Early July Morning, Cocoa Beach, Florida

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Ouch!

About 14 years ago I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. It all started with my feet KILLING me! Then my whole body started bothering me. I remember going to the doctor and the first thing they said when they saw my feet, is that I needed to have surgery-- on my bunions. Nope! My bunions were fine, it was my right heel that hurt... a LOT! First they gave me cortisone shots. The shots helped for a couple of weeks, so then I got another one; which, again only lasted a couple of weeks. Well, we couldn't keep this up. They still really didn't know what my problem was, so they said it was probably Fibromyalgia.  I knew it was not, and that it had something to do with my feet, since that is where the pain had started.

A few months before all this, my mom started having the same issues. She had gone to a doctor that diagnosed her with plantar fasciitis and put her in this weird brace to sleep in. It didn't work, and the only thing it did was give her cramps in her leg. After she had worn this brace for awhile, she had heard about Birkenstock shoes. In fact, my youngest sister wore them often. Mom gave them a try and has been wearing them ever since with minimal heel pain. Since they worked for her, I decided to give them a try, and I have also had minimal pain, until lately.
It all started with a pain on the right side of my neck. I went from about half way up my neck and down my shoulder. I even had a little swelling over my collar bone. At first I didn't think much of it, thinking maybe I just slept wrong. After two weeks, I started to worry. The swelling was still there and so was the pain. I really hate going to the doctor, but after my last episode, I decided to go. As usually, the pain was poo pooed, and I was sent home. They did say to maybe try some physical therapy and wrote up some orders. I found that it was going to cost me $75 a week, and wasn't sure that was my answer so I did not go. About a week later, I remember my right foot really, REALLY hurting me; like I could hardly walk on it. Felt just like the plantar fasciitis I had years ago. Soon, my whole body was hurting. I hurt to lay in bed, it hurt to stand or sit. Every part of my body (except for my hair) HURT! So, back to the doctor. Again, I felt like an idiot. They checked my for fibromyalgia, and thankfully, that was not it. Then they took some blood work and told me the results should be back in a week.

Fast forward a week, and all blood work negative. That's a good thing, but now what? I was told I was fine. So, if I'm fine, then why am I hurting. "I don't know" was the answer. I got really angry at the poor girl, said a few choice words (no R or X rated words), and hung up on her. I then left for the pool. That seems to be the only place lately that I feel little pain.

When I got back from the gym, I had a phone call from the doctor office and they wanted me to come it. After talking to the nurse practitioner, I was reminded that I had been bitten by a spider about six weeks ago, so they checked me for adverse reaction to bug/spider bites. In the meantime, I was given a pain killer (that I can only take for five days) and sent home. A few days later, negative on that. *sigh*

So now what? I guess I could move my bed up to the pool, but not sure that would be the best idea. I'm going to give this another week, then see what my next step is, that is if I'm still in this pain. I feel like an old lady. When I first get out of bed or up from a sitting position for awhile, it really hurts! I really don't want to be on pain medication, as I don't do well on those...AT ALL! 

So, in the mean time, I will be swimming and stretching my body, as both those things feel good to me. I might even go get a massage...


Friday, June 28, 2013

Another Garage Sale Find

A few weeks ago, we did some yard work in the back.  At first everything seemed, well, a little wimpy. Things have come along pretty nicely lately and the flowers and veggies are filling in beautifully.
We have a pretty nice area in the back, but no tables. I had a bench, and four chairs. I bought cushions for them, and it sure made things look a lot more....homey.
I've been wanting a table and chair set so we could actually eat out there without getting the plastic fold up tables out. Yesterday, as we were turning onto our street from a trip to Evansville, we noticed a garage sale sign. It was 9:30 at night, so we assumed it was for the next morning. I jokingly mentioned I should go check to see if they have any outdoor furniture. You see, I have been scooping out garage sales for YEARS trying to find a table. I do not want to buy a new table for what they are asking....at Walmart, a cheap outdoor table runs almost $200, and I don't even really like it that much. If I'm going to spend that kind of money on something, I want to like it.

