Yes, I'm Still Alive!

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I'm still alive. I know, I know, I'm not sure why I'm not posting on this blog? I don't think it is "nothing to say" so then??? We'll just have to see I guess.

Well, Summer is totally over with Labor Day Weekend gone. We are heading into our 4th week of classes. I taught 3 classes this summer & then had about 2 weeks off. I needed more! Lots going on at work. New president so that is a wait & see how things change or don't? We are going into a negotiation year so that is always fun! HA! Turmoil everywhere with the country & jobs & no different with us. We have 450 more students on campus than we normally do. We have no parking!!! They have them parking along the side streets & in the grass. Incredible. All our sections closed, and I don't know the last time that happened and this is my 14th year. Lots of students saying they rather go cheaper rather than go to a University right away. Alot of people out of jobs also going back to school.

Today was a bummer. I stopped for a red light, what I thought, and someone rear ended me. He says it was green. You know "red" and "green" is quite different? I can see him saying it was yellow & just turned or something on whether you think a driver in front of you may stop or go through but??? I don't know happend fast. I saw him in my rear view mirror & saw that he was not going to stop without hitting me so I tried to go a bit further but he still hit me. The cop said still there is no violation even stopping on a green. I said, "I know, what if I had to stop fast for an animal or a kid on a bike etc?" and he said, "Yes, I'll be having a discussion with him about safe distance to stop etc." Not too much damage on my car but enough that I am going to take it in to be fixed up. Ugh. My baby will be 2 yrs old in Dec so I am not happy about that. He had more damage small Nisson but just a bit more, no major smashing in etc. No one hurt & that is what is most important.

Been quite sad everything happening lately with our country...assumptions and so much hate going around. Pastors even saying he doesn't consider someone killing the president murder & wishing one of God's children Cancer. Ugh!!! Very sad.

Hey...did you all see the new Sean Connery Ad for Louis Vuitton? OMG!!! YUM! Now, I'm not thrilled with some of his macho attitude being nasty toward women in the past but I must say next to Pierce he is my next favorite Bond. Does he come with the bag, because I've never even thought of getting one but if that was the deal I just might! HA!

Lets see what else...my back is ?? Better. Certainly better than May but last couple of days my right hip & between my shoulder blades has been acting up. My toe is still broken, 11 weeks! I go back next Fri. He is still taping it up. He said I need to stay off it but if it doesn't hurt I'm on the go.

My cousin is due to have a baby in the next week. I saw her last weekend & she looks very good & was 1-2 cm already. I'm very excited for her & to have another member of our family & a baby around again. My one niece is 18 yrs old & the other 12 now! UGH!

The temps are going down already, we are seeing 70s for highs and the trees have been turning colors & dropping leaves already. UGH!!! I don't mind a long fall but I hope we don't have a nasty cold winter.

Well that is it for now but I'll try to post again soon.

I Can Get Married Now!

I started this a while back & never finished it. So here you go with a bit added from this past week!

Oh I know, I know...I'm so bad. Incredibly busy. Well I was checking out the new Willow Trees for ideas for my b-day...yep 2 weeks ago...and I saw they had a cake topper. OMG I love it. I love the expression. So comfortable & secure and loving. That is what I would want! Maybe that is why I couldn't get married until this was made? Although the next problem is I love the bride dresses from when I was in my 20s! Ugh! I don't like many of them they make today! Do you remember the puffy shoulders & then the points that came down to you index finger. :-) The V boddess, hanging bead head pieces...ha! I don't like the strapless today at all. And NO butt bows!

