Immunotherapy - Five Months In

 In short - immunotherapy has been a life changer for me!  

From November, 2022 to July 2023, I had six cysts/abscesses on various parts of my body. Obviously, I knew it wasn't normal and figured it had something to do with autoimmune, but it was only recently that I saw a commercial about something called Hidradenitis Suppurativa - according to the website it is a skin condition that causes lumps in places where the skin rubs together such as the groin, buttocks, or armpits. I had them in all three of those places (armpits twice) plus the right lower leg and the gum of my mouth.  It is the result of inflammation.  

The cyst/abscess on the lower leg became infected after it ruptured and then advanced to cellulitis.  

Besides dealing with the abscesses, I also had three UTI's during that time span.  

Most of these infections caused my whole body to react and would cause intense vomiting and fevers.  

The only time I sought treatment from a doctor is when I had the cellulitis and, looking back, this seems insane to me!  I really don't know what I was thinking because now that I look at it through a different lens, any of those infections could have easily turned into something life threatening.  

The out of control psoriasis was another depressing and embarrassing issue. I watched as the psoriasis advanced up my legs, up my arms, and up my whole back.  My feet were also affected, but that was not new - my feet had been bad for about five years already.  The itching was horrible and it was embarrassing to show any part of my skin and have white flakes of skin fall off constantly and everywhere!

I am ashamed to think about how bad I let myself get and only started getting treatment because I ended up in the hospital with such severe inflammation that it was affecting my heart. 

My first dose of Methotrexate was at the end of July.  Since then, I have not had any more cysts or abscesses, no vomiting (other than medication related a couple of times), and no fevers.  I have had one UTI about a week after I stopped taking probiotics/prebiotics for urinary health so I promptly ordered more and take them every day. 

And my skin...

July

September

December

So very thankful and grateful!  
 

Halloween Horror Nights 2023- Rating Two More Houses

 Since I am not rating the houses as a countdown this year, I am trying to rate them in the order we would walk through them (yes, we had a system).  The order may not be 100% correct, but it is close. 

On to the houses...

THE LAST OF US

This house was based on the video game ( and HBO series) by the same name and, honestly, the least favorite for me.  Since I didn't watch the series or play the video game, the house really had no meaning to me.  It was, however, a pretty popular house with others and the one that consistently had one of the longer waits for us.  In fact, factoring in the wait time vs. my overall interest in the house, I wouldn't have minded skipping this house some nights (but we didn't).

The premise is a post-apocalyptic drama.  A global pandemic destroys  civilization and a hardened survivor takes control of a young girl who may be humanity's last hope. Score: 3

Image from Google

Image from Google

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS UNMASKED

Lurking beneath the streets of Paris are the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the Invisible Man aka Jack Griffin. 

As you enter the house you see a full moon and light raindrops sprinkle overhead.  A police man on the bridge above warns everyone to clear the streets due to murders in the area. The rest of the house has you walking through the catacombs, the streets, and the Opera House in Paris.  

There were several rooms in this house and while it seemed a bit disjointed, I loved the Paris theme and scenery.  That bumped up the score for me.  Score: 5 

Image from Google

Image from Google

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

Those were the five houses toward the back of park.  

Up next: The remaining five houses which were all in pretty close proximity in the front of the park. 

Halloween Horror Nights 2023 - Rating the Houses (The First Three)

 This year I opted for the full event express pass, which did not include Saturdays.  It also did not include parking, but thankfully, CJ got free prime parking with his annual pass.  

I don't recall exactly how many times I went but am thinking it was around 7-8 times.  We hit all 10 houses every time except one. 

Instead of rating the houses in order of least to favorite, I am going to give them a number rating of 1-10.  There really were not any ones this year but, in my opinion, there were no tens either. 

CHUCKY: ULTIMATE KILL COUNT

The first house we would hit was Chucky Kill Count.  While not a favorite, I find the backstory (or premise) of this house amusing.  The house was divided in two parts/buildings with a very short walk outside dividing the them.  