Well anyway, this morning, I got up early and decided to head to the pool early before my water walking class and get in my mile swim. As I was backing out the driveway, the traffic was horrendous! We live on a quiet street and I couldn't figure out what was going on...then I remembered...THE GARAGE SALE!!!  So I turned toward the sale, and boy, was I surprised! They had oodles of outdoor furniture! First I saw a teak table with four chairs, then I saw the table of my dreams! A black wrought iron table! That was it, then they told me it had four chains. hmmm...I've been wanting a bistro table set to put by our fountain.  Decisions, Decisions...

As I was contemplating what I should do, they came down, on both the sets, and pretty low, I might add; lower than if I had gone to Walmart and bought a new cheap table. So...I took them...both!
Here is the wrought iron table and chairs. I will have to say, they have some weight to them, so even though I did not get my swim in this morning, I got a good workout moving furniture. I will have to replace the cushions soon though.
I will probably choose green when I do replace them.
I love the detail.
Here is the teak set. I need to wash the tables and chairs off, but it was a bit warm. I will have to wait to do that tonight when it gets down to....80.
What I like about this set, is that it all folds up, the chairs and table, so if we needed more room out there, I can fold these babies up and set it aside.

Well, I'm glad I remembered the garage sale. Got what I've been wanting for awhile and didn't have to chuck out a hunk of money either.  Now I just need to find some outdoor fabric on sale and get busy replacing those cushions. 


Monday, June 24, 2013

No Acer Computer For Me!!!

We have been in search for a good computer; and one that has good customer service. My daughter had a Dell. Not three months after she got it, she started having BIG issues. We called customer service, on a daily basis for over a month, and they never could get that stupid thing to work. Eventually, she got a MAC.

My youngest son got an Acer for Christmas last year. Yesterday, Ben opens his laptop and the screen is cracked...little boxes all over. He has less than a month of school left, and two of his classes are online...he NEEDS his computer.  He took it to the computer doctor on campus and they had him order a screen and they will fix it for free. In the meantime, I did some research and called Acer (which was not an easy task). When I finally got someone, we had a language issue. Yes he speaks English, but not American English, so we had a bit of a problem understanding each other sometimes. He was very nice, but it would have been a lot easier if I could have spoken with an American.

Once I finally got a hold of a live person, I found that yes, indeed, Ben's computer was still under warranty. But!!!! We had to send it to Texas. That is the only place in the U.S. that fixes Acer Computers. Then it would take 10 to 14 days to fix it and then they would have to send it back to my son. Guess what? School will be done before that time, so if he decided to go that route, Ben would fail all his classes and we would be out quite a bit of moola; even though they would fix the computer for free, except shipping to Texas. 

Why is it that these companies do this? If you sell a product, and have a computer fix it person in that store, you should have the certification to fix the item you sell in that store. 

I have a birthday coming up soon, and my husband wants to get me a computer. Right now, I use an old desk top that came over on the Mayflower...lol. Well, not quite, but I'm sure you get the picture. With me into photography and all, I need something a little more updated, but it won't be a Dell, and as I told the little guy over the phone, it won't be an Acer either. I was really looking into getting an Acer, but since it is such a hassle to get it fixed, nope, I'm not getting one. 

What I would really like to have is a MAC, but not sure I want to spend the $$$$ for one, although, as my daughter says, in the long run, it is probably cheaper. She has had her's for over three years, and it is still going strong.  She has yet to have any issue...knock on wood....

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Glad I Was Running a Tad Bit Late Today!

Lately, I seem to be in constant pain...all over. The only thing that does NOT hurt is my hair. So, I headed to the doctor yesterday. She took a bunch of blood, so hopefully I'll hear something by the end of the week. It will probably all come back negative, which is a good thing, I think. I would like something to come back positive, something that we can do something about, and get me back to my normal self.

Although I hurt all over, I've been going to the YMCA five days a week. I've been swimming my mile and treading water for 30 minutes to an hour. Some days, in addition to that I take a water aerobics class or a water walking class. As long as I am in the water, I seem to not hurt so much. But as soon as I get out, uggg, especially my heel where I plantar fasciitis is. 

This morning, I decided I was going to go to Pilates. The other day I had gone to Yoga, and actually felt a little better for a few hours. Figured Pilates would be the same. I do stretch when I get out of bed each morning, and also I do some stretching through out the day, and afterward, I feel better, for a little while.

