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! :)

Sorry

I've been MIA for a couple of days, my appologies. The pain these last few days has been almost absolutely unbearable. It does not help any having a broken nose and constant headache from that on top of the normal pains, but even the normal pains have been out of control these last few days. I have barely been able to move, my brain feels like mush, the pain pills arent doing jack, and my head feels like an elephant stepped on it.

My husband accidently broke my nose the other day...he flopped backwards onto the bed with the cat in his arms, and the back of his head went full force into the center of my nose. Ended up with a pretty good nose bleed, and I am 100% certain it is broken, but I know they cant do anything for it unless it is one of those really messed up looking type breaks, which it certainly is not. It is just where if I push on it, I can feel the cartilage moving inside up and down. Nothing major, but hurts like all get out!

M finally managed to catch his plane home Tuesday. We miss him a lot when he is not here. I spent literally all day Tuesday at the airport, as his flight was delayed over and over and over again! Lovely, then had to spend $14 just to pay for the dang parking! I hate the airport...

Anyone doing anything exciting for New Years? I'm doing the same thing we always do, staying home, staying up, watching the ball drop at midnight, and giving my husband a kiss at midnight for the first thing I do every year. It's tradition, and you dont mess with tradition! :D

Ugh, sooo much pain!

Spent close to 4hrs at the airport yesterday making sure M got on his plane home ok. Hubby managed to use the wrong departure time, and we originally got there at 10am, only to find out that his plane didnt leave until almost 3pm, it was all ready delayed by 20 mins at that point.We went to lunch and came back around 1:pm. By the time he took off, it was almost 2 hrs behind! :( Those airport chairs, and all the walking involved to get to the chairs at the gate, are NOT intended for someone with physical issues! Even the medication is not helping with the pain from all of this last night and this morning. Top that with what is probably a broken nose, and I am not having a good few days! haha.

I am learning..

This holiday season has left me with one giant realization. With all of the pain, the medication, etc, I HAVE to ask for help. I am used to being a very independent woman, doing whatever I can to help out, or whatever needs done. This year, though, things are quite different. I am required to ask for help with a lot of things. You see, I'm on weight restrictions. I am not allowed to lift over 5lbs. This basically means ANYTHING I need to lift, I have to ask for help. Heck, even our crock pot weights more than that to get down and put up! This has been a difficult transition for me. Like I said, I'm a very independent woman when it comes to being able to do things myself. I am not used to asking for help, I am not used to having to sit down to help out in the kitchen because I can not stand, I am not used to not being able to help with clean up after dinner, even just doing the dishes is quite a chore now a days.

On a happier note, Christmas was a huge success, and C, my middle daughter, has been painting up a storm with her new art kit water colors. (After the mess she made all over my kitchen with these by "splatter painting", I am soooo not ready for actual good paints!) According to her last night, they are 50cents or $1 each, but luckily for me, she made me 2 coupons for 2 free paintings. I love this kid. She said the money is so she can buy pencils at the school book store. They are actually quite good too! She is very creative, it's the only good quality my kids inherited from me! C and L are both very good at drawing, painting, etc. I am so happy they got my affinity for it, and not their fathers! He can't even draw a stick figure well!

This picture reminds me, the other day, we were at Gamestop buying some last minute Christmas stuff. The store we went to happens to be the one I used to work at as well, meaning I know just about everyone that works there, minus the seasonal hires. One of my favorite girls was working this night. We went to check out, and she proceeded to ask me if I was "expecting again". This has been something I get asked on a normal basis, but not recently. You see, I lost 23lbs within the last few months, and had not been asked again since before I had lost the weight. I was always a skinny person, weighing 100lbs even when I had my oldest daughter, and about 115lbs when I had my son 8 years ago. Now, up until about 3 years ago, I stayed this skinny. Then I balooned up to 185lbs. (I am 5'4", I'm not exactly tall.) I am now down to 162lbs, and trying to finish loosing about another 30lbs to get back to my "normal for your size" weight. I don't want to look anorexic, but I'd like to be a healthy size again. I was so happy when I found out I had lost that much weight! I figured I had lost about 10lbs, I mean, I knew my jeans were a little bit looser, and my shirts were baggier, but I did not realize it was a whole 23lbs! I was extatic...until the other night. That knocked me into a massive depression that night. I was up until 5am that night just depressed to the point that when my dog went to his kennel to go to bed, in my head, it was because I was too fat and ugly for even my dog to want to be near me. It's amazing how that sort of stuff can spiral like that. It just amazes me how depression can alter the mind. When it gets to that point, it is very hard to snap out of it, to bring yourself  back up out of the black hole, and a lot of times, sleep is the only help for me, and when I get depressed, that is nearly impossible. I am on medication for it, but sometimes, just sometimes, it still spirals, that blackness still envelopes me, but that is a post for another day...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Just wanted to wish anyone that reads this a very Merry Christmas and a wonderfully Happy New Year! Christmas in our house was a huge success, despite all of the pain involved this year! :) The kids are playing with all of their new stuff, and not a single fight all day so far! (That's the best Christmas present for me!!) I even got a nap, since the kids got us up at 4:30 am, and we finished setting up around 1am. Have a wonderful holiday!! May it be filled with laughter, love, and joy!

My favorite time of year...

This is my absolute, positively, most favorite time of the year! I adore the holidays! I love it from Halloween on through New Years. Halloween is my favorite out of all the holidays, but Christmas is a very, very close second. This year, however, has been REALLY difficult for me. Going out and standing/walking while shopping has been super difficult. Bending over wrapping gifts has been super difficult. Today has been especially hard. Our second car, my car, has been broken down for a while now. A friend of hubby's was supposed to come tow it to a shop while hubby was in the Phillippines, and couldnt make it, so now he is coming to get it after Christmas instead now. This means, that with 5 kids and 2 adults, we could not make it to my Grandmothers for Christmas dinner today without renting a car. Well, I called and got the reservation, but due to the womans incompetance, they did not actually reserve it as they were supposed to, and we did not end up getting the rental, they had NOTHING left, as it is Christmas Eve. It saddened me a lot not to be able to make it to my Grandmothers. It is one of the very, very few times I get to see most of my family. It was the only chance I really could have gotten to see my cousin whom is pregnant with her first little boy. (I'm soooo excited for her!!)

I love Christmas, but this pain is causing me to go grinch this year. I'm trying my best to still be festive. I'm still wearing my santas hat, still put up all the decorations, etc. It's just been VERY difficult for me, the pain medication is not doing a whole lot these last few days, and lack of sleep last night (a whopping 2 hrs!) and for the last few nights has not helped any. :( I really wish I could just not hurt for a few days to actually be able to enjoy the holiday this year!

Oh my, 5 kids!

Yes, that is right,  I have 5 kids currently in my living room playing Rock Band and YELLING at each other. I currently have to all ready clean up the popcorn from the movies last night that my middle daughter, C, decided to dump all over M, her half brother whom arrived via reindeer (aka, airplane) yesterday evening. You all have no idea how wonderful it is to have them all here though! And really, 5 isnt all that much harder than the 3-4 I have on a regular basis.

You may be wondering where the 5th came from though, as I stated I have 3, and my stepson. Well the third is K. L's best friend whom doesnt have a family. If I could adopt her today, I sooo would! I love her dearly, as does my husband, and we've even presented it to her guardian that we would love to formally put in paperwork that if anything happens to her guardian, we want to adopt her. We even had a lawyer say she would draft the paperwork for us for FREE! There is a LOT more to her story than  I am going to announce to the world wide web on my blog though, but feel free to suffice it and say it is a VERY sad story. No girl, heck, no child, should have ever had to deal with any of the things this girl has dealt with. But we love her, and she is my unofficial daughter.

Now, yes, I will be loosing my mind this week, as we try to manage to fit 5 kids and 2 adults up to my grandparents for Christmas Eve dinner/gifts, it's tradition, and I really do want to go. I miss my family, as with my FM and such, I have MAJOR issues driving just to the north side of town, let alone clear up for the hour and 15 minute drive to my family, and my mom is further north than that even! :(  Lucky for me, hubby is driving!

Oh by the way, if you have not seen "Dispicable ME", do it!! Best movie ever I think. I've seen it twice now in the movie theater, only a couple days apart, and loved, loved, loved it!!

We also picked up "Easy A" last night, it was a pretty good movie, quite funny, and quite heartwarming at the end. Emma Stone is an amazing actress whom is stunning to look at as well!