Chucky was coming to HHN so Universal created a house to promote him, but Chucky is unhappy with the house because it is lame, fake, and no kills actually take place. So he takes over creating the second part of the house and uses it to increase his kill count substantially by killing anyone who enters it.  Score: 4 (average but entertaining).

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

Stock Photo from Google

Stock Photo from Google

DR.ODDFELLOWS TWISTED ORIGINS

When you enter this house, you are entering a 1930's-era circus.  Dr. Oddfellow has invited you to his big top for a late-night show that is  not for children. The circus acts are actually outrageous murders.  I guess this house comes with a backstory for Dr. Oddfellow that includes a motive - he is essentially collecting souls to gain immortality.   Score: 7 

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

THE DARKEST DEAL

When you enter this house, you immediately meet a down and out musician who strikes a deal with the Collector (of souls). As you go through the house, the musician's popularity rises until the end, when he has to fulfill his end of the contract and face an eternity in the underworld.  This house is very similar to the "Devil went Down to Georgia" song. 

This house was a conundrum for me.  I loved the story line and I think I would have enjoyed the house a lot if it hadn't been for one thing - it was way too dark for me.  I  walked into a couple walls, a prop, and actually got lost to the point where I couldn't move for a few seconds...which seems like an eternity when you are blocking all the people behind you!  It got to the point where I would just hold onto CJ's shirt and honestly, had I not done that, I would have encountered another wall and walked into a table.  Score: 6 (I would like to rate it higher, but it was hard to enjoy when I was so nervous about not making a fool of myself).  

WALKTHROUGH FROM ATTRACTIONS MAGAZINE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

STOCK PHOTO FROM GOOGLE

 

 

Healthy... Nearly Three Months In

 I am approaching three months on a treatment plan for the diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis and I couldn't be happier with the progress.

The diagnosis of an autoimmune disease is so surreal. It's difficult to come to terms with the fact that your own body has betrayed you. Last spring when I was going through having different infections every two weeks, I would often get advice from people on how to boost the immune system. How do you go about telling them that the reason for the nearly constant illnesses is because your immune system is in overdrive and doesn't need any boosting?  I would usually just smile and thank them.

One of my concerns with the immunotherapy was not having an immune system and being susceptible to illness. But this hasn't been the case. I think the dosage of Methotrexate I take is just enough to bring my immune system back to normal, but not knock it out.  In fact, I have not had a single infection or illness since mid -July. 

The side effects are a lack of appetite and being very drowsy, but since I take it only on Fridays, long naps on Saturday and Sunday are usually the norm. 

It's worth it though to go from this.....  

To this....... 

And it will continue to improve according to my rheumatologist. 

I couldn't be happier.

The Picture Says it All

 Nia....our little snuggly cat 

- leaning into Sadie for cuddles

- content 

- eyes closing

- thinking, "I love my sister.  Isn't this nice?"

Sadie.... our "leave me alone" cat

- eyes forward

-deadpan face

- thinking, "I wanted to be an only cat."  

The Death of a Dear Friend

 It's been a couple weeks and I still have no words. 

My dear childhood friend...family friends who are more family than friends. 

Crawled into bed Friday night and never woke up on Saturday September 9. 

Carol Stelter Connely

you will be missed by many. 

I Always Wondered Where the Term "Loafing" Came From

 

Another Health Update

 At the discharge follow-up after my last hospitalization, we really started getting serious about finding a rheumatologist.  Despite being in a pretty desperate situation, the earliest appointment was the end of October.  I felt helpless and more like a pawn in the health care system rather than a person who was experiencing serious health issues. 

I mean...this right here

In the meantime, I had yet another infection!  This time it was in the form of an abscess on the gum inside my mouth.  Painful to say the least!!! The infection did not result in a fever this time, but the vomiting was intense and lasted a full 24 hours.  

