The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino

The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino

I wanted to make sure to post this, I know I havent posted in a while, but things havent been going well pain wise due to the weather and whatnot. I will be back soon to posting normally and regularly again, but this post, this Spoon Theory, it is the first thing I have EVER found that describes perfectly what every day is like living with Fibromyalgia. Thank you Christine!!

Still have writers block...

However, I know if I do not just get back into it, it will just continue. That doesn't mean it is easy, or simple, to correct, it just means it needs done. A lot of things anymore are like that. Take cleaning my house for example. It used to be getting up, going to work, somedays pulling a 10-14 hr shift, picking up other shifts when they needed someone, etc, was difficult. Now-a-days, just cleaning my house is that difficult. Take this weekend for example. I had a great pain day Saturday, compared to most. I spent the day cleaning my house good, not just picking it up, but CLEANING it. Over the course of Saturday night, Sunday, and this morning, it's a mess again. I need to go at least pick it up again, however, it's difficult to do so when you can barely move. :(  Hubby let me sleep in, which was incredibly nice (sleeping in for me is up at 6am with the kids, and laying back down at around 8am), but I laid down in pain, and I woke up in even more pain. I'm always tired anymore, being in constant pain wears you out pretty quickly, but I just don't seem to get very rested sleep...ever. I have heard of cases of FM being caused due to the brain not releasing the chemicals to cause your muscles to relax when you sleep, and I am currently wondering if that is not my case as well. I don't know, but it is something I plan to talk to the new doctor about.

Also, does anyone know of a good home possibly wanting a 2yr old Silky terrier/chihuahua mix male? He's a great dog, and comes with his kennel, he's very good in said kennel, but it is growing increasingly difficult for me to take him out when he needs out. Hubby is getting very irritated with it. I can't have 4 kids and the dog going all over the floor! Joy is litter box trained now thanks to the cat...she's imitated him and is now litter trained! So, yeah, she is easy, however Jake is not. He has to be taken out at least a few times a day, but is able to hold it for a while as well when required or no one is home. He's a great dog, he knows up means to get up on your lap, down means get off whatever he is on (lap, couch, bed, etc), he knows stay means keep your butt in the door when I go out, and bed means to get in his kennel. I've had him since he ws 3 months old, and he's a really good dog. I just have major troubles a lot of days anymore being able to take him outside. He wont go out unless I go out with him and tell him to "go potty" or "go poo". He does so on command, but takes a few minutes to sniff out the "perfect" place. He has never really been on a leash when he goes out, as he has been taught to stay in the yard at all times. We've only had a few instances of him wandering down the road to the bus stop area to explore, but he always knows his way home. He knows "let's go" means we are going inside as well. He knows sit when he wants to, it is not always a command he seems to WANT to do though. He'd be a GREAT dog for agility training or something. He's wonderful with other dogs, cats, even rats. He's been raised around them all. He's people friendly but will bark to show you he's wanting to protect you. In my house, he barks when someone stands at the door, but if they come in and sit down, he's just fine. He's protective of me, but not in a mean sense, he just will let me know when someone is near the house, or another dog. He loves to play, and has a few squeek toys he would come with as well, his favorites are the small sized loofa dogs. He rolls over on his back and just squeeks them.

Anyways, please, ask around, let me know. I want to make sure he finds a good home. :(

Interesting Dog Facts

Sorry for the lack of updates, a bit of writers block has hit me...

Some Dog Facts

-Female dog bites are twice as numerous as male bites.
-The name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box is Bingo.
-The Beatles song Martha My Dear was written by Paul McCartney about his sheepdog Martha."
-The canine nose works one million times more efficiently than the human nose.
-The average dog has 42 permanent teeth.

