planting them or the garden brought me the needed relief as I tapered prednisone and dealt with an esophagus that was closing off....  *twice we have had it dilated. Thank you to the P.A. that finally found it on an
X-Ray.

 

Being unable is not what it's cracked out to be. J. has seen me sit in my Lazy- Girl Recliner and commented on wishing he could do it all day.
And I have found myself watching others doing various jobs with a great deal of wonder- how do they get there each day and put out the needed energy for such a job or the mental energy?

My sleep schedule is really wacked and I have to sit in the chair to deal with this
stricture.
and the "drawl."

(this is me when I was in 6 grade and I slept like a baby on a normal schedule. )

So here is where I talk about dinero.

Being a writer is a really discouraging profession. Once, three years after I'd sent a children's book to a publishing company, I got a form letter from them.

 

I had totally gone on with my life- like one would do with a crush in elementary.

Then boo-yah!

(this orchid or lavender is really looking cool to me. with the gold.  and royal blue. nice.)

 

There the letter is and you get a little excited...... maybe there is a chance..... you open the letter rick shod- ish -ly (I made that word up for the action you would use when getting "the letter" and there it

is:

 

uh-uh.

 You are denied.

Rejected by a computer that sent out someone's signature.

It really ruins your day. Makes you want to write that computer and tell it what for.

So, Readers, That's why I blog!
Ta-da!

 I can delete any rejection and write whatever I want.

 

I am my own boss. I set my own hours. And get practice writing for ":real" which has panned out only a couple articles because I am too tired to track down the magazines. This is the magazine, people.

one of my diamond stars. not real diamonds so don't break in my house thinking that I am packing around diamonds.

 It's refreshing when I come here, to update my blog, With a sigh of relief I let my finger unfold the daily grind a stay-at-home daughter faced. It is like sliding into home plate and not getting struck out.
 

 I don't charge a dime or get a dime.
(Maybe it isn't worth a dime. How can I make it better?
hmmm.....
I have kept this an ad free blog for a reason.

 

However, Readers, any donations sent to my PO Box to support me with my unique costs, would be awesome.

 

Readers, I want to earn money; I want to get paid. Why?
It makes you feel good. The feeling of being able to put in a good, hard day's work and then lay down at nigh,  knowing  you did your best, is a feeling you can't replace.

Many may think- hey one day she can't walk and then she is walking.
With this disease and or diseases, it can happen.
This confuses people especially family members. Or Jaden.

We vacation by proxy.

"What ??we have to leave? We just got HERE!" is a typical comment until I just eventually became able to see if I went I would run out of gas at about a certain point and may even need a bathroom and so we have not done things in the normal ways families do it.

For instance, I can't camp at this point and so we text each other or phone if he has Padre's  phone and it has service.

  Yes, I can think. I use pillows to help my hands up to this laptop and I have injuries, have a chronic yappy "drawl" from the :withdrawal" and other difficulties.

 

So I  put up random, amateur pictures to this blog that is a letter to anyone who wishes to be the recipient.

I don't even instagram!

 

If we were to compare my post to the quick, easy picture of someone who is very successful simply by taking pictures of their life- my posts would be a gram that was delivered by a meandering, thoughtful donkey.

 

Plodding along, my posts come to you, or you come to them and that's that.

 Most importantly how can I keep from being bored and or frightened by becoming unable?

 

That is the hard part. Which is why I hope J wins the lottery.
We don't even play, so his chances are slim.

 

* I am liking this color combo, Readers. The light fixtures are great next to that dark teal.



Dark Teal and that advocado green.

Wouldn't it be great to be like Mike- Michael Jordan that is, and get paid to do what you love? In an interview once he said he wakes up excited to start the day. As I talked to J. about this and how that involved running his buns off at 5 a.m. and then practice after school. J. said:

"Yeh, he didn't mind all that running because he had a passion for basketball."