So, I got myself out of bed, got ready and headed off to the Y. I don't really have time today to go to the pool, as I have somewhere to be later this morning. I was running a tad bit late, but that's ok, since the Pilates class is always late getting started. As I headed down the road, I see what looks to be a pretty bad accident. I am sure glad I was running late, as I probably would have been involved in that. It looked like a guy driving a pickup was trying to beat the light and turned too sharply, flipping the truck into the little white car in the left turn lane. It had just happened, and everyone was waiting for ambulance and police to arrive. I think everyone was ok, and the driver of the truck was trying to crawl out the passenger side. 

I sat there for a few minutes, and even talked to one of the people walking around. I asked if they had called 911, which they had, and made sure everyone was ok. Then I turned my little Scion XB around and went home. 

Oh well, so much for going to the Y today. I think I'm going to go do some more stretching....

Friday, June 14, 2013

A Visit From Mr. Hulk

I went to yoga for the first time since I got out of the hospital two months ago. Boy, did I ever miss it. 

When I first got there, we were getting our mats out and everything ready for class. As we were doing all this we had an interesting visitor...the Hulk! No not really, but if you painted his skin green, he sure could pass for the Hulk.
marvel.com
So, Mr Hulk stood at the door for a few seconds. You could tell he was wanting the room. Finally he asked if there was a class. We told him yes, that there was a yoga class starting soon and that he was welcome to stay. He looked at us pretty funny and said that's fine, that he needed to work on his abs. My friend told him we worked on abs and he should stay. He left, and I didn't see it but I'm sure he left rolling his eyes.

I'm not sure people realize how good yoga is for you. It is not an easy class. Yoga is good for everyone, young, old, people who are into athletics big time, and those just starting to move.  Yoga is one of those classes that is for YOU. It is YOUR practice, not the person beside you, not your teacher, but YOU. As you progress in your practice, you will see improvement in your own class and lifestyle.

My daughter is a yoga instructor and has actually taught athletes at their local university. I commend these coaches who see the benefit of yoga in their sport. Mr Hulk could not see that. All he saw was a bunch of old ladies sitting on the floor do a light workout. I would love to see him come in and try. I do believe that after our workout today, he would have a very different opinion of yoga, and if he did not come back, it wasn't because it was easy...it was because he found it more difficult than he thought.

Just like the lady at our club that runs marathons. We have tried to get her to come workout in the pool and swim laps. She told us that you can't get a workout in the water, that running was much more of a work out than swimming. Well, I would like to see her come and prove that. I'm sure she would have a change of mind.  I've known people who had the same attitude toward swimming laps, and when they came and tried, they were out of the pool by about lap five.


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

It's For The Birds....

Ok...before I begin, I want you to promise me you won't laugh too hard. You see, what I'm about to show you is pretty funny, and I have been laughing at myself about this.
A few weeks ago, I started making these cute little critters. The first one I changed up a bit because I wanted to make a duck. 
The second one I made exactly like the instructions said, and came out with this cute little orange chick.
The third one I call Ghost Bird. Even though I followed the instructions exactly like the orange chick, it came out looking like a football...hmmm...
I wanted to try to do a flamingo. You know I HAD to do a flamingo...Tappingflamingo?  Anyway, he turned out big and, well flat. Yes...same instructions. Not sure what I am doing wrong to come out with such a diverse group of birds.
 I took them to the stitch club I go to each month, and the ladies loved them. Then I told them about my dilemma. We all had a good laugh. The only thing I can think, is that the first one I did with ZERO interruptions. Not so with the other three. 
Well, even if that is not the true reason, it is a good excuse, don't ya think?  Hey!!!! At least they stack well....

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Our Backyard...A Work in Process...

