WHAT'S GOING ON .... UPDATE

UPDATE

I just wanted to say that I just haven't been around to read blog posts. I don't like when this happens. Things have just overwhelmed me lately. 

Things are a little better now. 

I have been having some bad backaches on my right side and hip. I had a CT scan and I have mild osteoarthritis but it definitely hurts a lot! 

I have since had a shot in my back and it has only helped a little bit. However, I had an evaluation at physical therapy and I will be going once a week. The person who helped me was wonderful and my x-ray of my lower back isn't bad at all. Just need to add some new exercise into my life. 

So my doctor put me on cymbalta but I had a terrible side effect on the 60 mg pill. I was nauseous for 2 days and didn't sleep the first 48 hours. It can be used for depression but is also used for nerve damage or fibromyalgia. 

I have been given the 30 mg pill but I haven't started it yet. It can thin your blood and I am already on a blood thinner. I'm up in the air about it. However, I had a follow up appointment with my rheumatologist and I talked to him about it and I am going to try a shot for the pain. 

So I had an appointment with my primary doctor and he said it does not thin your blood. We have decided to try the 30 mg pill and I can stay on the low dose which I am hoping will help. 

I don't want to do that forever but will not try it for now because we will be going out of town to see Amber and Dylan. I don't want to deal with side effects from the lower dose. I am also going to be going to physical therapy which is said to be the best medicine. 

So I believe I covered this part in the paragraphs above. 

Also I have a colonoscopy on Tuesday and I have to be off my blood thinners so there was no point in starting that medication. In a blog post a few weeks ago I had mentioned that I have a lot of anxiety and it's because of this procedure. 

So I took one of those home test and it came back positive for blood in the stool. I was due for my 10 year follow up but hadn't booked it because of Mark's injury. I needed him to go with me and he couldn't drive for 4 months. 

So I meet with the doctor and he was so wonderful. He said those tests are wrong so often. My bowels work fine and I have never had blood in my stool. He even put his hand on my shoulder to help settle me down. So please pray for me. 

So my colonoscopy went well. A few polyps which were fine and we will follow up in 3 years. That definitely made me feel better. 

Then we went out and got new phones yesterday and it is not fun learning a new phone!!!! Of course we were at Best Buy for a few hours. We did go to Verizon but we were not happy with the gentleman who worked with us. Had nothing worth wild to offer us. We ended up buying our new phones at Best Buy and they set them up for us. 

I stayed with an Android because I am a fan. So I got the Galaxy S24 and Mark changed to an Apple 15 Pro. This way Adam and Gabby can facetime with James when they are traveling while we are babysitting and we can also facetime with Amber. 

So it took awhile but all seems to be okay with the new phone. They just have so many more setting than my s7 had. I had like one volume setting and now there are 4 different ones and still not sure which ones they belong to. 

Also my DVR isn't working right. I can watch what I need to watch but the guide and menu are not right. So after I get everything settled and I can calm down I will have to probably get a new DVR. That is not a fun thing to do either. 

So my DVR went back to normal about a week later and I'm thankful that it is still working. 

So that's all I have for now and I appreciate any prayers that you can give me. 

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to say that I just haven't been around to read blog posts. I don't like when this happens. Things have just overwhelmed me lately. 

I have been having some bad backaches on my right side and hip. I had a CT scan and I have mild osteoarthritis but it definitely hurts a lot! 

So my doctor put me on cymbalta but I had a terrible side effect on the 60 mg pill. I was nauseous for 2 days and didn't sleep the first 48 hours. It can be used for depression but is also used for nerve damage or fibromyalgia. 

I have been given the 30 mg pill but I haven't started it yet. It can thin your blood and I am already on a blood thinner. I'm up in the air about it. However, I had a follow up appointment with my rheumatologist and I talked to him about it and I am going to try a shot for the pain. 

I don't want to do that forever but will try it for now because we will be going out of town to see Amber and Dylan. I don't want to deal with side effects from the lower dose. I am also going to be going to physical therapy which is said to be the best medicine. 

Also I have a colonoscopy on Tuesday and I have to be off my blood thinners so there was no point in starting that medication. In a blog post a few weeks ago I had mentioned that I have a lot of anxiety and it's because of this procedure. 

So I took one of those home test and it came back positive for blood in the stool. I was due for my 10 year follow up but hadn't booked it because of Mark's injury. I needed him to go with me and he couldn't drive for 4 months. 

So I meet with the doctor and he was so wonderful. He said those tests are wrong so often. My bowels work fine and I have never had blood in my stool. He even put his hand on my shoulder to help settle me down. So please pray for me. 

Then we went out and got new phones yesterday and it is not fun learning a new phone!!!! Of course we were at Best Buy for a few hours. We did go to Verizon but we were not happy with the gentleman who worked with us. Had nothing worth wild to offer us. We ended up buying our new phones at Best Buy and they set them up for us. 

I stayed with an Android because I am a fan. So I got the Galaxy S24 and Mark changed to an Apple 15 Pro. This way Adam and Gabby can facetime with James when they are traveling while we are babysitting and we can also facetime with Amber. 