Good point. Finding your passion and doing it, whether it was for pay or for play, is something that bring about enjoyment. We agreed on that.

Howver, it would feel great if all the journals I'd written and boyfriends I'd had,cried over and wrote about finally paid off in the form of a pay check.

This is an experiment readers. My head hurts.

What is Wrong With our Health Care System?

I don't know the answer to that either, Readers.

I just woke up with some health care problems and asked myself:

"What is wrong with our health care system?"

As I scooted up in bed to help alleviate acid from coming up my throat and pondered this as I pondered my nappy hair, sunburned tongue and the feeling of pain I have.
 

(a custom star made of stained orange and tangerine glass. Not mine. But great idea and I love the clear center that you could put a picture in.)

 

Which, for some reason, my mind has equivocated to a scene from Rocky. Not the running part.

The part where his friend


lets him train in a meat locker and he hits the side of beef until his knuckles bleed.

 

If that side of beef (cause you can see ribs on it) was still alive, and was just taking it over and over from Rocky, I bet it would feel like I do. I mean, it's Rocky for crying out loud. Good thing it's just hanging there and not able to really feel it. I have no idea why I relate to a side of beef, that is frozen, but there you go.

Kids, pick your friends carefully. So your ribs don't hurt.
 

On the positive side I got a jump start on my Autumn decorating!

 Decisions are based on my limited choice of color schemes because of pictures in the room and space.

I liked this clearance Autumn Red.... with teals. Yes, teals because the star has that goldenish color thing going on in it and I kept thinking I wanted a Sea Foam green tree this year but realized it was the prednisone talking and am sticking to just,

" Golden-ish."
like caramel melted and an apple stuck in it.

(sorry it is unfocused.)

And health is a biggie when it comes to getting it all decorated.

 

But the heat is on, Readers! Since the prednisone taper is taking place,

I have to be prepared.

It may be August but our kids go back to school in a week and it may as well be Dooms Day for J.

So I am putting together colors and things to get us to December.

With the help of Kurt at Piggy &Dirt (their etsy business) I am able to nail down colors. Which is sorta tough with the small creative color disability I have to deal with when I see what I want but can't put it into action.

(This color is stained tangerine glass. Cool, eh? Piggy and Dirt's etsy account with written permission was used to show that Kurt can help even the hardest of customers know what color it is they are looking for. )

I will tell you why I have to decorate early in a second.

Bronze and gold-ish has been looking good to me lately so I turned to my son's room and the pictures I have developed of geysers from Yellowstone, to help me in my decorating and as inspiration.

 

(Yellowstone is a stone's throw from here so I have a lot of pictures from there and, for some reason, recently have loved copper. Good thing I'm allergic to earrings or I'd have a ton of recycled gold earrings from the 80's and 90's I would be wearing in public or at least to church. )

So literally the "heat or pressure cooker temps, is on - (get it? Yellowstone. Geysers. Hot Water. Swimming in Flaming Gorge, until it was prohibited?-


loving the concrete clay grays of our geysers too......oh, look- it's J. in a shirt that snapped like all of Padre's shirts. Thanks for this shot, Dad. Reminds me that I was really not overweight in this picture like I thought. I'd put on some prednisone weight and had gone from a 2 to a 10 and was scared of being so big. I wish I could go back and slap that girl silly and tell her that her body isn't fat.

(The orange and title of this book I totally love and have no idea if it is a good book, or where I saw it. But judging the book by its cover, it really helps give inspiration for writing, but also making me like the color orange in this hue. Or is it shade? I took art in 7th grade- I have no idea about those things. But as luck would have it, J. is going to be a Sevie!)

"Hind sight" isn't 20/20 on prednisone. Puns intended.
Back to School. Boom, it's in there with the yellow leaves. Fall- got it. November. Double Check.

You can copy me if you'd like.

 

 I put stuff together with what I have and what will match paintings from my Aunt Maxine

(notice the star? That's my bronze/copper answer. All the vases and such have some material I got on sale for 1. in the spring at Jo-Ann fabrics. Another place J. hates. The feathery plumage isn't from a family member that hunts. It also is from the clearance rack.

 

The star is Piggy & Dirt's.  Golden Globe I think it is called. I think it is an amber color they have. Not sure. That may be one you ask or convo Kurt or Becky about on their etsy account.

Picture below is of the star I used to help match the geyser copper.
 

So Aunt Maxine has a ton of pictures in our basement with orange and yellow in them- so the woman who was really a good fisher woman; married to a war hero that I had no idea how cool he was until she was almost 98; and had a tongue that could whip a server at Denny's quicker than you could say:

 

"Oh, no."; dictates my decorating.

 

Dspite being passed away, she has a big say in what gets put up in the Fall time. Then I have to move a couple paintings.

*one of her paintings in upper left corner. Me deciding if I should bring our feathered friend into the mix for Christmas. Answer: YES. The blue star is a Piggy and Dirt one from last year. Don't know it's name because I had Kurt make it after one of his with a turquoise stone in it.
The glass is aqua blue and the star on the right is the
"Hanna Star"
with the rhinestone in the middle.
 

*Side note here on my Aunt and her serious strength-when she was alive,  she had a stroke and I thought she would be a goner. Nope. She bounced back and did all the exercises, etc. , then she had skin cancer! She fought that off too!

 It had eaten away part of her face so I didn't take J. over there much. How stupid was that?  And to stay in shape she did the grocery store thing
which meant pushing the grocery cart down the aisles at night for balance and at night so no one would get in her way

(Yellowstone National Park Inspiration)

. I know she golfed a lot when she lived in AZ. and I don't think she cared for sunscreen, so who knows. I just know I wear it because skin cancer is the last thing I want happening if you get my drift.

You can copy that too.

I did.  

Aunt Maxine pointed out my nail biting problem before I knew it was a problem.
 

Recently, they looked good until this tapering and suddenly I am biting them like I have a math test I didn't prepare for on the horizon.

So back to, "Back to School"- I asked J. from my recliner the other day what he was looking forward to because lately he's been moody about going back to school.

"I like when you do the decorations."

 

he said non-chalantly- stuffing his arms behind his head. Was this some kind of duel?

 

Is he trying to kill me?

 

For all non chronically ill people this is super easy but when you are sick- oh geez. I now know why some people leave their lights up year round. At first I thought it was tacky. Now I think it is dang smart.

Last year he whined about the garden and so some stuff got thrown in haphazardly and dad weeded instead of spraying them so the sunflowers could stay. Did the same for me this year. 

 

But that is one of the first things kids of all ages miss- the decorating.

Prednisone Equals Death and Canadian Cake

Best of Canadian Cakes or something I found online-



Readers,

Okay, so I was workin on a cute number to post here for some several days as I have worked through withdrawal etc and I apologize to bring up death on Sunday.

 

(This is the: "Grandma Mary Lu Cake" from sugared productions.com The colors are the same as the tile in her bathroom.)

 





But I feel like that one place ya go if ya are Hitler. Prednisone withdrawal is the worst thing in the world. At first you think:- or at least I did, " This isn't TOO bad." But that is when you are on the levels above 10. And if you haven't been on it for a million years.

If you go sub TEN- look out. Especially to 8. Even the first couple weeks were hell, but I thought it would taper off and I would get used to it.



*magnoliarrouge.com for a picture of this cake)

Nope.

The body is, like, "Are you fer real woman? We thought this was a joke or something and were just waiting for your Dr. to tell ya to go to 60."

Nope.

It's like my body was forced to swim from here to England and then told to get in a swimming pool and practice holding my breath.

