They're Here

Highlight of the week - wait, no, the month - oh who am I kidding...highlight of the summer was going to the airport to pick up C.J. and Jon this morning.

Their plane was slightly late getting in.  Which, if you're a mother waiting to see her kids after a lengthy absence, feels a lot longer than slightly.

Zack got a little bored while waiting.

But finally they landed.

And taxied to the gate.

So they could disembark

Finally we saw them!!

And hugs all around!

Tomorrow we leave for another week up north with my parents.

On Second Thought

So.....I had great plans to mow the front lawn yesterday afternoon.  But....when I saw the temp was a whopping 63* I abandoned those plans.

Instead, I grabbed my laptop, went down to our family room, turned on the big screen TV, and curled up to work on some lesson plans for the first couple weeks of school (yes, I'm a nerd like that... about this time I get very excited about school starting).

 I was kinda watching the TV  whenthe show was interrupted and on the screen was a view of a hospital room door. 

For 15  minutes or more the camera never deviated from its position aimed at the front door...waiting for the "royal" family to step out with that new baby.

My first thought was, "great... this is a total waste of time."

 But...I was too lazy to get up and get the remote so I decided to just watch.

Now, admittedly, I have not followed the royal family for years.  My views of them were shaped years ago and basically were:

- stuffy
- uncomfortable in public
- not very friendly
- and (let's just be honest here) not very attractive to look at.

Imagine my surprise when these two walked out:

Oh My goodness...they were too cute (he has his mother's good looks and smile).  Even taking the added measure to color coordinate their clothes to match the gender of their new baby.  And how happy do they look? 

 They came down the steps and answered some questions for media - and with humor I might add.

Totally unexpected.

Totally different.

I am still not a big fan of "royal" families...but I guess I can be more objective when interrupting  Dr. Phil is not involved.

Royal Baby

Hello there...am I the only one who could care less about the "royal baby"?

It's not that I don't care about the baby itself of course, but here are a few reasons I could care less if I hear, read, or see any news about it.

1).  I don't even live in England

2). I think the notion of a "royal family" is ridiculous.   

3). There are many other relevant, interesting things going on in this world that I would rather hear or read about. 

Don't think I don't appreciate a "feel good" story with all the violence, hatred, and intolerance going on in the world today

but

For pity sake...interrupting Dr. Phil to talk about the "royal birth" was about more than I could handle!!! 

Out to Lunch

This is a Michigan leftover.  Every Thursday my parents go to the "downtown" area to listen to the weekly entertainment and have food from local vendors. The event is called Out to Lunch.

Zack and I joined them for about an hour before we headed to the lake for swimming.

It wasn't our kind of music anyway.

Mom and her friends Bill and Marie (dad is hiding behind Bill)

Ollie finding some shade under the lawn chair

July 11 - entertainment was called Small Potatoes

The entertainment

Dinner Out

Hubby works nights this weekend so Zack and I took the opportunity to go to one of our favorite places...Buffalo Wild Wings. 

**Bonus** Lauren was working which means we got 25% off our meal.

"Normal"

Hubby asked me how I was feeling today.  He's not a big fan of the Icy Hot.  I think he said something about reminding him of his grandma.

Anyway, my response was, "it's a normal day."

This prompted him to ask, "well, what's normal?"

I responded something like, "pain in my neck and shoulders when I move them and intermittent stabbing pains in my upper and middle back. But nothing unbearable (like the other day)."

I've been researching fibromyalgia - which is a pretty good possibility.  Hubby tried to be kind and give me a massage and just the slightest touch in that area sent me through the roof!  These painful pressure points extend to the outside area of my upper arms.  It sounds crazy but just rubbing soap on my arms or back can hurt. 

The best way I can explain it is it feels like when you have a bruise and there is pressure put on that area.  Just a tender area.  

Anyhow, this will be my last post for a while where I complain about my aches and pains.

We have much greater things to celebrate...C.J. and Jon come in just 6 days!!!!!!!  I cannot wait!!!!  

As any mother knows, you grow another heart with each child you have.  That new heart camps out in your child and so, when your child is gone, it feels like part of your heart is gone as well.

Believe me when I say I thank God EVERY DAY that my child is still living - just living in Orlando.  But as much as I miss him and miss having him with me every day, I can still see him three or four times a year.  And for that, I am so very grateful!!!  

I am looking forward to another week up north...and, of course, our (what is turning into a tradition) Brewers game.  They stink so bad this year we should be able to get really cheap tickets!

Pictures from our visit last year.

Better

Today is a much better day.  The pain is not gone - it's never completely gone (except when taking the Diclofenac) but today it is being managed with ibuprofen and some good doses of Icy Hot cream.