Just over a year ago, we moved from Louisiana. This time last year, we were living with my in laws until we could get in our new house in Kentucky. One of my favorite things about our front yard landscape in Louisiana was our fountain.
It was one of the focal points in our front yard. I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to put it at our new home. There was already a fountain in front, besides there are a lot of pretty big bushes in the front, I thought the fountain would get lost.
My husband decided to put in the back, that way we could enjoy the sound when we sat on the desk. The only problem was, it looked funny there all by itself. We left it there over the winter. 
This past April, my mom and I went to Disney with my sister and her family. While we were there, I was inspired by these planters they had all around Downtown Disney. I thought it would look nice around our fountain.
So a couple weeks ago, we gathered our pots that did not get broken during the move and started planting.  As far as a choice in flowers, there was not much of a variety. At first I was a bit disappointed  but as we started planting, I was fine with what we came home with.
I love purple and yellow (no, I am NOT an LSU fan, I have always liked purple and yellow). 
We picked up a few herbs...Basil and Thyme.
We found this Salvia on the half price shelf and decided to give it a try. It looks like it is going to make it. I can't wait to see the butterflies and hummingbirds it is suppose to attract.
So far, this is what we have. It still needs a few more pots, but it is a start. I do believe once the flowers start filling in the pots more, it will look a lot nicer.
We bought some Begonias,  but after we planted them, we learned that they are poisonous to dogs. I moved them to where Sox cannot get to them.
Next to the fountain area, we have some cucumbers that are beginning to grow.
We also have some grape tomatoes and green peppers that are getting big. I think we should have planted the peppers somewhere else.
Can't wait til we have some read tomatoes!
Here are some more tomatoes. Not sure how these guys are going to do. We planted them here so the deer would not get to them. You see, we have a deer issue; as in about six to ten deer a day come through our yard. Hopefully, they will not come up on our deck and eat our plants.
Wish us luck!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Bridal Necklace

Someone very special is getting married soon, so I've been working on wedding jewelry. The bride has chosen pink and green for her colors, because her favorite color is pink and the grooms favorite color is green. Since they are getting married in August, and the birthstone for that month is peridot, she has chosen a lighter green.
A few months ago, a friend of mine (who started making jewelry sometime ago), decided she wanted to focus more on quilting. She wanted to sell all her stuff and told me about it. There were all kinds of pretties, and I bought it all. Included in her many boxes of stuff were some really nice crystal hearts. She had one big deeper pink (which is pictured above and for the bride), three smaller hearts to match, three more that were a bit lighter, and three clear hearts. She also had a lot of pink crystal beads and a few peridot colored crystal beads. I had some freshwater pearls that I've been keeping aside for an occasion like this.
Here is the bride's necklace up close.
My friend also had some round, silver, clear crystal beads in her stash that I thought went perfect.
Everything easily came together for this necklace, and I've started on the rest of the bridal party. I'm sure I will be showing them all when I get them done.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Sleep...

Before ya'll start reading this blog, I want to apologize for the mess it is in. For some reason, Blogger is being crazy, and I can't seem to make it look the way I want, so please excuse the mess. 

As I mentioned in my blog last Wednesday, I will be discussing health issues (each Wednesday). One health issue we all have is sleep, or the lack of....zzzzz....

How important is sleep?

Well, according to the Harvard Women's Health Watch, there are six reasons why we should get more sleep:

  1. Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
  2. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
  3. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
  4. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
  5. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
  6. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.

Wow! Doesn't that make you want to get the amount of sleep you need? So, how much sleep do you need?  Well, sleep varies as to who you are, and what you do. For example, are you a young adult or baby; do you have a stressful job, or is your lifestyle more laid back?  There are many factors which determine how much sleep one needs.

According to the National Sleep Foundation the following are the recommend amounts of  sleep one needs each night. Which does NOT mean you can get a little sleep on some days/nights and then make it up all on the weekend.

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need

Personally, I need about eight hours each night. I can remember 
when my children were small, I needed more sleep, yet got much 
less. I call those my, "Walking Zombie Years."  As my children 
have gotten older, life has been better because I have been able to 
get my eight hours of sleep. 

I read in interesting article about how much sleep we need. It 
suggested a couple of interesting things that I do believe will work.  
To determine your personal needs, try this experiment:
If you use an alarm clock to get you up in the morning, that is a telltale sign that you are not getting enough sleep. The fact that you rely on an alarm clock to wake you up every day shows that your body is not rested enough to wake naturally.

A simple test you can use to determine if you’re getting enough sleep is to go to bed fifteen minutes earlier that you normally would. See if you still need an alarm clock to wake up. If you do, try going to bed another fifteen minutes earlier. Continue in this manner until you reach a point where you wake up naturally in the morning without an alarm clock. That’s how many hours of sleep you need each night.
And a secondary note about the amount of sleep you need:
Even if you’ve enjoyed a full night’s sleep, getting out of bed can be difficult if your alarm goes off when you’re in the middle of deep sleep. If you want to make mornings less painful—or if you know you only have a limited time for sleep—try setting a wake-up time that’s a multiple of 90 minutes, the length of the average sleep cycle. For example, if you go to bed at 10 p.m., set your alarm for 5:30 (a total of seven-and-a-half hours of sleep) instead of 6 or 6:30. You may feel more refreshed at 5:30 than with another 30 to 60 minutes of sleep because you’re getting up at the end of a sleep cycle when your body and brain are already close to wakefulness.