I really started questioning whether I'd even be able to work with the new school year just two weeks away.  How can I start school when I was getting sick and needing to be out one day every two weeks? That was how I ended the school year and it was awful, not to mention not fair to the kids.  I started looking into things like FMLA or short-term disability. 

Until a God-ordained meeting in the middle of a Starbucks on a random Thursday morning changed everything!  I had plans to meet a friend at the Starbucks - this was our third attempt to get together. Normally, I would never allow myself to be seen in public with any part of my legs or ankles showing because - 

same picture again

However, my socks had gotten wet and I was forced to take them off.  As my friend and I sat at our table talking, a man at the table next to us kindly interrupted us and asked if I was seeing a rheumatologist for the psoriasis.  I gave him a condensed version of the story and then asked him if he was a rheumatologist?  HE WAS!  Next thing I know he is reaching into a case that was on the floor and pulled out his laptop saying, "oh, no!  I am going to make an appointment for next week before my clinic opens for the day. We're going to get you on some immunotherapy immediately."

I just could not believe this was happening. I went to my appointment on Tuesday and he immediately diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis and prescribed methotrexate. 

For the foreseeable future I will be on a daily dose of folic acid and will take the Methotrexate only on Fridays (six pills). 

Why Folic Acid?

-- folic acid will reduce the adverse side effects of the Methotrexate - nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, mouth ulcers, raised liver enzymes, hair loss, and bone marrow toxicity. 

--folic acid is necessary for red blood cell production and healthy cell growth and function. 

I am excited to begin this new journey. 

CJ's Birthday

 On Tuesday, we celebrated CJ's birthday with an all day "party".  We began by going bowling at the Dezerland Park  on International Drive.

image from google

image from google

I hadn't bowled in years and years and years, but I had a lot of fun.  It ended on a downer though as our time had expired before we got through game 2 and the birthday boy was having one heck of  game. I'm sad that we didn't get to see his final score. 

Dezerland is fun to walk through as it is like a car museum. While they have one little area roped off for a paid our, all the cars are available for everyone to see. 

image from google

image from google

image from google

image from google

After walking around a bit, we went to see Joy Ride at the movie theatre in the Dezerland Mall (Cinemark).

image from google

We finished the day with pizza and cake. 

A Second Hospitalization

 June was the most unbelievable for me.  Besides the 3 times I had the boys, I've only been in the hospital two times in my whole life - once at 2 and I had pneumonia, and once in my early 20's when a blood filled cyst in my stomach ruptured.  So I doubled my hospitalizations in just one month.

Thursday started as every other day however, at some point in the morning, I felt a UTI coming on. Not an hour later, I felt the unmistakable tightness around the chest, feeing as I couldn't breathe, and tingling down my arms. This lasted about 10 minutes.  

I immediately packed a bag and headed over to Orlando Health again. This time they were unbelievably busy. I was given a bed in the area where the ambulance drops off people. They again did an EKG which was, once again, completely normal. They ran bloodwork to check the troponin levels which should be less than 1.  My initial number was 14, my second draw was 99.  

So it was back up to the cardiac unit for me where I spent the next two days feeling absolutely fine.

The cardiologist came Friday morning and signed off stating there wasn't anything he could do for me.  I already had all the test three weeks prior and nothing was going to change in that short time period. He said he thinks the episodes are infection related so chances are it will happen again. 

The only issue this stay was they gave me a blood pressure pill Thursday night and it cause my pressures to tank. I spent the next 14-16 hours with readings about 88/60. Friday afternoon they were up a bit but the doctor wouldn't send me home until the top number was above 100.  When they checked my vitals about 4:00, the top number was 104!!!! Ihad started packing my things to go home when the nurse came in and said the doctor again changed her mind and wanted me to stay because I had a "fever" - 99.4*. I really don't consider that a fever but whatever.  