Thank goodness...yesterday was pretty rough.

Pain Sucks!!!!!

Since having to go off the Diclofenac at the end of May due to high liver levels...the pain is back!

Some days are pretty okay...some days are horrible...but most days are somewhere in between.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the level of pain.  For instance, if I could relate it to weather or activity level then I might be able to control it a little better.

Today is a horrible day - HORRIBLE!!!  Could it be the heat?  I doubt it because Monday and yesterday were "normal" days and they were just as hot as today. 

Most people don't realize the pain I live with because I DO NOT like to be a complainer.  My grandmother used to complain about her aches and pains constantly and it got to the point where no one wanted to talk to her because that is all she talked about.  God forbid...I don't want to become that!

I am back to the pain medicine... on bad days I have to take it two (sometimes three) times.  On the good days...I only take it once.  But, unfortunately, there has become a dependence and, even if it is a good day and I feel relatively well, I have to eventually take a dose (or half a dose) to fend off withdrawal symptoms.  I hate this!!!!

Last year I was watching a Dr. Phil episode about a woman who supposedly lived with chronic pain and was addicted to pain medication.  Dr. Phil offered her a complete work-up with the country's finest doctors who felt certain they could help her get off the medication and be pain free.

She turned it down!!!!!! She turned it down!!!!!

She just wanted to remain on her pain medication!

I'm sorry...but this lady did NOT have any pain or she would have jumped at the help.

Pain medication does not even take the pain away completely...it just takes the edge off the pain and makes it more bearable to do things such as...move! 

Living like this sucks!! And I would love forever anyone who offered to help me find permanent relief from my pain.

I try not to be discouraged and remind myself that I can hopefully start taking the Diclofenac again next month if all my blood work looks good.  I have also talked with others who have chronic inflammatory illnesses and they have reassured me that it takes a while to get a proper diagnosis and get on the right medication - sometimes up to three years.  I am going on a year. 

So, all who read this (if you are still reading this) thanks for reading my vent.  Join me in prayer that I can resume the Diclofenac next month. 

The Inside Story of the Gumballs

Whenever we visit my parents up north, a must stop place is a restaurant called Main Street Pizza.

Inside the restaurant they have a pinball machine that spits out gumballs.

Once, a few years ago, when I was playing...C.J. walked up to me and jokingly said I was so immature for playing it and at that EXACT same moment, I said, "oooh, I got a purple one" like I was ten years old.

It has been an inside joke ever since!

Look!  I got a purple one!

Yeah...the purple ones are my favorite.

Five Facts About Our Dog

1). We got Ollie, as a puppy, four years ago today.

2). He is the most pathetic momma's boy and follows me everywhere - even into the bathroom.

3). He LOVES people and makes the mistake of thinking that all people love him.

4). He is a very well-behaved dog.  He listens quite well and is usually very calm. He's a pretty go-with-the flow kind of dog.

5). He fits in our family perfectly.

Bunny Watching

They come every night when we are visiting my parents.

And Ollie goes crazy watching them.

Sad to think what he would do to them if he ever caught one.

Keweenaw Country of Michigan

Because Zack showed such an interest in visiting the Iron Mine the last time we were up north, my dad decided to take him (us) on a day trip over to the Houghton/Hancock area of Michigan to tour the copper mine.

The Quincy Mine Hoist 

This tour was very different from the Iron Mine.

The tour started in this building:

where we saw a short movie and then toured the building.

Below is the apparatus which was used to lower the men into the mine.  It is like a ladder and each step could fit three men.  It was suspended by cables which were wrapped around the big drum in the picture above.  As one end of the drum would unwrap the cable to lower men into the mine...the other end would wrap the cable and pull men out of the mine.  Pretty interesting.

mine shaft car

That, however, is not how we got into the mine.  We boarded a tram like vehicle which slowly lowered us at a 45% angle to the lower ground.

view from inside the tram

Once we got to the lower ground we boarded a wagon pulled by a John Deere that brought us into the mine.

Mine entrance

The whole tour took about 2 hours.  After the tour we continued north to Copper Harbor while driving along Lake Superior. The weather wasn't that great to begin with but dropped to 56* while driving along the lake.

Ollie didn't care, though. He still enjoyed the head hangin out the window.

We had packed a picnic lunch but ended up just eating in the car!

We drove to northern most tip of the peninsula and enjoyed a beautiful view and waterfall.

Mom, Zack, and me

Mom, Dad, and me

Zack and me

It got warmer as we headed home...

Houghton was beautiful:

Bridge between Houghton and Hancock

And by the time we got back to Iron Mountain at 8:30 it was 77*.

Ollie tuckered on the way home: