Monday, February 25, 2008

I got my first REAL KISS!!!

From 15 month-old Michael today! :-D
It made the sadness of Robert going back to Korea a little easier to bear.

I think I'm in love....

...with Ben Stein

Friday, February 22, 2008

Happening Ramblings....

2.23.08 update: I'm back! Barbara, sorry...I'm NOT takin' that stuff again. I could sell it on the street and fund Michael's college. Just kidding. I am very sensitive to medicines, so I'm limited on what I can take...guess that's why I started with the alternative stuff. Thanks to all of you for your kind comments. I feel pretty good today, so am painting an accent wall in my bedroom. Hope you all have a terrific weekend!
This will put a smile on your face:
Iraq dog saved by St. Pete Beach Marine gets a home - Bay News 9

2:45 pm update: Arrghhh! I've lost a whole day with being loopy with this drug! When will I learn?? I'm woozy and kind of nauseous...and I still hurt! Has anyone else tried Lyrica?

I've been here and there for a week or so. Right now, I'm not sure where I am. Went back to D.O. and they are checking my thyroid. We can't figure out if the lupus is still flaring, or it's the fibromyalgia. I'm just tired of them both.

He's got me trying Lyrica for the fibro, the Lyrica is a drug for nerve pain. They are finding that the pain of fibro starts in the brain...it's an abnormal brain reaction that cycles pain impulses round and round again. Lyrica is for neuropathy pain and shingle pain, but has been approved for fibro use.

All I know is every inch of my skin and muscle hurt all the time. No pity please...I'm used to it, but I get a little depressed when some of the pain is aleviated via scary drug usage when I want to FIND OUT WHAT CAUSES it and stop it! I know a lot of you can relate.

I woke up this morning with about 15% less pain, not really significant. I think he wants to see what is caused by fibro, and what is lupus. I wanted him to just check my ANA and see if the numbers went down or not. He didn't.

SO...I took that med last night, and I'll give it the ol' college try for a week...maybe. I'm so loopy now, I'm not sure. I could go back to sleep in a second. I don't know. Why don't we try to solve the cause, instead of putting a temporary bandaid over the illness?

The stuff that my Chinese doc gave me has definitely caused a feeling of well being, and I showed all of it to my D.O. He doesn't have a problem with any of it except the supplement with some DHEA in it. I did some research and a small amount of DHEA is supposedly helping Lupus patients; the problem is it has to be monitored greatly. OR the FDA and physicians are afraid something might cure a disease, and where would the monetary gain be there? Cynical, ain't I?

I'm in a quandry about what to do. My mood has been great as of late. That joy of the Lord thing really helps--and it's stayed! I worry less, I fear not. It's a happy place to be and I like it. I just keep expecting it to flow over physically and it hasn't. My right hip is causing me multitudes of problems, and my left seems to be wanting to be like my right. I have to literally pick my legs up to get into my car.

On the Robert side, we're having a blast. I'm so proud of who he has become, so responsible, disciplined, helpful, and respectful. He is in awe of his boy. We're all going out to dinner tonight, and he leaves Monday a.m. for Korea. It's been a great visit.

I haven't mentioned this, but if you haven't thought about adopting a soldier that is not receiving mail or care packages, please do. Google American Red Cross, Soldier Angels, whatever. You can't believe how good it feels to send a package that you KNOW will make a difference to some guy or gal over there that otherwise would be getting very little to nothing. It's like Christmas all over, for real. Try it. We're not sacrificing a thing here at home for this war. No matter how you feel about it...it's happening and our kids are over there...and some are coming home wounded, with terrible losses. And we go about our business like nothing has happened. Make a difference.
http://www.adoptasoldier.com/

http://www.soldiersangels.com/

I'm going to walk the dog now. I think.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Disturbing. . .

Received this from a friend of mine about her son and what is happening in the military right now. "John" has been deployed to Iraq twice:

"John" is training with the National Guard this weekend at a different military base than he is assigned. He called last night and said that the military is converting the Navy sailors into Army infantry. When he was getting ready to get out of the Army, he spoke with a Navy recruiter about moving from the Army to the Navy. The Navy recruiter told him not to do that because the military was going to make the sailors Army infantry. Well, it seems that the recruiter was correct. The sailors have T shirts identifying them as "NArmy". They are getting 21 days of training and are immediately being sent to Iraq, Kuwait or Afghanistan. He said "I thought the National Guard wasn't being trained adequately and these guys are in an even worse position".

He had a rifle test and scored 30 something out of 40 something. The Army standard is 26 and the National Guard standard is 23. I'm glad he had the advantage of being trained by/with the 3rd ID just in case he gets deployed again.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Sweet Tuesday

2/7/08 Robert looks so good. He will eventually be deployed to Iraq, so he is working toward warrant officer and pilot school. Michael has settled in with daddy very happily.
Blogworld update... check out Picture the Word. Connie is smokin'.

I've been busy reading your blogs and thinking. . .a lot. I'm out of my studio...I'll post some pictures. It was very weird moving out of a space that I had occupied for some 13 years.

My mind is pretty much consumed with Robert--he will be home from Korea today around 4:30 for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see him interact with Michael, who is practically running these days and has grown so much.

I can't wait to see Michael see his daddy--the man that he hasn't forgotten, even in absence--the man photographed in pictures that Michael grabs and holds and crumples between his chubby little hands as he smiles into paper eyes.

My boy Robert is coming home...21 years old...a helicopter mechanic in the Army...a husband, a daddy, a man.