Also my DVR isn't working right. I can watch what I need to watch but the guide and menu are not right. So after I get everything settled and I can calm down I will have to probably get a new DVR. That is not a fun thing to do either. 

However yesterday we were able to see James and go to his soccer game in the morning so that of course made me happy. We went out to lunch too! 

So my anxiety has had the best of me and I have been so overwhelmed and just haven't been able to concentrate on reading blog posts. I'm so sorry. Love you guys and have a great week ahead.  

READING BLOGS

...BLOGS

I have made so many wonderful friends. I love you guys. I know that you understand what I'm about to say and I appreciate your kind words each time I have mentioned this. 

I am struggling to read all the blogs I follow.  Some of it is depression and some of it is because I have to start working on this house. I've truly put off things for way too many years. The house has become over whelming to me. Overwhelming means I hide in my office and watch something or I'm on the computer. 

I am working with a therapist who has given me great direction but I'm not finding the time to do that. That of course is definitely my own laziness. I got into the habit of watching a Hallmark movie each morning with my coffee. I'm finding it difficult to stop that routine which started with the pandemic. 

Now I know that all I have to do is one project a day, even if it is just a drawer. I also need to exercise and I find myself not being done with reading blogs until 1 or 2 pm in the afternoon. I come on my computer and I usually have about 70 blog posts to read. Of course I have a ton of emails too. 

So if I don't visit please know that I care about you and will try to read when I can. My best bet is to maybe not read blogs for a day or two and then just read one blog from each person. Honestly I would find that hard to do for some of my closets friends. 

I'm just in a place now where I'm trying to move forward but I can't seem to do that. Please be patient with me. I don't need you to comment on this post. I know you all care and understand like I said earlier. My goal is that if I could get the house in order than I would have all the time in the world to read everyone's posts. 

God Bless Each and Every One of You......

Love,

Debby

FYI

This week has been extremely busy. I don't know if I'm coming or going. I still want to write the post about Disneyland but haven't been able to as yet. 

On top of this busy week we have my daughter and son in law arriving on Wednesday from Montana which means a lot of neglected housework needs to be done.

The reason I am telling you this is that I just can't find time to read blog posts. I'm barely caught up with my email messages from my blog along with normal emails. 

I hope to get around to reading everyone's post but I just can promise that I will. I love knowing what you have been up to.

I hope you are having a nice weekend and know that you are all important to me. ❤

NO HODGEPODGE TODAY, WHAT WILL I DO?

I have nothing. Sure things are going on here but do you really want to know about them? We had a nice evening with Adam on Friday night and Mark made breakfast for us in the morning before Adam took off for a birthday party.  

I actually opened my Mother's Day gift on Friday night since Adam was here. It was a group gift that I asked for from my family. So I ordered it and it arrived from Amazon during the week. Do you want to know what it is?

I asked for a Toshiba Chromebook 2 for travel. I have had a Toshiba Netbook that I've been taking with me for about 6 years now when I travel. It is very, very slow now and especially when compared to my Toshiba laptop I got the Christmas before last.

When I go on my laptop each day I click on Google Chrome and that is where I am all day so the Chromebook 2 was a perfect choice for a travel computer. I will probably use it in the house too from time to time. 

So everything is in the cloud and all I had to do was put in my password. It was ready to go! I just have to figure out a photo system I want to use so I can put pictures into blog posts when I'm traveling. 

Skye has been having trouble with an ear infection. Just one ear and I had her at the vet last April for it. It was okay for awhile but as I think back I had actually used the medication several times since then. The last few months it has been bad again and I've been trying all kinds of natural approaches.

She is good for awhile and then it is itching her again. You know something is up when she hides under the bed. I've tried grain free, gluten free food and did a lot of research on food allergies. Purchased a lot of different ear products too. 

She has been on a poultry free grain free salmon food for about six week now. It has definitely helped some general body itching she has been having. She has been happier and playing more, however I just couldn't put her through the daily ear care anymore so I took her to the vet yesterday. 

The ear is bad and the only way to really know what the issue is through blood work which will test food and outdoor allergies. The blood work is $380. dollars but at this point I feel it is worth it to know. I could spend the rest of my life trying to eliminate things from her diet to see what it is. 

She has three medications and will be checked again next week. Actually the doctor couldn't get her instrument into her ear because is was so swollen. The blood work will take at least two weeks for the results. 

For many years now when I get out of the shower after washing and literally scrubbing my armpits with soap and a nail brush I can smell b.o. in the armpit area. I even talked with my doctor about this. Yet I don't smell during the day, a scented deodorant covers it up. 

I've tried all kinds of approaches to deodorants over the years but really want to us a natural one. I would use hydrogen peroxide, lemon, rubbing alcohol to try to rid of this odor but that hasn't helped either. 

Well I found it and I'm only posting this in case someone else has ever had this issue. I don't know why it is working but it is and I am thrilled. Take my shower and my armpits smell nice & clean without any extra scrubbing and the deodorant is awesome during the day. I'm in love.......