You know last week I was talking to 2 of my students after class & he said "Our kids" and so then I said, "Ok, since you said that I have to ask..." Yep, they are married. Just married in May. No one could really tell in class. Seemed like they knew each other but that is about it. So then I got the story. It was soooo inspiring. They met when she was 9 yrs old! HA! Then nothing until she was graduating from 8th grade & they met again. He asked her to prom not realizing when she said she was graduating that it was from 8th grade! HA! Well, when I was 14 yrs old I had 19 yr old guys after me so....puberty came quite early! They dated a bit a few yrs later & broke up & then later met but both were married with kids. Then time past again & both were divorced. Her son was participating in Boyscouts & he was the leader. Well after 5 yrs of dating & making sure the kids were ok with it etc they are now married. They were so cute describing the journey. He would add a part & then her. I asked him, "When you met her when she as 9 yrs old did you think you would marry her?" She then smiled & said, "Ya, I'd love to know too" and he smiled & really authentically said, "Yes!" I could not believe it. He said that ya he gave up at one point & thus got married to someone else, but it was something he very much wanted. They then commented how they complement each other on their personalities, which I could definitely see. And get this, he is taking the class with her because they neither finished college and she wanted to start back up & he took it to support her. OMG that is just so wonderful. It was such a lovely, inspiring story. He is Lutheran & she is general Christian. Just something about the idea that life's journey takes you in many different directions but if you are meant to be you will eventually be together you know. We discuss that, like my brother and his divorce but if he did not get married I would not have my little niece nor they their children. God sometimes just has different plans. Maybe someday it will work out like that for me! God knows what wedding dresses will look like then! HA!

Big Ouchie!

Man, this just does not seem right! I soaked my toe this morning & it just keeps hurting even frozen. Then I was watching the Cubs later and feel asleep for a few hours. Well I had been skimping on my Zs lately so I probably needed it. I was going to sleep-in this morning, but ended up just waking up. At least when I woke up I found the Cubs did not totally bomb their lead. :-) This toe though is just killing me and I'm not a happy camper right now. I did a bit of shopping & watched a ball game & had a bite to eat at the bar in Lone Star. Had them give me a regular coke and then I got a shot of rum to put it in it. I figured tall glass diluted more & they can add more coke. HA! Well the Tylenol & Motrin is not doing the trick! When I got home I soaked my "little piggy" again. Ok, so I found the rum way back in my fridge & put a bit in my cranberry juice now too. HA! I know that sounds soooo bad but you know I have bottles in the fridge for years now. I really don't drink I swear.

I have to go downtown (Chicago) tomorrow for my back treatment though but at least I don't have my night class since it ended last week. It will be nice to just come home & relax.

OMG I'm watching some kind of movie called "Evolution" with David Duchovny and Julianne Moore...HA! It is sooo pathetic but funny too. I'm going to have nightmares! HA! I use to watch Creature Features, Twilight Zone & Son of Svengoolie with my dad when I was a kid...nothing! Now...UGH! Must be some type of adapting thing...as you get older you need that guy next to you when you sleep for when you wake up with nightmares! HA! I think the guys planned all this don't you? Ha! OMG that movie so stupid! HA! But hey it kept me laughing & that takes pain away so...

Well the movie is over. I should try to get some sleep so I will be perky tomorrow. At least the Taste is over. Man Friday the trains were so crowded and loud from the Taste & everyone going to see the fireworks. Maybe I should freeze my foot again before I go to bed. See now there is another reason to have a guy...he could warm up my foot then. HA! Later!

P.S. Dan...nope no Facebook sorry! Can't seem to see the point of that or Tweeter!

Unhappy Toe!

Hi Everyone!

I know...May 17th was my last post! Ugh! So much to update you on! First, God is having fun with me this morning! Happy Feet is on! UGHHHHH! No, I do NOT have happy feet! I have a Happy FOOT! And no it is not my foot problem from my surgery a number of years ago. That is doing good and is almost at a year mark that I have had an trouble with it (knock on wood!) 2 weeks ago yesterday I got up from a migraine I had had from the night before & decided to take a shower and get my dad some Father's Day gifts. I didn't have my contacts or glasses on & was still a bit fuzzy from the migraine and I stubbed my toe. Well you know I've broken them before and I was pretty sure I did a good job this time. I iced it, and it subsided so I got dressed and ready & headed out. OMG the first place I went I could not walk. When I got home and took my shoe off and my foot & toe, btw it is my baby toe, was all bruised and swollen. More ice! I got in that Monday & Dr. Z. said I broke it in 2 places horizontally. He taped it up & wanted to see me in a week. With my schedule I could not get in until last Fri but that was only a few days more. He took off the tape & OMG it was sooo swollen & it would be 2 weeks the next day. This is odd. Before when I have broken them it would be getting better by now. They do re-xray but he told me, ok kinda yelled, to stay off it. RIGHT! I had 3 classes & 2 I can't really stay off it because the keyboard does not move so...but one of my classes is over now. Then he told me to soak my foot in an ice bath from 40-50 degrees for 15 min 3 times a day. Ugh! I've done it 2 times so far. Yesterday I did it & then I headed home from my folks with a frozen foot & my baby toe throbbing. Ya, that is working! You know, I'll update you later but "it doesn't feel right!" I have a very strange feeling. It is actually feeling worse over time & ????? My gut instinct is just say, "Yo, something is not adding up here, there is a piece of the puzzle missing!" We'll see?!