 

(cake central.com - I love the colors not the cake necessarily. The yellow. mint. peonies. Hey- I think this color scheme reminds me of my Grandma's bathroom. And it makes me want a star

 

 

(Piggy & Dirt's Louisianna Carrie)

 that matches the two pictures of my great great grandparents that have been "colored" with a mint background.

Old School touch ups. You know- before selfies that you can touch up yourself. 

At first just two minutes. Come up for air then down again for two. Then they send someone down to tell ya just kidding! Don't come up for air you have to stay down here ten more minutes then come on up!"

The muscles are cramping, I found myself looking at Canada's best cake decorators last night online, I'm color coordinating J's shirts for back to school- well, I told him I was going to last night when we got them picked up and put on hangers and hung up.

 

Ah, ha, haaaaa!!!!

BTW- I got onto the Canada's best cakes by trying to find different color combinations that look good with advocado green.



 Yes- I am getting things decorated or ready to decorate so J. isn't too somber when I can't due to tapering.

I gotta go. I have withdrawal hanging on me like a crying toddler.

Well, Fare thee Good Bye, Summer 2015!



 

In Idaho Falls school is starting while it is still summer.

We get out when it still is icy cold.

 



I have no idea what the committee is thinking when they decide these  time schedules. Someone at the very top must get to vacation in Hawaii in June, but we get out, like, at the end of May when J. is barely coming off a ski slope. And all activities have to be done indoors over "summer vacation" because it is still frigid outside.

The schedule, like the weather here in Idaho, is a shock to the system. 

This picture of J., at Blacktail Reservoir learning to water ski, is the epitome, and an all time favorite of mine, of SUMMER.....
.....sun bleached hair... the rippling water; star kissed by the sun.

SuMMeR, Baby.

 

School will hit his system like the cold waters of the Snake River in a few short days.

 

Which reminds me- my baby grew up, keeps growing, and that means those swimming trunks don't fit him anymore. Man, I hate that. Him needing new trunks each summer. I think we've leveled off and will be set for the next 3 years.

On the bright side,



(Sunshine star made by Piggy &Dirt on their etsy account.)

Readers,

 

Knowing summer would go way too fast, we set just a couple goals and I am happy to report we only accomplished/finished one of them: relax at all cost.

Tomorrow I will read with him and we'll see if we can get further into the book we started.

Otherwise I am pretty sure J. did something fun every day, soaked in summer stayed up late under the impression he was squeezing every valuable moment summer had to offer- when really he slept in which meant he missed sunrises and the nice, pleasant morning summer has to offer.
But for some reason, sleeping in is a tween right.
He jumped on his bike and did "nothing" on it.

Can you remember being able to do that?

Just do nothing and thoroughly enjoy it? Where boredom was actually not boredom at all but time to just BE.


(Remember I pulled out my Susan Branch note pad paper for July cause I knew June would go too fast?
Now I feel like I better grab some September ones for the communication board!)
 

So,  right as it has gone from mildly warm, to HOT like most of you enjoy, we have to go back to school.
 I have no idea why we let the kids out in at the end of May when we have to take ice picks and chisel the top layer of ice so kids can do swimming lessons. It's left a lot of scars on my summer memories.
Who likes teeth chattering, freezing moments standing in line to go off the diving board?

 

J. hit the road running right after he graduated from grade 6 as if he intuitively knew this would be the case; summer whizzin' by.

He came home from school dropped his back pack and it wasn't until  mid-summer that I emptied the contents of his back pack which must have been everything from his desk.

Including awards from the track meet that I have to iron if I want to scrap book them, they are so wrinkled.

(My constant Ode to what J. lives for: things that move him in the direction of an adventure.)

I have to thank the various places like Great Harvest Bread for being the place J. and I would have mini-dates eating a slice of bread with some drink and a cookie. Along with doing Physical Therapy with Padre, it was an honor to join him three times a week for those sessions and it was amazing to see him get cabin fever, recover slightly and then retire.

We rediscovered the library and I have to say I am quite grateful for being able to pass the time watching wholesome movie series, gorgeous National Geographic DVDs, and did I just say wholesome?

But now it's time to sharpen our pencils, learn how to unlock lockers, and be nervous about becoming a "sevie." Gosh, I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about that first few days of trying to get the routine down, not be late for class, and mom being late to pick up me and my comrades after volleyball practice. Or her being late to pick me up from anywhere, time or place.

That was back during the pay phone days so now I am sure kids are much more relieved to send text messages to parents or each other to pass the time by instead of pacing back and forth in front of the

Eagle mascot.

Lots of changes coming with the Fall!

Let's hope a new esophagus and immune system is on the menu!

The Missing Rock & Waiting for Drs to open my Esophagus

~Readers, this an old post~
 

Being kept up late at night with a stricture, which acts like a baby with colicky needs that needing tending which makes me start to think about Grandma.
Why?
Her death is still "settling" into my heart.

As I deal with my esophagus starting to close off again, I turned on some Alan Jackson to help pass the time. Good music is a good way to stave off the negative thinking, Readers.

Did you know that could happen so fast? Not listening to Al, but a stricture coming back super fast.
 I thought I had 6-12 months if anything.

NOPE!
Back to swallowing like a stork trying to gag down a fish covered in sand and the stork is really, really dehydrated.
 

I had two weeks of bliss. Well, as much bliss as one who had been unable to swallow could have and with Crohns attacking the muscles and the motility of the esophagus. I actually started to heal and get out! It was awesome! And then it came back. The middle of my chest felt like I'd been pelted with a bullet.  

I read about a poor toddler who had to have his esophagus dilated once a week! How sad for him and discouraging for his mom.

 

This pain radiates through the body into the back and into the wings of the ribs. Every breath is like sandpaper running across those soft tissues, organs, etc.

 

I can't have the Entyvio because my insurance needs me to be a "medical emergency." Don't blame them. It was a few thousand dollars a pop.  

I also learned acid/GERD (that should go down as one of those dumb words like "crohns" in medical books.) can happen separately than the motility of your esophagus. So you can have TWO ways of your esophagus closing off!

Having Crohns camped out there truly is a joy. I didn't think this disease could get worse but it has surprised me again. And I thought I'd seen all this disease had to offer!

 

The good news is this: I have family who help me. And a library where I can learn. Friends to talk to with my now hoarse and changed voice. Yes, Readers, the acid from your stomach can ruin your vocal chords too.

 

For kicks I tried to sing to J. at Pillow Talk Time- it was the saddest thing you have ever heard. But it brought tears to my eyes because I am glad to be alive and I don't care if this dumb disease ruined and lowered my voice.

 

So to get my mind off dumb words, like GERD,

 I was looking through pictures- parties, weddings, etc. with Grandma in them and then the latest there is Grandpa, looking like the Grandpa on Disney's "Up,"  because Grandma Mary Lu is not in them and I just got teary.





Alan Jackson has a song called:' Remember When.' And there are a few lines that say:

old ones died

and new were born

life was changed, disassembled and rearranged.

 

 

we came together; fell apart; broke each others hearts. remember when.

I don't think that my grandparent's relationship was much different than your grandparents, Readers. What may set it apart from some was that they stayed together. Today there are a lot of divorces. And at the end they took care of each other,

And us.

That's why we always ended up over there- for

 home made bread and jam.

One night Grandma was fidgety- I asked what I could help her do or if she was uncomfortable. Her answer: "I just need to be up doing what Grandma's do."

Both of them were getting hard of hearing toward the end and so they would talk loud. But hers was like a little mouse trying to holler what she needed.

And grandpa would forget. You could imagine the circus that would ensue.



They would get impatient with each other. It wasn't perfect. That's what made it memorable; the imperfection that could be overcome and love would outlast.