• Rin Tin Tin was the first American dog movie star and signed his own contracts for 22 movies with a pawprint.
• Toto’s role in The Wizard of Oz was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry.
• In the late 1800’s, Lassie type Collies were known as Scottish Sheepdogs.
• Former US President Teddy Roosevelt’s pit bull Pete, once ripped off a French Ambassador’s trousers at a White House event.
• Zorba, an English Mastiff is the heaviest dog on record, weighing 155kgs at the age of 8 in 1989.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the smallest dog on record was a Yorkshire Terrier in Great Britain, who weighed just 4 ounces.
• The longest lived dog, according to the Guinnes Book of World Records, was an Australian Cattle Dog named Bluey, who lived to be 29.
• The first living being to travel in space was a small mixed breed dog named Laika. She was sent into space in an artificial earth satellite in 1957 by the Russian government.
• John F Kennedy’s terrier, Charlie sired 4 puppies with Liaka’s daughter Pushinka.
• Dalmatian puppies are pure white at birth.
• Dogs do not have an appendix.
• An adult dog has 42 teeth.
• The only sweat glands a dog has are between the paw pads. The only way they can discharge heat is by panting.
• If a dog isn’t spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate and their offspring can product 67,000 dogs in 6 years.
• The most successful mountain rescue dog ever was a St Bernard named Barry, who lived during the early 1800’s and saved 40 lives.
• Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears. Unfortunately the likes of bulldogs only have 10 due to their breeding.
• One of the world’s oldest breeds of dog is the Saluki. It is thought to have been developed in Ancient Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.
• A dog’s sense of smell is one of the keenest in nature. If a pot of stew was cooking on a cooker a human would smell the stew, while the dog could smell the beef, carrots and all the other ingredients in the stew.
• It was recently discovered that dogs do see in colour, just not as vivid as the colour that humans see.
• Two dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic. They escaped on early lifeboats carrying so few people that no one objected. Miss Margaret Hays of New York brought her Pomeranian with her in lifeboat no. 7, while Henry Sleeper Harper of the publishing family boarded lifeboat no. 3 with his Pekinese, Sun Yat Sen.
• Giving dogs chocolate could be fatal for them because theobromine, an ingredient of chocolate stimulates the central nervous system and cardiac muscle.
• In the original 101 Dalmations movie, Pongo has 72 spots and Perdita has 68 while the puppies had 32 each.
• The largest dogs among all breeds, at least in terms of height, is the Irish Wolfhound.
• Nearly all but two breeds of dogs have pink tongues. The two exceptions? The Chow Chow and the Shar-pei, both with black tongues.
• The Poodle haircut was originally meant to improve the dog's swimming abilities as a retriever, with the pom-poms left in place to warm their joints.
• Cats can see a lot better than dogs. In fact, dogs first distinguish objects by movement, then brightness, and finally by shape.
• Among dogs officially registered with kennel clubs in the U.S., Labrador Retrievers are the most popular breed followed by Rottweilers and German Shepherds.
• All dogs, regardless of breed, are direct descendants of wolves and technically of the same species.
• A dog's whiskers -- found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaws -- are technically known as vibrissae. They are touch-sensitive hairs than actually sense minute changes in airflow.
• Dogs are capable of locating the source of a sound in 6/100ths of a second by using their swiveling ears like radar dishes.
• Dogs have a sense of smell that is one of the keenest in nature. Humans might smell a pot of stew cooking on the stove, but a dog can distinguish the smells of each individual ingredient, from the beef itself to the potatoes.
• The ancient Chinese royalty loved the Pekingese, carrying them tucked into the sleeves of their royal robes.
• Dachshunds were bred to fight badgers in their dens.
• The oldest breed of dog native to North America is the Chihuahua.
• Survivors of the Titanic included two dogs: a Pekingese belonging to Henry Sleeper Harper and a Pomeranian belonging to Miss Margaret Hays.
• Every minute, dogs take ten to thirty breaths.
• The only mammals with prostates are humans and dogs.
• Whippets can reach a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour. 
• There are more than five million puppies born in the United States each year.
• Have you ever seen a dog curled up with his tail covering his nose? They do that to keep the nose warm in cold weather.
• Many dogs' eyes reflect the color green in the dark, but some also reflect orange or red.

• The top five favorite breeds of dogs in the US are: Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, German Shepherd, Beagle, and Dachshund.
• The Doberman breed was created in the 1860's by Louis Doberman, a German tax-collector who created the dog to protect him while he worked.
• The name Pug is believed to have derived from this dog's resemblance to the pug monkey.
• The Basenji is the only barkless dog in the world.
• Greyhounds can reach a speed of up to 45 miles per hour.
• When a puppy is born, he is blind, deaf, and toothless.
• Dogs don't actually sweat by salivating. They sweat through the pads on their feet.
• Smiling at a dog causes him to think you are baring your teeth to show aggression.
• There are about 68 million dogs with owners in the United States.
• The Taco Bell dog is actually a female Chihuahua named Gidget.
• One of the very first animals domesticated by humans was the dog.
• The "spring" in Springer Spaniel referred to this dog's ability to spring or startle game.
• Dogs have been domesticated for 10,000 years.