Now this is just the beginning! Ha! I know, people much worse off than me but this is apparently not a fun time for me and I'm just not too happy my summer is going this way so far. I do have a torn rotator's cuff. We tried 12 weeks of PT & cortisone, which did make it better but the doc is recommending surgery. He said I will be coming back asking him to do it. I'm out of PT benefits so I have to wait until Dec at least & then Jan 1st my new PT benefits will kick in. So far I think I'll be able to wait. Then yes, I did start up Vax-D treatments for my back again. It is better from May but we are now doing another 5 sessions so this would be like the 4th week. So I have to walk to & from the train station to the doc (2 1/2 blocks) and then to the parking lot etc. Not great for my toe! Doesn't help I bought new gym shoes since mine were so bad they were not supporting very well, so they are not stretched out & tight with my swollen toe.

Ok, if this tells you anything...I have no flowers on my deck! I have not done anything on it! UGH! And that is one reason I feel so pissed. If this toe would just heal up & I could have some fun but it is certainly putting a damper on everything. My bros & my little niece (who is no longer little!!!) helped me walking slow etc going to watch fireworks on Fri. We had fun! My mom had cataract surgery on her other eye but not the cornea transplant & it is not going well. They may have to do the cornea transplant anyway and that then will delay her first knee replacement. She may instead have those done in AZ when they return. Then my bro, the goof, is at a friends house cutting wood & he is on the other end he says but not wearing googles...yes you probably can see this coming, he blows the sawdust which is on the other end but still manages to get it in his eye. His one friend is a paramedic so they wash it out but 6 hours later...of course he is a male!....he finally goes in. Yep, they had to get 2 other pieces out & he did scratch his cornea! What a family huh. His is healing with the meds though.

No, I'm not calling "Uncle" yet! And I'm not saying "Yet"! HA! Just have to take it moment by moment. Oh & tell Tylenol & Motrin I will be willing to be a test subject. This toe is throbbing with ice, 2 650mg of Arthritis Tylenol & 800mg of Motrin! YA! See why my gut is feeling weird! Dr. Z. said to go a week & if it is still bothering me with the ice baths he give me something else but if it just knocks me out then I don't want it. He probably does to keep me off my foot. HA! I think the ice baths are just his way to torture me 3 times a day! HA!

Well, I'm going to go & freeze my foot! Ugh! More later! I really do hope you are all having a lovely, and much better summer than I am having.

Summer is Here!

Well not weather wise but graduation was today & I am now on Summer Vacation! And I would just love to do a Happy Dance but my back decided to go out a few days ago. So far it is not too bad...well just on the line. I'm not in excruciating pain all the time. I called the place I had my Vax-D treatments 2 years ago last Thurs and they are getting me in on Monday to see what is going on. Today I went to Acupuncture, helped my hip but then when I went to get off the table my back just spasmed and was pulling me down. I am able to walk slowly & I took my niece to our local semi professional baseball team's home opener tonight. They had fireworks! They lost though! I sat and enjoyed myself and got home ok etc. I just can't twist & turn and it is just really on the edge. I've been sitting too much this last week grading and probably sleeping a few nights on my couch and my folks didn't help. My bro just told me his went out sleeping on their couch! Ugh! So if it wasn't for my back I'd be dancing like crazy...that is after I get some sleep. 3 hours last night, 45 min nap before the game & I'm still up and soooo ready to crash right now. I really hope I don't have to do a month of Vax-D again.

