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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Sleep Patterns and Other Such Nonsense

So today is Tuesday. I say that so my brain can hopefully grasp that fact. All day it kept trying to tell me it was Wednesday. Probably because yesterday was worth two days. I met with my doctor in the morning, found out I have a cyst in my left kidney on top of already knowing that I have lesions on my spine. I think the next time I have a CT scan the report will say that I'm falling apart!
After seeing my doctor I went and spent precious time waiting in the pharmacy. It's depressing to get the wait number 99 and see that the last number they called was 69. Sigh.
Then I went to get my allergy shot. While I was waiting to get that, Colin called and said he had an appointment for the hearing center that afternoon and could I please pick him up at his work and shuttle him back and forth. Sure, I wanted to spend my whole day at Group Health anyway. Sigh.
It was also grocery shopping day, so I went to Safeway, Target, Walgreens, Walmart and Albertson's, all with a stinker of a boy. Ian was definitely not listening well and either wouldn't stay with me or was right in front of the cart and would stop so I almost would run over him!
So with all those activities my sleep last night blissfully came early. After having back pain for a month my sleep patterns have been way off. Going to bed really really late and getting up late. Last night I was so tired I was in bed by 9:30. That never happens unless I'm sick and usually, not even then!

Friday, August 22, 2008

New Developments

Well I see that I am slacking in the blogging department. A whole week since my last blog! I suppose that's because there's been a lot going on. I'll start with the results from the MRI. They were good and bad at the same time. My bones are okey dokey, but I have 6 lesions on my spine. 3 are typical spinal hemangiomas and 3 are atypical. They are benign and supposed to be "painless", but I'm not so sure about that. I've read about lots of people who did have pain from these. I have a follow up on Monday. Knowing Group Health, they'll just want to "keep an eye" on them, but not do anything.
My back has been relatively pain free this week. Which is good and strange at the same time. I have no idea what caused it and how it could get so incredibly bad that I could barely lift my head and then disappear in a week or so. Strange. Not that I'm asking for the pain back. No thank you. I just wish I knew what caused it so I could fix it or avoid it and never have that kind of pain again!
I got some great news this week. My mom and dad are going to visit us this November!! Hooray!! I can't wait for them to come and meet Dilly and see some of the very few changes we have accomplished since they were here last summer.
Well, I'm sure there's more, but I had caffeine last night and took my medicine too late at night, so I've been up all night! I still don't feel tired, but I suppose I should try to get some sleep before Ian is up. Looks like Colin will be home today. He's coughing and has a sore throat for the second day in a row. Hope he's not coming down with something like he thinks he might be. Looks like I'd better put soup on the menu for today!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Ian and Social Security

Today,since I had an MRI scheduled for 6:15 pm, Ian and I drove into the big city to meet Colin at his work. We got there too early so we decided to go into the lobby, buy something to drink and wait for Colin. We did this because I didn't want to keep the van running and it was too hot to sit in the van without AC. It was 95 degrees!!
So we went inside and Ian got a Sprite and I got a water and we sat down at a table with a slice of banana bread for a snack. I called Colin to let him know that we were there, but he already knew, a coworker had spotted us in the lobby and told Colin we were there.
We were just getting comfortable when a weird beep started going off about every 15 seconds. It was very high pitched, but wasn't like a smoke detector, which is continuous. It was kind of annoying and after at least 5 minutes, I decided to see if I could figure out where the sound was coming from. I walked around, but I really couldn't tell, so I sat back down. Right after I sat down Ian told me " I bet it's the Social Security going off. Yep, it's probably the Social Security."
I laughed and told him I was pretty sure it wasn't the Social Security, but it might be the security system. Ian asked me what Social Security was if it wasn't a system to protect people with alarms. I explained that it's a kind or retirement program. He looked at me and said "Oh, I guess you're right, it couldn't be the Social Security, it must be the security system."
Thankfully, someone came and turned it off not too long after our conversation. So I guess, according to 7 year olds, if you need to find a system to protect your home, you'd better talk to Social Security!!

Happy Birthday, Dilly and Ian!!

Well, I'm a few hours late with this birthday wish, but I'm sure Dilly won't mind!
Piccadilly is now officially one year old as of August 14th. Ian is also one year old on the 14th. Confused? You thought he was 7 and his birthday was in April?? Well, you're right. August 14th is Ian's spiritual birthday. A year ago today (pretend it's still the 14th, okay?) Ian accepted Jesus as his savior. I can't believe it was a year ago. Time certainly flies.
I still think it's pretty cool that Dilly was born that very day. At that time we had no idea that we would be looking for another dog anytime soon, but God knew. He knew that Lucy wasn't going to be around much longer and that we'd miss her and want another "horse" in our house. I call her a horse because she gallops and when she runs in the house it kind of sounds like a horse, that and the fact that she is so tall! It's a good thing she's so cute...she's already eaten/ruined one pair of tennis shoes, a pair of sandals and two pairs of flip flops (those were mine) she also destroyed one of Ian's cleats. She hasn't messed with Colin's shoes yet (I guess she's smart and doesn't go for those smelly things!)
So here's a Happy Birthday to two very loved and challenging blessings in my life!