Packed a lot into one weekend...

Hubby and I took a roadtrip down to Bowling Green, Kentucky, this weekend. He had to go down for work, so I asked my mom if she would watch the kids, and I joined him. It was a wonderful, relaxing, yet busy weekend, but I enjoyed it immensely! We hit up the flea market, and I finally found a cane that is short enough for me to use! We also found the faery necklace I have been wanting to find for ages, but never could find (used to have one, lost it, couldn't ever find them to get another!). I even helped him take apart everything at the call center down there that shut down to help them move it up here. I did a very little bit of lifting, but all the heavy stuff, he did for me. Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. I love spending one on one time with hubby, it's always soooo nice! Amazing how getting away for a day can refresh you like that though! It's also amazing how getting away like that, dealing with the car ride with fibro, can mess you up for a few days as well. I am more than likely going to be spending a couple days at least in bed due to the pain from just sitting in the car so much. :( I'll post some pics/video later today. :)

Getting to see an old friend

Nothing in this world beats getting to see an old friend again after not seeing each other for years! Today, T is going to visit, and I am sooo excited!!! I havent seen her in years!

Kids report cards came in yesterday. G did really well, and actually brought all of his grades up! C did really well also, but went down in a couple grades, but still did VERY well. L not so much. L does not seem to realize that 2 f's, 3 d's, and 1 a are good grades. We have been working with her for years on her grades and nothing seems to make any difference! I am at my wits end and if you have any suggestions, please, clue me in!

Isn't it amazing how clean your house can look when you are expecting company? My house is spotless because I had a good pain day yesterday and cleaned it then, thank goodness. It only took minor picking up today. I still need to wash the last few dishes...and mop the kitchen, and then my house will be CLEAN! YAY!

Impossible...

im·pos·si·ble

   /ɪmˈpɒsəbəl/ Show Spelled[im-pos-uh-buhl] Show IPA

–adjective

1. not possible; unable to be, exist, happen, etc.

2. unable to be done, performed, effected, etc.: an impossible assignment.

3. incapable of being true, as a rumor.

4. not to be done, endured, etc., with any degree of reason or propriety: an impossible situation.

5. utterly impracticable: an impossible plan.

6. hopelessly unsuitable, difficult, or objectionable.

 

Notice number 6? It says difficult. Impossible isnt meant to be easy. It's meant to show you that there are amazing things happening out there every day! It's one of the strongest words in the English language.

 

What does impossible mean to you? What impossible things have you experienced?

 

My impossible things include my son living despite an incredibly low heart rate right before his birth, and the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck 3 times. It includes doing everything I could to ruin my marriage because I didnt trust anyone, and never let myself get hurt, only to open up to my husband and enjoy some of the most wonderful times of my life with him now! It includes being a drug addict, living in a house with a bunch of other druggies, and meeting my husband, whom helped me get out of that lifestyle. It also means my boss at work surviving 2 brain tumor surgeries, radiation treatments, and being one of the most amazing men I have ever known, who loves to go to the Colts home games! Impossible includes me now being on speaking terms with my father, whom was a very verbally abusive alcoholic before. Impossible is watching a bunch of miners trapped in a cave in for months get pulled out through a tube, without a single hitch that day, all of them healthy, alive, and well.

 

Impossible isn't so impossible, is it? It's just hard to do it for yourself. It is so easy to give everyone else your advice when something is impossible, but so hard to do it when you face it yourself. Give it a try! I am sure you will be glad you did! :)

 

Dan over at Single Dad Laughing has many other examples of impossible happening. Go check it out, it's quite the inspiring list!

We all have those days..

It always amazes me how one person can say "it was just one of those days", and no matter who you are, you understand. We have all been there, we have all had "those" days. The main thing is to remember, someone somewhere does actually care, does actually love you through the good and the bad, and that tomorrow is another day for the sun to shine.  I have these days a lot. Days I can't even run to the store for a new vacuum belt because I am in too much pain to move. Days I can't even get out of bed due to the pain. I just remember to always count my blessings. I have 5 beautiful children, a wonderful, selfless husband whom takes care of me, a beautiful house, wonderful dogs, an amazing siamese cat (I'll post about him another day...he's awesome!), and many, many other blessings. Let your sunset be like this...remember your blessings! :)