I stayed another night and then went home Saturday about noon. If this happens again I will not be going to the ER unless he episodes last longer or I have residual effects. I am not going to spend another night in the hospital when I feel absolutely fine. 

Another Appointment and Next Steps

 I had an appointment on Wednesday morning at my normal clinic. It was supposed to be with my PCP but I ended up seeing a nurse practitioner *eye roll*. 

I really liked her as well as the one I saw last week so I guess all is well but the medical field in this state just SUCKS!!!  I had a 9:00 appointment and there was only one other patient in the office at the time so...where are the doctors?   They don't make hospital rounds anymore so....hmmm.  Moving on.

My heartrate was down to 88 so the 5-day dose of steroids seem to have worked. I'm not sure why I wasn't discharged with steroids but whatever.  My blood pressure was also good. 

The next step will be for the doctor to find a rheumatologist who can prescribe a round of two of some kind of immunotherapy to tame down my overactive immune system.  I was looking into Otezla.  

We are also just waiting on the blood tests to come back to pinpoint my autoimmune disease. I'm still sticking with Fibromyalgia. I would be very surprised if it were anything else. 

Health Update

 I have a feeling that my road to recovery will be long and possibly even complicated so I thought I would keep a record here of doctor visits/medications/tests/etc.

My discharge papers list my official diagnosis as acute non-ST segment elevation myocardia infarction. According to what I could find on Dr. Google 

- this is a form of a heart attack

- it is a less serious form because it usually will not cause damage to the heart (as in my case)

- the diagnosis is made through a blood test that will show a higher level  of cardiac enzymes and on an EKG the ST segment will be depressed instead of elevated (as with a STEMI heart attack)

 - this happens when your heart is not getting the oxygen it needs

- there are several causes but mine was  caused by inflammation in the wall of my coronary arteries or heart muscle. 

From WEB MD

NSTEMI. In this form of ACS, your heart is getting some oxygen but not enough. It may be caused by any of the conditions listed above. An NSTEMI is diagnosed when your EKG does not show the type of abnormality seen in a STEMI but your blood tests show that your heart is stressed. 

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE

I had an appointment yesterday at the clinic in Ocoee.

-  My heart rate was still high (114 bpm)

- Blood Pressure was back to slightly elevated 132/90

Summary of the visit

    It's safe to say there is some kind of autoimmune situation going on. The issue is there is no test for Fibromyalgia so that is usually a diagnosis that is made once all other autoimmune diseases have been eliminated. Well, I have not been tested for any autoimmune diseases so on on Monday I will go for bloodwork and that is where we will start. 

The doctor I saw (not my primary) has given me a 6-day supply of steroids that I will hope will help reduce the inflammation. 

I have an appointment on Wednesday with my primary. At that appointment I am hoping to switch to a pill for the psoriasis. The doctor at the hospital prescribed a cream that seems to be working well, however it comes in a 5 milligram tube and I empty a tube in two days because I have to apply it to every inch of my legs. I also have some spots on my back that  cannot reach to put cream on. Because of the severity, I think I need an oral alternative. 

Because I am switching insurance companies in August (because of course I am -  now that I have met my deductible for the year!!!!!!) , I need to coordinate a care team that takes both insurances so I don't have to switch doctors.

 - Oral Antibiotic- Cefuroxime Axetil 500 mg twice a day for 5 days

- Lotion for Psoriasis - Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream USP .05 %

Twice a day

- Loratadine 10 mg  As needed for itching

- Steroid-MethylPrednisolone Tablets USP   4 mg 21tablets

Hospital Adventures

 

Sometime around February I began suspecting I was having an autoimmune flare. At that time I began noticing that I was getting frequent abscesses, fungal infections, and the rash (which I thought was Eczema but later learned is psoriasis) was slowly crawling up my legs. 

Then in March, things really ramped up. I had another abscess on my leg which, when ruptured, quickly became infected and turned into cellulitis. I was fortunate that, while extremely painful and dangerous, I was able to treat it at home after receiving a shot of antibiotics at the Emergency Care.