My grandpa said it was an "honor" to take care of her toward the end. He wanted her there, at home and not in a nursing home or hospital for those last few breaths.



That meant getting up a couple times in the night to help her to the bathroom.

He said he didn't mind because he had to go himself so he might as well help her.

He worked hard his whole life. Since he was 12. His own Dad died of Scarlett fever and he became the man of the house. It was hard. His three paper route dollars went to the family support while his mom worked at the Dole cannery in Preston, Idaho.

Sure, he worked holidays; didn't take many vacations but all that saving and scrimping meant that he could care for her the last 15 years with her Parkinsons. I think he even worked on their wedding day. They got married, he went to his shift and then came home.

Work was something that he took great pride in. He's done it a long time. I have memories of being a young girl watching him clean his cars in the driveway with such detail. Using a chamois to get it completely dry.

He took pride in driving and keeping up a nice car. My grandparents were sealed in the Idaho Falls temple after my mission- heck, I'd given up thinking they ever would. But they did. (I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.)

So "little feet" is "the music"  (another line from Alan's song) that we now hear at my mom's when the grandkids come over and

 

the disassembling and re-arranging has been taking place in our lives. And it's good. We love the little ones that have come our homes.

But all that moving around and undoing of certain traditions with certain loved ones is hard. The ones taking the place of the older ones that have left us are characters and make it all worth it.

 

And sometimes drinking a Cold Coca~Cola with ice cubes made by Padre

 

 (he has some special recipe cause no one can make a better glass of Coke or mug of water than he can.)

Except Grandma.

Recurring Strictures and GERD word

Readers with GERD.

I know. It sounds like something you get locally from the dairy; cheese curds.
But, oh no. It is not. It can be a flaming torch to the center of your chest that you and your medical team have assumed is merely fibromyalgia or something benign but feels like a heart attack.

Learned a lot in the last month. One, your esophagus can re-close faster than elevator doors. Actually, those are slow. So the stricture in your esophagus can actually close rather quickly just when you thought it was a done deal and didn't do your frantic research.

Yup. Those of us already with a disease that has a catchy name, "Crohns" also get things like GERD.
Unlike those cheese curds that sit on the counter next to the register at Reeds Dairy, GERD is the dark side of the acid in your body. It literally wants to take over.



And, if you're unlucky, it does! Which makes places in your body that you don't think about until they are held at acid gun point hurt really, really, bad.

 

 So if you are experiencing pain in the middle of your chest and think it's some deadly disease, it's not. It just feels like it.

 

If you start to feel pain in your back, no worries! It is GERD letting you know that it is strangling your esophagus. Which in turn confuses all the muscles and why you go to Physical Therapy.

 

If you are up early because you sleep sitting up and gripping pain in your rib cage causes you to stop dreaming and then you end up just blogging, again, it's just GERD.

 

So you will get up and sit in your favorite seat that is a blessing beyond blessings because it is one you can sleep in while you struggle with diseases, GERD, and a kid entering tween-dom.

 

Don't be alarmed if you don't feel well after your GERD has strangled your esophagus and they had it re-opened. It is merely your body trying to reclose it. Can you blame it? I mean who wants acid up the esophagus and into your face?

 

(I am loving this gal's perfume vase for a coral flower.)



Not mine. So I am waiting until the end of this month for when my Dr. can perform another opening of the esophagus. I don't know if this will be a regular thing and I will want to schedule it on a regular basis, or what.

 

I know you are discouraged you couldn't just focus on healing from whip lash, Crohns and colitis. Not being able to walk because of a stress fracture and prednisone tapering- just try to take it a moment at a time.

 

Like right this moment I am looking at three baskets of folded clothes. Yeh! Three. They have been there and J. has just come and gotten what he has needed out of them like a dresser drawer. It's worked quite smoothly. Except I could use the baskets for other things like more laundry that gets dried and needing to be folded and put away in the laundry basket.

And I'm okay with that.



The End of my Strength,