Amazon Link

SHOW & TELL

I thought I would share a few miscellaneous things with you today. When we went to The Flower Fields I did a little shopping in the nursery attached. They have some really cute gift items and their prices are amazing. See the flower vase? I paid $12.95 for it and it has that cute little top that you can use for something like long stem roses.

The little lavender planter was $6.95 and the two little potted artificial plants inside were $3.95 each. Are they not adorable? The 3 bottles I ordered through the mail from Decor Steals. I just love the little crowns. Actually I have some wall decorative crowns arriving in the mail any day now. I am working on putting kind of a French Country Royal theme on my fireplace mantel. I will show you when it's done!

Next up is this plate. I have to tell you the background to this plate. See the platter in the top right corner. That platter belonged to my husbands Nana, her name was Mable. I always keep this platter on our hutch, but now our hutch is filled with my Jim Shore pieces. One day many years ago I came upon this collectible plate.  Mark's grandmother had a hutch in the hallway by their kitchen that looked so much like the picture on this plate. See the platter in the background.  I know the platter is different but I just could not resist buying this collectible plate which is called "Mable's Kitchen."

The crowns arrived! I just set them on the mantle to show you.

This is a work in progress!

See this cute wire wall thingy.

I use clothespins to hang cards on it!

Hope you have a great week ahead.

BECAUSE IT'S ALL I HAVE TODAY

Ta Da

So when I was finishing up "you know what" (that I am not talking about anymore!) I could not resist taking picture of these two adorable Hallmark ornaments. These kind of little things just make me so incredibly happy. The refrigerator is from 2007 "Holiday Fridge" which sold for $20.00. The oven is from 2004 "Christmas Cookies" which sold for $25.00 but is going for around $149.00 now. Listed as hard to find. You really can't get any cuter than this. The oven has a plug to go into the tree which I don't use but it had a scented thingy that would smell like baking cookies. The oven door open and there is a tray of cookied inside.

Each year I will keep out something new that I received that is a Christmas decoration. So this year it is the Jim Shore Santa holding a rooster. Isn't it cute? He will sit with my everyday Jim Shore pieces this year.

So when it comes to getting you know what done....

all my giraffe's are now in a row!

For those of you who may be interested in the SAG (screen actors guild) Awards, they are on Sunday evening on TNT or TBS. They will be honoring Mary Tyler Moore!

There is a new post today over at Debby's Tree. Some after Christmas purchases.

A few flowers that are blooming in the yard.

Enjoy your weekend!

Because deep down you really want to know how I spend my days!

You are my friends, this is where we communicate. If I called you on the phone I would surely tell you about my day. So I have a few random things to share with you.

Absolutely the most beautiful tulips I have ever had. The picture doesn't do them justice.These are from my husband.

A cake I baked a week ago Sunday. I had some sour cream to use up before it went bad so I looked for a recipe and made this cake. It was delicious. See that plate, they used these plates on That 70' Show. I remember getting them at the Jewel grocery store in the 70's! (We don't have the whole set anymore but I wanted to keep a few just because) So it is a Chocolate Sour Cream Cake from Cooks.com.

I did it, I actually started my paint by number and they are not easy. So now it is sitting on the kitchen table calling my name saying "Debby come and paint me." So it may be years before you see this picture finished. Hope we are all still blogging :)

So I actually left the house 4 times last week. That is a record for me! On Tuesday I went to bowling and got a pedicure. Thursday I took the day off from blogging and went to the Pachanga Casino for 7 hours. It was fun. Didn't win anything but had a good time, a few glasses of wine and a nice meal. I had to get warmed up for my LasVegas trip in a few weeks. (Say a prayer that I actually bowl good this year)

Then on Friday I went out to get my free tank top from Lane Bryant. Went to check out a Hallmark store and I loved it so I turned in my order form for Ornament Debut in July. (my regular store closed) Went to Kohl's to use the extra 15% coupon and $5.00 coupon I had and got me a new pair of pajamas. I do live in them most days so you can't have too many. Then I went grocery shopping with coupons & saved over $68.00 with the sales! I love when I can do that.

Went into LA on Saturday afternoon to have dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. That way my kids could have Sunday free to see the other mom's without having the pressure of how to handle the day! (I know, I'm nice that way but that is only until I have grandchildren, then it's all about me!) As a special treat I bought me a bag of Doritos Collisions Pizza Cravers/Ranch to eat on Mother's Day and they were delicious! Hope you had a good day :)

WARMING UP YOUR DAY

This is one of our favorite ground covers in the backyard. It blooms in the summer but is at its best all winter long. (I would show snow pictures if I had some) I do love living in Southern California and just so you know I lived in a suburb of Chicago for the first 38 years of my life so I do know snow and cold weather! Where we are now we can be in Las Vegas in 3 1/2 hours, in the mountains in about 45 minutes (with snow for skiing) and at the beach in an hour.

Yet here I sit at my computer each day!