You see, movies are one of the few things I am still able to enjoy, permitting I have my pain medicine in me. It does not require me to stand or walk or whatnot, and I can adjust how I sit often to avoid getting into a lot of pain. I enjoy the movies, especially with hubby, as before I met him, I never really went to the theater often at all, now we do the dollar theater, but hey, it's still nice, and usually on date night! :D Nothing beats just the two of us at the movies, his arm around my shoulders, my hand holding his other, just spending time together.

I may have FM and osteoarthritis, but I am definately blessed! I have 5 fabulous kids for the holidays, an absolutely amazing husband that loves me and takes great care of me, a beatiful house, a nice car. I am definately giving thanks this year!! My only wish is that someday I will be able to actually walk around right again, go back to work (I miss my co-workers sooooo much!!). That is my goal, oh, and to loose a little more weight. Despite loosing 23lbs so far, I still got asked if I was pregnant last night... :(

My bestest best friend..

This adorable little ball of fluff and fur is my dog, Joy. She was aptly named that by L, my oldest daughter. When she was born, the sack burst while she was only nose out of the canal. We had to help her out, and pull her out while I pulled and L held her mother. L promptly exclaimed "We should name her Joy, because it's a joy she is alive!".It was almost Christmas (12-12-09 is her b-day), and it quickly stuck.

She answers to many, many other names...little sh*t, Joyjoy, Fuzzy girl, babydoll, pookie-girl, fuzzybutt, etc. She is the happiest little thing I have EVER seen,and the BEST dog I have ever owned! She's paper trained, she is a snuggle bug, she loves nothing more than curling up on my lap and going to sleep, or curling up with me under the blankets at bedtime. She has a wide variety of clothes, as at 3lbs even, she doesnt hold body heat very well. Everything from a bright pink winter coat, to an adorable little red/white Mrs. Claus dress for Christmas, to sweaters, hoodies, etc. She also has a few harnesses, one of which is my favorite and came from her Chihuahua forum secret santa! By the way, she HATES hoods or hats...as you can see..

She is a Chihuahua mix, and my baby! My mom owns her brother, who was the runt of the litter, but is now bigger than she is, and a very good friend of mine owns her other brother.  They have both found wonderful homes for their entire lives, just as Joy will always be with us.

Now mind you, to give you that info was kinda required. It helps you to understand how she is my bestest best friend.

She goes almost everywhere with me, and helps me get over the fear of leaving the house due to pain. See, when this all first started, I went to work that morning, and almost could not drive myself home. Since then, I have been having extreme bouts of anxiety concerning walking, driving, anything that requires me to leave the house. She has been helping me to overcome this. She LOVES to go for car rides, walks, etc. This means when I do go out, I have some sort of companionship to help me with this. That would be Joy!

Now, the funny part is...when she gets REALLY sleepy, she can't hold her ears up! They get super floppy, and she reminds me of Yoda.

                                                                                                                                   Size matters not.
                                                                                         -- Yoda

Welcome!

Hello there, and Happy Holidays to you and yours! I'm doing this as a side project, just some way for me to vent sometimes, or express how I feel when no one understands. If you live with Fibromyalgia, you will be able to understand most of my posts easily. If not, I hope the rest of you at least find some humor in the way I will put things down so as to make you smile and possibly even brighten your day a bit! Not everything will be funny, sometimes things will be serious, or whatnot, but I will always be honest with how I experience things.

Now, a little about me. I am Dustin. I am a mother of 5 beautiful children, not all of whom are from my own womb. We have 3 of our own, I have 1 stepson whom I love dearly, and we have unofficially adopted my oldest daughters BFF. I was recently diagnosted with osteoarthritis in my lower back that causes me a great deal of pain, but the worst of it all seems to be the Fibromyalgia. The FM causes my joints, random ones each day, to ache and hurt like there is no tomorrow. They do not know WHY I have this pain, but I've had injections, MRIs, pain management for a bit now, and pain medications, along with other meds as well. Pain meds only seem to make the pain somewhat tolerable as long as I do not try to stand or walk for more than an hour at a time. I have been married for 10 years this past November, some good times, some bad, but we've worked through it and come out much stronger because of it.

Anways, enjoy your stay, and I hope you will return! :D