Three weeks later (mid April) I had another abscess which seemed to attack my whole body resulting in intense vomiting and 101* fever for about 24 hours. Two weeks later (May 4), another abscess with vomiting and fever. And another two weeks (May 18) I had a UTI with the same vomiting and fever.

Then, on June 5 about 2:00 in the afternoon I felt ANOTHER UTI starting so, in frustration, I got in the car and went to the Emergency Room of Orlando Health. 

I wasn't there long when I noticed I was getting A LOT of attention and I just had the feeling that this wasn't a good thing. I soon realized they were focusing on my heart and I was given an EKG, bloodwork, and asked a few separate times if I was having any chest pains (no).

The doctor came in and told me I was having tachycardia (rapid heart rate over 100 BPM) and that my bloodwork contained alarming levels of Troponin which is an enzyme that is released after a heart attack. And, oh yes, as the doctor put it I had a "rip roaring UTI." How the UTI got so bad in just the two hours I was experiencing symptoms I don't know. 

Even knowing all of this I was caught off guard when a woman from admitting came in to talk to me. I said, "What? I'm being admitted?"

The first night, I got NO sleep at all!  Every hour someone was in my room to check my vitals or to take some blood to check the Troponin levels. It was explained to me that the bloodwork had to be repeated ever two hours until the levels started to drop. Even though I had an IV in the crook of my left arm, the blood had to be drawn directly out of a vein in my right arm. UGH!  I was hooked up to a little hand held machine the whole time I was there that monitored my heart rate -  which continued to be high.  And I had a very slow drip of Heparin going that night so each time my arm was bent for too long the machine would beep and had to be restarted (which they showed me how to do myself). Trust me, it happened a lot because I would forget about the IV! Also that first night, a woman came in at 12:30 a.m. to do an ultrasound on my heart. 

The doctor came in my room the next morning and started questioning me about having Lupus and not Fibromyalgia because "Fibromyalgia is not an autoimmune disease." But this is a post in and of itself so I'll move on. He was, in all other manners, very kind. The cardiologist came in and said the heart ultrasound looked completely normal, but that I needed a catherization to ensure there were no blockages.  My foolish, foolish self believed if the catherization was negative, I'd be able to leave that night. 

The procedure itself was not bad but I did not enjoy having to lie on my back completely still for two hours afterward.  I received more great news that I did not have any blockages.  However, my heart rate remained high so I could not go home. I also was still getting IV Rocephin for the UTI. At least that second night I did not have the heparin drip and did not need bloodwork so I slept pretty well. They came in my room at 11:30 and 3:30 to check my vitals and then woke me up at 7:30 for a nursing change. 

Day three was a lot of sitting around waiting for a heart MRI which did not take place until 5:00 which meant another night in the hospital waiting for results. I was also scheduled for another dose of Rocephin and I got a shot of Heparin in my stomach. Night three was much like night two.

Thursday, the cardiologist FINALLY came at 3:00 to give me the final read from the MRI which was normal. All this was pointing to severe inflammation from the autoimmune flare--up putting stress on the heart causing it to release the Troponin. One more dose of Rocephin and another shot of Heparin and I was allowed to leave!  

A shower and my bed never felt so good - for some reason they don't let you shower in the hospital!  

Now I need to get in to the rheumatologist for immunotherapy to suppress my immune system and stop it from attacking my body. 

My Year Is OVER!!!!

For only the second time in my teaching career, I am not upset or disappointed that the school year has ended.  

This year has been an uphill climb that never ended and every bit of it has affected my overall health, especially over the past two months (more on that later). 

When the year began, I knew I was getting a couple of students with behavior challenges. Along with these two impulsive boys who lacked impulse control and empathy, I had an additional 3 or 4 boys who were prone to poor decision making on more than a few occasions.  This normally doesn't bother me as behavior management is my strong point. 

