New Digs

Well, well, well...it's been awhile. I am coming out of blogging hibernation to say that I will be temporarily posting at my new blog That Spine of Mine. I will be undergoing back surgery sometime in the coming months and wanted to chronicle my medical journey in a separate blog. I thought it best to keep this blog for happier topics...like balloon animals and kittens.

Don't fret...I'll be back here (to not blog) in no time flat.

I Love Modern Medicine

Ya'll, I am ecstatic. I have had 4 pain-free days and I'm completely head over heels with joy.

I suffer from some pretty serious back pain issues and have been for some time. I have been in pain (in varying degrees) for almost 10 years. I have had physical therapy, various nerve blocks, etc., but all in all I have been very disappointed with the results...that is until Monday.

I had a nerve block injection in my facet joints and the nerves at the base of my spine and I feel fantastic! I don't know how long it will last--could be days, could be months--but whatever time I'm given, it's a gift.

Just had to share my ebullient joy with my blog--especially since 99% of my blog time is spent complaining about something (like birds) or someone (like purchasers of pajama jeans).

Favors of Lifesavers

Life has been so hectic and fast-paced lately that I've often called out for a lifesaver. It's all good busy, but at the end of the day--busy is busy--good, bad or indifferent. And busy makes me wacko. I morph into this whiny, needy, bitchy lady when I'm super duper busy. Just ask my husband...he can tell war stories for hours.

You see, way back in February, I decided to start baking & selling cookies. Little did I know that it was going to turn into a full time gig, on top of my regular full time job. 40 hour work week + 40 hour cookie work week = crazy, crabby (and often flour/icing/dough covered) girl.

Thank goodness for my lifesavers. I feel that the people on this list deserve some sort of awards ceremony for putting up with me over the last few months. But, alas, I don't have the budget for a ceremony and trophies, so a random acknowledgement of this blog will have to do for now.

So thank you, dear lifesavers, for catching me when I am on the brink of my sanity:

1) Mr. L. A more dedicated and loving husband than I deserve. You are in the eye of the storm and your hair isn't even messed up. You are a rock and you amaze me.

2) My encouraging friends. You know who you are (Al) and your support and enthusiasm always give me a second wind. You do anything you can to help a sister out and for that I am deeply appreciative.

3) My enthusiastic in-law family and nuclear family. I have never met a group of people that believe in my abilities and my talents the way they do. I'm honored and I hope I'm worthy of all of your efforts on my behalf. Thanks for helping out a dork like me.

Bird-ur (Bird Murder)

I am not a cruel, murderous, or violent person. I could never go hunting and purposely kill an animal. My Dad was a veterinarian, for heaven's sakes... I own a cat, I pet dogs, I love all of our furry, feathered, fluffy friends.

But, I swear, if the little feathered demon who is chirping in the tree outside my bedroom window ALL NIGHT LONG persists, there will be dire, dire consequences. Some would say bird-urous consequences.

Last night, I found myself outside at 3:30 am, broom in hand, beating a tree and yelling obscenities. This was after my desperate 2:30 am search for an old pair of earplugs that I had somewhere in my stored luggage. Of course this took place after hours spent futilely trying to drown out the incessant chirping with a fan, an ipod, and the covers over my head.

Oh, chirping evil genius, what have I done to deserve such rath? PLEASE MATE AND GET IT OVER WITH....or else.

Today I hate my job.

Suffering Succotash!

So, I've had a tough time physically lately. If you read my last post, you know that last Friday was the first day of the downward spiral. What you don't know is that I had started a new diet last week. A serious diet. A diet that makes you suffer.

To prep for my diet, I cut out sugar a couple of weeks ago. It was horrible, but I suffered through it. The following week, I started my super strict, super awful diet. I was finally though the rough part when my neck incident occurred.

Because the medications I was on made me feel terribly sick to my stomach, I had to forfeit my no-sugar, no-real-carbs gig and drink some regular soda and eat crackers. After all, when you're in terrible pain, who wants to feel sick to their stomach and be forced to eat protein fortified bariatric fare?

Not this cowgirl.

Just as I started to recover from the neck incident, I had a marathon 5 1/2 hour dental appointment that was nothing short of sheer mid evil torture. And what do you eat when you're mouth is super sore and you can't chew? Well, chocolate ice cream of course. And pasta. And oatmeal--all of which are pure sugar and carbohydrate.

Now that the seven days of neck and dental suffering are coming to a close, it hit me. Gadzooks! I'm going to have to start all over again with diet-induced agony.

Oh, the humanity! Will the suffering ever cease!?!

Stuck & Un-Stuck

My Friday started out like this at 5:30 am. I woke up, stretching, and pulled a major muscle...

As it got later in the day, my muscle got angrier and angrier at me. It got so angry that I became frozen in place with my head cocked to the side. Boo. I was stuck like that for hours and hours and hours...all of Saturday, in fact.

Then, on Sunday, an amazing Massage Therapist/Super Hero flew in to my rescue! Her name is Allison Crawford and she's amazing...

She massaged the heck out of my muscles and mad ethem a lot less angry at me. My muscles breathed a big sigh of relief as she worked on them.

And now, I'm all better! If ya'll ever want an amazing massage, you should totally call Allison. Your muscles will love you forever if you do....