Martha's Family Cookery Book Giveaway

Well, to keep myself entertained while I have been trying to rest my back I have been looking at various blog giveaways. I found one tonight that looks pretty cool. It's open until midnight on Aug. 15th. They are giving away Martha's Family Cookery Book. It's a cookbook and meal planner all in one. That sounds completely awesome! I can always use some help with menu planning. If you would like to enter go to their website at :
Mountain Morning Homeschool: Martha's Family Cookery Book Giveaway
In honor of this giveaway I'm going to post my favorite rice casserole recipe.
Green Rice Casserole
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk
1/2 c. cooking oil
3 eggs
1/2 small onion, minced (I dice a whole large onion)
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar
3 c. cooked long grain rice

In a large bowl beat milk, oil and eggs together until well combined. Add all remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into greased crockpot. Cover and cook on high for 1 hr, then set on low and cook for 4 to 6 hours. Stir during first hour.
***I usually double this recipe because I have a big crockpot and I love having this as a leftover.
I usually make this the next day after we've had a meal with rice. I cook rice extra so I can make this recipe. I usually add extra onion because I like onion and it tastes great in this recipe. This recipe is pretty forgiving, many times I've added extra rice without doubling the recipe and it still turned out great (I just add a little extra milk and cheese).
I first had this recipe at a friend's house. I really thought that I had been eating a rice casserole with broccoli in it, not spinach!
I hope you try this recipe, it's so yummy!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

A Real Pain in the Neck

It's been a little while since I last blogged. I was trying to get better. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working.
I had my ultrasound of my kidneys Friday afternoon. Friday night I had my Bunco night and I felt pretty good. I thought maybe I was getting better. After Bunco we came home and went to bed soon after getting home. When I was laying down I noticed my neck hurt a little. I told Colin, but didn't think too much about it until I woke up Saturday morning.
Saturday morning I woke up and started to get up. My whole back hurt. My neck hurt and I could hardly lift my head off my pillow. When I did finally make it out of bed I could hardly straighten up and when I did the pain in my pelvis took my breath away.
Even my knees hurt! It was like that all day yesterday.
When I woke up this morning it was the same plus my finger joints hurt. So I called and talked to the consulting nurse and found out some interesting information. I found out that I do not have kidney stones, but they want a CT scan of my kidneys to get a better picture of them. Then the nurse asked if they had mentioned anything about some deformity in the vertebrae in my spine which they had not. I asked if it was like arthritis in my spine and although she isn't allowed to diagnose, she said yes it's like that. So I have an appointment to see a doctor tomorrow and see what they say. I do have an MRI of my lumbar spine scheduled for Friday. We'll see how it goes. At this point I am experiencing more pain in my body than I ever have before.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Long Road To Being Well

Well, I'm still working on getting better. I've been taking my antibiotic so some of my back pain has gone away. I'm still having pain that comes and goes, I never know when it will start hurting. So I still have a couple of tests to get. Friday I will get an ultrasound of my kidneys to know whether I have kidney stones or not. I also have an MRI of my spine scheduled, although I doubt that they will find anything, but at least I'll know for certain, I hope!
One thing that is no longer hurting my back is walking the dog. Colin was talking to a lady who might be in his van pool (whenever that happens, until then, he's on the bus). She started talking about her dog and so he talked about our dog and it turns out we both have Airedales and Dilly's daddy and their dog came from the same breeder, so they might be cousins. Colin started talking about how Dilly likes to pull and she said that her dog did that until she got a head collar for him. So we bought one called a Halti. Man, I love that thing! Dilly can't pull. Well, she can try, but if she does, it turns her head to the side and she stops pulling. It is a joy to walk her now. We actually look forward to it! I didn't realize how badly walking her when she was pulling made me feel until she stopped.
So, while I am trying to feel better, I heard some bad news about my neighbor. We were out weeding and watering the garden and Mr. Neighbor was outside working. He got to talking to Colin and told us that Mrs. Neighbor is sick. She has Alzheimer's. I don't know if they've known this for a long time and just haven't mentioned it or if they recently found this out. I'm sad because she is such a sweet lady and Ian just loves her. I'm not sure how old Mrs. Neighbor is, Mr. Neighbor is either 81 or 82 and I think she's a little bit younger.
Well, it's late. I know I had more things to say, but I can't think of them right now. Take care!