I managed to control their behaviors for the most part but that is the point - I controlled their behavior...there was never any self-regulation of behavior.  This was apparent whenever my teaching assistant was in charge.  They did not listen to her at all!!!!!   I loved her and appreciated her greatly, but she and I were never on the same page as far as setting the bar high for behavior expectations and holding them accountable for their poor behavior. It became so frustrating.  

I can sum it up like this --- as long as they were in the classroom and confined to their desks, and I was in front of them, things went smoothly. We spent the vast majority of the year this way and it was not very much fun at all.  

The second tier to this highly unusual year was that I was given 5 students who were reading at a Kindergarten level at the beginning of the year.  They had a first grade "teacher" who really wasn't a teacher at all!  Her major was Art Education and she had no idea how to teach the students to read.

I couldn't blame her - but it created for me a LOT of extra work this year to get them caught up. I worked my tail off and got some satisfaction from the end of the year testing  which showed 3 of the 5 improved to mid-late 2nd grade, 1 improved to early 2nd grade, and 1 was sooooo low, we knew from the beginning of the year he would be retained. But even he reached the goal we had set for him which was mid 1st grade level. 

I was proud of all of them because as a class, they improved by 152% in Math and 191% in Reading.  It's nice to see your hard work paying off with results like those - even if I felt like a dictator all year!  

When I was hired by this school 2 1/2 years ago, I thought this would be the place I'd stay until I was ready to hang up my teaching hat. I was happy and content here and worked with some great people. Unfortunately, sometimes God's plans are different and because of a certification issue, I was forced to find employment at a private school next year. 

I will be teaching 2nd grade at Central Florida Christian Academy. I am very excited about this - my favorite teaching years were at Oshkosh/Valley Christian. 

But for now, I am going to relax for the summer and try to get my health back on track.  I am guessing I am having an autoimmune flare-up. This has resulted in uncontrollable psoriasis and three serious infections in the past two months. These infections are "full body" response infections complete with vomiting and fever.  

Not fun!  

Our Nia Scare

 On Wednesday January 4 I was supposed to go back to work after Christmas break but, unfortunately I was sick. I had a doctor appointment in the morning because most schools won't pay you if you do not come to work after a long break assuming you just want to extend your vacation. 

When I got home from the appointment (sometime around 11), I took Ollie out, ate a quick lunch, and then crawled in bed and slept all afternoon. It wasn't until I woke up about 5 that we realized Nia was not in the apartment. All afternoon Zack assumed she had been in my room with me. We decided she must have snuck out the door when I took Ollie out at 11.   

Our search lasted 3 hours and with each passing minute we grew more and more desperate. I tried to hold it together for Zack but inside, I was devastated. As I walked around and around and around our huge complex I felt as if we had failed as cat owners and I wondered if I would ever be able to feel her soft fur again. I felt like I would never again be able to experience her crawl into my lap for a nap or crawl onto my chest for a cuddle. 

While this was happening, I had totally forgot I had a load of laundry in the washing machine and so about 8:30, when I walked by the laundry room, it jogged my memory and I put the clothes in the dryer and walked back to my apartment. It was dark and there was nothing more we could do so Zack and I sat outside with a dish of cat food and water and I grabbed his hands and we prayed. By this point she had been gone about 9 hours and my hope was that someone had found her and would take care of her. 

Suddenly Zack says to me, "I hear her meowing." I listened and shouted, "I hear it too." We flew down the stairs and followed her meows until we found her in the bushes outside of the laundry room. We picked her up and both started crying like a couple of babies. 

We think that she saw me walk out of the laundry room and was calling to me.  Now, every time we open the door we have to look down to be sure she doesn't slip out. 

We love our little Nia

It was Christmas Break

 This year our break lasted from Friday December 16 to Tuesday January 4.   It was full of ups and downs, good and terrible, and here is the recap. 

