Test Photo

Mostly I was just testing out the new camera when I took this picture but I thought it was cute.

Ollie is not allowed in our living room so when we eat in there he'll sit on the edge of the carpet and beg. 


And he's testing a little bit with those front paws on the carpet.

Happy Birthday To Me

It's a month early but a lot of things are coming up that I'm going to want pictures of.


I gave up on the idea of a great camera for now...just not in the budget.  But I found this one that has 16 MP and some other interesting features on sale at Walmart for $86.00.


Finally I can take pictures again.


Oh... and I also bought a camera case this time...on the off chance that the dog finds another horse he wants to befriend.

Breathing....

...we take it for granted.


In and out...in and out...we do it a million times a day.


We don't give it a thought because it is a natural part of who we are.


Unless you are me...


Then almost every breath you take hurts... you cannot inhale a full breath... you cannot run or do any exercise... and lately, you cannot even laugh without paying the price of shortness of breath.


And no one... not one single doctor in the past 25 years... can give you an answer as to why!! 


 Oh, I've heard doctor's shoot off an isolated diagnosis.. such as chronic bronchitis, lung scarring, or cough variant asthma.... only to be shot down by the next doctor as being improbable based on test results.


I have been given more than a dozen inhalers, nebulizers, and acid reflux meds to no avail.  (Actually the funny thing is if I ever do try my rescue inhaler - it makes things worse not better.)


The latest frustrating event has been transpiring over the past two weeks.  


Still not feeling well (from August) I went back to my primary and demanded a chest x-ray...after all...it had been four years since the last one... and right now I was symptomatic where four years ago when I had the x-ray I was not... so I figured it couldn't hurt.  After the x-ray, while showing me the results, the doctor used words such as "interesting" and "unusual" while highlighting sections of my lower right lung that contained fluid filled bronchial tubes and pointing out several mucus plugs that were in my lungs.  The last thing he said was that he was "curious" what the radiologist would say on the final read.


Now, for the average person to hear they had an abnormal chest x-ray would probably be bad news.  But I am here to tell you that I was beyond excited!!! Ah, sweet validation...visual proof... I am NOT CRAZY!  


Have you ever googled your symptoms and played home doctor?  Yeah, me neither...except I did.  I excitedly typed out the words "fluid filled bronchial tubes" and "mucus in lungs" and was eventually intrigued by something called Acute BronchoPulmonary Aspergillius or ABPA for short.  In summary, it nailed my every symptom perfectly.


Next step... involve my allergist.  She requested the x-ray read and ordered some blood tests.


The results are as follows:
- on final read the radiologist said NOTHING about ANY of the things the doctor highlighted on the x-ray (of course - by now this doesn't even phase me).  His final take was something to the effect of "mostly normal...slight sign of mild Emphysema."  Allergist tells me you cannot detect Emphysema on a chest x-ray so she has no idea what he is talking about.
In short....no answers there!
-blood work, and lots of it, comes back basically all normal with the exception of ever so slightly low platelet count and an elevated allergy count (which we already knew).  Blood levels for ABPA were negative or normal.  No answers there.


I am seriously thinking my next step may be visiting Mayo Clinic in Rochester this summer...before I lose my ever-loving mind!!

Just Some Thoughts

     While in Dubuque the dog spotted a horse and decided that said horse should be his new best friend.  Anyway, he gave a hard tug on his leash, which resulted in me dropping my camera, which then damaged the lens of that camera, which means that my camera is no longer in working order!  Since my birthday is next month I am trying to drop hints to hubby that I would like a new camera (and they are not subtle hints either).  I would like a better camera.   You know, one where you can set the ISO and all that jazz.  I am finding myself somwhat interested in amatuer photography.  Until then, I saw an old camera lying around - one where you have to buy the film and have the film developed - and I am thinking about using that one for the time being.

     School is going rather well.  After a somewhat bumpy start things seem to be clicking.  I was not thrilled with the curriculum in a few of the classes so have done some moderate tweeking to make things work.  And I was DEFINATELY not thrilled with the behavior of a couple of the classes but I think I made my expectations clear and things have been much better.  I do love having Thursdays off - oh, and Friday afternoons too.  It is an early start to the weekend!