Something else that works for me, is exercise. I have always been 
one of those who wake up exhausted. Sleep never seemed to do 
much for me and I hated getting up. About six years ago, I started 
walking with a group of ladies. We met at 8 a.m., sometimes 
7:30, depending on the weather. It gets really hot humid 
in Louisiana. Since I have hypoglycemia, I have to eat a decent 
breakfast in the morning before I exercise, so I was getting up at 7 
so I could do so. For the last few years, I don't need an alarm clock
 to get me up. I go to sleep around 11 and wake up ready to hit the 
floor by 7.  Now, I know most of you work and have to get up at 
that time to head that way, but if you make time in your schedule to 
exercise, and then go to bed at a decent hour, I promise, you will 
not only feel better, but be more productive in your daily activities. 
You will also be healthier and happier.

Now that we talked about not getting enough sleep, I'd like to talk a 
little about getting too much sleep. This can lead to some health 
issues. According to Web Med, here are a few problems that could 
arise if you get TOO much sleep.

Diabetes. Studies have shown that sleeping too long or not enough each night can increase the risk for diabetes.
Obesity. Sleeping too much or too little could make you weigh too much, as well. One recent study showed that people who slept for nine or 10 hours every night were 21% more likely to become obese over a six-year period than were people who slept between seven and eight hours. This association between sleep and obesity remained the same even when food intake and exercise were taken into account.
Headaches. For some people prone to headaches, sleeping longer than usual on a weekend or vacation can cause head pain. Researchers believe this is due to the effect oversleeping has on certain neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin. People who sleep too much during the day and disrupt their nighttime sleep may also find themselves suffering from headaches in the morning.
Back pain. There was a time when doctors told people suffering from back pain to head straight to bed. But those days are long gone. You do need to curtail your regular exercise program when you are experiencing back pain. But doctors now realize the health benefits of maintaining a certain level of activity. And they recommend against sleeping more than usual, when possible.
Depression. Although insomnia is more commonly linked to depression than oversleeping, roughly 15% of people with depression sleep too much. This may in turn make their depression worse. That's because regular sleep habits are important to the recovery process. Need another reason not to overdo the ZZZs when you're blue? ? In certain instances, sleep deprivation can have a temporary antidepressant effect.
Heart disease. The Nurses' Health Study involved nearly 72,000 women. A careful analysis of the data from that study showed that women who slept nine to 11 hours per night were 38% more likely to have coronary heart disease than women who slept eight hours. Researchers have not yet identified a reason for the connection between oversleeping and heart disease.
Death. Multiple studies have found that people who sleep nine or more hours a night have significantly higher death rates than people sleeping seven to eight hours a night. No specific reason for this correlation has been determined. But researchers found that depression and low socioeconomic status are also associated with longer sleep. They speculate these factors could be related to the observed increase in mortality for people who sleep too much.

Oh wow, scary! Now, there are some people who 
have health issues that keep them from getting the 
sleep they need. If you are one of these people, a 
doctor's visit might be a good idea.

We all need to practice good sleep habits. Sleeping
 seven to nine hours each night, going to bed and
 getting up at the same time each day, avoiding
 caffine or alcohol close to bedtime, exercising
 regularly and making your bedroom a comfortable
 haven to sleep in will help you get the amount of 
sleep you need. 

With that being said....I need to get our room in 
shape!  Seems like when we move, our room is the
 last one to get in shape, it probably should be the 
first.






Saturday, June 1, 2013

Sorry, but I have had to reset my blog and add the word verification.  Lately, I have had so much spam it isn't even funny. Anywhere from people telling me that I have the most wonderful blog in the world to people telling me I have thousands of misspelled words; neither of which is true.
I hope this does not keep anyone from commenting.  I love to hear what real people say.  Granted, those word verification are a pain in the you know what, but at least I know it is not a computer commenting, lol.