Oh & I found out last month I do have a tear in my rotator cuff, though the radiologist & the doctor disagree on how bad. Doc says doesn't seem to bad & gave me a cortisone shot. Next day UGH!!! but then better but weak. Now it is better overall but tiny spot pain with certain activities. I can move it more freely, which I never realized before the shot I really wasn't. It was getting hard to even type before.

I am teaching a few classes over the summer but with the economy and medical bills I really need to. I'll still have Fri off and there is some overlap in sessions but a few weeks just MW evening & then later it will just be T&TH so then 4 day weekends. It won't be too bad I don't think.

Summer just goes by too fast though!!! This year it probably will especially since my older of my nieces will be heading to College...OMG!!!! I am so not ready for that!

Our weather has been horid! You'd think we were Seatle or something with all the rain we have gotten lately.

Well I can't keep my eyes open anymore, but expect some postings now that I am off! :-)

Just Keep Thinking Summer!

Oh my has it been a long time since I have posted!

Yes, I'm still alive! HA!

I'm just so busy. I don't know where to begin. I'll have to catch you up over time but right now it it is a bit after 3am & I'll be heading to bed as soon as my 800mg of Motrin kicks in. I received a cortisone injection in my right shoulder today (technically yesterday). They said in about 4 hours, which should have been about 2pm, it would begin to ache. I was fine all day & thought great I'll be fine. Well, last couple 4 hours on the computer & now it begins to throb & ache. I have been having trouble with my right upper arm since Oct. It is hard to raise to turn back and it gets hard as a rock when I lift up & hurts. We tried 6 weeks of PT & it really didn't help. I had an MRI done last week. Today he said the Radiologist found a thick tear in my rotator cuff but the doc disagrees? So we will try the shot & 6 more weeks of PT & see what happens. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because it has been getting worse the last few weeks and getting hard to even work on the computer. I'm not sure it could be just over time getting old etc but I did have my arm up & hand supporting the roof of my SUV when it rolled over about 14 months ago so maybe it irritated it & now it is just pooped.

Easter was fun. My cousin came in with her family from CA so I spent time with them on Sat blessing baskets and my cousin's little girl asked me to go with them to visit the Easter Bunny so that was fun. Thursday I went up north to keep our family tradition of visiting 7 churches. My folks are in AZ for the winter & I usually do it with them. A few years I have done it with my cousins but now they are scattered & few busy so I actually did have fun myself this year. I spent Sunday with my sister & her new boyfriend who is a fireman/paramedic. He seems laid back and funny. We'll see. She seems happy and that is good. I'm kinda sad the family traditions are being lost with my generation. I really miss it.

I have about 3 more weeks after this week and then finals week! :-) Summer Vacation is on its way! I can't wait, warmer weather, birds, grilling outside...ahhhhh! And hey the Cubs have been winning so that is great! :-) Ok, more later...

Prayers Needed!

Hi Everyone!

I know I have not posted in quite sometime...just busy but today I need to ask for some prayers for someone who I can't really give you details about. I have been praying for him all evening and asking God to send him my Angels...if Ihave any & if they are not worn out from taking care of me.

Please pray that he keeps his courage and does not lose faith. Pray for him to find the correct words and help. Pray that his heart heals from any wrong doing by others to him. Pray that his spirit does not get so bruised that it loses faith in the good people of the world. Pray that he still feels love & support from those who know him best. Pray that when all is said & done that everything does side on in a just manner and provides more strength rather than weakens him. Pray that he finds a reason and purpose...perhaps wisdom if things have to be a struggle for a while. Pray that he feels God's spirit, the solid support & love that he is on this planet for a reason & still is needed and valued by soooo many. Pray that he gets very peaceful sleep knowing very securely in what he believes is right. (Yes, I know I'm not sleeping now obviously...soon...too worried!) Pray that if God says a door has to be closed he sees the window. Pray that he does know that God is giving this to him because he is the one to handle it. I know I struggle with this myself at times...that edited version...'I just wish God didn't think I was so strong'. :-) Pray he just remembers what is most important in life....not what everyone thinks but what he & his loved ones know him to be. Pray that if there is even an inkling of wrong doing that he is able to accept it, ask for forgiveness and move on rather than beat himself up over it. Pray if there was not any wrong doing on his part he does stay strong & secure and believes in himself.

Ok, I hope God heard all that.