The last day before break we had one of those days in the classroom that I was really dreading but it turned out to be so wonderful. Over the course of 3 hours (in 1/2 hour increments) the kindergarteners, 1st graders, and 2nd graders circulated through the 6 classrooms and learned about celebrations in other countries or cultures. I did China so I showed a short video on the lantern festival and then the kids made their own Chinese Lanterns. It was a lot of fun.  Our kiddos were dismissed at 12:30 so we had the afternoon off. I hung around at school for a bit getting everything ready for the first week back and trying to access my students' latest progress monitoring scores - trying being the operative word here because I was not able to do it.  UGH!

After leaving I headed straight to Target and used the newly acquired $100 in gift cards to load up on groceries. I swung by home to unload the groceries and then met CJ at the Cinemark to see Violent Night. It was completely different than I was thinking but still a good movie. I would recommend it and will be re-watching it once it is dropped on streaming. 

Tuesday night I was sitting at home bored silly so I decided to walk over to Sea World. I walked through some exhibits, saw the Orca show, and just walked around the park looking at the Christmas lights. 

Thursday night (22nd) we headed over to CJ's for a movie - Killer Party - a 1986 slasher type film with a little bit of possession and a whole lot of sorority and fraternity hi-jinx.  Very loose plot as is common for 80's horror. 

 

The night of the 23rd brought us to Amway Center for the Orlando Magic game. This time they played the Spurs and it was all Magic from beginning to end. Final score 133-113. 

Side note: This was the second game in a row we had overly obnoxious and screaming kids behind us. I get that this is a sports venue and it's going to be loud, but these kids were so far over the top!!!!  Do parents not teach their kids to respect those around them?  

Moving on...

Christmas Eve we drove up to my parents and about 5 miles from our destination, the car started chug, chug, chugging along complete with a rattling sound under the hood.  Eventually, it would not even  move when it was in drive (it was fine in reverse and neutral though) **eye roll** 

 Thankfully we were right down the road from my parents so my dad came to pick us up. I was pretty upset for about 15 minutes and then decided I was not going to allow this misfortune ruin our Christmas.

 The Christmas Eve menu at my parents was cold shrimp, cheese, sausage, and crackers, spinach dip, and my dad's meatballs washed down with some amaretto and orange juice. Then we all piled in the car to look at Christmas lights in the nearby neighborhood of Sugar Mills. This year we did not go over to Towne Center in Palm Coast to walk through their light display because it was way too cold! Once we got back to my parents Zack and I turned on A Christmas Story and I resumed the never-ending mounds of laundry. 

On Christmas Day Chris and the boys drove up and we had a great day filled with lasagna for dinner, a Packers game (for the guys), and a Christmas episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Zack, Ollie, and I hitched a ride back to Orlando and I was without a car for a few days while it was being repaired at the Nissan dealership in Daytona Beach. 

On Monday (while I had Jon's car) I had errands to run so Zack came along and we stopped for lunch at Freddy's. We both love it there...their cheese curds...YUMMMY!!!  But it is not cheap for fast food. 

Thursday CJ took Zack and me over to Daytona to pick up my now-fixed car (transmission/free under warranty).  After picking up the car we drove up to my parents house, picked up my mom, and had a very disappointing meal at Steak-n-Shake. 

First of all, they got rid of their chicken strips so Zack was not happy about that. Then burger he ended up getting was so thin it barely had any taste.  Finally, gone is the table service...now you order at a kiosk and pick up your food at the counter. 

Unfortunately, on New Year's Day, Zack and I both woke up sick. We both had bad coughs and cold symptoms. I added a low fever into mine. I went to the doctor because I missed the first two days back from break and ended up having bronchitis. As a general practice, schools don't look too kindly when you don't come back from a break on time and assume you are trying to extend your vacation - hence getting the doctor's note. Sadly, we are still not fully recovered with a lingering cough and nose blowing. 

To close out break, this little baby girl gave us a real scare - which I will detail in another post.