     Zack started the year on a rough note too.  But after some help organizing himself and a trip to the doctor for a medication increase he is really doing well - even bringing up his grades as much as 10 whole points in a couple subjects!  It helps also that he has a  wonderful, exceptionally flexible and helpful teacher!!

     C.J. is enjoying the warm Florida sunshine while the weather here turns cool and crisp.  He has been taking advantage of his free entrance to Universal Studios and visits Halloween Horror Nights every night it's open.  I am so glad that he is happy and enjoying life but every once in awhile my mind will drift back to when he still lived here...I miss him.

     I miss my other son too!  Jon also seems happy at college but it is hard without him here.  My first thought as I woke up this morning was "remember just two short years ago when our house was full of kids."  Now it is just the three of us (and the dog) and life seems empty at times.

     We are awaiting a visit from mom and dad in a couple short weeks.  This marks the annual event when mom (who has been in Florida since the end of August) flies up here to meet up with dad (who stayes up north to hunt) and they spend a couple days with us before driving down to Florida together for the winter.  This has always coincided with Jon's birthday which will make his absence seem all the more painful this year.  However, I think we may take a day and go visit him while they are here.

      That pretty much sums up life at this point.  Hopefully next time I'll have pictures to share.

Visiting Jon

Oh my.  What an unbelievable weekend. 

For me, of course, it all starts with great weather - and this weekend sure delivered with our third and fourth straight day of temperatures in the 80's and pure sunshine baby!

So as Zack and I made the drive over to Platteville on Friday afternoon, the sun cast a light on the trees that made the colors seem all the more spectacular.

On Saturday we made our way over to Dubuque, Iowa.  Zack had never been to Iowa so he wanted to add another state to his list of "states I have been in." He currently stands at 24 states. 

We had lunch at one of our favorite places - Buffalo Wild Wings.

Zack is wearing the headband that Jon won by completing the "Blazin' Wings Challenge" at this very same BWW just days ago.  In short, he gulped down 12 wings with their signature Blazin hot sauce in 6 minutes - w/o anything to drink! 

This is not my idea of fun.  Truthfully, I couldn't gulp down 12 wings with ANY kind of sauce - I couldn't even finish the 6 I ordered.

Jon talked me into getting the blazin sauce on the side to just "try it."  I dipped a corner of a piece of chicken in the sauce and my mouth burned for minutes.

Here is Zack after he sampled the sauce as well.

Don't know if you can really tell how bad his eyes are watering but he went right for his soda - couldn't even pose for a picture first!

Next we headed to "downtown Dubuque" 

Parked the car, and walked around.  We came across a funnicular railway and for just $1.00 a person, you could ride it to the top of a hill for a scenic view.  So, why not?

Beautiful Day

Jon did not go up with us because he has a fear of heights.  This worked out perfectly since someone needed to stay with the dog.                                                        

After that we stoppped at a little curbside cafe for some ice cream (an water for the dog)  

                

So, I went through the weekend making my mental notes to soak in all the sights and sounds of the moment.  Making memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.

Though it was difficult to leave, Jon is happy where he is so that makes a mother's heart a little less heavy.

          

God's Paintbrush

One thing Wisconsin has over Florida is the gorgeous fall colors.


It is sometimes breathtaking to look at - especially when perfectly illuminated by stunning sunlight and accompanied by 70-80 degree warmth.


I like to think of it as God painting his landscape to create this beautiful canvas

Pictures don't really tell the whole story of the beauty.

Enjoying Fall

We have been enjoying some BEAUTIFUL weather lately... with no end in sight.  Sunny skies with daytime temps in the mid to high 70's and cooler nights once the sun goes down.


We have been taking longer nighttime walks

Taking more time to sniff around and seek out prey

Resting in the remaining sunlight between running around

And then, when the sun casts long shadows on the grass..

We take one more jog around the yard and head inside for a drink and a well-deserved rest.

Sports Trifecta

This weekend was the ultimate sports trifecta here in Wisconsin with wins by 


the Brewers (a big playoff win-two actually)

the Badgers (a huge win against #5 Nebraska to remain undefeated (5-0)

and the Packers a big win to remain one of the only two NFL teams to remain undefeated (4-0).

a good weekend!  


Never mind my beloved Florida Gators lost yesterday...I'm gonna forget about that one.

Beautiful Fall Day

Days like this he just wants to lie out in sunshine.